Conferences, Presentations, Etc.
Ed. Tech., conferences, presentations December 4th, 2008
There’s been a slightly disconnected conversation within/across my learning network/environment about conferences, presentations, etc. At the risk of sending you away, here are some posts I’ve read:
- Dan Meyer blogged and Tweeted from and about ILC and was his usual critical (though I think constructively critical) self.
- Sylvia Martinez, I learned through her comments to Dan, had written a while ago about how conference presenters might be better selected.
- Ben Grey very recently wrote about the power of conferences.
- Then, today, David Warlick wondered if the availability of a Ning site along with pre-conference handouts would stop people from attending conferences.
Most of what I’ve been reading can be pretty well summarized thusly: conferences are important learning opportunities because the f-2-f conversations (especially the informal/unplanned ones) that happen are great, but, for the most part, the presentations suck.
That statement about sums up my experiences as well, especially at “academic” conferences (what a ridiculous distinction, BTW).
So, here I go thinking “out loud” about the sort of conferences I’d like to attend (NOTE: this thinking is mostly related to ed. tech. conferences, but many of the ideas are applicable to any sort of conference). In general terms, if I could have read what you are going to present, I don’t need to hear and see you tell me what you’ve written. Also, if you could have “delivered” your presentation by publishing it on the Web (see e.g. K12Online), you might want to re-think what you’re doing at the conference. More specifically:
*No keynote or featured speaker presentations by anyone who has recently written a book. Along the lines of Dan Meyer’s “cover the stuff I can’t Google,” if I can read the book, I don’t need to sit and listen to you summarize it.
*More moderated panel discussions and/or point/counterpoint sessions. If I have to just sit there and listen, I’m much more inclined to listen to people speaking with each other spontaneously. Wouldn’t you enjoy listening to a point/counterpoint with Gary Stager and…well…anybody and everybody?
*No more large-scale demonstration sessions (especially of the “How I used Google Earth in my classroom!” variety). In addition to the vendor exhibit halls (hey, someone’s gotta fund the conference and give away swag), have a massive project demonstration room. Think Poster Session 2.0. Allow me to walk around from booth to booth and to converse with the folks about their projects and to view their various (digital, print, etc.) project artifacts. All I’d need ahead of time is abstracts of the projects and I’d know which booths I’d want to visit/explore and at least one or two beginning questions. This, BTW, might also be a good place to involve students. If there were students at the booths to talk about their involvement in the projects, I’d love to talk to them about it and I think they’d be more comfortable in the more intimate setting than in front of hundreds of people at once.
*Figure out ways to facilitate discussion/conversations. For example, perhaps offer fewer but longer sessions. Then, IF the person(s) assigned to lead the session choose(s) to make a presentation, he/she/they must leave equal time for discussion about the presentation. Also, configure the rooms so that they are more suitable to discussion/conversations. If I have to stare at the back of people’s heads, you’ve lost me before the session even begins.
Essentially, I think those that organize conferences MUST figure out what they can do that either can’t be done online or that can be done better or differently f-2-f. To that end, it seems to me that the root of the word “conference” is confer. And, according to Dictionary.com, to confer means “to consult together; compare opinions; carry on a discussion or deliberation.” That’s what I want to do at f-2-f conferences. In 2009, I’m headed to Educon 2.1, VSTE, CoSN, AERA, NECC…think I’ll get what I want?
Any other thoughts on how to improve conferences?
Tags: conferences, presentations
Honestly I love working booth duty at conferences. It makes it easy for people to find me and for me to have a lot of great f2f conversations. One thing I notice is that name badges always get turned over. I have been to a few conferences where the badges have names on both sides. I wish they all did that.
One of the unique things about the FDG conference (http://www.foundationsofdigitalgames.org/) is that it is on a cruise ship. Conversations can go on all day and into the night. And they do. It may help that Internet is very expensive and phone is even more so.
