In this series, Nicky Hockly explains aspects of technology which some people may be embarrassed to confess that they don’t really understand. In this article, she invites you to attend free online events and conferences available to English language teachers.
1. An online conference? How does that work?
The experience of attending a conference online is clearly different from attending a conference face-to-face (f2f). But a big online conference will have almost all of the same features, especially if run in parallel with a conference that is f2f:
- You can attend/watch presentations live via video.
- You can ask questions of presenters and interact with other participants who are also watching the presentations.
- You can access handouts and hold discussions with colleagues before and after the presentations via online forums.
- You can access extra information, such as interviews with the presenters or suggested readings and resources.
- You can even network and party
2. So I never need to go to another f2f conference?
Well, the online experience is different, and the conference I describe above is what we might call the high end of the market. Running a parallel online component in real-time, alongside a large f2f conference, requires a hefty budget. Just think of the filming and live video streaming of f2f talks, which requires a specialist team. Smaller conferences might have more modest aims – for example a f2f conference might simply use the online medium to upload PowerPoint presentations and audio recordings of talks.
3. Don’t conferences lose potential f2f participants if they offer part online?
Teachers who attend the online component of a conference are primarily those who can’t attend the f2f event, often for reasons of access (the conference is in another country), cost (attending is simply too expensive) and/or time (they have other commitments). So the online participants are usually people who would never have gone to the f2f event in the first place. In this case, the online component of a f2f conference provides a welcome additional avenue for professional development for these teachers. The conference itself also benefits from an online component by attracting a much wider spread of teachers from around the world, who bring their valuable input and opinions to this parallel, virtual conference strand.
4. What about fully online conferences with no f2f part?
There are several fully online conferences that take place from time to time. I tend to think of online conferences in the form of a cline. At one end we have conferences which will be held f2f, but may provide some online elements. In the middle we have f2f conferences with a strong parallel online component, and at the far end we have 100% online conferences, where nobody meets f2f at all.
Clearly, attending a fully online conference from your computer is not the same as attending a f2f conference and browsing the stands in the exhibition space, or networking in the coffee bars! However, good fully online conferences may include social spaces, such as forums for off-topic socialising, or even live events in a virtual world, such as an end-ofconference disco in Second Life! And don’t forget the archives – online conferences will typically archive all their material and record the real-time sessions, which make them an excellent source of ongoing professional development after the event.
5. What online ELT conferences would you recommend I attend?
The last few years have seen an increasing number of conferences offered fully online, or as a parallel or additional part of a f2f conference. The majority of these are free. Here are two excellent events that are held annually online:
IATEFL online
IATEFL – the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language – has been running a British Council-sponsored parallel online component to their annual UK-based f2f conference for a number of years (http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/). The conference plenary sessions are streamed live via video, as are some of the social events and talks. Many other talks are audio recorded, and uploaded to the online platform as soon as possible. The online component opens several weeks before the f2f conference, and there are forums on specific topics or areas of special interest, which are staffed by volunteer moderators. A Twitter stream is integrated. For the 2010 conference, live TV was introduced with ongoing interviews with key ELT figures. IATEFL online is arguably the biggest and best of the online ELT conferences.
Virtual Round Table
This fully online conference (www.virtualround- table.com/) holds its fourth iteration in March 2011, and was nominated for a British Council 2011 Innovation Award (ELTon). It includes parallel real-time presentations held in a video conferencing platform, as well as panel discussions, a Pecha Kucha event (where presenters have 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide only), and an end-ofconference party in Second Life.
And that’s probably enough to get you started – I hope to see you at one or more of these online events in 2011!
Nicky Hockly has been involved in EFL teaching and teacher training since 1987. She is Director of Pedagogy of The Consultants-E, an online training and development consultancy. She is co-author of Teaching Online (Delta Publishing), which was nominated for a 2011 British Council ELTon award. She maintains a blog at www.emoderationskills.com.
This article first appeared in English Teaching professional, Issue 73, March 2011
