TIS has been confirmed as a Top 20 IT Training Company and Top 20 Training Outsourcing Company for the 3rd year in a row and as a Top 20 Custom Content Development Company for the second time. This recognition is by TrainingIndustry.com, based on their annual global survey that aims to help organisations find the right training partner.  The Top 20 recognition speaks volumes about TIS’s capabilities of partnering as a strategic learning partner to enable key organizational initiatives of its clients. TIS’s expertise in creating learning solutions and commitment to deliver on goals such as higher user-adoption and shorter time-to-competence has ensured continual international recognition of its capabilities. The following criteria have impacted this recognition:

With the workforce going increasingly mobile, providing employees intermittent training is just not enough. Employees need performance support to improve their productivity and achieve business objectives. Retention of classroom information is low and often, information is needed while the employee is on-the-job. This is especially typical for employees in sales or on the shopfloor. Popularization of mobile technology has been an emerging trend. L&D must harness the potential of mobile devices to provide just-in-time performance support depending on which phase of learning the employee is in. This whitepaper focuses on how L&D must approach mobile-learning  and performance support to achieve business goals. Access whitepaper here.

Tata Interactive Systems (TIS) has announced the LEARNowTM Learning Design Challenge (LDC), 2013.The contest, thrown open to learning designers across Europe, begins today and ends on 15th February, 2013. Using TIS’s mobile authoring tool, LEARNow™, participants have to create a 5 minute learning nugget on the topic ‘How can I get my CEO (even) more interested in training?’ Based on TIS’s proprietary FRUN (Fluid Resolution Universal Navigation) technology, the LEARNow™ platform offers authoring and publishing tools to seamlessly deliver content across multiple operating systems and devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops. To win the competition, the content submitted by contestants must look equally splendid on a PC, tablet or a smartphone! Entries for the LEARNowTM Learning Design Challenge will be judged by Donald Taylor - Chair, Learning and Skills Group and Learning Technologies Conference. Don will evaluate the entries on below parameters: Does the content meet the learning objective? Is it suitable for deployment on mobile devices as well as PCs? How innovative is the approach? The winner will be announced on the 4th of March on the LEARNowTM website and gets an iPad 4! A free LEARNowTM Mobile Authoring license is being provided for this competition. To register and download the licence, click here.

In the last post, training simulations were defined as ‘a learning intervention designed to imitate reality for the purpose of learning and applying skills’. Business enterprises and academic institutions require simulations that can fit their learning requirements. To adapt to this need, simulations are designed using two important considerations: complexity and learning content. The complexities in simulations range from simple relationships between a few variables to intricate relationships between multiple variables. Similarly, the learning content will also range from addressing transaction level decisions to strategy level decisions. If we were to plot them in a grid, we get the four broad genres of simulations. At TIS, we have: And anything else, in any combination can be achieved using a custom made simulation. A slightly detailed overview can be obtained at our website, and for specific information, please connect with us in the comments section below. At TIS, the Simulations Center of Excellence (CoE) has engaged with clients across the industry spectrum to create award-winning simulations across the skill continuum from schools to industry bodies. Here is a quick introduction of the TIS Simulations CoE core members who will collaborate on this blog for you:   Arvind ‘The Hunter’ Waghmare is a senior modeler and alternate reality simulation designer. He stalks industry-based math models for fun!       Ashwin ‘RAKA’ Rathod is a modeler, researcher, engineer, and musician; developing tools that make our life easier.       George ‘The Guru’ Panakal - a banker turned trainer who facilitates TOPSIM and other seminars for an audience that ranges from graduate students to CXOs.       Nikhil ‘Mighty’ Mishra leads and mentors the modeling team. He fearlessly defends mortals who undertake the math model or statistics quests.       Nitya ‘The Sniper’ Mathew is an Instructional Designer and writer who can shoot down writing errors from a mile! (She will never approve these posts.)       Prajakta ‘Physis’ Samant is an Instructional Designer by occupation. If she isn’t writing, you may safely bet that she is on a hiking trip listening to her favorite ‘golden oldies’.       Shreerang ‘Cerebro’ Sarpotdar is an Instructional Designer with a genius IQ who preserves his sanity with games, books, and music.       Srijit ‘The Hitman’ Prabhakaran is an Instructional Designer, scale-model collector, and martial arts enthusiast. He found his true calling in managing ‘extreme’ projects towards superlative results.     Subroto ‘Neo’ Mukherjee is our tech expert who chose the Red Pill. We are still trying to get in touch with his ‘real world’ persona rumored to be based on Jim Morrison.     Ujwal ‘Si-fu’ Raut is a visualizer, graphic art prodigy, and Kung Fu practitioner. Ujwal specializes in multiple projects with insane deadlines!  

