The Conference Experience Starts Before the Conference Begins

Conferences are one of my favorite ways to learn. In a few short weeks, I’ll be headed to Las Vegas for my favorite conference of the year: DevLearn.

One of the reasons I love DevLearn is that the DevLearn experience extends well beyond the constraints of the conference itself. The DevLearn experience actually starts well before the conference begins, and it’s these pre-conference activities that set the stage for an incredible experience during the conference.

In this post I want to share some of the incredibly valuable pre-conference activities that I’m looking forwards to in the weeks leading up to DevLearn.

The Backchannel

DevLearn has the most vibraiste10backchannel-300x225nt backchannel of any conference in our industry. In the weeks leading up to the conference, the #DevLearn hashtag will already be active with people tweeting about the conference, sharing what they are looking to learn and connecting with each other. These virtual connections made online can help jump start in-person networking once the conference starts.

The Conference App

The eLearning Guild has always led the industry when it comes to the functionality available through it’s conference app, and this year’s app is shaping up to be the best one yet. The app will feature a robust social feed that people can share and connect through, and I expect it to be active well before the conference begins.

Blogs and Articles

CaptureAs the conference draws near, you can expect a many individuals and vendors to write blog posts and articles detailing what they are looking forward to at the conference. These posts can help you build your own agenda for the conference, and they help put you into the best mindset to learn more from the conference.

Pre-Conference Workshops and Courses

One of my favorite ways to extend the conference experience is to add a pre-conference learning activity to my agenda. Taking a deep dive into a topic puts me into the mindset for learning before the sprint ofn then conference as schedule begins. I also enjoy having the opportunity to deeply explore a topic before the conference begins, which give me greater context through which I can continue too explore the topic informally with peers during the event.

At this year’s DevLearn, we have two unique types of pre-conference learning activities available. There are over twenty different full-day workshops taking place on October 27 and 28 before the Conference begins. This year we’re also introducing four blended courses from Guild Academy, which include both online and face-to-face elements in a pre-conference learning activity.

Start Your Conference Experience Early

Starting your conference experience early is a great way to get more out of the overall experience. In the case if DevLearn, there are a number of different ways to connect and learn from other members of the Guild Community, and I highly recommend that you take advantage of them to get even more out of what’s shaping up to be the biggest and best DevLearn yet.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *