Announcing the #DevLearn Student Docent Program

There are a number of schools that provide excellent degree programs that support the workplace learning and performance field, and these degree programs seem to grow more popular each year. These programs are an excellent resource to prepare young people for a career in this field. In addition to this foundation knowledge, there are many additional things newcomers to this field need to learn that can only be learned by immersing yourself in actual work environments. This transitional period can be challenging for new professionals entering the workplace after graduation.

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At the eLearning Guild, we’re looking at ways to help bridge this gap. We’ve recently launched the College Partnership Program to provide exclusive learning opportunities to accredited universities and their students. The program includes a number of great benefits, including heavily-discounted student rates to many of our conferences and events.

In addition, we’re please to announce a new Student Docent Program to be included as part of the DevLearn Conference and Expo being held later this month. A docent is a knowledgeable guide, usually associated with one who conducts visitors through a museum and delivers commentary on the exhibitions. We’ve adapted the docent concept for many of our recent events as a way of enhancing the conference experience for first-time attendees or any attendee who wants to take advantage of a guided experience.

The Student Docent Program is a new guided experience through DevLearn planned exclusively for students. We’ve partnered with Karl Kapp, Professor of Instructional Technology at Bloomsburg University, to plan a number of exciting learning opportunities that will help expand upon and contextualize what students are learning in school. Here are some of the activities we have planned for the Student Docent Program at DevLearn. Keep in mind as you review this list – Students are able to participate in as much or as little of the student docent activities as they like.

Start Your Day with Student Morning Buzz

Each day of DevLearn kicks off with Morning Buzz, a gathering and informal conversation centered around a specific topic. There will be a student docent-specific buzz session each morning where students can connect, share, reflect, and plan their daily activities.

An Agenda Curated with Students in Mind

There are over 150 unique learning opportunities at DevLearn. We’ve curated a path through the conference that targets the types of topics students and new professionals need to understand.

Student-Exclusive Sessions

During lunch on Wednesday and Thursday, we’ll be holding student-exclusive sessions that target topics that are of special interest to those entering this field.

• How do I get that Job? – In this session we’ll look at actual job descriptions from the eLearning Guild Job Board and explore how best to position yourself as a candidate for the role.
• What I learned AFTER college – In this session thought leaders from the field will share stories of their personal career journey, exploring “If I knew then what I know now”.

A Guided Tour of the Expo Hall

The Expo hall is a great place to learn for students, as it exposes them to numerous tools, products, and services available in the learning and performance industry. It can also be intimidating to those new to the field. Students will have the opportunity to receive a guided tour of the Expo hall, meeting with vendors and learning about the different products and services they provide.

Reserved Seating at Keynotes

DevLearn features three outstanding keynotes exploring the new universe of learning, including Neil deGrasse Tyson, Beau Lotto, and Belinda Parmar. Special seating has been reserved for students so they can get an up-close-and-personal expereince in the keynote sessions.

Showcase Projects at DemoFest

DemoFest is always a highlight of the DevLearn experience. Students can learn from the DemoFest experience in two unique ways. First, students can attend DemoFest and explore over 80 learning and development projects, speaking to the developers that created them and learning from their experiences. Students can also share their own projects at DemoFest as an exhibitor. A few demo tables have been reserved at DemoFest for student projects. It’s a great opportunity to get feedback and suggestions on your own student projects.

As you can see, there’s plenty of great opportunities for Students to learn at DevLearn. Registration for the DevLearn Conference and Expo is currently open, and students are eligible for substantially discounted rates. We hope to see you in Las Vegas.

To learn more about the eLearning Guild’s Student and College Partnership Programs, or if you are a student interested in sharing a project at DemoFest, please feel free to contact me.