Because they provide freedom to fail! Because practice makes perfect. Because doing is learning.42. No wait, scratch that last one. At TIS, we make these our credo in building learning experiences that challenge and absorb.  What learning experiences do we offer,simulation-wise?  SimBLs: Simulation-based learning objects is a mouthful, so SimBLs is what we call these packages of concept and procedure exploration. Whether it’s learning how to calculate financial ratios or learning about old trade routes, SimBLs have it. Learners play through several rounds of real life scenarios making complex decisions, and need to adapt their decisions to the results of previous rounds, as well as rude interventions and fresh challenges thrown at you in each round.   Conversation Simulations: Job interviews, customer support, sales calls, diplomatic negotiations - bringing people up to speed on conversation is one of the biggest learning challenges. Our conversation simulations place learners in real-life conversation scenarios and test their ability on their people skills and technical skills. After all, satisfying your customer isn’t always about giving them what they want - it’s balancing your needs, your organization’s needs, and the customer’s needs.     PlaySim: Want to test-drive a job? Hop in with PlaySim, which is all about modeling Mondays with their relentless slew of e-mails, meeting requests, and phone calls, all of which must be done NOW and I can’t do this anymore…except, with Playsim, you get to jump into the chaos and get it done, and then sit back and review how you could have done better. You learn how to prioritize on the go and that sort of learning by experience stays with you longer.      TOPSIMs: TOPSIM is our workshop-based simulations product that models complex socio-economic/behavioral systems ranging in size from a startup company to a large corporation or even the macroeconomics of a country. Fly TOPSIM Air to put your executives in charge of large virtual organizations and have them make high-stakes decisions. At our live workshops, teams will squabble and sparks will fly as they’ll scramble to maximize their output, all while being guided by our experienced facilitators. We also offer online versions for truly global play.    Hi-fi Sims: High-fidelity sims are our custom offerings for large-scale, complex process training  requirements, where learners need to be trained to assimilate a large number of complex inputs in limited time frames and make process-appropriate decisions. The sims don’t stop there; the robust models driving them are often put to use optimizing the processes, creating a virtuous cycle of participant-driven process improvement and process learning.    

How do you train a trader to take cognizance of fluctuations in markets, changes in currencies and discern geo-political context before deciding to buy or sell? Training your learners for such real-world tasks poses several challenges - context, relevance and engagement. A dynamic learning solution to the above quandary is a simulation. Simulations focus on contextual decision making, encourage learning in a low-risk environment, and offer the autonomy to explore various options. But what do you do when the environment you seek to simulate is highly complex? What if it involves interplay of numerous related factors ranging from business to leadership to geo-political influences? The solution lies in a model that replicates aspects of the intended environment. This article by Nikhil Mishra, Senior Consultant, Math Modelling at TIS explains the concept of a ‘model’, how modelling works, model unboxing, and development of a model.  It further talks about deployment and mode of delivery of the final model-based simulation. Access the article here.

