The Good Practice guide to Learning Technologies 2019

To make life easier for you and help you get the most out of the event, we're sharing a few thoughts and insights ahead of the conference.

About the conference

Firstly, what is Learning Technologies and why do so many people (over 8,500 each year) come to see the 150 seminars and talk to the 200 plus exhibitors? People attend because you get to find out what everyone is talking about and where the industry is going. Technology has such an important role to play now in L&D and in organisations, so the conference is a great opportunity to find out what's new, what's working and what's not. It's also a great networking opportunity!

Our top 10 tips

Here's what you need to know in order to get the most out of the conference including what's on and where to find it.

Step 1: Do your homework

The first step is to do your homework ahead of day one. Go online, read through the conference programme and pinpoint which sessions are most useful to you. Keep an open mind though and know what sessions are being most talked about ‚ this could give you a strong indication about where you should be heading. If one session or speaker particularly interests you, find out a bit more about it or them. Don't forget the Learning Technologies resources page, which includes features such as a dedicated web TV channel with videos from past conferences and exhibitions.

Step 2: Follow the event's content feeds:

Stay connected, both during and in the lead up to the conference. The Learning Technologies website runs several useful feeds ‚ Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook and LinkedIn. This way you can keep an eye on what everyone is talking about and see who else will be attending. Use that information to network ‚ arrange to meet people for coffee and a chat. The event also boasts a group of L&D pros who will be sharing updates live from the sessions. More details of who they are and what they will be doing can be found here.

Step 3: Identify speakers worth listening to

Look for the regulars, the high profile speakers at this conference and other conferences. People who do the rounds regularly are in high demand because they have proved that they are worth the airtime. It's usually worth giving them a go, even if their session topic doesn't jump out at you immediately. Follow the top influencers on Twitter ‚ that's a great way to tune in to what everyone is talking about. You'll also get some good commentary on the what's going on and who is saying what.

Step 4: Get tips from other attendees

Talk to people in the know. If you are new to the conference, then it's a good idea to seek out and talk to people who have been before. They can do what we're doing ‚ give you advice on how to get the most out of the two days, what to do and what not to do. And when you're at the conference, keep talking to people. Talk to people about what they think about sessions‚ you never know what you will find out or who you will meet so make the most of being there.

Step 5: Don't be afraid to leave sessions

Don't waste your time. Sometimes sessions don't deliver what you hoped for. Sometimes sessions are little more than a sales pitch. If this happens to you, don't feel you have to stick around, go find a better session.

Step 6: Attend the after party

Check out the after parties. Chances are there are some networking events after the event has finished for the day. Day one is particularly strong on this. A regular and popular feature is the LearnPatch barcamp event. And if you are in town before the event then check out the pre-party.

Step 7: Share your experience on Twitter

Get Tweeting using #LT19uk. Twitter is on fire during the conference. Keep an eye on what's been said and join in any threads you have thoughts on. Don't feel you have to do it as the day unfolds (although many people do) ‚ you can do it after the event as well. What you don't want to do is be so busy on Twitter that you neglect to talk to the people around you. And after it's all over?

Step 8: Follow-up on your new contacts

Don't let any leads go cold. Follow up with any new contacts you made at the conference. Connect with them, share some thoughts about the conference and ask for their opinions on the event.

Step 9: Catch up on what you missed

Check out the stuff that you missed. No-one can attend every session at the conference. If you missed something that everyone said was great, then attend it virtually afterwards by looking at the Learning Technologies conference videos that are available after sessions have happened.

Step 10: Reflect and share what you learned

Tell people about it. If anything in particular stood out for you, think about why and consider sharing that, say by writing a blog post or on LinkedIn. Chat to colleagues and peers about what you thought of the event. You might find more nuggets of insight and information by doing this. And it doesn't stop there. Inside the exhibition hall, there are also lots of interesting things going on and seminars running, free of charge. As with the conference programme, there is a lot of choice, so we've picked out a few of what we think will be the best seminars.

The best (Free) seminars

Day one: Wednesday 13 February

LXPs: Delivering on your promise of professional development

Dr Ben Betts, CEO - HT2 Labs 11:00 - 11:30 - Theatre 4 Can the Learning Experience Platform be the one-stop solution that meets all professional development needs?

