Teaching teachers social media and technology

It seems like each four minutes there's a new event happening in Boston proper or across the river where I sit typing right now.

These events range from knitting circles to test drive tweetups, and the thing these events have in common is that they're increasingly organized via social media tools.

So imagine my surprise when I found out this morning in one of the first sessions at the Social Technology and Education Conference at Harvard University, that this very conference was completely organized without any traditional marketing.

That's right. The conference was publicized only with new media tools like Twitter and Eventbrite and other Web tools.

Not coincidentally, the conference is designed to assist educators in using these tools and understanding the impact technology has on the classroom.

Seriously?

So you're telling me that you reached out to people who need to know about social media technology tools ONLY USING these same social media tools?

I shake my head. Perhaps the half-full Radcliffe Gymnasium would be jammed to the rafters with teachers and administrators if other means were used in conjunction with new media.

In fact, I spoke with a representative from the Somerville Public Scools Wednesday and they weren't aware the conference was happening.

Aside from a possible marketing misstep, I laud the organizers for the content. So far this morning I've heard some content-rich (really informative) sessions about technology tools - and these were just the primers.

Better still, some of the materials are available on the Web for those who hear about the conference after the fact.

I'll be sharing those materials right here - see links below - and I'll definitely be more proactive in letting the people in my circles know about valuable conferences like this as they happen.

Conference Overview

Conference Slides

The Twitter hashtag is #steconf if you want to follow along online.

What are you attending this week and next that we might not know about?