This week, the Green Meetings Industry Council used gaming to transform their learning and communication platform. GMIC designed an interactive and collaborative game that created incentives for attendees to (A) apply the learning from the conference in real time, (B) support sponsors and exhibitors and (C) share the key messages of GMIC via social media with the rest of the world.

The Game & Leaderboard

The objective of the game was to earn the most points. Points were awarded by doing the following:

> Share insights from the event via Twitter or Blogging

> Visit Exhibitor booths in the Exhibit area

> Attend Educational Sessions

> Complete a Group Case Study project that helped integrate all of the learning.

The Leaderboard kept track of the points earned in a pseudo real-time way. Some of the points were recorded digitally. While other items, like the case studies, had to be manually scored and entered into the system. You could check the leaderboard anytime by logging into a mobile application and seeing where your team stood.

Teams

GMIC pre-loaded Team profiles into the system to help get teams started. Then each team self-formed and added members to their team roster in the game. As a virtual participant, I couldn’t see who was on which team. So I had to get some feedback on teams from Twitter. Greg Ruby (@gregruby) and Brian Hunt (@brianhunt04) told me that Team Oak was the best. So, I accepted their invitation to join Team Oak. Brian and Greg were right – we were good.

The Technology: iPad Apps & Mobile Apps

The system that kept all of this together was an iPad app and a mobile app made by QuickMobile. Each team was given an ipad that had the official team app on it. This app allowed the team to do a lot of different types of data entry and engagement activities.

As a remote participant – I had a mobile app that helped me see how Team Oak was doing. I couldn’t enter any data into the system, but I could follow along with my team. This gave me access to the leaderboard and the case study as well as various other items – like a list of attendees.

Note: If you did use the iPad application, please tell me about your experience in the comment section below. I would be interested in hearing how it worked for you and your teams.

Virtual Participation

Myself, Tahira Endean (@tahiracreates, Vancouver), Brandt Krueger (@brandtkrueger, Minneapolis), Sanne Jolles (@sanne_j, Amsterdam), Katherine Manfredi (@kmanfredi, Florida) and various others were active virtual participants. In one form or another, we were able to join teams and participate in the group projects onsite.

I really appreciated this opportunity to be included in the group activity. It would have been very easy for the organizers to say no, because it really wasn’t part of the original plan. It turns out that GMIC literally embraced a message from Event Camp Twin Cities: “Experimentation is our get out of Jail Free Card…if we weren’t having tech hiccups then we wouldn’t be innovating.” With that as guiding motto – they were willing to let attendees create and push the boundaries.

Virtual View From Brandt Krueger's Office

Skyping in Virtual Team members

For Team Oak, we skyped in Brandt Krueger and myself into our team meetings to discuss the case and various strategies. Brandt Krueger skyped in via skype audio onto the team iPad. He was placed in the center of the table. I was video skyped in and took a seat around the circle. John Chen (@bigkid) and Greg Ruby (@gregruby) were gracious enough to help put it all together.

View of Team Oak from my Virtual Perspective

I liked the experience because I could observe the non-verbal communication from the other attendees that accompanied what they said. However, it was not always possible to hear all team members all of the time. Did I mention that we met at the bar?

Here is a video interview with some of my thoughts on being a virtual participant.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1MUy0qQxNM]

Tahira Endean (@tahiracreates) had an entirely different experience. They had problems getting skype to make a good connection. As a result, she used email and text chat to participate in the group. This made her experience dramatically different from my own. Also, it changed the way that the communication dynamics between her f2f team and remote participants.

The Case Study

The case study was brilliantly designed. It challenged us to practice: objective setting, destination analysis, pricing, business analysis, meeting architecture and establishing a measurement strategy. I really appreciated the multiple dimensions that were inside of the case study. Elizabeth Henderson (@ehenderson) did an amazing job.

The Debrief

In my opinion, one of the most important elements in a competitive game is the debrief. This is the part where you find out if you won or not – then figure out what you did wrong. One thing that struck me right off the bat – was Paul Salinger saying that he let us down on objective setting because none of us did it correctly. The irony is that I remember him asking several times on day 1 – do you all know how to do this? The entire room said we do. I guess we didn’t afterall.

Our team ended up second overall and third in the case study. While I was proud of our efforts, Team Magnolia rocked the case study. I would have been interested in hearing them talk about their proposal and get their take on some of the high points.

