eClasses: Learning from Home

Have you ever taken a class with a world-class expert and wondered why it was so expensive? The cost of class must cover a number of expenses: the cost of the venue, the labor for the people involved (which is typically more than just the speaker), the cost of equipment, and travel expenses just to name a few of the biggies. Then, too, you have to travel and in some cases, that may require airfare and hotel stays. You have to take time off work—not just the few hours for the class but also the travel time. You might think the instructor is making a fortune but often the fees barely cover expenses; a profit depends on product sales.

Beam Me Up!

What if you could simply sit down in front of your computer and see and hear a presentation without going anywhere? You don’t travel and neither does the speaker. The class may not be free but it is often at a greatly reduced price from the in-person event. The session is live and you can ask questions. Typically, you will be watching the presenter’s computer screen, which is often a PowerPoint presentation or demonstrations in a particular program. Sometimes short videos are embedded in the presentation. Due to current technology limitations it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to watch live streaming video or see the presenter.

E-Classes allow students and teachers to come together and cover a wide range of topics. You—as well as the instructor!—can sit at home in your jammies with a mug of your favorite brew and a kitty in your lap and tune into a class. The instructor still has to prepare the presentation, and often it takes more work to prepare this type of presentation than a live one. Why? All visuals must be on the computer—hand-waving, drawing on a white board, holding up samples, and other physical demonstrations must all be prepared as photos or video clips and embedded in the presentation. (I have to confess though, I still wave my hands around and I often have a kitty in my lap!)

Why Aren’t All The Sessions Free?

I have given a few e-classes, or webinars (short for “web seminar”) for free with the hope that attendees will buy my product that I’m featuring. Most webinars I teach, however, do not promote or demonstrate a product I sell. Instead, I’m providing valuable information on embroidery or digitizing techniques. I’ve spent years learning and developing my skills and have spent days and sometimes weeks or months preparing the content for the presentation. This is my “job.” And, like most people who have a “job” I expect to get reimbursed for my work. I feel like I’m providing value to those attending my webinars and therefore it is only fair that I get value in return. If I don’t get value, why should I give value?

To tell you the truth, I would have paid WAY more for classes that the price of these eclasses when I was learning to embroider. Back in the early to mid-nineties, finding worthwhile information on embroidery was very difficult and was mostly held by commercial embroiderers. You had to attend trade events (expensive and far away!) and then just go home and experiment a lot. I learned by trial and error. While some experimentation is still needed, why not jump start your hobby or career and take advantage of accumulated knowledge and wisdom?

And, yes, its true a lot of free information can be found on the internet. But do you know which of it is actually misinformation? And much is the time spent searching for it worth to you?

Where to Take E-Classes

I currently teach e-classes at embroidery.com. I’ve worked with Darin, the owner, for a long time and his site has been a resource for machine embroiderers for well over a decade now. His latest feature is EClub and E-Classes. This is a great opportunity for educators to expand their audience and for embroiderers to expand their skills. You don’t need to be a member of EClub to take E-Classes but it’s certainly beneficial—EClub members get discounts and even free passes to E-Classes.

How to Select E-Classes

Browse the list of e-classes and note the ones that interest you. There are a variety of presenters, each with a different skill set, background, and speaking ability. Read the bios of the presenters and find out what their background is and what their expertise in the subject might be. This can be tricky since a lot of bios are an exercise in creative writing. Does the presenter have real-world experience in the topic or are they an educator promoting a particular brand of something? The latter may be able to demonstrate software, for example, but not having produced designs for a living may not be the best source of information for digitizing theory. To paraphrase Thomas Carlyle “do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.”

Expect to pay more for classes that are not “promotional.” The presenter has invested a lot of time to be able to teach the class; she doesn’t simple log on a few minutes before the session starts and then simply talk off the top of her head for an hour.

Sample classes from different presenters to get a sense of how they teach and assess how it aligns with your learning style. Evaluate their content. Simply because someone with perceived expertise is saying it doesn’t make it so!

Getting The Most Out of E-Classes

Check to see if the E-Classes are recorded and if you can watch them again. This is a definite advantage of “real-world” classes. I know I tend to pack way too much information into my sessions—a product of my information junkie side—and having the ability to review the presentation is great. The E-Class may not be scheduled at the best time for you so having the option to view a recorded version is a nice perk. Also at embroidery.com, you can “re-audit” the class for 30 days without paying. I never quite say the same things twice so come back; its also another opportunity to ask a question you may not have thought of first time around.

Be sure to ask questions! Typically a moderator will monitor the session and let the presenter know if a viewer has a question. Because I have a tendency to get wound up and really get going—and I can’t see those in the audience—I have no way to determine if I’m getting my point across. The inability to “read” the audience during a presentation is a definite drawback. If you missed something, chances are someone else did too, so ask the question! I truly don’t mind!

Free Offer!

So, how would you like to try EClub out on me? If you are not a member of EClub you can use this special Sew Prize number to get one full month of membership absolutely free, which covers your registration and the monthly rate and at this time is a $65 value. If you decide to extend your membership, be sure to do so before your trial subscription expires and you won’t have to pay the $50 new member fee. You can renew for as little as $8.33 a month!

To get your free one month trial, go to embroidery.com and click on the EClub button in the left hand navigation menu.

On the next page near the bottom right, click on this EClub button to sign up.

On the following page, you’ll see an order form. At the bottom is the one-month subscription option. Click on the shopping cart icon and you’ll be taken to a new page.

On the left side of the screen, you’ll see the Search box and just below, a box where you can enter the following Sew Prize number: LG6233652. Click “Go.” If you don’t have an account at embroidery.com, you may need to create one or login if you do have one.

With a trial membership, you’ll have full access to all the benefits available to full-fledged members! Members who pay the $50 signup fee do get a bonus collection that trial members won’t get. You can get it too—let your trial membership expire without renewing in time and when you pay the $50 new-member signup fee, you can get the collection. So which would you rather have?$50 in your pocket to spend on what you like or a bonus collection? It’s all up to you!

So go ahead, hop on over to embroidery.com and sign up! What are you waiting for?

Related Posts

1. FAQs About Webinars