ACE Exam for Captivate?

Report · Feb 05, 2015

As I'm searching around for the ACE Exam for Captivate 8, I've noticed that the latest exam is 5.5?! Has the ACE program for Captivate been discontinued? I am assuming so, since this is so far out of date...

Report · Feb 05, 2015

LOL, well I think we all know what A$S U ME does, no?

In my experience, Adobe simply either doesn't have the resources or doesn't find it worthwhile to expend the resources to keep up with the certification exams for Captivate.

At one point I was a participant in creating exam questions. Then it seemed to take an ugly turn with having the development team creating questions and recruiting members of the community to perform reviews of the material.

I'm unsure exactly where it stands at the moment. Only Adobe knows for sure.

But really, unless you are going to be a Captivate instructor, I'm not sure passing the exam does much for you. Other than to acknowledge that you knew how to properly answer the exam questions. And even certified instructors sometimes don't really know the product. But they did pass the exam!

Just my own thoughts on the matter... Rick

Report · Feb 05, 2015

Thanks for input Rick.

I am an ACI instructor and looking to get certified so we can list Captivate on our site listing with Adobe.

However, given the history you speak of, it brings up another point - with an exam and certification that is now 4 years old, how current are the ACI/ACE listings for Captivate? Without a current exam, the curation and moderation of who is an "Expert" leaves much to be desired.

I'm starting to regret looking under this rock...

Kevin

Report · Feb 06, 2015

I have to say, in all my years of working with Adobe this is the most disappointed I have ever been with the way a product/package has been handled. I have Captivate 8 and FrameMaker 12. I am learning both because we have had an increase in users looking for training in one or the other over the past year. Now I see why. The support from Adobe team for these two products has been nothing short of dead air.

I'm not expecting an immediate answer but a response from someone in charge would have been nice. Even Adobe Customer Care responded faster on social media to an issue where the FrameMaker page is out of date on the sponsored Google search results where the PDF for the "User Guide" is blank. But in all honesty, anything is faster than no response at all.

Someone higher up needs to take note of this issue and respond with some results. Both exams are significantly out of date (Captivate and FrameMaker are both 4 years out of date), there is very little to no help from Adobe and without the community at large, I'm left to wonder what options a customer has to get support?

I originally thought that the apparent lack of qualified/ACI trainers was just attrition. Now I see that they can't be certified if there is no exam to take.

Report · Feb 06, 2015

Hi Kevin

I personally think what we are seeing is simply a "revenue reflection" on Adobe's part. It's not really the fault of the Product team. I do see them regularly pop into forums to help pitch in with answers. But I think that it's likely that Adobe looks at the overall revenue picture and when comparing something like Captivate or Frame or RoboHelp with the revenue they see from Audition, PhotoShop, Acrobat and others, the smaller products are the minnows in the vast ocean.

Speaking as a Captivate and RoboHelp ACI, I find it silly to be forced to repeatedly re-certify for versions that are three major releases behind. I know I've personally been perhaps too laid back about it. I've been urged to re-certify, but if the current version you are teaching is 8 and you are only certified for 4 or 5, why the pressing need? Eh?

Cheers... Rick

Report · Feb 06, 2015

I don't think a lack of response has anything to do with revenue generation.

Quick question regarding your response - each year when the renewal notices for ACI and the exams come up, you have to retake the 5.5 exams? They haven't just been rolling them over annually since there has not been a new exam in 4 years?

Thats just wrong.

Report · Feb 06, 2015

No, I believe that once you take and pass an exam, it's good until the next version of the exam comes out.

What peeves me is that there is no "intermediate" exam just to remain certified. Something smaller that may only focus on additional features.When the new version comes out you have to take the full exam again and schedule a trip to a testing center. I think it should be an on-line sort of "refresher" exam. I believe I've heard others say that such things exist for other Adobe products.

In my own opinion, Adobe should just outsource the exams to a third party so they could be kept more current.

