The Risk of Online Only Conferences in the eLearning Industry

Now that the Adobe eLearning World 2020 online conference has concluded, I’m very interested to see what the future looks like for Adobe eLearning conferences. For over a decade, Adobe has hosted live events like the Adobe eLearning Conference and the Adobe Learning Summit. I have it on proper authority that they have cancelled the Adobe Learning Summit, initially scheduled for October 26-27th at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas. They are official sponsors of this year’s DevLearn conference, which the eLearning Guild has planned for October 21st-23rd. The organizers of DevLearn have asked me to speak at this event, but it’s clear from the DevLearn website that there is a possibility that they may move to an entirely online format if COVID-19 persists into October.

I suspect that with the success of Adobe eLearning World 2020 that Adobe may be less inclined to hold live and in-person events in the future. For me, one of the most significant benefits of these conferences was networking and social activities. Sure, you can learn a similar amount of material online as you can from in-person sessions, but the side discussions out in the hall is a great way to learn as well. I enjoy meeting new people, and these conferences have also opened additional work opportunities that would otherwise not be there. Perhaps Adobe could create additional chat rooms that serve a less formal component of the conference, such as giving participants a live forum to have conversations and share ideas and best practices.

As a business owner who has very few business expenses to write off at the end of the year, these conferences have allowed me to have a relaxing time and promote my business as well. I’ve certainly enjoyed the entertainment part of staying in a Las Vegas resort. Relaxing by the pool while back at home my neighbours are already wearing winter coats is extremely wonderful. I’ve also gone to dinners with existing and potential business colleagues. While we do discuss the eLearning industry, we also enjoy having a great meal together and discussing other topics of interest as well. I’ve even done a little gambling. It’s nice to enjoy your work and get a tax write off as well.

One such interaction that has proven to be very successful in my business was meeting James and Susan Kingsley from ReviewMyElearning.com. Review my eLearning is a service that allows eLearning developers to share prototypes of their eLearning with stakeholders and other reviewers before you upload it to your organization’s LMS. Without Susan and James, I may not have learned about this invaluable service and just as importantly I may not have met two wonderful people I now consider my good friends and business colleagues.

Most of my work these days is teaching other Adobe Captivate users the skills that I’ve learned over my fifteen years as an eLearning developer. It was through the conferences that I met Kevin Siegel. Kevin is the Founder and President of IconLogic. Iconlogic is the leading provider of online software training in North America. Kevin is also the Founder and President of the International Council for Certified Online Training Professionals. Meeting Kevin led me to discover the Certified Online Training Professional (COTP) certification. I enrolled and successfully completed this program. The certificate and badge that goes along with this certification are great, but the real benefit is that I am now a better online training professional for all my clients. I highly recommend that you complete this valuable certification if you do something similar to what I do.

Of course, the benefit of an online event is more inclusivity. First, people from all over the world can participate. With past Adobe Learning conferences, located in Las Vegas and Washington DC, only a limited number of people are close enough to these events to make them worthwhile. Washington, DC, is about an hour flight from where I live, and Nevada is only about a four-hour flight for me. However, I know that most of the Adobe eLearning team are from India. I can’t imagine what their flight time experience must be like. Additionally, though, there are many other would-be participants in remote locations who have been asking for years for additional conferences closer to their homes. I understand Adobe’s reluctance to host events in certain countries. Certainly, in North America, there are hundreds of thousands of Captivate users. I’m sure not all regions can say this. An online conference can be attended by everyone, even if it means getting up earlier or staying up later than what you would normally.

Additionally, there is no cost associated with these live events. I’ve always said that the Adobe conferences are the best deal in eLearning conferences since they are complimentary. When you compare that to most of the conferences, I’m aware of in our industry, registration alone is well over $1,000, not to mention the expenses associated with travel and accommodation. The only cost of attending an online conference is one of your time. You need to block this time on your calendar. If you are a freelancer like I am, time spent on professional development is a time when you are not earning. Of course, do not forget what industry we work in. Professional development is what we do. To borrow from Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, if we are not “sharpening our saws,” in other words, if we are not upgrading our tools and increasing our knowledge, our effectiveness goes down.

So, I’m all for online conferences, both as a speaker and as a participant. I do hope that Adobe and other organizations that host online conferences consider what they can offer to ensure there are opportunities to network and interact in an informal way. One that can facilitate meeting the wonderful people I’ve met by attending these conferences in the past.

Look What I Found

I was updating my Linkedin profile this morning and I wanted to include the conferences I attended and participated in this year. I searched for the Adobe eLearning Conference in Washington D.C. so I could record the exact dates. I clicked on the link and was surprise the site was still up since the event happened six or seven months ago. Turns out I wasn’t on the previous 3rd annual Adobe eLearning Conference site but in fact the upcoming 4th annual Adobe eLearning Conference site:

https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/adobeELconf/

Now I haven’t been invited to participate yet but I expect that will be included in some capacity. Here is what I’ve been able to learn from the site so far…

Adobe eLearning Conference

The 2019 Adobe eLearning Conference is scheduled for Wednesday, March 13th, 2019 at the Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel on 999 Ninth Street NW, Washington DC, 20001. The conference itself is complimentary (as in FREE!). It’s scheduled for 8 AM until 4:45 PM. If you wish to attend this event, the only expense to you or your organisation is your travel and accommodation. As far as I’m concerned this makes this eLearning conference the best value in learning and design conferences anywhere in North America. In addition to the typical focus on Adobe Captivate, there is a dedicated Adobe Connect track. Of course with Adobe Connect just getting a major update you will want to learn about all that is new with Adobe Connect. You can expect to hear from Adobe Captivate experts (like myself) providing you hints and tips that you can take back to the workplace and implement in your eLearning designs.

Adobe Captivate Specialist

On Tuesday, March 12th, 2019, Adobe will be conducting sessions for the Adobe Captivate Specialist. These sessions are $499 per person. Upon completing the post-assessment, you will gain the certification of Adobe Captivate Specialist. It’s a rigorous one-day session but if successful this certification looks excellent on any eLearning resume.

Get your boss’s approval now

In the weeks and even days leading up to the Adobe live events, I hear from many of my YouTube channel viewers as well as from those right here on the Adobe eLearning Community how they weren’t able to attend the event because they found out too late. Here is my advice. Get approval from your boss right now. Don’t wait until they have spent their training budget for 2019. I don’t believe its ever too early to begin talking with your manager about your professional development.

Here are the key points to help sell it to your boss:

• Inspiring keynote presentations

• Multiple learning tracks for each level of expertise

• Sneak peeks into new technology from Adobe

• Networking opportunities

• Complimentary registration!

You can also point out that the Adobe Captivate Specialist classroom sessions the day before the conference are only $499. When you return to work, you will be coming back with an industry-recognised certification that will have a direct impact on the quality of eLearning you produce.

Here is the link to the site: 

https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/adobeELconf/

Here is the link to register for the Adobe Captivate Specialist program:

https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/Event/Register/71456-website