For the past year or so, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been busy upending all kinds of assumptions about education: content is king, quality education is expensive, and instructor-led training is the gold standard, to name just a few. But some subtler shifts are also taking place. One major change that MOOCs have greatly contributed to is the gaining recognition of learning as a primarily social activity, where the networks created are just as important (if not more important) as the content learned. The traditional practice of an instructor standing in front of a class of daydreaming students has been tossed out the window in favor of a new picture of an instructor as a facilitator who assists students to teach and learn from others and themselves. We live in a world where there is simply too much to learn - whether in a history class or a management training program, it has become nearly impossible for a person to absorb all there is to know. Because of this, education is moving from a model of knowledge transfer to a model of learning network development. MOOCs represent the intersection between these two models - knowledge can be transferred quickly and effectively to large numbers of people at the same time and spaces can be created for people to build their own learning networks. The implications of this shift for education are huge; the implications for corporate training and continuing and professional development are staggering. A personal learning network (PLN) is a network of resources including people (subject matter experts, coworkers, friends, mentors, etc.) and online resources (websites, wikis, blogs, discussion forums, Twitter feeds, etc.) that represents an individual’s learning community. Think of a PLN as LinkedIn for learning. PLNs are virtual spaces for people to connect, share ideas, and develop knowledge. Content literally moves from the person’s head, where it can become lost or muddled, to the network, where it is always available. When people with their own PLNs come together, they create learning communities or something similar to communities of practice, which Lave and Wenger (1991) defined as groups of people who share a craft or profession and who come together to teach and learn from each other. A PLN represents the pinnacle of informal learning. The power of informal learning has long been known in corporate training circles, but many organizations remain resistant to adopting it as a learning strategy. According to recent estimates, although about 80 percent of learning is thought to occur informally, companies still invest 75 percent of their L&D budgets in formal training. But the world is changing, and people’s expectations of learning are changing. It is time for corporate training to enter the world of Web 2.0. So where do MOOCs fit in and how can organizations use them to foster the development of learning networks? MOOCs incorporate networked learning methods into a traditional course structure. They are ways for employees, trainers, educators, and students to access virtual communities of practice. They represent the best of both worlds: formal training to deliver content to large numbers of employees quickly and efficiently and informal training via the development of PLNs. MOOCs offer opportunities for people to connect with colleagues and experts and to develop their own PLNs based around their professional needs and interests. These networks are unlimited by physical constraints - employees can connect with each other just as effectively whether they work in the same office, different offices, or different countries. They are also unlimited by time - even after the formal training program is finished, the network remains, expanding and morphing as the knowledge itself changes. This allows both the employees and the organization to benefit from the knowledge stored in the network long after the training is over. Since the network is constantly updated, it also helps employees keep their knowledge current and relevant. PLNs can even eliminate the need for additional training, for example, when new technologies come on the market, because knowledge can be easily distributed through networks. The benefits of PLNs and networked learning for organizations are many: It costs much less and takes much less time to distribute knowledge through network connections than to gather everyone together for training sessions. PLNs allow employees to share their knowledge and expertise with others, providing a way for organizations to effectively crowdsource parts of their training. PLNs create avenues for employees to obtain just-in-time training as they can access the network as needed. Employees have direct access to subject matter experts. Many people learn better from their peers than from instructors. PLNs can foster teamwork, cooperation, creativity, innovation, and problem-solving by opening access channels between different departments. The Millennial generation already spends a significant part of their lives on the Internet, which is really just one big learning network. Companies of all sizes can benefit not only from network connections within the organization but also from connections outside the organization. PLNs provide ways for learners to actively take control of their own learning, which has been shown to greatly increase the value of education and training. MOOCs offer many ways to create and foster PLNs in a training context. These tools can be easily integrated into most learning management systems and most can be hosted either on the Internet or on a private intranet. Discussion forums are places where people can exchange ideas, ask and answer questions, and connect with coworkers. Blogs provide opportunities for people to reflect on their training, develop and share ideas, and provide feedback on each others’ ideas. Collaborative documents, such as Google docs, can be used to work collaboratively on projects. Twitter discussions and hangouts can be used to host real-time conversations. Wikis can be created and edited as the collective knowledge in an organization changes and expands. PLNs are organic entities that respond to the needs of the learner. Companies can encourage employees to develop their own PLNs by using tools and technologies that allow their employees to connect with each other and creating virtual spaces for networks to grow. Professionals in several fields are already seeing the benefits of developing PLNs. Here is a short video on how educators can use PLNs to enhance their own professional development: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6WVEFE-oZA&feature=player_embedded   Copyright 2013 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved. Bryant Nielson - Managing Director of CapitalWave Inc.- offers 25+ years of training and talent management for executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a entrepreneur, trainer, and strategic training adviser for many organizations. Bryant’s business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering the individual. Learn more about Bryant at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryantnielson     Related Posts:How to MOOC: Technology-Enabled Learning Tools, Part 2How to MOOC: Social Media in the Corporate Classroom, Part 1How to MOOC: Social Media in the Corporate Classroom, Part 2MOOC: The King is Dead - Long Live the KingMOOCs - Helping organizations learn(Visited 36 times, 1 visits today)

