One area of learning that the concept of effective collaboration has great potential for is in the area of assessment for learning. In the past, assessment for learning and assessment of learning were focused on the individual. Any attempt at collaboration would have been considered "cheating". However, if the daily learning experiences we expose the learner to involves a renewed emphasis on collaboration, should not assessment of learning and for learning also reflect this emphasis. This is not to imply that there would be no assessment of learning and for learning for the individual learner. What is being suggested is that we can create a more balanced assessment that includes a measure of the collaborative thinking, decision making and use of each others talents and gifts in solving complex real world problems.This fits with the understandings behind what we term as "Open Pedagogy" which the education community is moving towards.The obvious question is: "How can we design such assessment tools so that we obtain measures of what we are looking for?"Some Suggestions: Consider, with an open mind, these possibilities:Use of Share Applications As Assessment Tools: One of the great advancements brought to us by Google is what we call its cloud storage in the form of the Google Drive and the suite of apps such as Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Presentations. The singular common characteristic is that all of these apps can be set up according to defined sharing protocols. Imagine that a teacher creates a shareable document, which he or she stores on his or her Google Drive. Students are then paired (not sitting with each other) and the document is shared out to them alone with certain features turned off(can't change the directions or wording of task) but can add their thoughts, proposals or solutions to a tasked problem. No one else can be invited to the group unless permitted by the instructor. with the shared capability, students can collaborate without speaking because they can see what each other is adding to the tasked problem. Students would have access to the web which again reinforces the needed skillsets of the learner being able to analyze the problem collaboratively, search and authenticate useful information on the web collaboratively and use synthesis to prioritize and reduce information pertinent to the tasked problem using collaboration. The development of innovative solutions to the proposed problem could allow students access to a shared drawing and presentation tool to illustrate their ideas.Going Beyond Assessment By the Instructor: If we agree that in order to solve complex real world problems, we need cross disciplinary approaches then it is logical that the instructor alone may not have all the appropriate skillsets and experience to look at the solutions provided by students from the multiple of perspectives required. This is where specialists from professional learning communities can play a role in assessment of learning but also make important comments to students for assessment for learning. Tying the learner to real world feedback ensures that the student is engaged by what he or she is doing and realizes that their learning is very much part of the real world.Nurturing critical thinking AND divergent thinking skillsets in a collaborative format is more in line with the type of future problem solvers that our societies need even now.Business Take -Aways Question: "What is business to learn from these shifts involving Moore's Law, Learning Culture and change management?"Credit: Tom Hood It would be a gross understatement to suggest that Moore's Law will have an impact on business organizations because we are already caught in the wave. What distinguishes one business organization from another is whether you are in a state of reacting to the changes or are aggressively being proactive in planning change in an incremental fashion. Too much change creates disruption that can seriously harm a business and lead to a lack of trust on the part of stakeholders. Too little change paralyzes a business so that it appears as a "deer in the headlights" in a globally connected economy.Looking at the learning culture of a business organization needs to go beyond just a needs assessment and committee report that quickly gathers dust on a back shelf. The forces that are holding a business back need to be identified and an honest risk assessment needs to go from the discussion stage to an action stage. Transformation will not take place without it.Employee engagement and empowerment as collaborative agents of change, tasked by the vision of the company, needs to be nurtured. This might mean a bold move such as taking compliance training out of the hands of training and aligning it with another department so that the instructional designer, learning principles experts and instructors can concentrate on the transformation of the business organization's learning culture. Building collaborative networks both within the organization and outside the organization needs to be taken to a whole new level based on the new currency, information and knowledge.Next....... E-Learning--A Light At the End of the Tunnel?

Thinking about registering for the LUC 2016 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, this May? Here are 10 reasons we think you should. Engaging breakout sessions with real-world case studies Presenters from the American Red Cross, United Airlines, the Centers for Disease Control, and more. Discover how to create a virtual reality course with Lectora® for mobile devices, use jQuery to create drag-and-reveal interactions, create learning games, and more—all included in your registration fee. Free Lectora Fundamentals on-demand video training with registration Get familiar with Lectora with this self-paced video training—a $400 value free. Amazing keynote speaker Laura Overton Laura Overton, Founder and CEO of Towards Maturity, will share practical insights that have been gleaned from the world’s top-performing organizations. You’ll take home bright new ideas for your courses, your training programs, and your future. Networking  Make connections at an intimate networking reception the first night, and over delicious lunch and snacks provided each day. Optional pre-conference training Join us for Lectora Intermediate, Lectora Extreme/Games, or a new advanced training class on scripting, taught by John Blackmon, Trivantis CTO. Sneak peeks of new product features It wouldn’t be a Lectora User Conference without a preview of the new features coming up in Lectora! One-on-one time with the Lectora developers Get your burning development questions answered by the team behind your favorite authoring tool. See your account representative Some lucky account reps will be flying to Florida to see YOU at the 2016 Lectora User Conference. Win prizes Last year we gave away two iPads and a Livescribe pen! What will you win this year? 10. The beach Post-conference relaxation on Florida’s sandy shores…what else is there to say? Register now. Register Now Details The post 10 Reasons to Attend the 2016 Lectora User Conference appeared first on .

