I want to report where the conference stands at the moment. First, a venue has been selected. I am in the process of booking the Nashville Public Library for April 1-2, from 9-4. I do not yet have sufficient funds to pay the whole $500 cost, so there is a possibility that someone could reserve the rooms first.
Second, I managed to find the first sponsor and the first partner for the company. ABC-CLIO, an educational database company, is sending $150 in exchange for a booth at the conference. My rule on this is firm: teachers can approach vendor sponsors if they are interested, but sponsors cannot approach teachers. Gordon Food Service has agreed to donate meat for 1 of the 2 days of the conference. In addition, their prices are fantastic compared to everything else I looked at. I can get lunch with dessert for $3 per person,
(may vary depending on the final menu). This is compared to $8-10 without dessert for all the catering places that I looked into in Nashville.
Third, the public wiki is finished. You can view it at http://teachmeetnashville.wikispaces.com. There is a tentative schedule of events planned out. I figured out how the presentations will work; there will be both 15 minute presentations and 7 minute micro-presentations. There will be round-table discussions: you can add ideas for discussion topics on our Wallwisher page. There will be an interactive lesson planning workshop. There will also be four expert panel discussions with an emphasis on audience interaction. Also, there will always be at least 2 choices on what to do while at the conference. Hopefully the choices and fast-paced nature of the conference will keep everyone engaged and interested. You can sign-up for no charge on the wiki as well. Please sign-up early so I can make sure that I buy enough food and so that I can have certificates ready in case your district supports conferences for in-service credit. You can also sign-up to present on the wiki if you are interested. Just leave your name, email, and topic. 2 people are already signed up to present on digital storytelling. A Clarksville teacher will be presenting on Xtranormal and @MrR0g3rs will be giving a live virtual presentation on how his class uses Animoto. @andycinek will also be virtually participating on our social networking panel discussion. The conference still needs a lot more participants to present, facilitate round-table discussions and workshops, and moderate discussions, so please sign-up.
Fourth, I finished the brochure for the conference and my wife finished the logo. I believe that most of our promotional materials are nearing their final stages. Some people on Twitter (@msmithpds, @Oh_the_Places, and @Phillip_Cummings, to say the least) are helping me to get in touch with school districts down here. I would like to get in touch with as many school districts as I can within driving distance of Nashville. I believe this conference can really be a benefit to teachers and I would like reach as many as teachers as possible. I know of a handful of people that are coming, but I need to spread the word better and farther. If you can help at all with this, please contact me.
Fifth, I’ve been in touch with several members of an innovative school district in Van Meter, Iowa including the superintendent @johnccarver, the high school principal @DeronDurflinger, the high school librarian @shannonmmiller, and the high school Spanish teacher @juli0810. These people are great educators and have been tremendously supportive. The Van Meter school district is doing some really outstanding things, particularly in the area of 1:1 laptops, and is a model school district. The principal and the superintendent have both agreed to come and to bring some of the teachers to present. I would love to bring them down, but I need to raise the travel funds to do so. Again, if you are interested in helping with this, please let me know.
Lastly, the biggest obstacle to this or any free conference is money. I am trying to find sponsorships. I went to the Green Hills and Opry Mills malls in Nashville today and met with no success. I am not giving up, but I may need to find another way to approach sponsors. I am going to try to meet with local stores next week, as well as Nashville area colleges, and the Army, which has a base and a thriving JROTC program in my town. I addition, I am going to continue to pursue educational vendors. Also, I am going to contact as many school districts as possible to see if any would be interested in partnering with the conference. Our food cost has been cut in half by Gordon Food Service, but I still need to raise at least $500-700 for food, another $350 for the location, probably $300 for supplies (certificates, promotional materials, table rentals, etc…), and $1000 to bring down the #vanmeter crew for a few days. I am also trying to find stores to help donate items to use as giveaways for the teachers. I would like to, at minimum, give away an iPod Touch and a netbook. Not to sound like a broken record, but if you can be of any help with any of this in any way, please let me know. We have some time, but we only have 2 months and need to pay for the venue sooner. I am optimistic and am sure that the conference will succeed, even if I cannot see all the details yet. Note to any sponsors, to have full transparency so you can be sure your money is spent wisely, I will be providing receipts and posting every purchase and price online on the wiki.
P.S. If I forgot to thank anyone here, please know that you are still appreciated and I could not do all this without you.
