Disentangling Pedagogy from Epistemology Bill Jerome and Dr. Benny Johnson Because Pedagogy Dating back to my time at the Open Learning Initiative, I had sat in some meetings and felt the percussive impact of pedagogy — or "The P-Bomb" as I thought of it. Not having been trained in cognitive sciences like many of those around me, I simply deferred to those who invoked the word "Pedagogy." Once deployed in an academic setting, it often served as the final word in many matters. (Dear internet, I would love a sketch of this). On the whole, this was a very good thing indeed because it emphasized the focus of what we were working together to achieve. Sometimes we can reach conclusions or make assumptions we believe to be based on sound pedagogical thinking but when investigated can prove otherwise. (We will get to what I think is a counterintuitive example of this in a moment). Being guided by pedagogy continues to be the driving force of the work I do, though outside of the academy, I’ve learned to be a bit more skeptical (and I am more informed) when the P-Bomb is deployed as if it is a mystic force that cannot be understood; only believed in with solemn nods of agreement. If it were a meme, it would be this: I think it is important to sometimes stand back and ensure when we are using the word, we are in agreement about what we are all talking about. That is my most critical point I wish to make. As a primary example, however, it frequently seems to have become conflated in general discourse in one critical way we should aim to disentangle so that we can ask meaningful questions about it. "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." - Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride Pedagogy or Epistemology? Recently I have had the opportunity to see a number of presentations and discussions around work being done in the adaptive and online learning space, for which I am grateful, but something was nagging at me in the back of my mind. I felt that the room was nodding along with thoughts of good pedagogy but something wasn’t sitting right. The following morning my colleague Dr. Benny Johnson and I met in a café like you do when in Seattle. He was able to capture succinctly the disconnect I was having. Pedagogy was being conflated with epistemology. Aside from referencing a dictionary (or modern equivalent) and thinking critically when we hear the word pedagogy used, this is one area in particular we can be cognizant of: "Are we conflating pedagogy with epistemology?" More in depth discussion: Epistemology or pedagogy, that is the question by Paul A Kirschner, 2009. It is naturally intuitive to think about this and come to the conclusion that "real world discovery" is the best way to learn. It simply makes sense when you hear a sentence such as "Doing the real work of a scientist teaches students to become scientists while being motivating and engaging." In fact for novices, this can be counterproductive by ratcheting up extraneous cognitive load. In an earlier publication, Kirschner writes: […] inherent flaws in considering and using the epistemology of the natural sciences as equivalent to a pedagogic basis for teaching and learning in the natural sciences. It begins with a discussion of the difference between practicing science and learning to practice science. It follows with a discussion and refutation of three commonly held motives for using practicals in science education. It concludes with the presentation of three new, better motives for their use. Epistemology, practical work and Academic skills in science education Paul A. Kirschner, 1992. The practical takeaway for us today is not to confuse immersive (usually quite gorgeous, engaging, and expensive) virtual spaces built for the explorers among us for good pedagogy just because they are attractive and make those of us who are not novice learners excited and motivated. The chief principle of the human-computer interaction discipline is "You are not the user" and it applies directly here: "You are not your student." Engagement is critical indeed, but for my part, I would not want to sacrifice good pedagogy designed for novice learners. In fact, despite the considerable enthusiasm generated by these environments, research has not shown an advantage commensurate with that enthusiasm, and cognitive load theory cautions that for novice learners such realistic task assignments can easily lead to cognitive overload. My view on that subject is of course just that, but we should at least all be equipped to recognize the difference and make decisions accordingly. And when you hear someone deploying the word pedagogy and you think it might not be, be prepared to raise your hand and say, "You keep using that word, but.…"

With the Hour of Code and Computer Science Education Week in full swing, there have been some great new and updated resources released in the past week! Check it out!Vidcode - Create a Bestie Video eCard w/ CodeCheck out vidcode.io for their Hour of Code contribution. They've partnered with the Girl Scouts of Great New York to allow users to code their own bestie video ecards using Javascript. You can record a video, insert graphics, and code in special effects. Then you can publish for others to watch!Kodable for iPadThe latest update for the Kodable iPad app received some minor bug fixes and improvements just in time for the Hour of Code. Update the app to get the best experience! Kodable is a great option for introducing young children to programming and its target audience is ages 6-8.Hopscotch for iPadHopscotch is another great iPad app that also received an update just in time for Hour of Code. The update added 