Conferences Need More Sharing April 26, 2018 by Dave Lutz One of the strongest intangible attributes of a healthy conference is how much sharing takes place. Too often, competition and self-interest get in the way of sharing what’s most helpful. Professions that deliver conference sessions with a high level of sharing – not diluted or generalized from the stage – are often in fields linked … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Conference Networking Tagged With: , interactivity, networking, participatory learning, small-group conversations, speaker coaching
The Conference Lecture Paradox October 1, 2015 by Jeff Hurt When talking about conference education, most people think about the traditional lecture. It is perceived as the holy grail of much of the conference. Many attendees swear they learn a lot from those subject matter expert speeches. It’s a paradox. Attendees flock to general sessions and breakouts to hear a lecture. Yet science says they … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , adult education, conference best practices, conference education, conference lecture, Education & Adult Learning, lecture, participatory learning
Adopt These Four Values To Super Charge Your Conference Participant Peer Learning January 16, 2015 by Jeff Hurt In today’s high-tech, information-at-your-thumbs world, education models have shifted. Our conference participants now have the capacity and cultural motivation to produce their own knowledge. They experience overwhelmingly support for creating and sharing information and connections in their daily lives. We continue to witness the rise of the participatory culture as Henry Jenkins describes it. These … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , active participation, adult education, adult learning strategies, conference best practices, participatory culture, participatory learning
Five Super Effervescent Sparkling Fresh Conference Education Ideas October 24, 2014 by Jeff Hurt As a conference organizer, do you replicate last year’s conference schedule and experience and just change the filling? Or do you mix it up? Constantly looking for new ways to freshen up the attendee’s conference experience. The best conference organizers proactively seek fresh, new ideas to implement at their next annual meeting. They work hard … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Event Planning Tagged With: , adult learning strategies, brain science education, brain-friendly conferences, conference best practices, conference education, conferences, participatory class, participatory culture, participatory learning
Conferences Are Providing Inferior Education Through Lectures June 5, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Conferences are providing inferior education if all they provide is didactic, presenter monologue lectures. Yes, that’s right. The speaker lecture is ineffective and inferior! If all your attendees do is sit and listen passively to speakers, you’re providing bad conference education! At least that’s what 2001 Physics Nobel Prize recipient, Stanford professor and former director … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , active learning, adult education, conference best practices, conference education, lecture, participatory learning
Five Myths Of Interactive, Participatory Learning For STEM Conferences October 11, 2013 by Jeff Hurt It’s one of the most common excuses I hear from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics/Medical) conference organizers today… “As ______________ (insert appropriate STEM word) attendees, they won’t participate in interactive sessions or discussions. They don’t want to be actively involved. They don’t like to talk. They came to hear from an expert. We can’t leave … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , active learning, adult learning strategies, collaborative learning, education best practices, interactive, participatory learning
Increase Conference Attendee Engagement, Intimacy And Participation At Your Next Event October 10, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Have you ever attended a conference by yourself and you didn’t know anyone there? If you have, you’ve experienced a range of emotions from anticipation to anxiousness to concern. If no one acknowledges or welcomes you when you first step onsite, you may feel like an outsider. Conferences can be some of the loneliest places … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , active participation, association, community, engagement, participatory learning
Old Guard Conferences Vs. Cutting Edge Conferences September 6, 2012 by Jeff Hurt When the winds of change blow, some people build walls. Others build windmills. ~Chinese Proverb Conferences are divided today between Old Guard and Cutting Edge Conferences. Old guard conferences build walls when the winds of change blow. Cutting edge conferences build windmills to capture and leverage the winds of change. Old Guard And Cutting Edge … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference education, conferences, EPIC conferences, participatory culture, participatory learning
Creating EPIC Conferences For Connected Times September 5, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Name two words that describe the web today. Connected and community are two that come to my mind. Conferences Are In The Connexity Business Amazon and eBay say they are in the connexity business-making connections and building communities. Both companies demonstrate that the web is less an information source than a social medium. Conferences need … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference education, conferences, EPIC conferences, participatory culture, participatory learning
Metaphors, Stories And Images Are Important For Conferences: The I In EPIC Conferences August 30, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Try this. Next time you are in the grocery store, ask the seafood clerk for fresh sardines. Guess what most seafood clerks say? “There is not really one fish called a sardine.” Most of us are used to seeing sardines in a can. In reality, the name applies to twenty-one species of small fish that, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference education, conferences, EPIC conferences, participatory culture, participatory learning
