This challenge is to make static content interactive. I figured you'd like to interact with some federal code. Read more...

Today a reader asked where I get my images. Since it's a question that comes up a lot, I thought it was time to share. Read more...

This week's challenge is to create a prototype about fall prevention. So I whipped up some stick figures and made prevention happen. Read more...

This week's challenge is to use video backgrounds to make e-learning more engaging. With help from a yoyo and a beach, I did. Read more...

This week's challenge is to create an education-themed template. I thought I'd help you get ready for the science fair. Read more...

Our Learning Hero this week is Rand Fishkin, founder of Moz.com! Here’s why… Every day, thousands of people worldwide embark upon the rocky road of web marketing only to discover that it’s not the straight-forward journey they’d hoped it would be. Just as the wheels are falling off of their wagon, a plume of dust appears on the horizon and, like Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia, along comes Rand Fishkin on a metaphorical (yet no less trusty) steed! Why is Rand our hero of choice this week? Well, any teacher can help you understand a static topic like, for example, maths - it might be complicated and difficult, but it has rules and they don’t change (not normally anyway, but we’re not getting into that here!). However, it takes a real legend to teach a topic as fluid as SEO. Search Engine Optimisation is probably most famous for being dead. Every three or four months, an article will appear announcing the sad departure of the most popular web marketing strategy since people started strategically marketing on the web. But as soon as it ‘dies’, it is reborn again as something similar to what it was… but completely different. With Moz, Rand Fishkin has set out to guide people through one of the most dynamic landscapes you can imagine. With every new update to Google’s algorithm, the rules of SEO change, and sometimes quite dramatically, forcing practitioners to rethink their entire strategy. For the casual blogger, this can be quite frustrating but for web marketers who rely on search engine rankings to put bread on their table, it can be downright panic-inducing. When this anxious breed pays a visit to Moz, they are reassured that yes, SEO is a tricky beast to handle, but all is not lost, and there’s always something to be done to set your wheels in motion once more. Whiteboard Friday Every Friday, Rand takes us through a specific area of SEO with the help of his trusty whiteboard. Here, we see a guy who loves what he’s doing, is enthusiastic about the topic and he really REALLY wants to help you understand it better. Check out this example, but try not to be distracted by the AMAZING moustache! One of the things we love most about Moz is their core beliefs which, as far as we’re concerned, sum up everything that good learning should be. The TAGFEE Code states Moz’s dedication to a service that is as ‘Transparent, Authentic, Generous, Fun, Empathetic, and Exceptional as possible’. This shines throughout every element of the Moz website. As a small example, whenever a user is downloading a spreadsheet from Moz’s Open Site Explorer, and it’s taking a little longer than usual, the user gets an awkward apology from ‘Roger the Robot’ and, as compensation, an animated gif of a puppy reacting to its reflection in a mirror. The site is such a joy to navigate that you can visit with the intention of finding the answer to a specific question, and easily spend another couple of hours learning about things you never thought you’d discover. In almost every case, the articles in question will be based around the super-nerdy minutiae of web marketing, but every effort is made to keep them as engaging as possible. So, if you have an SEO-related problem, and no one else can help, and if you can find him, maybe you should hire Rand Fishkin! Like Moz, we’re all about creating a fantastic experience for our users - in our case, we treat learners to a veritable feast of badges, points, prizes, leaderboards and a healthy dose of competition. Find out more about what we do to delight and excite our learners by hopping on board the Academy LMS tour! Pop your email address in the box below to subscribe to our weekly digest and find out when we post similar articles!  

