Content about Distance education

March 14, 2012

Two key characteristics of online CoPs set them apart from all other traditional methods of group collaboration. Unlike apprenticeships, brown bag lunches, or other informal methods of collaboration where information can be lost unless individuals take it upon themselves to spread knowledge, online exchanges allow you to capture, tag, and categorize information to easily search for later use. Secondly, this information can be accessed from anywhere around the world at any time.

By Brandon Williams, Consultant, The Educe Group

If you build it, will they really come? Drive the adoption of enterprise-wide social learning technology by creating thriving online communities of practice.

What Is a Community of Practice?

March 4, 2012

In September 2010, ESL Federal Credit Union added both Business Banking products and services to its financial services portfolio and small and mid-sized businesses to its membership mix. The new business processes, procedures, and offerings were foreign to front-line staff and support functions. So before launch, the company’s learning and development (L&D) team delivered a blended curriculum that included instructor-led training, a custom practice database, and a comprehensive CBT module.

By Margery Weinstein

February 17, 2012

Lessons learned about Learning Management System implementation, software training, internal marketing, and user adoption from the Training & Organizational Development manager at Multi-Chem.

 

By Glenn Drysdale, Training & Organizational Development Manager, Multi-Chem

February 17, 2012

Lessons learned about Learning Management System implementation, software training, internal marketing, and user adoption from the Training & Organizational Development manager at Multi-Chem.

By Glenn Drysdale, Training & Organizational Development Manager, Multi-Chem

Recently, I embarked upon an adventure: implementing the first Learning Management System (LMS) in our company. The first article (http://trainingmag.com/article/what%E2%80%99s-lms-part-1) looked at identifying needs, making the business case, choosing a vendor, and obtaining senior leadership buy-in. Here in Part 2, we look at implementation, software training, internal marketing, and user adoption.

February 13, 2012

With content curation, the running theme is to enlist yourself and other knowledgeable and passionate subject matter experts to filter and provide context to the resource materials that they value the most—trusting that your knowledge also will provide value to others interested in the same subject. Then the communities and portals we develop and support will become sought out as trusted sources of sustainable learning and performance in their own right.

By Chris Frederick Willis, CEO, Media 1

February 10, 2012

Recently, a Training & Organizational Development manager implemented the first Learning Management System (LMS) in his company, Multi-Chem. He says it has been a rewarding venture, providing functionality the company has needed for some time. The experience yielded many lessons that might be helpful for others. Here are some of the lessons he learned along the way.

By Glenn Drysdale, Training & Organizational Development Manager, Multi-Chem

Recently, I embarked upon an adventure: implementing the first Learning Management System (LMS) in our company. It has been a rewarding venture, providing functionality we have needed for some time. The experience yielded many lessons that might be helpful for others. Here are some of the lessons we learned along the way.

February 9, 2012

Real training requires more than binary feedback. But how can such complication be reproduced in elearning?

 

Training 2012 Conference & Expo speaker Ethan Edwards points out a tragic schism between in-person training and elearning, and offers a tool to bridge the gap.

As instructors, we all know that the best learning occurs when learners are challenged, make mistakes, get specific individualized instructional feedback, and then get the opportunity to practice.

February 8, 2012

Few of us would want to go back to high school, but there are some lessons we were wrong to leave behind.

 

Training 2012 Conference & Expo speaker John Castaldi shares the lessons from school we forgot to bring with us.

As we transition from instructor-led training to self-paced elearning, we’ve forgotten two vital principles—structure and social rewards. Somehow, these important components for learning were, literally, left in the classroom.

February 6, 2012

Imagine a time when learners actively come to a learning community we have built and nurtured, and pull exactly the learning they need at the time and place they need it. Effective delivery of such curated learning content will require new tools, strategies, and technologies that force us to think outside of the boundaries of the e-learning course and the corporate LMS and go far beyond the link-sharing tools used on the Web.

By Chris Frederick Willis

January 30, 2012

In a flipped classroom at work, lectures are delivered outside of class via online video, and classroom time with teachers is used to do homework and work through any difficulties.

By Dan Cooper, CEO, ej4.com

One of the standard creativity techniques is “reversal.” This is where you take some established idea, suggest the exact opposite, and then see what the potential benefits might be. It’s exactly what educators are doing with one of the most fundamental assumptions of classroom teaching.

January 27, 2012

One noteworthy conversation from a week of discussion on Training’s LinkedIn Group.

 

Thanks to Brenda Quinney (Sales Training Manager at RSA) for this thought-provoking question, and to our LinkedIn Group members for their insightful answers.

Q: How do you measure the success of your elearning program? Do you survey your learners? What questions do you ask?

 

January 17, 2012

Mobile learning can bring valuable content to learners when, where and how they need it. But if you are considering your own mobile program, there is something you should know first.

 

Training 2012 Conference & Expo speaker Scott McCormick explains the first thing you need to know about building your own mobile learning campaign:

January 16, 2012

Training 2012Conference & Expo speaker Vicki Halsey created ENGAGE, a new six-step model designed to revolutionize traditional workplace learning and teaching. Based on art and science—from Vicki Halsey’s thirty-five years of teaching experience to the most recent discoveries in neuroscience—the ENGAGE Model has a core purpose: to design learning that brings out people’s innate brilliance, drives action, and delivers results.

