I came across an older blog article today that reminded me of 2001. It was then that I left my academic job at Center for learning technologies (which closed) and joined a small local online learning company that had developed a learning management system (LMS) where I was the head of professional services.
I joined in February of the same year and we attended a large trade fair, online learning 2001 at the end of September. It was only a few weeks later September 11 attacks. We flew over Newark airport and during our stopover, we had a clear view of the smoking twin towers. It was strange and calm that few people were traveling at that time. Many other local learning companies went to this event because our pavilion was organized by the government of New Brunswick. When we arrived, we attended a reception organized by the Canadian Consulate and each person received a reverse pin with crossed and Canadian flags that we all carry with pleasure with our American neighbors.
Curt Bonk of Indiana was at the conference and wrote a few observations several years later. He had attended the same conference in Denver the previous year, just like me. But now the situation was a little different.
Almost all those who attended 2001 online learning were in the room, but many seats remained open. Unfortunately, for the conference organizers, the annual online apprenticeship conference had decreased considerably from the previous year in Denver. It was a major reduction in workforce. It is enough to say that I no longer heard people boast of their burning rates. The causes of this narrowing included the September 11 crisis, concerns about travel, reduced travel budgets and the implosion of most Dot-Com companies; especially those lacking in viable products. In addition to all these troubles, it seemed to be the end of an era when magicians and men on stilts could distract people from a lack of online learning products. I certainly miss these men on stilts and ladies in the stands who try to define the words “learning” and “collaboration” for me, and even less “e-mindcollaboration” or “e-learningbrain”.
–2016-07-28
The online learning sector may have aged in 24 years, but I have not seen a lot of real progress in promoting learning other than the fact that more things are online. I am also saddened that the American-Canadian relationship has deteriorated given the current US administration. I noticed before that Learning is not something to get And today I think learning is not something we have.
Finn founded Learnopoly to provide unbiased, in-depth online course reviews, helping learners make informed choices. With a decade in financial services, he developed strategic partnerships and business development expertise. After a frustrating experience with a biased course review, Finn was inspired to create a trusted learning resource.