As we are entering into a new year, I thought of having quick review of the most appreciated blogs in the year 2009. The list represents some of the most interesting and active learning topics.

Training Needs Analysis: To Skip or Not to Skip is the Question

Usually, training needs are identified during an annual performance appraisal done by HRD. These needs are handed over to corporate training to initiate involvement to address them. The needs are classified and collated; training calendars drawn; training budgets projected and so on. Most line managers want the training to be delivered yesterday! There is always a dearth of time, resources and money, which makes us think twice before we jump into a full-fledged analysis. So, the question is when can we skip and when can we not?

How can you learn, unlearn and relearn?

There is so much we unlearn without much effort. Knowledge not often revised, skills not regularly practiced and beliefs shattered by contradictory experience are all day-to-day examples of unlearning. But what about a situation where person’s knowledge, skills and beliefs serve him well and is therefore reinforced? How can he unlearn them in the face of a superior learning, which will serve him better?

Singular delivery environment for instruction (i.e. class-room only) versus a blended delivery instructional environment – when to use them?

In today’s technology and availability of multiple delivery media days, we are tempted to use a blended approach (more than one medium of delivery) to deliver training. In corporate training, many a times, singular delivery method is enough to do the job. Before we zero down on the criteria for selecting a delivery environment, let us know more about the typical singular and blended learning environments.

Sage on the Stage or Guide on the Side?

A leader motivates, envisions, inspires, communicates, cajoles, reprimands… so does a teacher. A leader is driven by his ego. Who among us can deny the thrill of self-gratification when we stand in front of a group and lead them? So, why belittle the ‘sage’ in us? On the other hand, how much of empathy does trainer need to relate to his flock? Does being a ‘guide by the side’ depend upon the kind of learners, the trainer is dealing with? Or are we just donning the role of ‘guide’ only to mollify the egos of learners? What exactly we mean by ‘facilitating’ learning?

Learning Styles and Instructional Design: Do they go hand in hand?

Kolb’s learning theory introduces us to four distinct learning styles (or preferences), which are based on a four-stage learning cycle – learning by feeling, watching, thinking and doing. My question is how practicable or feasible it is to try and accommodate various learning styles while designing a course, be it classroom or online?

How much of ‘Entertaining’ is advisable in Training?

We know the humor is an extremely powerful force, sometimes even life saving (Anatomy of an Illness, Norman Cousins).We tend to agree with Elliott Massie when he says that every great classroom-based class that he had attended contained humor and laughter. Off hand, we agree that positive humor will help establish a climate conducive to learning, reduce stress, aids retention of information, breaks down barriers between facilitators and learners, and foster cohesiveness. But the question is how?

Sales Training in a Classroom or Online?

Sales Training can comprise product knowledge, sales procedures & reports and selling skills. We have been developing sales training courses for automobile major in Europe, with market presence in Europe and Asia. During the development, we realized that this client company is using a blended approach by addressing certain aspects of training via online delivery and certain others in the classroom. What do you think? Is eLearning or online mode of delivery suitable for selling skills training?

Software Product Simulation – Captivate or Flash?

Software product training using authoring tools like Captivate or Adobe Flash is an effective mode of eLearning. Screenshots of the software acts as a raw content for developing an online course. The learner is taught on how to use the software by creating a simulated environment. The effectiveness of learning can be enhanced by using audio. Both Captivate and Flash can impart training. Let’s see, which one is more suitable.

What Are The Real Elearning Standards?

In the eLearning field, we usually come across SCORM/AICC as the standards to which the courseware should adhere to. But how far are these standards learner-centric? Are these standards impeding learning?

How to market social media as a learning tool?

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 Face book or Twitter. I am sure many of you have opposing views.

Wishing all a Happy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year!

RK Prasad

CEO

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

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

Software product training using authoring tools like Captivate or Adobe Flash is an effective mode of eLearning.

Screenshots of the software acts as a raw content for developing an online course. The learner is taught on how to use the software by creating a simulated environment. The effectiveness of learning can be enhanced by using audio. Both Captivate and Flash can impart training. Let’s see, which one is more suitable.

