I’ve learned a great deal in my career from what I would call ‘traditional’ models. I’ve taken classes in college, participated in hands-on workshops, completed training courses (both classroom and online), and attended many other learning events. Many of these have been excellent experiences, but for me, they’re not the most powerful way to learn.
I prefer case studies and project sharing. The context of the organizational need, and how it was addressed, is huge for me. I’ve often seen flashy eLearning courses billed as successful based solely on their design, without factoring in the context of the organizational need. The most impressive course on the planet can be a poor solution if it’s matched against the wrong need.
When I attend a conference, I usually look for case studies that are being shared. These stories usually share a similar narrative, consisting of a few key points:
- An exploration of the problem that the organization needed to solve
- An explanation of the solution that was chosen, and the rationale for choosing it
- The challenges that needed to be overcome in implementing the solution
- The results of the implementation and the lessons that were learned
As much as I appreciate these formal sessions sharing these stories, more and more I find myself exploring stories like this in informal conversations with peers. During those chats, there’s more sharing taking place. Not only does the person hearing the story learn, but the person sharing the story learns from the feedback of the listener.
These types of conversations are even more powerful in situations where the project itself can be shared as part of the discussion. It’s one thing to hear someone describe a project being worked on; it’s something else to actually see the project in action, and to have the opportunity to interact with it. I’ve learned more in discussions like these that I’ve probably learned via any other resource.
This is one of the reasons that the annual DemoFest event is a highlight of my DevLearn Conference and Expo experience. DemoFest is a combination of everything I’ve described here, all rolled into one. Dozens of individuals and organizations bring their projects to the conference to share them with the community. There’s no session or presentation; each DemoFest participant sets up a table and displays their project (on laptops, tablets, phones, etc). Attendees of DemoFest walk around perusing projects and talking to the people that built them. There’s a huge amount of sharing taking place, and tremendous learning for attendees and presenters alike.
When I recommend people attend DevLearn, DemoFest is one of the main features I bring up as a reason to attend.
Sharing and talking about projects is very powerful. There’s tremendous learning available for everyone involved, and I encourage anyone reading this to take a project and share it with a colleague. You’ll be glad you did.