Cheers... Rick

Report · Feb 06, 2015

Good news for you -

Up until just this past winter, all other Adobe exams had an online recertification option if you were previously certified. You had to keep them updated each version but it did not require you to go into an exam center to take them - they were all offered online.

But that being history, now Pearson is directly in charge of the exams and have stated that your certs are good for two years, but you need to take an exam with each new version of the software which will require you to go to a test center and retake a full exam. Not sure if this will change, but the training partners are not happy about this one bit (costs more and not convenient at all).

Odd that this segment is handled so differently from other models used by the same company.

Report · Feb 06, 2015

It is all about money... I am very, very doubtful about the value of those so-called Expert exams. And yes, I am an ACE but found that the exam didn't test anything about expertise, just about being able to memorize the Help. You don't even have to create one Captivate project and you could succeed. As a former college professor, I find this simply ridiculous because only the memory skill is tested, nothing more.

Report · Feb 06, 2015

Hi Lily,

This brings up a larger discussion but the exams are HIGHLY valuable for those of us who teach these products. It is the only vetting process in place to certify expert knowledge of the software itself.

That being said, I find no value if you are just a user because with the other exams (I have not taken the Cap exam) it is a technical exam, not a practical exam. It shows that you know the software back to front and can answer questions when clients/students have them.

Kevin

Report · Feb 06, 2015

Kevin, I don't agree with your last paragraph at all. Maybe you'll find me arrogant, but with a CP certification I bet tons of the the questions that have being posted here couldn't be answered by most of the certified people. Same for Rick and for Rod! Lot of training is below level, notwithstanding that ACE label. It explains what I am seeing regularly when coaching CP-users who did take trainings (sometimes a lot) and cannot manage projects because of the lack of depth in most training. CP-certification certainly will not prove that 'you know the software back to front....', sorry to be so cynical. Captivate has tons of features that are not even touched upon in the Help documentation which is the only required knowledge for the certifications. If you have to rely only on that to answer questions about CP, bad luck for your clients/students. And I am learning something new every day about Captivate, have been answering questions daily on these and other forums since 5 years.

Report · Feb 06, 2015

Lily, I've been through this discussion several times over the years - of course I'm not naive and think the exam is the only thing that proves you are a good instructor. But it is the starting point. If someone is a poor instructor, there are checks and balances in place - ACIs are required to offer a survey after each class that is sent to Adobe to monitor in-class instruction quality.

According to the Adobe Training guidelines, ACEs are technically not qualified to teach. And before you fly off the handle, I know there are ACEs out there than CAN teach and would probably do very well to take the next step and get their ACI certs. However, many ACEs are tech support, users who wanted the cert for career goals, etc. Sure you can "memorize the help menu" but that is not the only resource for the exam. The exams have always been based on a lot of different aspects of the software and nowhere does it say that the Help menu is the only resource for materials. It doesn't make the exam any less valid.

I've been an ACI for the past 10 years in various softwares and have been involved in the Certified community in various capacities including authoring the most recent round of AI exams. The examples you give are not unique to Captivate and there will always be less than qualified "experts" but they are the minority. Being certified is one step to placing you above the others. Your reputation and feedback from clients/students helps as well.

My question is if you find the exams to be so pointless what would you do in lieu of the exams to prove that someone is certified in Adobe software? If there is no certification program, anyone could say they are an expert in something without recourse.

Report · Feb 06, 2015

Lilybiri, sometimes it's also the student. For example, last year I facilitated a class and later was conversing with the company about some contracting. And I was shocked to hear one of the students proclaim something about a basic thing that wasn't covered in the class. I was certain I had covered it, yet here they were saying I had not.

So much of all this stuff is very subjective, eh?

Cheers... Rick

Report · Feb 08, 2015

I'd just like to add that we are in the process of getting ACE and ACI. One of the main reasons is that we have lost work because of the lack of certification. We do have a combined 20 years experience with Captivate, 28 years in Instructional Design, and 12 years in Classroom Instruction. Granted the test is old and doesn't prove you are truly an expert in Captivate, but it is a good business decision to certify.