2 Days of 2e

UPDATE: Conference starts tomorrow (October 26th)! Sign up here (affiliate link.)

Attending conferences dedicated to the gifted community has been a rich resource for networking and learning about every facet of giftedness from parenting to teaching to counseling for me. It has also been expensive and time-consuming. Don’t get me wrong; I love attending conferences, but it always becomes a balancing act between my work schedule and my budget.

Enter the ‘virtual’ conference; a natural offspring of the webinar format. No weeks off work. No travel expenses ~ plane tickets, hotels, or expensive food. No high conference fees. But … what about the quality of speakers, networking, and good old-fashion human interaction? And don’t forget a wandering through the Exhibit Hall! All valid concerns.

We are, however, well into the 21^st century and adapting to cyber experiences is now a way of life. For parents, it is often a necessity born out of wanting to spend time and financial resources on family needs first. So, the idea of attending a virtual conference looks pretty good; doesn’t it?

Several years ago, I began receiving a newsletter from With Understanding Comes Calm by Julie Skolnick. I had sat in on one of Julie’s sessions at a SENG conference and liked what she had to say about 2e (twice-exceptional) kids.

Julie Skolnick

Recently, I heard Julie had put together an upcoming virtual conference centering on twice-exceptionality and decided to take a closer look. What immediately caught my eye was the high caliber of speakers who would be presenting during the 2 day event; many of whom I know personally and have heard speak at major conferences. I reviewed Lisa Van Gemert's book on perfectionism here. You can find links to Dr. Dan Peters' books here. 

Dan Peters, Ph.D.

Lisa Van Gemert, M.Ed.T.

                                         

Here’s an outline of what to expect at the 2 Days of 2e Virtual Conference:

Day 1 Speakers	Session
Julie Skolnick, M.A., J.D.	Cycle for Success: Parenting and Teaching 2e
Stephen Chou, Psy.D.	Identification
Susan Baum, Ph.D. & Robin Schader, Ph.D.	A Strength-Based and Talent-Focused Approach
Edward Amend, Psy.D.	Misdiagnosis and Missed Diagnosis
Dan Peters, Ph.D.	Make your 2e Worrier a Warrior
Day 2
Lisa Van Gemert, M.Ed.T.	Addressing Perfectionism
Donna Y. Ford, Ph.D.	Understanding, Preventing, and Reversing Underachievement Among 2e Students
Joseph Renzulli, Ed.D., & Sally Reis, Ph.D.	Schoolwide Enrichment and Talent Development
Bobbie Gilman, M.S	Academic Advocacy for 2e Children
Jonathan Mooney	Normal Sucks

Donna Y. Ford, Ph.D.

Pretty Impressive line-up!

And there’s more. Remember my concern about human interaction? There will be Live-Chat sessions during the actual conference days on October 26th and 27th plus Discussion Forums for parents and teachers through April 2019. And what about all the resources – books and information – you pick up at a conference? There’s a Virtual Exhibitor Hall available with this conference. Not convinced yet this may be a good idea? How about a conference fee of only $99/individual or an extra 10% discount for groups of 5+  (through 9/27) and $129 thereafter? You can’t take a nap in a hotel room at a traditional conference for that price!

Here’s an added bonus I’ve noticed. The sessions are sequential with one speaker at a time. One of the most frustrating parts of an ‘in real life’ conference is paying so much money and then having to decide among 10 or 15 presenters per session. You always miss something. Or you try to split your time between two sessions and miss the best of both. Ugh … 

I’ve never included an affiliate link on this blog before, but I am this time. I think this opportunity makes a lot of sense for parents and educators (whose schools are increasingly balking at paying for conference expenditures.)

This virtual conference will be available online on demand through April 2019 if you can't make it during the conference dates. For educators, the University of Connecticut is offering a certificate documenting ‘Contact Hours’ (not CEUs) for sessions viewed before 11/27 which may be about to be used to fulfill Professional Development requirements (check with your school.) You can find out more about the presenters and register for the conference here (affiliate link.)