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The Professional Testing Blog

Does Livestreaming Have a Place in Certification Programs?

In March a livestreaming video platform by the name of Meerkat exploded at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, just two weeks after its initial launch. Shortly after Meerkat’s SXSW debut, Periscope, another live video streaming app recently acquired by Twitter, made a grab for the spotlight. As these new platforms for learning evolve we must ask ourselves, does livestreaming play a role in certification programs? We believe they can.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

Building community – both apps have the potential to unite communities in conversation, much like their social media counterparts. As we have learned in certification, community can build and maintain momentum and visibility for a credential.

Expanding your message – for certification organizations, livestreaming offers opportunities to create greater awareness of the value of the credential and its role within an industry or profession.  

Sharing content – While these platforms are open to the public, they offer unique opportunities to share your organization’s content. However, the only drawback to these platforms is their inability to record and capture important moments – users must be present at the time of the event to participate.

Taking the next step – This technology is relatively new, and as the capabilities of these platforms evolve they will lend themselves better to your content strategy. Consider how you might integrate livestreaming into your marketing efforts, programs and services. Imagine the possibilities of livestreaming prep courses instantly from a session in the United States to a global audience. However, as information becomes increasingly easy to spread, new policies with respect to transmission of this content must also be taken into consideration, for example sharing a JTA report or examination blueprint.

The landscape of information sharing is expanding, presenting certification organizations with a mix of opportunities and challenges for harnessing content. The question is, how will your organization utilize these platforms? 

Categorized in: Industry News