I had grand plans this year. I wanted it to be the first time I attended a national conference. Seeing as NASPA was in Baltimore, MD I thought I would have a better chance going there, but as my luck would have it that didn't work out. I then found out about the groundbreaking NASPA Virtual Conference that they were going to roll out this year. My love of technology, student affairs, professional development, and being an introvert - this seemed like it would be perfect!
I had a lot of questions leading up to the conference, but thankful to the NASPA staff and NASPA TKC volunteers (got it right this time!) for answering them all for me. One of the major items I needed to know was if I could view session after they aired. I had to participate in a few GA phone interviews on both Monday and Tuesday which would make me miss a few sessions. I was happy to find out that we would be able to review sessions.
So how exactly did it go? Well here's a short timeline, as it was only a three day experience anyway.
Day One: NASPA 2014
The Opening Session started with a great ceremony on Sunday, March 16, 2014 at 5:00pm. It was a very entertaining opening with multiple performances. After performances the featured speaker
Wes Moore spoke. I enjoyed his story and what he brought to the table. One of the statements, that most people ended up tweeting, was about how just getting a degree doesn't matter unless you have experiences to back it up and know why you got it. Overall I found very energized from seeing the Opening Session and was ready for Day 2.
What I learned/enjoyed from Day 1:
- I didn't have to worry about the Baltimore snow storm as I was cozy sitting on my couch.
- Two other professionals I had connected with through Twitter were also participating in the virtual conference (Lynn Ellison and Jennifer Keegin)
- NASPA TKC volunteers are very knowledgeable and great to work with. Thanks to all of them!
- This was the largest NASPA conference with about 6000 on site attendees and 120 participating in the virtual experience.
Some good tweets that were shared (yep, I included one of my own):
I absolutely love this. #aaws14 pic.twitter.com/cHI2DHq2Fs
— Amma Marfo (@ammamarfo) March 16, 2014
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| NASPA 2014 - Day One: Opening Session |
Day Two: NASPA 2014 (on location)
Today I had to participate in some GA phone interviews from the Campus Living Office. I was up at 7:00 a.m. so I could get ready, drive to our North campus, and set up shop to be able to tune into the conference when it started. I arrived on North Campus before the office was open and ended up sitting in the Housing Operations Office across the hall. The day started of with a Featured Speaker Session. Debra Humphreys spoke about student success and learning. I also attended these sessions for day two (missing one):
- Beyond the ADA: Inclusive Policy and Practice for Students with Disabilities in Higher Education
- Featured Speaker - Freeman Hrabowski, President, University of Maryland - Baltimore County
- Higher Education Act reauthorization: What it means to public universities and student affairs
- Ready to Face the Media: Strategies to Employ During Crisis
- 5 More Things: A Dialogue on Supporting Postsecondary Success for Men of Color
What I learned/enjoyed from Day 2:
- SA folk REALLY like their coffee. Long lines at the Starbucks in Baltimore.
- I had no issues with my Keurig at home.
- Following the back channel on Twitter allowed for me to check out sessions not available in the virtual format.
- There are some REALLY great and talented professionals in our field. I'm more and more amazed by what others have done and are doing.
- The Live Chat in sessions for virtual attendees added to the session. Lots of good ideas and information was shared there too.
- Live-in professional staff members at private OR public institutions are covered by the ADA for service animals. How does your institution measure up?
- HUD 504 doesn't differentiate between live-in staff & students when it comes to comfort animals.
- I met a new professional during the Q&A panel discussion. Hello AJ Duxbury!
- One of my mentors (Shigeo Iwamiya) still amazes me.
- On site attendees really love Jimmy Johns = extra long lines during lunch.
- Not an issue in my kitchen.
- NASPA's "5 Things" report can be found here.
- I felt very comfortable during my virtual conference experience - my 'I' was fully charged and raring to go!
- There were little to no issues with being a virtual attendee. Some great suggestions on improvements were shared and I'm actually excited to see what happens for next year.
