Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege and the challenge of being the publisher of The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard, by Stephen Jimenez. Source: www.publishersweekly.com See on Scoop.it - Educational Books and Scholarly Articles

According to a recent Gartner Research, each hour of information technology training increases an employee’s performance by 5.75 hours. It also states that: It takes an untrained employee twice as long to do it by themselves through experimentation. Every hour of training reduces help desk support time by a quarter of an hour. Every hour of training reduces review and fixing errors by one hour. From "The ROI on Learning" by Gary Boomer, CEO of Boomer Consulting, statistics show a direct relationship between training and performance. Similarly, for an organization to consistently perform at high levels of business performance, it has to understand and manage performance drivers. Measurable indicators provide feedback about the business performance, but results are delivered by the key drivers. Executives and managers often focus too much attention on dashboard metrics and too little attention on the drivers that produce performance. The key performance drivers to be impacted to produce breakthrough results are the company’s culture, its business strategy, processes, its business structure and its people. To build an organization that attracts and retains talent, a learning culture has to be created. Firms need to change if they want to benefit from new opportunities and leverage technology to increase productivity. Some people may say, that firms have been doing this for the past 25 years, but the rate of change is now faster. Today’s workforce requires continuous training and learning, which can average 150 hours on an annual basis. The ability of a company to compete in the marketplace is determined by the effectiveness of its business system, and not just by what it sells. An excellent company will always produce excellent results, but excellent results will not necessarily create an excellent company. Here’s a way to do a quick check to see how well your company is doing on the culture front. Think about and answer the following questions: Are the benefits of learning being given constant emphasis by your company’s leadership? Do they lead by example by investing in their own personal development? Do the employees create their career development plans as a formal process? Are the employees awarded for process improvement suggestions like "innovative ideas" or best cost-cutting ideas ? Are there any internal discussions conducted to analyze the impact of training interventions (Cost - Benefit Analysis)? Are internal job postings encouraged? Is there a Learning Management System for employees to monitor their formal training programs and learn through eLearning courses? Are the learners polled to understand whether or not the training content was beneficial? Learning Culture needs to be the rule, not an exception, for any organization. It is important to empower employees by making them in charge of their own learning. A strong learning culture would help an organization survive and thrive in a rapidly changing environment. About the author: Anurag Dayal works with InfoPro Learning as a learning and development leader and brings more than 13 years of experience in developing learning solutions. Anurag’s extensive, hands-on background includes creating Business Critical Learning, Learning/Training Needs Analysis, Training Evaluation, Training Consulting, e-Learning and Content.The post Developing a Learning Culture- Key to Business Performance appeared first on .

Teaching Students To See Quality Source: www.teachthought.com See on Scoop.it - Leadership Style & Teaching Methodology

