You may have experienced a few of the powerful benefits of eLearning first hand. And are convinced that’s where the road ahead should lie as far as corporate training at your workplace goes. As a training professional, you may not require any persuasion to understand how eLearning can be used very effectively to reach out to your geographically dispersed, multicultural workforce. However, you now have to meet up with the top management to get their buy-in and approval to get started with an eLearning initiative at your organization.

Here are a few tips to help you gain the support of the top management and executive teams:

• Expect resistance – You may have done a thorough research and are excited about the possibility of eLearning. But your executive team may not share your excitement as they most likely haven’t really thought much about implementing it. If they had, eLearning would have been rolled out across your organization by now! Don’t set yourself up for disappointment by expecting them to be totally convinced about the value proposition of eLearning. Be realistic. And plan accordingly.
• Understand the reasons behind the resistance – It’s nothing personal. Resistance could be the result of not being aware of benefits, not being willing to make the required commitment to drive an enterprise-wide change management initiative to create a culture of eLearning, not being ready or willing to invest in the initial costs for setting up the technology infrastructure including a Learning Management System or not understanding the requirements for rolling out an eLearning initiative adequately.
• Educate and inform – Be prepared to educate and inform the top management team on eLearning capability by highlighting both the hard and soft benefits of eLearning. Though cost is the most obvious quantifiable benefit that comes to mind, more and more organizations are adopting eLearning based on considerations other than mere costs.
• Build a case – Building a compelling case is easier if you back it up with examples of success stories. You might want to include examples within your organization’s own niche or domain for this purpose. For instance, if your organization manufactures products such as specialized equipment, then you might want to study how other organizations in the same space are offering product training. You can bet that eLearning in some form or the other is definitely a part of their overall training strategy.
• Have a tentative roadmap – Part of your background research should include a proposal for rollout. This should ideally have details around the various phases of implementation, maybe starting with deploying an LMS (Moodle, a free open source LMS is a great option), content decisions around in-house course development or outsourcing, and other aspects to consider for eLearning. But don’t kill yourself getting into micro-level details at this stage. A broad understanding should be good to go.
• Position the initiative appropriately – One of the most common mistakes training departments make is to not position eLearning as a strategic initiative. By getting purely into the tactical details too soon, the first few steps of aligning this initiative with other strategic decisions is overlooked. The result is that when strategic decisions are taken keeping financial goals and budgets in mind, eLearning can slip through the cracks. Resulting in lost opportunity costs that come from a delayed implementation of the solution.

How do you gain the support of leadership when proposing an eLearning solution? A few tips…

Related posts:

1. Quick Tips for Developing a Winning eLearning Strategy
2. Why market eLearning?
3. A Few Best Practices for Successful e-Learning

Effective learning of any kind—whether at school or the corporate level—requires an individual’s passion and zeal to learn. It is imperative to understand the importance of learning. Most of the time, people learn the things in life after finishing school or college, or what we call professional education.

Today, most learning is by personal experiences rather than the bookish knowledge we gain. It’s important to understand that what we learn today may not hold value 10 years down the line. Experiential learning is what holds the maximum importance these days. Learning at the corporate level has multiple reasons and chief among them are:

• One may learn or upgrade his or her skills for increasing his or her competence at the workplace.
• Increase in career prospects.
• An employee can undergo training to feel at par with colleagues in terms of education and experience.
• Learning may happen to due to lack of job satisfaction.
• Learning can also help the individual in discovering new areas of expertise.

There are many more reasons why an individual wants to learn something new. Notwithstanding, there are barriers to the learning process. Some of these key barriers to effective learning are:

• Many consider learning as just another task and not as an experience to know more and be knowledgeable.
• Many times, individuals miss the opportunity to learn more without realizing it.
• Not recognizing the importance of learning and not knowing how to use the knowledge gained is in itself a barrier to learning.

Starting from the junior most employee of an organization to the top most manager or CEO, each person needs to be responsible about his or her learning which would eventually lead to the growth of the Company. Every individual must identify learning opportunities made available to him or her and utilize them effectively to move ahead in life.

