Every year, professionals in the field of expanded learning come together to share ideas and best practices, get inspired, and connect with others who share a similar passion.
This magical experience is BOOST! It is one of a kind. I wish I could bottle up the energy. Regardless if you’ve never attended, or attend each year, here are a few strategies you might consider to optimize your BOOST experience.
1. Be Informed
Review the workshop sessions and Inspiration Stations beforehand and highlight what sparks your interest. Be strategic! If you are attending
with a colleague or team, one idea is to plan who might attend different workshops to maximize the number of resources and ideas that you can take back to your programs.
2. Dare to Connect
Challenge yourself to meet and connect with 10-15 people you have never met. These connections will help to build your network in this field and may lead to creative new ideas and innovation.
3. Bring a Journal
Challenge yourself to reflect and journal on each workshop, inspiration station, and keynote you attend. Whether it’s easier immediately after the session or even at the end of each day, use this guiding question to reflect, “What are one or two things that I can take from this workshop/inspiration station/keynote?” Any reflection is likely to be powerful, regardless if your reflection relates to your own personal development or a way to support others in your work. There is power in writing something down. Once we write it down, it becomes real.
4. Turn Your Thoughts into Action
When you return home after the conference ends, review your notes and share with your colleagues. Determine which ideas are worth digging into. Transform these ideas into a goal and share with a colleague. Once we share our goals with someone else it helps keep us accountable. Because it’s helpful to have someone that can keep you on track to achieving your goals, you might consider asking a colleague to become your “accountability partner.”
5. Be Prepared for the Post-BOOST Blues
BOOST is so magical that after it ends you may feel a bit low. It helps to stay connected to those people you met at BOOST or others who share your passion for this work. Don¹t worry, the magic will happen all over again in 365 days, a beautiful reminder to keep you inspired and energized all year long!
For breakfast, I had a protein shake.
Author: @juliesesser