LEARNTEC xChange inspires e-learning community
Online event gathers 5,756 education experts to share experiences and network
From 02 to 04 February 2021, LEARNTEC - Europe's largest event for digital education in schools, universities and the workplace - organised free webinars on all aspects of the digitalisation of the learning and working world with the online format LEARNTEC xChange. 5,756 registered participants and 96 speakers exchanged views on current developments in the education scene and networked with their industry colleagues on the online event platform.
"The positive response to our LEARNTEC xChange format is overwhelming. We are very pleased that we were able to offer the education industry a platform for interactive exchange of experiences and networking and that it was so well received by our community," says René Naumann, Project Manager of LEARNTEC. "We would like to thank all participants and speakers for their exciting input and look forward to seeing you again from 22 to 24 June at LEARNTEC, live at Messe Karlsruhe."
Special online experience thanks to get-together and matchmaking
For three days, topics such as user experience, workplace learning, smart learning and future skills as well as the digitalisation of universities and schools were on the agenda. Participants followed the twelve webinars via live stream on an event community platform. The focus was on interactive exchange between all participants. The community was able to ask the speakers questions via chat and participate in interactive surveys. The result: around 890 questions in the chat and more than 4,650 survey votes were counted. Participants also had the opportunity to take part in one of the 28 virtual roundtables of some LEARNTEC exhibitors. In the roundtables, which were limited by format to half an hour and 45 community members, they discussed digital education solutions with colleagues. The participants also received further information and contact details for individual consultation in the profiles of the LEARNTEC exhibitors.
During the breaks between the individual presentations, participants could start a discussion in virtual rooms and, in line with the motto "Get Together", share their expertise with other education experts via video call. "Especially this interactive exchange of expertise in small groups led to a unique online experience and was used intensively by our community," says René Naumann. "A total of 51 discussion rooms were opened where people actively discussed around topics such as collaborative learning, agile competence development, homeschooling or didactics in higher education teaching." Networking was also offered by the matchmaking function, which suggested industry colleagues with similar interests and with whom participants could network via chat and video call.
New contacts and bilateral exchange not only on the platform
On the second day of the event, digital expert Chris Böhler questioned current social and economic developments and the resulting learning trends in his presentation on Future Learning. "This experience made a lasting impression on me! Not only did the lecture go well, there were 1,500 participants in my session. In the get-together afterwards, another 65 came by, the many requests to speak were hard to cope with. Many great contact requests on LinkedIn and then great bilateral exchanges," Chris Böhler sums up. "There has never been such a response to any of my previous presentations. I don't think it was the content. Rather, the setting was perfect for it."
Dr Sirkka Freigang (Head of Smart Learning at Bosch.IO) had similar experiences. In her expert presentation, she took a look at Smart Learning Environments and answered the question of how technology ecosystems from the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will change learning in the future. "Over 1000 learning enthusiasts listened to me today in my talk on Smart Learning Environments. I had four theses on the future of learning in my luggage. I also presented my digital twin, Sirkka No. 2. In the Get Together, a great format, we then talked about utopias and dystopias and considered together how technology ecosystems from IoT, AR and X-reality will change our lives and learning. Thank you, dear organisers of LEARNTEC, for this great event," says Dr Sirkka Freigang.
The international trade fair and congress LEARNTEC will take place on site at Messe Karlsruhe from 22 to 24 June 2021. Tickets are available online at www.learntec.de/tickets.