If there is a place for learning and development professionals to look forward and discover what is at the forefront of their field, it’s DevLearn 2017 in Las Vegas. Learning professionals—whether they are new to the industry or seasoned veterans—gather for three days each fall for an event filled with more than 250 sessions in 10 different tracks.
DevLearn is a place to engage, explore and be part of a community that is always looking for cutting-edge technologies and tools, new ideas, strategies, and best practices to drive every program toward success.
And this year’s program is no exception. From October 25 to October 27, eLearning Guild is holding DevLearn at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. But with so many great sessions running concurrently, it can be a little overwhelming. To help, I’ve made a list of 15 sessions (five per day) that caught my attention because of the speaker’s experience and the value of the topic. Hope you can be at DevLearn and enjoy one of these concurrent sessions!
Day 1: Wednesday, October 25
Intelligence Augmentation: AI Technology and L&D
Learn from Kenneth Hubbell, Senior Manager Instructional Design Strategy & Innovation, SVP at Wells Fargo Bank, about intelligence augmentation and the implications for the learning and development industry. Hubbell describes the session as an opportunity to engage “in a conversation about what new user experiences this technology can provide your audience—not years in the future, but today!”
Speaker: Kenneth Hubbell, Senior Manager Instructional Design Strategy & Innovation, SVP, Wells Fargo Bank | Track: Emerging Tech | Session 113 | 10:45 a.m.–11:45 a.m.|
Case Study: A Game-Based Approach to Learning Without Lessons
A challenge for Canadian Tire Corporation became a game-based solution. In this case study session, learn how to apply game mechanics and make your learning solution drive engagement and retention. Experts will describe how to achieve success by creating an “innovative solution in-house [with] limited time and resources.”
Speakers: Chris Ang, Senior Web Design and A.J. Mazepa, Team Lead, Canadian Tire Corporation | Track: Games and Gamification | Session 104 | 10:45 a.m.–11:45 a.m. |
Creating a Global Diversity Program from Scratch: How in the World Do You Do That?
This is a case study session that’s geared for everyone from novices to seasoned professionals. The SAP team will discuss how they design and develop an in-house learning series on diversity and inclusion. The speakers will show the process, tips, strategies, and best practices that they “found worked best for collaborating with multicultural stakeholders and SMEs.”
Speakers: Debby McNichols, Senior Instructional Designer, SAP and Leah Morris, Senior Instructional Designer, SAP Success Factors |Track: Instructional Design | Session 208 | 1:15 p.m.–2:15 p.m. |
Reimagining the New-Hire Experience for the Modern Learner
Learn about strategies and techniques for connecting new employees through social communities and developing a large-scale new-hire transformation. McKinley will speak to intermediate professionals on how “this approach should change [their] design, such as how techniques like interactive video can connect new employees to both company culture and to experienced employees.”
Speaker: Allan McKinley, Principal Learning Consultant, Capital One | Track: Management and Strategy | Session 202 | 1:15 p.m.–2:15 p.m. |
When eLearning Isn’t the Answer: An Alaska Airlines Case Study
Alaska Airlines understood its learning audience’s needs and created a solution that included a fresh and memorable learning experience. Learn how the airline transformed a 45-minute eLearning into comic-style graphics and also “tips for communicating instructional change across a large organization.”
Speaker: Christina Schultz and Leigh Shocki, Alaska Airlines | Track: Video & Media | Session 212 | 1:15 p.m.–2:15 p.m. |
Day 2: Thursday, October 26
Go Long! What Learning Professionals Can Learn from Fantasy Football
Using the example of fantasy football, Ryan Rose, Head of Customer Experience and Product Design at Cisco, will show how it can be applied in the workplace to better understand data and analytics to help build better and engaged employees.
Attendees will explore “how to go beyond the self- and peer assessments most organizations have traditionally used and include analytics from sources such as social learning activities, learning management systems, and more to deepen [their]data.”
Speaker: Ryan Rose, Head of Customer Experience and Product Design, Cisco | Track: Data and Measurement | Session 401 | 10:45 a.m.–11:45 a.m. |
A Look Ahead: The Now and the Next of Learning and Technology
Learn to recognize the evolving technologies in the learning landscape and define which ones “have the potential to disrupt organizational learning, as opposed to those that are just hype.”