How to Engage Managers in eLearning Managers play a crucial role in the professional wellbeing of an organisation. Consider this: managers interact with frontline employees on a daily basis and it’s these employees who are last to touch your product before it reaches your customers, or deliver your service. This highlights the importance of regularly […] The post 4 Ways to Engage Managers in eLearning appeared first on PulseLearning.

EdTechTeam is excited about everything the rest of the year has in store for our team, our community, and the field of education. We started the year with an all-team retreat at our Irvine office. All 29 employees (including 22 innovative teachers and educational leaders) came together to dream out loud as architects of what's possible... and to help create the change we want to see in schools. We set ambitious impact goals for the year and renewed our focus helping schools to develop capacity in Courageous Leadership, Empowered Teachers, Engaged Community, Inspiring Spaces, and most importantly, Student Agency.  We also work with 165 contractors (most practicing teachers, educational leaders, and technical administrators) who help us in our mission by serving as featured speakers at our conference-style summits and our custom professional development events around the globe. This team, and our community, wouldn't be the same without their richly diverse skills and vision. Between us we have a number of exciting new initiatives planned for 2016, including the first courses and certifications from EdTechTeam Online, at least a dozen inspiring books coming from EdTechTeam Press, expanded operations with our international subsidiaries (especially EdTechTeam Canada and EdTechTeam Australia), all new summit experiences planned for our 5th annual events starting in July, innovative surprises from Breakout EDU (including an all new immersive game we're very excited about), mobile student-facing maker experiences, and many more opportunities for free community engagement. After seeding another 15 class sets of Chromebooks as 1:1 pilots in 2015, we are also preparing an overhaul of our giving strategy that we've just announced! Thank you for being a part of EdTechTeam's evolution over the past 10 years. We hope we'll be learning with you, and serving your students, for many more. This is only the beginning. Mark Wagner, CEOMeet Mark and learn more about him here.

A portable career is any career you can take with you no matter where you go. Portable careers are perfect for those who either have to move frequently (i.e. Military spouses) or for those who want to move around the world without worrying about their career. Having a portable career helps you maintain a professional identity that you can take with you, rather than having to start over in a new field every time you relocate. Portable careers have many things in common: They often involve high demand services or skill sets. Careers in education, technology, training, and healthcare are often portable because the demand for services is high. Portable careers are not based on specific credentials or degrees that may not be recognized worldwide.  Law degrees and medical degrees are examples of credentials that are not readily accepted everywhere. These types of careers do not limit a person to a single geographic area or market.  In other words, portable careers can include providing services virtually or selling products online. Many times, knowledge of and comfort with technology and online business and communication tools is required. These are just some of the careers that you can take with you, wherever you go: Interior designer Photographer Online event organizer Online storefront owner Social media specialist Online researcher Web designer Computer programmer Software Developer Information Security Analyst IT Service and Support Virtual assistant Online Business Manager/Project Manager Nutritionist Consultant/Coach Massage Therapist/Aromatherapy Specialist Writer, Editor or Publisher Copywriter Teacher Interpreter and Translator When moving to a new area, there are steps you can take to assist with networking and establishing yourself in your profession. In a recent interview with MilitarySpouse.com, Sherrill Curtis, a Senior Certified Professional for the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) shared the following recommendations: Join the professional organization for your field, Research meet-ups in your area to connect with others who have similar interests, both personal and professional, Attend town hall-type meetings to familiarize yourself with what happens in the area, Connect with the local chamber of commerce to find out who the top employers are, and If you are a military spouse, set up an appointment to meet with the local veterans’ representative at the Department of Labor office. Picking up and starting over somewhere new can be challenging. Choosing a career that is portable can make earning a living in that new location a little bit easier. Ed4Online offers affordable career training for many portable careers. Sign up today and get one step closer to a flexible new career!   Sources: http://www.careerbychoiceblog.com/career_by_choice/2011/04/expat-careers-businesses-portable-careers-allow-you-to-do-what-you-enjoy-while-living-where-you-want.html https://www.clements.com/resources/articles/The-Top-10-Most-Portable-Careers http://www.passportcareer.com/5-surprisingly-portable-careers/ http://militaryspouse.com/career/spouses-say-military-life-employment-dont-go-together/        

