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Communications Design Industry Discussion, Inspiration, & Tutorials

Showing posts with label professional development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label professional development. Show all posts

Oct 3, 2017

Repost: Learning Reflections (comments open)

By On 11:38 In
Professional Foundations: Collaborating, Researching, and Networking

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Busy Women...

This week I planned to explore interactive OERs (curricula, simulations, video lectures, etc) to add to my knowledge and understanding of these resources. This is a lofty goal for someone simply working full-time...and a bit too ambitions for someone currently interviewing, completing a freelance design project, and working full-time.

Image source, graphic river
Rather than research and develop a comprehensive learning guide, I studied one genre of these tools and began the outline of said guide.

This limited bit of research has greatly added to my understanding of these tool s, and I feel like I'm already becoming a more knowledgeable resource for my teaching & learning communities!

Engaging in a Community of Practice (CoP)

I joined a few LinkedIn communities when I began working in Instructional Design. Back then I was much  more curious and spent more time learning from and asking questions of my experienced peers. Today, I'm a bit more strategic about my community engagement (this is a euphemism for being rather quiet of late). So, I'm back in the game and enjoying the interactions with my peers. We really are a smart group!
I rekindled my acquaintance with the LinkedIn CoP/Networking group, 'Transformational Teaching with Technology' Reading recent forum posts and checking in on my past contributions. I had forgotten how engaged I when first meeting this community. However, this forum of over 2600 members has taken a turn toward self promotion. No longer are the recent posts conversation starters. In fact, all posts for the last 3 years, showcase someones external website, article, newly created video or interactive quiz... and none appear to have been viewed by any of the cohort; there is no commentary, there are no 'likes', and certainly no' shares'.
Feeling undaunted, I recently engaged with the 'eLearning Guild, then had an accidentally fruitful conversation with a representative with Gartner Research Suite... about their available resources and tools for online teaching and learning. Okay, that's grasping at straws, but I was pleasantly surprised by the information that I gained.
I do need to actively engage with these groups, so my plan is to make a connections at the close of the week to learn what my peers are doing with Open Educational Resources, whether they're successful...and how I can  duplicate their successes.
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Oct 31, 2014

Guest Blogging is Great

By On 10:26 In
Speaking of some DIY professional development…

...Last week, I was asked to guest blog for No Impact Week, sharing my green (ish) lifestyle, my insights and general findings with the campus community. Frankly, I used this as a chance to present a slightly different writing style and to take a lot of pictures; I’m sharing the photos as creative commons in Flickr.

 No Impact week really made me focus on the way that my lifestyle impacts my community and the larger world. I actually made some promises to myself, to be a stronger advocate for my planet.  A great experience:


Challenge Day 2: Trash...To be honest, in order to prep for today’s challenge, I did two things over the weekend: I cleaned my office (to collect a typical bagful of my work-related garbage), and went through the half full garbage bag in my kitchen at home.

Here’s what I learned. In addition to errant food scraps and miscellaneous non-recyclables, there was an extreme amount of used paper towels, tea bags, and plastic zipper bags…the shame of it all.


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Oct 20, 2014

This Week: TechTalk Returns

By On 04:38 In
Although I  had a GOOD time working on the mobile app this summer, I was sad to see the end of TechTalk last April.  Well, my spirits are now lifted. Last week, I created the new fall version of the series logo (it looks familiar) and then wrote the website spiel, and got to work on the collaterals. This season it's all about ideas (and a pumpkin pie palette):



Plus, we've moved from a lunch session to webinar format--that's completely online. Wednesday is the first session. We'll see how that works out.
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May 22, 2014

From Lunch and Learn to Webinar

By On 16:07 In
Adobe Connect Virtual Meeting Room
Many of you know about the TechTalk lecture series that I spearheaded last year. I got a lot of great feedback on the design from the PubDesign groups on FB and LinkedIn!

What you probably don’t know is that after much deliberation my cohort and I have decided to switch the format from an informal lunchtime conversation to an (Adobe Connect) webinar. There are some good reasons for this.


  1. While the fall and spring events were captured using Panopto, Connect, and (once) a digital video camera.  The recording method was not formalized and a bit ad hoc in the earlier days. Each one offered different pros and cons.
  2. Second, the lunch option was a great idea, but became impractical later in the semester. A lot of the faculty (and a couple TAs) who attended were busier by the later weeks and ended up no-showing; food was wasted. These busy folks ended up catching the recorded session after the fact.
  3. Lastly, one of my goals in starting this professional development series was to–eventually—open it up to the larger university community, reaching professionals at schools like Hopkins, Bowie, Maryland, etc. The webinar format allows for others to easily join the conversation without having to drive to my school. We had several colleagues from Notre Dame make the trip for several of the sessions. Webinars can be watched as they happen, OR after the fact.


The added benefit is that Adobe Connect allows participants watch the recorded session on demand and also to download webinar materials (like PowerPoints, PDFs, and Docs) that were used in the session. That’s a major bonus. I got several requests for links to TechTalk materials days or months after the talks.

That said, Sue and I—that cohort I mentioned earlier—are now planning the upcoming fall sessions, and creating the marketing plan for the next year. Whew! More designs to come.

Check out the posters for 2013/2014 
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Mar 7, 2014

Thinking of Conferences for 2014?

By On 10:31 In

My director just put out the call for us to populate out 2014/15 conference wish list. As the only communications/design person on the team, my list is a little bit different than the others. Wouldn’t it be great to hit more than one of these. My focus here is on design/ marketing / communications in higher education. In order of the strength of my desire to attend:

44th Annual UCDA Design Conference -
Long Beach, CA September 20-23, 2014
The UCDA Design Conference provides you an opportunity to get an in-depth look at some of the issues facing designers and communication professionals both in and out of educational institutions.

