Tuesday afternoon and the Laptop Institute is almost over. As the last sessions begin to wrap up I have to once again note just what a gem this conference has become.

While the great sessions and learning that is going on here is wonderful, the best part about LI is the imtimate nature of the event. With a little over 500 people, you actually get to see many of the same people in sessions, over lunch, in the vendor area, etc.

I led two workshops today. The first, on global, collaborative on-line projects was well-received. We talked a bit about the basics of why, how and where to do these projects and then tried to play matchmaker a bit… I could see at least several projects being germinated within the closing discussions, many based on ideas we shared in the session. The 25 or so participants seemed to have a positive face as they left.

The second, on wikis, surprised me in respect to demand. Fifteen minutes before the session people started coming in to the classroom, designed for 25 students or so. By session start time the room was full with over 60 people spilling into the hallways. It was certainly a great motivation that fueled me. Over the 90 minutes we managed to get anyone who had brought their laptop set up on a wiki and I shared many of wiki tips and tricks in my 10 (not-so) Secrets About Wikis presentation. The feedback and energy was tremendous, and I have been talking to people about wikis for the past hour as the conversations continued outside the presentation. It was worth the trip just for that!

Later tonite we get to relax a bit and enjoy Beale Street (although I probably won’t get to see the Redbirds play!)…and look forward (hopefully!) to next year. If you have a 1:1 program or are even thinking about it…this is a must do!

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