Random Quote
No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
---- Sheik Abd-al-Kadir
The voodoo priest and all his powders were as nothing compared to espresso, cappuccino, and mocha, which are stronger than all the religions of the world combined, and perhaps stronger than the human soul itself.
---- Mark Helprin, Memoir from Antproof Case, 1995
Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.
---- Lily Tomlin
America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week.
---- Evan Esar
As soon as I buy the moose head, I have to go pick up some KY jelly.
---- Mary Roninette Kowal
Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.
---- Leonardo DaVinci (1452-1519)
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.
---- Isaac Newton
There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.
---- Pablo Picasso
The least of learning is done in the classrooms
---- Thomas Merton
Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction listen to weather forecasts and economists?"
---- Kelvin Throop III
Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.
---- Edward R. Murrow
Arguments over grammar and style are often as fierce as those over IBM versus Mac, and as fruitless as Coke versus Pepsi and boxers versus briefs.
---- Jack Lynch
One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain't nothin' can beat teamwork.
---- Edward Abbey
Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.
---- Abigail Adams (1744 - 1818)
I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it.
---- Terry Pratchett
It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.
---- Arnold Toynbee
The important thing is not to stop questioning.
---- Albert Einstein
I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.
---- Isaac Asimov
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
---- Arnold Lobel
It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
---- Franklin D. Roosevelt
As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life - so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls.
---- M. Cartmill
A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students.
---- John Ciardi
Those who know nothing of foreign languages, knows nothing of their own.”
---- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749 -1832)
Drink coffee! Do stupid things faster!
---- unknown
Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.
---- Lily Tomlin
KOTESOL 2008 - might skip
update
check the extended entry for a response that I received from KOTESOL
——-
KOTESOL 2008 is just around the corner and presenters need to register by this Friday. I took a look at the site and presenters/members no longer get a discount on conference fees. The last 3 years that I attended/presented I paid my membership fee of 40,000 + 25,000 conference fees for a grand total of 65,000won. Well this year membership fees are the same, but now I have to pay 50,000 for conference fees (double) - all this for the priveledge of speaking.
I’m not sure it’s worth it especially since the list of invited speakers is a bunch of nobodys - the only ones I’m familiar with are David Graddol (definitely would want to see him) and Curtis Kelly (somewhat intersted). I do know who John Linton is, but he’s not worth seeing if your attending this conference to learn about teaching - He’s a doctor who’s lived his entire life in Korea. I didn’t find his patient interaction to be particularly pleasant and consequently I go to Korean doctors instead.
Anyhow I’ll make my decision tomorrow, but I’m definitely leaning to skipping this time around.
update
Here is the message I included with my conference registration and below that is the response I recieved.
The registration process is too difficult. Your website should have a payment gateway where people can pay via credit card and also charging to use paypal is wrong and possibly against the TOS - you really need to look into that.
Additionally your web site should be able to accept Korean writing by changing the character encoding to UTF-8 which is the international standard.
Finally I’m not impressed that as a presenter I have to pay 20,000 won more than attendees (whom presumably are coming to see presenters) especially since I am not going to use the equpment this fee is supposed to be for.
I expect that you will issue a refund of this 20,000 won since I am not using a computer. Please email ASAP about this issue.
response
In response to your comment below, this is the first year that KOTESOL is charging presenters more than attendees, and we recognize that it may be a surprise to some. However, one will find that it is increasingly an international standard for presenters to pay more because they require more. As examples, more and more conferences are not printing program books, but only timetables. All abstracts and such are “web-only” - to be printed out by attendees prior to visiting the conference. But in Korea, a printed book is a requirement for academic credit for presenters. Also, provision of things like computers and projectors have become the norm - 80% of presenters request them - so it becomes extra work to figure out “who doesn’t want one” and move the machines from room to room. Accordingly, the norm is now to equip all rooms. Presenters expect and require other special attention, including special check-in.
It really amounts to a changing mindset in TESOL towards the scientific community standard - no longer are presenters doing the conference a favor, but the conference is providing an opportunity for presenters do exhibit their work.
We will not be providing discounts for those who choose not to use the basic technology offered in each room, since the pricing is not based on technology, but the overall operational costs of putting on the conference.
As for the Korean aspect of the web site, it is a concern within KOTESOL. It is hoped that some time in the not so distant future this can be resolved. Part of the problem is that various managers work with “English-only” computers that cannot handle Korean data. And the Drupal system KOTESOL is using doesn’t handle Korean code. Again, it is an issue that KOTESOL is looking into.
We hope that the conference committee will be able to meet your presenter needs.
Best wishes,
Regardless of whether this is an international trend or not, it is in my opinion wrong to charge presenters extra to present.
JMac wrote 38 words on Tuesday Sep 2, 2008 at 07:00 PM
I was on the KOTESOL site the other day—was thinking of pre-registering, and couldn’t get any info re conference fees, etc.
In any case, my school pays my trip up, and I was looking to come ‘network’ anyways.
