If you have never attended an online conference, you should definitely take the opportunity to try one out on October 11-13 for the Reform Symposium Conference. The line up of keynote speakers, presenters, and panel discussions is FANTASTIC. It is like traveling around the world for inspiration from the comfort of your living room. I really can’t say enough about how excited I am for this awesome weekend of learning! Please join us for as much as you can, you will not be disappointed! Plus, what could be better than learning with a bunch of friends from your living room? You don’t even have to worry about what attire you should wear (I’ll be in PJs for sure!).
Be sure to join @michellek, @nancybabbitt and me for our session Connections Through Inquiry on Sunday! We’ll be talking up strategies that we use at Anastasis Academy as teachers and learners. Check out the online schedule in your timezone and plan to join us!
If you are an online conference regular who is constantly working to get other teachers at your school to attend (with no luck), why not consider hosting a Reform Symposium Conference meetup party? If they won’t engage in online community on their own, bring the community to them! This would be a great way to help those who are less tech savvy get involved in some professional development in a way that feels ‘safe.’ Choose a location with good wifi (this could be a room at school, your living room, a local coffee shop), load up on fun snacks, invite some friends and learn together! I have done this in the past with great success! It is all kinds of fun and adds a level of safety for first timers. Use this event as an opportunity to introduce your offline colleagues to your online PLN (personal learning network). I find that people are more likely to engage online for learning when they feel like they have a connection to others going in. When they start a great conversation during a session, help them continue it by signing up for Twitter.
If you want to get really fancy, share my Twitter posters as a party gift. Help those who haven’t signed up to sign up and connect to those they met during the conference. Following the conference, send others at your school a “Learning Moment of the Day” along with a link to the community (member) that shared it with you.
Sometimes all it takes to connect people is a new approach to the invitation delivery. 🙂
We are still looking for volunteers to help with the conference!
Volunteer to Moderate Sessions for the Reform Symposium E-Conference (RSCON4)
RSCON would not be so inspiring without a highly devoted group of volunteer moderators to keep the conference running with as few hiccups as possible. Moderators play one of the most important roles by jumping into various sessions and helping presenters and participants have a great experience. Additionally, volunteers get to meet our inspiring presenters and introduce them to the audience. To become part of this super amazing team, sign up at http://www.futureofeducation.com/group/2013-rscon-volunteers and use the booking calendar to schedule volunteer time, http://rsconvolunteers.youcanbook.me
Also, attend one of our Blackboard Collaborate training sessions so you are familiar with the platform, http://bit.ly/rscon4trainingpg
Thank you for helping us inspire educators worldwide!
If you have questions about volunteering for the conference, one of our volunteer organizers would be happy to help! Tweet your questions to one of the awesome organizers listed below!
Peggy George (@Pgeorge), Marcia Lima (@Bamarcia), Chiew Pang (@AClilToClimb), Jo Hart (@JoHart), Phil Hart (@PhilHart)
