Inspired by Silvia, Johnathan and Simon, Chrissy and I will be hosting a K12 Online LAN (local area network) party this Saturday morning at my apartment in downtown Bangkok. Unfortunately we’re a little late getting started because of the way our October break fell on the school calendar this year, but we are no less enthusiastic!

Already we have some of my amazing colleagues joining us: Heather, Sara, Ali, Tara, and of course Chrissy and I. I was fortunate to also attend a meeting of Bangkok international school librarians yesterday afternoon and hope to see a few of those familiar faces Saturday morning. I wish I knew more of my fellow teachers here in the city – given that there are over 90 international schools in Thailand, I would guess that we have a captive audience. It’s just a matter of getting the word out!

So, earlier this week, I sent around the following e-mail to all of my colleagues at ISB and to as many fellow international school teachers as I know here in Thailand:

Dear Fabulous Colleagues,


As some of you may know, there is an amazing (and totally free) conference happening online right now! It’s called the K12Online conference and it features digital presentations (videos, podcasts, wikis, VoiceThreads) by some of the leading minds in 21st century learning.

Topics range from project-based learning, to using video conferencing in the classroom, to connecting students through global projects, to dealing with the rapid pace of technological change as a classroom teacher, and more.

All of these presentations are described and posted online at the conference website: http://k12onlineconference.org/

But wait, there’s more!

Chrissy Hellyer (grade 5 teacher) and I would like to invite you to a K12Online Local Area Network pot-luck brunch party on Saturday, November 8th from 10:00 – noon to watch the best of the best presentations and discuss how we can use these new ideas in our teaching.
What: A mind-bending, inspiring, and energizing conversation about new teaching and learning practices based on a variety of K12Online presentations
When: Saturday November 8th from 10:00 am – noon (and now you’re already downtown for a day of shopping and dining in the city!)
Where: Kim’s apartment, downtown Bangkok
Why: to get geeked! And to enjoy a delicious pot-luck brunch!

I will download all of the presentations so that we can watch as many as we want and everyone can walk away with all of the presentations to watch when you have time.

We would also love to open this up to other international school teachers here in Bnagkok, so if you know any other teachers that might be interested in attending, please pass it on!

Please let us know if you’re planning on coming so we can prepare :)

Kim and Chrissy

So if you’re teaching here in Bangkok, or just happen to be in the city (it’s amazing how many people come through Bangkok on a regular basis), or even if you’re not, we would absolutely love to have you join us – either in person or via Skype!

Anyone have any suggestions for how to host this kind of party? I barely even have any wall space to project the presentations on to… I definitely need to start thinking logistics!

9 thoughts on “K12 Online LAN Party in Bangkok

  1. Kim, this is a great initiative! Good luck. I do hope you get a keen group of people attending (I know you will).
    I have a 21st century learners group here in Qatar made up of educators from Qatar Academy and others in Doha. We are getting together Friday November 7th (also our weekend) to watch week 2 K12 Online conference clips. Maybe we can plan to link together for future meetings/get togethers?

  2. Oooo! I am wishing I was there in Bangkok this Saturday! I’ve been following your blog for several months now and am very inspired by your work. I’m trying to figure out te time difference between Minnesota and there to see if I can Skype in, if that is really OK to crash your party. I love your invite and just may mimic you with a party of my own. Would love to know how it turns out for you!

    Geek out!
    Linda

  3. Very cool Kim! Looks like you started a fire. Maybe you could Ustream some of it and leave a link to the recording on the post on the K12 Online blog. Depending on how the conversation goes you might want to submit it as a critique or presentation for notK12 Online, they’re running through November 16.

    Cheers!
    Darren

  4. Hey Kim – found a proxy that let me peek at your site through the ‘Great Firewall of China’ ;-) Just worked out the time difference and our LAN parties in Bangkok & Shanghai are starting at exactly the same time this morning – let’s connect!

  5. @Julie,

    Thank you! I would love to get our two groups together – all the work you are doing with professional development is such an inspiration to me! It would be so fabulous for our teachers here in Bangkok to see that this is happening in schools all around the world! Let’s do it!

    @dierksl,

    Thank you so much! You are absolutely welcome to Skype in – it is always amazing to see how many people all around the world are engaged in this kind of learning, and for many of the teachers attending this Saturday, this may be the first time they experience something like that!

    @Darren,

    Good idea! I will see if I can figure out how to uStream or even just record and post later. I have to see how the group feels about having their conversation recorded :) Thanks for the ideas!

    @Jonathan,

    Excellent! I know our teachers are going to be so excited to see other international school teachers engaging in the same experience!

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