Don’t be alone at #mlearncon – Docents to the rescue.

That’s right, Don’t be alone next week at a conference.

I remember years ago attending my first learning conference. It was in Atlanta and there were 11,000 people attending.  But that first night when I arrived I sat in the bar with a book alone.  Nobody had their badges yet, or were just not wearing them. Groups of people who knew each other were all over the place drinking, laughing and sharing stories. I went to the restaurant to a table for one and crawled into bed that first night thinking ‘I hope tomorrow gets better’.  I had no idea which sessions to choose, who was worth listening to, nothing.  I needed someone who knew to hold me by the hand and lead me into temptation.

These days of course I am one of  ‘the crowd’, I try to gather up as many of those lonely people as I can see and ask ‘are you here for…’ and drag them into the action.

My first Guild conference (long long time ago) was a little different. I had been chatting with all these people on Twitter for ages and at last we were going to meet each other..  However I had only teeny tiny pictures of a few of them…  As I picked up my badge and said my name, the guy standing next to me became a very dear friend. We had been conversing for a while and I finally met Aaron Silvers. He introduced me to all those I had already been talking to and within an hour we were all in a dive (sorry restaurant) beer in hand and having a great time.

This year I decided I was going to try to change the experience for as many as possible.

I have designed the Docent Program for mLearnCon. I have enlisted the help of many knowledgable people and two great other Docents.

Come join us, we start at the Orientation Session on Monday night. or just show up and tag along. Feel welcome, meet some new friends, get the experts view of the conference and see which sessions are really going to be worth going to. Better still, meet the speakers, have lunch with famous names in our industry and don’t sit in the bar alone with a book.

About the Docent Program at mLearnCon

 

What is the docent program?

“Docent” is the title given to people who serve as guides and educators, particularly for museums. We’ll be adapting the docent concept for this year’s mLearnCon as a way of enhancing the conference experience for first-time attendees, or any attendees who want to take advantage of the docent program.

 

Neil Lasher is leading the mLearnCon docent team, which includes Brandon Carson and Stevie Rocco.

 

Who can participate?

This is a great opportunity for anyone attending the mLearnCon Mobile Learning Conference & Exposition as a paid registrant or speaker to add a little (or a lot) of guidance that is specifically built to enhance your conference experience.

 

What can participants expect from the docent program?

Those who choose to participate in any or all of the docent activities scheduled at the mLearnCon Mobile Learning Conference & Expo will enjoy a guided experience that has been custom-built by mLearning experts who not only have an understanding of the field of mLearning, but are experienced at navigating industry conferences.

 

There are three primary paths to the docent program:

• One focused on mLearning tools and technologies (led by Neil Lasher)
• One focused on getting started with mLearning (led by Stevie Rocco)
• One focused on the design of mLearning (led by Brandon Carson)

 

Do you have to attend all of the activities?

Those who participate in the docent program can join in as few or as many of the guided activities as they’d like, and are free to jump from path-to-path as desired. The structure of each docent path is very similar.

 

Here are a few highlights:

• A welcome and introduction to the docent program at the Event Orientation
• A dedicated AMLearning session each morning, where the docents and participants can talk about the day’s events and share reflections on daily learning
• Group attendance at the general sessions, including scheduled time to debrief
• A guided tour of the expo
• Hosted lunch tables with mLearning experts
• Specifically selected concurrent sessions and opportunities to meet speakers afterwards

Nothing to say?

It’s not that I don’t have anything to say that stops me posting on my blog in recent months.  Its more of …  well I am busy!

I also read a great article about how you can spread yourself too thin, and you should focus on what you are doing. I agree.

 

So here I am preparing for mLearnCon next week and I am about to blog about the Docent program I have built for the conference.  Watch out for the next post today.

Is he really busy, I hear those cynical ones say?

 

Well I just had a daughter who got married three weeks ago

I became a granddaddy 15 weeks ago

I am working with two major clients on two really exciting projects (and loving it)

I launched a new series of workshops with Mike Hruska on xAPI in the USA  www.thexapi.com

I am working with the LPI to bring my Instructional Design material to a certification module with the institute

The Learning Coach llp has had a facelift with some new LiveLine ™ modules

 

Am I busy? Do I have time to blog?