View and download the webinar slides. View the webinar recording.     Try out BizLibrary's Online Library! BizLibrary provides 7,000+ training videos and eLearning courses in various business training topics, with new courses added every day.   Succession Planning and the Development of Your High Potentials In this eBook, we will provide some practical suggestions for selecting the right participants and the development of your high potential employees. BizLibrary's Mobile Learning App meets the needs of today's digital learners. Employees no longer wait for training departments to push learning content to them. Employees are used to pulling information to themselves, when they need it, on their own terms and conditions, and on their own devices.

by Matthew Pierce     When you think of what a trainer or instructional designer (ID) does, the first thing that comes to mind is probably not video communication. Nevertheless, video is becoming a larger and more important piece of their workload. While it is still not so common that they will need to work with video daily, it is beginning to have more impact on their daily lives; ID's and trainers will now need to be ready to create videos for their work. Because video is growing in usage for the learning and development space, TechSmith Corporation wanted to better understand what makes a great video. If you can determine the attributes that make a video great, perhaps you can reverse engineer those pieces and apply them to your own videos. TechSmith's Viewer Research Study comprised 1900 participants from a variety of roles and industries including financial services, education, government, healthcare, manufacturing, software design and development, and more. The majority of participants fell within the age range of 25 to 64.Because there are different purposes for videos, questions were asked to help determine what type of video they were thinking of during the research. The types of video were narrowed down to three: Entertainment, Informational, and Instructional. For our purpose, we focused our research on learning from those who were considering informational and instructional video. Let the Experiments Begin Among the key learning of the research, there are lessons that everyone who is considering creating a video should consider, which when applied will help guide us to creating better and more effective visual content. Like all research, I invite you to run your own experiments and validate the research in your environment and for your particular audience. Video Viewership With the rise of YouTube, Vimeo, and other video sharing sites, the amount of video being consumed on the web is increasing. According to a report from Cisco, online video users are expected to double to 1.5 billion in 2016. While a lot of video viewership will be focused on entertainment and its increasing ubiquity, not all of it will be. Some portion will be focused on information delivery and instruction. As video viewing increases, there are points you should understand about how to create better videos, which will allow for better engagement and enable you to achieve your end goals. Some of the results of the study give insight into viewer habits, which may help you make sure you shape the learner experience. For instance, instructional and information videos are watched most in the morning and the evening. This could indicate that viewers are watching when they feel they have time. This leads to asking, what does the information delivery need that will allow the viewer to get the most from the information? Importance of video length For a number of years, I have taught people that videos need to be short, concise, and probably no more than three minutes in length. I have found that while this is still the case, it didn't take into consideration what viewers wanted. The data from the research indicates that for instructional and informational videos a higher percentage of viewers actually prefer longer videos (with the range varying between four to fifteen minutes in length). When looking at those that were flagged as good or great videos, the length of instructional and informational videos can sometimes be up to 10 minutes in length.The length of the video may seem surprising; but with more context, it is understandable why a viewer would prefer a longer video. Think about the information you might want to deliver or something you would want to teach; it can be often difficult to condense that information down to a one to three minute video. In addition, other data points indicate that viewers want the right information that will guide and direct them. If the video has too little or too much, they aren't going to want to view it. While it's a difficult balance to achieve, you can solve the problem by asking appropriate questions. You need to understand the problem, and what information or instruction will help to provide the solution.A number of survey participants indicated that they stopped watching a video because it was not the expected information, the wrong topic, boring, or uninteresting content.As you start creating videos, remember you have flexibility in the length; but if you provide too much information that is not directly helpful or relevant, the video will be less effective.Next week: Keeping viewers interested, and the best information to present. *** If you'd like to learn more about eLearning, check out IconLogic's eLearning basics mini course. And if you'd like to learn TechSmith Camtasia Studio, Adobe Captivate, Adobe Presenter, or Articulate Storyline, we've got a great collection of live, online classes for you. See also: What Makes Videos Effective, Part 2

