The World Issues Conference was a busy day full of all kinds of educational activities. Starting off with a presentation in the Artsplex that I absolutely valued. The keynote speaker in the morning: Marc Kielburger was a great speaker to have in the morning because of his success and inspirational stories that he told about what he has accomplished in his life and what he has learned from all of it. I also found him very enthusiastic which was ideal for a morning presentation as it woke us all up and kept us awake. The Grade 8 presenters were very fluent and well rehersed. The discussion questions that we asked kept everyone intriqued in the topic on the Mars Curiousity Rover even though only about 4 people kept answering the questions we asked. Later on in the day came the simulation. Although the idea of the water walk was a great idea, I thought the organization of it could have been improved. Everyone was scattered on the green area and many students didn’t show up. More thorough directions to get to each of the simulations would have been ideal since some went to simulations that they were not signed up for. When people arrived at the simulation, it started to run well, it was just finding the location which could have been clearer. Near the end of the day, the acivities in the Artsplex including the discussion panel should have been cut down since the majority of public school students left before the end of the event. Having students come up to ask questions, I thought was great but the day should have ended at 3pm. Also I thought the group picture was unorganized since many had their back facing the camera and didn’t know when the picture was being taken. For the rest of the day, it ran well and the method of doing a morning seminar and afternoon was excellent, and the overall idea of the simulations was educational. I really hope that others get the chance to participate in this conference next year as it is an educational learning experience for all of us.
