For Your Radar
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 |
| Special Interest Groups |
 Home |
 Login
|
|
|
|
|
Active SIGs
Career Transition (aka Career Management)
Organizational Development
Training and Technology
Updated: April 2008
|
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are specialized forums for on-going professional development, forums to share innovative ideas, share experiences, and explore future challenges.
These informal groups provide ASTD-OC members with opportunities for exploring professional development in specific areas of interest, opportunities in sharing their expertise with other members, and opportunities to network with colleagues.
Participation in SIG events and meetings is an extension of membership benefits and one of the many ways we bring more value to your ASTD-OC membership. The quality and number of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) provide members with opportunities for professional development and networking with colleagues.
Non-members and guests are invited to attend 2 complimentary SIG meetings before encouraged to join ASTD Orange County.
For more information on becoming involved in these SIG’s, please visit the pages above or contact the ASTD-OC SIG Manager,Paul Venderley, at SIGs@ASTDOC.org
 If you are interested in leading A Special Interest Group, please contact Paul Venderley.
|
On this webpage:
Special Interest Group Overview
A Lifetime Of Learning
|
|
| SIGs – a Lifetime of Growth |
|
|
In their book The Laws of Lifetime Growth, Dan Sullivan and Catherine Nomura challenge readers to make their future bigger than their past. They identify that growth is a fundamental human desire, that through our growth we find fulfillment. However, we find it all too easy to inhibit our growth, to become stagnant in a comfortable rut. To help us climb out of whatever rut we’re in, and to help us avoid future periods of stagnation, Sullivan and Nomura challenge us to review the certainties we’ve accepted in our environment and confront them.
Something’s broken – learn from it!
Something’s assumed – challenge the assumption!
We became facilitators, trainers, performance technicians with some purpose in mind. Follow it, and in so doing follow your heartfelt impulses, since they’re most connected to that purpose. Throw away the sense of entitlement and focus on creating value with your efforts. Be in the present, and ask: “Today is the first day of the rest of my life. What’s next?”
ASTD-OC is a committed sponsor for your lifetime of growth. We reach out via Monthly Learning Events, Annual Special Events, and perhaps most importantly, through our Special Interest Groups (SIGs).
“The SIGs are specialized forums for on-going professional development, forums to share innovative ideas, share experiences, and explore future challenges. The purpose of the SIGs is to provide you with specialized learning opportunities, network opportunities with other professionals, educational resources, and outreach opportunities,” says Jane Carrigan, SIG Manager.
The Training and Technology SIG is an excellent example of a SIG with specialized learning opportunities. It addresses training interventions other than instructor led training. “Training is often accused of being a cash drain instead of a revenue generator,” proclaims their web page. “Top executives are always looking for ways to make training cost effective.” To help its attendees develop their e-learning skills, the SIG leaders watch out for emerging trends, as well as focus on basic instructional design for e-learning modules.
Last year, Organizational Development SIG leaders polled their participants to uncover why ASTD-OC members attend their SIG meetings. Respondents had replied they attend to stay current with the profession, learn new concepts, to network with other professionals, or are interested in the speaker or topic. They also reported that they’ve left SIG sessions inspired, and have taken new ideas to apply back at work. These participants had found a way to shake off the day-to-day routine through personal and professional growth.
Attendees aren’t the only ones who benefit from attending a SIG event. SIG leaders have found that they have developed themselves as they have worked to develop others.
Why? Let’s reflect on our own experiences. How many of our stories come from when we were sitting in a classroom? Very few. Many of our anecdotes come from seminars we’ve facilitated, projects we’ve completed. Lead a SIG, and you open yourself to a wealth of experiences and an anthology of stories you can use in the field. Co-facilitate, and double the experiences while sharing the responsibility.
The Training and Technology SIG leaders challenge themselves to keep on top of technological trends. For example, the development of more-sophisticated mobile devices such as Palm Pilots or Blackberries has allowed innovations in mobile learning. Co-leaders Karen Wales, David Ward, and Vern Vihlene welcomed this new facilitation tool, and worked with Bob Sanregret to put together a session on mobile content deployment.
A recent on-line poll asked respondents: How many SIG meetings have you attended in the last year? While results were inconclusive, they raised a question. Are we providing SIGs that you are interested in? Along with the SIG Manager, the SIG Leaders are committed to providing a variety of programs that are of interest to you. We want to make sure that the topics discussed in our meetings are of interest and have value for you and your work.
If it’s not here, why not?
There will be special questions concerning the Special Interest Groups in this year’s member survey. Let us know your opinion of the current SIG program. What are we doing right? What is missing? What can we do to ensure that the SIGs remain a vital part of your professional development?
Remember, you don’t have to wait for the annual survey to communicate your ideas to us! E-mail any suggestions or ideas to the SIG Manager, Jane Carrigan, at sigs@astdoc.org.
What’s next in your professional deveopment? Let’s explore the possibilities.
|
|
|
|
|