This is your Brain on Games- The science behind gaming that proves gamification and simulation make sense Computer and video gaming… It’s a $25 billion dollar entertainment business per year which in 2010 sold over 257 million video and computer games. While the first commercial video game hit the market over 40 years ago, the game industry has grown immensely in the past two decades. There are casual gamers and then there are serious gamers…a ‘serious gamer’ may be defined as someone who spends 20 hours a week on gaming or alternatively as an MMO addict that spends his/her days in the basement clocking in 40 to 80 hours a week spent trying to master a game. However, most research exhibits gaming from 5 to 10 hours per week as healthy and otherwise defined as ‘gaming in moderation’. Computer and video games can actually be looked at as a form of ‘brain training’; it’s an intuitive way to learn things (and actually retain what is learned). When one is participating in a video type of game they enjoy intense determination, focus, a drive to achieve more, positive emotion… all of these are just a few ‘symptoms’ of gaming. Surprisingly, gamers are willing to fail 80 percent of the time. That’s a pretty high statistic compared to what people are willing do in daily life and how they feel they may fail. When you are immersed in a ‘game’ you amaze yourself at what you can accomplish. By participating in a state of play, it brings out our optimism and energy levels and actually has positive effects in a multitude of different ways. "The opposite of play isn’t work- it’s depression."- Jane McGonigal The use of brain imaging to measure the effectiveness of gaming has come into light of late and the field of neuroscience has recently introduced a number of new studies centered around games and their effect on the human brain. Stanford University has been on the forefront of this research, demonstrating that by passively watching someone play a game your brain is not stimulated nearly as much as when you are in control of playing the game firsthand. "Identifying a direct connection between the stimulation of neural circuits and game play is a key step in unlocking the potential for game-based tools to inspire positive behavior and improve health," Brian Knutson, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Stanford University. This is hard evidence that games won’t turn your brain into mush or you won’t turn into a zombie like your parents may have told you when spending infinite amounts of time in front of the video game controller or computer screen. The above images depict "Your Brain on Games" With the concept of gamification through simulation, you are motivated through play and rewarded for the choices made. When observed through a real-time functional MRI (fMRI) your brain activity of the hippocampus lights up and when this takes place we are much more likely to recall information presented both now and in the future. If the hippocampus is lit up, then the more likely it is that the behavior will continue afterwards and longer over an extended period of time. Casual gaming has also been shown to reduce clinical depression and anxiety in all ages. Some doctors are actually prescribing ‘video game therapy’ in lieu of prescription medication. Video and computer games are able to integrate with our personal lives in home and business; and are thus able to transfer over into better social skills. The myth that all games are bad for you has now been dispelled; rather they provide a wide range of benefits. One study showed that people who played an action-based game made decisions 25 percent faster than others, with no loss of accuracy. The University of Rochester Researchers have also found that an adept gamer can make choices (and act upon them) up to six times per second, which is four times faster than most people. Women now make up approximately 42 percent of computer and video game players; according to scientists those ladies that do play are better able to mentally manipulate 3D objects than those that have not played. The violent action games that often worry parents most actually have had the strongest benefits that affect the brain. "These are not the games you would think are mind-enhancing," said cognitive neuroscientist Daphne Bavelier, who studies the effect of action games at University of Rochester in New York and at Switzerland’s University of Geneva. There are also other confirmed influences from gaming as well. For instance, you may have heard that screen time playing games impairs your vision… Wrong! When in fact it actually improves your vision by 1) Giving you a better ability to read fine print and 2) Allows you to resolve different levels of gray at an enhanced rate. When we watch TV, sensory stimulation occurs. Whereas with game play, mesolimbic neural circuits are activated. Game play provokes both physiological and biochemical changes that are consistent with positive changes in anxiety and mood. These results are able to clearly demonstrate the intrinsic value of casual gaming in terms of significant positive effects on both depression and anxiety symptoms. The ability for gaming to replace standard therapy methods, such as prescribed medication is a powerful statement on the effects that games can make on someone (and all for the better too)! We have the ability to leverage the power of games to stimulate the brain. The name of the game is to play more, stimulate your brain and retain the information taught through gamified simulation training. Sure shooting zombies may be considered not all that stimulating for the brain in context, but in reality it really is stimulating. The media has put a negative spin on the fact that they believe video games are bad for you. I am here to prove to you that the media is wrong! Playing video games is actually good for your health (and your brain). Copyright 2013 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved. Bryant Nielson - Managing Director of CapitalWave Inc.- offers 25+ years of training and talent management for executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a entrepreneur, trainer, and strategic training adviser for many organizations. Bryant’s business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering the individual. Learn more about Bryant at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryantnielson                 Related Posts:Developing Skills through GamificationGamification Techniques Transferring Over into Real Life-…The History and Direction of GamificationGamified Applications for TrainingGamification with Narrative- The story behind the content…(Visited 44 times, 2 visits today)

