Orchestrating a school conference is very significant in the school’s achievements of goals, management and leadership. It makes everyone in school bonded to pursue and drive in a particular plan of action, particularly now that we are in the middle of pandemic where there are limitations in communications. School conferences now are usually conducted online to pursue the Learning Continuity Plan of every school anchored to the DepEd’s vision, mission and goals.
The key factors influencing the conduct of a successful conference are the following: First, objectives of the conference should be clarified to the participants. The head / leader of the conference should make it clear that all the participants are clearly aware of the conferences’ objectives. A formal letter / memorandum must be written by the conference leader and be signed by the participants as a proof that they are informed. Likewise, at the beginning of the conference, objectives must be read orally. Further, discussion of the conference objectives is also good for uniform understanding and to ensure that all participants are knowledgeable on the target destination.
Second, participants must be properly motivated as to the necessity of the conference. Not only the mind that should be aware of the needs of having conference but also the heart of the participants. This will give them inner drive to cooperate and give their full attention. Always remember that when someone is properly motivated, he/she will definitely cooperate without any hesitations, questions and reservations. This is very significant in the success of any conference because motivation will drive through everyone’s cooperation towards mutual goals.
Third, venue, mode and environment are also key factors in the successful conference. In this time of pandemic, we often hear problems with resources and environments while conducting conference. No matter how good the conference is being conducted if the environment is very noisy, there’s interrupted internet connection, device problem and mode difficulty, conference will still not be successful. This can be avoided with great initiative by participants themselves. Make sure that the internet connection you are subscribing is excellent in your area. Buy a headset with good noise cancelling feature. Allocate a specific are in your house for your work purposes, and test your device like laptop and speaker at least one hour before the start of the conference. Also, be updated on the power outage schedule which is regularly posted in social media accounts of the electricity provider. All the participants must exert extra effort to make all possibilities to lessen the burden in the conduct of online conferences.
Fourth, follow up tangible activities. I always believe that any action without tangible results is not successful. Conference can be considered successful when it achieves its objectives and when it produced tangible positive results. This is necessary and I know some agencies are doing this “no output, no certificate” policy. Especially that we don’t see each other honesty and probity is being tested behind screens.
By: Gerlie Sapad Tagudin | Teacher III| Barretto II Elementary School | Olongapo City
