Just a reminder to my blogging friends and readers that Blog Action Day 2007 is fast approaching. Take a few minutes to think about what you can write about, share, and maybe even change the world.
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
Thursday, 4 October 2007
Is your HR tracking software prepared to take on your new LMS?
The on going LMS saga....
TIP 5: If your HR system is not already tracking reporting structure throughout your organization, you may want to start working on that now.
TIP 6: The more information you can use to identify your employees the better to track and report them.
We are still going through the motions of getting our new LMS and our current systems to function together so that 1) we have a comprehensive data base of employees that needs to only be adjusted in one location (HR), and 2) so that managers can track the learning/training progress of employees that report to them.
Currently if we run off a report of our employees we can only break them down into which funding centre pays which group of employees or who looks after their weekly pay. This is not necessarily the manager that they report to; aka. the person responsible for their mandatory learning requirements. This has come up several times in the past and now that we need several new systems, besides the LMS, to talk to the HR system Human Resources is now forced to some how start added new fields to the employee database and use existing fields to better sort reporting structure. This is a daunting task with 2500 employees, but imagine if you are a company with thousands more.
So today's tips are to make sure that your employee database is filled with as much information as possible. It will and can only come in handy later as more and more systems are automated and upgraded.
TIP 5: If your HR system is not already tracking reporting structure throughout your organization, you may want to start working on that now.
TIP 6: The more information you can use to identify your employees the better to track and report them.
We are still going through the motions of getting our new LMS and our current systems to function together so that 1) we have a comprehensive data base of employees that needs to only be adjusted in one location (HR), and 2) so that managers can track the learning/training progress of employees that report to them.
Currently if we run off a report of our employees we can only break them down into which funding centre pays which group of employees or who looks after their weekly pay. This is not necessarily the manager that they report to; aka. the person responsible for their mandatory learning requirements. This has come up several times in the past and now that we need several new systems, besides the LMS, to talk to the HR system Human Resources is now forced to some how start added new fields to the employee database and use existing fields to better sort reporting structure. This is a daunting task with 2500 employees, but imagine if you are a company with thousands more.
So today's tips are to make sure that your employee database is filled with as much information as possible. It will and can only come in handy later as more and more systems are automated and upgraded.
Speaking of Virtual Frogs
Follow up to my posting about see through frogs....
Here is a link to a site that will give you a free cd-rom digital frog disection. Or if you want to take it further there are several links here for even more animals.
(yes, I too am finding this a little creepy, but better then the smells I remember from my biology classes)
Here is a link to a site that will give you a free cd-rom digital frog disection. Or if you want to take it further there are several links here for even more animals.
(yes, I too am finding this a little creepy, but better then the smells I remember from my biology classes)
Tuesday, 2 October 2007
Creating a Navigational Model with Mindomo - LMS Project continues
The LMS we are working on (if you can call it that) is one part of three. The other two parts are the policy and procedure component, and the intranet which will house it all.
I've been working the last couple of days on the lovely task of trying to create our navigational model. The main links that users will use to navigate around the intranet and then some of the lower tiers (or clicks).
We are suppose to produce something that looks like:
The blue rectangles would be our tier 1 navigation (the main headings) and the pink rectangles are the tier 2 navigation (sub headings). More tiers can fall under these, but the rule is to try to only have users make 3 clicks to get to any topic. An example: Tier 1 - Directories, Tier 2 - Staff Directory, Tier 3 - Voice Mail.
I've been working the last couple of days on the lovely task of trying to create our navigational model. The main links that users will use to navigate around the intranet and then some of the lower tiers (or clicks).
We are suppose to produce something that looks like:
The blue rectangles would be our tier 1 navigation (the main headings) and the pink rectangles are the tier 2 navigation (sub headings). More tiers can fall under these, but the rule is to try to only have users make 3 clicks to get to any topic. An example: Tier 1 - Directories, Tier 2 - Staff Directory, Tier 3 - Voice Mail. We have a simplified intranet now composed of Word docs, Publisher pages, pdfs and web links. I wanted to first map what we have to try and decide what tiers we want included in our new intranet. Excel wouldn't let me move items around as easily as I wanted to and PowerPoint has a limited screen size so I thought I would try a web application mind mapping tool. I then started with Mindmeister (a suggestion from Brent Schlenker) - which I do like, but not quite right for this exercise. Then I moved to Bubbl.us (a suggestion from Angela White) - I really like the look and feel of this one, but again just not quite the set up I was looking for this project. Then I came across Mindomo and this is just what I needed.
