Powhiri, preconferences, unconference – the conference has begun

Tuesday was the first day of Ulearn 09 with many eager delegates coming a day early to take part in the powhiri, preconference workshops and the first Ulearn unconference.

Delegates were welcomed to Ulearn09 at the powhiri and reminded that knowledge can be found all over the world and we need to be open and listen to each other and learn from each other. (Blog reflections on the powhiri)

Preconference workshops covered many topics: Leading learning, preparing your school for change through to communicating powerfully with photography.

The first ever ulearn unconference was held in a room overlooking the lovely gardens in Christchurch and the conversations were just as striking. People moved from group to group discussing topics such as the structure of schools, open source software, and sharing the latest and greatest online finds. Myna was one of these finds which is an online audio application similar to Garage Band, which was my new learning of the day.

A highlight of the unconference was for people to meet the people in their social networks. There were many exclamations of ‘You look just like your avatar!’. There will be many more connections made over the next three days.