We talk to customers every chance we get at LearnUpon. Sometimes that’s through the 24/7 free support we offer as standard. Our Customer Success team reaches out regularly so we aren’t just in contact when a customer has a query. And a few times a year we share three questions to help us understand what’s on our customers’ minds. The insights they offer make for great reading. They give the whole team a snapshot of what matters most to customers today, what they’re feeling, what they’re less crazy about, and what they need next. The results are in! Here’s a sneak peek at the feedback our customers shared this year.   Why customers choose an LMS Here’s a breakdown of the main reasons customers chose LearnUpon: With almost 700 eLearning platforms on the market, there are any number of benefits potential customers can choose from. We love that the richness of our feature selection came in as the #1 reason organizations signed with us. Not only are our existing LMS features a big draw, customers appreciate the effort we make to roll out new ones every month. Every request we receive is reviewed for inclusion in our product roadmap, so customers play a big role in helping to shape the future of their LMS. This nugget made us extra excited to share some big surprises coming later this year. And while customers appreciate our competitive pricing right from the start, they grow to love our fast and friendly customer support team more and more.   In our customers’ words These are the words customers used when describing their experience with LearnUpon. If you returned our survey, you’ll see your words here too.     Thanks for sharing the love We’re so grateful for the time customers took to share their feedback. It means a lot to us and we put it to good use. Here are just a few of the shout outs the team received. "Everything ranks highly across the board in my opinion. Customer service responsiveness and help, engagement, keeping customers in the loop, added features, etc. Keep doing what you’re doing!" Ryan, Cornerstone Learning "You are the best. Everyone we have dealt with has been wonderful, responsive, receptive, helpful. Change nothing." Christine, WideOrbit "I think you guys are amazing! Price is what brought me to you but your customer service has been incredible. I have been very impressed." Angela, Ascenta Health "Even though features and price were what initially made LearnUpon stand out, it is your people that truly set LearnUpon apart. Absolutely phenomenal team! Everyone I have been in contact with has been extremely pleasant and helpful. Thank you!" Jennifer, Premium Retail Services "LearnUpon has been one of the best vendor relationships I’ve had in my 20+ career in training and development. Keep doing what you are doing. I believe that is the key to your current and future success." Marvette, SNL Knowledge Center "LearnUpon is amazing, working with Carrie, Phily and the LearnUpon support team. I would recommend LearnUpon to anyone and everyone that needs an easy to use model. I can’t think of anything that could be done better when they have already gone above and beyond their scope of work." Mel, Newmont Mining "Just keep doing what you are doing! You continue to make improvements, you continue to show customer appreciation, and you continue to provide award-winning service. I love LearnUpon. It has literally made my job as a trainer so much easier! Thank you again for being so wonderful!" Lydia, Key Benefit Administrators "LearnUpon is a foundation that we are building upon. Your service is great and your sales team was awesome. There are few times in the software industry where selecting a solution is fun but as I look back at this project, I realize I actually enjoyed it." Matt, MyFarms LLC   And we say - right back at you! We would be nothing without our customers. Thank you all so much.   Want to read more? Sign up to get our latest posts! The post What customers love most about their LMS appeared first on LearnUpon.

