ICETC 2015 is supposed to be the largest technical event on Education Technology and Computer in Berlin, Germany in 2015. ICETC 2015 provides opportunities for the different areas delegates to exchange new ideas and application experiences face to face, to establish business or research relations and to find global partners for future collaboration. The focus of the conference is to establish an effective platform for institutions and industries to share ideas and to present the works of scientists, engineers, educators and students from all over the world. ICETC 2015 Keynote Speakers Dr. Joy Kutaka-Kennedy, Associate Professor, Department of Special Education, School of Education, National University,USA Prof. Dr. Sergei Gorlatch, University of Muenster, Germany Prof. Axel Sikora, Hochschule Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany The 2015 International Conference on Education Technology and Computer (ICETC 2015) will be held at the RAMADA Hotel Berlin Alexanderplatz on August 13-14, 2015 This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

As an eLearning professional, you need to struggle hard to meet your learners’ expectations from an eLearning course. The moment you know your learners and their expectations, you are sure to provide them with an effective eLearning course. Remember, your learners want to take the course for improving their performance and not just for the sake of taking the course. For this, you need to know what your learners actually want from the course. Here are a few things. Problem solving: As mentioned earlier, your learners take an eLearning course for a specific purpose.Your learners would like to know "what’s in it for me?" before taking the course. After all, they would learn better and pay more attention to the aspects they find relevant to the realworld. For this, present them with a problem and allow them to think what the solution is and how it would be applicable in the real world.  Presenting information: Your learners donot want to waste their time on information that is irrelevant to them. They want to know only those which could help them improve their performance. Hence, it’s your responsibility to decide whichpart of the content is relevant and which is not. You need to also make your learners understand how to apply the information in the real world.  Emotions: Learners learn better if they are able to connect themselves to the course emotionally. You can provide your learners a memorable learning experience by providing them with an emotionally-driven course. For this, you can include interesting stories that have memorable characters or give some real world examples that can make learners relate to their personal or professional life.  Visualization: It is well-known thata picture is worth a thousand words. Your learners would naturally pay attention to images rather than large pieces of text. Add visuals to your course,while explaining the content. When you pair the content with relevant and meaningful images, your learners are sure to store information in their long term memory. Assessments: Assessments allow learners to participate in a course actively rather than just sit back and absorb the data. They allow learners to know and understand what they have learned and retain the information for a longer period of time. Use these strategies in your eLearning course and you will see a dramatice change in your eLearning effectiveness. Related PostsHow to Create Effective Scenarios for E-learning Assessments?E-learning For Effective Problem Based Learning4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning Courses

An online learning community (OLC) is a web-based learning environment with the latest digital technologies, where interconnected learning participants communicate, construct their knowledge collaboratively and share their personal experiences (Palloff & Pratt, 1999; Preece, 2000; Richardson, 2006). OLCs have immense learning potential and bring additional benefits of flexibility and ability to track the learner’s participation and behavior. They can be used to train learners, spread across the globe, effectively. Hope you enjoyed this post. Do share your views. Related PostsE-learning for Telecommunication Industry5 Questions you Need to Ask Before Designing a Course for the iPadWhat is the Concept of Networked Online Learning Communities?

