I was recently an attendee and participant in the EdMedia 2012 World Conference on Educational Media and Technology, sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Computers in Education (AACE). The conference took place between June 26-June 29, 2012 in Denver, Colorado, and participants had the option of traveling to the physical location of the conference, or of participating virtually. AACE sponsors a variety of conferences throughout the year which focus on a variety of topics that involve the linking of technology, education, and information. I am particularly interested in the topic of information literacy as it involves faculty of the humanities.

Attendance and participation in the EdMedia conference helped me to begin further exploring and developing my own ideas, as well as connect and build upon those of others who are interested in this and related topics. Some of the major topics of this particular conference included human-computer interaction, tools and content-oriented applications, and new roles for the instructor and learner. The title of my poster presentation was New Roles for the Librarian, New Strategies for Faculty: Introducing Pearl Trees to Faculty as an Organizational Tool for Managing Their Digital Libraries and Digital Artifacts. My presentation was linked to the conference theme which covered new roles for the instructor and learner.

I first became aware of this conference opportunity sometime around February, 2012. I had been wanting to begin exploring this type of professional activity, but have felt inhibited by time, distance, and funding constraints. For me, virtual participation helped me to begin overcoming some of these limitations. I found the process simple, enjoyable, and an unintimidating way to have a first try at conference participation. The process went something like this: I created a poster presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint, and posted it for review by the conference board sometime around March, 2012. The presentation was accepted, and then later uploaded on the conference site where in remained for about one month. During this time, participants were free to review, change, or add information to their presentation up until about two weeks before the scheduled time of the conference. As well, conference attendees and participants were free to view, download, and comment on the various virtual presentations. Some examples of presentations and/or posters that I found interesting included one which discussed how to use Twitter for micro blogging, another which discussed using blended learning to activated student achievement, and one which explored how to prepare faculty to teach online.

I am grateful for having had the option to attend and participate in this conference in a virtual capacity: As I mentioned earlier, the option to attend and participate virtually in a conference makes it possible for me to begin exploring this crucial component in my professional growth. For me, the only downside to this whole experience was that I was unable to attend presentations that were only available to those who were physically present at the conference, and make in-person contact with those who are thinking along the same lines as me; some of the titles and descriptions of the presentations, panels, and roundtables that took place physically in Denver looked so interesting! Some tempting highlights for the in-person conference attendees included a presentation involving the development of asynchronous online courses to teach faculty how to design, develop, and deliver and online course and another which explored the perceived gap between the policies and the realities involved in moving courses online.

Despite any minor inconveniences related to not physically attending a conference, this experience was certainly a positive one, and one which I plan to try again in the near future. For me, one of the greatest benefits that I derived from this experience was the way in which it served as a catalyst for the development of my ideas related to information literacy for faculty of the humanities: My virtual poster served as a beginning step which I am now developing into a series of information literacy tutorials designed specifically for this population. I found that the sheer act of creating, submitting, and participating in a professional conference encouraged and motivated me to explore and develop my topic more thoroughly than I might otherwise have done. As well, I feel that the access to the work and ideas of others who participated in this conference provided valuable insight into current trends and thoughts regarding the general topic of technology, education, and information. In summary, my EdMedia conference experience was a positive one which offered me an opportunity to begin exploring this very important aspect of professional development.