Total Engagement & Gamestorming

Inspiration for the game design came from the book Total Engagement by Byron Reeves and J. Leighton Read. (http://www.totalengagement.org/) I haven’t read the book – but plan to pick it up soon.

Equally important, Paul Salinger opened and closed the gaming sessions by talking about Divergent thinking and Convergent thinking. I first learned about those elements of game design from the book Gamestorming. (http://www.gogamestorm.com/)

It’s Still About People

While the game was cool – one of my big take aways was the wonderful welcome and feeling of inclusion that I got from the organizers and attendees. They went way beyond the call of duty.

I would like to thank Paul Salinger (@psalinger), Midori Connolly (@greena_v), Mitchell Beer (@mitchellbeer), Holly Duckworth (@hduckworth), Elizabeth Henderson (@ehenderson), Greg Ruby (@gregruby), Roger Simons (@rog_simons), Brian Hunt (@Brianhunt04), John Chen (@BigKid), Gina Broel (@gbroel), Ian Lipton, Joseph Chan, Daniella from Team Oak, Team Oak, Lisa Kraus (@LisaKraus), Andrew Walker (@eco_efficient), Jill Drury (@jtdrury), Tahira Endean (@Tahiracreates), Heather Teegarden (@hteegarden) and many others for making me feel part of the GMIC Family. Your kindness exceeded my expectations 20 fold.

Bottom Line

Through my virtual window, I can confirm that this was a very cool event. The tight integration of the game into the event objectives helped make the gaming element a success. While the technology was slick – the real key in my mind was a good game design around the objectives and content of the event.

Tell me about your experience. What did you like most about the gaming elements? What would you like to see improved? Do you think this format could scale up to 1000 attendees and beyond?

The post Tips for Meeting Innovators from GameOn appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

To execute this vision the GMIC team is getting everyone to work together to solve problems rather than just listen to speakers talk. The idea behind the event is that you will go home having looked at building sustainable events from several different perspectives. Not only will you have heard about the strategies – but you will have been able to practice them.

Since, I am not really doing this event justice – here are snippets of Paul Salinger and Midori Connolly talking about Game On.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j3Q357VP7w]

How You Can Participate

[Register here] Obviously you can attend in person. The event is in Portland. For those of you that want to save your carbon footprint (and your greenbacks) there is a FREE virtual pass available. Since, this conference fits with my innovation wishes – I plan to attend online.

I will be looking at  how the organizers are integrating the games, ipad applications and case studies into the event design. I will be happy to share what I learn with all of you.

Tell me about your own experiences (positive or negative) using games in learning. Are other conferences doing this? What is the reaction from the attendees – near term and long term?

The post How GMIC is Using Gaming to Transform its Learning Platform appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

Feel free to comment and share.

How Can Technology Enhances Live Meetings?

Are you looking for some innovative and forward thinking on the role that technology can play in meetings? Checkout the Webinar and White paper from the IACC (International Association of Conference Centers) on Technology. This webinar is loaded with advanced thinking in communication, collaboration and co-creation using technology and live events.  They cover everything from the brain to space utilization to technology trends – and much more.

> IACC Though Leadership Summit Video (first 90 minutes had me scribbling ideas madly)

> Summary Blog Post

> IACC WhitePaper

Can Technology Make You Happy? You Betcha!

A recent survey of 35,000 people found that technology was linked to happiness. People of all ages agreed that they liked the things that technology can do for them. The statistics are counter-intuitive to those that say that technology is harming our lives – and that we need less of it. (Read More)

Helping Students Learn How to Enjoy Learning

“A classroom should be the place for students to open their minds and also express themselves”, says Travis Allen founder of the iSchool Initiative. Travis’ group is bringing the student perspective on technology use into the learning development process. (Read More)

How to Optimize Your Texting Response Rate

Speakers – Are you looking for strategies that help you improve your response rates with audience polling? PollEverywhere recently summarized several tips together in one place. This summary is super-helpful. (Read More)

Sidebar: The speaker Jim Carrol used Poll Everyhwere to solicit answers to the question – what is the biggest challenge for the meeting industry going forward?

