Looking for something?
By David Dick, Chapter Member
If you did not attend this year’s annual conference, you missed a legendary event of speakers and the best topics in a long time. If you attended the conference, you probably missed a few sessions that you regret not being able attend. STC is offering us a timely and inexpensive way to catch up with the presentations called SUMMIT@AClick.
SUMMIT@AClick went on sale early this year for only $249 for members, $499 for nonmembers—it is good to be a member! SUMMIT@AClick is distributed free to conference attendees, but access is only good through March 31, 2011.
I purchased SUMMIT@AClick and I want to tell you about it.
A Tour of SUMMIT@AClick
Our tour begins at the Live Learning Center: STC’s new online portal to educational content from webinars and conferences.
Click My Account to create an account or log in. Creating an account was quick and easy and once I successfully logged in, a Welcome page appeared as shown below.
The My Account page confirms my access and allows me to update personal details, view the content that I have access to, and access online content. Click Personal Details to update personal information about your membership, such as your e-mail address, telephone numbers, and mailing address.
Clicking the link to online content displays the 2010 STC final program of the Summit page. Click on a link to view details about the session. For example, if I select “The Art of Questioning,” a page appears with details about session. I have the option to view the session or download handouts.
Clicking the View button opens the session in a browser as shown in the sample below.
The following are features of SUMMIT@AClick:
My Findings
SUMMIT@AClick does not include a user guide or help files, but you do not need it. The user interface is not complicated but it is not feature-rich. I needed a few minutes of exploring buttons and drop-down lists to orientate myself, and then I was watching my first session.
I found a few sessions with only a handout and no audio, which is disappointing. Interactive sessions, workshops, tutorials, and progressions were not recorded because of the difficulty to capture the discussion. For these, there is no substitute for the annual conference.
The slides of a few presentations are grainy and fuzzy, whereas other slides are sharp. Apparently, some presentations are screen captured.
SUMMIT@AClick is compatible with PCs and Macs running Internet Explorer or Safari, and Adobe Flash Player version 9 or higher. If your PC does not have Flash Player, go to www.adobe.com/flashplayer and download the latest version.
How to Get the Most Out of SUMMIT@AClick
SUMMIT@AClick covers three days' of presentations so set aside time (e.g., an hour a week, or two hours on a weekend day) and settle in to get the most value. Take notes just as you would if attending a training session. Do not try to multitask while listening. These are your peers, sharing their extensive knowledge, and if you listen what they have to say, your career will benefit.
If you find a presentation especially interesting, let your community leaders know. They are continually searching for ways to make your SIG membership more relevant to you.
For some of these presentations, the slides can be downloaded separately. If you want a reminder later, consider downloading them, especially if you have listened to the talk once already. The full video files are quite large, while a PDF of slides is much smaller.
Final Thoughts
I like SUMMIT@AClick, and I think you will too. The sessions are well presented, the topics well chosen, and the package is well worth your money.
Enhancements planned for SUMMIT@AClick for the 2011 conference is to improve the capture of material, coaching speakers on how to conduct a presentation, and improve audio quality as in repeating questions and visuals.
Enjoy this new offering, and let us know what you would like to see more of.
Web site:Live Learning Center
Web site:www.adobe.com/flashplayer
David Dick can be reached at davidjdick2000 at yahoo dot com
David Dick
SUMMIT@AClick went on sale early this year for only $249 for members, $499 for nonmembers—it is good to be a member! SUMMIT@AClick is distributed free to conference attendees, but access is only good through March 31, 2011.
I purchased SUMMIT@AClick and I want to tell you about it.
A Tour of SUMMIT@AClick
Our tour begins at the Live Learning Center: STC’s new online portal to educational content from webinars and conferences.
Click My Account to create an account or log in. Creating an account was quick and easy and once I successfully logged in, a Welcome page appeared as shown below.
The My Account page confirms my access and allows me to update personal details, view the content that I have access to, and access online content. Click Personal Details to update personal information about your membership, such as your e-mail address, telephone numbers, and mailing address.
Clicking the link to online content displays the 2010 STC final program of the Summit page. Click on a link to view details about the session. For example, if I select “The Art of Questioning,” a page appears with details about session. I have the option to view the session or download handouts.
Clicking the View button opens the session in a browser as shown in the sample below.
The following are features of SUMMIT@AClick:
- The drop-down list allows you view table of contents, thumbnails of slides, search key words, enter notes, view descriptions of the session and speaker biographies, and download the audio file (MP3).
- Details about the annual conference
- Buttons that control the motion of the presentation
- Running time of the presentation
- Presentation window
My Findings
SUMMIT@AClick does not include a user guide or help files, but you do not need it. The user interface is not complicated but it is not feature-rich. I needed a few minutes of exploring buttons and drop-down lists to orientate myself, and then I was watching my first session.
I found a few sessions with only a handout and no audio, which is disappointing. Interactive sessions, workshops, tutorials, and progressions were not recorded because of the difficulty to capture the discussion. For these, there is no substitute for the annual conference.
The slides of a few presentations are grainy and fuzzy, whereas other slides are sharp. Apparently, some presentations are screen captured.
SUMMIT@AClick is compatible with PCs and Macs running Internet Explorer or Safari, and Adobe Flash Player version 9 or higher. If your PC does not have Flash Player, go to www.adobe.com/flashplayer and download the latest version.
How to Get the Most Out of SUMMIT@AClick
SUMMIT@AClick covers three days' of presentations so set aside time (e.g., an hour a week, or two hours on a weekend day) and settle in to get the most value. Take notes just as you would if attending a training session. Do not try to multitask while listening. These are your peers, sharing their extensive knowledge, and if you listen what they have to say, your career will benefit.
If you find a presentation especially interesting, let your community leaders know. They are continually searching for ways to make your SIG membership more relevant to you.
For some of these presentations, the slides can be downloaded separately. If you want a reminder later, consider downloading them, especially if you have listened to the talk once already. The full video files are quite large, while a PDF of slides is much smaller.
Final Thoughts
I like SUMMIT@AClick, and I think you will too. The sessions are well presented, the topics well chosen, and the package is well worth your money.
Enhancements planned for SUMMIT@AClick for the 2011 conference is to improve the capture of material, coaching speakers on how to conduct a presentation, and improve audio quality as in repeating questions and visuals.
Enjoy this new offering, and let us know what you would like to see more of.
Web site:Live Learning Center
Web site:www.adobe.com/flashplayer
David Dick can be reached at davidjdick2000 at yahoo dot com
Top of page
Staff and authors:
