­
What's in "Education Conferences: Teachers' Guide to Getting the Most out of Education Conferences"? — ICT & Computing in Education
  • Front Page
  • Search
    • Digital Education
    • Terry Freedman's Books Bulletin
  • RSS
    • Welcome
    • The "About" Page
    • Testimonials
    • CV/Resumé
    • My Writing
    • Published articles
  • Corrections Policy
Menu

ICT & Computing in Education

Articles on education technology and related topics
  • Front Page
  • Search
  • Newsletters
    • Digital Education
    • Terry Freedman's Books Bulletin
  • RSS
  • Info
    • Welcome
    • The "About" Page
    • Testimonials
    • CV/Resumé
    • My Writing
    • Published articles
  • Corrections Policy
My first Kindle book!

My first Kindle book!

What's in "Education Conferences: Teachers' Guide to Getting the Most out of Education Conferences"?

February 26, 2017

I wrote "Education Conferences: Teachers' Guide to Getting the Most out of Education Conferences" because I think a lot of people don't benefit from going to conferences as much as they could. That's if they manage to obtain permission to go in the first place.

I also think that it's not always easy to follow up conferences effectively, because once you get back to school all the usual 'school stuff' takes over. So in the book I suggest 13 things to do after the conference. I think having a to-do list can help ensure that the conference is not just forgotten about within a day or two of getting back to work.

Anyway, here's a list of what the book covers, and a short extract from the text. At the time of writing this it has received seventeen 5 star reviews on Amazon UK.

Why did I write this book, and what does it contain? Here's a list of the table of contents, and a short extract. I must have got something right, because so far it's received seventeen 5 star reviews on Amazon. I'm holding the price at £0.99/$0.99 for a short while longer.

You can buy the book from Amazon. Here's the link, which will take you to the Amazon store for your country: http://viewBook.at/conferences

Table of Contents

  1. 21 Reasons to attend conferences
  2. 9 Good reasons to attend: the ones to put to senior leaders
  3. 5 Ways to make it easier for the senior leaders to say yes
  4. 11 Types of people who should attend
  5. 4 Reasons to take pupils to conferences
  6. 4 Reasons to take pupils to education technology conferences
  7. 5 Reasons to take a technician or technically-minded person with you to an education technology conference
  8. 3 Reasons to take a non-technical person to an education technology conference
  9. 4 Reasons to take at least one other person to an education technology conference
  10. 35 Things to do before the conference
  11. 25 Types of event to attend at conferences
  12. 8 Ways to get the most from the exhibition area
  13. 5 Must-have conference apps
  14. 17 Things to take with you
  15. 10 Interview questions to ask
  16. 37 Things to do on the day
  17. 7 Ways to connect on social media
  18. 7 Things to do on a one day visit
  19. 10 Sample questions to ask suppliers
  20. 9 Questions to ask yourself about a product or idea
  21. 8 Considerations to help you look beyond the hype
  22. 10 Points to address when presenting your case for purchasing a product or service
  23. 7 Things to bear in mind when exchanging business cards
  24. 6 Things to consider regarding seminars
  25. 4 Tips for attending talks
  26. 7 Tips on how to ask a question
  27. 3 Useful ice-breaking questions
  28. 16 Tips for speakers
  29. 13 Things to do after the conference
  30. 6 Ways to voice your own thoughts about the conference
  31. 2 Ways to have your pupils blog about a conference
  32. Conclusion
  33. 2 Other potentially useful books

Short sample:

21 Reasons to attend conferences

It’s often difficult to get time out of school to attend a conference, but I think you should try and get to at least one a year. Some people dismiss conferences as glorified trade shows, talking shops or junkets, the main reason for whose existence is to sell you stuff. Whilst the hard sell may be in evidence at some events, or by some exhibitors, I don’t see that as a reason not to go. After all, you may see something you didn’t know existed, or find out more about something you thought you already knew about. And in any case, you are not obliged to actually buy anything, or even to listen to someone trying to sell you something (just smile and walk away).

But there are other aspects of education conferences too of course.

There are at least 21 good reasons to attend, these being to:

Check out the hype

You know how every so often a big new thing comes along that's going to transform education? Before you spend a lot of time, effort or money on it, if a conference includes talks about it or demonstrations, you could check it out there. It will give you the opportunity to examine it in the light of the questions suggested in 9 questions to ask yourself about a product or idea.

You should also read the section called 8 considerations to help you look beyond the hype. 

Hear some big name speakers for free

A conference may provide the opportunity to see and hear an authority in your field speak or take part in a panel discussion. This benefit is especially valuable if the person resides in another country, because the chances of getting to see them would be even slimmer otherwise.

See what’s new or coming soon

Conferences, especially education technology ones, often feature prototypes of new products, or proofs of concept. It gives you an advantage because it may be several years before they become mainstream.

Not all of the things on display find themselves being produced, so you have to be careful of the hardware equivalent of vapourware, but it can still give a pretty good indication of where things are heading.

~~~~~

In Bookshelf, Leading & Managing Computing & ICT, News & views, Professional development Tags Education conferences book
← Sexism in computer storesA useful rule of technology →
Recent book reviews
Backlist: The Written World
Backlist: The Written World

Writing was invented ‘only’ a few thousand years ago. It’s a fascinating story.

Read More →
Backlist: What I'm reading: Bounce
Backlist: What I'm reading: Bounce

What does it take to become an expert? And what can the Computing teacher do about it?

Read More →
Backlist: The Fourth Education Revolution
Backlist: The Fourth Education Revolution

The title of this book invites curiosity: what were the other three ‘revolutions?

Read More →
A book review for your English department colleagues perhaps
A book review for your English department colleagues perhaps

Some of these stories are so richly told, it can almost seem as though you’re right there with him.

Read More →
Review: Pen Names
Review: Pen Names

OK, so this has nothing to do with education technology, but we all read (I hope!). A very interesting examination of the pen names some authors have adopted, and why.

Read More →
Review: The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History
Review: The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History

There's a really interesting section in this book about how ceramic storage of data and information is probably the most likely medium to stand the test of time.

Read More →
A book review for your biology colleagues perhaps
A book review for your biology colleagues perhaps

The subject under discussion here is how human physiology has developed in different ways, in response to different conditions around the world.

Read More →
Review: Social Media for Academics
Review: Social Media for Academics

This book is very readable, and if I sound surprised that is because it’s not always true of academics!

Read More →
Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example
Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example

For the time being, this book is free in Kindle format.

Read More →
Review: The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too
Review: The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too

Despite the relative paucity of immediately obvious National Curriculum links, teachers will find several of sections of this book to be highly engaging.

Read More →
Dig+Ed+Banner.jpg

Contact us

Privacy

Cookies

Terms and conditions

This website is powered by Squarespace

(c) Terry Freedman All Rights Reserved