January 3, 2012

The time has come for a new, integrated model for corporate learning. Technology should provide a platform for seamlessly delivering carefully selected, timely, role-appropriate learning opportunities at the right point in career development. Learner needs must drive the LMS, not the other way around.

By Chris Frederick Willis, CEO, Media 1

November 15, 2011

Whirlpool University leveraged the opportunity of marketplace-driven circumstances to create the “Closed Loop Learning Method.” This method integrates: the power of the online learning environment, face-to-face classroom, application of skills, and the employee’s manager.

By Tamara Patrick, Director, Whirlpool University

October 7, 2011

How has access to training technology affected your ability to hold onto workers? Is it enabling them to do their jobs better? Several trainers consider whether their investment in training technology has been worth it.

By Margery Weinstein

October 7, 2011

Cognizant created a learning application—the iPad Sales GYM application—based on the principles of collaborative learning with a focus on performance enhancement.

By Sairaj Vaithilingam, Director, Content and Design Services, and Ramanathan Srinivasan, Senior Consultant, Learning Solutions Group, Cognizant Learning Solutions Group

Why can’t I learn what I want, when I want? This is a common question posed by the sales personnel at Cognizant.

With the company growing at an industry-leading clip and expanding its workforce,

October 7, 2011

Mobile learners appreciate good-quality content designed to save them time and that provides immediate accomplishments in small chunks. Keep it short, but use all the media—video, audio, exercises, simulations, games, etc.—to “show” and not just “tell” how work can be done and skills developed.

By Roy Saunderson, President, Recognition Management Institute

Are we ready to train employees through iPods? Some organizations already do so with great success. Yet there are important principles to consider in getting mobile learning right.

In the fast-moving world we live in, we stay connected through a growing number of mobile devices we’re glued at the hip to. Now imagine having training follow you around and be available whenever you are ready to learn.

October 7, 2011

The latest products and services launching in the training industry.

  • Hughes Network Systems, LLC, unveiled expanded features—including live training management functionality such as such as class scheduling, user registration, class role printing, attendance, grade tracking, and a customized reporting dashboard—for its hosted learning portal. SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) conformance enables course designers to take full advantage of both off-the-shelf content and a variety of authoring tools.
October 4, 2011

Online learning is constantly changing and improving. The best LMS platforms stay up to date with current technologies, make adding your e-learning courses easy, and, most importantly, give your users a reason to keep learning.

By Chad Hoke, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, BlueVolt

The first thing you want to ask yourself when considering, implementing, or switching to a new learning management system (LMS) is: Will it be easy to use?

Think about the majority of your LMS provider’s users. How tech-savvy are they? Don’t over-estimate your users’ tolerance for complexity. One of the most common complaints we get from companies is that their usage is far less than they expected.

September 27, 2011

To keep employees operating at peak performance levels, corporations must recognize the benefits of on-the-job instruction that occurs before, during, and after the learning event. To deliver training with a real impact on the company’s bottom line, knowledge of strategy and tactics is no longer enough—continuous learning is essential.

By Tim Hill, President, Professional Education (ProEd), Blackboard

Corporations constantly struggle with engaging learners, achieving business metrics, keeping content up to date, and efficiently sharing information. To keep employees operating at peak performance levels, corporations must recognize the benefits of on-the-job instruction that occurs before, during, and after the learning event. To deliver training with a real impact on the company’s bottom line, knowledge of strategy and tactics is no longer enough—continuous learning is essential.

September 19, 2011

What if your training approach could be the key to engagement at work? The way employees learn either reinforces disconnection or creates meaningful connections. Your approach matters. Here are 8 things to stop doing in order to cause engagement and transform culture in your organization.

By Doug Bolger is the Chief L(earn)ing Officer of L(earn)²

Engaging employees in work is no longer a challenge with only one generation. Employees of all ages and tenures struggle to find meaning at work. Not all leaders are inspired and inspire their teams. Incentives and time off reward and reinforce extrinsic reasons to engage rather than intrinsic reasons to engage.

September 15, 2011

Looking back on the years of trial and error with learning transfer, what stands out the most is that participants, managers, and stakeholders all want their investment of time and effort to pay off—everyone wants to see real results. That means making learning transfer practical and tactical, easy through automation, actionable through using both push and pull strategies, and carefully planned.

By Michael Leimbach, Ph.D. and Carl Eidson, Ph.D.,Wilson Learning

September 14, 2011

Thanks to its creative use of learning management technology, Vi—the owner and operator of older adult living communities—has enjoyed dramatic results: Online course use has grown more than 1,000 percent, learning costs have fallen by 28 percent, and the company has enjoyed a 5.5 percent increase in customer satisfaction.

By Michael Boese, Sr. Vice President, Taleo Corp.

Thanks to its creative use of learning management technology, Vi—the owner and operator of older adult living communities—has enjoyed dramatic results: Online course use has grown more than 1,000 percent, learning costs have fallen by 28 percent, and the company has enjoyed a 5.5 percent increase in customer satisfaction.