No matter which industry vertical one is in, effective learning is extremely important in every Company. To ensure that your Company’s employees are continuously developing and in the process of constant training, effective learning techniques must be incorporated.

Do share your thoughts on the same.

Take a look at the learning devices used to impart training – whether product training, process training or application training. These devices involve the learner intellectually, emotionally and physically. Each device has a unique objective.

Scenarios: A scenario situates the learner as listener or observer of an unfolding story wherein the story deals with a possible situation involving decision or action.

Role Play: This is similar to a scenario but involves the learner in actively making a set of decisions based on a situation.

Reflection: A reflection prompts the learner to think and leads him or her to self-awareness about his behavior and thought.

Practice Test: It tests a learner’s knowledge or application of it.

Reckoner: Provides an overview of key ideas, concepts, etc, in a concise way, either textually, visually or both.

Screenshots of some of our custom courses

Testimonials: Exposes the learner to the view point of a real or imaginary character.

Branching Narrative: It is similar to a scenario but involves a basic storyline that branches off into independent scenarios which might eventually be tied together as a moral.

Information: Information is presented in a direct manner.

Job Aid: It assists in on-the-job transfer of learning through a Just-Enough snapshot of key learning.

What did you think of this information? Do share your thoughts with me on the same.

CommLab’s Introduction

• Started in 2000 by RK and Ayesha
• STPI Registered 100% EOU (Custom Bonded)
• Vision: To help individuals and organizations learn in the most efficient and effective way by using the latest eLearning strategies and state-of-the-art Media, Internet and Information Technologies.
• Values:

CommLab’s Products

• Markets: US, Canada, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, KSA, UAE
• Unique Selling Proposition:
  • Strong pedigree in teaching and corporate training
  • Top notch quality through exacting processes and systems
  • Price and Time advantage by operating solely from India

Employees Retention

• Salary’s on 1^st Since Inception
• Increments twice a year uninterrupted
• Free high quality lunch
• Open Leave Policy
• Weekly Celebrations
• Extensive Technical and Soft Skill Training
• Flat Organization
• High Retention

Customers Delight

USA (16), Canada (1), Australia (3), UK (2), Switzerland (2), Sweden (1), Dubai (2), France (1), Germany (1) and Italy (1)

• Customer Focus: On time and Quality Product
• Building Relationship on Trust
• Effective Processes:
  • Sound Instructional Design
  • Production process
  • Quality Process
  • Client Interactions
  • Sound Technology Backing

Customer Mix

Our Present Customers – 30 Worldwide

Technology Growth

Marketing Focus: Our Prospects

New Age Marketing: Building Relationship

Financial Success: Profit Margins

IT and Asset Security

Related posts:

1. Steps to Retain Existing Customers!
2. Tips for Building Strong & Lasting Customer Relationships
3. CommLab India’s Creative Ways to Take Advantage of USA Recession

A month ago, Connie Malamed posted a discussion in LinkedIn inviting readers to donate storyboard formats to be offered as a resource to the eLearning fraternity. Many have offered the formats they were using. You can find them at the eLearning coach. I too sent a couple of them (yet to be uploaded; Connie is a terribly busy person but still finds time to maintain an extremely useful site for learning professionals like us).

That started my thinking about this fairly “low-tech” component in a high tech world of technology-based learning and corporate training. I was amazed to discover that our ubiquitous storyboard is actually an 80-year old Ancient . The humble word document that serves us in developing eLearning courseware has an interesting history. According to Wikipedia, the first storyboard was developed at the Walt Disney studio during the early 1930s for the 1933 Disney’s Three Little Pigs! I also learnt that it is used in many ways by many professions – Film, Theater, Advertising, TV, Publishing, Business, eLearning…

We at CommLab use MS Word to make our storyboards. PowerPoint is also used by some and Authoring tools by a few. But I think ‘MS Word’ is by far the most extensively used in developing online course storyboards. Connie has a very useful section, “Storyboards for eLearning” on her site for those who wish to pick up some tips.