Graham Stanley wrote 94 words on Wednesday Sep 3, 2008 at 02:02 AM
If you do decide to go Sean, I recommend going to see Scott Thornbury speak - he is a truly inspirational speaker.
I’ve just taken a look at the programme too and am surprised that there’s not one plenary/keynote that seems to mention learning technologies (LT) - even more surprised that, looking at the SIG list there doesn’t seem to be a LT SIG - how can this be possible? I’d kind of assumed (in my ignorance) that LT in language teaching in Korea would be a big thing - is this not so?
kwandongbrian wrote 33 words on Wednesday Sep 3, 2008 at 05:16 AM
I live four hours from Seoul and so don’t make it there often. I learned a lot previous conferences but I would go just to meet other teachers and such. I’ll be there.
Sean. wrote 82 words on Wednesday Sep 3, 2008 at 05:43 AM
Graham,
There used to be a CALL SIG, but the leader had a falling out with the KOTESOL organization. Tech is pretty big here, but it really is up to the individual teacher to use it or not. I also heard via twitter that Scott Thornbury is good - I’m surprised that I never heard of him.
Kwandongbrian, Yeah I always enjoy the conference for networking. There are a number of teachers that I see each year, but only at this conference.
Jake wrote 46 words on Wednesday Sep 3, 2008 at 12:35 PM
I hear that this year the conference fee is 30,000 won, but you also get lunch included this year.
For presenters, the 50,000 won fee includes use of technology, which was a separate add-on in the past. Computers, projectors, and screens are now in every room.
Sean. wrote 27 words on Wednesday Sep 3, 2008 at 12:38 PM
I see, but I’m not using any tech and don’t see why I should have to pay for it. Anyhow I still haven’t made a decision yet.
Alex Case wrote 32 words on Wednesday Sep 3, 2008 at 10:37 PM
Never heard of Scott Thornbury? I always assumed your category About Language was a tribute to his book!
Seriously though, it’s funny how TEFL is divided into rarely overlapping groups of people
Sean. wrote 35 words on Thursday Sep 4, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Looks like I registered. I really am not impressed with having to pay 20,000 more than attendees for equipment that I am not even using. I did lodge a complaint and am expecting a refund.
Graham Stanley wrote 190 words on Thursday Sep 4, 2008 at 02:13 PM
I also think that asking speakers to pay for equipment, etc. is a little unfair. Without the speakers there would be no conference, and yet at many events such as this, presenters have to pay registration fees, equipment hire, etc.
Taken to extremes, what this means is that there are fewer independent speakers and there is a great danger of the conference turning into a huge promotional event, with only the speakers who are sponsored being able to afford to speak, rather than what it should be (in my mind) - an opportunity for furthering teacher professional development.
I saw this at one particular event this year, which, despite the grand nature and (on paper) the considerable variety and large number of speakers, it turned out to be (mainly) a publisher showcase / platform for sponsored university lecturers to present research.
The best balance I have seen so far is at the IATEFL and BRAZ-TESOL conferences and some of the regional conferences I have attended in Spain, such as TEA in the Canary Islands, which did a lot to encourage local speakers as well as bringing over some international presenters.
David Deubelbeiss wrote 113 words on Monday Sep 8, 2008 at 11:37 PM
Hey Sean,
Just present and then ask your audience to pay the difference if they liked what they got.
That will be my own protest. I’m going to set up a collection box even if only to highlight the point for others.
Sure I’ll pay but for my payment I’ll get to be heard and maybe change things…..
I mean, if this continues what is the slippery slope? If you pay enough, anyone can do their song and dance? In my opinion, unless you’ve been in the classroom 5+ years, you don’t deserve to be lecturing about anything - phds included. TEFL is a hands on discipline despite all the pretensions otherwise…
David
David Deubelbeiss wrote 77 words on Monday Sep 8, 2008 at 11:47 PM
Ps. Wanted to mention that I’ve never met Scott Thornbury but if I did, I’d thank him mightily for his moodle tutorials. They helped me a lot and are first rate! Wish I had the link handy.
I also agree with Graham that there is a dearth of real “technology” presentations and unfortunately the conference despite the propaganda, will give cursory (no pun intended) attention to real technology and its use in the classroom….c’est la vie.
David
Sean. wrote 11 words on Thursday Sep 11, 2008 at 07:40 AM
Just updated the post with a response I got from KOTESOL
David Deubelbeiss wrote 83 words on Wednesday Sep 17, 2008 at 11:07 PM
Sean,
I will also add that I have my qualms about paying money directly into a personal email account.
I don’t care about all the yadda yadda… a large organization, a professional organization should have payment to a private and incorporated (in some form) entity. NOT a person. I was really disappointed by this and it really is a dark pale shining over Kotesol and indicating that they are yet very professional or transparent.
I do hope they respond to this question.
David
Sean. wrote 49 words on Thursday Sep 18, 2008 at 07:34 PM
David,
agreed, but it’s alwasy been that way. Hell, I just opened my web design business and got a business bank account in my businesses name and I can’t see why a non-profit wouldnt’ be able to do the same.
It’s definitely a red flag on the professionalism front.