By Preeti Jasnani Abstract: The year 2012 saw a "massive" boom in the higher education world, making MOOCs—Massive Open Online Courses—the new buzzword. From talks by educators in ed-tech conferences and forums to media reporting and micro blogging by thought leaders, just about everyone connected to the world of higher education has been talking about MOOCs since then. And rightly so. Hyped or not, MOOCs are bringing about a revolution in education, a thought affirmed by forerunners like Andrew Ng, Director, Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab and Co-Founder of Coursera, who says … "When one professor can teach 50,000 people, it alters the economics of education."                                                                        Indeed. So, if MOOCs are going to disrupt traditional education, then shouldn’t there be some deeper thinking around their design and development? Although the content is drawn up by subject matter experts (faculty), just how much thought is given to pedagogical and instructional design issues? Are MOOCs even reviewed for quality before they go public? Not all MOOCs—especially the ones that are informal—probably need to go through a thorough and formal cycle of review for conformance to quality. However, if a university is considering offering MOOCs as part of their formal curriculum, would it then not be worthwhile to develop a pedagogy that is unique to the institute and that delivers a quality product to their learners, even if it does so free of cost? This white paper draws attention to some of the design and quality aspects of MOOCs and goes on to propose an instructional design philosophy that integrates sophisticated e-learning technologies (interactive content, games, simulations, story-based approach et al) to enhance the design of MOOCs and take them a notch higher in terms of learner engagement. Given the buzz around them, this white paper assumes that the readers from higher education are familiar with the basic definition of a MOOC. The white paper, therefore, starts off with only a brief introduction to the different types of MOOCs, more so to differentiate the more popular xMOOCs from the original cMOOCs. Thereafter, the paper remains focused on design and quality aspects of MOOCs. In the end, a critical question—whether every university should offer its own MOOC—is raised. A question that can be answered best by the specific institute; the paper, however, presents some thoughts from articles and posts on this specific question, and then goes on to explore possible business models and partnerships a university can get into for developing a unique MOOC that could, in fact, become a signature course for the university. Watch the Preview Video Read the full white paper      

By Preeti Jasnani John Ebersole, President, Excelsior College, Albany, New York President of Excelsior College, John Ebersole’s view on MOOCs—reasons for low completion rates, their design, and Excelsior College’s plan for offering MOOCs Q: What according to you are the reasons for the low completion rates of MOOCs?John: In my opinion there are multiple reasons for the low completion rates (under 10%) of MOOCs.   - The participant is not truly interested in the topic but wants to see what all   the hoopla is about. - With no psychological or financial investment, it is easy for the participant to become engaged in other activities/interests.- Work is too hard for the participant's level of preparation. - Participant is fatigued by the lack of instructional diversity and the absence of any meaningful engagement with either the instructor or the material.   Instructional design that provides for opportunity to engage with materials (not just the other learners) would allow for both deeperunderstanding and self-assessment of progress. Experience has shown that early student ‘wins’ are important to persistence.  Difficulty at the start creates frustration and self doubt. There needs to be feedback from the ‘course,’ if not the instructor. Q: The higher ed today is talking about the shift to competency-based curriculum. How relevant is this topic to the design of MOOCs? John: While the spotlight is on all things competency related these days, I wouldn't feel compelled to use them in MOOCs. Instruction is not usually a part of the competency determination process. Most often, it involves the assessment of knowledge and skill gained through other means. I DO think that focusing the MOOC's design on achieving desired outcomes is appropriate. Toward this end, it should provide for self assessments along the way. The lack of valid forms of learning outcome assessment is a major weakness of those MOOCs evaluated to date. Q: What are your thoughts about integrating e-learning technologies such as games, simulations, and 3D animations to make these courses more engaging?John: Regardless of subject matter, it is important to offer the learner multiple forms of instructional support.  We know fromlearning theory that we do not all learn best in the same way.  While some may get by with lectures alone,others do better with the help of visual stimulation. Additionally, we know that case studies and stories help create context and guidance as to application of concepts. The HEAR, SEE, DO mantra comes to mind here.  By combining what we know from both learning and communications theory, we see a need for the "e-learning technologies." The result will almost certainly lead to greater studentattention and retention. Q: What are your plans for Excelsior College in this area? Will Excelsior also offer MOOCs in the near future?John: Excelsior will offer at least two MOOCs.  One will be an introduction to Cybersecurity and the other will deal with "serious games" and their potential for problem solving and learning.  In both cases the purpose is to create awareness of the fact that the College has programs and expertise in these niches.  Our expectation is to generate enrollments in our regular courses and degree programs rather than to see income from the MOOCs themselves. This Q/A with John has been extracted from our white paper on "Designing MOOCs: A White Paper on Instructional Design for MOOCs" by Preeti Jasnani. To watch a preview video of the white paper, click here. To access the full white paper, click here.    

From scratch and win coupons to air mile rewards, the marketplace recognizes our natural response to challenge and rewards. So, why not employ the same concept in eLearning? The Play-Practice-Perfect or P3 model developed by Tata Interactive Systems is the foundation for a game-based learning approach that delivers: •Higher engagement through play•Higher efficiency through perfection•Higher skills and higher retention through practice The game-based approach makes learning fun, improves skills and knowledge, and elicits desired behavior. In short, serious games directly address business outcomes. Here are some simple instructional tips to integrate game design mechanics into your e-learning which can boost retention and compliance while making learning fun! 1. Align game types with learning outcomes. There are different types of games: skill-based, knowledge-based & behavior based. Analyze and pick the one which is more suitable to use depending on each situation and the learning outcomes. For instance, Tata Interactive Systems created a skilled-based serious game on the technical scrutiny of checks for a leading Indian bank. Check verification involves spotting 21 possible errors in 10 areas of a check. The game resulted in productivity improvement of 25%. 2.Use of self-explanatory questions and the use of meaningful feedback. Avoid the typical "yes, that’s correct" or "no, try again". Instead provide an explanation as to why he/she was bang on the answer or vice-versa. Very simply, do not miss any interactivity. 3. Guide the gamer to achieve goals. Explain the goal of each scenario and what the reward is in return. You can use different strategies to explain this: text on the screen, a character that talks to the gamer, etc. 4. Take care of the storyboard ensuring that it is coherent and similar to real life, especially if the scenario tries to simulate a working environment. This is important to ensure that the learner is able to transfer the knowledge in real life. 5. It must be challenging - neither too easy nor extremely difficult. The idea is to increase the difficulty level while playing. Post the first stage, once the gamer gets used to the game, he/she wants challenges to continue playing else he/she will be disengaged, bored and most of all will not meet the learning outcomes. Learn more about game-based learning here

Since MOOCs has been the hottest topic this month, we asked Shantanu Bhattacharrya, VP & Chief Learning Designer, Tata Interactive Systems on his views around MOOCs. Here's what he had to say. "MOOCs represent a fundamental shift in more ways than one." says Shantanu. He continues "The mode of education and the flexibility of class sizes are the obvious ones. But one of the most interesting shifts that MOOCs enable is in power that was hitherto wielded by the admissions divisions of Universities worldwide. With the democratization of education, the admissions departments will no longer have the kind of sway that they have been having for hundreds of years! " "Personally I think MOOCs should not be considered a rival to or a replacement for University courses. Comparisons and contrasts with University education are reductive and unproductive. MOOCs are best considered as an independent, newer mode of education - by people motivated enough to spread education beyond the traditional classroom set, for people motivated enough to learn beyond traditional modes." says Shantanu. We also asked Dr.Shwetaleena Bidyadhar, Principal Learning Designer, Tata Interactive Systems on her firsthand experience on MOOCs. Here's what she had to say. "When I first heard of this concept few years back I was quite enamored by it! The movement gathered steam and The New York Times dubbed 2012 as the ‘Year of the MOOC’. I went into a ‘me too’ mode and enrolled into quite a few of the well-known courses. My satisfaction (and completion) levels for such courses have varied widely. After more than a year of experiencing some of this first hand all I can say is that the honeymoon is far from over." says Shwetaleena. She continues "our vision should be to design a next gen MOOC that incorporates findings derived from the analysis of current learner behavior data. This MOOC 2.0 could lead to higher rates of learner engagement and course completion." To know more on MOOCs, read "Designing MOOCs: A White Paper on Instructional Design for MOOCs" by Preeti Jasnani. To watch a preview video of the white paper, click here. To access the full white paper, click here.        

