Udemy Live 2018

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This weekend, I attended the Udemy Global Summit in San Francisco hosted July 27th - July 29th. My intention for attending the conference was to learn more about the platform and determine if it fits with my career path in eLearning and Instructional Design. I left feeling great about the platform and what it can do for me professionally. Some benefits I see in using the platform for academic and marketplace instructors are as follows: ​

• Opportunity for Micro-Learning. In the Instructional Design field, I come across experienced classroom teachers that shy away from eLearning because they feel intimated about fumbling with new technology. Udemy offers courses in various topics ranging from dancing to artificial intelligence. You can learn a bite-sized portion of a topic that will fill in the gap in your desired knowledge.
• Low Cost: Going back to school is not easy and cheap. For me, after I completed my Masters Degree program, I  signed up for this platform looking for high quality content with a small upfront financial investment. Want to keep up to date with your Adobe or Articulate Storyline skills? This is a good place to start. Courses sometimes start at $9.99. 
• Global Expertise: ​The world is headed towards globalization. Are your skills up to par? Using this platform gives you access to global experts without ever leaving your home. You can connect and build professional relationships with experts in almost any field at your fingertips. 
• Own Your Stuff: By creating content for Udemy, you will own your content and gain more creditability in your field. Going from a subject matter expert to instructor of your expertise is not a far jump. You can do it! Just take your time, make the investment to create the course right, and you will benefit in your results. 

     In my senior project in my Masters program, I had the opportunity to chose a learning platform and design my course within that platform. I did not choose Udemy at the time, because I did not know enough about the platform and I thought it would be complicated. Looking back, I think I was harder on myself that I had to be and regret not publishing a course sooner. I had a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips while I was learning my stuff and I didn't even realize it. So, if you are hesitating and think it is too complicated, you may be overthinking it. You may already have all the knowledge you need to be successful as a marketplace instructor. 

​-Ana