Was that a reporter or an ice cream vendor? I always find it interesting to meet someone from the "press" that seems to be selling something or telling me what to think instead of reporting something. Nice meals, tours, and ice cream bars aren't a good use of public resources and are more like pacification-giving food and blankets to Indians (indiginous populations) than organic development-creating a synergy with local available resources.
Steve:
Belated thanks for your feedback - those are good practice tips.
Glad to know that the feature requested is now on the list. (smiles)
Carole
Carole:
I don't think that's a feature yet (it's definitely on the list now!), but if you go to the discussions tab of your home page, you can actually see the latest postings in discussions you've been a part of and go directly to them. This is where and how I do a quick check to see what's happened since I last checked.
You can also go up to the main menu bar and select "Forums" and you'll see all of the discussions in reverse date order--even ones you haven't participated in. This is where I go second! :)
Hope that helps!
Steve
Thanks Steve, this is an excellent article and research paper with all those great facts and figures that the 'managers' like to see. I'll be passing that along.
BTW - a simple unrelated question: how can I change the chronological order of messages so that I see the latest first when I enter a forum?
NY Times: Bits: Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom
I've downloaded the actual SRI study this is based on, will be very interested in reading to see how this might relate to PD as well. I'm also arranging a live Elluminate session with some of the researchers...
http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalrepor...
What online conferences have you attended that impressed you and why? Did the virtual events and activities happen over a series of days?
I have attended a couple of online conferences and loved the combination of live session followed by asynchronous discussion. Even if I missed the live session it was recorded. Most of these conferences took place over several weeks.
I teach in a small rural school that is 3 1/2 hours drive from the capital city where most conferences are held. The distance, cost of attending and the fact that our school budgets have been cut back and the school is reluctant to replace teachers attending too many conferences, means that I rarely get to attend any of them.
However, the fact that I can now attend conferences online and often outside of school hours has allowed me to be part of professional development. I have made a wider social network from people I have 'met' in the room, kept up to date with many tools and applications of these tools in education and continued to be motivated to teach in the technology rich environment that can be ours.
So far, this discussion has highlighted convenience, speaker engagement, and opportunities for active participation as key criteria for selecting and getting value out of PD conferences, whether they be online or onsite. So I just have to ask more...
Event planners are usually mindful of the following key things in an effort to draw people to onsite, F2F conferences: desirable location, events and activities (like city tours, cocktail parties, museum visits, etc.) and a recognized, keynote speaker who you'd be thrilled to see in person. Do these things provide incentive for you to travel and pay for an onsite conference?
I was interviewed by a reporter on the topic of online conferences. We talked about whether educators were attending these INSTEAD OF on-site conferences or IN ADDITION TO them. Which is it for you and why? This reporter really questioned why people would would be willing to give up the nice meals, free tours, and ice cream bars you get at traditional on-site conferences. For me, the convenience of online is worth it.