Well, it’s that time of year again. Spring conference season is upon us. Whether you are heading to an innovation mecca like SXSWedu or perhaps keeping it more low key with a regional or program-specific conference, I hope you have found something that will help you grow, develop, and enrich all of your academic experiences. (And your students’ as well!)
I wanted to let you know that I’ll be in a few places in the coming months, so if you find yourself in or around these conferences, let me know. I’d love to grab a club soda (sorry, I’m not a coffee guy) and have a chat.
Ohio Ed Tech Conference (OETC20) – Feb 11-13
Representing IICE, I will be speaking in 3 sessions as well as manning the Institute’s booth. I’m talking about Education 3.0, Innovation, and delivering a “FREd Talk” (essentially a 5 minute Pecha Kucha) about apps for education. If you are in Columbus and looking for some PD for your institution, some workshops for your teachers, or some consultation around eLearning, teaching and learning, ed tech, or anything else our Institute offers, come by and say hi!
IHE Webcast – Feb 20 (2pm ET)
I will be moderating an Inside Higher Ed Webcast, interviewing IT leaders from Tallahassee Community College, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and Rutgers (DOCS) University. The webcast is all about connection, which you might guess is something I believe to be incredibly important! 🙂 The webcast is titled, “The Infrastructure of Connection: A Better Path Toward Success.” In it, I will ask our panelists to expand and expound on how to help people do what they do, at scale, in a way that actually targets the whole student (vs just the academic student). All three panelists are using Campus as an addition to their learning ecosystems, which I chose to implement for this exact reason in my past CIO role. I hope you’ll join us!
League of Innovation – March 1-3
I always look forward to Seattle, but heading to League just prior to my birthday is going to be fun! Again, I am honored to have been selected for 2 sessions. One will focus on teaching / learning and the other should prove insightful for those seeking help with better, more meaningful learning analytics / data. As well, I will be hanging out at the Campus booth, so don’t hesitate to come by and say hello!
Iowa Community College Online Consortium – March 30 – Apr 1
I have had the distinct honor of presenting keynotes, plenary sessions, and workshops at the ICCOC’s annual conference 17 out of the last 20 years. Sothis year, as they celebrate their second decade of work, I am excited to have been asked for a keynote about both the past and the future of education! This “Greatest Hits / Greatest Failures” talk is shaping up to be one for the ages…at least in my mind (and two months ahead of the delivery)! Come see if I’m right!
Whether or not you make it to any of these events, do enjoy your conferences. I know they can be hit or miss, but I still argue that if a person gets (literally) nothing of value from such an event, that is more on the person than the conference itself. Go root around and find those truffles of value for your schools, your classrooms, and your students to better succeed! Enjoy!
Good luck and good learning.
Ed Surge K-20 Conferences for 2020