Take a Train to NECC 2009!
This past spring, my family and I took a weekend excursion on the Heartland Flyer AMTRAK train which connects Oklahoma City with Fort Worth. We had a fantastic experience. Although our train ride lasted about six hours, for a trip which can be completed by car in about four hours, the benefits of traveling by train definitely outweighed the drawbacks. This summer for the NECC 2009 conference in Washington D.C., our family is again considering rail travel. I was delighted to learn recently that AMTRAK is offering discounted fares for “Sleepers, Business Class or First Class seats with payment of the full applicable accommodation charges” on AMTRAK for NECC2009 attendees.
Train Tracks in Dalhart, Texas
This discount is offered as “Convention Fare Code X11V-951″ and ironically CANNOT be booked online, you must call or utilize a travel agent who must call to use this deal. See the NECC conference site information for AMTRAK for complete details.
I am captivated by the idea of students and teachers becoming “storychasers” on a train trip between different U.S. cities. Dr. Mike Searson of Kean University has been helping lead student trips to other countries, like Costa Rica for several years, on which students use blogs, digital cameras, video cameras, and media sharing websites to document as well as share their learning journeys with the world. I interviewed Dr. Searson at NECC 2007 in Atlanta about his experiences with iStories and student travel. There are multiple benefits to “storychasing” travel experiences like these, which combine travel and learning with the utilization of new media technologies including the social web.
Jifu G, one of the Colorado High School students attending the recent U.S. Presidential inauguration about which I posted last week on ISTEconnects, provides a case in point of how student travel blogs can directly benefit others. Jifu wrote his four favorite experiences in the Washington D.C. area (in addition to the actual inauguration ceremony, I’m sure) were:
- Visiting the U.S. Capitol
- Visiting the Library of Congress
- Attending an inaugural ball
- Going on an Alexandria ghost tour
Unless I’d read Jifu’s blog post, I might not have considered going on a ghost tour when our family is in Washington D.C. this summer for NECC. Alexandria Colonial Tours is one group which offers a “Ghost & Graveyard Tour” in Alexandria. In addition to visiting the website of the tour company, however, I’d recommend you give a listen to 8th Grade US History teacher Eric Langhorst’s podcast about the Alexandria Ghost Tours from January 2007. Eric (who was the 2007/2008 Missouri State Teacher of the Year) regularly shares his experiences from his classroom as well as professional development trips to different parts of his state and our nation via blog posts and podcasts. How wonderful to be able to learn from other educators and students who have recently been to our nation’s capitol and have shared their favorite sights!
University professor Mike Searson, high school student Jifu G, and middle school teacher Eric Langhorst each provide compelling examples of how access to and appropriate use of new media technologies can open up new doors of learning for others around the world. Can you imagine how fun it would be to take a train trip to and from NECC with educators and students like Mike, Jifu and Eric, who have blogs and podcasts and aren’t afraid to use them?!
NECC 2009 has me fired up! I can’t wait for the train to leave the station. :-)
4 Comments
Howard J Martin
Wednesday, 28th January 2009 at 8:36 am
My honeymoon (18yrs ago) was Amtrak from Houston to Glacier Nat Park, Montana. The sleeper experience was great!
My only concern with the long train ride is the lack of wi-fi. How can I blog the trip without a connection?? Ooo, withdrawal would set in until I found an iPhone onboard.
Thanks for posting this. I’m actually going to consider it for NECC.
Wes Fryer
Thursday, 29th January 2009 at 12:23 am
Well Howard, there’s always 3G network cards to consider using when the train passes through urban areas! :-)
Last year some friends and I used a 3G card to share a live broadcast over Ustream on the way down to NECC in San Antonio! We weren’t on a train, but we could have been! (We had to wait till we were in the 3G coverage area of Fort Worth to do it.)
Dennis Grice
Monday, 2nd February 2009 at 10:40 am
Wes,
I love the idea of taking the train. Last year I decided to avoid the hassle of the red-eye, putting my shampoo into tiny clear bottles, and taking my shoes off at security and take Amtrak’s California Zephyr to Chicago with my Dad. (I posted the story on my blog, click my name above to see it.) We both enjoyed it had some great conversations with some really interesting people.
In a couple of weeks I’ll be taking the Coast Starlight from LA to Portland for the ITSC & NCCE Conference.
I’m intrigued by the idea of a group of educators riding the train to DC for NECC. While the trip from the West coast might be a little long, I’m not opposed to flying half way, meeting up with a bunch of teachers, and riding together. I’ve got a 3G Blackberry that supports tethering and am ready to ride the rails.
Dennis
Four NECC 2009 Travel Tips for the Budget Conscious | ISTE’s NECC09 Blog
Thursday, 26th February 2009 at 8:00 am
[...] Wes Fryer has a great post about the use of Amtrak and the NECC specific discount here. [...]
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