Seth Godin Offers Sound Ideas for Developers Creating iPad Applications for Meetings

There are a lot of people that are predicting the role that the iPad will play in meetings. In fact, I have been a part of the prediction parade twice: iPad – It just works -but will it work for events? and What iPad Means to Meetings. The marketer, Seth Godin put together some sound advice for anyone developing an iPad application for meetings of all sizes. (Read More)

The post Five Perspectives on Technology in Learning & Events appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.922758&w=425&h=350&fv=videoId%3D66775419001%26playerID%3D1813626064%26domain%3Dembed%26]

Imagine how great YOU and your event would look if your exhibitor brochures or your event guides worked like this. Ok -they will probably never be this cool – but what if they were 1/2 as cool?  When I wrote the post iPad: It just works…but will it work for events – I had these kind of applications in mind. I just wasn’t smart enough to implement it.

Thank you Wired for showing us the way!

The post Is this the Future of Event Guides and Exhibitor Brochures? appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

Why?

Well – Apple products have been known to change the way that we interact with technology and experience life. Look at the iPhone, the iTouch, the itunes store and app store. These things have changed the way that hundreds of millions of people experience technology.

Also as was said many times today by Steve Jobs: It just works. When it comes to technology – everyone likes technology that just works.

What is so cool about the new iPad? Have a look for yourself. Here is a short video from Apple that explains everything.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lCOU5O9V1Q&feature=player_embedded]

Will It Work For Events?

Today, at events, we already have event applications built around laptops, mobile phones and purpose built devices. What if anything would the iPad be good for at an event?

Here are some event applications that popped into my head while watching the live announcement:

• Larger Screen = bigger fonts = easier readability for all types of attendees (like baby boomers). This means that you could create e-versions of your Show Daily, conference guide and exhibitor guides. This would make it very easy to make an event paperless AND preserve your sponsorship revenue.
• Incorporating Multimedia. There will be a clear opportunity to include multiple photos and video clips from the show floor in the e-versions of the Show Daily. Electronic Exhibitor guides could contain video demonstrations of products. Electronic Conference binders could contain speaker videos. The kicker? If you are recording sessions these sessions could be setup online and available for viewing/downloading on the iPad right away.
• Interactive Demos. Today – interactive demos can be a challenge to run on the show floor. I think that we will see more and more interactive marketing companies creating demos, games, quizes, etc that get attendees engaged on the show floor (or in the streeet). These apps will help companies capture new leads, qualify them, and feed them into the CRM system right on the show floor. In my opinion, the iPad – as a hybrid of the iphone and the laptop – will be perfect for this type of application.
• Agendas, One-to-One Appointments, and Personalized Agendas. Did you see the new calendar function? I think that someone will come up with an application for the iPad that creates personalized agendas for attendees, schedules appointments, etc. While the iPad frontend needs to be easy to use – the database, scheduling engine and reporting will be a powerful part of this solution.
• Corporate Backchannel. With the powerful user interface and portability, I could see someone creating a corporate backchannel application that runs on the iPad. While any device could be used to enter comments into the backchannel – the iPad advantage will be in viewing all of the other comments on the backchannel and privacy. Corporates don’t want their internal discussions tweeted to everyone.
• Speaker Q&A. I can see iPads sprinkled across the roundtables in a large conference room. Attendees can use them to enter questions for speakers, see what others asked, and maybe even rate/rank them. How cool would it be to rate questions for the CEO? Awesome!
• Way-Finding. I can see people using the iPad GPS to figure out the best route to their next appointment on the show room floor or to another part of the center or to the off-site event this evening. (Note: GPS may not be accurate enough to find most 3X3 meter booths inside of a hall.)
• Sponsorship.  There was a lot of screen real-estate for including innovative sponsorships – beyond banners. I am sure we will see some innovative digital sponsorship applications emerge.

A Word of Caution

• Venue Wifi Sucks. enough said.
• Devices For Each Person. For the situations where each attendee needs a device – IMO the purpose built device will be a better solution than a mobile phone or iPad type product. Why? The purpose built devices have return-me-now alarms. They have higher adoption rates. They come with private networks. Usually…they come with trained staff that know how to manage the technology across many different user types.

Bottom Line

The iPad is a new platform that will change the way that we experience events. Not necessarily – because of the ways that I suggested above.  I think the iPad’s biggest impact on events will come from showing attendees, sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and event organizers a new way to use technology and experience life.  As people get more comfortable with these new technology experiences they will start demanding similar types of experiences from their face-to-face events.

So – those are my first impressions. What do you think?

It just works….But will it work for events?

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