Keeping Your Software Knowledge Current

As a learning and development professional, it is wise to keep your level of knowledge up to date, and that applies to your software training as well.  Many professionals get stuck in a rut, believing they can not gain any further usage from the software or afraid to update their software to the current release.  Not only is it good practice to ensure that you are constantly learning what your software can do right now, but what about upcoming versions and major releases?

In m opinion, the best practice is to give at least two hours per week to learning about your software, working out what-if scenarios.  Also yourself the time to work with the software so that you can get the best from it and can progress in your career. When new software is released, install it and try out the new features, how do they make your workflow easier to manage? A big mistake that many professionals in the digital sector make is to procrastinate about upgrading to the new version, but sooner or later you will be forced to update and at this stage, this update will put you under intense pressure.

I was the first person in Ireland to get certified as a Microsoft Office Specialist and things went well for about eight years, then Microsoft brought a new release that had the now common ribbon menu interface.  I hated this, I stayed away from this for over a year, but guess what happened? My clients adopted the new version and I started to struggle when training clients or when creating spreadsheets or presentations for clients.

So, what happened?  I decided to delete the older versions on my computer and bite the bullet, learn the new release and guess what? Within seventy-two hours I was back up to speed and now I can’t imagine using the old-fashioned releases.

IT and software are in constant flux of change, and you need to embrace this change, this is one of the reasons that Adobe CC products are so great, because you no longer have to wait for massive updates to the software, they release much smaller releases at a constant rate that makes it easy for us developers to keep up to date with trends and demands of the marketplace.

Take  A Look At Captivate

If you look back over the releases of Captivate you will see that the product grew legs and started to go places.  In today latest release we now have interactive virtual reality, I know that for many this is scary, what do I know about virtual reality, how will I manage this if a client wants it in their project?  This is why it so important to install the new version and start meddling with it to see, feel and understand what the new additions to the software can do for you and your clients.

Change is scary for many and we need to change this mindset to one of welcoming new additions to our software, we need to ensure that we don’t get left behind, because once you lack the skills required by today’s clients and market expectations, it only a matter of time before you are outdated and ready to be put on the shelf.

With forums like eLearning.Adobe, you have access to hundreds of experts that can help you understand your software better, offer tips and tricks that speed up your workflow and offer workarounds to what was thought of unattainable results by the industry.  With contributors like Lieve Weymeis, Paul Wilson and  Dr Pooja Jaisingh to mention but a few, who give so much detailed content back to the Captivate community.

Regardless of what software you are using or would like to use, nearly every software vendor now offers a 30-day free trial and this makes it easy to try out new software that comes to the market.  Remember always be looking for the best software solution to make your workflow and your career easier to manage, you owe it to yourself and your clients to ensure that you keep up to date with the best software in the industry and for the industry sector that you represent.

Other sources of online training for your own development is Udemy.com, Linda.com, Adobe Tutorials, YouTube channels and blog articles that will guide you through the software ins a pace that suits your learning style.

So, think is two hours a week worth spending to give you peace of mind in knowing that you have the best advantage in your business by knowing how to use the software to the highest extent?  I think you will agree that it is time well spent.

Learning => Knowledge and Knowledge => Success.