The collective group of interested educators planning the 21st Century Learning @ HK conference next October need to decide on a theme that captures all that we wish to convey as soon as they can. It is a truism about conferences like this that once the idea is “born”, as it were, we all suddenly find ourselves rushing to catch up. Naturally, as humans, we all only see things from our own perspective. It is perfectly reasonable for a group looking to hold a conference make contact with potential keynote speakers to determine who might be able to come along prior to deciding a theme. It is also reasonable for an invited keynote to want to know the general themes of the conference, the target audiences, the themes and the conference strands prior to saying if they feel that they can offer something by attending. All this does prove a bit of an issue for the bunny (i.e. me) who is trying to coordinate the whole thing.

For the purposes of trying to give as much information as possible to the invited keynote speakers and the teachers we will soon be calling on to submit papers, Here are as many details as I can put down about the conference from the discussions held so far: (feel free to disagree via comments if I have left out or misinterpreted.)

• We are focusing on powerful learning using what is available to students in 2009 and beyond. Attendees should come away with enhanced understanding of how students in their care can be extended and supported to learn and succeed in the 21st century.
• The majority of our students are from privileged homes. They are surrounded by the latest technology and, for the most part, have access to telecommunications networks that many others dream of. They expect to be able to use information and communication technology for every aspect of their lives.
• Most of our teachers, librarians and administrators see the need to use ICT for learning across the curriculum. Most are able users of digital learning tools themselves. They do not need to be told the “Why”, they appreciate good examples of “What and How” in their own context.
• We really want to involve Administrators or Senior Management Teams of schools. This is important as some teachers feel that they cannot effect change in schools without SMT hearing the same message as them.
• We want to see students at the conference. This might be in presenting workshops, being part of discussions or even being on hand to assist and comment.

OK. I could probably put more points down but this is a start. Use the comment feature to add more if you wish.

How do we go about trying to distill these points into a clear theme and some clear guiding notes for keynote presenters and teachers proposing workshops?

How about borrowing a title from Jim Collins and coming up with “Good to Great: The Journey of International Examination Success AND Connected Global Citizens”

Would really welcome feedback.

Image: EduCon Wordle by christopherl