The proliferation of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has prompted many discussions about what education is, what it means, and how best to deliver it in the current digital environment. While the debate continues on whether MOOCs will eventually lead to degrees, the knowledge gained from the first year and a half of these huge online experiments is changing the perceptions and practices of education both online and in the classroom. These lessons are especially valuable for corporate training and continuing professional development programs, which companies are rapidly moving online to lower costs and increase efficiency. Over a series of articles, we will explore what MOOCs have taught us about the best ways to design, deliver, assess, and recognize learning online. This first article highlights MOOC methods for delivering training content in a way that leads to real engagement and mastery, and ultimately to better job performance. MOOCs have focused the spotlight on how teachers teach and students learn, and many of the assumptions that form the foundations of education and training are being challenged. The first idol to fall has been the lecture. Lectures have been staples practically since the beginning of training programs. The problem is that unless the goal is to put people to sleep, lectures just don’t work. Studies going back to the 1970s have shown that people simply can’t pay attention and retain information over long periods of time. In fact, most people can pay attention for only very short periods of time and then they need to use the information somehow or it will vanish from their working memory. This is because the brain’s working memory capacity is limited - if we don’t apply information immediately to consolidate it into long-term memory, it will disappear to make room for new information. The attention and memory problems are solved in MOOCs by doing away with the long lecture altogether in favor of a brain-friendly method of delivery called "bite-sized learning." Bite-sized learning (or as elearning expert Susan Smith Nash calls it, "snack" learning) involves dividing course material into very small chunks, interspersed with activities such as short quizzes, mini-research projects, or questions for reflection and discussion. These small chunks make it easier for learners to absorb information and give them the opportunity to reflect on it and consolidate it into memory before moving onto the next chunk. In MOOCs, content delivery can take many forms, including videos, documents, slide shows, audio podcasts, whiteboard animations, and even live virtual webinars with real-time commenting and participation. When designing these learning resources, think about how to divide the course content into chunks of no more than 10 minutes, with an activity at the end that either tests declarative knowledge or provides the opportunity to apply practical knowledge. Rich multimedia content is much more engaging than just text, and even videos can be interactive, for example, with quiz questions and reflection prompts inserted at various points. Ideally, the chunks should contain three main elements - content, activity, and review - so that each mini module is a complete learning experience. Bite-sized course materials are not only brain-friendly, but they are also much more suited than standard lectures to the needs of today’s learners. One of the major advantages of MOOCs is that they allow learners to be mobile. Few people who are not full-time students have the time to devote hours every night to coursework. This is actually a good thing - our brains can’t absorb hours of coursework at a time anyway! MOOCs allow people to access their course materials on the go. For businesses, this convenience can represent huge savings in terms of both time and cost. Rather than spending a whole day in a seminar learning very little, employees can access training materials in their downtime. Organizing material into small chunks allows people the freedom to learn how and when they want to, as well as increases training efficiency - using bite-sized, mobile elearning, your employees could learn more in the 10 minutes it takes for a seminar to get started than in the entire rest of a standard training day. In a recent blog on the Lectora site, elearning and social media expert Kristen Marshall identified 10 components of online courses that can easily be presented in bite-sized chunks: Videos Podcasts and screencasts Group discussions Games Quizzes Infographics Outside resources (i.e., articles, blogs, forums) Questions for exploration Real-world examples Avatars The formats of many of these components, such as podcasts and infographics, were developed for online consumption in the first place, meaning that they are designed to present complete ideas in small pieces that are easy to digest (and in the case of infographics, easy to visualize). On her Elearning Queen blog, Susan Smith Nash offers some excellent suggestions for engaging workplace learners in bite-sized learning. First, she suggests telling learners in advance that the lessons will be short and sweet, such as by naming them "Lunch and Learn," or "Breaktime Learning." This will discourage learners from procrastination by letting them know that they can complete a full lesson in a short period of time. She also emphasizes that the learning must be "pain-free" so as not to lead to performance anxiety. Strategies for relaxed learning include using an intuitive user interface and allowing a limited number of choices. Finally, Nash stresses the importance of using multimedia to engage and keep the learners’ interest as well as ensuring that the content works on computers as well as mobile devices. The real disruptive power of MOOCs has yet to be realized, but at the very least they have led instructors to think differently about the goals and processes of education. Bite-sized learning is one of the few MOOC elements that most people agree on - this form of content delivery allows learners to engage with course materials in ways that lead to real understanding and mastery, rather than just seat time. In the next article in this series, we will examine the issues surrounding using MOOC social media tools in training. Copyright 2013 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved. Bryant Nielson - Managing Director of CapitalWave Inc.- offers 25+ years of training and talent management for executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a entrepreneur, trainer, and strategic training adviser for many organizations. Bryant’s business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering the individual. Learn more about Bryant at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryantnielson Bryant writes for the training blog: www.YourTrainingEdge.com   Related Posts:How to MOOC: Technology-Enabled Learning Tools, Part 1Beyond Cost-Savings: Advantages of MOOCs for Corporate…Rapid Elearning and MOOCs: Keeping Up with ChangeNew MOOC Models: Blended LearningWhat Type of MOOC Is Right For You?(Visited 29 times, 1 visits today)

Tyler Cown, a professor of economics at George Mason University, wrote a New York Times article, with the same title as this post (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/business/a-dearth-of-investment-in-young-workers.html?_r=0).  What  is troubling is his argument that due to a slow economic recovery, that much of our nations youth are being bypassed.  Suggesting that these workers will not attain the economic status of their parents or achieve the desire of being middle-class. Mr. Cown’s article makes the following points: Businesses have been and are expected to continue to be unwilling to invest in teaching skills to their new staff. That these same businesses are investing in information technologies that eliminates dependency on staff, and, Staff can expect to have more of their training and education delivered to them online. The article is a bit sobering and does not point to a rosy outlook.  Reading is does, however, provide opportunities for companies who wish to take an alternative path to success.  It also creates opportunities for firms delivering affordable solutions to these companies to provide the training that they remain willing to deliver. Related Posts:Rackspace Solves its Recruitment ProblemsHow to MOOC: Social Media in the Corporate Classroom, Part 1How to MOOC: Social Media in the Corporate Classroom, Part 1MOOCs to Bridge the Workplace Skills GapUniversity Trading Challenge December 9, 2011(Visited 10 times, 1 visits today)

