Online Training – The Time Has Come

I can vividly recall making the statement, “I will never have a blog.” I am not certain that I fully understood what a blog is/was at the time. We have all learned the foolishness of saying “never” and I will start my first blog post by retracting that statement.

Times change. People change. Technology changes. Change is the only constant. So, now I have a blog, and I’ll use my first one to introduce the online training.

We at SynAudCon have been sniffing around online training for years. After 13+ years of on-the-road seminars, we think that the time is ripe to give it a go. Some of the reasons include:

1. A pattern. Having conducted hundreds of seminars with thousands of grads, we’ve developed a pretty good feel for what the average audio practitioner is likely to know and not know. This is a business that you are likely “in” before you are fully ready. A balanced presentation of the basics is appreciated by all, irregardless of their level of expertise.

2. The technology. The Internet as an educational medium has “arrived” in terms of bandwidth and accessibility. The software programs required to produce training content are mature and powerful. So is the hardware. Technological limitations are essentially non-existent.

3. Better communication. When I sat down to produce the first training module late last year, it became immediately apparent that in many ways online could be “better” than live. I can write a script, proof it, send it out for peer review and then proceed to illustrate it with graphics, photos and animations. Every thought can be researched and conveyed as intended every time.

4. Pictures, pictures, pictures. I was always the guy in school that had to see a picture. Flash animations and clean vector graphics can be used to really convey a thought. Zooming, annotations, panning – the flow is exactly controllable. It’s even possible to drop in a little history without breaking the flow of the presentation.

5. A foundation. By presenting the basics online, we can better prepare people for the in-person seminars and workshops that SynAudCon will continue to hold. The online content will also prepare people for manufacturer-specific training. Imagine a training program on DSP or a measurement platform where everyone shows up with a similar knowledge of the fundamental principles of audio. This frees the manufacturers to focus on the presentations for their products. Our training can help improve their training – synergy at work.

6. Accessibility. Gone are the time contraints. Gone are the geographical boundaries. Travel is unnecessary. The price is lower. Efficiency is dramatically increased. We’ve set it up so that Level 100 is available to all SynAudCon members as part of the membership.

I’ve always advocated making a list of pros and cons with regard to any decision. I can honestly say that I haven’t come up with much for the “con” column regarding SynAudCon online training, but I could definitely produce more entries for the “pro” column. We hope you will give it a try and provide us with feedback regarding how we can make it a better tool for your needs and the needs of your customers.

I suppose that this is long enough for my first blog, so until next time…

Pat