You lucky things! You get to read a snippet of our currently-in-construction white paper on Interactive Classrooms! "…Different learners need different kinds of stimulation in order to retain what they’ve learnt. We noticed it during the workshops of our Sales Superstars Programme: some learners were better at their online assessments than the workshop presentations; some were quiet in the workshops; some were outspoken; others bided their time until they could wax lyrical about their favourite topic. Using technology in classrooms and workshops - i.e. creating an interactive classroom - makes the learning content accessible and enjoyable for all kinds of learners. We’ve put together some ‘learner types’ and how technology can engage them in their classroom learning: Zombie Learners Well, actually, Zombies aren’t really a ‘type’ of learner at all - they represent the disengaged, demotivated learner. No one is truly a Zombie learner naturally; they become one through poor training, boring learning techniques and a lack of stimulation. All kinds of learners can be Zombies when the training fails. But technology is what can cure the Zombie virus and turn students into Active learners (more on them later!). Watchers Learners in this group learn best when they observe. They watch other people and can copy or imitate them. In practice, this could be watching their mechanic change a tyre and then replicating it the next time they get a flat. In a classroom setting, these learners are very visual - they’ll learn better watching a video or a presentation than discussing a theory with their fellow learners. Doers The Doers are active - they’re not comfortable sitting by passively and watching their trainer, and they find videos distance themselves too much from the learning content. These guys and girls wouldn’t wait until they had a flat tyre to try out what they learnt - they’d get their mechanic to teach them how to do it then and there. Thinkers Ah, the thinkers. Similar to Watchers, they are happy to sit back and observe - but they also consider it vitally important to have ‘thinking time’. Rather than watching a video and then going straight into the next topic, Thinkers will learn more when they are given the opportunity to take a step back and mull over what they’ve learnt. Listeners While Watchers learn by - duh! - watching, Listeners find they learn best by letting sounds wash over them. They probably have high attention to detail, a great memory and are able to multitask. Solo Artists Some of us are naturally more social than others, so it stands to reason that this preference will be seen in their learning, too. Solo Artists don’t need to bounce ideas off fellow learners or discuss the topic in groups to cement their understanding. Instead, they’ll go off on a learning journey on their own, picking up new information and a deeper understanding on their solo voyage. Talkers Just as some people prefer learning on their own, others thrive on interaction with other learners. They understand things best when they can talk about them, bounce ideas around, state their case and talk about any issues they’ve having trying to grasp the learning content. Active Learners When learners are engaged, enthralled, motivated, captivated and happy, they’ll break out of the Zombie mould and become Active learners. Taking an active role in learning means to strive for a deeper level of understanding, to seek out new life and new civilizations—sorry, that’s Star Trek—to seek out new topics of interest and to help others on their own learning journeys. All types of learners can be Active - Active Watchers, Active Talkers, Active Listeners. It’s all to do with the motivation behind the learning: the aim of Active learners is to improve their knowledge and change their behaviours. It’s exactly what we’re aiming for. It’s the epitome. It’s perfection. And it’s wholly attainable when we bring technology into the classroom. We’re nearly finished with the white paper, so stay tuned! In the meantime, here’s one we made earlier to keep you satisfied: Interested in finding out more? Subscribe to our weekly digest and get an update when we post the whole white paper!  

They say that curiosity killed the cat - but we don’t think it’s true. Sure, maybe it put the cat in some tricky situations; tightrope walking along a washing line, espionage in next door’s garden, breaking and entering into the larder… But little did you know, the cat is actually alive and well. And it’s having the time of its life! Like the cat, we should embrace our natural curiosity and start exploring and questioning everything. When we do this, we grow - we learn new things, develop new habits, discover new talents and arm ourselves with a whole host of facts and figures that help wow those we meet and lead our lives in new, exciting directions. Here are three reasons why questioning everything is a good tactic for life: 1. You get more answers You know the saying, ‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get’? Well, it’s true! If we sit there nodding, it’s like we are accepting everything we see and hear. But once we start questioning it, we can get the answers that we really need. Imagine you’re taking an eLearning module and you notice something you’re not quite sure is correct. If you ignore it and sweep it under the rug, thinking: "Oh well, it’s probably right…" you’ll never find out if it’s really true or not. But if you approach your eLearning with an open, questioning mind, you’ll be motivated to dig deeper to uncover the truth. Maybe it’s a typo? Perhaps it’s an outdated theory? Or maybe you need to go back a few chapters and take another look - don’t discount the fact that you might be wrong about it. When it comes to learning, if we don’t adopt a questioning mindset we will only ever know what our tutors are able and willing to teach us. Formal training - classroom-based learning, eLearning units and so on - has to stick to a strict syllabus. Tutors and eLearning designers are required to teach specific learning content. So unless you make the effort to push yourself on your learning journey by asking questions, you’ll never progress further than said syllabus. And who knows what you’ll be missing? 2. You will influence your own learning journey Whether you’re part of a training programme at work, trying to learn something new on your own or just curious about life in general, even little questions help us to grow and propel us forward on our learning journeys. It’s great to ask the ‘big’ questions - What is life? Why are we here? How many eLearning designers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? - but the little questions can make a big difference in the long run. How does this theory apply to me? Why is that the case? Who says it’s so? Every little bit of knowledge you gain from questioning will add up; each new fact, burgeoning skill and seed of knowledge planted will grow into something wonderful - so long as you nurture it. 3.  You’ll uncover new experiences If the cat was never curious, it would never get to experience the thrill of sneaking into the neighbour’s shed, the excitement of baiting the dog just to see what would happen or the joy of discovering that yes, garlic bread actually tastes very very nice yum yum. Similarly, if you’re willing to question everything, look at things around you more closely and approach situations with an open mind, you’ll find yourself experiencing new things. Questioning lets you take a step back from your behaviours and beliefs and reassess your priorities. You might find yourself enthralled by a topic once you start questioning it - and who knows where that learning journey might lead you? If you never question the world around you, you begin accepting everything at face value and that’s where we really come a cropper. Don’t believe everything you read, hear or see - no one is infallible, including your teacher. Of course, we’re not saying you should be the annoying student who never shuts up, is always talking back to his teacher and disrupting the lesson. ‘Questioning’ doesn’t have to be out loud, and you don’t need to question a person - asking Google and going off into the big wide questioning world on your own is just as effective! So next time you see the neighbour’s cat climbing up your drainpipe, don’t worry: it’s a good thing. That cat is happy. It’s flexing its questioning muscle, investigating the world around it and seeing what else the universe has to offer. It wasn’t curiosity that killed the cat: it was boredom. Questioning is just one way that we can further our knowledge. For other ways, check out our white paper on the power of social learning: Like this article? Pop your email address in the box below to get a weekly digest of related blog posts.  

