Getting Certified as an Adobe Captivate Specialist
This fall (2018) I completed the Adobe Captivate Specialist certification in Las Vegas, Nevada. The certification process was by no means easy. But it was entirely worth it.
Getting Certified as an Adobe Captivate Specialist
This fall (2018) I completed the Adobe Captivate Specialist certification in Las Vegas, Nevada. The certification process was by no means easy. But it was entirely worth it.
Pre-training online
The pre-training was a series of videos covering the A to Z of Adobe Captivate 2019. The videos are made available via Adobe Prime and you work through them in a step-by-step process. All told, it took me approximately 30 hours working in my home office to complete the videos and the associated student activities. I had to plan my time and take plenty of notes.
Face-to-Face training
The online pre-training was followed by an intensive day of face-to-face training in Las Vegas. Our classroom of learners worked, almost non-stop, for seven hours straight. Thanks to our instructor Paul Wilson, the supporting Adobe Captivate team and Kevin Siegel’s book “Adobe Captivate 2019: The Essentials”, we were able to go in-depth, get answers to our questions and become more fluid with the software.
Exam
At the end of our day in Vegas, we sat an online exam. It started with one easy question, which was followed by about 39 difficult questions! My notes and the “Essentials” book helped enormously as I tried to recall the vast body of knowledge that I’d just inhaled. Above all, what mattered during the exam was my headspace. I thought, “No matter what, whether I pass or not, I now posses a solid foundation in one of the leading eLearning authoring tools.”
Celebration and Success
Fortunately, I passed… It was an amazing relief, a source of pride and an incentive to enjoy a city designed for fun. It was also a key reason why I was able to secure my next contract as a Senior Instructional Designer. I may have gotten the job without certification. But to me, the experience and the designation, tipped the scales, if only because it boosted my confidence and helped me sell myself to the hiring organization.
I’m an Adobe Captivate 8 Certified Expert, does the new program replace the old certification?
I once took the ACE as well, and was very frustrated because using MCQ to test skills and deliver a certificate based on that is totally incompatible with my long career as university professor. This would have been not allowed in any college here in Flanders.
As for the Specialist program: it is more like an all-round introduction with homework (videos and excersise projects), little bit like a Flipped Class setup to start with. The class training however is not Flipped Class mindes, only demonstration of most of the learned methods. Assessment: again MCQ. Will this fit your goal? Of course if organisations require a ‘certificate’… that can be a solution. No client ever asked me for a certificate, have enough online to prove my expertise.
Thank you for sharing. I plan on going to the Vegas training this October!
Maybe I will blog my experiences.
Stay after the test so you have time to enjoy Las Vegas. You absolutely won’t have time during the training and test day. If you are like me your head will be swimming. So many people to meet and talk to, so many things to learn from class, and so much studying to do before the test!
Thank you for sharing! I just completed the pre-training, and that was no day at the beach. I’m taking the course next week in D.C., and I fully expect the course to be even more challenging.
As an instructional designer, I find it strange that the quiz/exam/assessment would be questions rather than testing ones capability of using the software. They do require different types of behaviors and cognitively activate different parts of the brain. Hum.
Totally agree, have told as much when that training was launched the first time.
Certificates have no meaning at all. In this case it only proves short time memory of what has been demonstrated or hopefully by watching videos and doing exercices before the demo day. It doesn’t prove that any certified person can use all those workflows in projects at all. Has always been the way for Adobe’s certifications, also for the (considered tough) ACP exam which I found – sorry for the word – ridiculous, proved only short time memory for the Help documentation.
My approach to training for Captivate is totally different, will post a blog explaining it soon.
I went to Washington DC, took the test, and got certified. It includes top-notch online training that is hands-on as you follow along, and takes at least a week to get through even if you have used Captivate before. I recommend continually going through the training for a whole month before taking the test. If you get through it once, then go back and review and take notes. This was my first time using Captivate. I downloaded the free Captivate trial version for the training. I wasn’t able to complete all the training before the test and went back to complete the online training videos after I had taken the test. Excellent training videos by Pooja.
There are two days of training on-site, but it goes so fast that I didn’t find as much value in it… but it is an excellent time to ask questions, gain tips, and meet other people. Highly recommended. But don’t count on the on-site training to get you through the test, you ALSO need to do the online training in advance, even if you have used Captivate before.
I then took the test and passed. It was open book and HARD, and in my opinion, covered a few questions that I didn’t see the answers for in the material. You bring your laptop and take the test in class on computer. It pulls questions from a pool of questions.
After the test, I am now going through Pooja’s Captivate 2019 book before I start course creation. And I’m reading the blogs and watching additional videos.
Even with all that, it only took me a few weeks of asking questions in Community to get 3 months worth of Captivate free with all the questions I had.
Wish Adobe Captivate had better manuals. To learn everything I want, I have to go back through years of videos and blogs and ask many questions.
The Adobe Captivate Specialist training is the best training I’ve seen for Captivate 2019 (and Pooja’s book is the best book published; I bought two other books but didn’t like them at all). Even if you don’t want to take the test, sign up to become a Specialist to get the free online training, which you can also access after the test. Then go to elearning.adobe.com and start following the best people, and go to YouTube and sign up to follow them there.
Yes, the test is multiple choice. Forget looking for sample questions, just go through the online training, go to the two days of class, and take the test. Most, but not all, pass the test. I found it hard to concentrate with all the other people in the room. If you have difficulty focusing and concentrating for an hour or more, then don’t bother taking the test. I wasn’t sure if I had passed the test, until I completed the test and it immediately told me I had, with room to spare. Just do it.
Don’t forget to take Pooja’s book with you and have her sign it! I was the only one that did that and now have a signed copy! Other people were willing to pay me double the cost of my book to have a book for her to sign, but I refused to sell it. Her book was not available for sale at the Adobe testing location.
How great of you to post your experience. Thank you for sharing. Is the online exam a multiple choice type of exam? Or are you within the Captivate program itself? Know of any sample questions anywhere online that could give us an idea of what it was like? Thanks!
Hello Natasha – apologies for the late reply…life was on a speeding train for a bit there. If it’s still relevant to you….the test is done online and it’s multiple choice. I took the exam with everyone right after we had completed the in-class portion of the training. There are no sample questions available to my knowledge. And, I’d be reluctant to suggest a direction to steer your studies as they may change the test and then I’ve given you incorrect guidance. What I can say though, is that the in-class portion of the training is very focused. Pay attention.
Thank you for sharing your experience and great tips. They are very helpful! I plan to attend the one in March.
Congrats!!! Thank you for sharing. I plan to take the class in March in DC.
Hi DMJasper – thanks for your kind words and best of luck with the course in March.
As a little advice from the road — be sure to give yourself enough time to do the pre-training. It wasn’t really highlighted in the welcome/registration email that the pre-training is quite comprehensive and time consuming. They opened the online training to us two weeks prior to the face-to-face course. Luckily I didn’t wait to get started. With my busy schedule and the volume of information that you work through, I really needed the two weeks to get it done in time for the F2F.
If you have questions in the lead up to DC, feel free to ask!
Thank you so much for your advice and willingness to answer any questions!
Congratulations for becoming a Captivate Specialist and securing a new contract! 
And thanks for sharing your experience with the community!
Congratulations, I popped in your classroom at Vegas a couple of times….
I had a look at your profile, and although I don’t remember your name, I very much remember the name Lilybiri and the support you provided.
Many thanks! http://blog.lilybiri.com/
Congrats! It’s always great to hear the personal experiences from programs like this.
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