West Tokyo JALT, with the great partnership and support of Tokyo JALT, CUE SIG and TED SIG, put on a half day conference dedicated to helping teachers improve their chances of getting presentation proposals accepted and looking even more professional once accepted.
The event ran from noon to 6:00 p.m. at Kyorin University and featured three workshops and one breakout session. The first workshop was led by Jamie Taylor and Wendy Gough. Entitled "Honing your Abstract Writing Skills", the presentation included insights into what reviewers looked for and tips for best expressing presentation contents in an abstract. Greg Gagnon next gave his workshop, "Poster Presentations for Conferences: Tips and Strategies". In this, Greg pointed out common mistakes found in posters and guidelines for creating posters. Daniel Beck then led his workshop, "Bullet Ban: Putting an end to Death by Powerpoint by Educators", within which he showed practical tips for making slides that enhance, rather than distract from, a presentation.
27 people came to the conference, with representatives from distant areas of Japan.