It's a nice mind mapping tool that allows similar functions as the others, but I seemed to be able to manipulate around the branches of my chart a little easier. I'm able to colour code items, link some together, bound others and expand and expand and expand.
Here's a screen shot of a piece of our current intranet (left zoomed way out, right just a small piece):
The green lines are relations ships, the green/orange squares are items I've highlighted and the red line box are bound items.
My next step is to translate this back to the simple square model above.
Sunday, 30 September 2007
If you don't want to do it virtually...how about see through
I've always wondered with technology the way it is, why are students still dissecting animals for biology classes. Why not use a computer program that's been around for 15+ years and just do it virtually? No more sad little screams of "YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT TO THE FROG?!?!"Well Japanese scientists have come up with another way that maybe teachers will latch onto instead. How about a see through frog? No need to cut Kermit open when you can now instead watch all his organs, veins, and eggs (Kermit's sister) develop over the span of its life.
Photograph by Ho New/Reuters
Friday, 28 September 2007
Microsoft Surface Makes Guest Appearance on CSI Miami
Well to my delight the new season of fall shows has begun. Thank goodness for satellite so that I can watch one show, pvr another and then catch another one during a different timezone showing.
Last night I was catching up on all the new episodes of CSIs; Miami, New York, Las Vegas, NCSI. During CSI Miami I was quite excited to see that they were now using right in the middle of their lab a Microsoft Surface. A parole officer had been killed by one of his parolees. So how better to find a list of call his charges but to look through his Blackberry. How better to get the data off the Blackberry then to place it down onto a Microsoft Surface. If you've looked at the Microsoft promo spots on their site then you would recognize the telltale ripple marks that immediately appeared when the mobile was set down instantly linking the two (pic). Then, like some magical ballet, the character Calleigh begins to wave her hands over the Surface and sorts all the bad guys instantly into lists of bad to evil, and one MO from another.
Now I wonder if it was a one shot product placement or if the Surface will have a recurring role.
Last night I was catching up on all the new episodes of CSIs; Miami, New York, Las Vegas, NCSI. During CSI Miami I was quite excited to see that they were now using right in the middle of their lab a Microsoft Surface. A parole officer had been killed by one of his parolees. So how better to find a list of call his charges but to look through his Blackberry. How better to get the data off the Blackberry then to place it down onto a Microsoft Surface. If you've looked at the Microsoft promo spots on their site then you would recognize the telltale ripple marks that immediately appeared when the mobile was set down instantly linking the two (pic). Then, like some magical ballet, the character Calleigh begins to wave her hands over the Surface and sorts all the bad guys instantly into lists of bad to evil, and one MO from another.
Now I wonder if it was a one shot product placement or if the Surface will have a recurring role.
Thursday, 27 September 2007
Developing an e-Learning Strategy and Architecture - Lance Dublin (Elluminate Webinar)
Developing an e-Learning Strategy and Architecture - Lance Dublin
This was my first Elluminate webinar and it was quite neat to see a different format then I have seen before. One tool I haven't used before was a whiteboard that participants can add too and slides can be altered as the presenter speaks. All participants can use a mic if wanted.
Webinar points:
Yesterday's communication - same time , same place (ie: meetings, phone calls)
Today's Communication - any time, any place (ie: chants, blogs, wikis, virtual offices)
Strategy - the way we get there:
eLearning Pathway might have been as.....(9 elements)
discover, envision, understand, analyze, define, enlist, plan, implement, learn
Doesn't really happen this way. Much more like putting several pieces of an elearning architecture together. It is more like including the above 9 elements, but not in a particular order.
Discover - what is the purpose of your organization, type of environment, how your place works
Envision - create a vision, something to draw and motivate people
Understand - identify gaps you may have in getting to where you want to go with your learning
Analyze - learn about all the types of learning options that you may have
Define -
Enlist - emplementing, business case (next webinar)
Plan and Implement - (next webinar)
Architecture - the place you want to get
Ad Hoc Model:
do you have info - documents, websites, etc.
do you have training - paper based, instructor lead, videos, etc
do you have elearning - we had a course and now we deliver over the internet
Foundations for Learning (Bloom) (Rube Goldberg):
Need for Knowledge - job aids, remembering info
Comprehension - job aid and on the job training
Application - self-paced training, and OJT
Analysis - instructor led and OJT
Synthesis - developing training for others
Now we need to find/develop the right learning product for the right learner and the right situation.