These are great ideas, but would you also agree that part of the problem is conference fatigue? I know the traditional format gets old fast when you attend several a year, but something about it is clearly working for enough attendees that the conferences stay the same, and people keep coming. I’ve suffered through sessions where the room sits silent during an attempt at interactive discussion, and a crowd is banging down the door at the end of the hour to get a seat for the show-and-tell on Microsoft Office 2007. Evidently some people want the very format that we think sucks. And, unfortunately, for many teachers, getting to attend a conference is a major reward rather than an expected professional development opportunity, which doesn’t do much for raising expectations. I’m curious how conferences - especially the big ones - can start to make space for different kinds of conference learners and move toward a more interactive format.
One other idea - I’ve found that sessions/panels are much better at conferences where they are selected, at least in part, by attendees (SXSW Interactive, for example). I’d love to see some education conferences try this out.
Hey Jon. Good stuff. We actually considered the Poster Sessions 2.0 idea a few months back when we were going to host a small conference. Turns out that it was a really good idea. We had a limited number of attendees, but it was obvious the group was able to control the learning and everyone enjoyed that. It is a version we are going to try again in the summer when we host a conference for 300-400 folks.
Emily is right, though. Those who attend fewer conference just like that format because they get “fed” differently. I wonder what it would be like if a large conference chose to offer a split conference where space was set aside for both styles of presenting/facilitating/learning. Which side would have more applications to present? Which side would be busier? Which side would give better evaluations? Which side would have a better rate of returning participants?
We may never know. Oh well. Look for me in the Blogger’s Cafe gleaning knowledge from the masters of the trade. You know, the ones I choose to sit at the feet of instead of in a row wondering how I can escape.
I’m sure there is something to the notion of “conference fatigue,” but I might code that differently. I’m guessing that those of us who struggle with these issues are folks who have taken to networked learning in its many forms. We are self-directed and collaborative, so the one-to-many format fails us.
@Alfred, I like the simple idea of putting names on both sides of the nametag. That said, there has to be a better way to identify ourselves; it’s always SO awkward looking at somonde’s midsection trying to read their name. Maybe a tattoo on our foreheads? (-:
Good thoughts, Jon.
I’m having a difficult time determining why I walked away from three days at ILC so deflated while three days at CMC-North has me bouncing off walls.
It may be an issue of interest, true — I care more about math ed than tech —— but give the same presentation outline on (eg.) “Wildlife of the Serengeti” to any randomly selected presenter at CMC-North and any randomly selected presenter at ILC, and my money’s on the CMC presenter every time to put up something lively, engaging, visual, and audience enfolding, scaled up by thirty extra minutes no less.
There is a lack of substantive criticism in the edtechno-blogosphere, I think, which is mirrored in these presentations, where people hop up to the front of the class for an unfocused, but definitely emotional, show-and-tell, and few people either care enough or have enough temerity to suggest that higher standards should apply. The feedback mechanism is, by and large, overly polluted by emotion.
By contrast, the crowds at CMC-North are vicious, though constructively so. I appreciate this and I know that overall session quality has risen to the occasion. As educators, the stakes are too high and the time constraints too stringent to settle for anything less than our best efforts, even if hearing that we shouldn’t lecture from bulleted slides for an hour is painful.
Just came across your blog here from the link on the EduCon site. Your discussion here really grabbed my attention.
The very reason I’m traveling all the way to PA to a conference (from TN) is because I am so deathly sick of conferences. I don’t quite know what to expect from this one, but at least I can see that the people closely involved with it are passionate about what they are doing.
If I can’t leave a confernece feeling as though I’ve learned something worth learning, had my eyes opened to an idea I hadn’t considered, and had my batteries recharged by being around people who are energized by what they are doing, then it was an incredible waste of my district’s limited funds.
Most conferences I go to feel as though someone from high up the food chain forced someone else to have a conference and subject the rest of us to it, just so they can say “we had a conference”. Sort of like the obligatory parent confernece before you suspend the child from school–what’s the point in that?
The best conference session I ever attended was for professional development folks and it was a discussion based session. The ‘presenters’ had no presentation and had no agenda. They just moderated a discussion that they got rolling. When it was time to move on to a new session, almost everyone just stayed right there and continued to talk.