If you’ve created a really great course, you may have dreamed of selling it online. Good learning management systems now make that possible. eLearning platforms with strong eCommerce features make it simple for any Subject Matter Expert or training team to sell online courses. One of the best eCommerce platforms is Shopify, which allows you to create a customized store. And if you use LearnUpon, you can even integrate your LMS with Shopify to publish courses directly to your store. Sell online courses with Shopify and LearnUpon eCommerce features are used by 40% of our customers at LearnUpon. In 2015 alone, $2.1 million in course sales were made through our eCommerce platform. And it’s easy to see why! It takes less than two minutes to integrate LearnUpon’s LMS with Shopify. And then you’re ready to provide a simple and secure experience to sell online courses to customers all over the world. You can also connect your store to Google Analytics to track how your visitors behave and convert. And you can use our SEO features to create keywords, meta tags and descriptions that improve your store’s rankings in search engines like Google.   How it works If you installed LearnUpon through the Shopify App Store, the feature will already be enabled in your portal. Skip to the section heading below: "​If you installed LearnUpon via the Shopify App Store". Otherwise, email support and we’ll enable Shopify features in your LMS.   Once Shopify has been enabled on your portal, you can configure your preferences by going to: >> Settings tab >> E-Commerce You will then see the following tab: Shopify can only be enabled if no other payment gateways (eg. PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net) have been enabled on your learning portal.   If no other payment gateways have been enabled, you will see the following tab which you can use to configure Shopify: When you connect your Shopify store to your portal, you will see a code and some script that you will need in order to proceed. Copy and paste the code into your Shopify store settings. The code will automatically enroll learners who have purchased an online course in your Shopify store. You will also need to copy some code from LearnUpon and paste it to your Shopify store. Once you configure Shopify, some changes will be made to LearnUpon’s default eCommerce settings. After you connect to Shopify, the LearnUpon store itself does not operate. Store URLs will redirect customers to your Shopify storefront instead.   ​If you installed LearnUpon via the Shopify App Store   After you install the LearnUpon app in your Shopify store, you will be be sent to a sign in page: If you have already created a LearnUpon account, you can login here. You will then be sent to the Shopify settings page in LearnUpon.   If you don’t already have a LearnUpon account, you will need to: Click the ‘Sign up for a free trial’ button. Fill in the registration form and click the confirmation email. eCommerce will be auto-enabled on your portal and you will be connected to Shopify. Once you have logged in, you will land on the dashboard page. You will see a dialog directing you to copy the script code from LearnUpon to your Shopify settings page.   Connecting LearnUpon courses with Shopify store items You must connect your LearnUpon courses with items in your Shopify store before you can sell them. You can do this by going to the Edit screen of a course. Click on the Sales tab and select the Shopify store item related to the course: In this example, ‘Introduction to Health & Safety Training’ could be the name of the Shopify store item.   Purchasing courses After a learner purchases a course they will be redirected to a ‘Thank You’ page. The user will then be redirected to their LearnUpon dashboard. If a user already has a LearnUpon account, they will be automatically logged in. If the user does not have a LearnUpon account already, they will be prompted to create a new password when they login to LearnUpon for the first time.     And that’s it! You’re ready to sell online courses with LearnUpon and Shopify. For even more top tips read, How to successfully sell your online courses.   Try LearnUpon free for 30 days .learnupon.com Agree to Terms of Service Start my free trial The post How to sell online courses with Shopify appeared first on LearnUpon.

Learning Solutions marks our first major US conference of 2016. You’ll find LearnUpon at Booth 205 at the two day expo that takes place on March 16th and 17th in Orlando. Learning Solutions is the go to event for training and development professionals as the conference program is designed to support the entire learning team, regardless of their role.   It’s also a great conference for catching thought leaders from the world of eLearning in person. And with keynotes from Bill Nye, Daivd Kwong and Annie Murphy Paul covering everything from how exploration drives learning to how constraints give us the freedom to create it’s sure to be a thought provoking event.   You’ll find Brendan, Caoimhín and Eoghan from team LearnUpon at Booth 205 from 9:30am to 6:30pm on Wednesday 16th and 9:30am to 6:30pm on Thursday 17th March in the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista. We’ll also be celebrating St Patrick’s Day on day 2 of the expo so be sure to stop by and say hello. We’re really looking forward to sharing all of LearnUpon’s latest features, including some exciting new integrations. Our team will be on hand to provide live demos of our amazing LMS and also to answer any questions you may have.   The post Talk to LearnUpon at Learning Solutions 2016 appeared first on LearnUpon.

[Post by Arden Rose, Account Manager at GeoMetrix Data Systems Inc.] Join CLO at the 2016 Spring Chief Learning Officer Symposium to explore how learning is being redefined - by our times, by our organizations and employees and by us. Mike Prokopeak: Vice President, Editor in Chief, Human Capital Media Jeffrey Pfeffer: Professor of Organizational Behavior, Stanford Graduate School of Business Brian Robertson: Author of Holacracy: the New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World Gretchen Rubin: Author of Better Than Before Michelle Gielan: Author of Broadcasting Happiness For more information visit: CLO Symposium

