Designing Next Generation Conference Education Sessions

Designing Next Generation Conference Education Sessions
Creating an Environment for
Informal & Formal Learning
in a Digital Age
Part 1

Thank You!

Presenter – Attendee Agreement

Law of the Click

Texting, Typing Welcome#2010Connect

Tweet Unto Others As You Would Have Them TweetUnto You.
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Tweet Something Good Before You Tweet Something Bad

Seek First To Understand

Safe space to agree, disagree, ponder & question
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About Me
Coal Miner’s Grandson
West Virginia Hillbilly
Nonprofit Junkie
Environmental Advocate
Meeting & Event Professional
Education Evangelist

Director of Education & Engagement

@JeffHurt

1) Identify six principles for designing next-gen conference education sessions

2) Discover new ways to integrate horizontal, collaborative learning opps

3) Discuss how room environments & traditional setups affect learning

What is education?

Is there a difference between education & information?

According to US EPA:
Information provides facts, figures, opinions.
Education teaches skills
critical thinking
problem solving
collaboration
decision making
evaluation
analysis
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Conference education often embraces a Clone Culture

Conference education often embraces a Clone Culture
Cloned:
Learning
Knowledge
Ideas

Our education endeavors built on outdated, traditional model
Oxford University
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Oxford University
WW II

Oxford University
WW II
Industrial Revolution

Anyone from the 1800’s could walk into most conference education sessions and feel right at home.

Traditional Conference Education uses a push method
Old
Training
Rigid
Program
Mandated
Formal
LO #1
LO #2

New Conference Education uses a push method
New
Learning
Flexible
Platform
Self-Service
Informal
Old
Training
Rigid
Program
Mandated
Formal
LO #1
LO #2

The Traditional Conference Push Method
Conference & Event Organizers decide where bus going, attendees along for ride.
(Good for newbies, bad for veterans)
LO #1
LO #2

The New Conference
Pull Method
Riders choose destination, speed, route & decide if they want to take detours or help others. (Best for veterans and experienced professionals)
LO #1
LO #2

Four Information Ages
Writing
Scroll to Codex
Printing Press
Internet
Historian Robert Darton

Learning undergoing major change
Internet
MMOs
Informal learning
Work changes
Culture changes
Brain science

#1: Conference ed sessions must transition to Participatory Learning
Internet changed how we all learn, play, socialize, engage in life
LO #1
LO #2

Commonplace not exotic
About a process, not product
LO #1
LO #2

Commonplace not exotic
About a process, not product
Not passive
Conversations and comments
LO #1
LO #2

#2: Conference ed sessions must transition from Presumed Authority to Collective Credibility
Communal
Democratic
LO #1
LO #2

Problem solving through group processes
Interdisciplinary
LO #1
LO #2

Requires helping attendees learn skills to address different points of views
LO #1
LO #2

#3: Conference ed sessions must transition to More Horizontal Structures
Traditional – authoritative, top-down
Knowledge gap between speaker & audience shrunk
LO #1
LO #2

Corporate world emphasizing collaboration, teamwork, problem-solving
Knowledge making together
LO #1
LO #2

Emphasis on Peer2Peer
Less monologues and panel dialogues
LO #1
LO #2

#4: Conference ed sessions must provide a variety Formal & Informal Learning
80% of learning is from informal learning
Move from push to pull methods
LO #1
LO #2

#4: Conference ed sessions must provide a variety Formal & Informal Learning
LO #1
LO #2
Source: Jay Cross’ Working Smarter

#5: Conference ed sessions must transition toNetworked Learning
Learning is social
Conversational and partnering
Developing mediation skills: Learning to… “Disagree without being disagreeable.”
LO #1
LO #2

#5: Conference sessions must transition toNetworked Learning
Rejects “Prisoner Dilemma”
Emphasizes flexibility & outcomes
LO #1
LO #2

#5: Conference sessions must transition toNetworked Learning
See’s learning as mobilizing networks
From assertive to enabling
LO #1
LO #2