@Dan - One of the few things we know (i.e. with research-based evidence) about effective PD is that it needs to be immediately relevant and subject-matter specific. Thus, I can’t help wondering about focus. ILC represents itself as “[d]evoted to advancing student achievement through innovative education strategies.” I mean, sorry, but WTF? CMC, on the other hand, has a clearly articulated subject-matter focus.
Also, I may get some slack for this (bring on the bias claims), but it seems to me that there were many more higher ed. folks presenting at CMC than at ILC or NECC or…Many of those presenting at the big ed. tech. conferences have proven their mettle at pedagogy, but andragogy is a whole different ballgame. Higher ed. folks are at least more practiced at facilitating the learning of adults.
@Tracy - this will be my first time at Educon, so I hope you and I find what we’re looking for. And, it’s good to know that the professional development folks know how to do a good conference (-:
[...] my comment at Jon Becker’s blog: I’m having a difficult time determining why I walked away from three days at ILC so deflated [...]
The type of conference you describe is pretty close to the types of classrooms many would like to see;personal and conversational and void of extensive periods of inactivity.
I realize there’s more to it but that was what came to mind as I read.
You write, “We are self-directed and collaborative, so the one-to-many format fails us”.
So why do the ‘we’ still attend?
And to pose an answer to your question regarding conference improvement, my serious answer (which Mr. Meyer may label as yet another non-sequitor) has two suggestions:
1. All conferences must take place at a Panera
or,
2. Flash Mobs - they come off as spontaneous, but they are planned with pin-point precision (good ones), they’re focused for the particpants, and they’re never boring.
On another note, I’m beginning to feel really upset with myself for accepting invitations to ‘present’ / ‘facilitate’ / ‘collaborate’ at Educon and PETE&C (PA’s gasp! edtech conference).
Seems like everyone is eagerl anticipating failure. I didn’t know so many people outside of Philly carried the scorn of every life-long Eagles fan.
I was at the conference Warlick was eluding to about a Ning. The conveners of the conference were afraid to list the Ning publicly before the conference - thinking people wouldn’t come if all the information was “free.” I found it very disappointing that an ed tech group would not be supportive of collaboration and had such a “business model” guiding their thinking. There is still a good deal of change that needs to happen at a conference, as well as in schools
“On another note, I’m beginning to feel really upset with myself for accepting invitations to ‘present’ / ‘facilitate’ / ‘collaborate’ at Educon and PETE&C (PA’s gasp! edtech conference).”
Just be good and you’ll have no worries! ha! Actually, the whole reason I chose Educon was because it holds the potential to be something not so ordinary…something productive and dare I say meaningful. So good for you for presenting/facilitating/collaborating!
And don’t even get me started on football. You could have grown up a Saints fan!
@Ken - I’m not too familiar with “flash mobs,” but I think we should all check out Sylvia Martinez’s post (http://tinyurl.com/5ecwmm) about the NEIT “conference.” She fleshes out Dean’s point, too.
And, @Ken, since the Phillies won the World Series, people in Philly can’t play the “scorned sports fan” card for at least 5 years. (-:
I’m just confused. I’ve always been told to prepare, prepare, prepare. I’ve always been of the mind set that when using visuals ( gasp! PowerPoint) that design and endless hours of revision are paramount.
Now, it seems standing in a hallway, writing on a post-it, and taking the ‘whoever and wherever’ approach means, for lack of any erudite term, ‘awesomeness’.
No one ever taught me in an ‘unconference’ fashion, so to turn around and, hell, what’s the word, ‘teach’(?) in an unconference fashion runs counter to any approach I’ve ever used or experienced in the classroom.
I’ll concede that adults, specifically those in education, learn differently, but is the difference as simple as the absence of structure and leadership?
And, the Phillies won the World Series on Oct. 29. So, only 323 days until we can gripe again. The clock is ticking.
Oh, and I like your blog. Meaning, your writing as a vehicle to promote your ideas and opinions.
I don’t think it is an absence of structure or leadership at all. And I actually think it requires more planning than a traditional presentation. Sort of the difference between a teacher centered classroom and a student centered learning experience. The latter must be extremely well planned and orchestrated so that it doesn’t turn into a chaotic mess that yields nothing positive.