Digital graphics used in eLearning come in various image types and present different types of information. In the Series 1 of this article, we learnt how communication functionality is important to usage of graphics in eLearning. Digital graphics can be stand-alone, self-explanatory, and usable as a learning object, with different informational value. They can be integrated into a broader story to complete the scope and story. Digital images may be stand-alone visuals, or they may be a series of integrated multimedia and text. They may be real video captures, illustrations in e-books, animated digital avatars or simulations. Different image types offer different types and level of information. They help clarify complex information and relationships with the context in entirety. Graphic images chosen for an eLearning engagement need to be copyright free and relevant to the content. Incorporating graphics helps the learners to relate to the content and enhances the overall professionalism. Let’s look at different ways in which graphics can be used in an eLearning course. Key Concepts/ Ideas/ Conceptual When learners are familiar with the items in a photograph or illustration, used to represent ideas or concepts, it motivates and helps them learn by correlating the present information with past experiences. Story telling / Scenarios While using Articulate storyline for narratives /stories, still photos help add depth and ensure the audience gets the message. Using too many images clutters storyboards and the flow of information is lost among the images. Diagrams and Graphs Diagrams and graphs help learners understand abstract concepts using corresponding visuals. For example, bar graphs and line graphs help learners understand trends, compare data etc. Labelled Parts Labelled illustrations help learners understand specific parts /components of a product or equipment. Labelled illustrations can significantly optimize cognitive load on the learner by maintaining focus on key areas. Motion and Paths Graphic visuals are a potent way to show the movement of one or more entities. For example, an aircraft’s path with connecting lines over that particular geography. Geography and Statistical Data Maps are ideal for helping learners understand location and geography. Statistical maps representing variations in quantity of a particular factor, such as population, cell phone usage etc. help learners quickly perceive and understand map information because it is a commonly used visual format. Metaphor Instructional designers like to use metaphors to explain something unfamiliar by comparing it with a familiar object or idea. For example, an idea is often represented with the image of a light bulb. In the next series of this article, we will share about taxonomy of communication, visual grammar and more. Keep watching this space for more! About the author:  Shikha Bhasin works with InfoPro Learning as a communications expert and brings more than 7 years of experience in content development. Shikha has worked with GE, DLF, Genpact and other companies in various roles and helped these companies in content development, training need analysis and eLearning development. The post Using the Right Graphics to Spruce up Your eLearning Engagement: Series 2 appeared first on .

At Leicester we are currently trialing two lecture capture systems - Echo360 and Panopto. This has been driven from the students; the student union found that around 85 % of students said that they would welcome lecture capture. Today we had a debate on the topic. The panel consisted of two academics, a student and someone from IT services. Details of the event can be found here, it was recorded so I will post the link when it is available.  The debate took the form of a panel, each member provided a two minute summary to introduce their perspective and then the session was opened up to the floor. Alan Cann, from the School of Biological Sciences, opened the debate. Alan has been a long term technology enthusiast and he’s been creating short videos for his students for a number of years, but surprisingly he was against lecture capture. He argued that recordings were likely to distance students, and that they should not be used to replace lectures, but to augment them. He felt that short videos focusing on threshold concepts were more useful. Alan has blogged about this. Michael Rubin, from the students union, was in favour. He argued that they can help learning and are particularly useful for revision purposes. He argued that they were also useful for: international students, those with learning difficulties and distance learners. He felt that they were particularly beneficial when used as a flipped classroom, i.e. lectures being recorded in advance, freeing up face-to-face time for more meaningful interaction and discussion. Dylan Williams, from Chemistry, was also in favour; like Alan he has been recording short videos for his students for a number of years and these are then augmented with MCQs. Again he reiterated the benefit of recording lectures and then redesigning the face-to-face session to be more interactive. Chris Gooch, from IT services, shared his knowledge about how other institutions were using lecture capture. He explained that lecture capture is not necessarily just video, it may be audio or PowerPoint slides. He stressed that one of the benefits was that lecture capture enabled lecturers to identify where students were having problems. He also stated that they were flexible. There was a good debate afterwards, here is a summary of some of the main points: There may be an issue in recording sessions where sensitive topics are being discussed It may erode elements of good practice The most popular time for viewing videos was during revision and assignment times Video is the third most important element after audio and PowerPoint There is a need for investment in staff development and a significant cultural change if this technology is going to be effective There is a time investment in creating short videos and a level of technical expertise needed Is there an issue that lecture capture will lead to students not attending classes? Evidence from elsewhere suggest that there is some, but not much, most still choose to attend classes Lecture capture may open up the market to disabled students, who may not be able to attend classes Benefits for disabled students and international students of having lectures transcribed There may be issues in terms of surveillance and performance management Who is looking at the data and how is it being used?    