4 brand new tutorials specifically for Hour of Code participants! You have your choice of creating Geometry Dash, Spiral Draw, Emoji Waves, of Megamoji! Also, if you conduct a search for "Hour of Code" within the app, you'll find a ton of great user generated content!The Foos for iPadThe Foos also received an update recently, which now includes the ability to create and share games within the app! This is another great option for younger students age 6-8!Tynker for iPadIf your students are itching to program their own games, have them check out Tynker! They just released an update that now includes 9 Hour of Code tutorials, 3 each for beginner, intermediate, and advanced users. Their website also has content for Grades K through 6+!MinecraftEDUHave you seen the new Minecraft themed tutorials on code.org? MinecraftEDU has also offered some great resources for the Hour of Code! Check out this page to download an Hour of Code Minecraft world and to print your very own Minecraft themed board game that teaches programming skills! There are also a series of programming challenge videos that students can follow in the Minecraft world.PBS KIDS ScratchJr for iPadScratch and Scratch Jr are already very popular programming apps for children. So PBS Kids partnered with MIT to create their very own PBS KIDS ScratchJr app for the iPad! It works pretty much the same as the original app, but it includes 150+ PBS characters. Now you're students can program with their favorite PBS cartoons!Made with Code's "Inside Out" Coding ActivityHopefully you've already seen the movie "Inside Out". If not, you should definitely go see it! Great movie! Google's Made with Code website released a brand new coding activity called Inside HQ. You can program Riley and the other characters through a series of coding challenges.Google CS First "High Seas" ActivityGoogle CS First is a great FREE program that aims to expose more students to Computer Science education through a variety of online activities for boys and girls. For the Hour of Code, they released a new activity called High Seas which utilizes Scratch. There is a great lesson plan for teachers with example projects and solutions. Give the High Seas activity a try!Do you know of any other new or updated coding activities? Share them in the comments below!

Whoa! It’s been a while since my last post…end of the semester craziness has commenced! I first learned about Nearpod about a year ago, when I began my journey as a flipped classroom teacher, and immediately brushed it aside as a tool that I would have used in a more traditional classroom setting. This year, […] The post Using Nearpod in the Classroom appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

One of the key skills in any research project is good organisation. This is especially true for a PhD research project, lasting as they do over three years of full-time study, or up to seven years part-time. Students start off with two or three seminal articles relating to their research topic, but the field of reference will grow dramatically within the first six months, and citations will continue to be added to the reference list right up until the dissertation is submitted. Even then, the external examiner(s) might insist at the viva that the student needs to consider further a certain area of the research which will require further reading. Without a careful system, it does not take long for this growing pile of references to become unmanageable! Some researchers swear by the old "traditional" system of individual index cards, alphabetically filed for each reference. This has the advantage of being able to add notes, summaries, questions etc., and also it is not dependent on technology, so does not require electricity or a battery. On the other hand, a file of cards is not very portable, can be a bit clumsy to sort, and not being digital, is less flexible to re-purpose. There are number of software packages, both free and commercial, that allow you to store and sort references on a computer. A product called Refworks provides an online database to manage bibliographic data, and this has numerous advantages, including being able to manipulate the data to display in different academic styles, create bibliographies for different publications, and also to access the data from different devices and locations. The university may subscribe to this product or some comparable service. Personally, I use a simple word processed file. This does not have the flexibility of customised bibliographic management software, but it has the advantage of being easy to create and use without specialised training. To create a bibliography for a new article I simply cut-and-paste from my master list (not forgetting to keep back-up copies of the master-list in other locations!) In addition, Mendeley https://www.mendeley.com/ is a free manager for references and pdf documents which can be used to annotate articles and share online with students and other colleagues. It’s easy to use, see https://youtu.be/qRiAIaqdAOg and allows storage and access to a personalised library collection from any internet location. So, for example, a researcher could import an identified article, store it in a personalised online space, add comments and questions to the file, then share with an online social network which could include a research team, supervisors, or a cohort of students. Whatever filing system for research articles is used by a PhD student, it needs to be able to store, display and allow easy retrieval of anything that has been read over the duration of the study, which is not a simple task when this means five or six hundred individual references.