Wharton’s announcement that it was working with Coursera to put its first-year MBA programs online for Free.  While this does not provide the participant student with the same benefits of going to Wharton with its two-year immersion in a community of scholars, or access to its famed relationships with employers, it does create an opportunity for many to receive the same ‘high-quality’ training from their professors. They have even provided an opportunity to receive a certificate of completion for $49 to those who pass those initial classes. To date, about 700,000 students in 173 countries have already enrolled in Wharton MOOCs, more than the combined enrollment in Wharton’s traditional MBA and undergraduate programs since the school’s founding in 1881. You can read the entire article here at: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-13/wharton-puts-first-year-mba-courses-online-for-free#r=read Copyright 2013 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved. Bryant Nielson - Managing Director of CapitalWave Inc.- offers 25+ years of training and talent management helping executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Being a big believer in Technology Enabled Learning, Bryant seeks to create awareness, motivate adoption and engage organizations and people in the changing business of education. Bryant is a entrepreneur, trainer, and strategic training adviser for many organizations. Bryant’s business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering the individual. Learn more about Bryant at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryantnielson Related Posts:How MOOCs Are Used in Workplace TrainingMOOCs: Personal Initiative and Professional DevelopmentWhat Determines Value in Training?MOOCs: From the Classroom to the Conference RoomMOOCs to Bridge the Workplace Skills Gap(Visited 182 times, 1 visits today)

I have said before that the real innovation of massive open online courses (MOOCs) is not technological (after all, we already had online videos, forums, and blogs), but pedagogical - the idea that content is king has been steamrolled by the Internet and the spread of open educational resources. MOOCs have challenged the dominant thinking about how people learn. And guess what? Sitting in a room and listening to someone talk for an hour or three isn’t it - mere exposure to content does not equal learning. People learn by engaging with content, participating in hands-on activities, and teaching and learning from their peers. So why does so much of corporate training still involve an instructor flipping through a seemingly endless PowerPoint slide deck? The MOOC model involves students watching short videos for content and then performing active learning activities, such as participating in discussions, working through simulations, collaborating on projects, and writing and peer-reviewing essays. The content delivery portion of a MOOC is typically short, with each video lasting no more than 10 to 12 minutes, while the real emphasis is on applying the newly acquired knowledge and skills and connecting and collaborating with others. Content, which thanks to Google is always at our fingertips, takes a backseat to building personal knowledge networks and solving real-world problems. It is perhaps no coincidence that the MOOC explosion has occurred side-by-side with a rise in popularity of the "flipped classroom" model, in which the traditional method of classroom delivery is flipped on its head. In a traditional classroom, the instructor lectures during class time and then sends the students home with homework. In a flipped classroom, the students watch pre-recorded video lectures in advance and then use class time to do activities like research projects, group work, and so on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=r2b7GeuqkPc The flipped classroom model is not particularly new - it has its roots in the early 1990s and a version of it has been used in higher-level college seminars for years. But the idea of flipping K-12 and lower-level college classrooms has only recently taken off, and although there has been a lot of speculation about flipping the corporate classroom, trainers seem reticent to adopt the trend. However, the Millennials and future digital native generations entering the workforce will require more active engagement than listening to dull PowerPoint lectures. As George Bradt wrote in a Forbes article advocating flipping business presentations: "When Generation Z - the Internet generation - enters the workforce, their expectations for business presentations will be drastically different from those today. If you don’t change with them, no one is going to pay attention to you anymore." So what are the advantages of flipping the corporate classroom and how can you use MOOCs to do it? When you flip a classroom, the instructor moves (in popular jargon) from being a "sage on the stage" to being "a guide on the side." The training becomes participant-focused rather than either instructor- or content-focused. The benefit of this switch is clear: people who actively participate in their own education learn better than people who don’t. Flipped classrooms, like MOOCs, also have the potential to confer huge cost savings - rather than paying trainers to deliver the same presentation to multiple groups, the presentation needs to be recorded only once. Barbi Honeycutt, the founder of Flip It Consulting, recommends that trainers "start with the question, ‘What are the participants going to do during the training program?’ The emphasis is on the word ‘during’ because flipped training programs emphasize the application, analysis, and evaluation of the material during the learning experience, not afterwards." For example, one frequent training need is learning how to use a new software package. Often, an instructor will deliver a tutorial in person and then the employees will be sent back to their desks to perform tasks using the software. In a flipped setting, the employees would watch video tutorials in advance and then come together to work through the tasks. This format allows learners to take as much time as they need with the material, rewinding and replaying the tutorials as necessary, and to ask questions and receive support while they are actually working with the software package. Honeycutt recommends that trainers start with figuring out the goal of the training - what the employees need to be able to do - and then "design [an] environment to allow time and space for participants to actually do it." This idea may sound radical, but it really shouldn’t - training is unique in that it is the only type of education where the emphasis is almost entirely on building skills and competencies. Because organizations need to train their employees quickly and have those employees be able to apply the training immediately, it only makes sense that training sessions focus on practical applications and real-world problem solving. Flipped classrooms also give employees opportunities to interact with subject matter experts in ways that might not normally be available. Although MOOCs are not inherently flipped (in fact, many merely