By Anil Mammen Anil Mammen, VP & Chief Curriculum Designer, Tata Interactive Systems MOOCs present a significant side in the battle over the future of education. And this is one battle that is not going to end too soon. The advantages of MOOCs are fairly obvious: • The absence of painful enrolment procedures and prerequisites attracts a wider, disparate audience • Learning moves to the centre stage and certification to the backseat • The capacity for a massive number of students to be enrolled at the   same time• Global reach • Access to quality courses from top universities across the world Also, this is not just passive digital content put up there. There are some distinct pedagogical benefits: you have lectures, visual aids, discussions, quizzes, creation of digital artefacts by students, and peer graded assessments—all the ingredients needed for learning, retention and some amount of critical thinking for the motivated student. Unlike other forms of e-learning, what MOOCs have done is to bring the faculty back at the centre. The content is not impersonal; it carries the voice of passion and the nuances of the subject through an experienced faculty. That said, MOOCs are yet to fully exploit the possibilities of the medium and ensure that the motivation levels of learners don’t start sagging after the first two or three weeks. Forums are chaotic and it is very difficult to filter through some useful content. Also, there is very limited interaction with the faculty—which is one of the biggest advantages of a student on campus. However, with improved technology platforms, some more thought on learning design, and enhanced use of multimedia formats, MOOCs are only going to get better. To know more on MOOCs, join our complimentary webinar 'Why MOOCs matter?' on 19th July.  Register here: http://bit.ly/129kDr0

Cyber space adds a new dimension to modern life. It’s a way of interacting for business, politics, education and pleasure. And it contributes to the economy in a large scale. While internet presents enormous commercial opportunities, it also presents certain risks. In 2007, the year when Twitter was founded, United States Company Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) received almost 12,000 cyber-crime reports. The number had more than doubled by 2009, according to new statistics from the Government Accountability Office, and it had quadrupled by 2012. In today’s corporate world, safeguarding business information and company reputation is an important part of business strategy. It has now become a daunting task further to the upsurge in the number of cyber-attacks. Cyber security skills are essential to any organization committed to addressing the rising cyber threat. At the recently held Tata Interactive Learning Forum (TLF) USA 2013 in partnership with Cohen Group in Washington.D.C. the issues pertaining to ‘Closing the Cyber Security Skills Gap’ were addressed. The interactive session focused on the importance of improving cybersecurity skills training across federal, education and private sector workforce. So is this highly publicized Cyber Security skills gap a real problem today? Yes it is! The World which was used to lock down terminals and thin clients have now become used to social media and other online platforms. From the perspective of a corporate citizen in an organization, the skills gap is described by the difference between the desired state and the current state. Potentially, more often it is the Corporate Citizen, who is not aware of how this skills gap has widened without being aware of what the implications are. At the time when the IT Sector is on the upsurge, the gap is getting bigger and is increasingly becoming a matter of great worry. The concern lies in the way in which cyber security skills training has been conducted in the past. Now, apart from ensuring that the processes are documented, providing guidance to resolve issues and providing metrics that exhibit things are safe, the one thing that compliance doesn’t do is making you secure. This is because many organizations comply due to a mandate. Organizations can be totally compliant with a number of standards and still be insecure. On the other hand the regulators, who provide an outdated solution for a 21st century problem will simply not be of any help. This will not improve security levels but may lower it by providing outdated regulations. Hence compliances or regulators are also not the best way to bridge or address this gap. To place points about the lack of critical thinking as a skill is quite important when you are trying to bridge the skills gap. What happens if the issue is not raised is more important to address than just making them aware of the consequences. So it is really the learning gap that causing a problem in the industry. If there are ways and means to address this learning gap effectively for instance by building interesting ways of learning interventions, one can avoid bigger problems. Finding people with the right skill-set to secure cyber space is no mean feat. The challenge also lies in providing the right training and education. Creating awareness of the Cyber security skills gap and addressing it at the top of an organization, seems like an ideal place to start. Watch out for the second part of the blog which would emphasize on addressing the cyber security skills gap.

