Readers’ Survey 2006: Best Education Conference
Edutopia readers weigh in on their favorites.
The NECC
The National Educational Computing Conference, typically the biggest of all the education confabs -- this year, it's expecting more than 10,000 attendees -- gets the nod. NECC focuses on tech for teachers and typically convenes right after the academic year wraps up, giving it a giddy school's-out feel. In the past few years, armies of tote-bag-toting educators have gathered in early summer in places as hot as a pizza oven -- New Orleans and Philly among them -- but this year the planning committee got it right: It's in San Diego, July 5-7. Other confabs that make it worth jumping on a plane: the annual meetings of the National Science Teachers' Association (April 6-9 in Anaheim, California) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (April 1-3 in Chicago).
Our Take
Happily, the answer is yes. The NECC, for instance, has begun webcasting many of its keynote, spotlight, and concurrent sessions -- all viewable online within twenty-four hours of the live event and available for a full year. To see highlights from last year, visit www.kidzonline.org/necc. If you are unable to attend the ASCD's annual Conference on Teaching and Learning, you can buy audio CD sets featuring various key topics, the top ten most popular sessions, or, if you're really ambitious, the entire conference (provided you have the time -- that's a whopping 110 discs). The ASCD Web site also offers a conference blog that begins as soon as the conference does, so you can stay tuned even from home. Check out the 2005 conference blog and resources at www.ascd2005conference.blogspot.com.