Anyone who still feels that learning to use new technology has to be a frustrating, mind-numbing experience should have been at the LearniT! Technology Adoption Summit here in San Francisco yesterday. It was a wonderful example of how a company’s interest in promoting its product—in this case, numerous first-rate learner-centric onsite and online learning opportunities for those in need of technical and desktop training as well as professional development opportunities—can occasionally and easily be combined with a meaningful, very productive day of learning at no cost to participants. And for those of us involved in training-teaching-learning, it was an inspiring opportunity to see colleagues at the top of their game displaying easy-to-replicate effective methods for engaging our learners. The structure of the free daylong summit itself is well worth noting as an example of how an event reflects the learning approaches it showcases. It began with an informal half-hour slot during which participants could get to know each other one-on-one or in small groups before diving into the learning sessions scheduled throughout the day; the fact that company CEO Damon Lembi, several members of his staff, and several LearniT! instructors were accessible but not at all the center of attention at that point reflected what was obvious during each of the learning sessions I attended: this is a company where learners and learning facilitators work effectively together by creating small, temporary, and supportive communities of learning while they/we are together. It also included tremendous displays of hospitality and a commitment to creating a social-learning environment in that summit organizers had plenty of food and beverages—including sandwiches, pizza, and salads at lunchtime; coffee and cookies during a mid-afternoon break; and wine, soft drinks, cheese, and cold cuts during an early-evening reception just before the final set of sessions began. Also well-worth emulating was the way the schedule offered a varied but far from overwhelming set of choices. Each one-hour slot included three different learning opportunities. Participants could attend as few or as many sessions as they cared to attend throughout the day. Some sessions were clearly meant to serve as stand-alone learning opportunities; others offered a clear learning track, as was the case with a series of four interrelated sessions exploring an Agile approach to project management and many other workplace endeavors (including training-teaching-learning)—but even that learning track was developed flexibly enough to accommodate those who wanted to attend the entire series as well as those who may have only been interested in one or two of the offerings. (This approach to letting learners determine how many—and which—modules of a series of learning opportunities they want to pursue is one of the many reasons I had LearniT! as a training partner when I was in charge of the San Francisco Public Library staff training program many years ago.) The levels of flexibility visible and inherent within the LearniT! approach to the summit (and to its day-to-day operations) played out to the benefit of the company and participants in magnificent ways. While there was not a lot of repetition among the session offerings, at least one—an introduction to Windows 10—was scheduled in two different time slots to accommodate what was anticipated to be a spillover crowd for the initial session and to also accommodate participants who might have opted to arrive later in the day rather than attending the entire daylong event. More impressively, summit organizers realized early in the day that they were facing an overflow crowd for another one-time session, so immediately located a second instructor to lead a simultaneous offering in that same time slot—then notified everyone by making announcements in the classrooms and sending a follow-up email to all registered participants. When we turn to the heart of what the summit accomplished, we find ourselves focusing on how the various instructors worked to make the subject matter meaningful to those of us in the learner seats. Sean Bugler, for example, enthusiastically covered an amazing array of elements during his 45-minute introduction to Windows 10. His love for the product was infectious even for those of us most cranky about having to go through yet another upgrade and having to learn a new way of doing things we would have been quite happy to continue doing with our current tech tools if the inevitable upgrading of software weren’t forcing us to sift through another set of changes. And his highly-developed ability to quickly, concisely respond to learners’ questions in easy-to-understand terms was something any trainer-teacher-learner could have benefitted from observing. Even before I left Bugler’s session, I was already thinking—and saying out loud—the words I love hearing from any learner: I wanna try that. And thanks to Sean and our colleagues at LearniT!, I know I will. Next: A Summit Learning Facilitator, an Agile Approach, and Writing on the Walls  

Designing or redesigning learning spaces is an increasingly common endeavor; knowing how to use those spaces effectively is an entirely different challenge that often doesn’t receive the attention it deserves. So when I had an opportunity (earlier this week at the LearniT! Technology Adoption Summit here in San Francisco) to observe and learn from someone who clearly revels in using every inch of a learning space to the benefit of the learners she serves, I faced the wonderful challenge of trying to absorb the learning content she was offering while also trying to pay close attention to how she accomplished what she was so effectively accomplishing. Walking into each of the four one-hour sessions led by LearniT! Vice President of Professional Development Jennifer Albrecht on the topic of exploring and developing an Agile approach to project management and many other workplace endeavors (including training-teaching-learning) was a trainer-teacher-learner’s dream. The sessions were highly