Greetings dear aea365 readers! I’m Sheila B Robinson, aea365 Lead Curator and sometimes Saturday contributor. Today we close Evaluation 2017 and wrap up another extraordinary experience for conference-goers — and not just those who tirelessly traversed the labyrinthian walkways of the Marriott Wardman, but also those who live-streamed sessions from across the globe, and who both shared and consumed the tremendous wealth of collective learning from hundreds of esteemed evaluation colleagues on social media platforms.
Hot Tip: If you are not yet tweeting, please consider this as one platform for serious professional learning and networking. I’ve kept a list of over 550 evaluators on Twitter (and I’m certain there are many, many more out there). If you’re concerned about having to sift through what today’s pop culture celebrity is having for breakfast to get to the content you want, think again. YOU choose* you what you see by carefully selecting who to follow. Interested yet? Look for the many aea365 posts contributed by our AEA Community Manager, Jayne Corso, with great tips, tricks, and how-tos.
Cool Trick: Did you present a session this year? Want t0 extend your reach and share your content? Please post something – a handout, document, other relevant material – in the AEA Public eLibrary (it’s under “Read” on the main website menu) so that others can continue to learn from you.
Cooler trick: Did you present OR attend a great session this year? Please consider sharing your learning in an aea365 post! It’s easy – just a few paragraphs and you’ve got it! Our max word count is 500, and other contribution guidelines are here.
Hottest Tip of All Time**: If you have not yet attended an AEA Annual Conference, either in-person or virtually, please do! Ask anyone who has attended. I’ve yet to encounter someone who hasn’t felt it was worth every penny. The sessions, the networking, the socializing…meeting not only fellow evaluators, but also friends, and to many of us in a sense, family. After all, AEA is “home” for so many of us. Might it become your home as well?
A brief message from your blog curator: I am so grateful for all who approached me this week to tell me how much they enjoy and appreciate this daily blog, and I feel indebted to the friends who did outreach work for me by fervently encouraging others to contribute. All kudos belong to the hundreds of authors who have contributed over the years to make this the fabulous evaluation learning resource that it is.
-Sheila
*OK, there are a few promoted ad tweets you’ll see, but not too many, so don’t let that sway you.
**And I would never in a million years exaggerate. 😉
Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.