AHRD 2007 is the first conference I ever blogged.

Before I went to the conference, I asked my new colleague Lee LeFever about what he would suggest for blogging a conference. He made some helpful suggestions for me, and now that I have attended a conference as a presenter and participant and blogger, I have learned a few things:

1. Bring the laptop with me EVERYWHERE and to every session.
• Do not leave the laptop in the room and then blog later. Too much running back and forth. This should be easier once I get a new (and smaller) laptop.
2. Bring the camera everywhere as well.
• Same as the laptop. Now at least I have a Flickr account all set up and have nearly figured out how to use it and upload the photos quickly. Of course, don't forget to pack the camera cord!
3. Tell people what I am doing.
• I attend some very academic conferences, and many of my colleagues there do not seem to know much about blogging or social media. I decided to bring the same blog business cards I created for Northern Voice 2007, where it was a bit more understood. 
  

  I also learned something very interesting about using a card like this. After being asked several times what my website is, I realized that many (very bright) people do not immediately recognize a website address without seeing the www at the beginning. I have since added that to my card above. A number of people got interested in what I was doing when they either heard more about it or visited my blog themselves to have a look. This also allows my colleagues to see more about what I do! 

4. Use tags for everything
• How else will people eventually stumble upon my work?

I am sure there is more learning, but this is enough for now to help me prepare for the next conference I am attending and presenting at, AERC, which is coming up in June.

Last night I attended our annual AHRD Scholar-Practitioner Committee meeting during the conference. It seems there is some new thinking about how the work of the S-P Committee will proceed, especially around the area of acting as a role between pure scholars and pure practitioners, since this group understands both worlds and concerns and needs. This will be an interesting year for our work!

I just finished presenting my research paper at AHRD 2007. My paper is entitled Do Practitioners Use HRD Research (and Why or Why Not)?, and it met with some really interesting questions that further informed the work my research partner, Sophia Stone, and I did. I will play with these further questions in my mind, and post more about them later.

I just attended a really interesting Innovative Session that Isabel Rimanoczy facilitated at AHRD 2007. In it, she presented and then we discussed the Action Reflection Learning methodology that she works on. This picture is of her summary of the ARL methodology.

Some of the discussions the group had about this involved the theoretical foundations for ARL, what distinguished Action Reflection Learning from Action Learning, the benefits of using a Stop / Reflect in academic as well as corporate settings, the political dimensions of ARL, issues surrounding readiness for action learning, and how reflective practice and (self) narrative influences and can be influenced by this methodology.

One of the interesting take-aways I took from this session, even after knowing and working with Isabel over the past two years, is how LIM's removing the Trademark from Action Reflection Learning (though as of right now it is still present on their website) can finally foster discussion about this process that may in turn enlarge the discussion both in academic as well as in pratitioner environments. It is refreshing that Isabel's book on ARL is finally with the publisher, so when it comes out later this year or early next, the discussion will continue even more then. Who knows where this wider discussion will lead.

I am currently blogging from AHRD 2007, the annual International Research Conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development, which is in Indianapolis. I will be publishing several posts from the three days I will be attending the conference, and will be uploading the pictures I take there on Flickr as jeffreykeefer