What's new and what's next in articulate 360

Tom Kuhlmann, Chief Learning Architect - Articulate 11:45 - 12:15 - Theatre 5 This covers all the latest features and content in Articulate 360.

The future L&D team: Essential skills and emerging role

Andy Lancaster, Head of L&D Content - CIPD 11:45 - 12:15 Theatre 7 The knowledge, behaviours and roles necessary for future ready L&D teams.

Success with digital transformation: Lessons in engagement from magpie's 100% retention rate

Rob MacAllister, Head of Customer Success – Filtered 12:30 - 13:00 - Theatre 1 Packed with data-driven insights, this session focuses on the engagement and adoption techniques behind delivering this new tool.

The evolution of 70:20:10

Owen Ferguson, Managing Director - GoodPractice 12:30 - 13:00 - Theatre 8 Our very own Owen Ferguson will talk about how 70:20:10 is working in leading organisation. Does it live up to the hype?

Why it all goes wrong and how to get it right: Valuable lessons when implementing an LMS and elearning courses

Wes Atkinson, Lead Technical Consultant - Appitierre 14:00 - 14:30 - Theatre 9 What to do and what not to do when rolling out new technology

How L&D will transform the workforce in 2019

Yvonne Chen, VP of Marketing - Udemy for Business 14:45 - 15:15 - Theatre 10 Udemy for Business‚ Learning Trends and Predictions for 2019.

Unleash the power of Strategic Intelligence

Mark Arneill, Senior Market Analyst - Towards Maturity Ned Young, Learning Technology Specialist - Opel-Vauxhall Finance 16:15 - 16:45 - Theatre 8 How Towards Maturity’s evidence-based practice has accelerated change and improved performance.

The Transformation Journey

Towards Maturity Annual Report Launch 17:00 - onwards - Platinum Suite Register here to attend for free! 15 years of research shows both business and learning leaders have a critical role to play in developing a high performing learning culture. The Transformation Journey provides powerful new evidence to help you analyse, activate and accelerate change.

Day two: Thursday 14 February

Confessions of an online learning designer

James McLuckie, Learning and Performance Solutions Director - GoodPractice 11:00 - 11:30 - Theatre 9 This session will tell you everything you need to know about instructional design - the good and the bad.

Women leading change

Claire Hewitt, Head of Learning Design - Henley Business School Dr Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj, Associate Professor - Henley Business School 13:15 - 13:45 - Theatre 8 Leadership development trends in 2019, gender diversity and innovation and female leaders around the world.

Learning behaviour metrics you should (but probably aren't) measuring today

Karen Hebert-Maccaro, Chief Learning Experience Officer - O'Reilly 14:00 - 14:30 - Theatre 7 Understanding learning behaviours in order to design and deliver the right learning.

Measuring learning impact - 8 case studies in 30 minutes

Andrew Downes, Learning & Interoperability Consultant - Watershed Tim Dickinson, Director of Strategy - Watershed 14:00 - 14:30 Theatre 10 How organisations are successful measuring learning effectiveness through learning analytics.

The power of big conversations

Felicity Parisson, Learning Designer - FutureLearn Stephen Somerville, MD Government and Employer Partnerships - FutureLearn 14:45 - 15:15 - Theatre 4 How big conversations are fundamental to learning and the value of FutureLearn pedagogy.

The EDF Energy story: Extending the classroom experience with learner-generated video

Carl Hodler, Co-Founder - StoryTagger Carl Lovett, Digital Learning Manager - EDF Energy 14:45 - 15:15 - Theatre 11 How EDF Energy is using user-generated mobile video to help future leaders learn in a more social, reflective and innovative way.

The future L&D team: Essential skills and emerging roles

Andy Lancaster, Head of L&D Content - CIPD 15:30 - 16:00 - Theatre 7 The knowledge, behaviours and roles necessary for future ready L&D teams. Again.

9 tactics to guarantee business impact!

Jane Daly, Chief Insights Officer - Towards Maturity Laura Overton, Founder & CEO - Towards Maturity 16:15 - 16:45 - Theatre 8 How to activate and accelerate the learning transformation journey.

And finally...

Don't forget to come and see us on our stand, L30, Welcome to the Evolution. And if you come at 4pm on the first day, there will be a glass of fizz waiting for you to round the day's events off. Bye for now - see you there!