eLearning Learning Hot List June 12, 2009 to June 19, 2009 Top Posts The following are the top posts from featured sources based on social signals. Business of Learning- eLearning Technology, June 15, 2009 New online book on mobile learning -available for free download- Ignatia Webs, June 12, 2009 Phases of the 3PD Approach: Discovering Instructional Design 15- The E-Learning Curve, June 16, 2009 Google Wave as a Learning Tool- Learning and Technology, June 12, 2009 Student Guide: Introduction to ‘Wikis’ in Blackboard- Don't Waste Your Time, June 12, 2009 Captivate Widgets Tutorial: Create your first Widget- Adobe Captivate Blog, June 19, 2009 Discovering Instructional Design 14: the Three-Phase Design Model- The E-Learning Curve, June 15, 2009 How Big is Moodle?- MinuteBio, June 12, 2009 3PD Approaches to Evaluation: Discovering Instructional Design 16- The E-Learning Curve, June 19, 2009 Nintendo’s Four I Standard- Upside Learning Blog, June 19, 2009 Call for Panelists - Future of Business of Learning- eLearning Technology, June 18, 2009 New Lynda.com tutorial on Captivate 4- Adobe Captivate Blog, June 18, 2009 Top 100 Educators to follow on Twitter- Don't Waste Your Time, June 18, 2009 New Networked Organisation- ThirdForce Blog, June 17, 2009  The Tipping Point - Are You There Yet?- Engaged Learning, June 16, 2009 Opera Unite for Windows/Mac/Linux gives you immediate access to group or personal learning spaces- Ignatia Webs, June 16, 2009 #eden09: educational shift in Japan, using ubiquitous learning by Haruo Nishinosono- Ignatia Webs, June 15, 2009 Is it ever okay to have multiple tweeters for one twOrganization?- Business Casual, June 14, 2009 Brain rule #12- Clive on Learning, June 12, 2009 Top Other Items The following are the top other items based on social signals. Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked, June 17, 2009 Here’s Why You Need an E-Learning Portfolio, June 16, 2009 Game Studies 0102: Cultural framing of computer/video games. By Kurt Squire, June 17, 2009 Interesting Web Sites for Game-Based Training, e-Learning and Education:, June 17, 2009 10 Strategies for Integrating Learning and Work (part 1), June 15, 2009 What is a Game? The Art of Computer Game Design, June 17, 2009 The Top 5 Platforms for Creating Educational Video Games « Educational Games Research, June 17, 2009 Why Do People Play Games? - The Art of Computer Game Design, June 17, 2009 Social Network Analysis: An introduction, June 12, 2009 Rapid (Collaborative) Authoring Tools for developers/SMEs in multiple locations, June 17, 2009 U.S. Spies Use Custom Videogames to Learn How to Think, June 17, 2009 Marc Prensky - Twitch Speed, June 17, 2009 Business Impact of Social and Informal Learning, June 12, 2009 Fourteen Forms of Fun, June 17, 2009 Gamasutra - Features - "Natural Funativity", June 17, 2009 Integrating Learning and Work, June 16, 2009 Why group norms kill creativity, June 14, 2009 The Ideal Computer for Camtasia Studio, June 17, 2009 Examples from TWITCHSPEED.COM Digital Game-Based Learning, June 17, 2009 Twitter Search in Plain English, June 17, 2009 Top Keywords Google Wave (4) Social Learning (25) Business (43) Adopt (7) Market (17) Performance Support (15) eLearning Technology Subscribe to the Best of eLearning Learning for updates from this blog and other eLearning blogs.

View and download the webinar slides. View and download the webinar recording.     Try these courses and more! BizLibrary provides 7,000+ training videos and eLearning courses in various business training topics, with new courses added every day.   Got Content? How to Use Off-the-Shelf Content to Build Strong Employee Learning Programs In this eBook we’ll discuss how to incorporate off-the-shelf learning content into your employee learning program. BizLibrary's Mobile Learning App meets the needs of today's digital learners. Employees no longer wait for training departments to push learning content to them. Employees are used to pulling information to themselves, when they need it, on their own terms and conditions, and on their own devices.

by Matthew Pierce   In last week's article about creating effective eLearning videos, I wrote about video viewership and the ideal length for a video. This week, it's all about keeping viewers interested and the best information to present.   Keeping viewers interestedOne of the prime reasons that viewers turn off to video is because the delivery of content doesn't engage or appears as boring. The TechSmith Viewer study dug into what makes content uninteresting. There are many ways to be considered boring, just a few of them include:  A dull or monotonous speaker Content is by nature boring The pace of delivery is too slow The information is a repeat from earlier delivery of material A bad approach has been decided and taken Overcoming some of these hurdles can be challenging. Audiences can be subjective and depending on your audience size, you may need to determine what is the least problematic approach, without letting the video become too generalized or plain--which will also cause viewers to stop watching.   What is the best information to present?   Some participants in the study indicated that they actually wanted different information from what was provided in the videos they had seen. This can be subjective as we can't always deliver what they want versus what they need, but we should keep in mind that viewers, especially learners, do tend to have a good gauge of whether the information achieved its objectives. When viewers wanted different information, we found that they were missing details. If the content was instructional in nature, they found there wasn't enough step-by-step instruction. Also, on many occasions the content of the video was not accurately reflected in the description, which can lead the viewer down the frustrating path of starting a video only to discover that it doesn't meet their needs.   Finally, viewers indicated that instructional and informational videos were not specific enough. It's easy as a content creator to assume how much any one of your viewers may already know. And since it can be difficult to pre-assess knowledge and deliver just what is needed, testing and being open to feedback from your audience is critical to success.   Conclusion   As we move into a digital era where video content is becoming king, technical communicators need to find a fine balance between creating videos that achieve their purpose and understanding how their viewers will best consume their content. One cannot exist without the other.   The best video will be created by a person who has considered the content, how it is delivered, the amount of details, and even the amount of time to ensure it does not fall flat with viewers. In comparison to entertaining videos, instructional and informational videos need to work a little bit harder to win over audiences; but through a variety of settings, and interesting approaches viewers can stick to your content like glue. *** If you'd like to learn more about eLearning, check out IconLogic's eLearning basics mini course. And if you'd like to learn TechSmith Camtasia Studio, Adobe Captivate, Adobe Presenter, or Articulate Storyline, we've got a great collection of live, online classes for you. See also:  Learning and Development: Effective Videos, Part 1