replicate the "sage on the stage" model), they do provide an excellent framework for flipping. Any type of training that relies on lectures can be flipped, and there are already examples of MOOCs being used to flip classrooms in higher education. For example, MOOC provider edX has teamed up with two community colleges in the Boston area to offer computer courses that are not usually available at the schools. Students access the edX lectures and other online resources from home and then work on projects in class. MOOCs offer many flipping options for corporate trainers. They can be used in blended programs, like the edX/community college partnership. But with the availability of myriad technology-enabled social learning tools, like applications for collaborative documents, shared work spaces, and virtual meetings, the entire flipped classroom experience can be emulated within the MOOC itself. Flipped classrooms and MOOCs are just starting to come together, but they have the potential to be as powerful for training and professional development as they are in education. Start thinking now about how your organization can flip a whole training program, or even just a class. As the creators of the following video suggest, flipping is the vehicle to the future. Don’t be left behind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpHfTO8SW7U Related Posts:Using MOOCs in Corporate Training ProgramsNew MOOC Models: Blended LearningHow to MOOC: Technology-Enabled Learning Tools, Part 1New MOOC Environments: Distributed Open Collaborative…How to MOOC: Designing Effective MOOC Training Programs(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a bit of a chimera - they have the head of instructor-led training, the body of traditional e-learning, and the long tail of social media. They also take advantage of many technology-enabled learning tools and platforms. Just as there are myriad types of brick-and-mortar courses, there are many types of MOOCs, each of which has its own goals and implementations. How do we design effective training programs for such an eclectic creature? In a presentation given at the 2013 Sloan-C conference, Jason Mock, instructional designer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, noted that MOOCs do not require completely new models of instructional design, but that problems in MOOCs are by nature much, much bigger than problems in traditional courses. Because of this, sound instructional design is even more essential for MOOCs than for other types of programs. So what are some main issues corporate trainers need to consider when designing a MOOC? Audience, Purpose, and Content All instructional design starts with assessing the needs of the audience and the scope and purpose of the training. Start by asking standard questions for training development, including: "Who will take the training?," "How much content needs to be delivered?," and "How complex is the information?" MOOCs require additional questions, such as: "Are the participants located in the same region/time zone or distributed around the country or the world?," "Do employees have adequate access to the Internet via computers and mobile devices?," and "Do employees have the necessary technological skills to complete the course?" The content of the training determines whether a MOOC is the right format in the first place and, if so, what type of MOOC to use. A MOOC is probably not the best choice to disseminate one-off information to a relatively small group of people, like new product sales specs (though you could certainly use some MOOC elements, like a live webinar coupled with a virtual discussion space). The power of the MOOC is in delivering training to large groups of people altogether, rather than repeating it to small groups. MOOCs are well suited to both hard skills and soft skills training, but the type of course may differ. For example, hard skills like typing, using spreadsheets, and data analysis may call for a course with extensive video tutorials, exercises, and quantitative practical assessments. On the other hand, courses for soft skills, such as conflict management, communication, and leadership, may take more advantage of social learning tools, incorporating role playing and collaborative assignments. Ultimately, the MOOC you use will depend on the audience, content, budget, and other factors - the main point is that this format is fully customizable for the organization’s needs. Structure and Navigation MOOCs are usually organized into modules, which in higher education generally correspond to weeks. The structure depends on how well the information can be chunked into small learning objects, but typical courses run anywhere from four to twelve weeks, with each week following the same basic structure. A standard week’s activities may include video lectures and/or readings, interaction on discussion forums or other social media platforms, individual knowledge assessments, and group collaborative work. Ideally each week’s content should also include a review of information from the previous weeks. As Bill Cushard over at Mindflash points out, MOOCs (unlike training seminars) are perfect for exploiting the "spacing effect," in which people learn better when content is repeated over a long time rather than crammed into a short time. Course navigation is perhaps the most essential design consideration, and confusing course navigation causes by far the most frustration for learners. The course structure, and the way learners should navigate through it, must be not only clear, but absolutely, unmistakably clear. Using a module-based design with each week following a similar structure can go a long way toward helping learners navigate through a course. It is also helpful to have a separate document, easily accessible from the main course page, that clearly lays out the objectives, activities, and expectations for each module. Assessment and Feedback The biggest debates around MOOCs in higher education revolve around the issue of assessment. Corporate training largely escapes much of the controversy because the outcomes of the training are more readily measured: Can employees apply the newly learned concepts and skills on the job? Assessments in MOOCs can take many forms, including knowledge assessments (e.g., multiple choice quizzes), practical projects (e.g., data analysis, business writing), and getting feedback from fellow learners (e.g., on presentation skills, public speaking, etc.). The best assessments are directly relevant to employees’ needs - adult learners vastly prefer just-in-time training to just-in-case training - so assignments and projects should give learners the opportunity to apply what they learn each week. Facilitation and Support Most MOOCs are facilitated by at least one instructor and a couple of teaching assistants (TAs). The facilitators send announcements, answer questions, and monitor the discussion boards for high-interest topics and recurring technical problems. This facilitation is essential both to help learners keep on task and to enhance the feeling of an individualized learning experience, even in a class of thousands. Of course, in a class of thousands, the instructors rarely have the opportunity to interact individually with students, so an additional level of support is needed. Results from a study of MIT’s first MOOC showed that the strongest predictor of students’ success was whether or not they worked offline with someone else on the