Attending Unconferences for Professional Development
Tuesday, August 22, 2017 | 12:00 AM
任何成功的教学事业都需要教育工作者的专业发展. 教师不仅要跟上各自学科的发展，还要跟上教学和学生参与方面的创新. 然而，并不是所有的老师都能负担得起参加专业会议的时间和金钱.
Fortunately, a new opportunity, the “unconference,通过低成本（通常是免费的）活动提供专业发展，教师们在活动中交换意见, learn new techniques and develop professional networks. For students in an online master’s degree in education program， unconference提供了一个无需旅行负担就能建立关系网的机会.
What Is an Unconference?
According to unconference organizer Brian Croxall, unconference最简单的定义是“非常非正式的会议”.他接着概述了unconferences和传统专业会议的两个主要区别. First, 非会议计划“不是固定的：它是在第一天在所有参与者的帮助下创建的，而不是事先由计划委员会创建的”和“第二天”, at an unconference, unconference没有演讲——所有的参与者都需要在每个会议中与其他参与者交谈和合作.参与者自己组织会议外的节目，然后参加每个会议. As such, traditional time-consuming lectures are uncommon.
Advantages of an Unconference
Rather than occurring annually or biannually in a specific city, unconferences occur throughout the year in a variety of locations. For students in an online master’s degree in education program, this means that an unconference could take place nearby soon. unconference提供负担得起的本地专业发展机会，对在职教育工作者有利.
As educator Jennifer Gonzales points out, 非正式会议为教育工作者提供有价值的职业发展还有另一个原因：“非正式会议是通往科技世界的绝佳途径, partly because you’ll get to see a lot of neat things in action, but more importantly, because you’ll see mistakes.看到别人在技术上的错误可以提醒参加会议的人，他们在学习过程中并不孤单.
Relaxed Development
Rather than concentrating on polished, practiced presentations, Unconferences鼓励在轻松的环境中进行混乱的互动开发. At an unconference, 没有人试图给潜在的雇主或该领域受人尊敬的权威留下深刻印象. Instead, Gonzales writes, “people just got up and talked, then did quick demonstrations of how something worked.”
Unconferences also welcome students. 教育工作者的专业发展有时会占用宝贵的课堂时间, so why not bring your classes with you? At the unconference Gonzales attended, 两个不同的小组——一个初中和一个高中——作为学生技术俱乐部的代表来到这里, and they actually presented.包括教育工作者专业发展在内的实地考察很少, but unconferences are both welcoming and informal.
Finally, they work. Rebecca O. Bagley, writing for Forbes他解释了其中的原因：“Unconferences是为了让与会者分享他们的专业知识. 它们为参与者提供了不加过滤地交流创新思想的机会.” In this crucible of innovation, shared ideas thrive. Unconferences may be the remedy for boring, lecture-driven professional conferences, 他们为需要节省时间和金钱的教育工作者提供专业发展.
Learn about University of Texas Rio Grande Valley online M.Ed. in Special Education degree program.
Source:
Forbes: How ‘Unconferences’ Unleash Innovative Ideas
A Digital Pedagogy Unconference
Why Every Teacher Should Attend an Unconference
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