You might want to take a look at K12Online Conference (2006). The conference “presentations” will be posted beginning the week of October 23. The conference appears to be an attempt to mimic the experiences of a traditional (FTF) conference in a virtual setting. It appears you can even apply for grad credit if you are so inclined. A preconference keynote by David Warlick is already available.
I just returned from the Midwestern Educational Research Association (MWERA) conference. The juxtaposition of these two “conferences” might represent an opportunity to consider conferences as professional development opportunities. The trip to Columbis, OH, probably cost me about $1000 (trip, room, food) and part of the question becomes whether there is enough benefit in a FTF conference to justify the expense. In a way, this is a specific case of the more general issue of how FTF and online experiences differ.
What benefits do I experience out of a conference?
- Exposure to keynotes and presentations
- Exposure to vendor wares
- Free form opportunities for conversation with colleagues
- Opportunity to explore a new place
Options to these experiences may exist in a virtual space (including images from the remote location). I am guessing that the key issues will involve a) comparative satisfaction with these experiences and b) finances (who is willing to pay for what – spend money to go, spend money to expose participants to products, pay money to encourage presentations by people the rest of us want to “learn” from).
One of the “techniques” we employ when we write is to take “nay-sayers” arguments and turn them back on those individuals. For example, some have argued that technology removes students from “real” experiences. The suggestion might be that students studying biology would be required to experience the living world through a computer screen and that this would not be a good thing. The issue is really whether what you claim to happen really happens. In response to those who assume technology advocates are encouring a focus on biology from the keyboard, we suggested that what biology students experience when they are allowed to explore their environment might be improved if they used cameras, probes, etc. and then return to their classrooms to process the artifacts they have created during their experience. We provide examples from our work settings and it becomes clear that what we demonstrate is not “your father’s or mother’s field trip”. Take this approach in exploring the conference experience. Perhaps what some suggest is a benefit of either the virtual or FTF experience is really accomplished in a better fashion in the other setting.
There will be more as this experience unfolds. I encourage you to at least take a look.
