These are 10 of my Tech Knowledge conference take aways

Last Wednesday I made a glorious trek to Vegas for ATD’s Tech Knowledge conference. I had never been to Tech Knowledge before and I was really looking forward to it. Because you know, I love technology! Here are 10 of my Tech Knowledge take aways.

Reflecting and learning from others in my session – My session was all about becoming an e-learning developer. We used Umu (a polling tool) to crowd source resources on how to become a developer. I also showed my progress as a developer over time. My goal was to show that you have to start somewhere, to show how I planned/achieved my goals, and to have others share their stories as well.

I also realized that people really want more short tutorials on e-learning with coding, it was brought up quite often while I was away but also at the conference. I will do more of this!

Umu – Umu helped to create more interactivity in sessions and it was a great way to capture data. I used Umu for the first time and had no issues because I practiced beforehand. I had originally set up 9 polls but I realized that I didn’t need that many because my polls had similar formats.  Switching back and forth from polling to asking the audience live would have been a better format. During each poll we had a discussion on the topic they were voting on. Next time I will plan my polls more strategically based on my first live session. You can view the full report here.

Messaging/Social for Learning – The communication and real-time messaging tool, Slack, was brought up many times and in many sessions at the conference. Companies are using tools like Slack and HipChat to manage projects and transfer knowledge. We even have a HipChat for learning professionals. You can sign up to join here.

Coding is cool and so is Brian Wong – ATD’s final keynote, Brian Wong was AMAZING. I had never heard of Wong before, so I was apprehensive at first. I would go to this keynote any day. The session was refreshing, it was funny, it related to L&D, and it was up to date. He mentioned how everyone should learn coding. He even mentioned Peach, one of the newest social apps! I felt like I learned a lot from the keynote because his point of view on tech is current.

Binary Choices – Wong spoke about binary choices in his keynote. He talked about apps like Tinder and how they give users two choices. You swipe left or you swipe right. I like the less is more approach, especially for learning (when it fits).

Hands on Learning – I really enjoyed the Hands on Learning at ATD TK. I almost wish there were another conference with 100% Hands on Learning. In Zsolt’s session we customized graphics in a game and we also got to see some examples of games we could build. I think it was the perfect balance of learning and doing. He created tutorials that everyone in class could use afterwards to build games.

I wish there would be a day dedicated hack day at conferences, where you work on a project in a randomly drawn group and then present. That would be sweet.

Design – I’m a huge fan of good design. I mean, who isn’t? I think that the user experience is just as (if not more) important in online learning development as it is in web development. Connie Malamed gave a great presentation on design with examples. She covered everything from flat design to skeuomorphism. Even keynote, Kate Matsudaira, had awesome slides. She illustrated her talking points with Star Wars Lego characters in different poses. I had to go out immediately and buy a Lego character for photo ops at the conference.

Passion + Practice = Success | Oh, plus there were Snuggies! – Kate Matsudaira spoke to practice and passion in her keynote. One of the points that really stuck with me was that she mentioned to make sure people know what you are doing to build you skills. She specifically said to put it in writing and share it. I think this resonated with me a lot. I spend hours a week on professional development outside of work. I’m often reluctant to bring it up. She also spoke to making your skills rare and valuable. Have a craftsman’s mindset. Be deliberate and make time to learn those skills.

Fail Jam – Fail Jam was hosted by Becca Wilson. She talked about the tech community and how fail jams are used to sort through issues. The Fail Jam was a breath of fresh air from normal sessions. It gave conference goers a chance to open up and relate on a different level.

 What else was present? – Virtual Reality was a noticeable topic at ATD TK but I forgot to go to all of the VR sessions. Whoops. Video, Internet of Things, xAPI, and games and gamification are still going strong. Machine Learning made an appearance too! I’m ultra glad that data science is making its way into conferences this year.

- Mel