Comments on: Conferences, Presentations, Etc.

By: Jon Becker

Jon Becker — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:53:12 +0000

@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…

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 20:30:26 +0000

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

By: Marshall

Marshall — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:34:49 +0000

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.

By: Beth Holmes

Beth Holmes — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 14:38:10 +0000

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.

By: John Hendron

John Hendron — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 05:22:20 +0000

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.

By: John Patten

John Patten — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:20:19 +0000

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

By: Paul Bogush

Paul Bogush — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:45:07 +0000

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.

By: Tracy Weber

Tracy Weber — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:43:55 +0000

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.

By: ken

ken — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:40:37 +0000

Oh, and I like your blog. Meaning, your writing as a vehicle to promote your ideas and opinions.

By: ken

ken — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:39:44 +0000

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.