I've been very blessed to be able to travel around this school year and present at several education conferences. It seems fitting that one of my favorite conferences, NCCE, wraps up my 2016-17 school year of travels. Depending on whether or not my travel plans for ISTE pan out, this could also be the very last conference I am able to attend in 2017.
I was at NCCE last year, which was on Seattle. This conference has a very personal feel to it, which I like. Big enough to offer attendees plenty of offerings for workshops, sessions, and vendors. Small enough to feel like you're an involved part of the mix. After experiencing the conference twice, it is obvious that the organizers and planning committee(s) put a lot of thought into putting together this conference.
I was at NCCE last year, which was on Seattle. This conference has a very personal feel to it, which I like. Big enough to offer attendees plenty of offerings for workshops, sessions, and vendors. Small enough to feel like you're an involved part of the mix. After experiencing the conference twice, it is obvious that the organizers and planning committee(s) put a lot of thought into putting together this conference.
With all that said, the conference did feel a bit smaller than the previous year, though I never asked an official registration of the two to compare. It may have just been the times of day I happened to hit various portions of the convention center. Either way, there was plenty to see, do, and experience.
At the Microsoft booth in the exhibitor hall, there were ongoing mini lessons for a more quick-get. While they usually don't dig deeper than what I already know about my go-to products that I use and follow on Office Blogs, it's always an easy, quick way to catch a thing or two about the products I am not an everyday user of. I'm a big fan of these types of presentation because there's little commitment--lol. What I mean by that is that they tend to cycle, so if you miss a specific topic you were curious about, it'll roll around again before the conference is over. (Unlike many of the sessions you may be interested in.) The other is that they are brief, so you don't feel your schedule is thinned.
At the Microsoft booth in the exhibitor hall, there were ongoing mini lessons for a more quick-get. While they usually don't dig deeper than what I already know about my go-to products that I use and follow on Office Blogs, it's always an easy, quick way to catch a thing or two about the products I am not an everyday user of. I'm a big fan of these types of presentation because there's little commitment--lol. What I mean by that is that they tend to cycle, so if you miss a specific topic you were curious about, it'll roll around again before the conference is over. (Unlike many of the sessions you may be interested in.) The other is that they are brief, so you don't feel your schedule is thinned.
I've written before about my Class Notebook Boot Camp that I've been very fortunate to be able to take on the road some this past school year. This was my main presentation at NCCE. It was a computer lab workshop, so space was capped for attendance. Here is a link to the notebook used for the training, if you'd like to check it out: CLICK HERE
One of the sessions I was really curious to grab some ideas from was about using OneNote for breakout EDU. (Yes, I have a one track mind with ed-tech apparently...) I have used OneNote for a breakout activity at the beginning of this school year, and it actually went over well. It took some planning and practice runs to get it going, though, along with some experimenting. It's always to good to sit and learn from those who have paved the way.
One of the sessions I was really curious to grab some ideas from was about using OneNote for breakout EDU. (Yes, I have a one track mind with ed-tech apparently...) I have used OneNote for a breakout activity at the beginning of this school year, and it actually went over well. It took some planning and practice runs to get it going, though, along with some experimenting. It's always to good to sit and learn from those who have paved the way.
So was there anything I can say negative about the conference? Yes--it rained....a lot. I feel like I never really got a true taste of Portland because it rained every single dreary-weathered day I was there. (Or maybe that was a true taste of Portland?) Honestly, though, that was the only disappointing thing about the trip. My flight home departed at 10:00 pm, so I did have some free time to go and explore Portland between conference close and flight boarding. Thankfully, my Timbuk2 backpack was weatherproof, so my Surface Pro 3 stayed nice and dry, while the rest of me got soaked a couple of times.