Did you ever wish you were smarter? It would be great to be able to absorb information but where are you going to get the time? The day is only 24 hours long and you’re going to spend a good chunk of that time in bed anyway. For the rest of the time, you’ll probably be doing some vacant task like walking, driving or ironing. That’s no kind of life! Do you want to look back on all of those hours and cry tears of regret for all of the things you could have been learning? Of course you don’t - so why not make a change? For all of those moments when you’re not using your ears, fill them with knowledge! There are hundreds of educational podcasts out there and, to tell you the truth, the bulk of them are just excellent insomnia cures. It’s easy to gather together a list of educational podcasts but where are you going to find a catalogue of podcasts that are actually worth listening to? Luckily for you, kind reader, your friends at Growth Engineering have cobbled together the best of the bunch. Here are 7 of the most interesting, most entertaining and most educational podcasts to help turn you into the trivia-monger you always knew you could be. So when you take a break from your online learning courses to walk the dog, potter around the garden or chop onions, load up one of these bad boys and continue your learning journey: 1. The QI Podcast Did you know that your favourite font of quite interesting facts also has a podcast? No Such Thing As A Fish, to give it its full title, is a weekly podcast presented by the QI Elves, the cogs that run the QI research engine. Expect the same heady mixture of LOL and OMG! 2. Stuff You Should Know This podcast is presented by Chuck & Josh (Charles W. Bryant & Josh Clark), two senior editors of howstuffworks.com, a giant in the world of educational websites and a great place to go if you want to find out how stuff works! 3. Cracked Podcast Cracked.com is a reluctant teacher masquerading as America’s Only Humor Site. In the podcast, the top contributors come together to discuss issues of history, science or pop culture with their usual irreverent sprinkling of juvenile humour and liberal cursing. 4. Little Atoms Featuring guests as diverse as Noam Chomsky, Christopher Hitchens and Tim Minchin, Little Atoms is the go-to radio show for rationalists, atheists and sceptics. Check Little Atoms out for frequent discussions on the social impact of science, the ethics of medicine and the power of reason. 5. The Memory Palace If you don’t have a whole hour to spare, why not squeeze in an enlightening historical anecdote? These monthly little snapshots of history won’t keep you more than ten minutes but the chances are you’ll be thinking about them for the rest of the day. 6. The Futility Closet Here’s a great place to learn about some of the more quirky tales from the more obscure corners of history. 7. Intelligence Squared For those with a taste for debate, Intelligence Squared is the podcast for you. Each episode tackles a topical burning question and the argument is fought out by such skilled orators as Stephen Fry, Richard Dawkins and Germaine Greer. Click here for Part 2 Because these podcasts are entertaining as well as educational, you can share them on social media without feeling like too much of a nerd. Millions of people are reaping the benefits of social learning every day without even realising it. To find out more about the power of social learning, click that big, beautiful button! Like this article? Pop your email address in the box below to get an update when we post the second part!  

Research from OnTrack International People Development, detailed in a white paper, has found that 87% of companies use learner reaction questionnaires to gauge the results of training programmes. This ‘reaction’ evaluation - the first rung of the Kirkpatrick training evaluation process - can highlight whether learners enjoyed the training, but doesn’t tell you how successful it’s been. To truly evaluate the success of a training programme, the other stages of Kirkpatrick’s evaluation need to be reviewed. In other words, organisations also need to evaluate in terms of learning (e.g. by comparing pre- and post-learning test results), behaviour (has the training resulted in behavioural changes?), and results (essentially, how many more sales are employees making, how much more are they producing, to what extent have health and safety concerns diminished, how much faster is the business growing, etc). The OnTrack survey also showed that only 43% of respondents are measuring the business impact of their L&D projects - indicating that 57% aren’t able to specify whether their training programme has truly been a success. It’s pretty shocking to think that 57% of organisations are essentially in the dark about whether training is aligned to - and is achieving - business objectives. And only half of respondents are discussing with senior management the evaluation data they gather, indicating that senior management are not being kept sufficiently in the loop. After all, if senior management don’t know how successful the L&D projects are, how will L&D secure their buy-in further down the line? Indeed, one of the reasons it’s so important that senior management and decision-makers understand the success of training is that they will ultimately be signing off on L&D budgets. If they’re in the dark about the success - or otherwise - of their organisation’s training programmes, they might be reticent to sign off on a recurring budget, or erroneously increase a budget when the return on investment is not good. OnTrack’s research showed that just 35% of L&D departments are able to use evaluation to secure, create or increase L&D budgets. Thinking about those 43% of organisations, previously mentioned, which do measure the business impact of their L&D projects, 80% of senior managers in these organisations are confident that L&D is adding value to the business; 87% believe L&D efficiency has significantly improved; and 100% believe the data has driven additional commercial value. It just goes to show how vital it is that L&D departments thoroughly evaluate the impact of any training programmes on the business. Find out more about how to evaluate L&D projects by downloading our free white paper all about improving return on investment of training programmes:  The post The Importance of Evaluating Your L&D Projects appeared first on Growth Engineering.