General Thoughts about Educause 05 – so far

We're halfway done with Wednesday.  Here are a few general thoughts I had:

Sessions

High quality.  I've picked up a number of good ideas from the presenters in several areas.  These are ideas I'll take back to mull over with others in our IT community.  Perhaps I'll even try a few.  I've heard positive feedback from many other attendees as well.

Vendors & Exhibit Areas

Amazing.  The number of vendors and the level of sophistication in their booth presentations far exceeded my expectations. 

• There were several booths with head-mounted microphones
• At least 2 vendors encouraged you to play Texas Hold ‘Em for prizes
• I saw 2 vendors that had movie themes in their presentations (the Godfather and James Bond)
• Lots and lots of great swag (thanks guys)

Connectivity and Computing

The next time I come to Educause, I’m bringing my own gas powered generator so I’ll have power for my laptop.  If only I could get it through the security check at the airport.

Everyone has laptops.  In this morning’s session with Scott McNealy, there were dozens and dozens of laptops open and running.  Attendees try to get to their sessions early in order to scope out seats close to power outlets so they won’t have to run on battery for an hour.  

The wireless networking has been ubiquitous and of high quality.  Anywhere you go in the spacious Convention Center, you can find the Educause wireless network.  The only issue I had was this morning during McNealy’s speech.  It took awhile before I could get an IP address on the network (remember those dozens and dozens of laptops?) and it was a bit slow when I finally was able to finagle a connection. 

Otherwise, it’s great.  The planners did a good job with the facilities.

Exercise

The University of Texas is a big place and I’m used to walking.  However, I thought since this was going to be held in a convention center, I wouldn’t have to walk as much.

I was wrong.

Just getting in to the convention center is a chore and everything is very, very spread out.  On Monday, I parked my rental car behind the center and it took me nearly 15 minutes to get to the registration desk in the front of the building.  I tried to determine if the Vendor Exhibit Hall was 2 or 3 football fields in size.  It’s just big.  The shuttle bus driver told me that the Orlando Convention Center is the 2nd largest convention center in the United States.  I feel it.