SXSWish You Were Here

Just back from a week-long education + media + arts immersion at SXSWedu in Austin. Though slightly Texas-centric, it was easily one of the most inspiring conferences I've been to in a while. There was a feeling of optimism in the air - Fewer naysayers and more voices championing the cause for a much needed paradigm shift in education.

Whenever I get back from a conference one of the first things my colleagues ask me is "What were the highlights/take-aways?" For me, it's impossible to know for sure. These types of events plant seeds in my mind. The ideas they grow into being depend on how much time and attention I give them. At best, my hope is to come away with a renewed sense of purpose and, with SXSWedu, I did.

While at conferences I tend to rely a lot of Twitter as a note taking/reflection tool, but also to connect with other like-minded professionals. SXSWedu was no exception. I used Twitter to backchannel the majority of the sessions I attended and for leads on all the informal meet-ups.

Below is a collection of my tweets from the event, visually organized into a Popplet mind map. Next time my colleagues ask me what I learned or what I did, I am pointing them here...