Active Conference Plan

While driving home from NERCOMP in the snow I started thinking, why, at a conference where active learning and technology-enabled learning is all the talk, are we still stuck in the old teaching model. The speakers sit up in the front of the room with their carefully prepared PowerPoint slides and we all sit dutifully in neat rows facing them and taking notes. Isn’t it time for something different? Here is my active conference plan:

Registration – The registration process is done online.

Registrants create a username/password that will give them access to conference materials and activities. They also fill out a detailed questionnaire that is designed to assess their specific interests, learning goals, learning styles, opinion on conference topics and even personality characteristics. Think of this as a combination professional questionnaire and personality test. All who respond are treated to a summary view of all the responses, so that they can see where they fit into the mix.

Based upon the topics that people are interested in, the conference planners develop several broad questions/issues that are to be addressed by conference participants during the conference. Teams of registrants are created and are assigned to address one of these questions/issues. The team assignments are planned to be cross-functional/cross-disciplinary based upon the survey responses.

Pre-conference activities

Once teams are assigned, registrants participate in a pre-conference introduction forum. They upload a picture, describe themselves, post a link to their personal websites, etc. The first team activity, conducted online, is to design a team logo. From the logo a t-shirt will be created and given to team members when arriving at the conference. Maybe the team also selects their topic/question from a list of possible topics?

The conference website also would include short FAQ/training information on technologies to be used during the conference – podcasting, RSS, blogs, etc.

At the conference

The conference itself would have many of the standard trappings of today’s conferences – the exhibitor floor, continental breakfasts, keynote speakers, topical presentations, panel discussions, etc. But there would also be extensive time and dedicated space set aside for team activity. The expectation would be that team members would each attend the sessions they personally found of interest, then return to review the information with their team, share information, and discuss how it all related to their topic. Information learned at the sessions, from discussions with vendors, and other conference activities would now be used immediately in discussions with fellow professionals.

Individual blogs – each member is assigned their own blog to post notes/impressions during the conference. Blogs are organized by team, making it easy for members to share information.

Wireless networking – everywhere, with participants encouraged to bring their laptops everywhere. Encourage session leaders to work laptop use into their presentations (having all access the same website, etc.) Also have a vendor who can rent/loan laptops for the time of the conference.

The final activity would be presentations from all team groups on their findings/conclusions regarding their topic. Presentations would be brief, 10 – 15 minutes in length. If there are a lot of teams they may need to be multiple sessions, as any one sessions shouldn’t exceed 90 minutes in length. And food should be included. Final presentations posted online and become a part of the collective blog postings.

Implementing the Plan

This idea is flexible enough that it could be executed with a small group of people registered at a larger conference. There could be “normal” conference goers there alongside the “active” conferences.

There are a lot of details to still hash out with this idea, BUT this is starting to sound like the kind of conference I would like to attend. Everyone gets to be a active participant, you get to work with and meet new people, and you come out of the conference having really done something.