While the current recession kept a few eLearning practitioners in the office, the rest of us were sharing/learning from our colleagues in Orlando at The eLearning Guild's Annual Gathering Conference. AG|09 LIVE provided virtual attendees with a connection to the action as well as connecting colleagues with each other at the event.Of course twitter was the social glue that kept everyone connected. I don't have a photo of it this time, but we used the Twittercamp bigscreen again so that everyone could follow the conversation in the halls of the event.
KEYNOTES
I only saw the first 2 keynotes (Jeff Howe and Bill Tancer) and followed the 3rd (Tod Maffin)via twitter. The idea of crowdsourcing is exactly what the future education is all about. And the incredible stories created from data is shockingly different than what you might think. People will tell you one story, but their actions will tell you the true story. Can we begin to use Internet data as BETTER form of eLearning needs assessment? I think so. Let's start working on that.
I'd love to have someone add something in the comments about Tod Maffin's keynote. I'm very disappointed that I missed it.
Dinner Groups
The dinner groups are always a big hit. Unfortunately I didn't make it to any of the dinner groups, but I did follow the action on twitter and heard rave reviews the following days. If you haven't figured it out yet, attending conferences is more about the UN-official conversations...hallway, dinner, drinks, etc. And then if you have a talented artist, like Kevin Thorn, sitting at your table you end up with a GREAT image to remember all your new friends.
IDZone
At DevLearn there is the Serious Games Zone, so for AG|09 the Guild created the IDZONE. It was an amazing collection of mini-sessions held in the expo room focused on the MANY aspects of Instructional Design. The wonderful and amazing Jean Marrapodi hosted this epic journey into the world of ID and it was incredibly well received. Thanks Jean! Kevin Thorn also posted a great list of IDzone resources.
ESPRESSO LEARNING
I also missed this event, but I think these tweets sums it up:
madsit: #AG09 Loved the Espresso Learning sessions! Definitely made you step out of your comfort box and get involved in the discussion.
annemscott: #ag09 First espresso learning (fostering informal learning) was excellent. Now on to social-media & user generated content.
Overall, It was a jam-packed, brain-filling EDventure as usual. It was great to see so many old friends, new friends, and virtual friends face2face. The world of elearning is truly changing in many ways. And I can tell you that there is no better way to be in this game than to meet, IN PERSON, with your peers. But then to stay in touch virtually throughout the year until we meet again. Please stay in touch!!!
5 comments:
I loved Todd Maffin's presentation. Very insightful, funny, and a good glimpse into the future.
In that case Patrick, where can I learn more?
I like funny and insightfuls tuff and a glimpse into the future.
You say Tod provided this gliimpse?
What can you tell us about the future?
Brent you said you followed Tod on Twitter.
Where?
No question the ID Zone was a big hit; standing room only most of the time. This could have something to do with the theatre placement near the front doors. Next year place it in the back of the Hall. The goal should be to drive traffic through the hall and past the booths. Congratulations to Jean Marrapodi for a great line-up.
I've been a member of eLearning Guild for a few years but never feel like I get much out of conferences (so I usually skip) but your review/notes on what happened made it sound like a great way to network with some interesting people and get a jump on up & coming training concepts. I've also thought of twitter as another one of those waste of time technologies, but i feel like maybe I've been looking in the wrong place. Thanks for the overview!
Thanks for the nods, Brent and Jon. I had a great team to work with presenting the ID Zone. Hats off to Heidi Fisk for so much of her behind the scenes wizardry. In the end, it's all about the learning and we each carried home a sackful of new ideas this year. What a great stimulus plan!
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