Blog #1 – The beginning…
Start a blog they said. It’ll be fun they said. It’ll get all manner of new and interesting people visiting your website and raise the profile of your business. Show them you are real people and you’re passionate about what you do. It will transform the whole operation. Now it sounds simple, doesn’t it? We’ll just write something interesting about what we do. But where to start? What to write about?
I could tell you that I’ve been working in the digital industry involving interactive media and multimedia since before the internet. This was way back when Philips Laserdiscs were all the rage. I could also tell you I’ve witnessed the emergence and boom of the internet, interactive TV, early 3D modelling, DVD-Roms, Blue screen and visual effects such as Chroma key filming. I’ve also worked with Tony Robinson and a former Coronation Street star. But would that interest you? Would it make you want to work with me? What you really want to know is what’s happening in the industry now and how it can be used to optimise learning.
The digital age has changed the way we work, shop, socialise and for the purpose of my blog posts, how we learn. It’s such a broad area to write about because so much has happened in such a short space of time. What’s clear is that digital technology has great benefits for enhancing education. With most people having a personal computer to hand 24 hours a day and unlimited access to the internet, it makes sense to capitalise on this. Education is more accessible than ever and learners can access and interact with online courses in ways that were unimaginable before the internet. This empowers educators to create the most engaging learning materials ever.
The truth is, the experiences I had in my little corner of the digital age are valuable ones because they led us here. I could write about any one of them. They are part of a very large puzzle but give some insight into how digital technology evolved. Understanding the past helps us shape the future.
I’m going to make blog writing a challenge, to travel back through the industry I’ve worked in since 1994. By looking at trends, white papers and assessing the views of others in the same business, I’m going to provide my spin on things. All those years and experience must count for something, right? I’m sure I’ll travel down some familiar paths but I’m hoping some surprises will get thrown up too.
‘We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.’ TS Elliot.
This Blog has been written by Andi Blackmore, Director at Inspire Interactive.
Watch this space for more blogs from the team here….
If you have any thoughts on areas that you think are interesting in the e-learning industry, then please tweet @elearnandib or email us at hello@inspire-interactive.co.uk
