I miss the “physical” library and at the same time I don’t. Showing some age here, but I remember using a card catalog and library catalog search. Although now, we have access to more books, journals, perspectives and opinions than ever before, you have to know how to search and find them. The good thing about being in the library is that the catalog would get you to a section of books and journals all on the same subject and once in the stacks you would see all the related books and articles. Often the books I pulled off the shelf were not the ones I had searched for because I had not utilized the correct search terms or keywords. Yes, library research days took more time to pull just a few resources, the part I don’t miss, but often those books, bound journals, and microfiche (a call out to those who now wear bifocals) pulled from the physical “stacks” were more valuable an moved my research along with more depth and fidelity.
In 2005, with an iPhone giveaway, I found an eLearning conference, eLearning DevCon, set in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah. I had never been to Utah and/or an eLearning conference. I proposed various sessions, and they were accepted. By that point, I had been training, teaching multimedia and developing CBT and eLearning for about seven years, finding my way through instructional design and multimedia development required on my own. Begging, borrowing and stealing online techniques from wherever I could. Then eLearning DevCon came and as the week progressed, I ended up teaching more sessions than anticipated on animation, video, and others I don’t remember.
What I do remember is the people, connection, and collaboration. For the first time, I wasn’t just searching for tips, tricks and techniques, I was in the “stacks” and had found that section, group, cohort, or tribe that knew exactly what I did, what I needed and found the same in me. All the online discussions, forums, and videos were suddenly replaced by colleagues, kinship, and collaboration with a slew of new ideas and visions where my program and content could go. The sessions were just the beginning, it was the side chats, lunch debates, and the late-night conversations that truly spawned courses, business collaborations, and career changing goals.
Over the next many years, eLearning training conferences became a passion. First presenting, then programming, directing, and owning. In that 18-year journey, the people I’ve met, trusted, collaborated, commiserated, and even grieved with, have made training programs, online content, and life better. Building conferences, teaching, training and facilitating connections while sharing relevant and valuable knowledge and experience has become my life’s work because I stepped away from my machine.
To my many conference friends, colleagues and collaborators. Thank you and will be good to see you in the mountains once again. It’s been too long.
Jason T. Bickle
Director, Learning DevCamp 2023
June 5-8, 2023
University of Utah, Salt Lake City
learningdevcamp.com
jason.bickle@learningdevcamp.com
(469) 277-6125