Keeping Up - April’s Big Question
April’s Big Question from Learning Circuits is “How to Keep up?” This is in reference the immense and rapidly expanding technology tools.
It is tough to stay on top of all the emerging tools. However, being involved in an e-learning community is a big help. For me it is a blog community and following many experts on Twitter. Not only am I often made aware of new tools, but also get opinions, tips, and examples of their use. You can never keep up with it all, but access to many experts who are also finding and sharing the lastest tech tools make it much less daunting.
Many of the blogs I follow are part of the eLearningLearning community. So, I browsed “Tools” by keyword on eLearningLearning. Here are the results and the level of exposure to technology tools this community provides:
That is a lot of tools this blogging community has discussed and introduced to its readers. I also like to make occasional visits to Google Labs and Adobe Labs to “keep up” with the tech tools they are working on and to test drive any beta versions available. When I do find interesting tools I will keep track of them using my Delicious account. Tagged either under Development Toolsor Cloud. When it comes to free cloud apps, I also share them on my blog’s Free Cloud Apps page.
It is tough to stay on top of all the great stuff being offered out there, but the blogs and social media certainly help.
Reflecting on 2009’s Posts - Big Question
December’s Big Question at the Learning Circuits blog is “What did you learn about learning in 2009,” but they also suggest looking at your top 2009 posts for “aha moments.” So, here are my top ten 2009 posts according my blog’s best of list found through eLearningLearning. I have simply added my thoughts next to each.
- Flash Accessibility (508 Compliance) I was surprised to see 508 Compliance top the list. It is good to see it is an important topic to many readers, as it should be. What I learned is that with effort Flash courses can be accessible.
- Storyboard Templates and Resources Storyboard posts showed up twice (#2 and #4). It is not only a practical tool that many people value, but the post opened up opportunities for me to see how others use storyboards.
- Adobe FlashTutorials In my opinion, Flash is the best tool an e-learning designer can possess, but it does have a steep learning curve. And there is no end to that learning curve. As long as I am using Flash, there will be something new to learn.
- It Came From Hollywood - Storyboarding See #2.
- Where Organizations Go Wrong With e-Learning This was chance for me to gripe about the crazy, frustrating things I have seen.
- Using Gagne’s 9 Events of Learning in e-Learning My favorite post among the list! Gagne works for me and I love sharing ways the events can be applied.
- Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages We should all be cognisant of how non-elearning designers see online learning.
- Interested in Creating an Alternative Reality Games (ARG) for learning? Can’t go wrong with games and learning. They go together all too well.
- Quick Explanation of Google Wave - Video I, like others, was just trying to figure it out. FYI: I did get an invite shortly afterwards.
- Overview of Kirkpatrick’s 4 Levels of Evaluation Everyone wants to evaluate their courses as soon as they have the time.
I cannot speak about what I learned without mentioning that in 2009 my employer (Provident Bank) was acquired another bank. In 2009, I learned that I was extremely lucky to have been part of, and to have learned from, such a cohesive, talented and very effective team of trainers. Although it did not make the top 10, this was the most meaningful post for me - Farewell to a Great Corporate University.
Big Question - Presenting the Value of Social Media for Learning
Learning Circuit’s Big Question this month is ”How do I communicate the value of social media as a learning tool to my organization?” In response, I have put together a list of strategies I feel are important and if done right can be effective.
Management buy-in
- Demo its use to decision makers.
- Show them case studies (from your industry, if possible, and emphasize return on investment (ROI)).
- Emphasize ROI again. Can it increase sales, reduce losses, limit errors, etc.?
- Teach them how to use it and continually encourage them to use it.
Staff buy-in and prototyping
- Get a willing group of staff to use and evaluate the prototype.
- Make sure content/communications are relevant to its users.
- Stay very involved in its implementation, facilitating discussion.
- Get its users to help you market the course…creating a “buzz” about the initiative.
- Document any success stories that come from the prototype and share with the entire organization.