material. It didn’t matter whether that someone else was a subject matter expert or a fellow student - the important thing was some form of in-person support. Coursera has recently launched a program to provide more learning support (though it is still delivered online) - professors teaching a MOOC for a second or third time are encouraged to review the discussion boards from earlier implementations and identify the students who were the most active and the most helpful. These students are invited back to the course as "community TAs." Corporate training programs offer may options for learner support, including recruiting community TAs and organizing learners into offline groups based on department or physical location. Not only will learning be more effective, but these groups will foster teamwork and cooperation. As you can see, the design considerations for MOOCs are not inherently different from those for traditional e-learning or even instructor-led training. But because the courses themselves are massive, the effects of even small problems can become greatly amplified. Careful planning and sound course design are the fundamental ingredients of MOOC success. Copyright 2013 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved. Bryant Nielson - Managing Director of CapitalWave Inc.- offers 25+ years of training and talent management helping executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Being a big believer in Technology Enabled Learning, Bryant seeks to create awareness, motivate adoption and engage organizations and people in the changing business of education. Bryant is a entrepreneur, trainer, and strategic training adviser for many organizations. Bryant’s business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering the individual. Learn more about Bryant at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryantnielson Related Posts:How to MOOC: Meaningful Assessment Through Real-World…What Type of MOOC Is Right For You?By the Numbers: Learning from MOOCsHow to MOOC: Social Media in the Corporate Classroom, Part 2New MOOC Models: Blended Learning(Visited 8 times, 1 visits today)

If there’s one thing we have learned from the rapid changes in education and training over the past year it is that there is more than one way to do things, even in education. New technologies emerge, they disrupt the status quo, and then, inevitably, they change. This is exactly what has happened with massive open online courses (MOOCs). Contrary to what many people predicted, MOOCs were not a "one and done"—they have continued to expand and gain credibility, and now you can get a massive online master’s degree in computer science from Georgia Tech. And contrary to what many feared, MOOCs have not yet replaced traditional colleges and training programs (at least the last time I checked all of our country’s higher education institutions were still standing). What MOOCs have done and will continue to do is change how education is delivered, both online and in the classroom. They have broadened the scope of what people expect from courses and from technology-enabled learning tools. Over a short series of articles, we will look at some new ways MOOCs are being used and how these models can facilitate training and development programs. One of the main, and perhaps least surprising, uses of MOOCs and MOOC elements is in blended learning. Blended learning is a model in which online and instructor-led environments are combined to enhance learner mastery and success. This isn’t just randomly introducing technology into classrooms; instead, it is harnessing the power of technology to streamline the educational process, free instructors to spend more of their time actually teaching, and provide learners with the additional supports they need to succeed. Blended learning is not a new idea in corporate training and development. It is commonly used for onboarding new employees and has many other applications as well, especially when training needs to be delivered to many different people across various locations. Blended learning helps trainers better meet the needs of learners. People learn differently—with different styles and at different paces. Through blended environments, instructors can cater to the diversity of their learner group.Here are three main advantages of blended learning identified by Michelle Reece and Barbara Lockee in their article "Improving training outcomes through blended learning": Using elearning methods, trainers can assess learners prior to training, which can inform the development of instructional materials. Blended learning can also facilitate prework so that when new hires arrive for instructor-led training, they are ready to hit the ground running. Blended learning is instrumental in learner retention and the practical application of learning in the workplace. Even after the instructor-led portion of the training is over, online resources such as course content and discussion boards exist for learners to refer to in their work. Elearning methods, like training simulations, can also provide opportunities for learners to practice before they encounter real problems. So how can MOOCs be used in blended learning? MOOC methods and technologies can provide the basis for blended courses, while instructors provide supplemental guidance. This idea is already being used in higher education. This semester, professors at Harvard and Berkeley are using the edX platform to deliver what they call SPOCs, or small private online courses. SPOCs are like MOOCs in that they use video lectures, discussion boards, machine-graded assessments, and other MOOC elements, but they are unlike MOOCs in that they are open only to students enrolled at their respective schools (and in Harvard’s case up to 500 additional participants). Students in Harvard and Berkeley’s SPOC take their courses online, but still meet in person for projects and discussions. The advantages of this format for training and development programs are many: The blended learning model supplements the major advantages of MOOCs (i.e., repeatability, scalability, and technology) with the face-to-face interaction many learners require. The team at Harvard sees this as a way to combat the famously high MOOC dropout rates. Trainers can use MOOC elements like video training sessions and even webinars to increase efficiency of the training process so that they can spend more of their time in one-on-one interactions. Blended learning can be scaled more easily across an entire organization than can instructor-led training. This is especially important as companies rely on fewer employees to carry out their training agendas. According to the Big Ideas blog over at Omnipress, the trainer-to-learner ratio is falling and n ow sits at about 5 to 1000. Companies are trying to do more with less. The SPOC model is perfect for companies that don’t want to run true MOOCs (due to intellectual property or privacy concerns), but are still seeking efficiencies in their training programs. The corporate SPOC is essentially a MOOC run on a private Intranet. These courses can be hosted on an existing learning management system without having to worry about whether it will accommodate unlimited users. Like in MOOCs, trainers only need to develop the instructional materials once and then they can be used repeatedly. But SPOCs have the advantage of having an in-person instructor available to address changes or new developments in a field or process without needing to redesign the learning resources. Trainers can license externally developed training content, or use freely available materials, as the starting point from which to design a company-specific curriculum. MOOCs didn’t kill classrooms; they just made classrooms much, much bigger. Similarly, MOOC methods and elements will expand both the scope and the effectiveness of blended learning environments. This new model will boost onboarding and other training efforts by allowing L&D departments to deliver more personalized training to more people in a shorter period of time. Copyright 2013 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved. Bryant Nielson - Managing Director of CapitalWave Inc.