Want to make your conference education more fun and memorable? Then maybe you should consider gamification. Simply put, gamification is the use of game mechanics to make learning and instruction more fun and to increase retention. Learning And Gamification Make A Great Team Coupling gamification and learning: gives an experience meaning provides a set of … [Read more…]
Gamification. It’s a weird word for sure. It includes the word game that many of us know from our own childhood experiences. So does gamification mean more organizations should embrace games like Go Fish, Kerplunk, Life, Monopoly, Poker, Solitaire and UNO? Well, sort of. It means that game fundamentals can apply to education, instruction, learning … [Read more…]
Is your conference primarily focused on speakers? Is it so focused on speakers that it’s become a conference of speakers speaking to other speakers because no one else attends the education sessions? Maybe you’re saying, “No, my conference is focused on attendees!” How To Tell If Your Conference Focus Is Speakers Or Attendees Here’s how … [Read more…]
Is your presentation a one-way monologue for listeners? Or is it an invitation for listeners to enter the conversation? If you want your listeners to remember what you said, then your presentation needs to be more like Facebook than TV. Why? The best learning occurs in a social context not in a passive listening experience. … [Read more…]
We participate, therefore we are. This spin on cogito ergo sum (English: “I think, therefore I am”) is a good motto for all conferences and events. It is exactly where I think conference organizers should begin to focus their meeting planning efforts. They need to focus on designing learning experiences where attendees actively participate, not … [Read more…]
OK, I admit it. I’m an information junkie! I’m addicted to learning new information. Learning, My Drug Of Choice Learning is my drug of choice. I get a high when my internal light bulb flashes. With each aha, my body is flooded with endorphins. I consume hordes of information on a regular basis. I love … [Read more…]
Have you ever received the elbow nudge during a workshop or conference? If you’re like me, you’ve even given a few to colleagues and friends. The Ubiquitous Elbow Nudge The elbow nudge occurs when a peer decides to emphasize something a presenter said. Suddenly you feel an elbow in your rib cage as your contemporary … [Read more…]
10, 11, 12, 13… I found myself counting the ceiling tiles. It was the only thing I could do to keep myself awake because I was so bored. I didn’t want to become one of the conference walking dead infected with the boredom virus. I had to force myself to pay attention. But it wasn’t … [Read more…]
I was extremely irritated. In less than twenty minutes I visited four different conference education sessions. Each of them was a waste of my time. Two sessions were about content that I already knew, even though their session descriptions said they were for advanced audiences. One session had two bumbling, rambling presenters speaking jargon and … [Read more…]
Is your conference content like an encyclopedia, a textbook or a report? Does your conference promote content-centric or learner-centric design? Unfortunately, most conferences default to content-centric design without even knowing it. SMEs Do It Difficultly If your conference prides itself on securing subject matter experts (SMEs) to present information, then consider the following. Your attempt … [Read more…]
