2017 L&D Conferences in the US

It’s December.  Time to wrap up and reflect on the past year and begin thinking about the next.

To help with planning and budgeting, I’ve pulled together a list of upcoming Learning & Development conferences in the US (and one in Canada).

If you’ve attended any of these events, I would love to hear your impressions and whether you would recommend attending.  Or if you know of other events that should be added to this list, let me know in the comments.

UPDATE!  A free, downloadable version of the 2017 conferences is now available to subscribers of this blog.  Sign up today!

JANUARY – FEBRUARY

From the Association for Talent Development (ATD), this conference focuses on emerging and trending technology.  Offers a variety of tracks including eLearning, serious games and simulations, and mobile.

Judging from the list of scheduled speakers, this event looks to be one of the year’s best.  Also check out Training Magazine. It is one of my favorite resources. https://trainingmag.com

MARCH

Hosted by Sam Houston State University, this FREE conference is open to higher ed faculty and education technologists. The focus of this year’s conference is connecting with students through different forms of instruction.

From the eLearning Guild, this event has a broader scope than what you’ll find at some of their other conferences such as DevLearn. Registration includes access to the Learning & Performance Ecosystem.

Also from the eLearning Guild and co-located with their Learning Solutions conference, the Ecosystem conference looks at performance support systems and tools that can be used to enhance a traditional training program.  One registration gets you into both events.

An ATD conference right-sized for those new to L&D or who simply prefer smaller events. This 2-day conference covers the foundations  — design, delivery, evaluation and technology.

APRIL

For K12 and Higher Education online learning leaders, instructors, and instructional designers. You can attend onsite or online.

A 2-day pre-conference workshop before the CLO Symposium. Geared to new training managers and those aspiring to become senior learning leaders.

Focused on training and talent management strategy and trends. CLO Magazine is another one of my favorite resources. You can get a free subscription through their website. Also, for more events check out their Breakfast Clubs. http://www.clomedia.com

APRIL – MAY

I decided early on to attend the ISPI conference.  It’s been on my wish list for a long time. Montreal is within driving distance for me, so this is the year! The conference is geared towards performance improvement, with a bit more of an academic bent along with practical applications.

MAY

The annual conference of the Society for Technical Communication.  This is a great option for experienced instructional designers and technologists to gain perspectives on writing and tools from outside the L&D world.

This is a huge conference.  I’ve never been, but I’ve heard it can be overwhelming.  With over 10,000 attendees, you might want to buddy up to divide and conquer all that this event has to offer. ATD also offers smaller events throughout the year. A full list of all ATD US Conferences is available at  https://www.td.org/Events/Conferences

JUNE

Bringing together instructional designers from corporate and public sectors for practical, hands-on sessions.  Bring your laptop! This is one of the most affordable conferences.

Another eLearning Guild conference, this one focusing of cutting edge, disruptive technology.

JULY

Another eLearning Guild conference, this one focusing on virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed realities technology.

AUGUST

Take a breather!!!

SEPTEMBER

Designed for HR professionals, this conference is for anyone interested in talent and leadership development. There is an affordable virtual option in addition to the live conference.

Another Training Magazine event. This conference focuses on eLearning, mobile learning, social learning, games, simulations, virtual classrooms and the tools and techniques to make the best use of these formats.

OCTOBER

A more collaborative event than their spring symposium, focused on talent management.

This conference offers a broad range of topics, but is targeted more towards L&D management and strategy.

A large conference from the eLearning Guild.  I’ve heard good things about this one.

 

NO DATES YET

This is a small conference focused exclusively towards training mangers in tech companies. No dates yet, but they hold 2 conferences — one in the spring on the west coast and one in the fall on the east coast.

A virtual conference geared towards learning executives and strategic leaders. You can read about the 2016 conference at http://presentations.inxpo.com/Shows/Elearning/microsite-elearning/index.html