Catching Up

It’s been a busy few months since my last post here. iFest happened. So did BIF-8. In the midst of that, there’s been a lot of travel and writing. This post will attempt to consolidate things that have been going on and are still to come this year.

Writing

I just got done with a series of posts for ASTD’s Learning Technologies Blog of which I’m really quite proud.

There are also two articles currently in the works for Training Magazine and T+D Magazine. Writing comes easy enough but edits and approvals always take time.

Speaking

I recently spoke at the US Coast Guard’s Human Performance Technology Workshop with the wonderful Steve Flowers (@xpconcept) about how the Experience API fit with the goals of Human Performance Technology. I love hanging with Steve. He totally gets it. The fact that Brian Dusablon (@briandusablon) and I got to hang out so much during that trip was just bonus (more on Brian below).

There’s a bunch of fun stuff coming up:

Megan Bowe (@meganbowe) and I are doing a road show of sorts talking about Experience Design. Over the last year, with Up to All of Us and Overlap12, we’ve built a toolbox for designing and facilitating experiences that meet at the intersections of data and community, making use of the Experience API (“Tin Can”). We’re doing this workshop three times over the next couple of months, with slight changes in focus:

EPIC 2012 (3 hours) – October 14, 2012 – Savannah, GA
DevLearn 2012 (8 hours) – October 30, 2012 – Las Vegas, NV
ASTD TechKnowledge 2013 (8 hours) – January 29, 2013 – San Jose, CA

DevLearn 2012 has some particularly interesting things popping that I’m involved with. Along with Up to All of Us and Overlap12, Megan and I are running the DevLearn Junto this year, basically disrupting the conference officially and from within (which, as you know with me, is among my favorite things to do in the world). We also have the Tin Can Alley going on (with large thanks Rustici Software and the entire Experience API Community) where I am really excited to see showcased in one place all the different ways Experience API is being used. It’s been an amazing year and with version 0.95 of the spec just being released, I’m excited to see how it’s being put to use. DevLearn is going on from October 31 – November 2 in Las Vegas, NV. You need to be a registered participant or speaker or vendor to participate in the Junto, but an Expo Pass is free and is all you need to check out and play in Tin Can Alley.

I’ll be at I/ITSEC in Orlando, FL December 3-6, working in the ADL booth, talking up some Experience API.

I’m concluding my tenure on the Planning Committee for ASTD TechKnowledge in San Jose, CA. In addition to the workshop above, I’ll be speaking with Tim Martin (@timpmartin) on case studies that make use of Experience API. While I’m not speaking on this, one of the sessions I’m most excited about is Kevin Thorn (@learnnuggets) and David Kelly (@lnddave) explaining from the implementer and newbie’s perspectives, what the heck is the Experience API?

While it remains to be seen if our entries for SxSW are approved (feel free to vote them up here and here), from March 1-4 outside of Austin, TX on beautiful Lake Buchanan, Up to All of Us (2) is happening. Registrations will be opening up soon (feel free to email or comment below for details).

Other Happenings

There are a few changes in the works web-wise. For starters, Brian Dusablon has been doing more and more solid work as an independent consultant since he went solo last month. So much so that I did not hesitate to hand him the reins to all my websites and, in the next few weeks, you probably won’t notice downtime (because he’s that good), but Brian will be handling all my web hosting, including some site development with Up to All of Us and, you know, some odds and ends that pop up.

Additionally, if you’ve been following what’s been going on with Emergent Radio, The Toolbar with Brian and Judy Unrein (@jkunrein) is doing great. Designing Opinion with Jason Early (@jason_early) is starting to pick up a lot of steam. Radio Gen1us as a website will be closing down but the podcast will have new life as another podcast on Emergent Radio. Jim Behymer (@jimthebeerguy) and I will resume talking (and drinking as is the norm on Emergent Radio) about music, making playlists. Hopefully the whole gang (Kevin, Scott, Justine) and more fresh voices will join the party, too.

There’s another podcast that may find its legs with a second try: Overcast. More on that as it develops.