It’s been a week since ASAE’s Technology Conference and Expo 2013. So what were the key takeaways you left with after attending a few sessions, networking and perusing the expo hall?
ACGI Software sponsored and exhibited at the conference. We spent much of our time networking and informing attendees about our Association Anywhere AMS. And as we often do, we gave away a booth prize –a GoPro HD HERO2 video camera –to one lucky winner! (Congrats again to Jenn P! We hope you enjoy it!)
Now, back to the takeaways…the conference got me thinking about the process of learning and how conferences aim to be the go-to learning environment. I was inspired by an interesting article about the biology of learning by Jeff Hurt, titled “The Art of Changing the Attendees’ Brain: Conference Style.”
Let me share a few quotes to help you understand Jeff’s main points:
“We need to turn the conference education model around with a focus on learning.”
“Ultimately, conference education should be about the art of changing the brain. Not controlling the brain through a lecture. Nor rearranging the brain according to some learning style manual. It is about creating conditions and an environment that leads to change in the attendee’s brain.”
“The difference between a traditional, lecture-based instructional model and learner-centered sessions is whose brains getfired and wired.”
“Learning requires a conscious effort to build understanding from the experience which demands reflection, conceptualization (meaning-making) and application (testing our concepts).”
“It is only when our audiences have understanding that they will produce new thoughts and actions that lead to a different future.”
What’s your take?
So, what did you think of the Tech Conference sessions? Did one in particular leave your brain “firedandwired”? Did you find any sessions lacking this year? We’d like to hear about it!
Share your feedback with us on Facebook, use the hashtag #tech13 and let us know how you think conferences could and should incorporate this “Art” in the future.
I think conferences in general could benefit from re-evaluating the session format. They should focus on providing attendees the best, learning-centered content delivered in a way that encourages attendees to act or apply what they’ve just learned.
Changing the Attendees’ Brain –KDays Style…
Our Association Anywhere users conference, Knowledge Days 2014 (KDays 2014), is coming up in May next year. We’re putting together a collection of sessions focused on imparting new skills. We’ll be encouraging active learning, so customers can effectively adopt new features and best practices for getting the most value from Association Anywhere, our cloud-based AMS, today and tomorrow as their organizations grow and evolve.
We’re excited to put some of these tips for delivering more effective conference learning into practice for KDays 2014. Let us know if you have more helpful tips by sending us your suggestions.
Published by Melissa Madigan, ACGI Software
Photo Source: flickr/healthblog
