This week, Educadium wrapped up two rewarding days at DevLearn 2009 in San Jose, California. It was our first tradeshow, and we appreciate all of the help and support given to us by the eLearning Guild.

We met with some inspiring instructional designers and organizations that are on the cutting-edge of the online learning revolution. Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth.

Surrounding us were companies like Adobe, Articulate, and Raptivity, showing off their authoring tools, simulations, and e-learning solutions.

Our goal at DevLearn? Show how Educadium's EasyCampus Virtual School Builder platform integrates with and extends many of these rapid e-learning applications. Far too many first-generation learning management systems are inflexible and rigid. Not EasyCampus.

Instructional designers--masters of their content authoring tools--are often amazed at how much more effective they can be when they work within a powerful learning platform like EasyCampus. With the right course design, anyone can create an attention-grabbing,multimedia-rich virtual classroom that schools and organizations of all sizes need desperately.

Here are some other take-aways and observations:

• Even professionals are overwhelmed by the options for online learning. The market is changing rapidly, and costs are coming down like a free-falling elevator. Serious educators are most in need of a trusted partner to help guide them through the online thicket.
• E-commerce and e-learning can coexist happily. Attendees especially liked our EasyCampus CampusPay system to facilitate tuition-supported courses. Other companies at the show like Odijoo are relying on transactional models to help course creators profit from e-learning.
• When it comes to e-learning, everything is custom. Administrators and teachers have requirements (and dreams) for their online learning environment. Vendors that are not flexible enough to respond to custom educational needs, even for free products, will feel the pain.
• Game-based learning is not going away. Simulations, avatars, and story-based presentations will have an increasing role in e-learning applications, even if the execution is a bit spotty at times. When will Hollywood catch wind of this teachable moment and play a more active role?
• The flexible learning management system is the educator's secret weapon. If used wisely and combined with quality authoring tools, a cost-effective LMS like EasyCampus can be adapted for a range of uses and audiences--from e-learning to marketing. We're happy to exchange tips and tricks with up-and-coming e-learners and instructional designers.

We shared our pistachios and met some good friends at DevLearn. Now it's time to get back to building tomorrow's online schools and training programs. Drop us a line, and we'll show you how.