The previous post highlighted the implications about the lack of critical thinking in organizations today on the Cybersecurity front. The current post emphasizes on addressing this skills gap. The threat of cyber-attacks looms large over computer networks. A successful cyber-attack on the key services of a nation could have a shattering effect and create mayhem in its economy. It is these consequences which makes Cyber-attacks a threat as serious as terrorism or other security challenges of the same magnitude. A report, jointly published in July 2013 by McAfee and the Center for Strategic and International Studies put the cost of cyber-crime and cyber espionage in the U.S. at $100 billion a year. After gauging the magnitude, President Obama has called cyber security as "one of the most serious economic and national security threats" the U.S. faces. In order to prevent such a calamitous attack organizations must address the cyber security skills gap issue that hinders its capacity to defend such evolving threats urgently. According to the Boardroom Cyber Watch 2013 report published by IT Governance, most senior executives name their employees as being the number one threat to corporate data. Now in the age of Digital media, every employee has the capacity to be the face of his or her employer. Creating awareness, and addressing skill gaps will help in developing and deploying an effective cyber security risk management strategy that incorporates people, processes and technology. Therefore, senior managers responsible for developing this strategy and defining how it can be achieved may consider developing their knowledge and skills by having a Cyber Security training course in place. Once a clear strategy is in place, it will be easier to address the remaining skill gaps. Keys to Effective Cyber Security: Organizations must undertake appropriate measures and strictly adhere to them to prevent cyber-crime. The following pointers are keys to cyber security.   Invest Wisely: Expensive technology is not necessarily the best technology to safeguard business information. Adjust or Succumb: Every threat that an organization deters today will lead to a new threat in the future. Self Defense: Organizations must assess their positions thoroughly and have proper safety measures in place to protect vital information. No fixed limits: The organizations data is always under the scanner and there are no fixed limits as to when and where the data could be vulnerable. Cyber Security: A Career Option A US high-tech developer of job market technologies, Burning Glass, recently reported a huge and rising demand for cyber security professionals. With the dependence upon the internet, this revelation doesn’t come as a shock. With the availability and flexibility of technology, there arises an opportunity for diversified cyber threats. Burning Glass also processed data from more than 22,000 online job sites and reported that the demand for cyber security jobs rose 73% from 2008 to 2012. They also believe that this trend is set to continue. The National Institute of Standards & Technology estimated that the US will need a staggering 700,000 new cyber security professionals by 2015. Time to Act Cyber security is critical for all. It affects individuals, organizations and governments. It is time for organizations to act and close the Cyber security skills gap. It will help assure customers, regulators and other stakeholders and will place the organization ahead of their competitors on this front. According to the HBGary report, investing in cyber security can be meaningful long-term investment as: "More than 70% of investors are interested in reviewing public company cyber security practices and almost 80% would likely not consider investing in a company with a history of attacks."  

Tata Interactive Learning Forum (TLF) India 2013, by Tata Interactive Systems, the global leader in providing learning solutions and products was held in Mumbai on October 10, 2013. The TLF is a global symposium where leaders and decision makers from the learning and development space come together to share their ideas, innovations, and insights. This unique platform provides learning leaders the opportunity to share their experiences in corporate learning, network with like-minded peers and examine case studies of key learning initiatives in other organizations. The theme of TLF India 2013 was "Meeting Strategic Organizational Goals through learning". An Invitation-only forum, Tata Interactive Learning Forum was exclusively for SVPs/VPs/CXOs/Heads of HR and training functions. The third India edition was graced by the presence of eminent speakers and industry experts like Raj Narayan - Chief Human Resources Officer, Titan Industries Ltd. Shireesh Joshi - Head Strategic Marketing Group, Godrej Industries Ltd. Bijay Sahoo - President:  HR, Reliance Industries Ltd. (Retail & Digital Services Business) KRS Jamwal - Executive Director, Tata Industries Jagmohan Rishi - Head: Training & Talent Development, Wockhardt Anjali Chatterjee - Vice President: HR, Tata Communications Ltd. Rajagopalan Purushothaman - Vice President & Director, Reliance Retail Ltd. Priya Thiagarajan -  Content Head, Vodafone Kavi Arasu - Chief Manager: Corporate Learning and Development, Asian Paints Ltd. Paras Kaushik -  Head: HR, Pantaloons Retail Sangeetha Gandhi -  Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development Diptii Das - Head: HR (South Asia), Aramex India Pvt Ltd. Sandeep Dhir -  Chief: Capability Development, Tata Steel Rituraj Sar - Vice President and Head: Learning & Development, Lupin Ltd. Rustom Vesavevala - Vice President: Learning & Development, Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. Kishore Iruvanti Naga -  Director: Learning Solutions Competency Center, Alcatel-Lucent Judajith Das - Chief: Human Resources, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd. Some key sessions at the forum included Enabling Key Organisational Initiatives through Learning, Meeting Strategic Organisation Goals through Learning, L&D Initiatives Impacting Business Outcomes, Building a Smarter L&D Team - role of a learning partner ,Training ROI - putting theories into action and Expanding the Boundaries of Human Potential to name a few. The event also had two panel discussions revolving around topics like Collaborative Learning & the Impact of Social Media - is it going to replace formal learning? and Leveraging Technology - how do organizations use technology to create a learning ecosystem. The forum saw participation from organization/institutes like Reliance Industries, Godrej Group, Bennett Coleman and Company, TCS, Religare, Vodafone , Titan, Aditya Birla Minacs, Tata Communications, Wipro Technologies, Tata Chemicals Ltd, Nomura, DHL, Asian Paints, Ashok Leyland, DBS Bank, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Prudential and Tata Motors to name a few. Like every year, TLF India 2013 successfully maintained its purpose to bring leaders and decision makers in the L&D space to interact, innovate and inspire. As a market and thought leader in the training industry, the forum strives to push the boundaries of innovation in Learning & Development and is constantly evolving.