interactive. Well organized. Learner-centric. And they were clearly designed to inspire participants to apply what was learned as quickly as possible after the sessions ended. Obviously grounded in LearniT!’s "8 Step Model for Learning," the sessions (without ever feeling forced or formulaic) encouraged self discovery (brief self-assessments were a deftly-handled element of the learning experiences); provided concise explanations of ideas—and the value of the ideas—to be explored; included brief breakout sessions to foster a social-learning approach; included class discussions; offered moments for us to consider how what we were learning could quickly be applied in our worksites; had moments for individual learners to complete exercises to foster greater use of what was being learned; encouraged participants to engage in small groups (two or three people per group) to further learn by sharing their thoughts on specific elements of the course content); and left us thinking about what would and could come out of the time we spent together. The framework, as many of us recognize, is not particularly revolutionary; it actually provides the foundation for some of the best learning experiences we are encountering onsite, online, and in blended (onsite/online) learning environments. But what made Albrecht’s sessions dynamic from the moment we entered her/our learning spaces was the way she so effectively and with minimal effort transformed our perceptions of the space in subtle yet important ways. Jennifer Albrecht (photo from LearniT! website) One fairly straightforward example was the manner in which she rapidly went back and forth from having a formal front of the room to having a room full of interactive centers. Her standard approach, whenever she wanted learners to engage in an exercise in groups of two or three people, was to give us eight seconds to form those groups. It always worked: within an eight-second period, the learning focus had shifted from a teacher-to-learner model to a learner-to-learner model where the front of the room was wherever a group of learners were interacting. The transformation was so effective and so complete that most learners didn’t seem to notice that she occasionally, briefly stepped outside of the room while the learning continued because learners had taken control of their own learning process. What was most striking to me, however, was a sudden, completely unexpected shift in my own perceptions of how the room-as-learning-space was functioning. It started with her use of the whiteboards that seem to cover entire left-to-right spaces in many of LearniT!’s classrooms. If Albrecht had simply done what so many of us do—used those spaces to write notes and draft simple illustrations of points she was making; we would have had good, productive learning sessions. If she had simply done what her other colleagues did—used the center part of that white board as a screen upon which she could project text-laden PowerPoint slides—we still would ultimately have had good, productive sessions. But by creating visually appealing slides with strong imagery projected onto and extending seamlessly across the central section of a wall-length white board (instead of onto a stand-alone screen), she subliminally created the same feeling of engagement and immersion we have when we’re watching a movie in a well-designed theater—a feeling also fostered through her use of the whiteboard as a screen for showing brief videos. Those videos and the high-quality, visually-appealing images from her slide deck made them feel as if they were part of the entire room; they were large enough to draw us into them completely as they flowed across a space with no visible boundaries differentiating it from other parts of that entire front wall. It was only at the point when she began writing on that extended whiteboard, using a space unoccupied by one of the beautiful images she was projecting, that I realized how much my perceptions of the room had changed without my having noticed the change: "Oh my God, she’s using a marker to write on that expensive screen," I thought in horror until I quickly refocused my attention to take in the fact that the screen was the whiteboard and the whiteboard was the screen. In the same very important way, I also realized that Albrecht had made the entire space an integral part of that learning opportunity, and the learning process was supported and augmented by her use of that space. As is the case with many well-designed and well-facilitated learning experiences, hers were lively because there was never a moment when the learning started to feel forced or routine. She employed a variety of resources and techniques to convey information. Content within the superbly designed and graphically-stimulating PowerPoint slides, for example, were used in ways that connected them to the in-class use of simple workbooks: the content on the screen/whiteboard and the content within those workbooks seemed to melt into one cohesive resource. Her judicious use of the short videos to bring otherwise unavailable experts into the room to make key points provided a variety of viewpoints during what was essentially a one-facilitator session. Sprinkling citations to additional resources throughout her presentation and our discussions repeatedly and subliminally reminded us that our learning was a process as well as an event and that we could continue learning long after we left the room—something I took advantage of by using my tablet to place reserves on a few books through my local public library while I was still participating in the session. None of this is difficult to replicate. All of it requires a commitment to learner-centric creative approaches to learning and to learners—probably one of the most rewarding lessons I could have once again encountered by attending the Technology Adoption Summit and learning from a master learning facilitator. N.B.: This is the second of two sets of reflections inspired by the LearniT! Technology Adoption Summit; the first set remains accessible elsewhere on this blog.   