Get IT buy-in early
- We all now IT can sink your initiative quickly, so get yourself buy-in from a decision maker in the IT department.
- Do as much leg work as you can before you bring it to IT. Not only will they appreciate any prerequisite work you have already done, but you will be that much closer to implementing the initiative.
- Find numerous people in IT who are already using social media and ask them to use the prototype. They mayhelp you push the initiative through the possible IT bureaucracy and can provide additional evaluation and advice from a tech perspective.
- Read more about Working With IT.
Communicating the value of social media and informal learning is far from an easy task and overcoming the challenges of getting management and staff on board differs with every organization…some are more open to it than others. Either way, communicating its value does not have any end point. Like any learning initiative, it needs constant encouragement.
Wanna Read Some e-Learning Horror Stories?
Over at the PLS Online Course Development blog they have been posting e-learning horror stories and they have had some doozies so far. These stories are not only entertaining, but also valuable ways to learn directly from the witnesses of such ghoulish e-learning events.
Christy from the PLS Online Course Development blog was nice enough to include my horror story, but worked her magic and transformed it into a poem in the style of Poe’s “The Raven.” Thanks!
You can read the poem here. And read their other horror stories here.
Here is the original of my horror story. Although it may be more funny than scary, it was a horror to me went it happened.
Seven years ago, when e-learning was still new to my company, I launched an online course. My company, which provided health care to military personnel from North Carolina to Maine, had service centers throughout its footprint. Of course geographical distance was no obstacle to me, for I was a Distance Educator. Well, actually they called me an e-Learning Designer, but just the same.
As always, I marketed the online course. I included the title of the online course, who should take the online course, what they will learn
from the online course, the benefits of taking the online course, and how to access and launch the online course.Several days later, while sitting in my cubicle in Baltimore, someone came a tapping. As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my cubicle door. Why is a co-worker from the far reaches of our Virginia service center here at my door?
She said, “I am here for my ONLINE COURSE.”
Predictions for 2009
My predictions for 2009:
With the continued economic difficulties, e-learning will grow due to its cost efficiency, or at least its perceived cost efficiency. And because of its low environmental impact it will become very attractive to companies wishing to become “green.”
Blogs and social media will grow as a knowledge management tool. It has already begun, but we will see it become more common place. And they will not only be used as learning tools internally, but also externally, reaching out and educating clients and customers.
Regard m-learning, Apple iPhone and Blackberry will finally adopt Flash Lite with many other phones following their lead. This will make Flash and Captivate the preferred development tools for m-learning.
Finally, after too many training departments are downsized, we will read Kirkpatrick’s 4 Levels of Evaluation, again!
MinuteBio Featured on eLearning Learning
The MinuteBio blog is now featured in the eLearning Learning community, which aggregates e-learning blogs. As described at eLearningLearning.com, ”eLearning Learning is a community that tries to collect and organize the best information on the web that will help you learn and stay current on eLearning.”
Take a look at eLearningLearning or view the featured MinuteBio posts.
So, What I Have Learned About Learning?
December’s Big Questions from the Learning Circuits Blog is “What I have learned About Learning in 2008?” The beauty, and challenge, of working in the e-learning field is the constantly changing environment. To deliver the most effective online training we must continually be willing to learn, and apply new approaches to instructional design and new technologies.
So, what have I learned? A lot, but I think what stands out is how to actively seek out “online” learning opportunities. What is available to us online has become even more prevalent and convenient in the past year. It is very rare that I am able to attend conferences or workshops, but I take full advantage of webinars, blogs, user groups, networking sites, and my personal favorite, video podcasts. All of these have assisted me in keeping abreast of the latest and greatest happenings in e-learning, especially Web 2.0.
I also started blogging recently, which I saw as a means to share ideas, but has become an excellent development opportunity for myself, as it has become a means of self-reflection and focus. Plus, as I hope to incorporate blogging as a knowledge management tool within my own organization, being blogger will hopefully assist in successfully ”selling” the concept and implementing it in 2009.
