I scoured the Internet to find other blog posts on the Council for Exceptional Children convention, which wrapped up last week.
Christine Southard’s Blogspot delved into assistive technology and co-teaching.
Daniel McNulty, blogging on behalf of an assistive technology project in Indiana, talked about his own presentation on using iPods in the classroom.
Dorophoria found some sessions she liked, but complained that the titles of some presentations didn’t match the actual content. Pat at Successful Teaching offers to share some of her notes on multicultural education of students with different learning needs, and reveals her sweet crush on “The Fonz"—actor Henry Winkler, who has dyslexia, was the keynote speaker this year.
Kate at Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs found a few sessions that interested her, but struggled to find relevance in the conference to the children she teaches, who have severe and profound disabilities.
I understand those concerns. This is the third CEC convention I’ve attended, and I always find it a rich source of story ideas. However, I’m not attending with a teacher’s mindset. I understand how easy it would be to be overwhelmed if I went there looking for specific guidance on one small area of the special education world. Six thousand attendees, hundreds of sessions ... it’s a lot.
I’m also surprised that the CEC itself didn’t ask a squadron of attendees to produce a blog. The organization already has a blog; it would have been a great resource for the many teachers who can’t afford to spend the time or the money to attend the event in person. Maybe next year?
If there are other blogs that I missed, or if you just want to share your own impressions of the conference, please add a note or link in the comments section.