All of this happened at The eLearning Guild’s LearningSolutions 2016 Conference & Expo and Ecosystem 2016:
We spent the week “Sharing What Works”
The eLearning Guild’s spring conference took place in Orlando,March 16 – 18, with pre-conference sessions meeting March 14 – 15. The event,which grew out of the Guild’s original Annual Gathering, has had significantgrowth every year—this year it grew by 8 percent over 2015.
Here are some of the highlights.
Bill Nye: Fostering Constant Paths of Curiosity
Bill took more than 1,600 attendees on a journey through hisfascination with science and learning; it actually began before he was bornwith his father’s internment as a POW for 44 months in World War II, which ledto father-and-son projects that revolved around sun dials. (You can followalong with the presentation in Figure 1, a sketchnote of the session providedby artist, graphic recorder, and visual notetaker Kelly Kingman.)
Figure 1: Here is Bill Nye’s keynote as a sketchnote. If you missedit: Dude!
Learning starts with observation—and one test is worth athousand expert opinions. The Ford Pinto exemplifies the irony of the upside-downpyramid of design: Every step in the production of a new product adds to thecost, but if the design is bad, even on your best day, when you’re done you’vestill produced only a Ford Pinto. Keep things simple and things work out: All 100shows in the Bill Nye the Science Guyprogram came from reducing the entire focus to just three categories of scienceand two instances of each of the three.
David Kwong: Think Inside the Box: Creativity Within Constraints
On Thursday, within a string of amazing magic tricks,mentalist work, and interactively building a crossword puzzle with the audience(including a totally amazing and mystifying finish), David demonstrated howmagicians set something up ahead of time and subtly influence their audiencetoward it (Figure 2). It was a great example for instructional designers,showing us how to produce the unexpected while keeping people 100 percentengaged in the process.
Figure 2: David Kwong and the sketchnote of his presentation. Puremagic.
Annie Murphy Paul: Learning Beyond the Myths
Annie, a journalist, author, and Time magazine columnist, closed the event on Friday with anoutstanding session built around common myths about learning (Figure 3). Beginningwith three simplistic myths—learning styles, digital natives, and braintraining—she proceeded to more sophisticated (but also wrong) myths such as theneed to make learning enjoyable and the value of expert teaching. Annie offeredevidence-based statements to replace each mistaken notion. She ended thekeynote with an extended question-and-answer session during which participantsbrought up their own favorite myths for discussion.
Figure 3: Annie Murphy Paul, mythbuster
Awards
The eLearning Guild added two new Guild Masters and presentedawards to the winners of Thursday night’s DemoFest.
Guild Master: Jean Marrapodi
Jean Marrapodi has been a valuable contributor to, andsupporter of, The eLearning Guild from the very beginning. A passionateeducator and lifelong learner with more than 15 years in corporate training inbanking, retail, printing, nonprofits, and health care, Jean understands trendsand needs in a variety of industries. Trained as a teacher, she has taughtpreschool, special, elementary and adult education classes and spent five yearsin higher education, where she led her eLearning team to three national awardsin 2014. Jean is a CPLP, ATD’s highest credential, and holds a PhD in adulteducation, along with a master’s degree in online instructional design. Shebrings all of this to the conference sessions that she leads for the Guild, andfor all of these reasons, we name her our newest Guild Master.
Figure 4: Jean Marrapodi
Guild Master: Jay Cross
Up until the day of his untimely passing, Jay Crosscontributed much to the entire eLearning community with his writing andspeaking on real and informal learning. Jay had a naturalcuriosity and wanted to explore what people were doing and thinking, and thelearning value that came out of it. He was a tireless networker and championof “bottom-up” learning. He has been (and in many ways continues to be) adriving force for the emergence of informal learning as a valid area ofinterest in our field. Jay’s writings have led many to explore learning moredeeply. It is fitting that we honor his memory, his work, and his contributionsby naming him a Guild Master. Clark Quinn, Jay’s friend and colleague, acceptedthe award on behalf of Jay’s family.
Figure 5: Jay Cross
DemoFest Awards
DemoFest, the event at every eLearning Guild conference wherepractitioners are able to show their best work during an evening of networkingand camaraderie, always ends with awards that are decided through votes byattendees. This year, 50 projects in 11 categories qualified for exhibition(Figure 6), and the room was packed with observers for two hours.
Figure 6: At DemoFest, developers (in the stylish green shirts forSt. Patrick’s Day) showed their best work at 50 tables
Here are the categories, the winners in each, and the twoprojects voted Best of Show:
Best Academic Solution:“The Norwegian Virtual School” by Morten Oddvik and Kjetil Idas, VestfoldCounty Municipality
Best AlternativeSolution: “Bloomingdale’s: Microlearning for Safety and Sales” by ChadMcIntosh, Bloomingdale’s, and Laura Martin, Axonify
Best Blended LearningSolution: “Bridgestone Education Network” by Shauna Vaughan, SweetRush
Best Business ProcessSolution: “Dealing with Angry Customers: A Branching Scenario” by TimSlade, Artisan E-Learning
Best Game-BasedSolution: “Missouri River Basin Balancer Game” by William Brown andJeanette Stanley, SAIC
BestImmersive/Simulation Solution: “Henkel OSI Window Installation Game” by DanKeckan, Cinecraft Productions
Best Mobile Solution:“American Greetings AG2GO Mobile Training” by Marie Wood and Josh Kester, AmericanGreetings
BestOnboarding/Orientation Solution: “The Orientation Game” by Anne Paine, ApexPerformance Solutions
Best PerformanceSupport Solution: “Stories and Compliance” by Rance Greene, MCSC
Best Sales TrainingSolution: “Lead Generation Through Blended Learning” by Pooja Jaisingh,Adobe Systems, and Andrew Scivally, eLearning Brothers
Best Soft SkillsSolution: “My Plan: Mission Transition Support” by Mikaylie Kartchner andJeff Batt, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Best of Show Vendor:“PayPal New Employee Welcome Suite” by Richard Vass, eLearning Brothers
Best of Show Non-vendor:“Nielsen’s myLearning Portal” by Tricia Ward, Nielsen, and Nick Floro,Sealworks Interactive
And there was more!
In addition to what has already been described in thisarticle, the conference program provided participants with over 225 morelearning opportunities: concurrent sessions, learning stages, Morning Buzzdiscussions, and other events.
The Expo featured 66 exhibitors from every segment of theeLearning world.
Figure 7: The Expo provides the opportunity for in-depthconversation with providers of the tools and services you need for your work
The xAPI Camp was a one-day pre-conference experience atLearning Solutions that showcased what’s possible with the xAPI. Over two dozenparticipants experienced a day filled with case studies, problem solving, andnetworking, and connected to answers they could act on. This is a communitythat helps its members make an impact. There will be a separatereport in Learning Solutions Magazinesoon on this event.
Figure 8: The xAPI Camp
Learning Solutions 2016 Conference & Expoand Ecosystem 2016, like The eLearning Guild’s other events—FocusOn Learning andDevLearn—is where you will find the widest array of topics and the mostknowledgeable speakers in the eLearning field. These high-energy programsfeature multiple networking opportunities within the daily schedule, supportfor participants who are new to the industry through the docent program, andpresentation notes delivered through the conference app. With generousdiscounts for Guild members, you get the best value for your registration feeof any professional community of practice in the world. Join us in Austin, Texasthis June for FocusOn Learning 2016!
