A surge of edtech folks converged on Vancouver Island University Nov 6 & 7 for the BCCampus ETUG (Educational Technology User Group) Fall Workshop.  Among the topics addressed in panels and roundtables were cloud computing apps, Web2.0 freedom of information and privacy considerations stemming from Patriot Act, and issues around internationalization of curriculum and the opportunities/challenges presented by open content. The Learn Together Collaboratory  was officially launched during the workshop – kudos to all of the Collaboratory project team at VIU for a job well done.  See the workshop wiki for more details and resource links.

I facilitated the last workshop of the day by attempting to get everyone to make note of what they learned.  Using a few different technologies and methods, folks edited a wiki using an iPhone, MacBook, and Windows-based laptop, while other groups made notes on a Smartboard and ‘WiiHacked Whiteboard’ designed specially for the occasion with the invaluable assistance of Andrew Marchand of VIU.  Great fun and lots of great questions from folks interested in the potential of DIY smart surfaces using the WiiMote.

Another discovery I absolutely must mention is Fascinating Rhythm – a wonderous music store in downtown Nanaimo.  This gem is jam packed with vintage record players, radios, and literal corridors of vinyl records.  I spent over an hour wandering around the stacks simply agog at the collection.