Design Decisions for Learning 2011 Blog

60 minutes for a session is note a lot of time.  So, how do we evolve our design of breakout sessions at Learning 2011 to increase the knowledge transfer and retain high levels of interaction? Why not try flipping the content delivery model?

"Flip" Designs are one of our experiments this year.  Simply, it involves taking a selection of sessions and altering the design model:

• The presenters will make a 10 to 30 minute video prior to the event, including the content that they would have presented in "front of the room" form in the session.
• We will post these on a unique page for each session, along with any other slides, graphics or readings - available for all participants several weeks prior to Nov 6th.
• Participants can use these videos to: a) preview which sessions they might

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One of the strangest decisions to make is whether to have a makeup artist backstage for keynoters - preparing them for the High Definition video camers and huge screens in our General Sessions.

The first time we used High Def, I was shocked to see what a skin pore (or even nose hair) on a speaker looked like, when their face was 20 feet tall and the camera was really, really good.  So, we went to Disney and contracted for a make-up artist to spend time with each of our keynoters backstage - airbrushing and tweaking them for high def.

The downside is that we often have 5 to 7 people on stage during a General Session, some for only 10 minutes on a coach - chatting with me about a learning innovation.  And, we had some backup at the makeup booth - causing anxiety as the session opening

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When there are over 200 workshop, seminars and learning choices for participants at Learning 2011 to make, titles become really important.

People have 9 slots in the conference schedule where they have to select an hour long session, on a topic of interest to them or their organization.  The Program Guide is over 90 pages long, so the quality of a title will often determine if there are 5 or 200 people in the room when the session begins.

Here are 2 examples of the same session:

• A Multi-Modal Approach to Content Shaping for Tablet Delivery of Curriculum
• "iPads for Leadership Development: Fingertip Knowledge at Acme Corporation"

The first title might work at an academic conference, but it is probable that there will many empty seats at 10 AM in Coronado Salon C on Monday morning. 

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When you have 2,000 people in a General Session there is a key seating decision:  What style seating?  8 or 10 at a Round Table or Theater Style?

Normally, we plan for 8 people at a round table in a crescent format for all but our evening performance/concert.  The rationale is:

• Round tables encourage more networking and we often ask each table to discuss or process a topic addressed by a keynoter.
• 8 people per round allows for more leg room and keeps most of the people facing the stage.
• Round tables mean a much larger room - so we invest in about $75,000 of image magnification technology for huge screens to get the faces and expressions of our keynoters quite visible even in the back of the room.

And, when we have to make the switch from Rounds to Theater, it is amazing to watch

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My producer Lauren is working on a variety of technology that we will have for participants at Learning 2011.  She raised the idea of providing an integrated "App" that would allow people who tablets to add their notes/ideas directly on an iPad (or Android) tablet - right in a digital version of our Program Guide.

We will work hard in the next few weeks to work with our App Developer and a Social Network that we are building to add Tablet Note Taking capacity to the App.  For 2011, the notes will be private for the note taker.  But, it would be fun in the future to allow these notes to be shared with other participants.

This decision also will impact several other aspects of our Design:

• Bandwidth: We must make sure that there is free and amble bandwidth that will reach throughout

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Some of the best conversations happen over a cup of coffee or tea.  The environment of a "Learning Cafe" is a powerful setting that facilitates relaxed sharing and connections.

 So, at Learning 2011, we are experimenting with constructing a Learning Cafe for part or all of the event.  Some of the interesting questions include:

• Is regular coffee or tea from Disney enough?
• Do we need the sound of steamed drinks to add to the cafe feel?
• And, can we get those for a reasonable rate?
• Would people pay a bit extra for a more complicated drink?
• What furniture and ambiance should we create in the cafe?

These are fun Design decisions for us at The MASIE Center.  We often find ourselves innovating with Disney on new models that are not on their planning menu.  But, they work with us and

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