OTAN News
Loop for Adult Education and Workforce Development Professionals
ISTE's SkillRise Initiative is launching a new free opportunity called Loop to help connect adult educators and workforce development professionals who want to share new ideas and grow their networks. Loop is a platform that matches professionals within a sector (e.g., adult and workforce learning) with similar interests for optional weekly one-on-one networking calls, and it conveniently runs right out of email inboxes.
To get started, adult and workforce professionals interested in learning from each other and growing their networks can apply to join the upcoming ISTE Loop cohort that will begin in November 2021. Use this Google Form to apply.
Within about a week, folks who register will get an email invitation to set up a Loop Profile. When creating their profile, participants are asked to indicate which topics are most interesting to them. Some of the options include:
- Distance, online, and blended learning
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Data management and analytics
- Future of work and emerging technology
- Soft and essential workplace skills
- Organizational leadership in the digital age
Creating an ISTE Loop profile takes about five minutes and is essential for matching participants with others who have similar interests.
Starting in November, participants will receive an email every Monday morning asking if they'd like to meet someone new through Loop that week on Friday. If yes, they're automatically paired with someone with similar interests who also wants to meet that week, and a calendar invitation with a video chat link is emailed to both people. It's that easy! Matching with someone new is never required, so participants can choose when they want to make time to explore fresh ideas with a new colleague.
One nice benefit of ISTE Loop is that once a profile is set up, everything is managed through email, including weekly "opt-in" invitations, confirmations, meeting room links, and calendar events. There's no need to log into "one more platform" to connect with someone new. This one-page PDF explains more about how Loop works.
If you have any questions about ISTE Loop, please reach out to SkillRise Project Manager, Joey Lehrman, jlehrman@iste.org