AU Unplugged – The Training Trinity

It?s hard to believe that Autodesk University 2007 is less than two months away! If you haven?t already registered ? what are you waiting for? I did receive an e-mail just the other day from TenLinks stating that you can still save $500 on the conference fee if you register before October 7^th. Everything I have read to date has said this AU is shaping up to be the biggest ever! So as always it should be an exciting event.

Among the new things being tried at AU this year is something called AU Unplugged. While the phenomenal classes offered at AU have been reason number 1 for people to attend AU, a close second has always been the networking opportunities available. Generally speaking the networking opportunities at AU have taken the form of casual conversations in the halls of AU. Recognizing some valuable information is to be had in such conversations, Autodesk has built a stage for which such conversations can be had with a larger group of people.

Quite simply, AU Unplugged is the unconference of AU. No lectures or presentations – just interactive two-way conversation with your peers.

Over the past few months Autodesk has had an open invitation for individuals to submit their ideas for AU Unplugged sessions. Those session ideas have since been compiled and posted to the brand new AU Unplugged website. With the website live, it?s up to you (AU attendees) to select the sessions that you would like to see happen.

Among the sessions being offered is one by yours truly. As I have shared on this blog, a large part of my job at Timmons Group is training our CAD users. When people thing corporate training, they are generally gravitated to classroom learning. The old presentation principle of ?tell them what you?re going to tell them, tell them, and finally tell them what you told them” comes to mind. Beyond classroom learning what are some ways classroom learning can reinforce other workflows, and better reinforce other initiatives of a CAD Manager. My session ?The Training Trinity? will focus on three fundamentals of a successful training program; classroom learning, user support, and CAD standardization. How can each of those initiatives be developed in a way in which they each reinforce and promote one another?

My proposed ?The Training Trinity? is but one of a number of intriguing sessions to be offered. You can view a full list from the AU Unplugged site here. You can view my session, The Training Trinity, and comment on it here. Once you check out the available sessions, be sure to vote on the ones you would like to see.