Conference playgrounds are a great opportunity to present and connect with other educators during the conference. Yet, there seems to be a lot of confusion around what a conference playground is. In this post, I’ll explain what conference playgrounds are, share tips for presenters, and share tips for attendees of playground sessions.
What are conference playgrounds?
A playground is like a bunch of poster sessions around a common topic. If you’ve never seen poster sessions, picture a science fair. Playground presenters “present” for about an hour (give or take depending on the conference set up), and then all stations turn over for a second (and sometimes a third) round of poster type sessions. They are very different from a lecture type session or workshop. Playgrounds are great for participants to come and go and get information quickly, and it’s much more conversation style for presenters to make connections and share. A lot of times there will be some demo booths, so you get to “play” with a new concept or tool.
Tips for Presenters
This will be really different than your typical presentation session. People will be coming and going for the entire duration of your slotted time, so you shouldn’t plan to deliver a 30+ minute presentation. I like to think of it as having an elevator pitch ready as people walk by… you’ll introduce your station topic, share a few things, and then usually you’ll get a question that will dictate the direction of the rest of your interaction with that person. Then, someone will walk up behind them and listen to what you’re sharing. Sometimes they will just stay in the background, listen, and move on, and other times they will ask you a different question or even to take it from the top.
If you’re debating to apply- do it! This is a great opportunity to submit a topic that possibly got denied from the larger conference program. There are SO many things that go into the selection of conference sessions, and many great sessions get denied due to the sheer volume of submissions, and lack of available session slots to fill. You’ll likely want to tweak your original plan to make sure it will fit a playground format, but the topic itself is a great place to start.
Usually, playground stations will have some sort of external monitor that you can plug your device into to share resources. Sometimes they will also have a cork-board type display behind the station to hang paper resources. I would definitely recommend having some sort of bit.ly shortened URL and/or a QR code handy that participants can walk by and take a picture or access your resources right then and there. Don’t just rely on adding it to the conference app resources- individual playground sessions typically don’t get added to the conference app, so it can get confusing for participants to find your resources mixed in with all the other playground presenters. If you have the means, you may want to print handouts or get business cards made with your session title, your contact info, and links to your resources. I’ve seen bitmoji stickers and all sorts of cute ways to do this.
For your actual resource, sometimes a slideshow can slow you down. Do to the bouncing around nature of playground sessions, having a linear presentation may not make sense when talking to people who are engaging with you. If you do a slideshow, make sure your slide titles are clearly added, so you can quickly jump from slide to slide when needed if they aren’t in sequential order based on the question you just got from an attendee. Sometimes a website makes more sense (you can put a Google Site together pretty quickly) because it’s easy to jump around pages. I’ve also seen good old fashioned printed pieces of paper that allow participants to take photos of the information (verify you will have a bulletin board before you rely on this method). Definitely have something that you can “leave behind” with attendees.
Tips for Attendees
Conference playgrounds and poster sessions are hands down some of the best learning opportunities and exchanges with presenters that I’ve always had at conferences. Since “playground” is a little abstract to people, they can sometimes get overlooked by attendees.
Individual playground sessions typically don’t get added to the conference app or session schedule for you to search, so keep your eyes peeled for the Playground itself. For example, the ISTE Edtech Coaches Playground will be listed in the conference session; the 12-16 individual presenters may or may not be added to the session schedule, but their individual topics most likely won’t be. Just know that if it’s the “edtech coaches” playground, then all topics will focus on one thing or another edtech coaching related. Likewise, “STEAM Education Playground” is going to be a bunch of topics related to bringing STEAM to classrooms. There should at least be a link to the individual playground session schedule that lists the individual station topics and times, you just have to know that you’re looking for it within the information about the playground… those individual sessions aren’t going to come up in your session schedule search results for “edtech coaching,” but the single playground will.
Engage with the presenters! This is a unique type of presentation that allows you to have a conversation directly with the presenter(s). Don’t be afraid to ask them questions; they are there to share their knowledge so others can emulate and build on it. IF there seems to be a big crowd at a particular station, and you can’t get a word in edgewise, just wait people out or go visit other stations and come back.
Bebop around all the stations to see what they have to share. This is the easiest way to get a lot of information on a single topic without having to sit through an entire one-hour session. If you’re someone that feels awkward leaving a session that turns out to be something different than you expected, then this playground format is for you because everyone is coming and going.
Get those phones handy because you’ll be taking a lot of pictures of the resources and links shared. There isn’t a place for you to bust out your laptop to take notes, so you’ll want to think about your plan to capture what you learn and organize those pictures you take before it’s too out of side out of mind.
Going to ISTE22? Apply to Present at the Edtech Coaches Playground
If you’re headed to New Orleans this summer for ISTE 2022, then consider applying for the Edtech Coaches Playground!
The Edtech Coaches Playground is scheduled from 3:00 – 5:00 pm CST on Monday, June 27, 2022. We’re looking for 12-16 presenters of all experience levels to help others jazz up their coaching! For more information and to apply, click here. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to me or fellow co-planner Leslie Fagin.
I might be biased, but this is always one of the best experiences for current tech coaches and those looking to become a tech coach at ISTE!
I’m curious to hear what tips you’d give to presenters and attendees for conference playgrounds. Drop your ideas in the comments below!
Tech To You Later!
-Katie, Ed.D.