Using simulations as a medium of learning and planning has been gaining widespread acceptance in several organizations. Companies investing in simulations have access to a variety of choices in terms of technology. High-end technologies) are not the only choices in contrast, spreadsheet software provides a better medium for customizable simulations. Based on Tata Interactive Systems’ (TIS) experience of developing simulations, we posit that most customizable standalone simulations developed in spreadsheet software offer the advantages of lower costs, reduced development timeline, flexibility in experimentation, and elegant Graphical User Interface (GUI). Software such as MS Excel® is globally used for number crunching and analysis due to its ease of use, hassle-free installation, and management. Most customizable standalone simulations developed in spreadsheet software offer the advantages of: 1.Reduced development timeline MS Excel® eliminates the need to create complex scratch up structures as needed in other technologies. Model structures and frameworks can be easily and rapidly built on top of the default features making it a logical choice for many experts who choose to create simulation models. These advantages over other technologies provide MS Excel® an edge that results in reduced development timeline. 2.Lower Costs Given the reduction in timeline, benefits of symmetric and streamlined communication, and use of experimented or readily available models in MS Excel® format, the cost of developing a simulation reduces. This makes it economical to invest in simulations for a variety of purposes. It provides additional leverage to think of other avenues for learning rather than reducing project scope and/or diluting business requirements. 3.Experimentation Flexibility MS Excel® is widely used by SMEs and analysts as a tool to quickly translate ideas into models. In fact, due to its pervasive use some parts of a model may be already available to SMEs and can be plugged in directly into a simulation with minor changes. Its flexibility generates avenues to validate untested ideas that can be rapidly adapted into the final solution with comparatively reduced rework and changes. 4.Elegant Graphical User Interface (GUI) MS Excel® can easily provide aesthetically appealing look and feel such as layouts, drop-down selections, link based pages, graphs, or checkboxes etc. These are either natively available or can be created. 5.Team Synergies Simulation development requires Subject Matter Experts (SME) to transfer domain knowledge to math-modelers who then translate the language of the expert into the language of variables. This combination keeps the team lean and agile. With the added advantage of familiarity with MS Excel® and modelling methodologies, communication is streamlined and output maximized. In contrast, using other technologies complicates the knowledge transfer process by adding a team of technical specialists including programmers, graphic designers, and software architects. Reduced communication layers along with use of MS Excel® increases team synergy thereby allowing rapid implementation while avoiding the need to translate the requirement to another technology. It is with no doubt that spreadsheet simulations can address functional requirements for creating various types of simulation in order to meet their training and planning requirements. These simulations make no compromises either on look and feel or the mathematics of the model and are simultaneously cost effective. For detailed information on the same, please refer to the complete whitepaper:

The Diwali festivity at Tata Interactive Systems over three days - Oct 30, 31 & Nov 1, 2013 was celebrated with much enthusiasm and joy. The fun-filled activities over the three days included Bay Decoration Contest, Creating a hamper for Diwali celebrations, Best Traditional dress contest and Antakshri. Keeping with tradition, the workplace was decorated with traditional oil lamps, flowers and Rangoli - patterns made out of colored sand. An added attraction to the event was The Diwali Mela/Fair with a rural theme to it, included fun games, Astrology, getting a Mehendi art done by an artist and also a scintillating folk dance performance. The Mela activities were fun-filled and left everyone present asking for more. The essence of Diwali filled the air with fun, frolic and merriment with loads of memories to treasure.