Ensuring Performance:
we could give a person more support, tools, information, learning
Fastest way to improve their performance
Most participants chose the answer as TOOLS.
The slowest way to get there is Learning.
A great way is support - bringing the info when they need it.
Process Perspective:
Performance can be helped/enhanced by taking data/info through requirements, using tools like job aids, webinars, etc, creating some applications, that the user can then take to better their performance.
Content Perspective:
Sometimes organizations want to push content/courses. (formal)
Sometimes staff need to find info and pull it from searches, OJT, mentors, chats, collaboration.
Sometimes it needs to be embedded into the work, performance support systems, expert systems, workflow learning
Time/Place Perspective:
Physical ----
same time same place - classes, ojt
same time, any place - webinars
Virtual----
any time, same place - job aids
any time, any place - elearning
Question is...how do you blend them successfully all together? This is the world we are moving into.
Examples:
Strategy--Technology
Learning from collocation--face-to-face (learning labs, mentoring, role playing)
Learn from collaboration--collaborative (e-labs, virtual classrooms)
learn from interaction--multimedia
learn from information--internet
Moving from Aware, to conceptual, to functional, to competent, to expert using...
basic information, structured information, applied learning, action learning
This was my first Elluminate webinar and it was quite neat to see a different format then I have seen before. One tool I haven't used before was a whiteboard that participants can add too and slides can be altered as the presenter speaks. All participants can use a mic if wanted.
Webinar points:
Yesterday's communication - same time , same place (ie: meetings, phone calls)
Today's Communication - any time, any place (ie: chants, blogs, wikis, virtual offices)
Strategy - the way we get there:
eLearning Pathway might have been as.....(9 elements)
discover, envision, understand, analyze, define, enlist, plan, implement, learn
Doesn't really happen this way. Much more like putting several pieces of an elearning architecture together. It is more like including the above 9 elements, but not in a particular order.
Discover - what is the purpose of your organization, type of environment, how your place works
Envision - create a vision, something to draw and motivate people
Understand - identify gaps you may have in getting to where you want to go with your learning
Analyze - learn about all the types of learning options that you may have
Define -
Enlist - emplementing, business case (next webinar)
Plan and Implement - (next webinar)
Architecture - the place you want to get
Ad Hoc Model:
do you have info - documents, websites, etc.
do you have training - paper based, instructor lead, videos, etc
do you have elearning - we had a course and now we deliver over the internet
Foundations for Learning (Bloom) (Rube Goldberg):
Need for Knowledge - job aids, remembering info
Comprehension - job aid and on the job training
Application - self-paced training, and OJT
Analysis - instructor led and OJT
Synthesis - developing training for others
Now we need to find/develop the right learning product for the right learner and the right situation.
Ensuring Performance:
we could give a person more support, tools, information, learning
Fastest way to improve their performance
Most participants chose the answer as TOOLS.
The slowest way to get there is Learning.
A great way is support - bringing the info when they need it.
Process Perspective:
Performance can be helped/enhanced by taking data/info through requirements, using tools like job aids, webinars, etc, creating some applications, that the user can then take to better their performance.
Content Perspective:
Sometimes organizations want to push content/courses. (formal)
Sometimes staff need to find info and pull it from searches, OJT, mentors, chats, collaboration.
Sometimes it needs to be embedded into the work, performance support systems, expert systems, workflow learning
Time/Place Perspective:
Physical ----
same time same place - classes, ojt
same time, any place - webinars
Virtual----
any time, same place - job aids
any time, any place - elearning
Question is...how do you blend them successfully all together? This is the world we are moving into.
Examples:
Strategy--Technology
Learning from collocation--face-to-face (learning labs, mentoring, role playing)
Learn from collaboration--collaborative (e-labs, virtual classrooms)
learn from interaction--multimedia
learn from information--internet
Moving from Aware, to conceptual, to functional, to competent, to expert using...
basic information, structured information, applied learning, action learning
Monday, 24 September 2007
LMS Project....A Little More Progress
Well, where to start. Nothing has been happening since our last meeting in August, or so we thought. The LMS vendor has been working on there part but not quite according to the time lines we had initially set out upon. After a brief meeting today we set up weekly phone conferences between our LMS provider and the 3 project leaders (and some of their support members) here at work.