The Tata group has always supported the cause of sustainable nation building. Tata Interactive Systems contributes to this vision by lending its expertise of learning design and development to the cause of children, the future of India, who are affected with Learning Disabilities (LD). In line with the Tata Group’s corporate sustainability endeavors, TIS initiated the TLDF in 2006 to ensure that students with special education needs receive the required attention as well as to spread awareness about LD which had been receiving scant attention in India. Since then, via the TLDF platform, TIS has been successful in generating an increased level of awareness and enabling progress in remediation activities for students with LD.  This year the TLDF partners with KEM hospital, Mumbai and Citi Academy for Special Education (CASE), sponsored by the Society for Rehabilitation of Crippled Children (SRCC) to establish the ‘Forum for Learning Disabilities’. The forum will be conducted on the 1st and 2nd of March 2013 at Citi Academy, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai. The Forum shall spread awareness on LDs like Special Learning Disabilities (SpHD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in addition to Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Dysgraphia. Heads of educational institutions and medical practitioners across various districts of Maharashtra will be participating at the event. Some key speakers include Dr. Sunil Karande, Professor of Paediatrics & In-charge learning Disability Clinic, Seth G.S. Medical College & KEM Hospital, Mumbai who will be speaking on ‘Poor School Performance’, Dr. Kersi Chavda, Ex-President, Bombay Psychiatric Society who will be speaking on ‘Assesssment and Management of ADHD’, and Ms. Kate Currawala, President, Maharashtra Dyslexic Association, who will be speaking on ‘Building a Future of Empowered Citizens: Accomodations for Students with LD.’ Every year, since 2006, TIS has also participated in the annual Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon to spread awareness about LD.                

Children with learning disabilities are no different from other children. Just because they need special help in the way they learn does not mean that they cannot function normally in other areas. Many famous personalities have had learning disabilities. Albert Einstein was a dyslexic and so was Thomas Alva Edison. Neither of them received formal education. Tom cruise has dyslexia, yet it has not stopped him from becoming a Hollywood superstar not did dyslexia stop Agatha Christie from becoming one of the greatest mystery authors in history. Children with learning disabilities deserve patience, understanding and help in realizing their potential. Tata Interactive Systems (TIS) actively supports the remediation of Learning Disability (LD) to further its commitment to social causes - a tradition embodied by the Tata Group. Beyond the creation of courses and tools, TIS aims to address LD issues at the grassroots. TIS has been instrumental in sustaining the LD Clinic at KEM, Mumbai, one of the few certified institutions of its kind in India, dedicated to treating learning disabilities. Our LD team also collaborates with the Clinic to develop various LD tools to identify learners with special needs early on - our assessments are designed to spot the telltale signs that charactise learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, Specific Learning Disability (SpLD), Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Our Innovative, remedial courseware is tailored around the needs of these pupils, and aims to help them discover the joys of learning, unhindered. With the synergy of our instructional design, visual communication skills and medical expertise from KEM LD clinic we created Brain Teasers a collection of interesting activities intended to engage children learning disabilities. They provide practice in reading, writing and mathematics. For children between 7-10 years the book is resourceful for parents in understanding the causes, symptoms and treatment. Every year TIS conducts Tata Learning Disability Forum (TLDF) a two day workshop for school principals, teachers, medical therapist and parents on LD awareness and remediation. Some excerpts from Brain Teaser in the News: http://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/2013/mar/120313-einstein-and-edison-fought-it-so-can-your-child.htm

