#NECC09 Pre Conference Day

So, I have arrived in Washington DC for the NECC 09 Conference and have take one day to be a tourist before the Technology unleashes and I don't come up for air until it is over. I plan to immerse myself as much as possible in the glory of the feeding frenzy, although not as much as others might. I call myself an NECC newbie, but did attend in Philly a few years back. At the time I was way too new at all of this and I did not know what to expect. This time, I have tried to plan each day out, knowing full well I will make adjustments, and knowing also I will not be able to see everything I want. That is probably why I left my hotel around 9 AM today and was gone for 10 hours.

The day started with purchasing the "Old Town Trolley" tour ticket and walking to the nearest trolly pick up. Arriving just in time for the FIRST pick up of the day we departed in front of the Willard Hotel. Much to my surprise we discovered there were two events going on in the area, the BBQ cookoff and a Arts Festival. This just added to the to do list for the day. I have never spent significant time in DC, so I had a long to do list. This was my day to see it all. The Trolley took us all over the downtown area, past many beautiful large buildings with important names. We drove past the White House, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Veitnam Memorial and the Korean War Veterans Memorial. Stopping to walk around several of the sites to quietly pay respects.

The museum list that I visited was quite lengthy as well. The Museum of American History, Natural History Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the Air & Space Museum, all provided shade and cool air as I made my rounds for the day. Of course there was lunch at the BBQ festival and water at the Art Festival. If I could have possible fit more in I would have.

As it turns out our hotel is a hotspot for tourists, Reese Witherspoon and several other big names are filming a move across the street. Maybe I will see stars this week. I have to say I am looking forward to the opening night keynote speaker and all of the events I have scheduled for this up coming week. I did survive my day without much technology, only a cell phone to text my kids back home and of course a camera to document my travels.

As I toured the city, I could not help but think about the options of documenting my trip for a digital story, and how I could create one on many different platforms. To name just a few there is PhotoStory3, Voicethread, blabberize, and of course using my MAC, which by the way is my favorite. I think blabberize would be good for short stories for younger age groups, while photostory is free, voice thread is online and the MAC I have to admit is the more expensive of the choices, but still my favorite. I also thought of a Geocaching project, and many others, so while my day was for sight seeing, I was still processing what you could do educationally with all of this stuff.

Time to rest and get ready for the week, I am sure I will be thinking in my sleep, a habit I cannot seem to break right now. Web 2.0 and new technologies are like riding the rapids, blink and you will be bumped off the boat, floating down the river without a paddle.