Nercomp Conference Day 1

Back from a tiring day at the Nercomp conference. And look, I'm listed as a session convener for the Online Graduate Application talk.

The first session I attended, on ePortfolios in New England, was probably the best one of the day. I've been thinking that ePortfolios is exactly the type of thing we need at Yale School of Drama. But in looking for software and real examples of how they are being used, I didn't find much that was really concrete. It turns out that is because the whole concept is still really emerging, and everyone is implementing their own version in their own way with their own combination of tools. The Open Source Portfolio initiative sounds promising.

I find it ironic that in education we so often talk about active learning, and other new models for education. But then we go to conferences and sit in neat rows, facing a speaker who uses static Powerpoint slides to talk at us for an hour or so. Even for good speakers the format is sooo dry, and for less than good speakers its ghastly. We need a better conference model! Too much talk not enough action!