How To Create An eLearning Incentives Program For Your Employees eLearning is a powerful way to train your employees. The convenience, flexibility, and magnitude of possibilities that Learning Management Systems (LMS) provide can rocket employee productivity. However, while the knowledge employees gain should be motivating enough to continue using the Learning Management System, that’s not always the case. Employees derive motivation in many ways, and incentive programs can ensure users continue to take advantage of all the benefits from using the system. Incentive programs provide Learning Management System users rewards for what they accomplish in the system. For example, for every module a user completes, they receive a tangible reward. Since rewards are based on how many people use the system, your employees will be more likely to use it as much as possible. 8 Types Of eLearning Incentives Programs  There are many options for incentive programs available. Actually, incentive programs can be as creative as you would like them to be. The goal is the incentive or reward to be worthwhile. The following are some options you may want to implement into your Learning Management System. Shout outs. Employees love praise, especially in front of their co-workers. When users complete a lesson, send a shout out to them during a meeting or even via email or an interoffice communication system. This will not only motivate users receiving the praise, but also their co-workers who also wish to win acclaim. Flexible work hours. Working from home is one of office employees’ greatest wishes. If your Learning Management System is accessible from your employees’ homes, that might be an incentive you can provide to users. If employees complete a module early in a workday, they can come to the office later in that day. This means employees can relax in the morning completing their training on their couch. Financial rewards. You can pay your employees to take advantage of the eLearning course you’re providing. For every lesson or module users complete, they will receive a bonus in their paycheck. This can be highly motivating, especially during holidays like Christmas. Days off. Employees receive a certain number of days of paid leave, but it’s usually not enough. Additional paid days off for completing sections of the Learning Management System can quickly get users to work on their training. Gamifying the Learning Management System. A gamified Learning Management System can be fun for users. For every module users complete, they will receive a certain number of points - i.e. 10 points. For every 50 points a user receives, he/she will receive a gift card; an hour off work or some other incentive. You could keep a list of incentive rewards that employees can redeem their points for. Incentivizing a good cause. Collaborating to raise money for a good cause can be an incredibly motivating goal. Follow the example of Harrisburg agency WebpageFX, whose employees surpassed their goals in order to raise funds to build a school in rural Guatemala. They were so motivated that they managed to raise the $25,000 needed in just seven months! Allowing Dress-down Day. Employees often like to trade in their suits for slacks and a nice shirt. Those who need to complete training, you can allow to dress down the days they will be working on it. Since they will be in front of the computer all day instead of in front of customers, the difference in work attire shouldn’t affect the company’s image. Assigning titles. Before a new employee completes training, he/she could have a title of Sales Trainee. Upon completion of the Learning Management System training, the employee can have the title Sales Associate. As employees complete lessons in the Learning Management System, their titles can change to ones that gain more prestige. For example, someone can go from Sales Associate to Sales Specialist to Sales Manager. How To Choose The Best eLearning Incentives Program For Your Employees  Think about your office’s culture to decide what will be the best eLearning incentives program for your employees. The goal of this type of program is to motivate Learning Management System users to use the system. If the program doesn’t provide anything the employees want, it won’t work. Many organizations work with their employees in creating the incentives program. They ask them for feedback on what would help them learn more from the Learning Management System. Employees are usually quick to provide their suggestions, because they truly do want to learn but find it difficult to absorb the information when there are so many distractions around them. Focus becomes easier when there is a reward dangling in front of them. It’s also possible to combine incentives to create a program that encourages everyone to use the system. You may offer choices to employees when they complete a lesson; they may choose a day off, a gift card, or the option to dress down the next day. Providing employees with the ability to choose what kind of reward they want will also empower them, which can increase morale. Increasing incentives as employees make their way through training can also be highly motivating. You may want to give users a $500 bonus upon completion of all the modules, but for each module they complete, users will receive a smaller reward. Create an eLearning incentives program today; the faster you have an incentives program in place, the quicker you’ll see your employees log into the system to start using it. Get started with your eLearning incentives program today! This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Watch-try-do simulations are ideal for software training. They enable learners to first watch, and then, try it themselves, and finally, work on the software. Recently, we satisfieda unique requirement. The training manager wanted to have a login screen in some screens of software. Learners have to type their usernames and passwords