Statewide Conference

Article Index Statewide Conference Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 4 of 4 **************************************************************************************************** Conference Report 2007 It was wonderful to see so many familiar and new faces at the 2007 Statewide Conference. Many thanks to Pam Spiegel for her hard work and organisational expertise which resulted in such a successful weekend. Thanks also to the sponsors and bookshops that were present each day. Their attendance at the conference was invaluable, as they provided prizes for the daily passport raffle, and allowed many teachers to leisurely peruse resources and books. The rural reimbursement initiative this year made it possible for many country teachers to make the trip to Melbourne and attend both days of the conference and this was greatly appreciated by those who were able to take up the offer. The conference started strongly with Tony Liddicoat presenting a keynote speech on the importance of language in this century. He both informed and inspired a packed conference room. Keynote speaker on the second day, Ian Lillico, gave an enlightening and enjoyable insight on engaging boys in the classroom. Participants left with a bevy of valuable ideas on how to connect with both genders in our language classes. Other sessions available this year ranged from VELS, VCE, ICT, hands-on workshops and a number of academic lectures. The variety and quality was such that one teacher commented that there were so many great sessions, it became difficult to choose which to attend. Many thanks go to all presenters, both for their preparation and the apparent seamless presentation of material on the day. The conference dinner this year was well attended, and all were treated with a tingling performance from Toshi's Wadaiko Rindo group with Noriko Tadano on shamisen. The speaker, Mr Shisei Kaku (Consul-General of Japan ) gave a personal speech that touched all. The statewide conference this year was summed up by one teacher as, positively unforgettable both for the quality of workshops and speakers and the opportunity to network. Make sure that you note down the 2008 conference date in your diary now, as it just keeps getting better. Duquemin, Kathleen JLTAV Committee **************************************************************************************** JLTAV Statewide Conference 2007 reflection from Evaluation Sheet I would like to thank all the participants who gave us an evaluation sheet at the end of the day. Your suggestions and opinions are very important for us to decide what worked well and what should be changed for next year's conference. Generally speaking, we have received very positive comments on the smooth registration, wonderful keynote speakers and great sessions. I also would like to thank Pam Spiegel, Yoshiko Glenton, Yoko Horie, and Hatsu Watanabe for working very hard and putting in long hours for this big event to happen. We also had huge help from two country teachers, Robyn Young and Jude Coleman who stayed up late to prepare all the name tags with us and from the committee members who helped with registration and introducing the presenters. Here is the list of the participants' main comments and the suggestions that they would like us to implement next year. I have tried my best to answer each comment. Evaluation from participants Response/ to do next year Session More hands on sessions should be presented It may be hard to run more hands on sessions with the large numbers within each group. JLTAV may be able to run a small PD after school or during weekends (especially when we require notebook computers and art/craft materials) Booklet has to have information/handouts about all presenters Unfortunately, JLTAV cannot have all the presenters' handouts because some presenters do not wish to prepare one, and others did not have enough time to send one in to JLTAV before the printing process started. However, most of the presenters did submit their handouts. This year we have changed the booklet format to a folder. Venue Lunch and break could have been shorter In order to give presenters and tech people time to pack up after the previous presentation and set up the new presentation, we need the longer breaks. JLTAV would like to give presenters enough time to be ready and have something to eat after/before the session as much as we can so that you can have the best out of it. Admin Grant information was not clear We will have country teachers' grants next year the same as in previous years, but we have not decided whether to have the first year teachers' and new participants' grants next year. It will be easier to find information about events and grants with our new JLTAV website (coming around late April). We have been trying our best to improve our website. Please check: http://www.jltav.org.au after late April. Should you have any further comments and concerns about the statewide conference, please feel free to email me. Email: info@jltav.org.au Naoko Nishikawa JLTAV President << Prev - Next