aes18 International Evaluation Conference

Kara Scally-Irvine (Evalstars Limited), Liz Smith (Litmus), Kahiwa Sebire (Flinders University)

The AES is transforming and wants to increase member value. We know many AES members are not located in easy reach of the regional seminars and workshops. In 2018, the Member Services Engagement (MSE) committee decided to trial the use of webinars, with a particular emphasis on enabling greater learning and connection opportunities for members unable to attend AES events. We established a webinar working group to identify potential applications of webinar technology and best practice guidelines for webinar technology and online facilitation. In keeping with design thinking approaches, we tested our assumptions with a pilot: "A webinar on how to run webinars".  

In this interactive session, the AES Webinar Working Group will share our learnings and activities so far. We will provide an overview of what a webinar is (and isn't), different delivery options within an evaluative setting (the techie bit) and our top tips and tricks for facilitating online. We will end with our reflections on the value of the tool for AES members as a vehicle for professional development, and a tool for use in evaluations. Throughout the session, we will incorporate the use of other interactive tools, e.g. PollEverywhere, that can be used to garner engagement and gather data, so attendees leave with first-hand experience of the technology options available to them.  

We hope to deliver this session as a webinar (and later as a webcast) so members not attending the conference can benefit.  

We will also seek feedback on what the membership might like to see next from the AES to support professional development.