Caveat: this is an entirely biased and incomplete conference summary, seen through the lens of faulty memory, partially-completed mindmaps and a little too much sugar and caffeine.
Here’s what I attended:
Here’s what I attended:
Keynote speaker Dominic Thurbon (@dominov) set the tone for change, challenge and opportunity. There was a matrix (I love a good matrix), there were admissions of geeky love of education and research (I love education and research) and a clear message to challenge assumptions and be humble. We could all do more of this.
There were 7 interesting Action Research projects. These energise both teachers and students, help us to think critically and reflectively about aspects of our learning and teaching, and help us share good practice with others. Congrats to all who completed projects – above and beyond the call of duty!
Continuing the research theme, there was a fascinating project by Lydia Dutcher (@buttonjar) sharing some of her PhD progress on interactions between mixed ability students. Great to see behind the scenes of practical application of theories such as Conversation Analysis and Ethnomethodology (look it up!)
There were roadworks outside my hotel at 2am for an hour. Caffeine and sugar consumption grew exponentially on Day 2 of the conference, when we had a great plenary from ELT guru Jeremy Harmer (@harmerjelt) on why we need teachers. Love the parallels between music and language learning (would love to explore this more) and the passion Jeremy still has for learning and teaching after all his experience in the industry.
Following on the music theme, there was a glorious real and virtual choir on stage organized by Vicki Bos of ICTE-QU. I’m an enthusiastic advocate of getting students to sing their hearts out (they totally forget to be self-conscious about pron!) and here’s yet another example of the joy it brings to both singers and audience. Well done!
There were some serious and hilarious presentations about technology in education, including the need for caution (Kyle Smith @elkysmith) as well as ‘nutritious frameworks’ (Damien Herlihy @chimponobo) with a dash of Masterchef and John Farnham. Who doesn’t love a presentation comparing Professional Learning Networks to peas, and technology to wasabi ice-cream?
Finally, there were cupcakes. They made us wait two days for them, but when they arrived, geez, they were good. What a sweet way to finish!