How Interactive 
Washington , DC Sept 3-5 
Meet the interactive designers behind blockbuster web design projects for GE, Zappos, Nike, Facebook, Google and more. They’ll demystify complex concepts, share design processes you can apply to your own work, and clue you in to the web design trends and tools you need to know about. All with the trademark designer-friendly content, networking and inspiration you expect from the team that created HOW Design Live.

EduCause 2014
Orlando, FL Sept 29-Oct 2
With over 300 sessions and more than 500 speakers—60+ webcasts and 18 exclusive online sessions provided virtually—the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference presents a robust, community-generated program that explores today's toughest IT issues facing higher education and convenes some of the brightest minds in the community.

the HighEdWeb 2014 Annual Conference
Portland, OR, October 19-22 
The HighEdWeb 2014 conference will feature six thematic session tracks, with 70+ presentations by industry leaders; pre- and post-conference half-day, add-on intensive workshops; outstanding keynotes; and a number of social and networking events.
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Jul 25, 2013

Know When to say Yes

By On 03:28 In
I recently read a blog post on idealist.org about saying “No” without committing career suicide. It’s a good read. Check it out.

Today I want to talk about the opposite side of that coin:

 When faced with the chance to say no, weigh your options and see if you have a better reason to say YES. 

In a previous job I never had the choice to say yes or no to office social events; company picnics, birthdays, baby showers, and the like. Attendance to all such events was mandatory for those in my department. This came from the VP in charge of my division. For someone like me—who gets wrapped up in interesting design projects and relishes the satisfaction of completing a project then jumping feet-first into the next—these events were painful to endure. Each day that I was encouraged to leave the office early and drink beer with my professional peers was a day wasted.

Today my director and team participate in numerous departmental and organization-wide social activities—including  volunteer opportunities that allow the university community to mix with the larger community where we’re located. At times I’m encouraged to participate or I’m invited by the big cheese, but rarely is anything ever mandated. I feel at liberty to pick and choose events, and ultimately feel good about attending. Plus, it’s a rare occasion where I’m staying at my desk for hours after quittin’ time trying to make up those lost hours. It’s liberating.

I recently had an invitation thrust upon me with almost no notice, and had to choose whether to take it or pass. The invite came four days before the event. An industry conference held four states away, days before my birthday. My first instinct was to pass—my media development duties—as well as creating a curriculum for the class I  teach next semester are all still on my plate, along with working on my house after work and battling insomnia all night long (yes, I block out time for that too).

Happily, I took this opportunity to say yes; projects, home, and lack of sleep will still be there when I return. Making an inconvenient jaunt to New York directly after work is little sacrifice for what I gain in trade. This conference helps me develop, grow, and learn about industry trends.  It helps me see where we are in relation to our professional peers in the field. It helps make me a valuable member of the team.  Plus, who knows what higher education budgets will look like a year from now; this could be a one-time-only opportunity.







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May 21, 2013

DIY Professional Development

By On 06:14 In

I know it's practically unheard of in our field, but some companies don't offer professional development opportunities. If you're in that unfortunate boat you’ll need to work a bit harder to keep advancing your skills.

Why Professional Development?
As graphic/ web designers and communications professionals we must always be learning and developing our skills. Although the messages that we craft are largely unchanged, our (software) tools advance at increasing speed, and the technology (hardware) tools keep pace with that break-neck pace. So we've got to stay current to compete and remain marketable.

Get Cheap/Free Professional Development

  • Don’t Ignore Webinars! Professional development isn’t just about software and hardware. We also need to keep on top of techniques, conversations, and the theory of design. When you get invitations via email, check them out. As you may have learned, many free webinars are sales pitches, but not all of them. Look for ones that are directly linked to your area or interest: social media management, working with analytics, media development within a specific CMS, etc. 
  • Listen to Your Professional Networks! Professional groups on LinkedIn often post feedback on industry webinars, seminars, and conventions. I pay attention to what they have to say, and ask if they’ve attended an event that interests me.
  • Sign up for the newsletter! After finding and participating in a free webinar, sign up for the newsletter—you can always cancel if you’re inundated with useless messages. Arterz Interactive- http://www.artez.com/  is a great social media/marketing group that I follow on FB because that first excellent, free webinar that I attended two years ago.
  • Join more than one professional organization! I joined AIGA as a student and was excited to see all of the events that I got to attend at a free or reduced rate. Today, I work at a university and am a member of these organizations: Women In MarylandHigher Ed (WIMHE) , EduCause, Sloane-C Consortium. Membership gives me access to a ton of free webinars, seminars and networking opportunities.
  • Take a class! MOOCs are huge and offer free opportunities for professional development. Coursera is one of the largest MOOCs, but you can also check out (free or inexpensive) tutorial series from Lynda.com or Envato.  

Get them to Shell Out! Professional development is very important for you and your organization. If an upcoming seminar, webinar or conference is on your radar, find out if your company will pay for it. If they need some gentle prodding, list the benefits of attending your respective development activity. Here's a great list of reasons to attend The Annual meeting & Exhibition from the *American College of Nurse-Midwives:
“The ACNM Annual Meeting is the premier opportunity for midwives, students, and other women’s health care providers to polish professional and clinical skills, learn the latest evidence-based research, share knowledge and experiences, and celebrate the work that midwives are doing to advance maternity and women's health care.The educational line-up includes direct clinical practice matters, updates on changing state and national laws, regulations and quality initiatives, and ongoing efforts to improve access to safe maternity care globally. Attending the ACNM Annual Meeting is one of the best ways to learn about developments in midwifery and women's health and earn CEUs. Attendees can earn as many as 30 hours of credit.”
* Full disclosure: I'm former graphic designer for this professional organization. 
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