Conferences give growth

If anyone wonders how and why we are giving away the Communicate.06 conference for free, both offline and online, I can reveal the answer today.

In the last week the MFLE has had at least a 10% growth in its membership of Scottish teachers. Many, many more have applied from outside the country, wanting to take part in the forums, which for the next two months are going to offer expert support for educators in their blogging, podcasting, digital video, animation, eTwinning and web projects (more online guides after Saturday).

If a conference with only 100 attendees invited along can generate this much buzz and desire to learn something new, in one of the busiest times of the year, it makes me even more tempted to run another conference later in the year, during a quieter period. I'd much prefer to spend marketing budgets on providing this than on leaflets nobody reads. It obviously has a huge effect on our membership and on those taking up new technologies in their classroom.

Would educators outside Scotland make the trip if the course was available for a nominal fee ($50 / £30)?