I have a new blogging buddy, right over there, top of the list, Beth Holmes. She had an interesting post about education conferences and I contributed this piece:
So much of what I hear at conferences is what I already know. Many times I’m doing even more than they are sharing. Or, the people who are presenting do not work with the same student as I do. The conferences are always far away, at expensive hotels, and I keep thinking about how I could be using this money in my classroom with my students.
Preparing to be away from the classroom is also difficult. For a number of years my team was on the speaking circuit and we realized we were gone more than we were in the classroom. That’s when I said, “if they want to hear what we have to say, they have to come see us.” We had a few years of visitations, but as more people started doing what we were doing, that trailed off. We get about one visitation a year now.
I prefer to attend workshops or conventions where my students can learn something that directly impacts their classroom learning. But, yes there is is always the debate between what it costs and what we should be spending that money on elsewhere.
This year, my travel budget was entirely zeroed out. I have no money for travel or for fees to professional organizations. It all went to materials and supplies. We had a 1/3 budget cut across the campus.
But the loss of workshop time will be felt. My students who do attend workshops and conferences gain both in knowledge and they gain skills in working closely with other staffers. I also will lose out on my ability to teach effectively. I learn a lot at workshops and conferences. I will no longer be able to do that if the funding is not restored. It will cause me to be a less effective teacher as new software and techniques roll out in broadcasting, DTP, web design, etc. If I don’t get the training, they don’t get the learning. Simple as that.
But are there lots of useless workshops out there? Sure there are. Make sure you attend only the best you can afford to go to or don’t go at all. Don’t waste money on second rate workshops.