Event: ASTD 2010 International Conference & Exposition

The best networking opportunity of all—attending the conference with more than 8,000 peers and professionals.

Published: Monday, April 19, 2010 - 14:22

(ASTD: Alexandria, VA) -- Each spring the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) holds the ASTD International Conference & Exposition. This premier event for workplace learning and performance professionals welcomes attendees from more than 70 countries. This year, it takes place at McCormick Place, West Building, in Chicago, on May 16–19. The conference features more than 230 educational sessions with the latest trends and best practices in the field of workplace learning and performance, plus engaging sessions with experts in the industry. The world-class exposition is filled with the latest products and services available from top suppliers.

Target audience

All audiences are welcome to attend yet each session is designated with one target audience as the focus for the content: Executive/decision maker, director/manager, internal practitioner, external consultant, designer, and facilitator/trainer. ASTD supports international attendees, groups, and delegations. The Delegation Leader Toolkit is available online for delegation leaders and international supporters.

Special programming will be available for the following communities:

Chapter Members
Corporate Teams
International
Public Sector
Higher Education
Sales Learning Professionals

Five tracks 

The Education Program comprises 230 sessions in five tracks. Many sessions are repeated to give you more opportunities to attend. Based on feedback, the conference tracks have been restructured to better serve individuals navigating their ever-evolving profession.

Listed below are the five track categories for this year’s conference.

Developing People encompasses all aspects of developing the work force to include performance, leadership and management development, talent management, and coaching, as well as working across cultural and generational borders and building teams.

Implementing Solutions covers the strategic elements of implementing learning and managing an organization, including change management, performance improvement, return on investment, making the business case for learning, and succession planning. Global and economic issues as well as corporate social responsibility would also come under this heading.

Learning Design and Facilitation is the mainstay of the workplace learning and performance (WLP) field and continues to be the most popular track with the ASTD audience. Topics include basics of design, adult learning, facilitation skills, measuring and evaluating learning, and learning transfer. New trends in the field are also covered, such as “innogizers,” informal learning, power learning, designing for multiple generations, and the brain and learning.

Learning Technologies, formerly called “E-Learning,” brings together under one umbrella the many facets of learning using all the technology tools currently available. Some of these are using games and simulations, blended learning, informal learning, social media, virtual worlds, and Web 2.0.

Personal Development is another mainstay track that covers a wide range of topics focused on developing your personal skill base to enhance your professional career. Expanded offerings include the career builders series on networking, interviewing, and resume writing. Other topics include consulting skills, leadership skills, managing stress, business acumen, and coaching.

Sessions speakers/fresh voices

Daniel Pink—author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (Riverhead/Penguin Group, 2009), A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future (Riverhead/Penguin Group, 2006) and The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need (Riverhead/Penguin Group, 2008).

Charlene Li—author of Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead and Groundswell (Jossey-Bass, 2010), release date May 24.

Second City Communications—the SCC is the innovative learning and training division of the world-renowned improvisation theatre company, The Second City. The SCC draws on the core competencies of The Second City—engaging audiences and improving performance—to develop training and internal communications programs ranging from leadership development to managing change, increasing sales force effectiveness, and ethics and compliance awareness.

Fresh voices—ASTD is pleased to welcome a distinguished group of speakers participating in the conference for the first time.

Virtual conference

The ASTD 2010 virtual conference will feature 12 live web cast sessions plus more than 50 recorded sessions that you can view at any time from May 26 through June 26. Read the FAQ page to learn more about how the Virtual Conference works.

Features of the Virtual Conference:

• A live orientation session
• General session videos - Daniel Pink and Charlene Li
• More than 60 education sessions, including 12 live webcast sessions
• All conference tracks represented
• Access to recordings of sessions for review
• Dedicated technical support 

For complete information about the ASTD 2010 International Conference & Exposition, visit www.astdconference.org.

About The Author

Laurel Thoennes @ Quality Digest

Laurel Thoennes is an editor at Quality Digest. She has worked in the media industry for 33 years at newspapers, magazines, and UC Davis—the past 25 years with Quality Digest.