Ed4Online is proud to announce that it has been recognized as an Accredited Provider of continuing education by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). In reaching this high-level accreditation, Ed4Online is proving that they meet the demands of the ANSI/IACET Standard for quality continuing education and training. What does the Standard measure? The ANSI/IACET Standard measures all aspects of a continuing education and training provider’s program development across ten nationally recognized categories: Continuing Education and Training Organization Responsibility and Control Learning Environment and Support Systems Learning Event Planning Learning Outcomes Planning and Instructional Personnel Content and Instructional Methods Assessment of Learning Outcomes Awarding CEUs and Maintaining Learner Records Program Evaluation  What does it mean to be IACET Certified? The ANSI/IACET Standard reflects an international standard of excellence in providing quality education and training instruction, utilized by thousands of education and instruction programs worldwide. The standard reflects rigid and continuously evolving benchmarks for excellence set down by both the American Standards Institute (ANSI) and IACET. With IACET accreditation, Ed4Online joins the exclusive ranks of elite continuing education providers in being able to offer its students Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for the completion of courses. Created by IACET as a standard for measuring proficiency in continuing education models, a single CEU is recognized as 10 contact hours of organized continuing education—completed through courses offered by Accredited Providers. "Being able to back up the superior structure of our online courses with tangible CEU credits is something we’re extremely proud of and an accomplishment that will resonate with our students, as well as our partner institutions," said Dr. Tricia Seymour, Chief Operating Officer at Ed4Online. "To be recognized as an Accredited Provider is something we’ve been striving for and to finally reach this goal means seeing our penchant for quality realized in a way that we can directly communicate to our partners and students." In receiving accreditation through IACET, Ed4Online will now be able to pass on the many benefits to its partner institutions, to give its affiliates the confidence in knowing that Ed4Online meets the industry standards for quality. The IACET Accredited Provider process is rigorous and exclusive, marking a superior standard for compliant continuing education providers. For more information about the IACET accreditation process or to view the rigorous standards required for accreditation, please visit the organization’s website at http://www.iacet.org. To learn more about Ed4Online’s recent accreditation through IACET or to inquire about what it means to partner with an IACET Accredited Partner for continuing education courses, please visit the company’s website at https://ed4online.com.            

Ed4Online is proud to announce that it has been recognized as an Accredited Provider of continuing education by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). In reaching this high-level accreditation, Ed4Online is proving that they meet the demands of the ANSI/IACET Standard for quality continuing education and training. What does the Standard measure? The ANSI/IACET Standard measures all aspects of a continuing education and training provider’s program development across ten nationally recognized categories: Continuing Education and Training Organization Responsibility and Control Learning Environment and Support Systems Learning Event Planning Learning Outcomes Planning and Instructional Personnel Content and Instructional Methods Assessment of Learning Outcomes Awarding CEUs and Maintaining Learner Records Program Evaluation  What does it mean to be IACET Certified? The ANSI/IACET Standard reflects an international standard of excellence in providing quality education and training instruction, utilized by thousands of education and instruction programs worldwide. The standard reflects rigid and continuously evolving benchmarks for excellence set down by both the American Standards Institute (ANSI) and IACET. With IACET accreditation, Ed4Online joins the exclusive ranks of elite continuing education providers in being able to offer its students Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for the completion of courses. Created by IACET as a standard for measuring proficiency in continuing education models, a single CEU is recognized as 10 contact hours of organized continuing education—completed through courses offered by Accredited Providers. "Being able to back up the superior structure of our online courses with tangible CEU credits is something we’re extremely proud of and an accomplishment that will resonate with our students, as well as our partner institutions," said Dr. Tricia Seymour, Chief Operating Officer at Ed4Online. "To be recognized as an Accredited Provider is something we’ve been striving for and to finally reach this goal means seeing our penchant for quality realized in a way that we can directly communicate to our partners and students." In receiving accreditation through IACET, Ed4Online will now be able to pass on the many benefits to its partner institutions, to give its affiliates the confidence in knowing that Ed4Online meets the industry standards for quality. The IACET Accredited Provider process is rigorous and exclusive, marking a superior standard for compliant continuing education providers. For more information about the IACET accreditation process or to view the rigorous standards required for accreditation, please visit the organization’s website at http://www.iacet.org. To learn more about Ed4Online’s recent accreditation through IACET or to inquire about what it means to partner with an IACET Accredited Partner for continuing education courses, please visit the company’s website at https://ed4online.com.            

