I wrote "Education Conferences: Teachers' Guide to Getting the Most out of Education Conferences" because I think a lot of people don't benefit from going to conferences as much as they could. That's if they manage to obtain permission to go in the first place.

I also think that it's not always easy to follow up conferences effectively, because once you get back to school all the usual 'school stuff' takes over. So in the book I suggest 13 things to do after the conference. I think having a to-do list can help ensure that the conference is not just forgotten about within a day or two of getting back to work.

Anyway, here's a list of what the book covers, and a short extract from the text. At the time of writing this it has received seventeen 5 star reviews on Amazon UK.

Why did I write this book, and what does it contain? Here's a list of the table of contents, and a short extract. I must have got something right, because so far it's received seventeen 5 star reviews on Amazon. I'm holding the price at £0.99/$0.99 for a short while longer.

You can buy the book from Amazon. Here's the link, which will take you to the Amazon store for your country: http://viewBook.at/conferences

Table of Contents

1. 21 Reasons to attend conferences
2. 9 Good reasons to attend: the ones to put to senior leaders
3. 5 Ways to make it easier for the senior leaders to say yes
4. 11 Types of people who should attend
5. 4 Reasons to take pupils to conferences
6. 4 Reasons to take pupils to education technology conferences
7. 5 Reasons to take a technician or technically-minded person with you to an education technology conference
8. 3 Reasons to take a non-technical person to an education technology conference
9. 4 Reasons to take at least one other person to an education technology conference
10. 35 Things to do before the conference
11. 25 Types of event to attend at conferences
12. 8 Ways to get the most from the exhibition area
13. 5 Must-have conference apps
14. 17 Things to take with you
15. 10 Interview questions to ask
16. 37 Things to do on the day
17. 7 Ways to connect on social media
18. 7 Things to do on a one day visit
19. 10 Sample questions to ask suppliers
20. 9 Questions to ask yourself about a product or idea
21. 8 Considerations to help you look beyond the hype
22. 10 Points to address when presenting your case for purchasing a product or service
23. 7 Things to bear in mind when exchanging business cards
24. 6 Things to consider regarding seminars
25. 4 Tips for attending talks
26. 7 Tips on how to ask a question
27. 3 Useful ice-breaking questions
28. 16 Tips for speakers
29. 13 Things to do after the conference
30. 6 Ways to voice your own thoughts about the conference
31. 2 Ways to have your pupils blog about a conference
32. Conclusion
33. 2 Other potentially useful books

Short sample:

21 Reasons to attend conferences

It’s often difficult to get time out of school to attend a conference, but I think you should try and get to at least one a year. Some people dismiss conferences as glorified trade shows, talking shops or junkets, the main reason for whose existence is to sell you stuff. Whilst the hard sell may be in evidence at some events, or by some exhibitors, I don’t see that as a reason not to go. After all, you may see something you didn’t know existed, or find out more about something you thought you already knew about. And in any case, you are not obliged to actually buy anything, or even to listen to someone trying to sell you something (just smile and walk away).

But there are other aspects of education conferences too of course.

There are at least 21 good reasons to attend, these being to:

Check out the hype

You know how every so often a big new thing comes along that's going to transform education? Before you spend a lot of time, effort or money on it, if a conference includes talks about it or demonstrations, you could check it out there. It will give you the opportunity to examine it in the light of the questions suggested in 9 questions to ask yourself about a product or idea.

You should also read the section called 8 considerations to help you look beyond the hype. 

Hear some big name speakers for free

A conference may provide the opportunity to see and hear an authority in your field speak or take part in a panel discussion. This benefit is especially valuable if the person resides in another country, because the chances of getting to see them would be even slimmer otherwise.

See what’s new or coming soon

Conferences, especially education technology ones, often feature prototypes of new products, or proofs of concept. It gives you an advantage because it may be several years before they become mainstream.

Not all of the things on display find themselves being produced, so you have to be careful of the hardware equivalent of vapourware, but it can still give a pretty good indication of where things are heading.

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