[Post by K.M. Lowe, Writer & Corporate Communicator] Anyone who saw the Academy Awards presentation on television a few weeks ago knows that a lack of diversity was the theme of the program. The issue was that not one person of colour was represented in the nominations at this year’s Oscars (and last year’s as well). Some of the most out-spoken critics made note that it isn’t just the nominations that are the problem — it’s a lack of opportunities in the first place. If you can’t get a good role, you won’t get a nomination. So inflammatory was the issue, that many actors boycotted the awards ceremony. In an interview with Good Morning America, actor Will Smith summed up concerns over diversity in the movie industry, "The nominations reflect the Academy. The Academy reflects the industry and then the industry reflects America. There is a regressive slide towards separatism, towards racial and religious disharmony… That’s not the industry, that’s not the America I want to leave behind." Oscar-nominated actress Angela Bassett said she’s not very excited about the Academy Awards anymore. "When I see more inclusion, that’s when I can get more excited-when I see the work of what life looks like." A report published last year by the Ralph J. Bunche Centre for African American Studies at UCLA supports the critics. "The 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report: Flipping the Script" indicates that minorities are underrepresented in Hollywood films even though research shows that films with diverse casts are well received by audiences. "America’s increasingly diverse audiences prefer diverse content created with the input of diverse talent. Diversity sells." Workplaces (movie sets are workplaces too) are diverse, yet as the Oscars are a testament to, sometimes minorities are left out of not only recognition but opportunity that would bring recognition. This lack of inclusion not only doesn’t serve the organization (or industry in the case of Hollywood), but can be detrimental to the bottom line. And it isn’t just Hollywood where these issues exist and where diversity (or lack of it) can affect profits. Talent Management Magazine discussed the issue in "Top 3 Things Wrong with Diversity & Inclusion Training," by David Ciliberto, adjunct instructor of diversity and inclusion at Cornell University ILR. The article quotes Amy Friedman, founder and CEO of Partners in Human Resources International. "One of the most intelligent decisions an organization can make is to recognize that their client base is extremely diverse across cultures, ethnicity, gender, generations and other identities… A wide diversity of people is often tied to profitability in ways that might not seem obvious at first." But what are the ways that diversity & inclusion can affect profits? In a Talent Management article titled "How Can Diversity Impact Bottom Line?" Jeffrey Cantel asks a diversity consultant that exact question. The answer: "higher employee engagement and productivity, greater innovation, reduced costs related to attrition of high-potential employees, increased sales and market share for targeted customer groups or geographies, more effective cross-functional and cross-boundary teams, a more positive corporate image, or greater supplier efficiencies from reliance on new, diverse vendors." So if there is so much at stake, what can we do about it? A recent article in Training Industry Magazine, dealt with diversity training in the workplace. "Training a Diverse Workforce," by Jeff Drozdowski cites that the US Census Bureau includes gender, race, ethnicity, age and religion in workplace makeup. But in his narrative, the writer adds ability to the mix, noting that 20 percent of those considered disabled in the US are in the workplace. Drozdowski reminds us that "The need for diversity and inclusion training is greater than ever." He follows that with, "An effective diversity and inclusion training program starts at the top." Mark Kaplan and Mason Donovan have written two books designed to help those at the top create an inclusive culture. "The Inclusion Dividend: Why Investing in Diversity & Inclusion Pays Off" (Bibliomotion, 2013) provides a framework to tap the bottom-line impact that results from an inclusive culture. "SET for Inclusion: An Underlying Methodology for Achieving Your Inclusion Dividend" (Bibliomotion, 2015) is guides leaders through the application of that framework to lead inclusively. In their books, Kaplan and Donovan discuss the current research on unconscious bias and insider-outsider dynamics and focus on how to translate that current research into best practice for leaders. The authors ask the question, "How does one become aware of something that is unconscious or implicit?" One answer is awareness training, however, the authors’ state, "There is evidence that diversity and inclusion awareness training has minimal impact when it is not part of an overall change strategy." They also write, "Training, when implemented strategically as part of a larger strategy, is one of the most powerful interventions a company can make." The issue of diversity & inclusion is complex, but training, done strategically, can help at all levels, and research shows that the ultimate result is increased profitability. Besides, as Kaplan and Mason write, "Being inclusive is a good thing, as it engages more people, provides more perspectives, and helps the business identify opportunities more quickly and fully." Even Hollywood must see the benefit in that. For more information on this issue and to view the material listed above visit: 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report Top 3 things wrong with diversity inclusion training How can diversity impact the bottom line Training Industry Magazine The Inclusion Dividend