Here are the new courses we added to our Paper Manufacturing Training Library last month. For a look at all of our paper manufacturing training courses, click the following links: Pulping Paper Tissue Corrugated Packaging Or, just check out all of our e-learning courses. We’ll keep announcing new courses each month as they roll out, so stay tuned for more. To set up a demo and see the full-length versions, feel free to contact us. Fluidized Bed Boilers Black Liquor Testing Titration Fundamentals Paper Machine Doctor Blade Components and Troubleshooting While you’re here, why not download our free guide to effective manufacturing training? The post New Paper Manufacturing Training Courses: Fluidized Bed Boilers; Black Liquor Testing; Titration Fundamentals; and Paper Machine Doctor Blade Component and Troubleshooting appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

When things go wrong, people have a tendency to want to blame someone, often as soon as possible. It makes us feel better to find the culprit or get the ‘bad apple’. We have the opposite tendency when it comes to ourselves. The cognitive dissonance of not meeting our self-image or expectations can be so powerful that we make up stories to cover our failures. And we actually believe them. This happens to judges, lawyers, doctors, nurses, and many other professionals. But it happens less frequently with pilots. Why? It’s all about the systems they work in. Aviation is one of the few industries that: Encourages learning from mistakes on an industry-wide scale. Leaves blame for after any accident investigation (usually). Uses data and science to confirm or deny assumptions. Tests hypotheses through simulation before implementation new procedures. Disseminates new knowledge openly and widely. Matthew Syed calls this Black Box Thinking in his book of the same name. Syed provides examples of how many of our work systems are broken, suffering from closed loop thinking by not allowing us to test assumptions and conventional wisdom. One excellent example is of 5 Israeli parole judges whose cases over a 10 month period revealed some shocking statistics. The chances of being paroled just after breakfast were 65%, while the chances of parole just before lunch fell to 0%. The judges did not make the same types of decisions when they were hungry. No one had ever looked at these human tendencies. While we may think that we are rational and professional, we are not. Data and science can help us build systems that are are better, safer, and ensure equality. "The evolutionary process cannot function without information about what is working , and what is not. The information can come from many sources, depending on the context (patients, consumers, experiments, whistleblowers, etc.). But professionals working on the ground have crucial data to share in almost any context. Health care, for example, cannot begin to reform procedures if doctors do not report their failures. And scientific theories cannot evolve if scientists cover up data that reveal the weaknesses in existing hypotheses." I would strongly recommend this book to anyone in management or interested in improving organizational performance. This is one of the best books I have read in the past few years, along with Gary Klein’s, Seeing What Others Don’t. Some of Klein’s recommendations align with the personal knowledge mastery framework, in that people need to seek out new connections in order to get new insights, as well as put forth ‘half-baked’ ideas in order to test them. Syed has similar recommendations. "But consider the following questions. Do you fail in your judgments? Do you ever get access to the evidence that shows where you might be going wrong? Are your decisions ever challenged by objective data? If the answer to any of these questions is no, you almost certainly not learning. This is not a question of motivation or intelligence, but if iron logic. You are like a golfer playing in the dark."  