- offers 25+ years of training and talent management helping executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Being a big believer in Technology Enabled Learning, Bryant seeks to create awareness, motivate adoption and engage organizations and people in the changing business of education. Bryant is a entrepreneur, trainer, and strategic training adviser for many organizations. Bryant’s business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering the individual. Learn more about Bryant at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryantnielson Related Posts:New MOOC Environments: Distributed Open Collaborative…Using MOOCs in Corporate Training ProgramsMOOCs: Flipping the Corporate ClassroomMOOCs and MicrolearningHow to MOOC: Designing Effective MOOC Training Programs(Visited 17 times, 1 visits today)

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have lately been moving in different directions. Instructors at various institutions have taken the fundamental parts of MOOCs (video lectures, interactive elements, etc.) and reworked them to meet the needs of their particular schools and students. This reworking has given rise to a variety of new MOOC-like courses, including big open online courses (BOOCs), synchronous massive online courses (SMOCs), and small private online courses (SPOCs). Although they all take different forms, these new courses share a common foundation of MOOC principles and components. With these new instructional formats, we are starting to see real innovation in the way instruction is delivered. These new models can also provide solutions for businesses looking for new ways to deliver more efficient and more effective training. One of the more interesting models to emerge is the distributed open collaborative course, aka the DOCC. Though billed as an "anti-MOOC," a DOCC is a model that combines MOOC elements with personalized tools to meet the needs of individual learners and learning groups. Instead of using a single complete set of learning resources (videos, readings, forums, assignments, tests, and so on) to automatically deliver instruction to all learners, a DOCC consists of individual "nodal" courses built around a central theme. The core learning materials for each nodal course are the same, but the approach to those materials is different. The first DOCC, "Dialogues on Feminism and Technology," is taking place this semester at fifteen colleges and universities across the country. The core resources consist of a set of video lectures and a variety of learning activities, and instructors at each institution have built a unique course around these core resources. There is also an online section of the course which, in true MOOC style, is open to anyone at no cost. Aside from being centered on a common theme each week, the different nodal courses operate independently. Faculty and students across all institutions have opportunities to collaborate and share ideas and resources via social networking activities like blogging and Tweeting. In addition, some course projects require students to engage in cooperative learning activities. By using MOOC principles and elements in a format that also addresses the needs of individual learners and learner groups, DOCCs respond to one of the main criticisms that has been leveled against MOOCs: that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in education. How can corporate trainers use the DOCC model to improve organizational training outcomes? One of the well-recognized challenges of developing training programs (and one of the major reasons many training programs don’t succeed) is that often a single approach is used regardless of learners’ needs. Industrial skills training firm ITC Learning names "the failure to modify training to bridge identifiable knowledge gaps" as one of the top two reasons corporate training fails. Amanda Thompson over at game-based learning company mLevel identifies the one-size-fits-all approach as the overall reason "corporate training can be terrible." She breaks down the problems with this approach as follows: Format: Too much content is delivered in too short a time and in a single format (e.g., a PowerPoint deck). Non-personalized instruction: Everyone receives the same instruction at the same time and pace. Learners’ needs: Little attention is paid to what learners already know and what their training needs really are. This lack of understanding about learners’ levels makes it nearly impossible to effectively assess what (if anything) they learn during the training. Little interaction: In typical training sessions, there is little interaction between learners, which results in low engagement and low retention. Corporate training doesn’t need to be terrible, and it certainly shouldn’t fail. So what can we do about it? How can we leverage the power of MOOCs and technology while at the same time providing meaningful training to individuals? We can start by recognizing that within an organization, employees at different levels may have diverse training needs even for the same overall topic. For example, although leadership training at all levels is based on the same general principles and theories, managers have different training needs depending on whether they are in charge of a team, a unit, or an entire department. Those who manage Millennials require different training from those who manage Baby Boomers or Gen Xers. And in multinational corporations, departmental managers may require different training based on the country in which they are based. These are just a few examples of individual needs that must be addressed if training programs are to be of any real value. Using the DOCC format, corporate trainers can benefit from all of the advantages of MOOCs, such as cost savings, accessibility, and analytics, while still providing trainings appropriate for the needs of different learners. The basic curriculum and learning materials only need to be designed once, but they can be used in combination with instructor-led training (either virtual or classroom-based) that is tailored to the learners’ needs. Like in the DOCC, this training can be delivered to an entire company simultaneously and virtual spaces like discussion forums, Twitter feeds, and wikis can be utilized to encourage collaboration and sharing across learner groups. In many ways, the DOCC is able to respond simultaneously to criticisms of corporate training, MOOCs, and elearning in general. This is a technology-based approach that is at the same time customizable and infinitely scalable, and allows training to be delivered to an unlimited number of employees while also providing opportunities for interaction. It represents an excellent solution for organizations looking to deliver highly quality training to employees at all levels. Copyright 2013 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved. Bryant Nielson - Managing Director of CapitalWave Inc.- offers 25+ years of training and talent management helping executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Being a big believer in Technology Enabled Learning, Bryant seeks to create awareness, motivate adoption and engage organizations and people in the changing business of education. Bryant is a entrepreneur, trainer, and strategic training adviser for many organizations. Bryant’s business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering the individual. Learn more about Bryant at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryantnielson Related Posts:New MOOC Models: Blended LearningWhat Type of MOOC Is Right For You?MOOCs and MicrolearningHow to MOOC: Designing Effective MOOC Training ProgramsBy the Numbers: Learning from MOOCs(Visited 13 times, 1 visits today)