Probably why most teachers out there still prefer a traditional presentation. Taking an alternate approach is out of their comfort zone, beyond their experience, and takes a ton of planning time. Where are teachers to get exposure and get comfortable with a student centered approach? Perhaps at a good conference?
Having said that, I think the majority of teachers learn and retain information and ideas from a traditional presentation just fine. It’s our students who so often have a different learning style.
I consider my day a success at a conference if I have more questions in my head at the end of the day, than I had at the beginning. I don’t care how they got there, lecture, powerpoint, or overhearing a conversation at the urinal–as long as the speaker was able to chip off a piece of their wisdom and let me walk off with it.
I’ve been to a few education conferences, and I tend to agree. As of late, most of the presentations at tech conferences have been those that could have been presented 10 years ago. As the technologies have become more mainstream, more and more educators have been getting hooked and excited about sharing what they do with them. This is great, as there are still a ton of educators that are unfamiliar with some of these tools. However for those of us that have been using the tools for a while, some times we are left with wanting more.
A few of us have been thinking about educational conferences in general and how they could be done a little differently. I’ve set up a wiki with an example of how conferences can actually reflect the direction tools have been pointing. If you care to take a look at some of our thoughts, or add your own, you can at this wiki: http://edoffthegrid.wikispaces.com
I think a legitimate question might be…
How many folks that attend or will attend one of the conferences you list agree? Is it a small minority or the majority? Presenters typically model their talks on what other presenters are doing in their sessions.
I think you have some legitimate ideas. But not all of them seem to have ready solutions. As for keynotes, I wish I could just go to TED. But then again, I can watch those on my AppleTV.
I enjoyed this post and the opportunity to think more about education conferences as a response in my recent blog post, “STUDENT Conferences are the Answer” at http://www.21stcenturion.blogspot.com/
Perhaps the time has come for educators to thoughtfully reinvent conferences. My blog offers one possible alternative.
Jon, this is hard for me…you know it is…but…I actually have to…ok, here it is…AGREE with you!! Aagghhh, there I said it, and the pain was minimal.
I always enjoy the banter and discussion we have, but this time I’m just on board. Keep having the conferences, but lose the presentations. Put several well-meaning and well-informed people in a given location (the mall, a conference hall, or a restaurant) and good conversation will spring forth. Occasionally, an idea from a presentation will ripple through and deeper learning and conversation will ensue. Much like on this and other blogs, but we get to have that f2f interaction that is also so much of humanity. Thanks for the nice summation of conferencing.
With Christmas so recent that the empty tree is still sitting in the living room, I am reminded of why our family get a lot of joy from giving to a deserving cause at Christmas… when we sit looking at our laden tree there is something about knowing you have contributed to someone else’s enjoyment that enhances the occasion.
One thing in my mind as I read through this discussion is that the group contributing here must surely be in a fortunate minority - educators who have attended so many conferences that we can compare/contrast them. Or maybe it is more commonplace in the USA to attend multiple conferences than where I come from in NZ. I share the feelings expressed here as I am in that fortunate situation too. But as I have been reflecting on this conference overload (having been directed here from Beth Holmes’ blog post ) I realise that the conferences I have most enjoyed in the last couple of years have been ones where I have taken colleagues or friends who are new to it. Experiencing it through their eyes and helping them get the most out of it dispels the enui and surprisingly brings a freshness to my own learning.
I apologise if this comes across ‘preachy’ - put it down to cultural diferences- but I am thinking aloud here. Maybe my own resolution for 2009 should be to take a newbie with me to every conference I attend
@Dorothy - you may be my first visitor from NZ. How exciting! Attending a conference is a pretty standard form of professional development for educators in the U.S. Furthermore, those who live and play within the arena of educational technology tend to convene at conferences more than other educators.
I didn’t read your comment as “preachy” at all. In fact, I find myself mulling what it would be like to bring a “newbie” colleague to a conference like NECC or Educon. Surely, I’d have to do a lot of teaching and that’s probably a great thing. I also find myself wondering what it would be like for me to attend a conference that’s about something outside of my “expertise.” What if, for example, I attended the International Reading Association conference with one of my literacy studies colleagues? Hmmmm…