TEST Learning Theories: Bandura’s Social Learning Theoryby Steve Wheeler, Associate Professor, Plymouth Institute of EducationThis is the third in my blog series on major learning theories. Source: www.teachthought.com See on Scoop.it - Educational Books and Scholarly Articles

Filed under: In The Classroom

What if the key to having great leadership at your company was to hire great people and leave them alone? Many companies employ just this model with surprising results: Within the first 18 months in a new role, 38-50% of new leaders will fail to meet the expectations of their superiors. OK. How about if we make a really great open enrollment management and leadership skills training curriculum available? We’ll even make both online and classroom based versions of the materials available! That should do it, right? Probably not. Our experience shows that companies with loosely guided leadership development programs produce leaders who lack courage to make tough decisions, confidence to take appropriate risks, humility to learn from others and change direction when needed and the skillset to lead and inspire teams. NOT the ultimate goal. In fact, leadership development is most effective when organizations offer a thoughtful mix of both formal and informal development options that are well supported by managed leadership development programs embedded in the culture of an organization and championed by senior leadership. That’s a lot to accomplish with one program. But, the fun doesn’t stop there. Great leadership development programs don’t focus on mastery of the status quo, but on preparing leaders for their next assignments - thereby steadily moving the entire organization forward. Many companies already realize they have some work to do if they are going to ensure they have the right leaders on the right trajectories at the right times. They know they need to evaluate their overall leadership development approach to ensure leaders at all levels have development paths to follow. But, it’s a complex task! So where on earth do you start? A great starting point is a leadership impact study and program review. This will help you evaluate the current state of leadership development offerings and determine where leaders need more support or direction. Once it’s clear what your organization has, it’s time to see what you need. A leadership competency appraisal will reveal what skills and experiences you’ll need in order to be able to respond with agility to changes in market and operating environments. To check your work and make sure you’re on the right track, you can then ask a couple of key questions: "Are we preparing the right people to be ready at the right time to do the right job?" and "How do our findings so far measure up to our strategy?" A capability assessment measuring the alignment between leadership readiness and business strategy will inform your plan for creating a healthy pipeline to develop the right leaders to sustain the organization over time. If you were to poll your HR executive staff, do you think they would be among the roughly 1 in 5 who believe their organization has a healthy and effective leadership development program? Or, would they be more likely to be in the group whose leadership pipeline lacks courage, confidence, humility and the skillset to lead and inspire teams? Contact us today to talk about how we can help you evaluate or build your next leadership development strategy. About the author: Cindi Johnson is an InfoPro Learning partner, and a senior HR strategist with more than 20 years in the field of leadership development, talent management and organizational effectiveness. Her mission is to help leaders and organizations grow and flourish: Vigorously! The post Developing a Healthy Leadership Development Strategy appeared first on .

Sphere Search for locations anywhere on the planet: https://www.thesphere.com/search Mrs. Dooley’s classroom: https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSxXTJkON2wDEm_LllqxS08OJJJ8ODv92LNrD_pTTWAKuD_PyvMhA Aurasma 3-D PopUps: https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSDikynDKJLBPA6FZG49v7leNBtIebh7Dd2Y0CazONJoi2s1jN- https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQe3QhAkJajcdkSVsv7NUYN9ZXFfFpbFvUyYiJO9fbt-SV2YYg9 https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTmWb7avqw_t-NQF8Vx-2f1PGRX03stS4yTdDtesEggbQsZpjpn2Q https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQpLjfOWgAVvxAw2XGywpckSvE67qbkbupAmgn9q4hRfiaJR7xljQ https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRu0Ed-VU40ogDgwLjZkGafG0zdoTfg34whlvooefqY9KBEBbMq https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQZA04fuoGBCFYdML67nJwxRDwwMxnIb1Wkdij8ZERWq3vQF9tu https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTzz6zBSNnz7eK_hoAPLl8ioK9HMHXufkKM6lZivD9xbxECFE2g https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSo825mfuMK1nfNetTvyQiHoNiJsXkG3P2UfjNQGVpemotmmwonNwFiled under: Technology

 Excellent share from Nobodhi Thank you! Source: connectwithluis.blogspot.com See on Scoop.it - Leadership Style & Teaching Methodology