A few extras to pack but they make your life so much easier fo rconference attendance

An apartment hotel in Cape Town

Why would nice hotels provide you with small cups and saucers, paper cups, only one teaspoon for two or more people or even thin wooden sticks as replacements for teaspoons?  Well I really do not know the answer but what I do know is that many hotels actually do this and when you complain about it, the staff members look at you as if you are being rude or uninformed or both and normally they do not react on your requests. Only once our coffee cups were replaced with nice mugs (and by a smiling staff member).

We like to pack cup-o-snack-soups and our own favourite tea bags. We also do not want to drink soup from a small cup that is meant for coffee and you cannot use a wooden stick to stir soup. So, we got ourselves nice, medium sized colourful and sturdy plastic cups to take on our journeys. I am no big fan of plastic, but the double insulated designer cups with lids you often receive as promotional gifts are much better than a paper cup and bigger than a coffee cup. I also pack two teaspoons.

Of cause, when you book into an apartment hotel, these precautions are not necessary. We love to book this kind of hotel because you have everything that you need and usually also more than what you need right at hand and normally, but not always, also more space. We stayed in Adina apartment hotels a few times and were impressed with the space and array of things provided. This type of hotel is especially nice for longer stays or when you go to countries where our money is worthless and you would prefer self-catering. Some of these apartment hotel units also have a washing machine, tumble dryer, and dishwasher apart from the fridge, microwave and stove.    

Critical thinking - a conference

A sure place to practice critical thinking is the the African wilderness (but not while watching elephants though)

Looking for academic stimulation? Critical thinking is an important skill for all academics and how nice could it be to be at a conference focus on this? Registration is open for the 37th International Conference on Critical Thinking and Educational Reform. This year the conference will take place at the Sonoma State University in North Carolina. Delegates will stay on campus in a newly build facility, all with private rooms and private bathrooms. All meals are also included which tends to soften the $1470 early bird registration fee that applies until 10 June 2017. The theme of this year's conference is Cultivating fair-minded critical thinking across education and throughout human societies. The conference dates are 31 July to 4 August. Keynote speakers include Dr. Linda Elder, Dr Brain Barnes, Dr. Paul Bankes and Dr. Gerald Nosich. This means that this conference is not to be missed! And for those who need it, academic credit is available at this conference.

Educators not only need to be critical thinkers themselves, they also need their students to develop this skill. One way of ensuring the growth and development of critical thinking skills is through using applicable assessment tools and providing enough opportunities for students to work and practice their abilities. The critical thinking community provides tests and assessment tools provide support to those who need it on their web page. However, for those who register for the annual conference, there is an extra bonus of two guides on assessment (Critical Thinking Competency Standards and Critical Thinking Reading and Writing Test).  And this is not all: There is an online library and the Critical Thinking community offers both on-site and remote professional development programs in critical thinking? 

Apart form the annual international conference, the critical thinking community also host a few regional conferences each year.

Authentic, Experiential,Evidence-based Learning and ePortfolios - education in the network society

An eProtfolio project initiated at Unisa expanded into community projects and an academic publication 

The Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-based Learning (AAEEBL) and the community of e-portfolio academics that focus on leading change in Higher Education through their practice, research and dissemination of ideas are hosting the 7th annual AAEEBL conference on the campus of the Portland State University from 24 to 27 July 2017. This is the first time the conference will be held on a university campus which means it will cut costs and allow participants to focus on the conference purpose. 

The call for papers is open until 15 February. There will be three different interest groups: 1) Practices and pedagogies, 2) Research and 3) Technologies. Registration fees for non members is $340 before 1st April or $400 after 1st April. Students will pay special discounted rates. There are also special accommodation rates within a block reservation at the conference hotel. 

The inaugural issue of the AAEEBL ePortfolio Review has been published (available online) and the second edition is on its way, while the call for contributions to the third edition is open and will be published in July. The theme for this third issue is: ePortfolios as High Impact Practices. 

