Conversations in the hall...better than a workshop or keynote?

I was surprised when my best friend said that unlike me she loved highschool. Really? Why? Everything she went on to explain about her love of high school had NOTHING to do with classes or teachers. It was all about the fun she had in the halls, passing between classes, laughing with friends, checking out what people were wearing and gossiping about who thought who was cute. In other words, what she valued wasn’t what was happening in the classrooms, but rather the relationships she developed in the halls. It was this part of her high school experience that led her to the successful career she has today.

As I reflected upon my time at Educon this year I realized that sometimes we don’t give enough value to our time in the hall. In fact, my buddy  Mary Beth Hertz @mbteach even apologized to me for it as she encountered some friendly detours as we were moving together in the hall from one thing to the next. 

In our rush to get to the next session, workshop, or activity, sometimes we don’t stop and savor the smell those discussions that might be the roses that help our learning and personal growth bloom.  Instead of rushing off to sessions, what if instead we rushed over to people who had ideas we loved and wanted to explore further?

As I was hurrying off to a session on Saturday I saw Will Richardson @willrich45 camped out at a table in the hall. He seemed to be holding court as his fans passed by and shared ideas. I did the same and said, I was surprised to see he was not leading any conversations this year.  Instead, it looked like he had found quite a satisfying way to spend his time, though he told me he did indeed plan on attending sessions. I happened to notice a few tweets between Will and another Tweep who was critical of conferences and conference goers. Will shared that what he valued at conferences wasn't necessarily the sessions, and certainly not the vendors (Educon has no vendor floor), but rather connecting with new and old friends, face-to-face. Where does that happen best?  While it can happen in a session whispering in the back of the room, sometimes this leads to others sending a sneer your way.  The reality is it often happens in the halls.

My Educon "halllights" included my chat with Will Richardson to catch up on what is new and glean any new ideas from the cool things he was doing, a few moments with the host of the conference Chris Lehmann where he shared that he felt this year's conversations were the deepest so far, and a couple serendipitous conversations with David Ginsburg @CoachGinsburg who had some insightful advice and ideas about supporting learners outside a school environment.

I'm thinking at my next conference instead of sessions or workshops I might just plant myself in the hall and put out a shingle that says, “Come talk to me about…” If I do, I hope you’ll reconsider rushing off to that next session or event, and giving me a chance to be your conference "halllight."