Reflections on the Association for Talent Development (formerly ASTD) - Kansas City 2014 Conference

Yesterday, I attended the day-long Kansas City ATD 2014 Conference in Overland Park, KS. Being my first ATD-KC conference, here are some of my observations through the lens of someone who has spent many years in higher education:

1. Corporate training and development professionals seem to be keenly interested in finding ways to create a healthier, happier workplace. Paul White's keynote, Using The 5 Languages of Appreciation to Detoxify Your Work Environment highlighted this interest.

To my higher education colleagues: When was the last time someone from your college/university displayed any concern for your workplace happiness or genuinely recognized you for your contribution to your organization? (Other than the obligatory X years of service certificate/pin, complete with a PPT flashback showing the most popular movies, songs, celebrities, and news stories X number of years ago).

2. Corporate training and development professionals seem to be genuinely interested in helping their organizations' employees make successful transitions, whether it's joining the organization as a new employee, making a lateral move, accepting a new role, changing offices, or even transitioning to retirement. The Transition Coaching session by Mickie Schroeder and Jeffrey Jans highlighted this.

To my higher education colleagues: When was the last time someone from your college/university provided quality support (orientation program) for joining the university as new faculty or staff member, or quality support for you transition to another role at your college/university? (Most of us fall into 1, the complete the paperwork in HR, 2. here are your office keys, 3. welcome to X university category, I suppose?)

Other conference topics included Coaching, Integrated Talent Management, Performance Management, Knowledge Management, Leadership Development and Supporting Engagement and Retention.

All-in-all, it was a refreshing look at workplace issues that are too-often overlooked in the world of higher education (pay attention university administrators and HR professionals). In addition, I met some extremely bright and talented individuals, and I look forward to meeting more at future KC-ATD meetings, as well as at next year's conference. Many thanks to the KC-ATD board and conference planners for their hard work on the 2014 conference!

Leaving ESU and moving to Baker University

Earlier this year, I announced that I will step down from the IDT department chair position at Emporia State University. The plan was to teach 3 master's level classes each semester, research, do some writing (and perhaps grants) and just fade away, like an old soldier (see General Douglas MacArthur, 1951) - http://youtu.be/M87s_I-c-Xw?t=7m42s

That was the plan ..... until I was approached with a rare opportunity at Baker University.....

On July 1,  2014 I will be be leaving Emporia State University to begin work at Baker University as Professor and Director (and creator) of a new doctoral program in Instructional Design and Technology.  The Baker University undergraduate programs are housed at the beautiful Baldwin City, KS campus. My office and doc program will be housed at the Baker University School of Education/School of Professional and Graduate Studies facilities in Overland Park, KS (KC Metro area). I am sad that I will be leaving my wonderful ESU IDT faculty colleagues and master's students.  However, I am happy that I may be able to help many of my former and current ESU IDT students, and future Baker students achieve their goal of advanced graduate study at Baker University.

Will it play in Emporia?

Will it play in Emporia?

When discussing how tech will change higher ed, don’t forget small state schools.

An interesting piece and title in Slate (especially interesting to those at Emporia State University) by Paula Krebs, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Bridgewater State University.

She makes some valid points about the importance of small regional universities to our society and how regional universities will need to embrace new technologies (and most importantly methodologies) to survive. 

The problem, according to Krebs -

"While so many of us have been defending the value of a liberal arts education against the desire for us to deliver “skills,” we’ve too often been holding out against change in general—and technology in particular."

The forecast -

"The schools that don’t figure out what technology can do for their institutions and their students, who relay on their current methods of instruction and assessment, will be left behind over the next decades."

The outlook for instructional technologists/designers working in higher education is bright -

"....the kind of instruction we need will depend on faculty development, on faculty members being trained by their institutions to teach differently with tech."

Thoughts?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Post your comments below.