I recently had a great experience working with Abhijit Kadle one of the authors of the Upside Learning Blog (disclosure). As part of writing an eLearning Games White Paper he had collected a wonderful list of articles, posts, white papers, etc. as part of his research. We decided that it would make sense to bring those great resources into eLearning Learning and then use the automatic categorization, filtering and social signals capabilities of Browse My Stuff to have it surface some of the better content. As he describes it: In putting this list together, I worked with Tony Karrer and his eLearning Learning site extensively to match links that are popular based on social signals, specifically in the Games and Simulation categories. You can find the results in his really great post: Top 100 Learning Game Resources Abhijit also committed to continuing to add to his list and to continue to add links to eLearning Games & eLearning Simulations on the eLearning Learning site. This is a great use of the capabilities of eLearning Learning and it will provide on-going value to the community. Thanks Abhijit! eLearning Technology Subscribe to the Best of eLearning Learning for updates from this blog and other eLearning blogs.

There seems to be a lot writing floating around in the last few weeks about leadership. As it turns out, there is just a lot of writing about leadership period. That’s part of what drew me originally to Mike Myatt’s book, Hacking Leadership , where he says: "Everyone seems to have an opinion of what constitutes good leadership, but if good leadership is so easy to define and identify, why does it seem so hard to come by? Like many astute observations, this one struck me as so blatantly obvious, that I was perturbed that I hadn’t thought of it in such clear terms myself. He’s right. Myatt’s book offers some excellent insights and provides some good suggestions that might benefit a lot of us." Peter Drucker framed the role of leadership elegantly. He said, "Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things." You can find more of Drucker’s wisdom in Peter Drucker, The Essential Drucker: The Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management.   As I struggle with leadership myself on a day-to-day basis, I find myself running headlong into the issues framed by both thinkers. Why is great leadership so hard to come by? I believe the answer actually lies at the heart of the second issue as Drucker framed the role of leaders. How do we know what the "right things" are? It strikes me all of the various leadership models, all of the advice and though leadership out there won’t help any of us, if our energies are not directed at doing the "right things." So, how do we figure out what those things are? ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS I am always astonished at how many organizations fail to grasp this concept. Two people are lost and looking for the place to meet a third friend. One asks, "Where are we?" The other asks, "How do we find the meeting place?" Which question yields the most useful information?You will never get good answers until you start asking good questions. The problem with most mission, vision values statements and most strategic goals is that as well-intentioned as they might be, they rarely have their origin in the right question or questions. Therefore, organizations end up with goals that can’t be met, goals that are unrealistic, or corporate missions completely misaligned with the values of the marketplace and leaders. Great answers are the product of great questions. WHY? One of the very best questions any leader ought to ask is, "Why?" We get caught up in the "how" to do things, that we forget that there is, or should be, a purpose behind what we are doing. The reasons behind what we do and ask our employees to do are critical, so ask why until you can’t ask it anymore. When you’ve exhausted an inquiry, and you can no longer ask "why", you’ve gotten to the root of the issue, question or strategy. Now you can begin to build sound processes, smart goals and effective solutions to deliver on the core purpose you’ve uncovered. SWOT An old-fashioned SWOT analysis can go a long ways toward answering this foundational question. That is, a SWOT analysis can help illuminate why an organization should set specific goals, enter new markets, abandon losing products, etc. In other words, figuring out the "why" by engaging in effective SWOT analysis can help us do what Peter Drucker tells us leaders must do - the right things.Finding your organization’s strengths and weaknesses (SW in SWOT) can help focus strategic energy on how to take full advantage of strengths to improve on any number of strategic fronts. Remember, it’s almost always easier to build on strengths than to improve weaknesses.   But weaknesses are critical for organizations to understand, too. Strengths and weaknesses are internal evaluations, and it’s important to have a full, fair and objective understanding of the things your organization does well and not so well. It’s not that you want to choose to try and improve weaknesses; instead you might try and do less of those things or find alternative ways to work around weak areas. Opportunities and threats (OT in SWOT) look at external factors that are or will affect the organization. This purpose of this evaluation is to develop an understanding of the organization’s ability to take advantage of market opportunities such as a change in competitive landscape like the acquisition of a competitor. Threats might be the entry of a new competitor or a disruption to the market either by an innovative new product or service, financial uncertainty, change in customer tastes, etc. CONCLUSION You will never understand the answers you need if you don’t first understand the questions. As leaders, our role is to "do the right things," and this requires us to find the right things for us and our organizations. This exploration becomes a lot more straight forward when organizations understand where they are starting from and where they want to go. Figuring that out doesn’t require a new leadership model or a lot of complex philosophical musing. We just have to embark on a relentless search for the right questions, and from there, we’ll get the right answers.     Follow me on Twitter! @chrisosbornSTL   Try out BizLibrary's Online Library! BizLibrary provides 7,000+ training videos and eLearning courses in various business training topics, with new courses added every day.

