Continuing education Information, Marketing and consulting services by LERN

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cover page Nineshift book by William Draves & Julie Coates

Our Weblog of
the 21st Century.

This month's topics:
- Our Top Prediction for 2013.
- Plus FREE Nine Shift webinar Wed Jan 30.
Last month over 3,000 visitors, a new record!

Inbound Marketing - effective marketing tool

Inbound marketing is the theme of the 2013 LERN Conference – and leading North American experts like Brooke Freedman of Hubspot will be presenting on the topic.

Inbound marketing is the most effective marketing method for recruiting online. Instead of the old outbound marketing methods of buying ads, buying email lists, and praying for leads, inbound marketing focuses on creating quality content that pulls students toward your program online, where they naturally want to be.

"By aligning the content you publish with your continuing education student's interests, you naturally attract inbound traffic that you can then convert and enroll easily and efficiently," Freedman says. "Twice as many marketers say inbound delivers a below average cost-per-lead versus outbound methods - and 54 percent more leads."
The big LERN Conference is Nov. 21-23 in San Francisco.

Exciting new topics at conference

Here's a few of the advanced hot new topics premiering at the big LERN Annual Conference in San Francisco Nov 20-23:
-Content Marketing
-Assessing Your Organization
-Amazing New Web Tools You've Never Heard Of
-Reaching Diverse Audiences
-Lessons from Retail
Expect 30-40 new topics and 20-35 classic favorite sessions, making it hard (once again) to choose from all the great 72 sessions.
The final brochure will be available in July.

Small groups met outside at the LERN Institutes last month. Plan on coming in 2014.

April record event month for LERN

The biggest non-conference month in our 39 year history for attendance at events, more than 200 people attended 9 institutes, while another 500 attended our online courses and events. LERN is on its way to a second consecutive record breaking year.

Top issues for field named by leaders

Here's the top 4 new issues for the field for 2013, as named by your Senior LERN Leaders meeting last month in Tucson:

1. Reaching diverse audiences
Reaching and engaging minority and low income people, including having all the right people at the table, hearing different perspectives, and using the right resources to reach the intended audience.

2. Safety and security
New this year for our field is a concern about safety and security for courses and events.

3. Pre and Post Assessment
Leaders expressed greater interest in pre and post assessment for lifelong learning and continuing education courses, events and offerings.

4. Beyond completion
Rob Watters of ASQ in Milwaukee introduced the need for more documentation of training and educational outcomes beyond the completion of the course or training.

From Florida and Arizona to cyberspace, LERN left its mark on the field last month with training not available anywhere else.

Workers with Asperger's hot topic in training

With the number of workers with Asperger's growing, teachers at all levels need to know how to recognize Asperger's and help their students learn, notes Julie Coates, LERN's lead educational researcher.

The June offering of her online course on the subject is getting more registrations than ever. And you get up to 50% of the revenue. Check out all the UGotClass courses or email info@UGotClass.org.

Senior Leaders 'Sold Out'

New members are moving into the Senior LERN Leadership, even as others retire, filling all 30 Senior LERN Leader positions. "Having new leaders committed to LERN is positive news for the future of LERN and our member services," Perry Harker, outgoing Chair, noted.

Outdoor Leadership. Gabriele Janes of Toronto, left, new Chair of the Board, leads a small group with Rob Watters, Milwaukee; Susan Bakewell, Denver; and Aiysha Johnson, Chicago.

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Perfect place to study. Many participants at the LERN Institutes in Fort Lauderdale, like Triss Henderson of Champaign, IL, above, studied next to the pool after a day of classes. Institute registrations were up 43% this year.

Upcoming Webinars

Tuesday, June 18

Tuesday, June 25

Kart named Associate VP

With LERN both growing and incorporating Gen X in its staff leadership, Suzanne Kart has been named Associate Vice President of LERN. President William A. Draves announced the move at the Senior LERN Leadership Retreat last month.

Kart, 42, of Bay City, Michigan, has been Marketing Director for LERN. In her new role, she will report to Julie Coates, Vice President for Information Services, and assume additional responsibilities. She joined the LERN staff full time in 2007.

Leaders Suggest new LERN Directions

Here's the top 4 new services Senior LERN Leaders suggested for LERN at their annual retreat last month:

1. Intentional career development pathways
LERN will create competencies, pathways, guidance and a structure for LERN members to develop their careers and leadership in the field of lifelong learning and continuing education.

2. Mentoring future leaders
Young members in LERN's new Future Leaders Council have requested mentors, and the Senior LERN Leaders will lead that effort.

3. Dashboards
Leaders came up with more specifics for dashboards. One dashboard would be developed by LERN for programs. The other would have your program data.

4. ILU promoted
Leaders volunteered to publicize the new measurement for learning to foundations and accreditation agencies.

Long winter over (we hope). Northern members were glad to attend our Florida and Tucson events last month. LERN staffer Collette Sakschek expressed the view of many this year.