What the Evolution of Learning Means for Conferences | Associations Now

Photo: Samantha Whitehorne

"At this week’s digitalNow2017 conference, a number of speakers said that a new learning environment and the continuous need for professionals to gain new skills will require associations to adopt a new strategy. Here’s a look at how it may affect conferences." says Samantha Whitehorne, editorial director of Associations Now.

Photo: (iStock/Thinkstock)

Earlier this week, I spent a few days in Orlando at digitalNow2017. While speakers talked about everything from the internet of things to nondues revenue and content strategy, a topic that came up time and time again, including from both keynoters, was the evolution of learning.

For example, in Tuesday’s opening keynote, Timothy Chou, a futurist and chairman of Alchemist Accelerator, discussed how shifts in technology will require people to adapt a new learning lifecycle.

“It’s not about going to school and then working for 40 years. That’s not the pattern,” he said. “What this is going to have to look like is 10-year chunks—two to learn, eight to execute, and then starting all over again.”

In Wednesday’s keynote, Britt Andreatta—CEO and president of Andreatta Consulting—shared a similar perspective, saying that five years is the half-life of any learned skill.

To ensure that members are getting the ever-changing skills required to do their jobs and to enhance their potential, Andreatta said that organizations must move from a model of training to a model of learning.

Whereas training is a specific event or activity designed from an organization’s perspective, Andreatta said learning can happen anywhere, at any time, and is designed from the learner’s perspective.

“You don’t want to tell your learners what they need to know,” she said. “You want to create inquiry and curiosity, as well as allow for the hands-on application of the information they receive.”
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Source: Associations Now