ASHA has always been deemed as the cream of the crop for conferences and no one has ever returned from one without being totally impressed with all the courses they could attend. This year the conference has been elevated to a level that surpasses anything you've experienced in the past. Beyond the highly regarded professional development courses and trainings that is offered, SLPs will now experience social media's influence. This will be brought to you by Pediastaff, (http://www.pediastaff.com/) a national staffing company that specializes in placements for pediatric therapists. This company has brought and is bringing social media to therapists and directly impacting the delivery of our therapy. Heidi and the staff have started a tsunami of helpful ideas on Pinterest, and have contributed in a massive way on twitter by keeping us informed with the latest information through articles and blogs.
Let me tell you what they are doing at ASHA! They are staffing a booth (#1823) in the Career Fair area of the Exhibit Hall. You will not want to miss going by there because of all you can learn and experience while you are there. The booth is titled The Pediastaff Social Media Learning Center Featuring SLPeeps let me list some of the "goings on" at their booth.
They are offering rotating sessions on Twitter, Pinterest, Blogs and more. Here is the schedule for those.
This booth will be staffed by Pediastaff and SLPeeps volunteers. They need more volunteers so if you want to get in on that contact Heidi @pediastaff on twitter. These sessions are appropriate for EVERYONE. If you are totally a beginner using the computer they can tell you more about it. If you are tech savvy they can talk shop with you too! So don't let that keep you away.
They have also scheduled 3 Tweet & Greet, in which you can go by the booth and record a video message for your SLP friends at home that don't get to attend this year. They will also be posting these on You Tube :) What fun!
If you want to be able to quickly identify your SLPeeps be sure to go by Pediastaff's booth (#1823) and get a button. Once you start wearing your button complete strangers will start speaking, then after you say hello you won't be strangers any more! You can put a real life face with that twitter avatar you've been chatting with for months!!
HINT: I'd go early on in the conference as they go quickly!
Another fabulous idea that came about from the SLPeeps and executed by Heidi at Pediastaff was the creation of our very own SLPeeps tee shirts and hoodies. Even though I won't be actually attending ASHA this year I did purchase a hoodie to wear this winter. You can order one before you go to wear while you're there or like me you can just get one to wear.
Here's the link: http://slpeeps.spreadshirt.com/
The ASHA convention this year is gonna be GREAT! I'll be in Atlanta only for the Wed. night meet and greet and am so looking forward to meeting YOU!
Dean
ASHA 2012 will be exciting! There are so many things to do and so many ways to get involved. Several vendors are also having a special give away for the #SLPeeps - you can look for Julio the #SLPeep logo at the participating vendors and play a game to win a prize. Thanks to Lessonpix.com for organizing that fun event!
ReplyDeleteAs one of the volunteers at the Pediastaff Social Media booth, I look forward to seeing many new people!
It will be my first time at an ASHA Convention, but I'm already more excited for #asha12 than for Thanksgiving. lol Looking forward to putting a face with a Twitter handle.
ReplyDeleteFantastic. We need SLPs to be up to date on social media and how professionals sharing thoughts about therapy approaches online can truly benefit our clients!
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