TIP 1-3 See (LMS - I don't want to be Little Miss Should've and Tony Karrer's LMS Gotchas)
TIP 4 - make sure you set up these meetings right from the beginning. Don't assume they are going to happen. This is the first way to ensure the LMS vendor is doing what they promised and that your team is doing what is expected of them to move the project forward.
We are now going to attempt to move a little more quickly then initially planned out. What does this mean? We are having several meetings (by phone) over the next few days to hammer out details of server preparation, staff database transfers and some remote training. We are going 0 to 60 without trying to go too fast. We are also aborting the idea of setting up the intranet first, then the CMS and then the LMS. We have decided to push at least the intranet and LMS forward at the same time. Amazingly enough though they (the vendor) is still convinced they can stick to the November go live date even with the several weeks of silence we've just gone through.
TIP 1-3 See (LMS - I don't want to be Little Miss Should've and Tony Karrer's LMS Gotchas)
TIP 4 - make sure you set up these meetings right from the beginning. Don't assume they are going to happen. This is the first way to ensure the LMS vendor is doing what they promised and that your team is doing what is expected of them to move the project forward.
We are now going to attempt to move a little more quickly then initially planned out. What does this mean? We are having several meetings (by phone) over the next few days to hammer out details of server preparation, staff database transfers and some remote training. We are going 0 to 60 without trying to go too fast. We are also aborting the idea of setting up the intranet first, then the CMS and then the LMS. We have decided to push at least the intranet and LMS forward at the same time. Amazingly enough though they (the vendor) is still convinced they can stick to the November go live date even with the several weeks of silence we've just gone through.
Meeting Werner Berger
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Werner Berger as we were talking with him to come and speak to our organization.
"Werner is the oldest North American to have stood atop the summit of Everest, and we believe him to be the fourth oldest person in the world to have accomplished that feat. Werner is the oldest North American to have completed the 'Seven Summits'."
Some of the key ideas and thoughts that came from him out of that meeting I wanted to capture and decided I would place them here.
"Werner is the oldest North American to have stood atop the summit of Everest, and we believe him to be the fourth oldest person in the world to have accomplished that feat. Werner is the oldest North American to have completed the 'Seven Summits'."
Some of the key ideas and thoughts that came from him out of that meeting I wanted to capture and decided I would place them here.
- The Mountain doesn't care what I do, it is I that must rise above and not be a victim of circumstance
- Visions/Mission - you need a desired outcome, that is time sensitive and tangible, then decided what steps you will need to get there and just do those
- Vision yourself there and then visusualize how you got to that point
- Be clear on what you want
- Open and honest communication always needed
- Need the ablitity to challenge that which is causing trouble, permission to speak up without being penalized
- reframing your mindset not to see the problem, but the solution and the steps that you took to get to the solution
Friday, 21 September 2007
Showing The Value in Web 2.0 Tools to Create Buy-in
I listened in on Clark Quinn's presentation for the eLearning Guild yesterday and two comments hit me hard:
I have already successfully had the management team to try out a wiki as a tool for capturing answers to questions instead of sending out a survey and having to compile the data manually. I also have the team fully immersed in using online survey tools such as Zoomerang and Survey Monkey.
Today I decided to share the idea of mind mapping or brain storming online using the same type of principals as a wiki. Users can each go into the map and add their thoughts at their convenience. I suggested that when an occasion occurred for such a tool to let me know and I would help get one established for the team to use. The comment was put to me by my co-worker, "I really need to see the value of it to know if I'd want to use it."
Then, amazingly ten minutes later an occasion has come up to try it out. We teach a course several times a year where three of us each teach a different topic for a full day. We have decided that because there are key messages we are trying to spread through out the organization, we should make sure that we are each touching on these messages during our training sessions. Since finding meeting time together right now would prove very difficult we are going to use a mind mapping web tool to plan out what messages/themes we currently each deliver and then how we can tie them together to match the organizational plan.
My co-worker immediately said, "That's a great idea....I see value in that." Now after she uses the tool once she will be able to see how it could be applied to other situations. I just had to discover the perfect stepping off point in which to start and grab hold of her attention and willingness to discover something new.
"You're not about training/learning, you're about empowering performance."I draw from these thoughts that I can't just be the only one using these web applications. I need my colleagues to start playing with them and learning how to use the tools. I need to be more of an advocate for how the tools could assist their productivity and promote more often.
