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July has been a mega-month for conferences and higher education meetings. My travel docket included: ISTE, ACUHO-I, NCSRMR and a couple of amazing events in Boston -- #satechBOS and #edutweetup.
#satechBOS was the first ever student affairs technology unconference. Held at Boston University's School of Management, 75 higher education professionals met up for 6 hours of sharing, learning, and connecting.
#edutweetup was billed as an "unconference meets happy hour." 79 attendees gathered in the back bar of McGreevy's for an evening of networking and 5-minute talks about a variety of higher education topics. During Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik's talk, he mentioned his thoughts about blog posts that feature "10 reasons to do something." Being the rambunctious blogger that I am, I decided to take out two birds with one stone -- write a blog post and fulfill my promise that I would post a numerically driven piece.
10 Reasons Why #satechBOS and #edutweetup Will Happen Again:
- Boston: More than 50 institutions of higher education reside in the metropolitan area. That concentration of schools means that Boston will always be an important location for higher education events.
- Ed Cabellon, Mike Petroff, and Seth Odell: Ed was the spark that ignited #satechBOS. Seth and Mike co-created #edutweetup. The energy that these guys have is tremendous. I happen to know that they were already thinking of how they could make next year's events bigger, better, faster, and stronger.
- Sponsors love our community! Boston University, Inigral, .eduGuru, ExLibris, Stamats, mStoner, Academica Group, Environment for Humans, NuCloud, OmniUpdate, and Converge Consulting all contributed to the success of these 2 events. This is an impressive list for a "regular" conference. How we meet, learn, and engage is evolving. Get ready!
- Nick DeNardis, Michael Fienen, Scott Jaschik, Robin Smail, and Tony Zanders. Where else can you go where all of these amazingly knowledgeable professionals will be presenting? 'Nuff said.
- Student Affairs Technology: 75 people came to an event in Boston to talk about tech + student affairs. Registration slots filled up. Our field is starting to understand that technology isn't something that we can ignore any more.
- Innovation in higher education is the new status quo. We're constantly moving, thinking, and creating.
- Social Media: It might have been the "hot" topic at #satechBOS and it probably will be for some time. As we become more comfortable with "the tools," we become more adept at using them strategically.
- Community: Let's say, hypothetically, that Ed, Seth, and Mike are too busy next year to run these events. I can guarantee you that the community will step up to maintain the momentum that started in July. We have influence now within student affairs. Let's use it to build.
- Questions: #satechBOS and #edutweetup were a consistent source of questions and answers. A good event, in my opinion, is one that leaves you asking questions. A good event makes you hungry for more. Both events in Boston left me wanting more and that is a very good thing.
- If #satechBOS and #edutweetup happen again next year, I promise that this will be my last "10 reasons why" post.
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