in the text entry fields. The learner should automatically jump to the next slide, whenever he types correct answer. The most important thing here is that the learner should neither click anywhere else in the slide nor press any key after typing the response. This is not possible either by default or through customization. The only option is to use external text entry fields (i.e., HTML ‘Input’ field). Text entry fields in Articulate Storyline don’t provide much control for eLearning developers. So, I have used a HTML field through a Web Object. Here are the steps. Step 1: Insert the recording in Test mode steps. Step 2: Create a variable of theText type with default value as "False". I have named it as UserName. Step 3: Now, develop a HTML page with an Input field (Text field, in general). Format it as youwant as shown in the screenshot below. Note: Make sure to save the HTML file as index.html. Step 4: Now, in the Insert tab of Storyline, select theWeb Object option to insert the HTML page into Storyline. Step 5: In the window opened, paste the location of the HTML file, or you can browse for its location by clicking on the folder icon as shown below. Step 6: Adjust the size and position of the Web Object on the screen. You can even place a portion of the Web Object off the stage. However, the output remains the same.Shown below are the references. Step 7: Publish the course and check the output. Now, the learner automatically jumps to the next slide whenever he completes typing the username. In my next post, I will explain how to add the password fields in Articulate Storyline. Hope you find this post useful. Do share your views. Related PostsIntegrating Twitter in An Online course Developed in Articulate StorylinePrinting User Entry Text in Notes Field Using Articulate StorylineRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key Features

Adobe Captivate 8 Tutorial: Adobe Captivate 8 Objects as Buttons with Roll Over Effects This Adobe Captivate 8 tutorial presents a new feature in Adobe Captivate 8 that I discovered by accident - the ability to use objects as buttons (nothing new here) but now with roll over states. The post Adobe Captivate 8 Tutorial: Adobe Captivate 8 Objects as Buttons with Roll Over Effects appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

How To Get Multiple Choice Questions Right Today’s article aims to give you a better understanding of this question type, shed some light on its advantages and disadvantages, and also explain how to construct questions of this type properly (which is not as simple as it may seem at first glance). Let us begin by defining the principal characteristics of multiple choice questions. Multiple Choice Questions Advantages Highly effective. Convenient - the learner only needs to mark the answer, no need to write anything. Can cover a wide range of topics. Can be used to test many degrees of understanding. Multiple Choice Questions Disadvantages Hard to construct correctly. Coming up with plausible-sounding alternative answers is not easy. Time-consuming if formatted correctly. Learners who do not know the correct answer can still answer correctly by picking their answer at random. As you can see, this question type comes with both advantages and disadvantages. Despite being universal, they are far from being easy to construct. The fact that learners who do not know the correct answer can still answer correctly with a lucky guess makes one jump through hoops trying to minimize the impact of luck on the test results. Do not despair though. Below you will find advice and best practices that will help you construct multiple choice questions the right way. You will learn how to make both the question and the answers more readable and easier to comprehend, and also how to make it so that learners guessing the correct answer does not skew the test results. Whenever possible, examples with commentary are also provided. Some Advice Regarding The Construction Of Multiple Choice Questions If possible, order possible answers in a logical way (chronologically, alphabetically, from smallest to greatest etc). Make sure that the correct answer cannot be inferred from the question itself. Try to avoid answers like "All of the above", "None of the above", or "Answers A and C are correct". Do not use answers that confuse the learner and do not contribute to knowledge retention. Whenever possible, use direct questions and not incomplete statements that need to be completed. Democracy is a system of government based on… - Incorrect. What is democracy? - Correct. If you find that a particular word is repeated in all answers to the question, it is recommended to move it to the question itself. Avoid negative constructions in your questions. It is always recommended to formulate questions positively as to not confuse the learner. If negation is unavoidable, bring the learner’s attention to the words expressing it by writing it in bold, in all caps, or by underlining it. Which of the options below is not a part of… - Incorrect. Which of the options below is NOT a part of… - Correct. Which of the options below is not a part of… - Correct. Try to keep all answers roughly the same length, and compose them in such a way that they are similar to one another. Give at least four or five answers to each question to decrease the chance of the learner guessing the correct answer. Make sure that the correct answer if not always the first (or the second, or the third) in the list of possible answers. Shuffle it up - ideally, for every question, the chances of every possible answer to be the correct one should be roughly equal. Use capital letters A, B, C, and D to mark the possible answers. This makes them more readable and helps avoid mistakes caused by the lack of attention. How To Make Sure That A Question Is Constructed Correctly The best way to understand if a multiple choice question is good is to see whether a person familiar with the subject is able to answer it correctly having read the question, but without looking at the answers. Try not to make two or more answers that read similarly to each other. It is important to construct questions in such a way that the learner who has grasped the material can identify the correct answer quickly. Most important, there should always be a single unambiguously correct answer. Aim to clearly identify the correct answer, and not to confuse the learner by having them to pick from a list of similar answers with subtle differences. Keep in mind that the goal of the test is to ensure that the learner who understands the subject answers correctly, and the one who has not yet grasped it - incorrectly. Reference: This article makes use of material from "A Short Guide to Writing Effective Test Questions" by Ben Clay from Kansas Curriculum Center.  