I wonder if we can give the ol’ storyboard a ‘makeover? Can we come up with a tool that offers all the following.

• Desktop Publishing software like Ventura or PageMaker to build a tailor-made formats with ease
• PowerPoint to create some elementary animation
• Clip Art Gallery for images / photographs
• Various Assessment Components that can just be selected and populated
• Audio / Video Gallery of music, standard instructions, video clips…
• Dictionary and Thesaurus

Any more ideas?

Thank you for reading my blog. I look forward to your comments.

RK Prasad

CEO

Related posts:

1. Elements of Storyboards
2. Translating and Localizing eLearning to Reach Global Audience – CommLab’s Experience
3. Templates For Creating Online Courses

This month’s Big Question in The Learning Circuits “WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT LEARNING IN 2009?”

Being a Learning and Training professional, I think it a good time to take stock about our own learning about learning. Reminds me of the adage, “Physician, heal thyself”.

It is in this year that I started to participate in various online forums and social media regularly. I also started to blog on learning and training with special emphasis on learning styles and learning tools.

Year 2009 taught me that you can learn a lot by:

• Asking the right questions
• Keeping your ego at subsistence levels
• Realizing that there is so much to learn from others

I discovered that humility is the best friend of learning. Maybe that is why we learn the most, in the shortest possible time, enjoying every minute of it, when we were children. Children instinctively follow all the three of my discoveries constantly. On the other hand, I have also discovered that our ego is the greatest enemy of learning. Maybe that is why our real learning drops as we become more accomplished in life (in our own eyes).

I have also learnt what Stephen Covey enunciates – you will learn best when you learn in order to teach or teach. Not only have I learnt that I have greatly learnt by using this quality of learning, but also realized that I thoroughly enjoyed myself in the process.

The third learning I have learnt about learning is that it happens when you suspend the noise in your head. I always wondered how the great sages achieved ‘nirvana’ (enlightenment) by meditation. Not by reading or discussing, but by keeping silent in the real sense of the word – achieving tranquility outside and inside, though for a short time. I have read somewhere that the human mind contains all the wisdom of this universe and all you have to do is to connect yourself with the ‘Higher Power’ to tap into it. [I think that it is an excellent idea to include a brief period of silence and contemplation in a corporate training session ]

I would like to take this opportunity to thank and salute all my colleagues, real and virtual, in helping me discover these wonderful aspects of learning!

RK Prasad

CEO

I have been following a number of discussions on LinkedIn and other blogs in the cyber world trying to figure out what Google Wave is and how, it can be used as a learning tool. My quest was short and unfulfilling. Of course, in the bargain I came across some really good blogs and equally excellent writers.

For your information, I got most resources from Jane’s E-Learning Pick of the Day

• Google Wave: A Complete Guide
• Google Wave Will Revolutionize Online Classroom Instruction
• Google Wave in Online Education
• Google Wave in 10 Minutes
• Diving into Google Wave – 3 things – Intro
• Google Wave Developer Preview at Google I/O 2009

Ben Par’s definition is succinct – “Google Wave is a real-time communication platform. It combines aspects of email, instant messaging, wikis, web chat, social networking, and project management to build one elegant, in-browser communication client. You can bring a group of friends or business partners together to discuss how your day has been or share files.”

So, what is in for us, learning, eLearning and corporate training professionals?

The only thing that strikes me as useful is that we can use it as a collaborative platform to develop content. It will be a good interface for SMEs, instructional designers, and content developers to jointly develop content. I suppose it will be quicker and cheaper. It looks like an advanced version of Google Docs, as far as I am concerned.

As far as revolutionizing online classroom instruction is concerned, I think not. At best, it will replace wikis, facilitate group work and help in publishing.

Maybe it is a case of sour grapes? I never got an invite!

Thank you for reading my blog.

