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Conferences

You should attend a WordCamp

I have this belief that occasionally you should venture out of the education echo chamber. Of course, I think you attend should MoodleMoots (especially one coming up in October) and other edtech conferences. But I think if you want to be a good Moodler, you should expand your horizons to other tech conferences.

There are many great annual tech conferences in the APAC region, such as Linux.Conf.AU, PHP Conf Asia or PyCon, but if you want to get the most value for your dollar, you can’t beat WordCamp.

WordCamps are local community-run conferences for WordPress users. The camps are run by local “WordPress Meetup” groups, but you’ll often find people from quite far away making a trek to be there.

There are a few mega-huge-giant-auditorium Camps, like WordCamp Europe or WordCamp USA, but you’re just as likely to find a small-city-local-community-centre Camps. WordCamps run so often, there’s probably at least three happening every weekend of the year somewhere in the world.

And WordCamps generally happen on the weekend, which is great if you’ve got a business to run and you can’t take a few days for a mid-week conference. All levels of users attend WordCamps, from beginners to experts, usually with talks divided into streams based on experience. And while many talks are WordPress focused, often there are presentations relevant to Moodlers, such as SEO, accessibility & usability, hosting, diversity in tech, eCommerce and content creation.

And you’ll be networking with local web experts who you might be able to contact when your site is failing for no apparent reason. Or you’ll be networking with people who need training, want to sell training – in other words, potential customers!

And the best part is WordCamps are not expensive to attend. Costs are kept low to reduce barriers and let everyone in the local community attend. In Australia, WordCamp tickets are usually around $50.

I know WordPress isn’t for everyone, but I think it’s “compatible-with” instead of a “competitor-to” Moodle. But that’s probably a topic for a future article.

Finding a WordCamp near you

There are two
WordCamps scheduled for Australia this year:

WordCamp’s mascot is the Wapuu! Generally, each city will create a customised Wapuu; here the WCSyd Wapuu is holding the Opera House.

And Melbourne, Auckland and Port Macquarie WordCamps are in planning stages. Find the worldwide list at WordCamp Central.

Upcoming Asia Pacific Moots…

MoodleMoot New Zealand will take place in Auckland from October 1 to 3! Forget WordCamp, let’s all go to this one!

…and other Elearning/EdTech Conferences

The 2019 National VET Conference will be held in Brisbane on September 12 & 13. I’ll be presenting “What to Consider when Selecting an LMS”.

EdTechPosium will be held in Canberra on October 28 & 29. Check out the keynote speakers; Martin Dougiamas will be a keynote speaker.

The 2019 Eportfolio Forum will also be held in Canberra, on November 20 & 21. If you use Mahara, you’ll want to attend.

ASCILITE 2019, for those using educational technologies in tertiary education, will be held in Singapore on December 2 to 5. This year’s theme is “Personalised Learning. Diverse Goals. One Heart.”

Scott Huntley
Latest posts by Scott Huntley (see all)

Scott Huntley

Kenneth "Scott" Huntley is an Instructional Designer with Transport for NSW and WordPress instructor with The Parramatta College. Scott is a Canadian (Nova Scotian) Expat living in the Southern Highlands of Australia. Scott is a Moodle enthusiast and an Internet of Things hobbyist.

3 thoughts on “You should attend a WordCamp

  • Pingback: You should attend a WordCamp - Scott.Technology

  • I think you should. It would be great if someone organised a WordCamp for Educators, with sessions on how to use WordPress in conjunction with your LMS, and on plugins like LearnDash, Lifter, Edwiser Bridge, etc.

    Incidentally, I checked out the Auckland site and they have dates now: 26 – 27th October at GridAKL, Wynyard Quarter.

    Reply
  • Great post Scott.
    Totally agree – attending a conference can rejuvenate my enthusiasm.
    I’ve been to ASCILITE (we sponsored one year) and PyCon, but I think WordCampt should definitely be on my list … considering our ElearningWorld site runs o WordPress! 😉

    Reply

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