What an amazing time last week in Orlando for both the Adobe Learning Summit 2011 (#ALS2011) and the Learning Solutions Conference & Expo 2011 (#LS2011). I had the great opportunity during my time at both to show off the new version of Adobe Connect Mobile for Android on the Motorola XOOM tablet! While not everyone got to see the application in action, between myself and my Adobe colleague, RJ Jacquez (@rjacquez), who also had a XOOM and was showing conference attendees Adobe Captivate content, we cast a fairly wide net of how Adobe is trending in the mobile learning (mLearning) space.
One of the biggest themes across both conferences was, in fact, mLearning. There were more questions than answers and even fewer examples (with exception of the awesome mLearning work that Josh Cavalier (@JoshCav) is doing over at http://www.lodestone.com/). That said, it’s clear learning practitioners are very interested in mLearning and eager to get their hands on technologies that will give them an instant mobile learning solution. Enter the latest version of Adobe Connect Mobile.
At ALS2011, I attended Adobe Connect team member Peter Ryce’s session, Extensibility = Learner Engagement, where between the two of us, we demoed Adobe Connect from his laptop, his Android smartphone and from the XOOM I had with me! With the new mobile app, I participated in polls, the chat pod and even broadcast video from the XOOM’s camera live to the audience, in excellent quality, and over hotel WiFi. The Adobe Connect experience on the tablet is superior! I could sense the excitement from attendees and its implications for mLearning by those who witnessed it. Adobe Connect Mobile on the XOOM, and other tablets, represents an entirely new opportunity for mLearning – the mobile virtual learning environment or classroom. The virtual classroom has never been this accessible on a mobile device.
Over at LS2011, I attended How to Produce Consistently Engaging Virtual Online Sessions with Chris Benz (@chris_benz) and Karen Hyder (@karenhyder), both of the eLearningGuild – a practitioner’s network using Adobe Connect for their own virtual learning. I had a chance to show Chris the new Adobe Connect Mobile app and discuss its potential for mLearning.
One other note, day two keynote Nancy Duarte also showed screenshots of Adobe Connect during her keynote presentation, Resonate – Visual Stories That Transform Learners and Audiences. I was very happy to tweet about that!
Were you at ALS2011 or LS2011? Did we cross paths and, if so, did you see me cruising with or demoing on the XOOM? What was most memorable for you about the shows? Please let us know in comments or send me a message on Twitter.
Justin Mass, Senior Learning Technologist, Adobe (@jmass)