RK Prasad

CEO

Related posts:

1. Elearning Edge in LinkedIn: A Symbol of Sharing
2. Collaborative Learning – Is it changing the face of e-learning?
3. Are you Ready for eLearning with the Right Infrastructure?

This month’s Big Question in The Learning Circuits “PRESENTING THE VALUE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR LEARNING” is an interesting one for us, the professionals and votaries of learning, training and change.

How do we ‘market’ the use of social media as a new tool or avatar of learning?

First, are we sold on it? Many of us have mixed experiences and opinions about using social media in an organizational setting to learn and improve workplace performance. I think I find blogging and LinkedIn more useful than Facebook or Twitter. I am sure many of you have opposing views.

Social media represents universal wisdom, present on such platforms that are moderately accessible, despite most IT departments’ reluctance to open them up for lesser mortals like us . Of course, it has its own negative features just like any other tool.

If you are convinced in principle that social media, with all its shortcomings, is still a very powerful medium that can really empower people with JIT (Just-In-Time) learning on anything under the sun, it is our responsibility to present it to our ‘customers’, so that they benefit from it and thereby benefit our organizations.

Let’s see how you can do it. Research shows that when any new innovation is presented, potential users go through five distinct stages of adoption:

1. Awareness
2. Interest
3. Evaluation
4. Trial
5. Adoption

It is advisable to keep in mind that educating people on new innovation takes time and effort.

We should also keep in mind that, people vary in the time to adopt new things. This process of “Diffusion of Innovation” was first popularized by Everett Rogers (1962) in his text book, Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers 1964). He defines diffusion as “the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system.”

It helps us immensely to take a quick look at adopter categorization on relative time taken.

The normal curve distribution above shows people differ greatly in their readiness to try new products or services. The graph shows that after a slow start, thanks to the innovators and the early adopters, an increasing number of people will adopt the innovation. The number reaches a peak and then drops off, as the innovators and early adopters rush off to try some new alternatives.

Research shows that:

• Innovators are adventurous and take risks.
• Early Adopters are guided by respect. They are opinion leaders who adopt early but carefully.
• Early Majority are deliberate in their choice, though not leaders.
• Late Majority are skeptical and wait till the majority have tried.
• Laggards are traditionally the last set of people to adopt change.

How do we use this knowledge in popularizing Social Media as an innovation in learning methodologies especially in Corporate Training?

My suggestions are:

1. First target the Innovators and the Early Adopters through free workshops and contests. They are risk takers and get attracted by anything new.
2. Present success stories and case studies collected from the Innovators and the Early Adopters to the Early Majority.
3. Once these groups are behind you, the others (Later Majority and Laggards) will automatically follow.

I think we should give adequate time to see results.

Related posts:

1. Are you Ready for eLearning with the Right Infrastructure?
2. How do we keep up with Technology?

As President Obama declares H1N1 a National Emergency, we felt that there is a tremendous need to understand the H1N1 virus – precautions, symptoms and cure. Awareness will help us reduce panic and eradicate swine flu soon.

Here are some useful information on precautions, symptoms and useful online resources to keep you aware about the flu on a regular basis.

Precautions

1. Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently.
2. Keep your throat clean by gargling twice a day with warm salt water or Listerine. Clean your nose frequently.
3. Build your immune system by eating vitamin C rich food and Vitamin C supplements.
4. Eat Fresh food and drink lot of water.

Symptoms of H1N1 Flu

Contact Health Care Provider Immediately

Cover Your Cough and Sneezes

Useful Links for Information

• H1NI Influenza Center
• Frequently asked question about H1N1 Flu
• Online Tutorial on H1N1 Flu
• 2009 H1N1 Flu: Situation Update
• Tracking the progress of H1N1 swine flu
• FLU.GOV

]]> http://blog.commlabindia.com/elearning/corporate-training-swine-flu/feed/ 6 http://blog.commlabindia.com/elearning/effective-corporate-training http://blog.commlabindia.com/elearning/effective-corporate-training#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:17:54 +0000 Abdul Razzaque Hussain http://blog.commlabindia.com/?p=391 Related posts:

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