Yesterday, when I stepped into the Educause Exhibit Hall for the first time in 2 years I realized how much I’ve missed it! The noise, the color, the people – it’s overwhelming and exciting and familiar all at the same time.
This is my eight time visiting Educause. (I think. It could be seven, but I’m pretty sure it’s eight. Either way, I’ve been to the con a few times). I know Educause is putting on a great online program for those who can’t attend this year, but I thought I’d share what I’m finding out.
If you don’t attend the pre-conference sessions, Educause kicks off with a reception in the Exhibit Hall. It’s a chance to see old friends and connect with new folks and new vendors. I don’t know about everyone, but I think a lot of folks spend the first evening talking to exhibitors whose products they already use. I know I spend the evening connecting with old Blackboard pals (some of whom have moved onto their own companies or joined new ones) and former clients I have known for years.
That’s not to say I didn’t meet anyone new! Here’s a recap of my time at the Exhibit Hall.
- CLOUD is the word of the day, kiddies. Everyone has an booth session on something happening in the CLOUD. Write it down.
- MoodleRooms has the best footwear – orange chucks.
- Gilfus Education Group has a really great line-up of speakers in their booth. If you haven’t checked them out – do so. Some of the topics look very informative.
- David Yaskin from Starfish seems to be everywhere I look at the conference. You’ll want to find him if you’re thinking about student retention. And who isn’t?
- Connect Yard is interesting – its software that helps instructors connect with students on social networks, using whatever tools the students/instructors prefer. So an instructor can email something out and it will go to the student via Facebook/Twitter/whatever. And if the student responds back from that network, it will email the teacher. Interesting. And somewhat weird! But not in a bad way! I’m going to go to a session Thursday at 8am in room 105A/B about how a school is using the tool. I’ll report back.
- Knewton – making a splash on Twitter with their Educause Twitter Guide – has adaptive learning tools on their minds. They gave me an Arizona State University case study to review. Seems to be a smart group.
- Nuance offers printing solutions on campus. Not sexy, but probably important for many institutions. 🙂
- Unanet has project management tools for IT departments and other groups on campus. Again, not so sexy – but a tool to look at none the less, especially for larger departments with multiple, multi-year projects.
- Pearson, of course, is drawing folks into the booth with their new OpenClass offering. They’ve started to answer questions that the community is asking and there are a few sessions today that I’ll attend to get more information.
- Blackboard is talking about CourseSites, their free course offering. One thing I have to say – Blackboard has some of their best education-focused people working on CourseSites. Jarl Jonas and George Kroner are two of the most dedicated advocates for educators within Blackboard. It will be interesting what they do with CourseSites over the next few months. I’d keep an eye on it.
Today – full schedule, lots of sessions to report back on! By the way – TweetUp! Thursday, at or in the lounge at the back of the exhibit hall to the left of start-up alley, at 9:50am during the break. Come join us!
PS – forgive any grammar imperfections or typos – I’m blogging this on the fly here at #edu11 🙂
Do You #EDU? 