Happy Summer! I’m Sheila B. Robinson, aea365’s Lead Curator and sometimes Saturday contributor. Last year at this time, Susan Kistler contributed some fabulous ideas for enjoying AEA’s annual conference even for those not attending, and they’re well worth repeating this year. So, with thanks to Susan, here we go!
Hot Tip #1 – Leverage the Evaluation 2014 Online Conference Program (coming soon!) to Build Your Professional Network: The Evaluation 2014 Online Conference Program is searchable by Topical Interest Group Sponsor, speaker, and keyword. If you are attending, researching the conference program and its 700+ sessions in advance of attending is a must-do in order to make the most of your time. Even if you are not attending, you can search the conference program for colleagues working in your area and connect via email to raise a question.
Hot Tip #2 – Check the AEA eLibrary for Handouts and Related Materials: AEA’s online public eLibrary has over 1000 items in its repository and that will grow considerably as the conference nears and immediately following. All speakers are encouraged to post their materials in the eLibrary and anyone may search and download items of interest, whether attending the conference or not.
Hot Tip #3 – Follow Hashtag #Eval14 on Twitter: If you are on Twitter use hashtag #Eval14 to tag your conference-related tweets. If you aren’t attending, follow #Eval14 to stay abreast of the conversation and @aeaweb, AEA’s Headlines and Resources Twitter Feed in particular. Check out #Eval13 for an idea of what folks were tweeting last year!
Bonus Cool Trick – Get the H&R Compilation: Not up for joining Twitter quite yet, but want to get the field’s headlines and resources for the week nevertheless? You can subscribe to AEA’s Headlines and Resources compilation to arrive via email or RSS once each week. Learn more here.
Hot Tip #4 – Check in Regularly or Subscribe to EvalCentral: Chris Lysy maintains EvalCentral, a compilation of 57 evauation-related blogs where you can always find the newest posts. Lots of bloggers will be in attendance at Evaluation 2014 and EvalCentral allows you to find them all in one place. BONUS: Download Evaluation 2013 – A Conference Story ebook, written and illustrated by Chris himself!
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.