So many conferences...

I recently saw this page. I am familiar with the more established SXSW music festival -- I even went to an event or two (or tried, one was sold out) -- but I had only heard a vague reference to the education-focused event. And I really didn't know what that meant at the time. But upon further exploration of the event page, I can see that it is relatively new (started in 2011), used to be focused on k-12 in Texas, but has since expanded to be international and span all levels of education. It seems like the spirit of SXSW has seeped into SXSWedu, with lots of demonstrations, creativity, technology, even a playspace. I must say, I'm dying to go. Austin is a delightful city, especially in the spring. Like many red states (and my wife insists that TX will turn purple soon), there are 'urban islands' of progressive politics and lively entertainment surrounded by rural conservatism. A perfect spot for a festival about the future of education.

Of course there are many other teaching conferences to consider. I've twice been to the excellent Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning put on by UW - Madison. This last year was the 30th annual conference, so they have a rich history -- going back to days of delivering reel-to-reel tapes to people! I've learned much from my attendance at this conference (I even presented there this past August), but I have been even more inspired by the passion of the people there. These people really make distance education their focus and apply every bit as much rigor to it as anyone in my discipline does. I'm worried that the next social psychology conference I go to will pale in comparison. Plus, Madison in August is stunning, and the restaurants near the capitol and university are exceptional.

I've never been to the Lilly Conference, but it has a great reputation. NITOP is a discipline-focused conference for teaching of psychology. Many other conferences can be found here.

I'm excited to get more involved in these types of conferences.