"You're not about computers or web, you're about all technology."
I have already successfully had the management team to try out a wiki as a tool for capturing answers to questions instead of sending out a survey and having to compile the data manually. I also have the team fully immersed in using online survey tools such as Zoomerang and Survey Monkey.
Today I decided to share the idea of mind mapping or brain storming online using the same type of principals as a wiki. Users can each go into the map and add their thoughts at their convenience. I suggested that when an occasion occurred for such a tool to let me know and I would help get one established for the team to use. The comment was put to me by my co-worker, "I really need to see the value of it to know if I'd want to use it."
Then, amazingly ten minutes later an occasion has come up to try it out. We teach a course several times a year where three of us each teach a different topic for a full day. We have decided that because there are key messages we are trying to spread through out the organization, we should make sure that we are each touching on these messages during our training sessions. Since finding meeting time together right now would prove very difficult we are going to use a mind mapping web tool to plan out what messages/themes we currently each deliver and then how we can tie them together to match the organizational plan.
My co-worker immediately said, "That's a great idea....I see value in that." Now after she uses the tool once she will be able to see how it could be applied to other situations. I just had to discover the perfect stepping off point in which to start and grab hold of her attention and willingness to discover something new.
Thursday, 20 September 2007
E-Learning by Design, Not by Default (eLearning Guild Online Forum)
E-Learning by Design, Not by Default: An Overview for Setting your e-Learning Strategy - Clark Quinn, Ph.D. Quinnovation (blog)
Today the eLearning Guild began hosting another set of online forums. The opening session was by Clark Quinn of Quinnovation. I enjoy making notes in this "live blogging" manner so that I can refer back to them and I can share them a bit as a review of the presentations.
Clark's presentation was a great start to September's series of online forums. It was an extremely informative session for all levels of users of elearning design and development. He was wonderful at making sure all attendees' questions were addressed. I look forward to catching any presentations he may give in the future.
"We can no longer just learn everything we need at the beginning and hope that it will carry us through the rest of our career lives."
Problems group was facing with elearning:
multilinquistists
distance
resources
time
money
changing regulations
more simulations
competing with small organizations
internationalization
workers coming in with less skills then desired
retiring expertise
motivating learners
growing number of students
access for all learners
Is eLearning a solution or a distraction?
easy to try, but never the be all and end all of every thing
What do participants think eLearning is?
self paced, online
blogs, wikis, rss, courses, websites,
integration of technology into the learning/training process
web based
delivered over the internet/intranet
split between any learning over an electronic means and specifically training/course based
Elearning Myths
is a panacea
will go away soon
is about the technology
is about content
will replace training
is difficult and/or expensive (not with web 2.0 applications)
cheaper (no, used to sell it, but not cheaper - goal is to execute better for the same money)
only for the new generation (no)
if you build it, they will come
if you build it, they will learn (must lead to meaningful change and learning that works, is applied)
"It's not about learning it's about doing. Doing things better and more effectively."
Empowering the organization through information systems.
Trying to achieve:
Integration. Innovation. Execution. Efficiency. Effectiveness. Performance Support. Community.
