Announcement of the convention:
http://www.philippinephysicssociety.org/3.html
1.) The convention was ill-prepared. Even the kits were not ready for distribution during the registration. Many items in their prepared program were cancelled.
2.) The convention host did not do a check on existing facilities around the venue, which they promised could accommodate the participants. This occurred in particular with our reservation at Golden Orchid, which we found out during the first day to be too small for three people to stay.
3.) Their rule on staying for the whole time in a lecture until it is finished is too limiting. There were times when we found ourselves in a lecture which we find boring (“physics game” where one question would return after a few iterations of the dice), or too easy (teaching teachers how to measure length using a ruler?), or simply that the lecturer does not know what he is talking about (see below). We had no recourse but to wait until the session is done.
4.) At least some of their lecturers are not qualified to discuss the things they were trying to discuss. For example, the lecturer on using simulations in physics showed a simulation where water passing through an opening would not change its velocity even if the size of the opening is changed. When asked if he recognized that there is a problem with the simulation, he generalized that it is the job of the teacher to tell the students that no simulation is perfect.
5.) The lectures which were presented were more fitting for teachers of physics who do not have a four-year preparation in physics teaching. For those who spent four or more years preparing themselves for teaching physics, the lectures are simply a waste of time.