Are Ed Tech Conferences Really Worthwhile?

I've been in the education biz, either as a full-time educator or as someone working with schools and districts, since 1980. That's more than 20 years of opportunity to attend and present at education conferences. So, are they really worth the time off, travel, and expense?

As an educator, it's very easy for us to feel (and be) isolated from the world of technology. Sure we regularly interact with our peers, and perhaps local/district technology coordinators or IT administrators. But are we really getting the most out of the technology we have? Education conferences go a long way to bridging the knowledge gap and the isolation gap - connecting us with others. They help us discover and explore new technologies and help us meet our own (personal) learning goals. I think they're great.

I have attended, and been a presenter at local, state, national and international technology conferences. Each of these conference types offer different opportunities for learning and collaboration.

NECC, the grandest of the all, is the ultimate opportunity to go WORLDWIDE to find out what's new and what other schools and educators are doing. In addition to a host of vendors, the workshops are exceptional. There is nowhere else where you'll be able to explore such a diversity of well-presented topics. If you only attend ONE conference, NECC (National Educational Computing Conference) is the place to go. This summer's conference is in Atlanta, GA.

State conferences are a great choice if out-of-state travel is restricted or you want a more "people-centered" approach. Workshops tend to be more "real world" and often help you navigate the idiosyncracies of purchasing and using technology in your own state.

Five state conferences, FETC (Florida), TCEA (Texas), CECA (Connecticut), GaETC (Georgia) and CaliforniaCUE (California) are particularly good at drawing larger crowds and offering excellent speakers and workshops.

Local conferences can be good, although you'll mostly (obviously) hear what you might already know. If the conference organizers are on top of things, they'll mix things up by offering local presenters as well as "experts" from other districts.

Overall, conference attendance has been very erratic. As the Web offers more resources and budgets downsize, some choose to stay home. While the WEb is a great resource for information, there just isn't any comparison to roaming the halls of a conference and spotting "unexpected gems" or running into friends or making new ones.

If you haven't tried attending an EdTech conference, you should. If you're an attendee, try presenting next time. It's a blast - so is the lifelong learning experience you'll get from the effort.

By the way, looking for a keynote speaker or featured workshop? Shoot me an email!