Strategy:
Step 0:
Tech - hosted or web based conferences
Benefits - broad reach, low downtime, single investment into system
Costs - you tend to get low quality, increased maintenance
Step 1: Improved Instructional Design
Tech - LMS - for tracking, are we getting the ROI we expect (LMS tend to have all the money put into system and non left for content)
Benefits - getting learning that will motivate and involve learners
Costs - improve capabilities, gets over used, is very novice based
Step 2: Performance focus
Tech - portals of resources (policies, procedures, other info)
Benefits - better performance, supports more then novices
Costs - redundant development, hard to search/use (many different ways to search for info by all users)
Step 3: eCommunity
Tech - blogs, wikis, discussion boards, yellow pages
Benefits- supports top performers, captures hidden knowledge (experts can talk, share new knowledge, brainstorm, one level of education supports another)
Costs - needs support, hard to catalyze
Step 4: Greater integration
Tech - CMS (material from others), xml/dita (semantics and tags added to info)
Benefits - decrease overlap, efficiency, silos eliminated between user groups
Costs - organization tends to become coordinated
Step 5: Broader Distribution can be supported by step 4 - making learning mobile
Tech - devices (mobile, cell phones, pdas, etc), media tools
Benefits - trading bandwidth for convenience, listen while driving, learn while waiting, don't need large amounts of paper to take learning with you, Context sensitive - ie: fedex scanning a pkg before handing over,
Cost - redundancy can occur (low bandwidth, higher bandwidth), conversion costs for media
"if you're not measuring it, why use it" don't assume it's perfect from the beginning
Step 6: Performance Ecosystems - Suites of resources so that everyone can work to their best, single place to go for what you need
Tech - competency, content (description), roles (who you are and what you can have access to, or tasks you might handle)
Benefits - unified approach to everyone's efforts
Costs - linking systems throughout and organization as well as the organization
Words people were wondering definitions for:
web 2.0
SMS
ERP
LMS - learning management systems
CMS - content management systems
ILT - Instructor Based Training
WBT - Web based training
CBT - Classroom based training
Participants were 53% at level 0 and 30% level 1, a couple at level 2, 3 and 5
Essential eLearning Elements
-organizational implementation
-some project management to focus, keep scope, find resources, keep schedule
-enlightened Instructional Design
-performance focus (think of supporting full performance not just course content)
-flexibility (adapt to users, new technology)
-technology savvy (know what it is good for, get what you need but don't go overboard)
-good partners/advice (find people who can support your efforts)
Learning
1) present....apply...practice...reflect...present...appy...practice...reflect
2) reference framework...examples...space practice...job aids...communicaiton...reference framework...examples...space practice...job aid....communication
-spacing practice out will promote retention and understanding of material
-reference examples can become job aids that learners can take to the real application
-included self reflection tests for learners to decided if they are ready to move on
"You're not about training/learning, you're abut empowering performance."
"You're not about computers or web, you're about all technology."
Next steps:
-identify your needs as an ID and organization
-assess your readiness
-recruit needed capability
-scan for opportunities
-choose your priorities
-plan your implementation
-execute
Today the eLearning Guild began hosting another set of online forums. The opening session was by Clark Quinn of Quinnovation. I enjoy making notes in this "live blogging" manner so that I can refer back to them and I can share them a bit as a review of the presentations.
Clark's presentation was a great start to September's series of online forums. It was an extremely informative session for all levels of users of elearning design and development. He was wonderful at making sure all attendees' questions were addressed. I look forward to catching any presentations he may give in the future.
"We can no longer just learn everything we need at the beginning and hope that it will carry us through the rest of our career lives."
Problems group was facing with elearning:
multilinquistists
distance
resources
time
money
changing regulations
more simulations
competing with small organizations
internationalization
workers coming in with less skills then desired
retiring expertise
motivating learners
growing number of students
access for all learners
Is eLearning a solution or a distraction?
easy to try, but never the be all and end all of every thing
What do participants think eLearning is?
self paced, online
blogs, wikis, rss, courses, websites,
integration of technology into the learning/training process
web based
delivered over the internet/intranet
split between any learning over an electronic means and specifically training/course based
Elearning Myths
is a panacea
will go away soon
is about the technology
is about content
will replace training
is difficult and/or expensive (not with web 2.0 applications)
cheaper (no, used to sell it, but not cheaper - goal is to execute better for the same money)
only for the new generation (no)
if you build it, they will come
if you build it, they will learn (must lead to meaningful change and learning that works, is applied)
"It's not about learning it's about doing. Doing things better and more effectively."
Empowering the organization through information systems.
Trying to achieve:
Integration. Innovation. Execution. Efficiency. Effectiveness. Performance Support. Community.