Interview with Victor Yocco (@victoryocco), design researcher and authorWe answer the questions:What are your background and interests?What is andragogy?What are some of the key principles of learning design?How can psychology inform design?Can you tell us about your new book? LinksDesign for the MindFor a 39% discount on the book, use the Promo Code: smayoccoPhillyChiPADLAPodsafe music selectionVivaldi: Concerto No. 4 in G Minor "Winter" (Allegro movement) from The Four Seasons by the American Baroque Orchestra. Duration: 25:54

  You run a mid-sized division at a diversified manufacturer of industrial machines and manufacturing equipment. At the end of the quarter, your division finance officer comes to you with some bad news: Profits are down significantly in the quarter. You know you’ll be hearing about this from your boss at corporate headquarters. You know you’ve got to decide how to improve profits. You need to decide on an action plan and implement it before the end of the next quarter. The key to great decision-making? Context. Even executives with strong critical thinking skills can make bad decisions if they ignore the context around the decision.The best executive decisions aren’t just logical, they’re also accepted by the people who must implement them. A "correct" decision that your direct reports carry out half-heartedly isn’t going to carry the impact you hope for. To make bulletproof executive decisions, you must understand what factors should influence your decision. There are six variables to consider. 1. Clarity. The first key to making effective decisions is clarity about the problem involved. Do you understand what the problem really is? Have you framed it correctly? How do you proceed? You’ll probably want to investigate the financial results in greater detail. Have revenues declined? Expenses increased? Are there seasonal factors at play? Has a new product resulted in a greater-than-normal number of returns? Clarity about the nature of the issue is vital. So, before making any decision, ask yourself if you’re truly clear about the problem or situation at hand. 2.Information. The second key factor is information. It’s hard to make good decisions without accurate, complete information. And while we rarely have all the information we’d like, making sure you’ve gathered what’s available is important. As you work on increasing profits in your division, you’ll likely want to know exactly how big the decline was, whether there were any business segments or markets it was concentrated in, and whether it was due to one-time or ongoing losses. 3.Commitment. You may have analyzed the problem correctly and come up with a solution that’s sure to work. Congratulations! But other people will almost certainly be involved in implementing that decision, and how well your solution works may be largely or entirely dependent on their commitment to the decision. After reviewing the financial information in detail, you realize that quarterly profits declined because your sales team used more discounts and special offers to move product. Your firm changed its company-wide commission policies to emphasize units sold rather than sales profitability. But you know you’ll still be evaluated based on your division’s profits. You’d like to restrict the sales team’s use of discounts, but your sales managers don’t like this idea. They believe discounts are an important tool for their field reps, and are worried that sales volume will drop off if their reps aren’t free to use discounts to close deals. You can make an executive decision to restrict the discounts, but will it be implemented effectively, or will the sales team engineer other profit-eroding work-arounds? You need commitment from your sales team if your decision is going to be implemented effectively.   Click the infographic for full size   4. Goal alignment. Alignment is the degree to which the people involved in making, approving or carrying out a decision agree with the end goal the decision is meant to achieve. Worried a about whether your plan to improve profits is going to succeed, you fly to corporate headquarters to meet with your boss, the company’s chief operating officer. She reminds you that the company’s strategy has shifted. It’s now focused on growing market share, she points out, to increase production and gain more cost efficiencies. She asks you to find other ways to address the profitability issue, perhaps by focusing on reducing costs rather than tying the sales team’s hands when it comes to moving products. 5. Urgency. The fifth factor that influences decision-making is urgency. How much time do you have to decide? Do you need to make a decision today? This week? This month? How much time you have will have to gather information, analyze the problem and consult others? At the end of your meeting with the COO, she asks you to report back to her in one month with a plan to improve your division’s profit margins while staying aligned with the corporate strategy of increasing market share. You have four weeks to make a decision — it’s not an emergency, but you can’t wait long to get started. 6.Time required to decide. The last factor to consider is how long it will take you to arrive at a good decision. How many meetings do you need to have? How difficult might it be to gather the information you need? With the eyes of the C-suite now on you, you know you need to make the best decision you can in the next four weeks. As you fly back to your divisional headquarters, you ponder your next steps. Next Steps You’ve been very successful so far in the company by carefully analyzing problems and making solid business decisions. Those decisions haven’t always been popular, but they’ve helped you rise in the ranks. Now, though, facing opposition from your own boss and resistance from your sales team, you realize you need to take a different approach to how you make decisions. You’ll need to involve more people. Perhaps it’s time to call your direct reports together for a problem-solving retreat. Yes, that’s it, you decide. You’ll schedule a half-day meeting for next week to get your key executives working on the problem. It’ll seem sudden, but you’re confident that you and your team can come up with a good plan in the next month. You’re not as comfortable with this approach, but it reminds you of what you learned at that leadership development retreat last year. There are five different decision-making styles, ranging from relying solely on your own judgment to sharing decision-making with others. You remember that you tended to prefer to discover the facts and then make a decision yourself. But now, it seems, you’re going to have to adopt a different style if you’re going to be successful. That’s OK, though, you decide. After all, your goal is to ultimately land a position in the C-suite as a top company executive — not just to fly to corporate HQ when you need to consult with your boss. You know that being able to choose the best decision-making style will make you a better executive, and help land you the next promotion.   Ready to dive deeper into your decision style?   Check out our Decision Style Profile Assesment The post How to Make Bulletproof Executive Decisions appeared first on Discovery Learning Inc..