A few years ago we started to introduce ePortfolios as an alternative assessment method in Open Distance Education at the University of South Africa. This method of assessment replaced the traditional essay type assignments based on the content of the study guides. The ePortfolios focused on what the students learned and how they interpreted and used the content from the study guides in their daily lives and work and studies. Although some of the students (second year undergraduates) were very sceptical at first mostly due to the fact that they were unsure about how to use technology, they soon adapted with the help of scaffolding efforts by the educators and the positive impact of this type of assessment in already showing results in a very high throughput rate. The work done by students in one module resulted in small community projects under the guidance of the students who are becoming agents of change. 

What to do with all your stuff?

My all in one 'important stuff' bag is always around my neck when travelling

One of my male colleagues prefer a waistcoat with many pockets – like those green or khaki safari ones with all the zips and buttoned pockets. And then I love watching him patting all those pockets when searching for his phone or passport or boarding pass because he tends to forget what he puts where.

I have a travel bag that fits around my neck with an adjustable neckband. This is important because when walking, you do not want the neckband to be too long because it makes the bag swing and when you are sitting in the aircraft, you want to have it longer so it can rest on your legs and not be in the way when eating or working on the fold-down table or sleeping. This bag is much smaller than a handbag (and you do not need to have it clasped firmly in your hand for avoiding it getting stolen) but do provide enough space and different pockets to accommodate my phone, pen, credit cards, tissues, passports, boarding passes, vouchers and even a few mints or other small things in neatly separated spaces. Sometimes I even fit my glasses into it although it was not designed for this purpose. Having all the things you need around your neck keeps your hands free, keep the important stuff close at hand for safekeeping as well as having quick access to it. I also carry this bag with me whenever I leave the hotel room. During the conference, I put it in one of the small pockets in my backpack, but when out shopping or exploring I keep it around my neck all the time.

These bags come in different shapes and sizes and colours that could fit any taste and I see both men and women use them. I bought my first bag at a mobile phone provider, my second one from a luggage shop at an international airport (they really have nice choices) and the third one I ordered from a guy who does leather work for a living and asked him to adjust everything to my personal needs (like the size of my mobile phone and the number of cards I want to include).  

Luggage for conferencing

Willem is pulling his suitecase uphill towards the ship (upper right) with his laptop in his backpack and his phone in his other hand

Today a few tips on packing and making your life easier when travelling to attend a conference. First, ensure that you have a suitcase with four sturdy wheels. No, not two, four wheels that allow it to stand on its own when you need both hands for other tasks.

I, like many others, tried to resist at first but today I must confess that a super-light, four wheeled sturdy suitecase is a lifesaver. Just last week, we were booked into a hotel where we had to take the stairs up to our room (no lifts) and there was no help available either to get the luggage from the car that was parked in the street a few hundred meters away from the hotel entrance (due to non-availability of hotel parking). Fortunately, the suitecases are lightweight four-wheelers that are easy to navigate on the sidewalk and on the steep 17^th century staircases. We had this same experience a few years ago in Amsterdam – staying in the top apartment of the building which is five floors up in one of the old buildings next to the canal with no lifts. Having to drag our heavy bags up without the help of wheels, was not a nice experience as we had to make several trips up and down to get them and the hand luggage to and from the room.

The second, and equally important piece of equipment you need when travelling for a conference is a comfortable, strong backpack into which your laptop can be strapped in securely, with enough space for adapters, batteries, cords and documentation and that will not kill you when you must carry it on your back while transiting or exploring huge airports. Security wise, this is also a good choice because the backpack stays with you and linked with your body all the time – you never need to put it down to free up your hands. Backpacks are easier to fit into the space under a seat when everyone else is using their suitecases as hand luggage (which happens more frequently) and there is no space in the overhead compartments to put your stuff. And when you are a tourist before or after the conference, the back pack is handy for supplies such as water and snacks and souvenirs.