Strategy:
Step 0:
Tech - hosted or web based conferences
Benefits - broad reach, low downtime, single investment into system
Costs - you tend to get low quality, increased maintenance
Step 1: Improved Instructional Design
Tech - LMS - for tracking, are we getting the ROI we expect (LMS tend to have all the money put into system and non left for content)
Benefits - getting learning that will motivate and involve learners
Costs - improve capabilities, gets over used, is very novice based
Step 2: Performance focus
Tech - portals of resources (policies, procedures, other info)
Benefits - better performance, supports more then novices
Costs - redundant development, hard to search/use (many different ways to search for info by all users)
Step 3: eCommunity
Tech - blogs, wikis, discussion boards, yellow pages
Benefits- supports top performers, captures hidden knowledge (experts can talk, share new knowledge, brainstorm, one level of education supports another)
Costs - needs support, hard to catalyze
Step 4: Greater integration
Tech - CMS (material from others), xml/dita (semantics and tags added to info)
Benefits - decrease overlap, efficiency, silos eliminated between user groups
Costs - organization tends to become coordinated
Step 5: Broader Distribution can be supported by step 4 - making learning mobile
Tech - devices (mobile, cell phones, pdas, etc), media tools
Benefits - trading bandwidth for convenience, listen while driving, learn while waiting, don't need large amounts of paper to take learning with you, Context sensitive - ie: fedex scanning a pkg before handing over,
Cost - redundancy can occur (low bandwidth, higher bandwidth), conversion costs for media
"if you're not measuring it, why use it" don't assume it's perfect from the beginning
Step 6: Performance Ecosystems - Suites of resources so that everyone can work to their best, single place to go for what you need
Tech - competency, content (description), roles (who you are and what you can have access to, or tasks you might handle)
Benefits - unified approach to everyone's efforts
Costs - linking systems throughout and organization as well as the organization
Words people were wondering definitions for:
web 2.0
SMS
ERP
LMS - learning management systems
CMS - content management systems
ILT - Instructor Based Training
WBT - Web based training
CBT - Classroom based training
Participants were 53% at level 0 and 30% level 1, a couple at level 2, 3 and 5
Essential eLearning Elements
-organizational implementation
-some project management to focus, keep scope, find resources, keep schedule
-enlightened Instructional Design
-performance focus (think of supporting full performance not just course content)
-flexibility (adapt to users, new technology)
-technology savvy (know what it is good for, get what you need but don't go overboard)
-good partners/advice (find people who can support your efforts)
Learning
1) present....apply...practice...reflect...present...appy...practice...reflect
2) reference framework...examples...space practice...job aids...communicaiton...reference framework...examples...space practice...job aid....communication
-spacing practice out will promote retention and understanding of material
-reference examples can become job aids that learners can take to the real application
-included self reflection tests for learners to decided if they are ready to move on
"You're not about training/learning, you're abut empowering performance."
"You're not about computers or web, you're about all technology."
Next steps:
-identify your needs as an ID and organization
-assess your readiness
-recruit needed capability
-scan for opportunities
-choose your priorities
-plan your implementation
-execute
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Learning in an Instant
The thing I love about the internet is how quickly I can learn about virtually anything. Elearning doesn't have to be a full on college course. It doesn't have to take weeks to occur. It doesn't have to be towards a certificate or degree. I wonder about something, anything and moments later....I read, listen, observe and know.
Here's a quick example of my random elearning for today...
I get rss feeds from a variety of sources and one of the first I looked at today was about sand dunes and why they sing or making booming noises (Discovery). Cool seems interesting. Two minutes later I've read it quick article about them, the new theory behind the sounds and now I'm hooked with new questions. What does it sound like? What does it look like? Is it like an avalanche? Two minutes later I'm now watching videos and listening to audio clips. If I wanted there were lots of more links to explore the topic about. All from one sentence sent to me through my rss reader.
In 4 minutes I've learned about singing sand dunes. Asolutely amazing.
Here's a quick example of my random elearning for today...
I get rss feeds from a variety of sources and one of the first I looked at today was about sand dunes and why they sing or making booming noises (Discovery). Cool seems interesting. Two minutes later I've read it quick article about them, the new theory behind the sounds and now I'm hooked with new questions. What does it sound like? What does it look like? Is it like an avalanche? Two minutes later I'm now watching videos and listening to audio clips. If I wanted there were lots of more links to explore the topic about. All from one sentence sent to me through my rss reader.
In 4 minutes I've learned about singing sand dunes. Asolutely amazing.
Time Zone Converting - Knowing When to Login
With the blogosphere being so large and sitting in on webinars all over the world I often have trouble remember what the time difference is for me compared to the host sites.