Context is key to creating successful eLearning experiences. Learners must be able to put their knowledge to use outside the virtual classroom, and simulating real world challenges is one of the best ways to achieve this. In this article, I’ll shed light on the situated cognition theory, from its core principles to tips that will help you use it in your next eLearning course. Situated cognition is based on the idea that learning is most effective when it is in context. The Situation Cognition Theory was first introduced by Brown, Collins, and Duguid in 1989, who suggest that learners should be immersed in eLearning activities and content that mimics real world situations. For example, if an individual needs to learn how to complete a complex task, learning by doing is more effective than simply reading out it in a manual. Cognitive Apprenticeships and communities of practice also go hand-in-hand with situated cognition. Below you’ll find 4 best practices and 5 tips that can help you integrate situated cognition into your eLearning strategy. 4 Situated Cognition Best Practices According to J. Herrington and Ron Oliver’s publication, "Critical Characteristics of Situated Learning: Implications for the Instructional Design of Multimedia", situated learning experiences must meet specific set of criteria in order to achieve desired results. These best practices are inspired by Herrington and Oliver’s guidelines: Authentic context and activities. The content must have real world applications, as well as activities that mimic real world situations and problems. Ideally, all elements should be as realistic as possible to provide accurate context for learners. Expert support. Experts or experienced professionals must be on-hand to offer guidance and support to learners. They must also provide an accurate model of the process, such as a detailed walkthrough. The expert typically offers coaching and scaffolding as well, which comes in the form of supplement learning resources. Group collaboration and self-reflection. Learners are encouraged to work in group settings, wherein they can benefit from the personal experience of peers, share differing viewpoints, and take on different roles. However, they must also have the opportunity to reflect upon their own work and compare their performance to that of their peers and experts. Articulation and assessments. Learners should be able to articulate, by paraphrasing, what they have learned, and an effective eLearning assessment strategy should be in place that tests authentic knowledge. For example, a simulation that analyzes their ability to carry out the task. 5 Tips To Use Situated Cognition In eLearning 1. Foster learning communities of practice. A community of practice works collaboratively to solve problems and achieve shared goals. Learners have the unique opportunity to share their experience with others, and benefit from the expertise and skills of their peers in return. They can also interact with the instructor or facilitator to expand their comprehension of the process or task. Develop a learning community of practice in your eLearning course by creating online forums, blogs, and social media pages where you learners can share feedback and address concerns. Pose a question based on the authentic task each week to get the online discussion started, or share a link that might spark a conversation amongst them. 2. Integrate real world scenarios and simulations. eLearning scenarios and simulations are one of the most authentic learning tools available. They immerse learners in real world environments, pitting them against real world challenges, without the real world risk. They can explore every aspect of a task, master each step in a process, and identify their key strengths and weaknesses in a supportive eLearning setting. Experts and peers can also provide feedback that helps improve performance. When developing eLearning scenarios and simulations, make certain that the situation, characters, and virtual environment are as true-to-life as possible. Use images that are relatable and challenges that they might encounter on a daily basis. 3. Use case studies to put knowledge into context. When learners are able to see that the task or concepts can be tied to real world applications, they are much more likely to participate. For example, if you include an article or case study that highlights the benefits of mastering the task or absorbing the information, learners are able to determine how the subject matter can be used in real life. They personalize it and put it into context, which makes it easier for them to recall necessary information when they actually have to complete the task outside of the eLearning environment. 4. Model the learning behavior or task. One of the most important elements of Situated Cognition in eLearning is modeling. The expert walks the learner through every step of the process so that they can see the process in action. This can be accomplished by integrating tutorials, video presentations, and step-by-step walkthroughs that highlight every aspect of the task. Make certain to have supplemental scaffolding resources at the ready for learners who may need more information before tackling the task themselves. 5. Develop authentic online assessments. Authentic online assessments test learner knowledge while they are immersed in the activity itself. For example, they might have to complete a scenario that features every step of the process, or to engage a group role-play that tests their understanding of the concepts. Rather than giving them a series of multiple choice or true/false questions to answer, they must use all of the tools, skills, and information they have developed to solve the problem or complete the task on their own. All scaffolding resources are removed and they must explore all possible solutions without any assistance. This not only assesses their knowledge and abilities, but gives them the confidence they need to fulfill the task in the real world. Successful situated cognition eLearning experiences put everything into context. They give the learner the opportunity to see knowledge in action, instead of just passively observing the possible applications. This is what makes it such a powerful approach in eLearning course design, and why you may want to think about using it in your next eLearning project. Looking for tips that can help you design branching scenarios for your situated cognition online course? Read the article The Top 7 Benefits Of Using Branching Scenarios In eLearning to learn about the many advantages offered by using branching scenarios in eLearning course design. The post Situated Cognition In eLearning: What eLearning Professionals Should Know appeared first on TalentLMS Blog.

