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Educon is described as “both a conversation and a conference”. Although I don’t want to romanticize Educon as a learning event, one of the things I appreciate the most is the nature of the presentations. They are indeed conversations. Dialog and open thinking are essential to the “structure” of the sessions. And, often, the conversations spill over to the hallways, the stairways, the meals, and of course, in virtual spaces. Back to the quotation above, it resonates greatly on a number of dimensions. The essence of its message to me is that innovation happens as a result of continued open exchange of ideas in conjunction with intentional and serendipitous expansion of one’s learning network. It is this open and networked exchange of ideas that leads to the creation of new ideas.

Go up to any adult with a good life, no matter what his or her station, and ask if a teacher made a difference, and you’ll always see a face light up. The human element, a magical connection, is at the heart of successful education, and you can’t bottle it.

My father would have been spat out by today’s test-driven educational regime.

Probe one of those illuminated faces further, and you can also usually elicit memories of a particularly bad teacher.