In Honolulu

Over the next few days, the Sheraton Waikiki will be bustling with ED-MEDIA presenters and participants. Pre-conference workshops beging tomorrow (Monday) and the main conference itself starts on Tuesday.

This is my first visit to Hawaii – a breathtaking experience! Beautiful oceanic views, lovely beaches, friendly people, and great food provide an ideal setting for ED-MEDIA (and, as a side note, I managed to get a pleasant sunburn after only 60 minutes at the pool…guess it’s all part of the experience, right?).

As will be presented in the opening welcome to the conference, we’ve made some progress in increasing conference interactivity this year through the use of emerging technologies. For example:

We are using Twitter to encourage idea sharing and opportunities for attendees to connect with others. Please use the #edmedia tag in your conference-related posts. If you upload images to Flickr, please tag them with “edmedia” so we can find them :).

A ning site has been setup to support conference conversations. Please feel free to join. We would like to see ED-MEDIA as a resource that is available to attendees year-round, rather than only during the annual conference.

If you’re reading this, then you are obviously aware of the ED-MEDIA blog. Updates, reactions, and comments will be posted here through out the conference.

Numerous networking opportunities have been set up through out the conference through luncheons, informal conversations, and conference activities. More information is available on the conference social events page.

In the spirit of emerging technologies, what conference organizers do/plan is only a starting point. What do you want to do? What do you feel the conference needs? A conference is a forum for interaction. As ED-MEDIA evolves, we will be looking to you as attendees to suggest and initiate changes.

Looking forward to a wonderful conference! (and, if you spend time by the pool, don’t forget sun block :)).