Deciding to embrace eLearning for your employee training has become a no-brainer nowadays. After all, businesses big and small, from Fortune 100 multinationals to your local hair saloon chain, have already done so. What’s a little more difficult however is picking the right tools to help you with course design, content creation, learning assessment and all the other tasks you need to run a successful eLearning program. Fear not, however, as we’re here to help you with this, by suggesting the (you’ve guessed it) top 10 most useful tools for online employee training. Let’s begin with the most essential content creation tools: 1) A text-editor Yeah, we’re starting with the meat and potatoes. Whatever your role in the implementation of an eLearning based training program (or a physical one for that matter) you’re gonna need a text editor at some point. In fact, picking a handy text-editor is especially important if you’re doing the writing the course material. Now, you could go with what everybody uses (Microsoft Word) or its open source alternative (Open Office), and both will surely more than capable for the task. But as those tools are overloaded with features you won’t need, and place premature emphasis on formatting which can be quite the distraction, we suggest something simpler and more focused. See, while enterprise workers and home users stick to MS Word, professional authors, journalists and copy writers have increasingly embraced streamlined text-editors over the past decade. One of the most popular ones, Scrivener, is available for both Windows and OS X and has everything you need to create, organize and refine your course content and nothing you don’t. Other capable options include Ulysses (OS X) and Page Four (Windows), while a whole cottage industry of text-editors has been created around the Markdown text format, that’s very easy to learn and lets you totally focus on your content. 2) An image editor With text covered, the next most useful thing you’ll need will be an image editor. Photoshop is, of course, the undisputed king for this kind of work, but it might not be your best choice for several reasons. For one, Photoshop is now only sold through a subscription program, which can cost you from anywhere from $10 to $80 per month depending on how many other Adobe programs you need (and even more if you happen to live outside the US). And with Adobe’s subscription model if you stop paying, you can’t use the program anymore, even if you’ve paid several times its worth over the years. But the real reason is that unless you’re doing heavy photo and design work, Photoshop is probably overkill for your humble content editing needs (mainly cropping, resizing, making small adjustments, etc). On Windows, we suggest you check out Paint.net, a free, lightweight bitmap editor, or Corel PaintShop Pro, a mature and very capable Photoshop alternative that’s been around for over 2 decades. If you insist on Adobe, there’s always Photoshop Elements, Photoshop’s scaled-down little brother that thankfully remains available to purchase outside of a subscription program. On the Mac side there’s Pixelmator, Acorn and Affinity Photo to chose from, which cover all basic design needs (and then some) for a fraction of the price of Adobe’s offerings. 3) An audio editor Whether it’s to edit an interview, to extract the relevant parts from the recording of a lecture, or to trim a piece of music you’re using as a soundtrack to your eLearning videos to the right size, you’ll need an audio editor. Similar to an image editor, an audio editor is a piece of software that lets you manipulate digital sound content, like mp3 or wav files. This manipulation can range from trimming (cutting an audio clip to a specified size, e.g. to get rid of irrelevant parts), normalizing (making sure the sound is as loud as it needs to be) and de-noising (removing unwanted sounds, like the hiss of an air-condition) to very elaborate and extreme edits. When it comes to audio editors the general consensus is clear: whether you’re on the Windows, Linux or Mac, Audacity is the tool you should first opt for. There are better options out there, that offer many more features (e.g. Steinberg’s WaveLab and Adobe’s Audition) but Audacity is both free (can’t beat that) and full featured enough. It’s also popular enough that there are also a lot of tutorials on webpages and on YouTube to help you learn how to use it to handle most basic audio editing tasks. 4) A video editor With text, images, and audio covered, video is the last thing you need to cover to be able to create and edit full blown multimedia training content. Fortunately this is an area where OS makers themselves offer quite capable software that should cover all your needs when it comes to editing training video. Microsoft has the excellent Windows Movie Maker that comes pre-installed with most Windows versions (and it can also be downloaded online for free) and Apple offers its own very good iMovie editor for just $14.99. You’ll be able to edit footage, add music and sound-effects, create titles and export your masterpiece ready for consumption in both, while the learning curve is not very steep for either. In fact, given their popularity and ease of use, it’s quite possible that your little cousin is already uploading his own videos on YouTube using one of these editors, and can show you everything you need to get going. If you ever outgrow these two video editors (something unlikely for most basic productions), you can always step up to pro and semi-pro NLE platforms like Adobe’s Premiere Pro, Apple’s Final Cut Pro X, and Sony’s Vegas. 5) Secondary content creation and management tools With your four big content creation needs covered, let’s briefly discuss a few other tools you’ll might need for creating, editing and managing your eLearning content. Scanning software will help you achieve the optimal transfer of third party text, drawing and photos in the digital domain. While both Windows and OS X offer a bare-bones scanning app, we suggest you take a look at something like VueScan if you really want to take full control of your scanner. You might also need some OCR (optical character recognition) software if you want to automatically convert scanned books into electronic text that you can manipulate in your text editor and add to your courses. ABBYY FineReader and ReadIris seem to rule this particular niche, and are both equally capable. While creating online content for employee training you’ll need to juggle a lot of information and details. To help you organize it all, we suggest a note taking program such as Microsoft’s OneNote or Evernote Corporation’s Evernote. They’re both available for the two major desktop and the two major mobile platforms (and also for Windows Phone, but you probably don’t care about that, do you?). 