This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Welcome to today’s blog post. Most of the articles, blogs and eLearning companies today portray an impression that the working domain of instructional designers is limited to eLearning. This is not true. The instructional design concept came into existence even before the invention of personal computers. E-learning or the educational technology uses the instructional design principles to enable superior understanding and enhanced learning experiences. Now that most of the training institutions have moved on to digital classrooms globally, I would like share some ideas on instructional designing for technology-enabled classroom training. These ideas will be applicable even in a traditional Instructor-led Training (ILT) program except that the supporting documents will be hard copies and not digital. The instructional design approach for a digital classroom will vary from that of the eLearning territory. The process involves development of three key documents as shown here. Facilitator’s Presentation Facilitator Guide Learner Guide (Digital Handout) Facilitator’s Presentation: In eLearning, we develop a storyboard that consists of all the elements to be used in the course such as on-screen text, narration and visualization for the course. Similarly here, we develop a presentation with the content that needs to be displayed on the screen (projector screen). The difference to note here is that unlike an eLearning storyboard, the presentation will not contain indicative images/media but the polished final ones. That is, you got to first prepare a draft storyboard and then work along with your visual designers to transform it into a fully equipped learning document. Please note thathere you need not write audio script/narration as in an eLearning storyboard. It will only include the elements that need to be shown, to the learners, on the screen. Facilitator Guide: This document is exclusive to ILTs. This is a guide we develop for the facilitator in order to conduct the session effectively. In this document, we write step by step instructions for the facilitator on the explanation to be given for each screen in the presentation. This is similar to the narration/audio script we write for an eLearning storyboard except that here you have a facilitator reading it out for the learners in a live session. Please note that along with the explanation for the on-screen content, you should also provide any additional information that would be required by the facilitator in cases that are specific to classroom training. For example, in an eLearning course, the learner will be asked questions with limited options to select, and according to his selection, an immediate feedback is displayed. But, this is not the case in a classroom training program. The possibilities to answers, given the learners, are many. Therefore, you need to provide the facilitator, the possible responses to be expected from the learners and the feedback to be given for each. This would help him deliver the learning smoothly. Learner Guide/Digital Handout: This is a simple document prepared to enable the learner record his learning from the sessions. In this document, you will provide any information that will help the learner better understand the training during the session. You will also provide space in the document for recording his learning (key points) for every topic. Also, any activities or tests to be performed by the learner are to be recorded in this document and at the end of the session be forwarded to the facilitator for evaluation. With the evolution of technology, the way people learn things is changing. It is important to remember that educational technology is only a supporting medium to enhance learning experiences, but the learning theories and instructional principles stand as the foundation pillars to effective learning even today. What are your views on this? What are your ideas for using instructional design in digital classrooms? Please share your views in the comments section below. Thanks for reading. Happy eLearning!! Related PostsWhat Exactly Should an ID do to Develop an Effective E-learning Course?What Does it Take to Convert Classroom Training Material into E-learning?8 Must Have Elements in an E-learning Course

Lectora Inspire V11 Tutorial: Publishing to ReviewLink with Lectora V11 e-Learning Software This Lectora Inspire V11 Tutorial presents how to publish your e-Learning courses to ReviewLink for seamless e-Learning review with your team. Online collaboration has never been easier. The post Lectora Inspire V11 Tutorial: Publishing to ReviewLink with Lectora V11 e-Learning Software appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