by Sally Cox     One of my favorite hidden gems in Storyline 2 is an obscure feature called Recolor Art. It allows you to alter the color of an object within Storyline-not affecting the original art, but merely "recoloring" it within the project.   In my workflow as an Instructional Designer, I create my own artwork in Adobe Illustrator and export as transparent PNGs. This works out nicely, but there are times when I need to create rollovers from icons or buttons. I want to avoid returning to Illustrator to create separate versions. Enter "Recolor Art."   In the image below there are a few examples of icons you might use in your eLearning project. I'll demonstrate how to use Storyline's Recolor Art feature to alter the Hover state, creating a rollover.     To begin, select your artwork (remember, transparent PNGs work best) and open the States panel by selecting the word "States" at the bottom of the Storyline window.     Click Edit States, click New State, choose Hover from the drop-down menu, and then click Add.     You've created the Hover state; now you'll alter the appearance. With the Hover state still open, select the object on your slide. Then right-click and choose Format Picture.    Choose Picture from the menu at the left and then click the arrow next to Preset.     You'll find a number of options for recoloring your art, and you'll see the categories listed above the icons. No Recolor means you see your original image. Color Modes and Dark Variations are the ones that give the best result, for me. Experiment with Brightness, Contrast, and Transparency for different effects.   These are limiting however, so if you want more, go to Blend.   Choose a Color from the Blend section and apply a Blend Mode. These behave just like Photoshop Blend Modes and give you a variety of effects based on the color you choose.     If you don't like what you've done, you can click Reset Picture, or use Storyline's Undo command.   When you're done with Recolor, click Close. Lastly, and most importantly, click Done Editing States in the States panel to save the changes.   Here are examples of before (left) and after (right) applying the Recolor feature to an icon. It can always be removed later, and edited as needed. Any way you cut it, it's a real timesaver!     *** Looking for training on Articulate Storyline? Check out our live, online instructor-led Storyline classes.

View and download the webinar slides. View the webinar recording.         Try out BizLibrary's Online Library! BizLibrary provides 7,000+ training videos and eLearning courses in various business training topics, with new courses added every day.   Closing the Skills Gap In this eBook we’ll discuss  how to nurture talent for current and future skills gaps! BizLibrary's Mobile Learning App meets the needs of today's digital learners. Employees no longer wait for training departments to push learning content to them. Employees are used to pulling information to themselves, when they need it, on their own terms and conditions, and on their own devices.

I just finished a great conversation with Pam Schmidt, the Executive Director of ISA. I've been in the training industry since the early 90s and only recently ran into ISA. I'm curious if readers here already know about this organization? They describe themselves as "the executive connection for training industry leaders." The membership seems to be a who's-who of training company CEOs. Pam and ISA will be helping me to pull together the event that focuses on the issues raised in Business of Learning. ISA recently looked at some of these issues that were beautifully captured as Graphic Illustrations (PDF). I'm looking forward to more conversations with ISA members and in the conversation on July 23. You can sign up for the online, free event through Learn Trends at: Future of the Business of Learning. Welcome aboard Pam and ISA. eLearning Technology Subscribe to the Best of eLearning Learning for updates from this blog and other eLearning blogs.