DevLearn: Should you go?
We enjoyed participating in the DevLearn Conference and Expo, the world’s largest learning technology expo held every year in Las Vegas.
Here are a few ways DevLearn can help with professional and personal development.
Professional Development
First, it’s important to weigh the value to you from a standpoint of problem-solving:
- What’s Coming Next – New learning technologies are rapidly being developed. Because DevLearn focuses on technology, the latest trends and innovations will be showcased there. Even if your organization isn’t able to implement the latest and greatest, it’s important for you to know where the industry is heading to give clear vision when your organization is ready for change. Start at DevLearn if you want to be a thought leader in learning technologies within your organization.
- eLearning Standard – Every learning organization is trying to provide online access to course material and content in some fashion. This isn’t just about technology, it’s about the learning experience and objectives. The technologies allow us to think differently about how people are learning synchronously, asynchronously and over distance. The standard is always changing as to what can be accomplished.
- Tools Upgrade – If you are using any kind of learning technology like your learning management system or content creation tools, then representatives from that organization are likely to attend DevLearn. Visit them at their booth or schedule a conversation ahead of time so you can learn about what’s coming next. There are also opportunities to compare them to other companies out there. If your provider is not attending DevLearn, you may want to ask how they keep up with industry trends and standards when their competitors are there, unveiling new capabilities.
Personal Reasons
There are also reasons to go that may be harder to justify. These reasons are intrinsic, they don’t solve clear practical issues, but are important nonetheless:
- Continuing Education – Most conferences provide a huge array of sessions and talks on topics that are interesting. The speakers are often your peers, trusted SMEs and thought leaders in the learning space. You may even want to think about speaking on a topic that you could teach others about. This can build your network and provide awareness of your company.
- Industry Camaraderie – If you enjoy gathering with like minded individuals to celebrate and commiserate about the industry, DevLearn is a great opportunity. This advice is going to appeal to the more outgoing of you reading this, but in addition to expanding one’s peer network, those peers can become a resource in one’s career. Build a braintrust of learning professionals that you can lean on after the expo closes.
- 10,000 Foot View – It is always good to step outside our own boxes and see what’s happening around the corner or to see what’s happening at a macro-level. When we do that we see more opportunities for ourselves and for the organizations we serve. It is always worth obtaining greater perspective.
Here is why we choose to attend DevLearn.
TruScribe is the leading provider of whiteboard videos for training and development. For our videos to be successful in your organization we need to take other technologies into consideration. So one reason we go is to understand how our content should adapt in order to interact with the latest technologies.
We’re also there to meet learning professionals like you to explore using whiteboard video in your media mix.