Join Martin Institute and FUSE Events From Home!

What are you doing June 10-11 and June 25-26?  At home?  Re-bounding from the end of the school year?  Want to join some super talented colleagues and energizing conference sessions from the comfort of your sofa?  Lurk and work with us at these two events via Twitter.  If you have not remotely participated in a conference via Twitter before, you will be amazed how well you can “see” and hear what is going on, interact with attendees in the sessions, and grow your professional network.  And that will be particularly available at these two events, which will be packed with a real Who’s Who of K-12 educational thought leaders and social media connectors.  So join in!

The Martin Institute Summer Conference is a meeting of nearly 800 educators with a theme this year of “Learning Forward”.  There will be general sessions with inspirational educational thought leaders Ron Berger, Donald Hense, Rafe Esquith, and Lee Burns, and more than 40 unique active learning workshops.  Use #micon14, and check in with us starting at 9 am ET on June 10.

In its third year, FUSE is a two-day immersion in design thinking…and design doing.  FUSE is a powerful experience created by Mount Vernon Presbyterian School and the Mount Vernon Institute for Innovation, leaders of design thinking in education. With attendance restricted to about 100 attendees (I was able to wrangle an invitation at sort of the last minute!) FUSE has become the premier meeting place for K-12 design thinkers and thought leaders.  Use #fuse14, with the action starting at 8 am ET on June 25.

Tips for off-site participation via Twitter:

• Follow the thread using the hashtag.
• Feel free to comment; just because you are not physically there does not mean you can’t participate! We call this conversation a “back channel”; these have become valuable parts of the events for those both on and off-site.
• “Follow” those with whom you have interaction; it is a great way to grow your PLC and your social media footprint.
• Share resources that might be valuable to the on-site and other off-site attendees.
• Don’t feel that you have to stick with the event all day. Check in from time to time.  The hashtag will always give you a full review, and you can scroll through them from time to time if you are working on something else (or relaxing).

If you still do not have a Twitter account, here is a YouTube video to help you get started.

See you on the Twitter feed in June for #MICon14 and #FUSE14!