#6: Conference ed sessions must beInteractive & Without Walls
Life-Long Learning
Venues with free Wi-Fi
Encourages sharing of social media experiences
LO #1
LO #2

Many-to-multitudes (engages those not present, extends messages to those restricted by $$ or schedule)Examples: Darfur, Tibet
LO #1
LO #2

Extending ideas, practices and even failures for betterment of the industry, profession
LO #1
LO #2

Sources: Digital Media & Learning funded by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation from the University of Michigan & MIT

Embrace Learnscaping For Conferences & Events
Remove barriers to learn & network
LO #2

Seed communities with content to discuss
LO #2

Increase the bandwidth of learning opps (provide informal seating areas, free charging stations)
LO #2

Plan structured, facilitated opps for peer discussion
LO #2

Give preference to facilitators more than presenters
LO #2

Be a conduit for facilitated conversations
LO #2

Conversations are the stem cells of learning: they create & transmit knowledge ~ Jay Cross
LO #2

Open conversations increase innovation
LO #2

People usually forget 90% of what they learn in a class within 30 days. Majority of loss occurs within hours of class.
German psychologist & memory researcher Hermann Ebbinghaus
LO #3

Traditional Theater & Classroom
LO #3

Decreases
Peer Engagementlooking at back of heads & not eyes
LO #3

Decreases
Attention & LearningThose sitting stage right & stage left must turn head and body up to 80 degrees to see presenter
LO #3

Decreases
Blood Flow To BrainAny attendee that must turn neck 15 degrees or more to either side
LO #3

Decreases
OxygenIf presenter moves around room or down aisles, turning bodies up to 180 degrees causes lower back & leg pain and the ability to breath deeply
LO #3

How To Resolve
Set to the long wall
Source: Dr. Paul Radde, Ph.D.
Seating Matters
LO #3

How To Resolve
Curve seating or use Chevron
Seating Matters
LO #3

How To Resolve
Curve seating or use Chevron
Face each chair directly
Seating Matters
LO #3

How To Resolve
Set outside chairs, still in straight rows, toward presentation
Seating Matters
LO #3

How To Resolve
Set outside chairs, still in straight rows, toward presentation
Provide multiple screens
Seating Matters
LO #3

Stimulate More Of The Senses
LO #3

Visuals Trump Other Senses
LO #3

80% of the info the brain receives is visual
Source: Dr. Robert LeamnsonUniversity of Massachusetts at Dartmouth
LO #3

Light & Coloraffects how the brain learns
Source: Dr. Robert LeamnsonUniversity of Massachusetts at Dartmouth
LO #3

Long Wave Colors (red, orange, yellow) stimulate more active brain responses
Source: V. Vuontela, 1999
LO #3

Short Wave Length (green, blue, violet) more conduciveto relaxation
Source: V. Vuontela, 1999
LO #3

Combine Audio With Visual
+
LO #3

LO #3
Source: Edgar Dale, Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching

Odors Help With Brain Recall
LO #3

When tested on details of movie while smell of popcorn wafts into air, remember 10%-50% more
LO #3
Source: Proust Affect, Chue, S. & Downes, JJ (2002)

LO #3
Source: Proust Affect, Chue, S. & Downes, JJ (2002)

Active Learning Increases Memory Retention & Stability
LO #3
Source: Edgar Dale, Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching

Active Learning: Discussions help recall
LO #3

Designing Next Generation Conference Education Sessions
Continue The ConversationThursday, May 13, 12 pm ET, 9 am PT
Twitter - #Eventprofs

Case Study: Unassociated – An Unconference for AssociationProfessionals
Part IITuesday, May 25, 2 – 3 pm ET
Lindy Dreyer & Maddie Grant

jhurt@velvetchainsaw.com
jeffhurtblog.com
@JeffHurt

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Designing Next Generation Conference Education Sessions

by Jeff Hurt on May 11, 2010

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Designing Next Generation Conference Education Sessions — Presentation Transcript