1st Guild Executive Forum Is a Resounding Success

The eLearning Guild presented its first Executive Forum forsenior learning and development leaders October 24, 2017, at the Mirage hotelin Las Vegas. The event preceded DevLearn Conference & Expo, the Guild’s premier annual event focused on learningtechnologies.

Forty-two executives representing a wide array of verticalsattended educational sessions and networked at the full-day event. The programfocused on corporate digital learning, an emerging topic garnering attention among L&Dexecutives. The program included stimulating presentations from industryexperts, case studies, and plenty of opportunity for informal discussion.

David Kelly, executive vice president and executive directorof The eLearning Guild, kicked off the Executive Forum. He spoke about how new technologyhas radically transformed human behavior, which in turn is impacting the way employeeslearn. To illustrate his point, he asked attendees what typically happens when agroup of diners are trying to recall a particular fact.

“Someone will Google it,” they chorused. That is digitallearning in action. As Kelly added, “No one says, ‘Hold on a minute, I’m goingto log on to the LMS to find the answer.’”

Kelly emphasized that although employees today can solvemany problems on their own, “our L&D practices haven’t caught up with thatyet.” He predicts that the rise of digital learning will cause L&D to pivotfrom a training and education focus to supporting learning in its natural form.

Anders Gronstedt, president of the Gronstedt Group, illuminated technologiesshaping this new reality. His company leverages innovative solutions such asnext-generation digital simulations, learning games, transmedia storytelling, virtualreality, and augmented reality. While demonstrating some of the technology, Gronstedtremarked that immersive experiences are vital for engaging a modern workforce.According to Gronstedt, “The average 21-year-old has spent more time playingvideo games than in school.”

Frank Nguyen, chief talent development officer at AdvisorGroup, has directed enterprise learning at numerous high-profile companiesincluding American Express, Intel, and Sears Holdings Corporation. Nguyen, a Guild Master, specializes in transforming learning organizations by buildinglearning strategies around business strategies. He discussed how technology isdriving digital learning and shared practical suggestions of how learningleaders can architect a modern learning ecosystem using a variety of tools,including gamification.

After a gourmet lunch, Aaron Silvers, manager of analyticsat Elsevier, made his presentation. Silvers is an industry veteran who yearsago helped develop the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) and morerecently guided xAPIto 1.0 release. A respected consultant, designer, and strategist, Silvers discusseddata and analytics in relation to digital learning.

The Executive Forum program concluded with two case studies. Matt Peters, director of the Tech College within Visa University, demonstratedhow his organization is using a content aggregator to create an integratedlearning experience. Then Kenneth Hubbell, senior manager of instructionaldesign at Wells Fargo, discussed how Wells Fargo is successfully incorporatingartificial intelligence (AI) into its learning architecture.

Figure 1: Kenneth Hubbell of Wells Fargo presents at The eLearningGuild’s Executive Forum

Feedback from Executive Forum attendees

The diverse group of senior learning leaders attending TheeLearning Guild’s Executive Forum came from all around the United States, aswell as Dubai, New Zealand, and Canada, seeking practical takeaways andsolutions to their business challenges.

“At IBM we’re in the midst of a major digital transformationin our learning area, and I was very interested to meet and hear from otherexecutives on their challenges, solutions, and best practices as they take thesame journey,” said senior program manager and content strategist Meg Petersen.She found the educational sessions valuable and developed important connectionsthat she hopes to sustain via a private LinkedIn group formed after the event.

Throughout the conference, Executive Forum attendees hadexclusive use of a special lounge. “Having the lounge really added to the experience,giving us the opportunity to solidify relationships, get more input on our ownchallenges, and learn from others,” Petersen added.

Chip Reaves is president of Bigger-Brains.com,a training partner that creates eLearning courses and content. The ExecutiveForum exceeded his expectations. According to Reaves, the best part was thediscussions about industry trends, most notably learning outside the LMS, andthe rise of xAPI as a related standard. “It helped me to understand howour company and our team can better support our eLearning clients,” he said.

Reaves got real value from the experience. “The ‘secretlunches’ alone were worth the cost of the Forum; the insight into otherbusinesses and new solutions was priceless,” he said.

Elise Dunn, a training and development professional atGoldman Sachs in Jersey City, New Jersey, also praised the Executive Forum. Shefelt it was a productive investment: thoughtful, insightful, and innovative.“This Forum really capped off my entire DevLearn experience,” she wrote in anevaluation.

Click here to view a video about the DevLearn Executive Forum.

Join us at our next Executive Forum

The next eLearning Guild Executive Forum will take place March 26, 2018, prior to Learning Solutions 2018 Conference & Expo, March 27 – 29. Thetopic for this Executive Forum is “Learning & Performance Ecosystems.”Participants will collaborate with colleagues to explore strategies, methodologies,and technologies that are transforming organizations today. All senior learningand development leaders are invited to attend.