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Technology vendors. Just hearing that phrase can invoke concern, stress, anxiety, or even fear. Yet we know that many of them provide our offices with a wide variety of solutions and services which we can use to better serve our students and meet their career needs.
But how can we learn about all of these different tools without triggering a seemingly endless stream of phone calls and emails? And how do we acknowledge the important contributions that vendors are making to our profession and make them feel welcome in our Association?
At the 2018 Annual Conference in Atlanta, the Technology Knowledge Group (Tech KG) hosted several sessions with our membership to better understand their needs when it comes to evaluating, demo-ing, and purchasing new software and services. One of the messages we heard loud and clear was the need for a way for our members to be able to hear from and interact with vendors, without having to get onto the sales track.
The leadership of the Tech KG considered these questions and feedback at our December and January leadership planning meetings and we are pleased to announce a new, year-long webinar series: TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT.
Each 75-minute Technology Spotlight will focus on a specific type of technology, problem, or service area. The first 30 minutes of the session will be a moderated panel-style conversation where we invite the participating vendors to answer some of your most pressing questions related to the Spotlight’s topic. We will then provide another 30 minutes for up to three different vendors to do a high-level demo of their products. Finally, the last 15 minutes of each Spotlight will allow participants to ask questions about the products to the vendors.
Each Technology Spotlight will be recorded and archived to the SoACE MemberClicks website, so that you can view them anytime.
We are excited to share that for the Spring, we have the following Technology Spotlights planned:
- March 19, 2019 at 2 p.m. (ET) / 1 p.m. (CT), we will be looking at interview technologies.
- May 21, 2019 at 2 p.m. (ET) / 1 p.m. (CT), we will be looking at resume technologies.
This fall, we are exploring Technology Spotlights on online and virtual fair technologies, career development and learning technologies, and a Spotlight on hot technologies leading into the Tech KG Pre-Conference Session!
To help make the moderated panel a positive experience for our members and our participating vendors, we invite all members to submit their questions in advance, online at http://TechSpotlight.usfcs.info.
If members have specific vendors, technologies, or services you would like to see covered in an upcoming Technology Spotlight, please feel free to reach out to either Peter Thorsett (pethorsett@usf.edu) or Ashley Graham Phipps (phippsac@wfu.edu).
If you’re a vendor and would to be considered for an upcoming Spotlight, please contact either Peter or Ashley.
We invite all SoACE members to join us for this exciting new program!
Watch your email and SoACE social media channels for the registration information for our first Spotlight on March 19th.
Ashley Graham Phipps
Emerging Technologies Coordinator, SoACE Tech KG
Assistant Director, Employer Relations
Wake Forest University
Peter Thorsett
Past Chair, SoACE Tech KG
Director, Strategic Initiatives, Communications, & Research
Division of Community Engagement & Career Readiness
University of South Florida