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Conferencing Project Ideas

After our brownbag session yesterday, I had some ideas for the conferencing manual our group hopes to produce. I envision this being broken down into sections that cover different aspects or topics of conferencing. Right now, I imagine including the sections:

Purpose of Conferences
Conference Organization
Brainstorming
Revision
Research
Computer Use
Visual Rhetoric
Excursions
Activities
Advice/Comments

Some of these may overlap, and some may be unnecessary, but I think that's the general structure. Sections might be 2-4 pages? We may want to generate some suggestions for computer use, since people in the brownbag said that they didn't use the computers often.

We are starting to get materials and ideas and will have plenty of stuff. The next step, I imagine, is to learn to use indesign to create a template for this manual. I think it would be good to have the template done by the beginning of April.

Thoughts?

Submitted by Ryan on Thu, 2007-03-08 10:46.
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nrivers's picture
Submitted by nrivers on Thu, 2007-03-08 10:55.

That being said, how long did we want this document to be. I know we toyed around with two documents, but if the one document we want to produce needs to be accessible and readable, I think concision will be a virtue. 2-4 pages a section might be too long for the brochure document.

I think the advice and comments could be scattered throughout the document (dropped in at opportune moments). We might also consider making "computer use" a subsection of the other sections. Rather than seeing computer use as distinct, we might incorporate computer use uniquely into each section (computers in revision, computers in research, computers is design, etc.).

The Purpose section could contain a nice interplay between the stated goals and some positive quotes from students and teachers alike. Given that it will mostly like be the first section read, we'll want a good mix of insider and outsider knowledge and perspective.


I think the potential
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Submitted by Adryan on Thu, 2007-03-08 10:55.

I think the potential overlap is both more likely and more serious than we we're prepared for. Perhaps it is pre-mature at this point, but perhaps we should consider somehow clustering ideas based on general approaches to conferences, or some other "organic" organization that emerges from the ideas we choose to work with.


Good feedback
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Submitted by Ryan on Sat, 2007-03-17 13:49.

I appreciate the feedback on the initial ideas. Nathaniel, I think you're right that perhaps we can have a computer component of each section. I also wonder how we want to get the input on having students bring materials to conferences into the packet? Maybe a section on preparation? Or again, that could be a subsection of each section. As far as the document itself, I'm envisioning something similar to the CCO job search manual, though much shorter. I like this example because it incorporates a lot of disparate documents into one packet and covers a lot of ground. I think I attached it, though it's also available at the CCO website. As for the separate, shorter brochure introducing 106 to new instructors, I'm starting to think we may have bitten off more than we can chew. We can either put that component off and see if we have time when this first packet gets under control (as it is the priority of the conferencing subcommittee), or we can split up the work with some of the team on one document and some on the other. Thoughts?