6) A backup solution Moving beyond content creation tools, let’s discuss data protection tools for a moment, something that’s as essential to content creation as anything we’ve already presented. After all, what’s the use of toiling over the creation of your training content, only to lose everything the moment your hard disk fails or some computer virus decides to delete your home directory? For a professional, and if you’re doing employee training you’re very much a professional, backup is one of the most mission-critical issues. Of course, with a Cloud based platform such as TalentLMS your course data, learners info, settings, etc are automatically backed up safely for you, leaving you without anything to worry about. As a content creator though you’ll also have many documents, presentations, images videos, etc. you work on that have not yet been uploaded to any LMS course. Those, you’ll need to backup yourself. Now, when it comes to backup there are several different options, each with its own trade-offs, complexity and cost. Perhaps the simplest (and cheapest) form of backup is making a copy of your data (e.g. to an external hard disk, a USB stick, etc). Note that your backup HAS to be an external disk. A copy on the same disk is neither safe, nor a backup. Don’t keep the second disk in the same place as your computer either — in case of accident, burglary etc, both your data and your backup might be gone. To handle such simple backup options, a tool such as Microsoft’s own Backup and Restore or Apple’s Disk Utility will do. There are also third party options such as Acronis True Image (Windows) and SuperDuper (Mac), that offer a few more features. A more advanced option, that offers both backup and access to different versions of your files (as they’ve changed through time would be Windows’ "File History" feature and Apple’s Time Machine, both of which you need to enable on your own in your OS settings. Last, but not least, there’s the online backup option, in which you make backups of your data in the Cloud. The two most robust and popular services when it comes to online backup are BackBlaze and CrashPlan, with both offering clients for Windows, OS X, iOS and Android, along with several subscription plans to choose from. (Note: In their basic setup, Google Drive and Dropbox are ways to sync your data across many PCs and not actual backup solutions. If you accidentally delete your data on your home computer, they’ll be gone from those services too. Keep that in mind.). And with that we conclude part one of our series on the top 10 most useful tools for online employee training. Stay tuned for next week’s second part, where we’ll be focusing on learning assessment tools to help you measure the effectiveness of your employee training program. The post The Top 10 Most Used Online Employee Training Tools: Part 1 appeared first on TalentLMS Blog.

Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story.Synthesis. eLearning designs should not spoon-feed learners. Developers and designers are encouraged to create modules that challenge the intelligence and creativity of the learners. Knowledge spoon-feeding would create infants out of learners. Image SourceThe job of eLearning designers should enable learners to reflect, discover and decide rather than just giving information out. Creating the proverbial comfort zone in eLearning designs is the formula for boredom. The so-called ‘comfort zone’ induces students to become passive. It dulls their minds and suppresses creativity.Facilitators and trainers shift the control of the learning from the learners to them by giving too much information and data. Overly eager designers tend to manipulate the modules to attain their desired results. They want the learners to win the ballgame according to their terms and biased outcomes. Intellectual constraints build mental muscles. Muscles are formed by consistently engaging them with artificial stress and constraints. You don’t need Arnold Schwarzenegger to tell you that. Likewise, designers must push elearners’ to critically think and carry some mental burden to arrive at or discover learning nuggets. Let them travel through a labyrinth and discover their way out in the quest to acquire knowledge.As an eLearning designer, I understand the dilemma that my fellow colleagues face in the industry. By designing lessons that give more control to learners, we make ourselves ‘obsolete’. It’s a scary thought, right? I aired this matter in my blog : Are Trainers Still Needed? In that blog, I wrote: Informal learning, social learning, or learning based on the learners’ choices or options are certainly redefining the roles of trainers, learning specialists and even learners themselves. As they take more control of their own learning on their own terms, this becomes a frightening scenario to many learning specialists."Letting go of control" pushes trainers to rethink their roles in the learning process. However, rather than balk at the prospect, it is about time that this becomes an open issue. Years ago, letting go of control was like committing suicide where trainers are concerned.Truth to say, we trainers, never had total control. We’ve always felt, thought and convinced ourselves that we control learning because we instruct and teach knowledge. However in reality, learners choose to learn based on their own personal goals. So, this openness about losing control is not entirely novel news. It should no longer be a surprise.Interestingly, this is the same concept that Adam Richardson wrote in his Harvard Business Review article entitled ‘Boosting Creativity Through Constraints’. In that article, Richardson writes: Conventional wisdom holds that the best way to boost a team's creativity is to unshackle them from constraints. The less they have to worry about, the more open they'll be with their ideas, the theory goes. Budget? Unlimited! Ideas from outside? Bring 'em on! Different business model? Consider it entertained! Unfortunately this approach can actually be counter-productive.Some constraints are realities that must to be dealt with — laws of