I wonder what we could prototype from your list

I don’t think this would be so tough to do, and to an extent some of this is already happening:

1. Try to revamp the networking lounge (in the exhibition center) at conferences.
2. Hire a single blogger and give them the reigns of one of the blogs. I don’t believe JRME has a blog, which is a shame — maybe someone could do that?
3. Pick a city, pick a weekend, try to host a tweetup there.
4. Host a writing contest for classroom stories, or whatever.

Just to clarify, this isn’t Pershan’s Grand Plan to Revamp NCTM. Just a bunch of small ideas that are in line with a particular vision of the future.

http://climeconnections.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-conference-experience-like-no-other.html

“New Event

Please note NCTM is introducing a NEW learning experience in St. Louis, Nov. 16—18, 2016. This new event will add an exciting, innovative, and fresh format to the current NCTM portfolio of conferences.
St. Louis | November 16—18, 2016
The focus is “Engaging the Struggling Learner.” Expect new presentation formats, speaker requirements, and hybrid proposal process to include crowd-sourcing for sessions and topics. More information will be available soon about the conference and the submission process for this focused event.
”

Interesting.

It should be stated that the photo would not have existed without Lani Horn setting up the event, Mike Flynn for upping the reservations, Andrew Stadel for the brilliant idea to invite the NCTM leadership to come, and Eric Milou for his ever present support. It was definitely cool to have Diane Briars (NCTM) and Bob Doucette (NCTM executive director) there. I know Matt Larson (NCTM president-elect) would have been there too if it wasn’t for the massive storm.

One thing I am very happy about is the merging of communities within NCTM program committees. I believe every single upcoming program committee has one or more people who are active on social media in mathematics. This is certain to further blend communities. We are so much better together.

NCTM leadership continues to build bridges and be incredibly supportive of its members. Looking forward to continued growth.

I was also uncertain about the interactive conference program idea and it was nice to prototype it in a small and then a medium way. I wonder what we could prototype from your list, what would tell you, “Yeah, this idea has legs, or naw.”

Others are taking the lesson that these people matter, that their enthusiasm matters, that twitter and the internet more broadly matters.

While not dismissing those points, I take different lessons out of my last six years online and as part of math teacher communities. The lessons I take are that relationships matter, knowing people matter, and that there is an intense felt need in the profession to share and reflect in the company of others. So my little list is an attempt to summarize this slightly more relationship-focused perspective.

How do you know that’s something everyone needs rather than something that Michael Pershan needs?

1. Redesign conferences so that attendees attend fewer sessions but spend more time meeting new best teacher friends.

This is my take about why people love the TMC experience.

2. Find a bunch of bloggers and pay them free membership and an extra journal to blog about whatever they want for NCTM.

My take on the blogosphere is that people prefer to follow individuals — people they can learn to trust and love — rather than group blogs.

3. Make local meetups/tweetups throughout the country happen.

This is my take on what people love about local tweetups that emerge from online meetings.

4. Fund and design a series of awards and professional distinctions that are only available to working teachers who are members of NCTM.

This is my take on part of what people enjoy about the experience of blogging and tweeting — the chance, as a classroom teacher, for your ideas to matter to other people and be recognized for excellence.

5. Find a better PR strategy for publicizing whatever policy advocacy is happening from NCTM.

This is because I don’t know what NCTM does with its policy stuff but apparently they do stuff?

What else to try? Here’s what I’d urge.

Yeah, but why? What are your priors for those changes? How do those changes help sustain a professional guild or its conferences?

I overheard (?) your tweets about problem solving in an empty room at NCTM. Several of your suggestions in particular seem to flow from that vein. How do you know that’s something everyone needs rather than something that Michael Pershan needs?

Brandon Dorman:

I feel like the CMC South conference does a great job of facilitating this as well but perhaps the Sched page could use more.

The Sched pages are purdy but there isn’t any way to comment on them, no way to host interactions between speakers & attendees. That’s a pretty big shortcoming IMO.