Reflecting on @LaptopInstitute #li11

I recently attended the Lausanne Laptop Institute for the first time. It's a pretty big international gathering of educators in Memphis, TN. Despite the crazy heat it was a very enjoyable experience.

Four educators about whom I learned

Jeff Utecht
http://www.thethinkingstick.com/
Jeff is a talented presenter and an educator with great perspective on global and social education. He gave a great keynote address and his breakout sessions were almost like mini-keynotes. If he is presenting at a conference that you are attending I highly recommend listening to him. The point that I found most interesting was when Jeff mentioned that independent schools in the US do not take enough advantage of international schools when exploring other cultures and countries. He continued to say that there are connections waiting to be made and that they should be leveraged.

Julene Reed
http://www.julenereed.com
The interesting organizations and projects which Julene is involved in are too numerous to list. She is a great resource on environmental and sustainability issues, but is also an educator who really understands how to make learning experiences meaningful. She is also an Apple Distinguished Educator who is very keyed in to iPads in educational settings.

Lynn Mittler
http://lynnmittler.wikispaces.com/
Lynn is an educator from a school in St. Louis. All of the tools and instructional ideas she presented were grounded in current educational theory and research. I appreciate how she made the connections meaningful for her participants. There a lot of great resources and ideas on her wiki.

Elizabeth Helfant
http://helfantpd.wikispaces.com/
Elizabeth is from the same school as Lynn and is also a wealth of information and resources. A colleague of mine attended a session where she presented information about the Technology Toolkit, a framework for the tech integration at their school. Elizabeth also has lots of information about games that can be used in educational settings.

And two things about Memphis that I loved...

National Civil Rights Museum
http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/
This is one of the best museum experiences I have ever had. You genuinely feel as if you have been transported back in time and the museum curators have done a great job of telling a story as you walk through the different displays.  The photo above was taken by me looking at the balcony where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. The museum is in the hotel and the room where MLK was staying has been reconstructed and preserved to look exactly as it did on that day.

Photo from www.holyturf.com

Rendevous' Charcoal Ribs
http://www.hogsfly.com/TheRestaurant.php
The other three things I am going to list here have to do with food. Rendevous' ribs are by far the most delicious pork ribs I have ever eaten. They are seasoned with a special dry rub, broiled in a charcoal oven for 2-3 hours. and then rubbed again in seasoning before being served.