Speaker: David Kelly, Executive Vice President and Executive Director, eLearning Guild | Track: Emerging Tech | Session 403 | 10:45 a.m.–11:45 a.m. |
Communities of Practice: A Cornerstone of Social Learning
More than a group with a shared interest or a place for networking, a Community of Practice (CoP) is a tool to connect with “the goal of improvement practice.” Learn about what a CoP is, the dynamics of how to nurture and support CoPs, what works and what doesn’t, and examples of successful CoPs.
Speaker: Jane Bozarth, eLearning Coordinator, State of North Carolina | Track: Instructional Design | Session 510 | 1:15 p.m.–2:15 p.m. |
The Power of Story in Podcasting
A good story keeps learners interested and engaged, but how can you build a story that no one wants to stop listening to? Learn how to “use the narrative podcasting techniques to teach learners information that is often viewed as technical or boring” and how to deliver effective and memorable audio stories.
Speakers: Jeffrey D’Anza, Consultant and Learning and Performance, Nationwide Insurance and Joseph Meyer, Multimedia Specialist and Performance, Nationwide Insurance | Track: Video & Media | Session 513 | 1:15 p.m.–2:15 p.m. |
Adapting Your Mobile Learning Strategy with Open-Source Interactive Solutions
Yes, this is a little self-promotion, but you won’t want to miss this session with my colleague John-Carlos! He and Kareem from Google have put together a fantastic, interactive session.
Learn to thinking outside the box and increase interactivity and engagement for a mobile learning solution using Adapt. Explore the Adapt framework and how to use the different custom components to increase interactivity, and learn the benefits of an open-source solution.
Speakers: Kareem Elsayed, Instructional Designer, Google; John-Carlos Lozano, Chief Creative Officer, SweetRush |Track: Mobile | Session 609 | 3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. |
Day 3: Friday, October 27
From Content-Centric to Learner-Centric Design at Amazon
In this case study session, discover “how one of the most complex organizations in the world slowly and iteratively pivoted from a content-centric focus on training and enablement to a learner-centric focus.” Learn how you can communicate to stakeholders and make your training more effective by being learner-focused.
Speaker: Jared Garrett, Senior Instructional Designer, Amazon Media Group | Track: Management and Strategy | Session 711 | 8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. |
BYOL: Microvideo—Making Every Second Count
Bring your own laptop to this session and learn to create engaging and compelling microvideos. Explore the steps for creating a microvideo and learn “tricks for using video analytics to select the best content for a microvideo. You will leave with specific formulas for creating short-form video-based content.”
Speaker: Josh Cavalier, CEO and Founder, Lodestone | Track: Management and Strategy | Session 716 | 8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. |
Designing Virtual Training for Mobile Devices
This session will show the key differences between the virtual classroom desktop programs and mobile apps, and it will teach facilitators how to prepare learners when they plan to connect to virtual training via mobile device. Learn “five techniques to design engaging virtual training when your audience is either mixed or fully mobile.”
Speaker: Cindy Huggett, Consultant, Cindy Huggett Consulting | Track: Mobile | Session 709 | 8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. |
Encouraging a Feedback Culture in the Course Production Process
Receiving stakeholder feedback on time when you are building and designing a course is important. Explore a sample project with McKinsey’s professionals that will help you track a project plan and let stakeholders incorporate the feedback throughout the course development process.
Speakers: Pam Lee, Director of Course Operations, McKinsey & Company; Jen Kruper, Director of Instructional Design, McKinsey & Company | Track: Instructional Design | Session 807 | 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. |
Using Ambient Video Techniques to Create Visually Intriguing Training
Explore how to use Adobe Captivate and GoAnimate to capture the attention of the modern workplace learner. “You’ll leave this session with a broad understanding of Captivate’s video features, as well as best practices when using GoAnimate to simplify content creation.”
Speakers: Steve Corbett, Instructional Design Lead, Insight Enterprises; Kyle Jenkins, Instructional Designer, Insight Enterprises | Track: Video & Media | Session 813 | 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. |