If the software has an intuitive interface and navigation, the learner can easily learn the software by simple demonstration using Captivate, a rapid elearning tool.

If the software is complex and has multiple users and tasks, it becomes difficult for the user to learn the software, hence Adobe Flash is recommended. Some of the examples of complex software are SAP, Call Center software, Customer portals etc.

For complex software products, the effective instructional strategy is using Watch-Try-Do (WTD) approach. The strategy is to first show the operations, and then invite the learner to try and perform the required operations with some guidance and finally, allow him/her to try the operations all by themselves. This approach provides a smooth transition in learning – from watching, to trying and finally, doing the operations.

The raw content for the complex software products will be Captivate screen, describing the flow of the software, its navigation and its uses. Based on the Captivate screens, a detailed storyboard is developed to incorporate Watch-Try-Do. Using Adobe Flash, we can create WTD simulations with ease.

For both simple and complex software products, Captivate plays an important role in developing eLearning content. It helps to record screens and navigational flow of the product effectively. It also integrates audio and offers a customized interface for the learner to navigate and explore the simulation.

Share your views on using Flash and Captivate software for imparting product training.

I have posted the discussion question, “Learning Styles and Instructional Design, do they go hand in hand?” in LinkedIn groups earlier this week. There were more than 80 responses. I thought the combined wisdom of 80 of us should be shared.

Here is a snapshot of the responses:

Each response was great, reflecting the unique expertise of the respondent and his/her willingness to share it. Here are some responses in verbatim:

In Favor of Learning Styles:

• Learning Styles and Instructional Design – They should go hand in hand and yes it is practical to accommodate major learning styles while designing a course.
• When I design a course, I make sure that my lesson plan includes the different learning styles. I also go through the learning types in my class introductions when possible. This helps me alter my content to adjust to different learning styles if time and topic allow.
• Dr. Sarah Church lays out a great learning style summary which points out some differences in learning styles based on age, gender, etc. It can be found at: http://www.teresadybvig.com/learnsty.htm
• As an instructional designer with 20+ years of experience, I do believe that there are three principal methods of gathering and processing knowledge that are always found in any group of students: learning by seeing it done, learning by hearing how to do it, and learning by doing it yourself.
• Yes, it is practicable to accommodate learning styles, and based on the findings of a Learner Analysis, when designing a course, instructional designers should indeed consider varied learning styles of their target audience and design accordingly. There is data to support these theories; you can find plenty of information by doing a scholarly literature review.

Against Learning Styles:

• I am extremely skeptical about learning styles. There’s no data to support any of the various learning style theories, and as a matter of just plain common sense, many of them seem pretty far-fetched. In my opinion, a designer is much better advised to consider approaches that are supported by actual research findings.
• When you start thinking about “learning styles” when designing e-Learning, you’re usually heading in the wrong direction.
• I agree about the various theories, but I am more inclined to question whether our learning styles are a function of nature or nurture. As adults, we may have modified our learning style based on the ways we have been taught. Rather than design a course for specific learning styles, we design materials to reach as many as possible.
• Actually, they don’t have to; too much attention to the LSI will slow both you and the students down.

It depends on a few parameters:

• I have actually taken learning style surveys of prospective audiences prior to developing courses. And in fact, have based decisions on the majority rules. Even though learners have a learning style preference, everyone can benefit from any learning regardless of the style; it may not just be their particular preference.
• In addition to various learning styles, trainers also need to keep in mind generational differences.
• A designer of course content like an author of anything needs to recognize that they will never appeal to everyone at this time but that as long as their material is good, delivered well in whatever format they are comfortable in and they are passionate about getting the message across, the learners will come.
• The key is not designing to a supposed perceptual modality, developmental stage or ability, but making the content relevant and engaging to the learner, so they see the need and the application.
• I think it depends on what you are preparing students for. If it’s highly specific and targeted, you can focus on a particular learning style.

The complete analysis is a 6-page PDF. Click here to download the complete report.

Thank you for reading my blog.

RK Prasad

CEO