Louise's highs and lows

Overall I think it has been a good conference (or two conferences - in fact, I've just thought, overlapping the end of BbWorld and the start of devcon makes it actually a portmaneau conference!! bloomin'el...they're everywhere). I agree with Paul that you had to look a little harder than usual for the gems but I have still come back with loads of ideas...

Highs

• It is impossible to place anything at the highest point on the lists of conference highs than Michael Chasen - he is just a class act and vfm everytime
• kadoo - I really liked it, its potential is huge...and to a lesser extent (cos we already knew a bit about it) Expo - at last, two new kids on the "could be used for e-portfolios" block
• catching up with lots and lots of Bb people I haven't seen in a while either cos they work for someone else (like Dan) or have been promoted into some new incomprehensible role (Paul G, Demetra) and also I really enjoyed the steering group re-union and Michael Crock's enthusiastic response to e-agenda
• the portmanteau competition - great fun, completely absorbing all my early morning attention - thanks everyone rfor joining in esp for surridium (it will live on forever) and Shamedropmanteau (thanks to Abbi, it may have missed the competition deadline but is so special it is worth an extra mention here)
• safeassign and App Pack 3 - actual big announcements that mean something now
• our exec workshop session - response was completely unexpected, very flattering and a bit overwhelming. I thought people would just think of it as an amusing anecdote not much else.
• gasps from the 7.30 participants when we did before and after portal screenshots - as I've said before, you do forget - esp when we were asked by Bb staff if we'd be interested in working with them to redevelop their training site cos ours looks so much better than theirs

Lows

• unavoidably...it has to be the WebCT factor - not the ex-WebCT staff, it's the WebCT clients - they have spent years being superior about choosing the more "selective" small Canadian product that is harder to use than everything else (ergo their staff are smarter than ours) and claiming greater pedagogical integrity (which has still never been validated) now they don't know how to feel. Especially their "names" who have been used to being treated like royalty at these events and are now the same size fish as the rest of us. They really really do need to get over it and on with it.
• not spending much time with presidium (esp Andrew - I'd got some AP knowledge card games for us to play) and others - we started out by trying to pace ourselves so as not to repeat Dallas but we ended up being so tired we never shifted gear.
• not enjoying the party as much as we would have liked because of the spectre of the 7.30 session looming - never again!!...fortunately that is what Kerry Jo said too
• the photo thing esp the spinning atop Malcolm Murray's forehead, enough already!!!
• American Airlines.... another one off my list.

one final word that Mary and I encountered at the airport, like it was a tribute to the whole trip , enjoy!:

croissan'wich!!!