Over the past several months, I’ve written about the many advantages of using MOOCs in training programs and given suggestions for how L&D departments can most effectively incorporate this new training format. In this article, we’ll look at some of the MOOCs that have been developed specifically for training purposes and business audiences, as well as how some companies are already using these courses are part of their workplace training and development programs. MOOCs for Business and Training Some enterprising startups have recently developed training MOOCs. For now, these are mostly in the technology fields, but the scope is rapidly expanding. In addition, the major MOOC providers now offer a variety of MOOCs targeted toward a business audience. Aquent Gymnasium. Aquent, a staffing agency for the marketing and creative industries, recently launched Aquent Gymnasium, a MOOC provider that offers technology courses for creative professionals. The first course, "Coding for Designers," is a basic programming course for professional designers to help them work more effectively with software developers. The next two courses that will be offered focus on technologies for Web design. The Muse. Job search site The Muse has expanded into MOOCs. Though the target audience is job seekers, the available courses focus on soft skills that could be used for training, such as "Becoming a Networking Master" and "Management 101." openSAP. Business management software company SAP offers several MOOCs for developers including "Introduction to Software Development on SAP HANA," "Introduction to Mobile Solutions Development," and "In-Memory Data Management." MongoDB. Database company MongoDB offers training MOOCs on its database products. Open Education Alliance. Open Education Alliance is a recently announced collaboration between MOOC provider Udacity and companies including Google, Autodesk, AT&T, and NVidia. The participant companies have each pledged $250,000 toward developing MOOCs to bridge the gap between what students learn in traditional universities and the skills employers are seeking. The alliance is also working on an alternative credentialing system for the free online courses. Academic MOOCs. As part of their ongoing quest for a viable business model, Coursera and edX are also making plays for the business market. This fall, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania put its first-year MBA courses on Coursera. All of the courses are eligible for verified certificates through the Signature Track program. MIT also recently announced a plan to develop an XSeries on supply chain management on the edX platform. Students who complete all three courses will earn a verified certificate from MITx. Finally, Stanford’s NovoED platform hosts a variety of entrepreneurship MOOCs including courses on leadership, finance, and decision making. The Stanford Graduate School of Business launched its first MOOC, "The Finance of Retirement and Pensions," on the platform this fall. Examples of How Companies Are Using MOOCs It is difficult to know exactly how many organizations are already using MOOCs and MOOC elements in their training and development programs, but we can point to a few high-profile examples. McAfee. According to a Forbes report, computer security company McAfee recently used a MOOC model to solve one of its major training problems: its new-hire orientation process used to take more than 80 hours, and many employees were not completing the process. To tackle this problem, McAfee "flipped the classroom," so that students access the content on their own time and use in-class time for discussions and activities. McAfee told Forbes that the change resulted in both decreased training time and increased sales. Yahoo! Yahoo! sponsors its employees to earn verified certificates through Coursera’s Signature Track program. According to Patricia Brogan, the manager of Yahoo!’s Developer Academy, the company partnered with Coursera as a way to encourage employees to continue to develop their technical skills so that they can apply them toward designing and creating innovative new products. JLT Group. Insurance company JLT has been using MOOCs as part of its employee training and development at several levels. According to an interview with training manager Sunder Ramachandran, the initiative is aimed at addressing the training needs of a diverse, young, and changing workforce. So far, JLT employees have participated in Coursera’s "Introduction to Public Speaking," "Intro to Operations Management," and a couple of introductory finance courses. According to Ramachandran, JLT has achieved "moderate success" with the program and is experimenting with using MOOCs in conjunction with small in-person study groups. Using MOOCs in corporate and workforce education has benefits on all sides. For MOOC providers, training courses are a possible source of revenue, while for organizations they represent a way to deliver more effective training more quickly and at a reduced cost. With large company-funded initiatives like the Open Education Alliance, we can expect to see more MOOCs developed specifically for training purposes in the near future. And as organizations continue to look for new ways to improve their L&D programs, we will no doubt see more businesses choosing the MOOC model. For companies looking for new ways to deliver training, engage employees more meaningfully in the learning process, or offer more flexible and accessible training solutions, now is a great time to consider trying a MOOC. Copyright 2013 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved. Bryant Nielson - Managing Director of CapitalWave Inc.- offers 25+ years of training and talent management helping executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Being a big believer in Technology Enabled Learning, Bryant seeks to create awareness, motivate adoption and engage organizations and people in the changing business of education. Bryant is a entrepreneur, trainer, and strategic training adviser for many organizations. Bryant’s business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering the individual. Learn more about Bryant at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryantnielson Related Posts:MOOCs: Personal Initiative and Professional DevelopmentMOOCs to Bridge the Workplace Skills GapMOOCs: From the Classroom to the Conference RoomWhat Type of MOOC Is Right For You?Using MOOCs in Corporate Training Programs(Visited 41 times, 1 visits today)