ACET, Inc. Blog

When ACET staff met to debrief about the recent AEA Conference in Minneapolis, they had lots of interesting and useful information that they gleaned from days of attending presentations and discussions to share. Here are some comments.

Kirsten: I gravitated towards presentations on data visualization and reporting and sessions in which a skill or technique was demonstrated. In one of the sessions, Simon Geletta (Des Moines University) showed how to build information dashboards. The software was surprisingly easy to use, primarily because it is based on a knowledge and understanding of Excel. Also, if you ever have a chance to watch an Ignite presentation, you may want to do it. Ignite speakers have 5 minutes to talk and 20 presentation slides. The catch? The slides automatically forward every 15 seconds, whether or not the speaker is ready. The result is often a polished, focused summary of the presenter’s work or position. They were inspiring to watch!

Stella: I went to a presentation about college access programs that gave me lots to think about, like the different rubrics used to measure engineering programs. I also went to a session focused on environmental impact that expanded my horizons on what indicators to include for future opportunities. I was also impressed by the work of the University of Minnesota Extension’s cohort model for building evaluation capacity.

Joseph: One presentation I thought was particularly interesting was about evaluation in a for-profit, corporate environment. It ended up being more different [from nonprofit evaluation] than I could have previously imagined. The focus is more on process over outcome, with the understanding that process will lead to outcomes (new business, repeat business, etc.). I did learn some good takeaway strategies that furthered my process evaluation knowledge and skills that will be useful for any sector.

Dan: I found a couple of presentations particularly interesting. One was about using email and postal surveys (or survey invitations) together to maximize response rates, and it went through the different combinations [the presenter] used to deliver the survey (or invite people to complete the survey). Another session I attended was about the analysis of quantitative data with different software packages, and there were some that I knew of, but others I didn’t. I found the functionality of each different software package to be of interest.

ACET Staff

Are you headed to AEA 2012? A number of related deadlines are fast approaching for the event!

After September 20, registration fees will increase ahead of the American Evaluation Association’s Annual Conference. This year’s AEA conference is being held in Minneapolis from October 24nd through the 27^th at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Professional development workshops will be held in the nearby Minneapolis Hilton from the 22nd  to the 24th.  AEA’s website also reports that many officially designated hotels are sold out for most nights, with others reporting limited availability. If you are planning to attend, now is a good time to solidify your plans.

If you are presenting at AEA, as two of ACET’s own evaluators are, we hope that your preparations are coming along smoothly. The guidelines for presenters advise, among other things, that you make any requests for audio-visual devices beyond a PC, projector, and screen at least four weeks in advance of your event, which at minimum would be the last week of September. If you wish to advertise in the official conference program, the deadline is September 21st.

Are you attending or traveling to attend AEA 2012? What are you looking forward to seeing or doing? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.

ACET Staff

Last week, we posted about document sharing resources that organizations may find useful. This week, we would like to follow up with a post sharing online resources that you may appreciate.

Tagxedo is a free program that creates tag clouds, also known as word clouds, in visually-appealing images and styles. This resource can be particularly useful in helping to analyze and display qualitative data. Users simply copy and paste all their prose into the text box. From there, the program automatically removes common words such as “and” or “so,” and allows people to select words from a list that they want to include. Users can choose an image that best depicts the text subject(s) or upload an image of their own. They can also create tag clouds from a blog, a Twitter ID, a news story, or a variety of other online sources by uploading a link rather than pasting in text. The program will require you to install Microsoft Silverlight in order to run, but the program is free, simple, and entirely safe. See below for the poem “Peanut-Butter Sandwich” by Shel Silverstein.

Prezi is a free web-based presentation application that uses a single page instead of multiple slides. All information (i.e., text, images) is put on one canvas and then grouped into frames. This allows the user to create a nonlinear “story” of sorts. The presenter can create a path for the frames or choose to select a section at will. Although the application is web-based, the user can download the presentation at any time if they don’t have an internet connection. The basic version of Prezi is free to use, but must be published on the Prezi site; however, private licenses can be purchased.

Another presentation tool, MindMeister, allows users to create a mind map to show information. Users can change font size and color, insert images or icons, add links, and rearrange spaces as needed. The map fits as many paths as you need for any given area, automatically readjusting to make space. Each caption and path is easy to create – click “add” to create a new path, “delete” to remove an unwanted path, or move a path by clicking on the caption and dragging it to a different path. MindMeister does only allow three free maps before you have to buy a membership to use the program, but the membership is low-cost at $4.92 per month. See below for my example that, again, highlights peanut butter sandwiches.

What tools or programs do you find most useful in your work? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Cassie

When you want to share information, either hosting a presentation or simply wanting to share work on a document, what resources do you use? We’ve found some particularly useful tools for sharing and presenting information (click on the link attached to the application to view more about that resource). This week we’re posting on tools for sharing documents.

A simple way to share documents that are not confidential is by uploading them to an online space. By using an online space, users are able to access the document anywhere they have internet access.

Google offers a free online sharing application called Google Documents that allows users to not only share documents, but also work on a document at the same time as other users. Once uploaded, users can edit, add, and change information in a document much like they can in Microsoft Word or a similar text editing software. When one user uploads a document, they can share with other users who can view or edit those documents. The original user must have a Google account to upload the document, but any other users do not need a Google account.

Dropbox is also a free project collaboration tool that allows users to upload and store files on multiple spaces of their choice. Just as with Google Documents, users can upload documents, photos, and more. An additional feature that Dropbox offers is the ability to link the application to multiple computers and phones. The program creates folders on each computer or phone that a user wants, allowing a safe space to upload documents without having to go onto a website.

Stay tuned for next week’s post on online resources!

Cassie

Kirsten and I had a great time at the 2010 American Evaluation Association (AEA) conference last week in San Antonio, Texas! We attended over a dozen sessions that provided valuable tips for our profession. We were also excited to co-present two sessions that highlighted a couple of our clients: the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) and The Wayside House, Inc.

Kathy Hill from OHE discussed the process used to develop a cost-analysis framework for their GEAR UP program while I reviewed the initial findings of this program on academic outcomes (see Multipaper session 763).  Heather Scholz from Wayside House co-presented with Kirsten on the lessons learned implementing mixed-methods and multiple measures in a quality human services evaluation (see Multipaper session 798).

Our winter e-newsletter will feature key takeaways from each session, so stay tuned for that! To subscribe to the e-newsletter, please email our Office Manager, Cassie, at cassie@acetinc.com.

Stella

As you may know, Stella and Kirsten will be making presentations at the American Evaluation Association (AEA) 2010 conference this Saturday. ACET just posted two PowerPoint presentations on AEA’s website in preparation for the conference.

Multipaper Session #798: Evaluating a Child-Welfare Demonstration Program: Evolution, Considerations, and Lessons Learned
Multipaper Session #763: The Impact of Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) on Student Academic Preparedness

The presentations posted in the AEA eLibrary system are open to the public, so please feel free to check it out! To see all presentations posted for the AEA conference, please click here: http://comm.eval.org/EVAL/EVAL/Resources/LibraryDocuments/Default.aspx?LibraryKey=1eff4fd7-afa0-42e1-b275-f65881b7489b

If you have any questions or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or contact us!