At GEOGRAPH, we are always looking for new and unique ways to better train our customers in using CrescentLink for ArcGIS©. When our users build their proficiency in CrescentLink, they can more quickly and efficiently manage their networks.
We also find that with our live instruction sessions, whether over Zoom or in person, we can establish stronger, more direct personal connections with individual power users, effectively training them to be trainers within their own organizations.
While we are proud of the training programs we have implemented, we are also constantly thinking of innovative ways to improve our users’ knowledge of CrescentLink. We also seek to minimize some of the unique logistical challenges that face our live training sessions. That is why we are thrilled to announce the new GEOGRAPH Academy, a fully online, go-at-your-own-pace learning environment.
GEOGRAPH Academy Home Page view
With the GEOGRAPH Academy we are constructing with our learning management system partners at LearnUpon, we have three primary goals. Our first is to deliver the same high standard of quality we offer in our current training regimen.
Second, we aim to provide an additional resource for instruction in our software when logistical limitations make a full training workshop infeasible.
Finally, we will utilize the extra time and space afforded by the online environment to provide additional opportunities and scenarios that are typically outside the scope of our traditional training workshops. Our vision for the Academy is that while our customers will continue to have access to our traditional live training, they will have numerous additional training options, empowering them to choose the training modality that fits with their time and schedule.
We have developed a detailed implementation plan that allows us to carry over the high level of quality we provide in our live training to the new GEOGRAPH Academy. We began by deciding to utilize our existing training programs as the backbone for new online courses. Our two-day CrescentLink for ArcGIS Pro© training workshop will be the flagship course in the Academy at launch, allowing us to establish a central curriculum from which we can design other courses.
This will also allow us to maintain straightforward organizational standards between our live and online learning programs, and help our customers get oriented more quickly in the Academy. As we design and build course content, we are dedicated to constructing fully interactive material that allows us to replicate the hands-on approach of our live training. Our traditional training program also provides access to training materials that provide learners with their own, locally saved “sandbox” in which they can experiment and grow as users without risking their live data environments. In the new online Academy, sharing these training materials is easier than ever before, ensuring that users will have all of the resources they need at their disposal.
While we are proud that our live training can provide so much benefit to our customers, our live training sessions are often limited by the amount of time available in everyone’s schedules. These sessions typically take up the better part of two business days, a period of time that can require significant schedule wrangling from our customers. Given how much time these training workshops demand, as well as how many customers are interested in training during a particular period on the calendar, scheduling a session is also incumbent on the availability of the trainers at GEOGRAPH. Though we take every opportunity to schedule training sessions whenever we can, we are ultimately limited by how much time we have for a two day workshop.
These logistical challenges are a non-issue with the new Academy. Users will be able to take courses whenever, and at whatever pace, they want. The course structure we are implementing through LearnUpon’s learning management system allows us to start at the level of the module, and then combine those into individual courses or lessons. Courses can then be added to learning paths, which require users to complete those courses in sequence to earn credit. With this modular structure, users can complete as many or as few modules in a given session as their schedule allows.
Similarly, as they progress through courses and learning paths, they can save, exit, and return as often as they want. This will also be a benefit to those customers who simply need to review training they have already completed. Given the compressed schedule of the two day training, we are often limited to how much time we can use to review a specific topic. Additionally, many customers begin their training early in their CrescentLink deployment, and find that by the time they are actively using the tool, they need a refresher of the course, if not full retraining. The GEOGRAPH Academy solves the needs of those folks by enabling them to revisit their training whenever they are ready.
In addition to constructing a reliable, flexible alternative to our training program, the unique characteristics of the online Academy will allow us to build a catalog of new courses that we haven’t been able to fully provide until now. While the CrescentLink for ArcGIS Pro© course will be the launch cornerstone, we are working as a team to create courses covering a broad array of CrescentLink and GIS processes.
These new courses will have content geared towards users of all types and levels of proficiency, and range from simple, straightforward tasks like setting up a project, to more complex subjects such as setting up and administering enterprise geodatabases. The LearnUpon platform allows users to pick from free courses in a catalog, as well as courses for sale through our storefront.
GEOGRAPH Academy Catalog view
GEOGRAPH Academy Store View
Though a pricing structure is still in development, paid courses will generally consist of longer, more detailed lessons, while free courses will offer shorter content focusing on high-level demonstrations, overviews, as well as tips and tricks. Additional exciting features such as gamification and a user forum will further enhance the user experience. Achievement badges, points, and leaderboards can drive engagement among learners in the same organization. The forum will allow users to share tips and suggestions, bounce ideas off of one another, and reach out to other learners and GEOGRAPH staff for quick help topics.
We cannot wait to share all of these features and more through our new online GEOGRAPH Academy. Our team is currently working through a beta environment to thoroughly test the tools and functions of the platform to ensure that, at launch, we provide the smoothest, most robust experience for our customers right out of the gate. Once beta is complete, we will formalize and implement our final rollout plan, and we currently aim for a full release in early 2025. In the meantime, please reach out to us by clicking the link below and clicking ‘Learn More’ under Online Learning to add your name to our GEOGRAPH Academy mailing list. As we continue building out the online learning portal you will receive key updates and information as we get closer to launch. As always, none of this would be possible without the engagement and advocacy of our customers, so thank you for continued support, and we’ll see you soon in the GEOGRAPH Academy!