Have you ever experienced having mastered a web-based learning tool and then be informed that the tool was discontinued? Ning.com was new years back. Then Twitter.com and Prezi came. Then Pinterest.com followed. Now,  there is Snapchat.com. Soon more will come - and this is just a sampling from a very, very long list. I follow Jane Hart's Top 100 Tools website which is a good reference. When I saw the image and article from Style Motivation.com "When Old Becomes New", it reminded me of learning architecture. Oftentimes, the rapid and constant change and the abundance of options including the introduction of new software, which is usually free, cause learning professionals to be cautious or inhibit from testing and adopting the tools.Might it be that we focus on the newness of the tools and forget that learning goes deeper than just the tools? We  hear testimonials from those who adapt very well and we wonder how they consciously stay on top of the changes. There must be a common thread that makes it all worthwhile for these learning specialists to persist in their adaption and be willing to pay the price with their efforts and hours of labor.Focus on impacts and not the toolsIt is easy to be distracted by too many shining objects, new bells and whistles that glitter and are dangled in front of us as learning alternatives. Yet, let us realize the value that goes beyond the tool. We are wowed by the impacts the tool may have on how learners learn. Or should I say how the new tools make more apparent the old ways we learn, but manifesting it differently? Preserving the old and adding the newRay Kurzweil, a pioneering thinker in accelerating learning suggests that technologies have far more contributions in how people learn and behave. At present, our behaviors are still driven by old DNA structures that are hard to change. However, with new discoveries in neurosciences and technologies, these behaviors could be magnified to help learners faster and better. I am inclined to believe that in many of our use of tools, we may have missed the chance to observe how these magnified behaviors benefit learners and speed up learning. Magnifying learners' behaviors to learn faster and betterIn my research and work with clients and in workshops, I observed four behaviors that are magnified when I use new forms of learning technologies. Others have observed the same: Clark Quinn, Jane Bozarth, and many others, so this is not totally new. However, I observed that the behaviors are not referred to using a common language and terminology in learning and training. The descriptors I use are merely my own way of making the ideas meaningful in my work.The SeekerI got this idea from a webinar participant. In order to learn faster, learners tend to be seekers of knowledge and information. They look for answers, solutions and connections that will work and solve problems. The emphasis is not about Google as a tool, but rather the attitude and skill to seek answers.Action item: In designing a program, encourage the "seeker" behavior by inserting a challenge or an opportunity for participants to seek answers. The obvious tools of course are Google and other search engines. The ArgumentatorThe behavior of questioning assumptions against realities is about having an argument in one's mind. It helps learners discover what ideas work and how their minds are  when finding answers. We can also call this the questioning mind.Action item: In designing a program, encourage the Argumentative Mind (Argumentator) by proposing a debate and asking learners to cite pros and cons and assumptions versus reality assumptions. You can use polling, survey and discussion tools.The Value MakerThe learners learn faster when they add value by contributing a point of view, a new source, or a research reference. They add value to the learning of others in this way.  Above all, the process enhances the value of their own thinking and learning.Action item: Ask learners to do a journal of their learning using a blog or discussion. In TrainingMagNetwork.com we use the Add Insight feature so Proberlearners can create micro-insights and micro-records as they learn.    The Fact Finder - ProberI attended an undergraduate class research presentation at Scripps College where Francesca , my daughter goes to school and one student reported how she used Amazon's Artificial Mechanical Turk market place. The student used Mturk to conduct her study by submitting a request in the community to do a specific activity (sometimes for free, at times for a fee) and allowed the student to collect data. The fact finder - Prober,  conducts systematic research and study to fully understand the data and learn from his/her research goals and findings.Action item: For the length of a course, add a research project to help learners discover the facts and learn from their findings.Context Maker - Evidence ThinkerThe context maker is a mapper or pattern maker. He/she helps the learning process through extraction and extrapolation and adding context to the learning. One tool I love to use in my workshops is the micro-goal setting tool. It allows the learners to put into action an idea or concept in an actual micro goal and plan of action. This allows learners to make the idea crystal clear and adds an emotional experience while doing the micro-goal and plan. One of the significant benefit is a self-proof or evidence that ideas are put into action.Action item: Ask learners to make a micro-goal and micro-plan of application. I emphasized micro since making the plans huge and extensive diminishes the chance of learners accomplishing the plans.  