Has anyone heard about this K12 Online Conference? This is an interesting trend in conferences that we are experiencing in the library world as well. Just a couple of weeks ago the Library 2.011 Conference occurred. What's really quite amazing about these conferences is not only are they a) online and b)free but c)archived so you can watch them later on your own time.
For those of us with ever decreasing travel budgets or no travel budgets, these online conferences are wonderful opportunities to learn about new topics, thoughts, and trends in our fields. Or to present to our colleagues on what we know or what we've tried! Ironically I still haven't taken the time to listen to any of the talks or watch any of the slideshows from the Library 2.011 conference but I know some colleagues who have and said they've learned quite a bit from the talks. Based on the list of topics and speakers, I know there are many that I definitely plan to get too.
This 2011 K12 Online Conference just started yesterday, as far as I can tell, but I plan to go back to the site and see if there are any topics that pertain to the classes in this program or libraries or information literacy and critical thinking.
So what do you think? Do you think online conferences are a good idea given how much it costs to travel and stay in a hotel room not to mention the time you have to take from work? Or is it too difficult to carve out time from your busy schedule? In that case, maybe "going to" somewhere forces you to take the time for this professional development that you can't force yourself to do otherwise. Does not paying for it for make a difference? For me it does because if I haven't paid for it, I really have a harder time disciplining myself to find the time.
1 comment:
I think that the school's administration should arrange for teachers to miss work in order to be a part of the conference. If its free then they can't use money as an excuse. I feel teachers should constantly add tools to their tool belt.
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