A New, Easy and FREE Opportunity to Network with Colleagues from Around the Nation!

ISTE’s SkillRise Initiative is launching a new free opportunity called Loop to help connect adult educators and workforce development professionals from around the country 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.

Here’s how it works.

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 – but professionals can choose to join after November as well.

APPLY NOW! >>

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 5 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. Click the PDF below view a downloadable, one-page flyer that explains more about how Loop works.

Participating is free, and we at ISTE are so excited about bringing Loop to the world of adult and workforce learning. We know that many professionals in this field are hungry for new ideas and connections, and we are sure that the success we’ve seen with other Loop cohorts – for higher education, edtech developers, and K-12 teachers – will transfer to the world of adult learning. Welcome aboard!

If you have any questions about ISTE Loop, please reach out to SkillRise Project Manager, Joey Lehrman, at [email protected].

Thanks in advance!

Originally published 11/29/21