ConclusionI am fascinated with new tools. I wish and and am also confident that there are many more coming. Amidst the abundance of shiny new objects, there is a hidden, often easy to ignore set of learning behaviors that are magnified. It improves the returns on our investment of time, effort, and painful adaptions if we seek deeper beyond the tools and learn to magnify the behaviors.  ReferencesCentre for Learning & Performance TechnologiesWhen Old Becomes NewWolfram Alpha, Computational Knowledge EngineTip 75: Insight Sharing - How They "Meet and MateAmazon's Artificial Mechanical TurkRay Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

Continuing this deep dive into our resistance to gratefulness, Brother David Steindl-Rast, OSB shares this thought:Grateful living is a way of life which asks us to notice all that is already present and abundant - from the tiniest things of beauty to the grandest of our blessings - and in so doing, to take nothing for granted. We can learn to focus our attention on, and acknowledge, that life is a gift. Even in the most challenging times, living gratefully makes us aware of, and available to, the opportunities that are always available; opportunities to learn and grow, and to extend ourselves with care and compassion to others. Grateful living is based in, and reinforces, values such as respect, responsibility, and generosity. Small, grateful acts every day can uplift us, make a difference for others, and help change the world.Here are some ways to practice gratefulness from unstuck.com: Check out the video "A Good Day" from TEDxSF can get you in the right frame of mind (also contains a beautiful meditation from Brother David Steindl-Rast).Keep a gratitude journal logging one thing you are grateful for each day. If it gives you guilt, don't do it as often. Give a compliment each day. If you have negative thoughts about people or things, practice a reframe.  A cold conference room can become a room with a  great view, etc. When I get angry at people driving or in lines, I try to make up stories about them that explains how their behavior is rational and build my empathy for them. Give up gossip, or complaining for Lent.  Here are some gizmos that you might find fun: Special equipment isn’t necessary for practicing gratitude — the real work goes on in your head and heart. But if using a tool is helpful, go for it. Here are a handful of apps and websites that specialize in appreciation.Start your own Grateful Project by getting inspiration from 365 Grateful.Gratitude Journal for iPhone, Gratitude Plus for iPad: Both apps encourage you to write at least five good things daily, add photos, and rate the day.Red Stamp: This iOS app will send personalized cards and notes any way you like: email, text, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and paper mail.Appreciation Board: This dry erase board encourages you to share your gratitude with anyone who enters the room. Cost: $12.99

Have you ever experienced having mastered a web-based learning tool and then be informed that the tool was discontinued? Ning.com was new years back. Then Twitter.com and Prezi came. Then Pinterest.com followed. Now,  there is Snapchat.com. Soon more will come - and this is just a sampling from a very, very long list. I follow Jane Hart's Top 100 Tools website which is a good reference. When I saw the image and article from Style Motivation.com "When Old Becomes New", it reminded me of learning architecture. Oftentimes, the rapid and constant change and the abundance of options including the introduction of new software, which is usually free, cause learning professionals to be cautious or inhibit from testing and adopting the tools.Might it be that we focus on the newness of the tools and forget that learning goes deeper than just the tools? We  hear testimonials from those who adapt very well and we wonder how they consciously stay on top of the changes. There must be a common thread that makes it all worthwhile for these learning specialists to persist in their adaption and be willing to pay the price with their efforts and hours of labor.Focus on impacts and not the toolsIt is easy to be distracted by too many shining objects, new bells and whistles that glitter and are dangled in front of us as learning alternatives. Yet, let us realize the value that goes beyond the tool. We are wowed by the impacts the tool may have on how learners learn. Or should I say how the new tools make more apparent the old ways we learn, but manifesting it differently? Preserving the old and adding the newRay Kurzweil, a pioneering thinker in accelerating learning suggests that technologies have far more contributions in how people learn