…then it must be so! ASAE & The Center conducted a research study they called “Associations of the Future.” Among the trends identified by the study: “Growing popularity of online education relative to that of classroom-based courses.” (See Associations Now, December 2008, page 20, for a brief summary, or the full report for more details.)

You’ve been hearing, ”Social media is essential for associations.”

I’ll add to that: “Online learning is essential for associations.” And by online learning, I don’t just mean Webinars. If you’re not learning about and considering all the various ways learning can be effectively delivered online, then you need to get on task sooner rather than later. Right now it’s the best option for continuing to deliver quality professional development to our members, despite travel and other budgetary constraints.

Don’t wait or it will be too late.

If you haven’t flipped open the October issue of Associations Now, don’t wait. Jeff Waddle’s cover article, “Meetings Remix” hands you several alternatives to standard, passive, PowerPoint-heavy sessions. Except for his insistence that these are for MEETINGS rather than EDUCATIONAL EVENTS (see my post “I am NOT a Meeting Planner”) his article is a great summary of why and how we can make our sessions much more engaging.

Rohit Talwar, in an interview with Lisa Junker (“The Future, Here and Now”) about the Association of the Future initiative, said, “Delivering more online must be part of the solution, because more and more people want online delivery.” At the time of the initiative’s research, it was a “want.” I’d bet that with the economic climate much harsher than it was then that people are now going to demand it. Responsible and forward-thinking education leaders must consider how they’ll move their associations into online learning if they aren’t already there.

All that, and I’m not done reading the full issue yet…