ATD 2018 - What We Saw, What We Did, and What We Learned
Posted by Paradigm Learning on May 10, 2018
This year’s ATD Expo was set in picturesque San Diego. The conference expo hall was packed with the latest and greatest offerings from the learning and development community.
What we saw
Exhibitors went all out this year. There was an impressive display of technology, conference swag, and daily giveaways. Attendees had carefully crafted schedules (thanks to ATD’s app). They spent their time visiting bookmarked booths and attending some of the 466 sessions.
What we did
We had great conversations around Zodiak®: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy. People were interested to hear how our business acumen simulation could service their organizations. Whether as part of an annual event or an ongoing leadership development curriculum, Zodiak gives learners the power to make informed, financially responsible decisions on behalf of their organizations.
It was a pleasure to show off our newest offering – Embark™! An onboarding game that injects fun, socialization, and need-to-know information into what is often a boring and isolating process. The impressive game board, dice, and pawns stood out in an expo hall that boasted big screens, a mango smoothie station, and even an open bar. A board game is a great conversation starter and a better-than-average icebreaker.
What we learned
L&D professionals are excited about the potential of Virtual Reality as a training mode and are looking to leverage technology to deliver training content. Although, some tech enthusiasts struggle to see any benefit to using a virtual reality solution for something that can be done (at less cost) in actual reality.
A session on using video in the classroom covered the effectiveness of this method of training. The session speaker, Jonathan Halls, explained that video is best suited for content that needs to be shown. He used the example of teaching someone to change the oil of their car. Written instructions might fulfill the learning objective… but showing the learner how to perform the task with clear visual aids and audio instructions improves the chance of success.
Where videos fall flat is in explaining the abstract. Imagine a talking head explaining tax law with no visual aids.
Until next year…
It was a pleasure to have some of our clients stop by the booth to share their experiences. There is no better testimonial than having a client interrupt a demo to praise the effectiveness of the product and their satisfaction with Paradigm Learning. One such client swooped by and merely said, “these people are great to work with.” We look forward to creating more advocates over the coming years, all while helping learners understand the business of their business
See how our methodology creates effective solutions in our eGuide, Experiential Learning: Connecting Individual Actions to the Big Picture.