There are several tools that are available out on the web to choose from and here are a few that are my favourite for ease of use.
http://www.timezoneconverter.com/
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
http://www.worldtimeserver.com/
There are several tools that are available out on the web to choose from and here are a few that are my favourite for ease of use.
http://www.timezoneconverter.com/
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
http://www.worldtimeserver.com/
Loud, Ear Ringing, Rocking Time - Not elearning related
Okay this has nothing to do with elearning at the moment, but maybe I can tie it back to technology at least. Last night I saw Aerosmith put on one heck of an amazing, rocking, ear ringing, guitar blazing performance.The 5th last show of thier 2007 World Tour was phenomenal. I saw them last year as well shortly after Steven Tyler had throat surgery and was amazed at how well he was able to still sing and reach his signature high notes. Last night however, it was like watching them again back in high school. He hit every note he should (at least to my inexpert ears) and never stopped moving all night. In fact, the entire band - Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton (who looked great), Joey Kramer, Brad Whitford - all had a ton of energy last night that swept away the whole audience. Thanks guys for a great show!!!
Okay the technology bit....no...I don't actually have one. I was going to post pictures from my cell phone, but it doesn't take great pictures. Ah ha, I now have a case to get a new pocket size camera.
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
A Follow-up to Finding Volunteering Opportunities Online
After a recent post about Volunteer Match I had contacted them to see if they have a similar website for Canadian based volunteers and organizations. Apparently I did not look quite far enough through the site. They do indeed and in fact they have opportunities all around the world.
Under the Search feature of the site one can search out opportunities by keyword, skills, country, preferred partners and American Corps. I mistakenly thought the link would lead to a search of the site, not opportunities. My apologies.
They did let me know that they are currently working on a plan for the UK and Canada as it would be easiest to establish in locations where English is already a primary language.
Under the Search feature of the site one can search out opportunities by keyword, skills, country, preferred partners and American Corps. I mistakenly thought the link would lead to a search of the site, not opportunities. My apologies.
They did let me know that they are currently working on a plan for the UK and Canada as it would be easiest to establish in locations where English is already a primary language.
Friday, 14 September 2007
Pangea Day - May 10, 2008
This is an incredible world community event that you and I can play a role in or just observe. Pangea Day is set for May 10, 2008. This will be a day were sites around the world including London, New York, Cairo and more will be linked together through web conferencing. Visionary films, speakers and music will be shared globally to everyone. What is wonderful here is it will be broadcast live as well through television, internet, and cellphones.
This event will be much like Live Earth which occured earlier this year in July, but will take place over 4 hours connecting each other through visual messages.
There is an incredibly moving trailer on the home page of Pangea Day and footage from the TED 2006 prize winner and the inspiration behind this Jehane Noujaim.
This event will be much like Live Earth which occured earlier this year in July, but will take place over 4 hours connecting each other through visual messages.
There is an incredibly moving trailer on the home page of Pangea Day and footage from the TED 2006 prize winner and the inspiration behind this Jehane Noujaim.
Speaking of Ebooks....
I went on a small tangent yesterday about an ereader and today I found yet another ebook site. ManyBooks.net claims to have 18000 free ebooks for download to pdas, ipods and ereaders.
Many of the books on this site I have seen on other free ebook sites (Project Gutenberg - who have by the way really improved their site), but there is a nice feature here where you can see the top downloaded books and reviews from readers as well.
Many of the books on this site I have seen on other free ebook sites (Project Gutenberg - who have by the way really improved their site), but there is a nice feature here where you can see the top downloaded books and reviews from readers as well.
Looking For a Great Volunteering Opportunity?
I came across this site today VolunterMatch.com. It's a website network for volunteering, matching nonprofit organizations looking for volunteers with members of the public looking to donate their skills, time and effort.
As a volunteer you can view opportunities by area of interest (animal, health care, children, environment, etc) or skill that you can offer to these organizations.
I only wish this was expanded through North America.
As a volunteer you can view opportunities by area of interest (animal, health care, children, environment, etc) or skill that you can offer to these organizations.
I only wish this was expanded through North America.
VolunteerMatch is connecting good people with good causes.
Referrals: 3,144,487 Opportunities: 45,948 Organizations: 53,244
Thanks to my readers and 2000 visitors.
I started keeping track of visits to my blog June 21 of this year. Well early this morning I had my 2,000th visitor. I know that this includes many of the same readers that come back time and time again to read my posts and respond to some of my questions.
I just wanted to take a moment here to thank you all.
HAPPY FRIDAY!
I just wanted to take a moment here to thank you all.
HAPPY FRIDAY!
Thursday, 13 September 2007
Photo of the Day, National Geographic
My home page popped this image up as the photo of the day. I just saw it now and thought it was beautiful. 
Now I know what a sea nettle looks like...there...I've learned something new today.
Now I know what a sea nettle looks like...there...I've learned something new today.
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