IntroductionA learning based system (eLearning module) is viewed and interacted by a myriad number of users spread geographically among different cultures. One important aspect that is often ignored is the fact that the module content is also viewed by people with various abilities, which include visual inability (blindness, colorblindness and other sight related issues), hearing difficulties (deafness) and other physically challenged people. It becomes really difficult for the institutions to facilitate such interactive learning sessions for their pupils. The answer for such a dilemma is to make learning based system that are accessible in nature and cater to the needs of the differently abled individuals. What is accessibility? Accessibility defines certain guidelines that enable a course to be accessed by a wider majority of audience (including differently abled individuals), so that the facilitator does not have to maintain a separate version of an existing application for people with different needs. The accessibility features adheres to Section 508 of the federal sector. What is section 508 ? Section 508 is an amendment to United States Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It mandates that all electronic and information technology applications should be accessible to people with disabilities and people without disabilities (http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/Section-508). JAWS Screen Reader People with disabilities who are unable to read the content of the screen often use screen reader that reads out the content of the screen whenever an element in the screen gains focus. The focus is generally gained by pressing the tab key or its equivalent by people with disabilities. JAWS is one of the most widely used screen reader available for such users. How to make courses accessible?While there are a number of guidelines available for making a course accessible, however there are certain most widely used tips and tricks that are followed as listed below: 1. Font Size: Use relative font size expressed in percentage and ems instead of absolute font sizes expressed in points and pixels. 2. Provide "alt" tags for Images<img/> : The HTML Image element (definedby <img/> tag), contains an "alt" attribute that brings up a "Tooltip" that can be read by a screen reader. Therefore it is imperative to provide long description for the image element (not more than 56 characters), so that it can be read by the screen reader. 3. Provide long description for links <a/>: People with disabilities mostly use tab to navigate between links. Therefore we should provide long and meaningful description for the links so that it can be read by the screen reader. 4. Explicitly State Information: Do not use indentation or color alone, to convey its meaning. Example: Indicating required fields in a form by making them bold is bad. Indicating required fields by using a phrase such as "required" is good. 5. Explain the default value of select (combobox): The default item in the select menu should clearly define the purpose of the box. For example, using "Select Age Range" is preferable to "18-25." 6. Provide Skip Links: Skip links allow the speech software or braille user to bypass information that is repeated on every page, such as navigation bars. Speech and braille users generally read the page from top to bottom, and consequently are subjected to repeated information before reaching the heart of the page. Skip links allow these users to jump past the repetitive navigation links to get to the main content on the page. To implement skip links, place a link before the repeated information as follows: <ahref="#content"><img src="empty.gif"height="15" border="0" alt="Skip Main Navigation" width="5"></a> and place an anchor at the beginning of unique copy: <aname="content"></a>  The image can be transparent, so that the visual display is not affected, but speech and braille users can hear the alt tag reading "skip main navigation".

There is a certain class of employees every organization values above others—employees who are self-motivated, employees willing to take risks and try out new ideas, employees who are reliable and drive business results. But what drives highly-engaged employees? Is it an innate or an instilled sense of confidence in their skills and abilities? From years in the training industry, we believe one tool that grants employees the confidence and willingness to participate proactively is experience; experience on the job that helps employees evolve their own understanding and perception of the workings of their business. But learning on the job has a slow learning curve and is a process that involves hits and misses; misses that may cost the organization time and money. What would be ideal is an environment that replicates the actual work environment; one that gives a learner the chance to practice the sort of problem-solving and decision-making they perform in real life.  Immersive learning or simulations effectively create this environment for the learner. They make the learner solve problems and deal with issues critical to the organization or the learner’s personal growth. Simulations offer the learner the freedom to role-play in a virtual work environment and take decisions which are safe. Being decisions taken in the ‘virtual world’ they do not actually do any damage to the organization or the individual himself. So how does this virtual environment work? Need to pick the right fashion trend for your designing house? Assess the various options, study the sales forecast and select a trend. Watch the outcome of this decision—perhaps, you’ve picked the year’s most popular trend or you end up drowning in inventory. No matter, go back and try again. Need to fine-tune your logistics operations? Visit each step in the workflow and tweak the input to view its impact on the output. Re-evaluate your strategy and design a new one, if needed. As the learner replays and tries out various solutions, they are constantly honing their own mental model of how the process works, second-guessing the system, letting their experiences evolve. In short, the very same thing they would do in a real job. Except that simulations work on a condensed timeline and offer a risk-free environment. Armed with this newly-formed mental model, employees will have the courage to go into their jobs and implement what they have learned over the course of repeated attempts in the simulation.