Extend Your Learning Into Friday

The Association for Talent Development hopes you are enjoying the ATD Virtual Conference: Unleash Potential and the sessions. Hopefully you are networking with other talent development professionals and acquiring insights into tools to check on, shortcuts to try, and new models to experiment with.

The learning doesn’t stop tomorrow, though. On Friday, you can reserve a spot to participate in one of eight postconference workshops, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Note: Advanced reservations are required for the workshops. To reserve your place, add the workshops to your personal agenda via the virtual platform by selecting the + or “Reserve Spot” button.

Many of the workshops relate to an earlier session by the same speaker. Be sure you take part in the related session prior to the workshop. As Senior Manager or Conference Education Bridget K. Dunn explained, “The workshops really align with each of the tracks and give participants an opportunity to take advantage of a deeper dive in the morning and afternoon sessions.” Listening to the sessions throughout the week “is the best way to maximize learning and transfer,” Dunn noted. If you missed an earlier session or two, you can access the session recordings in the conference platform. During the workshops, you will have the opportunity to connect with facilitators and other attendees in smaller breakout rooms.

Workshop Previews

Among the workshops are Maria Morukian’s “The Art of Facilitating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Dialogues: A Deeper Dive”; Rance Greene’s “Build the Story: An Exercise in Training Humans”; and Margie Meacham’s “Create Hyper-Engagement by Incorporating a Chatbot Into E-Learning.”

In Morukian’s workshop, attendees will learn to identify and practice key facilitation techniques for meaningful diversity, equity, and inclusion-related dialogues with diverse learners and practice handling challenging, emotionally charged situations that often arise in identity-related discourse. The workshop builds on “The Art of Facilitating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Dialogues” session.

Green’s workshop builds on his “Story Design: A Foundationally Human Approach to Instruction” session. Workshop attendees can anticipate an interactive session that focuses on building relatable characters and strong conflict that aligns with learning objectives. As the description notes, “In this workshop, expect to give as much as you receive as the group decides what makes a character relatable and discovers how to keep conflict alive for a riveting training experience.”

Meacham’s workshop will help attendees learn the building blocks of easy-to-use software that enables them to create e-learning with personality. Note: There is no associated session to listen to in advance of the workshop. Attendees will be able to apply what they learn by planning a conversation with a chatbot and enhancing chatbot replies with existing assets. This workshop is recommended for intermediate designers and developers who have basic computer skills and are familiar with the basics of Adobe Captivate or Articulate Storyline. Attendees will need a laptop with Windows and Articulate Storyline (360, 3 or 3) or Adobe Captivate.

The postconference workshops are an energizing, experiential way to end your week of learning. Note: Some workshops have reached capacity and are closed to attendees. You may place your name on the waitlist. Further, if you have reserved a spot in a workshop and can no longer attend, please remove the workshop from your agenda, freeing up the spot for another attendee.

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