First Impression of CSSE

Okay, I'm at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education conference in Toronto, Ontario- after having just wrapped up four weeks in Newfoundland working on my dissertation data colletion. Only another four or five final interviews and another two weeks of journal entries, along with some observations of recorded synchronous and asynchronous classes.

This is my first Canadian conference, or more accurately my first conference organized by a Canadian organization since I attended the Canadian Association of Distance Education in St. John's, Newfoundland back in the Spring of 2003- before I began my doctoral studies. It has been interesting, as I was barely in the door and in line to pick up my badge and program when one of the students who's paper I discussed at AERA (see Discussing AERA) walked up to me and said hello.

Less than a half hour later I ran into a few faculty members that I knew and chatted with them for a while - talking mostly about a research project they have underway and the possibility of me applying for a soft money position on that grant.

I left the building I was in after speaking with them for a little less than a half hour and went to the building where a session about online learning was being held. I was early, so I stoppped for a coffee and ran into another faculty member that I knew and she introduced me to her two grad students who were planning on taking in my session tomorrow morning.

As I was leaving the coffee shop about a half hour later, heading off to that session and I ran into a fellow doctoral student I know who I had last seen at AERA. He was heading to the same session (as did one of the graduate students I had met a few minutes earlier).

I'm not sure if this is indicative of the educational academic community in Canada being that small a place or if this was all just one big coincidence - one after another.

Tags: CSSE, graduate student, graduate students, graduate school, higher education, education