I've been at NECC 2009 for three days now and I've learned a great deal in that time. I came here with an open mind and it's been filled with lots of great ideas to use with students. Though this is my first NECC, I'm very impressed with the number of presenters using open source tools and recommending them too. I've met a number of open source users and enthusiasts and have seen presenters using Moodle, Drupal and Wordpress and Ning along with OpenOffice.org and Audacity. I've attended many sessions emphasizing the use of social networking tools and Web 2.0 tools many of whom including Google Docs itself who owe their existence to open source.

I came here looking for ideas about how to teach middle school students how to safely use today's technology and I've been given the tools necessary to shape that curriculum and to add the overall concept of digital citizenship to our learning community. I've been challenged by the keynotes too. Coming here led me to purchase Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers," and a chance to hear him speak a couple of times. I thoroughly enjoyed the debate about the future of brick and mortar schools vs. a new paradigm for learning. I came away more convinced than ever that there are no easy answers and that the future will be shaped by our need to teach the basics but in new ways that challenge us in our brick and mortar mindset.

My middle school students will be challenged to become digital citizens and they'll be the role models for not only their peers, but their teachers and parents. I've been challenged to expand my own horizons and to read a couple of other books I purchased from ISTE here that give direction for curricula designed to teach about digital citizenship. I'm excited that I'll be able to use Google Docs with all of my students and that our work with those tools will help propel them in their studies. I've learned how to integrate cell phones for learning and I've been challenged by what they can offer and how can I/we get the staff to buy into using cell phones for educational purposes. Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours with an ISTE sponsored group at the World War II memorial using Blackberry's, iPhones and Windows Mobile phones along with ScanLife to make the memorial come alive and serve as a model for education that features these powerful devices.