[Spring Workshop 2012] Summary Feedback

 
Please provide a comment or two on the workshop sessions? What stood out for you? What could be improved?
All goodStill a few too many texty-powerpoints for my liking, but generally getting better all the timeI really appreciated some of the super-informative, how-to workshops (e.g. Paul Hibbett’s WP workshop). It might be worth reminding presenters that a plain old powerpoint, with just slide after slide of text to read, gets a bit dry (even if you do use a snazzy background ;-)Keynotes need to be more relevant to educational design/technology or more futuristic/big picture.I really liked the sessions where we could interact with the presenters. Maybe build in some time to do some sort of problem…
 
What was your favorite thing(s) about the workshop?
Networking opportunities and great community. The wonderful people and openness in exchanging ideasAs always: fantastic networking opportunity. Lots of really interesting conversations between sessions too.NetworkingMy favorite things about the workshop are seeing ETUGgers again and the realization that we need to talk about our work.the people, catching up with everybody. The keynote was outstanding, and a really good choice.Keynote speaker on day 1 was great.workshopsThe sessions were great.networking & learning what others are up toAs always, networking with people I don’t get to see often…
 
What was your favorite session and why?
Enjoyed the demo on Wiki usage at UBCPaul Hibbitt’s WordPress session, for the reasons described above. Informative & interesting. Included both philosophy/pedagogy as well as the technical side.My favorite session was Amanda’s and Carlos’ session because the tools they used seemed so simple but it is obvious that a lot of work and thinking went into it.I’m always for the simple but elegant application of tools.the JIBC simulation session because it was so unique and innovative and hands-on. also the VIU session on OERs in South Africa because it was so well informed and well presented. Mike …
 
What did you think of the venue?
Lovely! Great. Lots of seating spaces. Rooms are easy to find.I don’t love the classroom setup in those rooms, but I know there’s not much you can do about that. A slightly bigger “transition” space, and one that connects all the rooms, is ideal as it allows for better hallway interactionsIt was ok. Convenient location.A little out of the way for public transport, but great facilities.Venue was great!nice to be in a venue where everything was close together and we could all come together easily. good location to get to by transit.ExcellentperfectGreat rooms, great technology, great food…
 
If you attended the ETUG pub on Wednesday and/or Thursday VCC dinner, what did you think of the food, venue, overall experience?
Thursday VCC dinner – amazing! Venue, was ok. Music was a nice touch. Only the dinner, it was pretty good.Pub night was ok but it sure ended early. The venue was very very noisy & hard to mingle. The VCC dinner was outstanding. Great food, nice music, good venue.Pub was a little late for people having to travel home.The food during the dinner was amazing and happy that it was made by VCC culinary arts students. The desserts were to die for! The rooms looked like they were a bit too small/crowded.pub–good spot, it was funDidn’t attendBoth were great, I’m not a pub person, but went and…
 
For 2012-2013, what sort of activities would you like to see from ETUG? And if you have a specific ideas, would you be willing to take the lead or lend a hand? A theme I would love to see ETUG explore is “What the Cognitive and Learning Sciences can Teach Educators and Educational Technologists” – there is a huge amount of learning we are now doing about how our brains work and how people learn that in my experience isn’t making it down to the practitioner levelMore of the same!Maybe do several concurrent lightning rounds based on a theme or do a big room with several “Workshop Tables” around specific them/task. Sure I’ll lend a hand!collaborative sessions on specific pedagogical issues – e.g., best practices for online discussions, for students…
 
What could we have done better to improve your experience of the workshop?
My only suggestion would be a more organized lunch on Thursday. We had a hard time finding an eating place that was still open, still serving a variety of food on Thurs. & it was too rainy to go outside looking for something else. Minor inconvenience.The sessions on the 2nd day seemed a bit too short, didn’t really have time to go into them in-depth.I don’t like being forced into discussions, but that’s just menothing, I loved it all.Well – it would have been nice if the technology worked during my presentation (or if I was advised to bring my laptop), but these things happen.Overall – it…
 
Please use this space to give us ANY feedback about the Spring Workshop “Innovation”. We really want to hear from you!
First time at ETUG and was overwhelmed with the sense of community and knowledge sharing. Looking forward to engaging further. Divide the sessions in different streams, for example 1. Design Challenges and Case Studies 2. Technology-Hands-on 3. Administrative/Organisational/Operational Challenges and Case Studies 4. Future Trends 5. ResearchIt was weird to see the word innovation for me since sometimes I feel that the work that I do is not innovative, new or even exciting. Yet when I talk to people about it, they seemed excited, which is awesome. I don’t really want to complain but in …
 
Please provide any ideas you like us to organize for future workshop theme or T.E.L.L. sessions
I always thought a catchup on what’s new and current would be useful for those of us that are a little behind, but still very interested. Some jargon is used a lot, but I didn’t know much/anything about some of it. Maybe a session for us beginners would be useful and then one/some for those that really want to talk about programming details, etc. There’s a wide range of experience in the group, even though it is a self-selecting group