and behave. At present, our behaviors are still driven by old DNA structures that are hard to change. However, with new discoveries in neurosciences and technologies, these behaviors could be magnified to help learners faster and better. I am inclined to believe that in many of our use of tools, we may have missed the chance to observe how these magnified behaviors benefit learners and speed up learning. Magnifying learners' behaviors to learn faster and betterIn my research and work with clients and in workshops, I observed four behaviors that are magnified when I use new forms of learning technologies. Others have observed the same: Clark Quinn, Jane Bozarth, and many others, so this is not totally new. However, I observed that the behaviors are not referred to using a common language and terminology in learning and training. The descriptors I use are merely my own way of making the ideas meaningful in my work.The SeekerI got this idea from a webinar participant. In order to learn faster, learners tend to be seekers of knowledge and information. They look for answers, solutions and connections that will work and solve problems. The emphasis is not about Google as a tool, but rather the attitude and skill to seek answers.Action item: In designing a program, encourage the "seeker" behavior by inserting a challenge or an opportunity for participants to seek answers. The obvious tools of course are Google and other search engines. The ArgumentatorThe behavior of questioning assumptions against realities is about having an argument in one's mind. It helps learners discover what ideas work and how their minds are  when finding answers. We can also call this the questioning mind.Action item: In designing a program, encourage the Argumentative Mind (Argumentator) by proposing a debate and asking learners to cite pros and cons and assumptions versus reality assumptions. You can use polling, survey and discussion tools.The Value MakerThe learners learn faster when they add value by contributing a point of view, a new source, or a research reference. They add value to the learning of others in this way.  Above all, the process enhances the value of their own thinking and learning.Action item: Ask learners to do a journal of their learning using a blog or discussion. In TrainingMagNetwork.com we use the Add Insight feature so Proberlearners can create micro-insights and micro-records as they learn.    The Fact Finder - ProberI attended an undergraduate class research presentation at Scripps College where Francesca , my daughter goes to school and one student reported how she used Amazon's Artificial Mechanical Turk market place. The student used Mturk to conduct her study by submitting a request in the community to do a specific activity (sometimes for free, at times for a fee) and allowed the student to collect data. The fact finder - Prober,  conducts systematic research and study to fully understand the data and learn from his/her research goals and findings.Action item: For the length of a course, add a research project to help learners discover the facts and learn from their findings.Context Maker - Evidence ThinkerThe context maker is a mapper or pattern maker. He/she helps the learning process through extraction and extrapolation and adding context to the learning. One tool I love to use in my workshops is the micro-goal setting tool. It allows the learners to put into action an idea or concept in an actual micro goal and plan of action. This allows learners to make the idea crystal clear and adds an emotional experience while doing the micro-goal and plan. One of the significant benefit is a self-proof or evidence that ideas are put into action.Action item: Ask learners to make a micro-goal and micro-plan of application. I emphasized micro since making the plans huge and extensive diminishes the chance of learners accomplishing the plans.  ConclusionI am fascinated with new tools. I wish and and am also confident that there are many more coming. Amidst the abundance of shiny new objects, there is a hidden, often easy to ignore set of learning behaviors that are magnified. It improves the returns on our investment of time, effort, and painful adaptions if we seek deeper beyond the tools and learn to magnify the behaviors.  ReferencesCentre for Learning & Performance TechnologiesWhen Old Becomes NewWolfram Alpha, Computational Knowledge EngineTip 75: Insight Sharing - How They "Meet and MateAmazon's Artificial Mechanical TurkRay Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

"Tweet tweet." Do you hear that? That’s the sound of knowledge. Twitter is one of the richest resources for networking and seeking out the number one professionals in any industry. You can even directly communicate with them, and more often than not, you’ll get a reply too. What’s more, because eLearners are well…technologically inclined by nature, this means that Twitter is especially important in our industry. If you’re not involved, you could be missing out on essential information. So whether you’re a Twitter fiend, or you’re just getting started, this is a guide to the big names in eLearning that you need to follow.