Assignment Spotlight: Conference Attendance Credit

I always have a desire to share current and relevant information with my students. This can be tricky, however, due to the pace at which textbook information becomes obsolete. As such, one strategy that I have used, is to provide extra credit to students for attending a conference on a topic related to our course. In today's blog post, I'll share more about this assignment.

 I love attending conferences because it re-energizes me and helps me to see what's possible when enthusiastic and committed individuals work toward a common goal or solving a problem. Many of my students have never attended a conference and do not know the importance of doing so. By offering them extra credit to attend a relevant conference provides an additional incentive to do so.

In order to facilitate this, I share relevant conference opportunities in the course Discussion Board, highlighting, in particular, the ones that do not have an associated registration fee or those that have a significantly discounted fee for students. I require students to share proof of registration and attendance and post a summary of the conference within one week of attendance.

Students can submit a summary of a single presentation if it is a multi-presentation conference, or a summary of their experience in general. The goal is to help students get the latest information on a particular topic, but also to expose students to this type of research dissemination. I also like to introduce my undergraduate students to the idea that they can potentially present at a conference in the future as well.

As a result, I have received positive feedback from students about the conferences they attend and many students make up their minds to attend that particular conference on an annual basis.

I'd love to hear your ideas on this assignment. Share them in The Online Educator Facebook Group!

Would you like me to spotlight one of your assignments? Share your assignment HERE for an opportunity to be spotlighted in The Online Educator Blog.