Some good tweets (yes a lot are mine):
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| Added a jacket too! |
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| Bringing a little St. Patrick's Day style to NASPA virtual Experience |
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| NASPA 2014 - Day Two: On location [UB North Campus Housing Operations/Campus Living Offices] |
Day Two: NASPA 2014 Pj's to Business attire
I woke up late thinking I had missed the first session and realized that it didn't actually start until 8:45. I also missed the two afternoon sessions because I had to travel again for a GA phone interview. However, I was not disappointed in today's sessions. I thought I had a favorite session today, but as I sit here typing this I realized that it's harder to choose one then I thought. I would say that I really enjoyed the session on Title IX because it's an area I want to develop in more. It was nice hearing about Veteran's Affairs because I had quite a bit of experience with veterans at my previous institution. I enjoyed the panel discussion on graduate programs. Being one who didn't attend a traditional program it was nice to hear them discuss distant learning and online programs. "Climbing the Ladder to CHO/SSAO" was a good session to bring things into perspective. As I am in the process on mapping out my next career move, this session gave me a lot to think about. The official session titles of the day are as follows (again I am missing two):
- So You Want to Be the Boss--Climbing the Ladder to CHO/SSAO
- The Future of Title IX: How your campus should prepare for the inclusion of gender identity and expression
- Building supportive student veteran communities on college and university campuses: Innovative and effective strategies that work
- Featured Panel - The Future of Student Affairs Graduate Preparation Program with Larry Roper and Patricia Whitely as moderators
What I learned/enjoyed from Day 3:
- "Having a veterans office isn't enough. Knowledge should be in offices across campus: Admissions, Res Life, etc"
- When a student identifies as a veteran, they shouldn't be pushed right to the veteran affairs office. LISTEN to their question 1st.
- There isn't a ladder, it's a lattice - you can move up or across.
- As you move up, it's important to look in. Why do you want to move up? Why do you stay in the field?" Shana Meyer
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- In the next decade 2 million veterans will be entering colleges and universities."
- "If you don't have a mentor now is the time to DEVELOP one.Best way to develop one is w/ someone you know & trust." Shana Meyer
- "Fears,Successes, Questions" CHO-SSAO #NASPA14 pic.twitter.com/cUuLYjs2JY
- For trans* residents: Private spaces cannot be the ONLY option & it should not cost more/burden them
- If a trans* male student wants to join a Fraternity, he needs to be allowed because he identifies as male. This is the same for a trans* female who wants to join a sorority.
- "What does success look like? Sometimes it's just getting people in the room."
Some good tweets that were shared:
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| NASPA 2014 - Day Three: PJs on the couch |
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| And then to North Campus for a GA Phone Interview |
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| Business attire acquired. |
Overall thoughts on this experience
I do believe that this virtual conference option was FANTASTIC! It allowed a lot of professionals to attend the conference and participate through a more cost friendly option. Today while in sessions and participating in the Live Chats I saw a lot of people who were watching with colleagues or full offices. This really does open up the possibility for so many more professionals to get the information than ever before. I also enjoyed being able to attend a session and follow other sessions on the back channel through Twitter. However, I did feel that I was not able to tweet as much as I normally do while at conferences or presentations. Though I am not too upset about this as I was able to screen shot slides during sessions and share them. I believe that was more beneficial. Would I want to change things? Yes. NASPA and the Technology Knowledge Community did a fantastic job pulling this all together, I do believe some things can be improved for next year and for years to come. Some of the issues that need to be addressed are as follows:
- Seeing people logged in is great, but not being able to see if they are active in the Networking Lounge (chat) or the session you are currently in doesn't work. If I knew who was in the sessions with me I would have talked to them more and been able to network during the conference. I met two new people, plus some of the TKC volunteers.
- Session options. There was a variety of sessions available to the virtual audience, but if we could choose from a larger pool I think that would be great. I know not every session can be part of the virtual conference, but I feel that it would've been nice to have more options. For the most part there was just one session during each time slot to participate in. The only time it was doubled up was when there was a featured speaker or panel.
- Hybrid registration. An option to attend both onsite and virtually. Yes, this may not be a hot commodity,but you never know how many people would choose this option it it was available. I sense a poll coming on...
- [UPDATE 3/19/14] Questions. One of the only problems I feel that we ran into being a part of the virtual conference was that when it came time for questions at the end of a session we usually didn't have time to have ours asked/answered. Our questions were screened before being able to be presented to the panel/speaker. A lot of onsite people stood up during questions time and just made comments. Granted they were good, it just took time away for us who didn't have a chance to later speak with the presenters onsite.
- Screen onsite questions to make sure it's a question before allowing them to speak. (Sounds harsh, but it serves a purpose!)
- Manage the time better during the presentation; maybe a 5-10 minute warning light for questions to start and then the red over limit light?
- Have the TKC volunteer go first to ask the questions from the virtual audience before onsite people have a chance.
And there you have it. See, not really too much to change! I do believe that if I make it to NASPA15 I may even register for the virtual conference too (see Hybrid registration above). Why? Because I think you get the best of both worlds! As a virtual conference attendee we have access to the materials for 30 days! How many times can I watch the videos, share with colleagues, and have discussions on my campus in 30 days? I'm thinking a lot. It also allows for more opportunities to go to different onsite sessions if you know you can catch one virtually later. Just my thoughts on the matter. :)
Here's to next year: NASPA 2015 in New Orleans, LA
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