Learning 2011- live blogging

30 Under 30

I am so grateful for the opportunity that my company gave me to attend Elliot Masie's Learning 2011 Conference. As a 30 Under 30 participant, I was able to engage in extra speaker sessions and projects available only to us. The other 29 learning leaders under the age of 30 were an impressive group of well-educated and experienced professionals. It was an honor to meet them and I hope to continue to learn more about them on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. I appreciated the guidance we received from Elliot, Bob Baker, Nigel Paine and Meghan Cernera.

Some of of my highlights from the Learning 2011 Conference:

- meeting and working with the other 30 Under 30 participants and then getting up on stage with them in front of 2,000 conference attendees.
- learning about how CNN has shortened their technical training into "blitz" training. Nice to know vs need to know.
- hearing Doug Lynch from the University of Pennsylvania express his views about calculating ROI on training and what he thinks about management books like Good to Great (he's not a fan of either).

President Bill Clinton

- watching 2,000 people play heads or tails to win a night's stay at Cinderella's castle!
- Hamburger University @ McDonald's- transforming from traditional instructor-led classrooms to using simulations and blended learning. Amazing use of technology in their classrooms- electronic flip charts, pod-style tables, smart boards.
- meeting the producer of Undercover Boss, Stephen Lambert.
- getting advice from the founder of Boston Scientific, John Abele.
- hire the right people and train them for the job. They know how to have fun at Southwest Airlines. I'm curious how their training team will handle the AirTran merger.
- connecting IRL (in real life) with fellow Twitter-ers.
- listening to Bill Clinton give his keynote speech. He was amazing!

John Lithgow

- participating in the reverse mentoring session and giving advice to three "30 and older" leaders in the learning and development industry.
- meeting new mentors and having the opportunity to ask them a few (quick) questions during the speed mentoring session.
- learning about what it's like to work at Facebook and how they approach learning and development.
- watching John Lithgow perform his one man play, "Stories by Heart".
- thinking about ways to incorporate Creative Commons material/photos into what I do.
- getting inspired by the innovative mind of Dean Kamen, inventor extraordinaire.
- hearing more about non-profits such as Head Held High and FIRST Robotics.