The futurist Daniel Burros talks about “predicting the predictable future.” The future is predictable if we know where to look and how to connect the dots spread out all around us. We learning and development professionals need to recognize and discriminate among trends, fads, and fundamental truths about learning, business, and technology. This presentation discusses three methods for recognizing real learning trends and for capitalizing on the latest technology without chasing shiny objects. We’ll look at hype-cycles, technology adoption curves and examine what it means to your job, your career and the future of your organization. Join us for some thought-provoking insights, ideas, and initiatives you can undertake to see into the future of learning and development.

As an executive leading organizational and leadership development at iconic, high growth companies, Melissa identified ways to design and build learning cultures that were created both top-down and bottom-up. Moving beyond abstract discussions of “the future of work,” Melissa will share the real, ready-to-implement practices she’s learned along the way to bridge individual and organizational development. Learning organizations do not happen by chance. They are intentionally designed and built through strategic leadership, clear behaviors, and integrated processes. Melissa will share statistics and stories, challenges and opportunities, strategies and tactics that encourage learning, develop leaders, and grow your business.

Is your company building the robust pipeline of both technical and people leaders you need to support your future business goals? Do your existing leadership training efforts fully meet the unique needs of your company and your people?  

In this session, we use a case study approach to explore the key components of an impactful leadership program. We’ll walk through how BLP and Salesforce partnered to establish a holistic Women’s Leadership Program, from analysis through program execution. Whether you’re looking to build a leadership program from the ground up or reimagine your existing program, this session is for you. 

You’ll leave this session with: 

• Key questions to ask to start designing a leadership program. 
• A sample framework for organizing a leadership program. 
• Best practices for leadership program implementation. 

When creating curriculums, courses, podcasts, apps, and other learning solutions, the goal should be no surprises during development – at least the negative ones. It’s easier said than done as each project brings its own needs, risks, assumptions, and challenges – but not impossible! In this session, we’ll practice using tools to create shared understanding, avoid negative surprises, encourage creativity, and deal with issues that will inevitably come. We’ll share how to involve the whole team in this work so that everyone’s voice is heard and represented.

If you’ve ever been surprised by how a project you’re working on went off the rails, was frustrated that no one seemed to have a plan to deal with risks that seemed so obvious to you, or realized after the project was over what would have made a solution even better for learners, this session is for you!

You’ll leave this session with:

• Best practices for helping all team members (including your key stakeholders) show up in ways that reduce project risk.
• Practical tools to avoid assumptions and create shared clarity.
• Techniques for managing the unexpected (which inevitably will occur).

Many stakeholders want to allow learners to access courses on their phones, and LMSs tout their ability to do that. However, it’s not as simple as clicking “publish.” When creating or modifying eLearning courses for the phone, there are pitfalls you must avoid to ensure an optimal learner experience. 

In this session, we will share case studies and best practices and offer helpful guidelines for getting buy-in, developing, and publishing mobile-first eLearning courses using top authoring tools. You’ll learn best practices for mobile UI and UX design, how to design based on your goals, and communication tips for your stakeholders to ensure everyone knows the possibilities and limitations. 

You’ll leave this session with: 

• Recommended approaches for stakeholder communication and how to clarify their goals for how learners access the course. 
• Ideas for how to approach the instructional and visual design processes to ensure the best outcome for both the phone and desktop. 
• Best practices for creating a learner-centric mobile UI and UX. 
• Guidelines to evaluate whether your eLearning authoring tool will do what you want it to on the phone. 

This session demonstrates the power of 360-degree video and how it can be paired with new low-cost VR headsets to provide new possibilities for training. It also illustrates how the same 360-degree video can be leveraged in e-learning, as a standalone mobile experience, and in VR. You’ll walk away with an awareness of how to combine 360-degree video with VR and how new, all-in-one VR headsets open up new possibilities for learning professionals.  

You’ll leave this session with: 

• Ways to incorporate 360-degree and VR into training initiatives. 
• Ideas for executing virtual facilitation using Social VR and 360-degree video. 
• Suggested tools for 360-degree video, VR headsets, and apps to introduce VR to your organization. 

How do you introduce critical information quickly to a dispersed, on-the-go target audience? What if that audience is highly educated, and their time is extremely limited? In situations like these, taking a close look at your target audience’s daily workflow, preferences, and needs is essential.

This session explores how Roche Molecular Systems is engaging physicians on the critical topic of HPV testing through a customized mobile app. We’ll look at how minding the sweet spot among the needs of the business, the needs of the physicians, and environmental constraints led to an optimal solution. We’ll share how we engaged with physicians to determine the optimal solution and demonstrate how the app meets them where they are with podcasts, videos, infographics, and interviews with key opinion leaders.

You’ll walk away with:

• Tips for uncovering learners’ needs and using those needs to create the optimal learning solution.
• Ideas for how to deliver just-in-time learning resources in a mobile format.
• Lessons from implementing a just-in-time learning strategy.

You’ve created your strategy, mapped out a learning journey, and are ready to roll up your sleeves and create learning solutions that meet your identified goals.It’s critical at this point to keep your eye on the user experience – and the best way to do that is with some hands-on UX research! 

In this interactive session, you’ll practice several tried and tested techniques for building an optimal LX, or learner experience. You’ll step into the role of a learner and use a variety of methods – including content sorting, user personas and more – to evaluate the effectiveness of a sample learning solution. You’ll leave with practical and applicable techniques you can use back on the job to evaluate your own solutions.