Enhancing Metacognition in eLearning: What eLearning Professionals Should Know Metacognition involves not just having knowledge and being able to cognitively process information, but being able to control these mental processes. This typically involves modification, monitoring, and organization of the information in order to apply it in real world settings. Metacognition also focuses on analyzing a challenge or task to determine which problem solving approach would be the most effective. One of the most significant advantages of using metacognition in eLearning is that it encourages learners to become more independent and empowered. They must identify their strengths and weaknesses, and fine tune their study, organization, problem-solving, and communication skills. In this article, I’ll delve into the categories of metacognition, its best practices, and I’ll share 5 tips that will help you use metacognition in eLearning. Metacognitive Knowledge vs. Metacognitive Regulation Based upon the research of Flavell (1979, 1987) and Schraw& Dennison (1994), metacognition involves 2 distinct elements: knowledge and regulation. Metacognitive Knowledge is the information that learners actually know about themselves, as well as the various problem-solving approaches that can be used, and what is required to complete a particular learning activity. Flavell also states that metacognitive knowledge involves three key variables: Self-awareness. Learners’ capacity to recognize and acknowledge their own strengths and weaknesses during the learning process. Task analysis. What learners already know or can learn about the task at-hand, as well as what they will need to successfully complete the task. For instance, they may understand that a complex problem will require more time and critical thinking skills. Selection of strategy. The strategies and problem-solving approaches that learners already have at their disposal to complete the task. For example, they might read through the research material before answering a set of questions or engage in an online scenario before completing the same process in real-world settings. Metacognitive Regulation refers to how well learners are able to modify their mental processes in order to take control of their learning experience. For instance, they might fine tune their post-evaluation process, plan more effectively, or re-evaluate their learning goals to prepare for the next learning activity. Best Practices To Enhance Metacognitive Skills According to Fogarty (1994), in order to enhance their metacognitive skills learners must participate in the three different phases of metacognition, which are: Creating a study plan. Learners should create a study plan before beginning any learning task. Monitoring their comprehension. Learners must be able to monitor their understanding and comprehension throughout the task, making adjustments as needed. Evaluating. After the task has been completed learners should evaluate their learning processes and determine how they can improve. 5 Instructional Design Tips To Enhance Metacognition in eLearning Integrate a wide range of skills and subjects. In the real world learners will need to be able to apply their metacognitive abilities in a wide range of situations and settings. As such, you will want to integrate a wide range of skills and subjects into your eLearning course design, so that your learners can fine tune their metacognitive talents by completing diverse learning tasks. Model the metacognitive process. Leading by example is one of the most effective ways to encourage metacognition in your learners. Create a tutorial or video presentation that showcases the metacognitive process. State the problem or question in the beginning of the presentation; then guide them through the steps you would use to solve it. Be as detailed as possible and include every mistake they could make along the way, as mistakes can serve as invaluable teaching tools as well. Give them control. Allow students to take control of their own eLearning experience by giving them freedom of choice. Give them the ability to choose what projects to complete, when, as well as which topics they would like to explore. By doing this, you generate authentic interest, rather than forcing them to master a particular subject. They are also more likely to use their critical thinking, analysis, and creative thinking skills to solve the problem if they were the ones who chose to tackle the problem themselves. Review, identify, and evaluate. At the end of every eLearning activity, encourage your students to review, identify, and evaluate the process. Ask them to review the eLearning activity, itself, including their personal opinions about it. Then ask them to identify the strategies they utilized and why they chose these strategies, before evaluating their overall performance and assessing their strengths and weaknesses throughout the task. Encourage learners to differentiate what they know from what they need to know. The main goal of any eLearning experience is to fill the learning gap, whatever or however large that gap might be. Before each eLearning activity encourage your learners to determine what they currently know and what they need to learn by the end of the task. This might be developing specific skills or acquiring new information. Once they have completed the task, have them evaluate their original statements in order to determine if they have achieved their individual goals. You can also ask them to modify or add to their statements throughout the eLearning activity if necessary. Metacognition gives your learners the ability to self-regulate and self-reflect, whether they have the skills and information they need to tackle challenges in and out of the virtual classroom. You can utilize these tips and best practices to develop metacognition in eLearning and benefit your online learners by facilitating their learning process and helping them to achieve better results. Using metacognition in eLearning can empower your audience, but they must also first have the motivation and drive to become active participants. The article Intrinsic Motivation In Online Training features 6 top tips to help you bring intrinsic motivation into your online learning environment. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.