Online Educa 2010 Review

GENERAL IMPRESSION

The Hotel Intercontinental in the centre of Berlin provided a great framework for 2010’s conference. There was an exceptional international atmosphere - 108 countries participated. The Dutch had the highest presence at the conference, followed by the English. Usually the groups were between 20-40 people so that discussions and questions were possible. Although the weather conditions were bad, most presenters and participants made it to the conference. Due to the high attendance, some workshops had to be held in an additional location (Hotel Schweizerhof).

The presenters were dedicated and motivated training professionals that focused on best practices and recent studies about innovative technology. The quality of the speeches and presentations was very high. The audience participated in discussions and made valuable input. Unfortunately, some interesting seminars were offered at the same time. Also, we were of the impression that the focus of some presentations and case studies was on Universities - but the main principles can easily be adapted to any company.

All in all the conference was a worthwhile investment.

MOST IMPORTANT TRENDS

Summary of the trends that were discussed throughout the conference:
• The density of iPad/iPhones was incredible: apple products are the de-facto standard for mobile learning and mobility

• The notion was that technology and apps exist now. The challenge is now simply to facilitate them and see what works and what doesn’t

• Web 2.0 (interaction, socialising, fun) is still a big deal and in the process of being implemented in most enterprises

• Some presenters claim the “death of the LMS”. However, there will still be room for LMS in the future but there is a need to put more emphasis on exploring the benefits of informal learning options

• Marketing of new tools becomes an essential implementation step, done through “Product Evangelists”

• Next step: integration of marketing, learning and product knowledge information in one integrated knowledge portal for the customer (all relevant information in one place)

• Start to interact with customers now! Because the competition already does...

• “A teacher that can be replaced by a machine – should be” = re-define roles & responsibilities of trainers

• Blended learning is successful = now enhance the training portfolio with twitter and Facebook updates to keep customers informed (helps to keep retention on a high level!)

• Game based learning and simulation is making progress but still cumbersome and expensive to build

• Balancing individual vs. organizational learning is a challenge

• Working in the cloud is still a big trend

• Challenge: Finding the right mix / blend of learning modalities

• To sum up: be social, be ethical and share your knowledge