These Are Four Places You Can Find Me At DevLearn

I do a lot of silly things for my personal projects. I hid behind a trashcan at Pike Place Market for the sake of capturing a Virtual Reality shot. I spent hours researching poisonous plants to create a game based learning activity. My browser history is probably pretty interesting, to say the least.

I spend almost every weekend working on these projects. Over the past few years it has become a habit for me, as well as a hobby. I do things that make me uncomfortable, that push my skills to the limit, and I absolutely love it. 

I'm constantly sharing what I am working on with my personal learning network. I have my moments where I'm hovering over the Post/Send/Tweet buttons and I contemplate, "Am I sharing too much?" or "What will people think of me?" However, being able to share really makes it all worthwhile. It helps me grow and hopefully inspires others to share their journey.

When I get to present at conferences, it let's me tell another story. A story most folks don't see online. Speaking at conferences allows me to explain the why behind the work I'm doing. I also learn and grow from those who I get to interact with at my sessions but in a different way. 

This year for DevLearn I went all out and here's where you can find me!

1. eLearning Guild's Articulate User Conference (Tuesday, October 23)

My session is 302: Create Advanced Interactivity in Storyline 360 with JavaScript. We'll be talking about when/why to use JavaScript in Storyline, playing a guessing game to identify JavaScript in Storyline, working on a new version of my Educational Coffee Cards, and sharing resources to help you get started.

2. Using Design Systems for Scalable, Accessible, Cohesive eLearning Experiences (10:45 AM - 11:45 AM Thursday, October 25)

This session is my baby. It's what I have been working on since DevLearn 2017. I covered the topic very briefly last year in my UI session. This year I'm taking this topic to a whole new level. Don't let the title deceive you, this is going to be life changing for any teams designing or developing elearning. I'll be showing a design system for learning experiences that I am currently working on too. You will receive answers to burning questions like:

?? What does Taco Bell have to do with scaling learning solutions?

?? How and why do I need avoid 50 shades of gray?

?? How will I save my team thousands of dollars a month on elearning development? 

3. Scrum Master Trivia Game at DemoFest

This is Ross Kerr and I's first ever DemoFest and hopefully not the last. For the xAPI Cohort, we created a game based experience that tracks user activity using xAPI. The short video and game are a concept that is meant to be a part of a larger project. We used xAPI data to make design decisions on the project and boost engagement within it. Swing by our table to demo the game and see the xAPI data flowing in live. You may even make it on the leaderboard. Oh yeah and vote for us if you like it! ??

4. Powering Next-Gen Learning with VR and xAPI (10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Friday, October 26)

Margaret Roth, John Blackmon, and I, have paired up to bring you all of the xAPI and VR goodies. I did my embarrassing VR thing again and headed to the library to record a VR retail scenario prototype. You can sign up to play ahead of time. In the scenario, I play the role of a sassy Library Patron and you play the role of the Library Associate. In the session, I'll talk through everything I learned. Here's a blooper to hold you over in the meantime. Thank you to my wonderful partner Thomas for being a good sport about the whole thing.

Catch you at DevLearn or here on LinkedIn! 

- Mel