EduCon 2.1 - A Conference Worth Attending

Last Spring I wrote a post about a visit to the Science Leadership Academy whose principal Chris Lehmann hosts an annual conference in Philadelphia. Registration is now open for the conference, EduCon 2.1, which is the second annual conference and conversation on education and innovation hosted by Philadelphia's Science Leadership Academy in conjunction with The Franklin Institute. The conference takes place Jan. 23-25, 2009 at the Science Leadership Academy 55 N. 22nd Street in Philadelphia. During the conference, educators from around the world will descend upon Philly to teach, to think and to learn how to improve their own practices and inform the larger dialogue on education as well.

EduCon is built on the Axioms:
1) Our schools must be inquiry-driven, thoughtful and empowering for all members
2) Our schools must be about co-creating -- together with our students -- the 21st Century Citizen
3) Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.
4) Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate and collaborate
5) Learning can -- and must -- be networked.

Visit the EduCon wiki at http://educon21.wikispaces.com to learn about the conversation schedule. Aside from the conversations, Friday night will feature a panel discussion where deep thinkers from various non-academic strata investigate the question, "What is the purpose of school?" While the need for a new educational course is clear, the path to that shift is not as obvious. Sunday's panel will highlight those divergent paths as educational leaders for varying pedagogies engage each other in an attempt to make the case for how we should approach our educational evolution.

EduCon will also feature a pre-conference event on Jan 22nd this year - "Constructing Modern Math/Science Knowledge" with participants Dr. David Thornburg, Dr. Gary Stager and more.

The stage is set for an amazing conference. No vendors. No sponsors. Simply - ideas, inquiry and pedagogy.

What to do next…

Show up.

General conference registration is $150 and $100 for School District of Philadelphia employees and includes Friday admittance to SLA's partner museum The Franklin Institute and The National Constitution Center. Pre-Conference registration is $100.

If you have any questions, please contact Chris Lehmann at chris@practicaltheory.org.

You have read this article chris lehmann / EduCon / Science Leadership Academy with the title EduCon 2.1 - A Conference Worth Attending. You can bookmark this page URL http://machining33.blogspot.com/2008/12/educon-21-conference-worth-attending.html. Thanks!