IDEA: Virtual ELearning Conference

By: Justin Ferriman • August 19, 2015
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collaborative-meetingNo matter what profession you are in chances are you are aware of its various industry conferences.

In fact these kind of events are becoming more and more popular today. By way of example, WordPress dedicated conferences (“WordCamps”) are popping up all over the country.

Spin-off conferences have also emerged, such as:

  • PressNomics
  • LoopConf
  • WooConf
  • WordCampus
  • YoastCon

The elearning industry also has its fair share of conferences. Some of the more popular include:

  • DevLearn
  • Learning Solutions
  • mLearnCon
  • Training Conference & Expo
  • Online Learning Conference

It seems like every industry and niche within that industry has its own conference.

While these conferences are great for learning and networking they do take both financial and time commitments. In the case of the elearning conferences, this could set you back nearly $1,000 for the ticket price alone!

Some companies will pay for their employee’s tickets and travel – lucky them! For others the price-point, travel, and accommodation costs don’t justify participation.

Which made me wonder, why not have an elearning conference that is 100% online?

We’ve seen this done with success in other industries. In WordPress, there is a 24 hour conference that takes place online called WordSesh. It’s free for people to attend and they get to choose which talks they would like to watch. Participants can live chat with one another during the presentations and pose questions to the presenters.

This concept could very well work in the elearning space. It doesn’t have to be 24 straight hours, it could simply start off as a webinar series.

Many of the complicated logistics associated with putting on a conference are removed, which essentially removes the need for admission payment for participants (or at the very least a significant decrease in price).

The pieces are in place as I know that there are a variety of regular webinars related to elearning today. All it takes is someone to consolidate these into an exciting, information filled day and then market it to the rest of the industry.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter