One of the things about the conference planning that it going to cost me sleep is the fact that I want to get a clear message out to groups that I know are at different stages in their journeys.

Some conferees, like librarians and media specialists are at the leading edge of the use of 21st Century literacy skills as they use these tools daily. Others may not be as far down the path. If we put Senior Management Team members into the mix, we have a very hetrogenous mix who are unlikely to all be receptive to the same message. This worries me a lot!

I know that conventional wisdom is to break the conference into different “strands” so that everyone can attend the appropriate carefully designed programme and come away sufficiently inspired. In reality, I have to say I have not had great experiences with strands at conferences. I used to have a lot to do with the Expanding Learning Horizons conferences in Lorne, Victoria. They did the best job of anyone I know to differentiate the strands, yet I still felt that I didn’t quite get my needs met in any strands.

Maybe that is a “me thing” and most people really like being hearded into their appropriate strand at a conference. It certainly seems to be the most sensible way to do things.

Comments, as always, greatly appreciated.