physics, or perhaps a budget. Other constraints may seem immovable but upon inspection are actually assumptions based on the past — your business model, or which customers and needs you serve, for example.Constraints have a Goldilocks quality: too many and you will indeed suffocate in stale thinking, too few and you risk a rambling vision quest. The key to spurring creativity isn't the removal of all constraints. Ideally you should impose only those constraints (beyond the truly non-negotiable ones) that move you toward clarity of purpose.If a constraint enhances your understanding of the problem scope and why you're doing what you're doing, leave it in. Insights into user needs, for example, are great because they provide focus and rationale. If the constraint confuses or overly narrows scope without good reason, remove or replace it. Don't be afraid to experiment with different combinations of constraints; it's not always easy to tell ahead of time what the right mix will be for a particular project or circumstance.Here are some tips on how to build constraints that compel learner’s creativity:Ask or post the right questions in your modules. Target the learner’s blindside. Post unexpected questions that are not answered by yes or no. Use hyperlinks and links in your lessons. Let you eLearners navigate through other knowledge references. Present contradictory ideas and compel your students to take a stand. Opposing views fuel discussion. Collaborative learning is attained when there are clashes of ideas and concepts. Do not feed your students with your conclusions or recommendations. Guide them through but do not dictate as to how the learning should be concluded. Provide a feedback mechanism so that you can challenge the answers or conclusions of the elearners. Whenever possible, use learning games. This can make learning entertaining. Related BlogsAre Trainers Still Needed?Are you guilty of interrupting the learners learning?Reference: Boosting Creativity Through Constraints by Adam RichardsonRay Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis.Avatars are not only novelties or catchy web accessories. They provide web users with a third-person perspective of themselves. Avatars help us project ourselves during web interactivity. Recent studies show that the third-person perspective has more advance uses in eLearning and interaction.Image Source I chanced upon an EA Sports website, a gaming portal that enables players to ‘paste’ their head shots onto the body of the player of their choice. The feature is called Game Face. It gives this alluring welcome to the players: Create your EA sports avatar on the web and get to play as yourself in the games!I am not into gaming but I like the concept of personification: the users "see themselves" in the interactive zone they are engaged in. Perhaps, people tend to become more efficient in interactive games when they see themselves in it. The survival instinct kicks in: they don’t want to see their avatar lose or die right before their very eyes.As eLearning facilitators, we make it a point to require elearners to post their photos or avatars during interactive sessions. The chat room and online forum become more ‘personified’ during virtual lessons through the photos or avatars of fellow learners. An article published in the Harvard Business Review describes a breakthrough research that takes the avatar concept technology a hundred notches higher. In You Make Better Decisions If You "See" Your Senior Self, Hal Hershfield writes:"There’s a large body of literature showing that emotional responses are heightened when you give people vivid examples: Donors give more to charity when they hear from a victim; pulmonologists smoke less than other doctors because they see dirty lungs all day. So I partnered with Daniel Goldstein of Microsoft Research, Jeremy Bailenson of Stanford, and several other Stanford researchers see if giving people vivid images of their older selves would change their spending and saving preferences. We took photos of our subjects and used software to create digital avatars—half of which were aged with jowls, bags under the eyes, and gray hair. Wearing goggles and sensors, participants explored a virtual environment and came with a mirror that reflected either their current-self or future-self avatar. Afterward, we asked them to allocate $1,000 among four options—buying something nice for someone special, investing in a retirement fund, planning a fun event, or putting money into a checking account. Subjects exposed to aged avatars put nearly twice as much money into the retirement fund as the other people. Later we had some people see the older avatars of other subjects to test if that affected their choices, but it didn’t. Only those who saw their own future selves were more likely to favor long-term rewards."So, how do we apply the basic concepts of the third-person perspective in elearning design? How can we induce our elearners to "age or become more mature" in their responses? The correct and efficient use of avatars in story-based eLearning design is only part of the whole approach. To create the appropriate learning environment, designers should set a good storyline, an apt setting and a realistic script. Create the right tension and draw them into the scenario. Trust the learners and implement your lessons with the disposition that they can rise to the level of the challenge. In short, treat them as adults who are capable of being creative and responsive no matter how difficult your lessons may seem. Pace your lessons well so that learners have enough time to think, react and assess their response. We are recreating real-life scenarios. As such, there are emotions and reactions involved. While we try to draw out the spontaneous reaction from learners, it is also as important to give them space to process their own learning . The results of the above-mentioned research could be further applied to elearning development. I foresee that this third-person concept is applicable to value-based and ethics-centered lessons for NGOs, socio-civic organizations and churches. Indeed, the elearning universe is expanding because of the changing needs of global communities. Related BlogsThe Dream of Personalization - Far fetch but PossibleDesigning eLearning for Martians and Other Aliens Reference  You Make Better Decisions If You "See" Your Senior Self by Hal HershfieldRay Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning