The Arkansas Literacy Conference

Presenting at the Arkansas Literacy Conference in Little Rock was a great experience. I was very nervous at first, as I think all three of us were, at the thought of being college students teaching things to teachers who have been teaching for years. Especially after my experience with losing my internship, I felt very out of place with a longing to feel at home. 

Upon arriving at the conference, it was almost immediately apparent that this conference was primarily geared toward elementary teachers. Besides the two sessions we helped present, I attended only one other session. This session was about a therapy dog, Korie (a Labrador retriever -- my weakness), who belonged to Badger Elementary in Beebe. This session was aimed toward 1-3 grade teachers, but Rachel and I attended anyway. It was very interesting learning about therapy dogs and what all they do for students. Korie could actually read, too, which was pretty neat to watch. 

Presenting at the conference, however, turned out not to be as scary as I thought it would. On the first day, we only had three people attend our session about Wikis, which, I think, helped calm out nerves. The only thing that I didn't like about having only three people was that this was the presentation I was most prepared for and most confident about. Overall, though, it went pretty well, and I still enjoyed it. The second presentation about authentic literacy gained a lot more attention, as we had probably 25 or 30 people come to this one, and I'm pretty sure they were all the secondary teachers that came to the conference. This presentation went pretty well overall, too. 

After attending this conference and the curriculum conference, I can easily say that I love/will continue to love going to these kinds of conferences (although, that may be the measly intern in me speaking). I love to learn knew things, and these conferences provide the perfect opportunities for that.