Free Webinar: 5 Incredible Strategies to Get Started with Mobile Learning Mobile devices have taken the center stage in most of our lives. Today, people find it acceptable to miss their wallet at home but not their mobile phones. So, wouldn’t it be appropriate and sensible to consider this device for the purpose of knowledge transfer? Therefore, it is no surprise that mobile learning has now become the most talked-about subject in learning and training conferences. If you are responsible for training in your organization and are keen to learn how you can benefit from the reach and permeability of mobile learning, then here is a webinar for you. Mobile Learning 101: The Nuts and Bolts of Getting Started, a four session webinar series, is power-packed with knowledge and information which is designed to clear your doubts and place you on a firm ground about mLearning. This webinar series is spread over 4 sessions and answers: How mobile learning is different from eLearning How mobile eLearning solutions can be used along with existing training programs What are the learning design strategies for the best mobile eLearning solutions What are the strategic, technological and infrastructure aspects that need to be considered before foraying into mobile learning Click here to register for the webinar! This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

E-Learning Awards 2015... Have you got what it takes to win in 2015? We were phenomenally busy here at Awards HQ on 31 July where the number of submissions broke all records!  A huge thanks to everyone who got their submissions in. Submissions came in from across the globe from organisations involved with healthcare, pharmaceuticals, finance, transport, utilities, retail, leisure, and communications, as well as government departments and major public bodies. Our judges will be busy reviewing entries throughout August and we'll announce the shortlist live on Twitter on 7 September. Make sure you're following @elearningawards to be the first to hear who has made it through to the second round. E-Learning Awards 2015 Categories best e-learning project - not for profit sector best e-learning project - public sector best e-learning project - private sector excellence in the production of learning content - not for profit sector excellence in the production of learning content - private sector best use of mobile learning best use of social and collaborative learning technologies best use of e-learning to ensure compliance with external regulations or internal policies most innovative new learning product best learning game best simulation or virtual environment best online distance learning programme best use of blended learning best learning management system implementation e-learning designer of the year e-learning team of the year e-learning development company of the year learning technologies outstanding contribution award e.learning age outstanding learning organisation award E-Learning Awards 2015 gala evening will be held at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London, UK on 25 November.   This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

How To Cut Online Student Drop Out Rates  Online student drop out rates keep plenty of us up at night. It’s an ongoing challenge to keep learners interested, on track, and motivated to complete their courses. And there are many strategic ways to do that. For example, you can: Create more engaging course material. Make eLearning more relevant. Appeal to different learning styles. Incorporate learner-friendly Instructional Design. Each of these approaches can certainly make a difference. Many can actively reduce your online student drop out rates - over the long term. But these strategies take time, and access to competitive resources. It can be a struggle to get organizational support to give your course the revamp it may desperately need. And in the meantime, those drop out rates show no sign of slowing down. So here’s something you can do right now. You can encourage your students to contact you directly for help. It sounds so simple, but are you actually doing it? Or do you assume that students with problems will automatically reach out? I’ve found that often they won’t. Many of them do need help. But they may hesitate to ask for it, because: They don’t want to bother you. They don’t think they’re "allowed" to ask questions. They think eLearning is a solo journey, and they’d better soldier on alone. They feel that asking for help is an admission of weakness. They don’t want to look stupid. They think they "should" be able to work it out on their own. These are the kinds of students who suffer in silence. They need your help - urgently. But they don’t know it’s there for the asking. Before long, these students will decide that eLearning is "too hard" ,or "not for me". So what they do next is no surprise. They feel overwhelmed, alone... And they drop out. So for many students, knowing that help is available is a game changer. By encouraging questions, you open the door to communication. You make it possible for them to ask for help. But won’t this lead to an avalanche of student email? I worried about this initially, too. The last thing I need is 100 more daily emails. But I’ve found that being more approachable hasn’t led to a noticeably bigger workload. The students who already email you four times a day with questions will do that anyway. They tend to be either high achieving (or overly anxious) and they don’t need an invitation to contact you. But what about the adult learner sitting alone with her computer at 11.30pm after a long day at work? She’s hit a road block with Assignment 2. It’s due next week, and she’s completely stuck. She feels frustrated and panicky, and from here, she’s likely to either: Give up, stop engaging with the course and eventually drop out, or Remember your welcome email where you directly invited her to, "Just ask if you have any questions". She sends you an email, your reply solves her problem, and she gets back on track with her work the next evening. She feels reassured and supported. She takes another step towards the course finish line. And that student-saving email took you about 30 seconds to write. I’ve found that moving students past road blocks towards the end of the course hasn’t added significantly to my workload. But any kind of time investment takes some serious justification, I know. We already have more than enough to do. To my mind, though, this approach to student support is easy to justify. And here’s why. When you encourage contact, you create happier students who feel they’re being heard and helped, rather than abandoned and ignored. The finish line comes back into focus for them, and that results in lower drop out rates for you. So try asking learners to contact you with their questions. Add a simple sentence about your availability to student emails, announcements and any other high traffic areas of your Learning Management System. When at-risk learners know there’s a safety net in place, they have more options than to drop out. You can help make sure they know that. How do you encourage students to stay in your courses? This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

The International Conference on 21st Century Education 2015 (IC21CE 2015) theme is "Applied Learning: Preparing 21st Century Citizens for Work and Life " The primary aim of IC21CE 2015 is to encourage participants representing an exciting diversity of countries, cultures, and religions to meet and exchange ideas, practices and views in a forum encouraging respectful dialogue. Participants are encouraged to present his/her research (multiple submissions welcome) or just attend to learn from the diverse group of global researchers and experts assembled in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. IC21CE 2015 Keynote Speakers Dr. Abdullatif M. AlShamsi, Vice Chancellor, Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE Dr. AlShamsi received his Ph.D. from Duke University, USA in 1997 and received his Master and Bachelor degree from Boston University. Previously, Dr. AlShamsi was the Managing Director of the Institute of Applied Technology (IAT) for seven years, where he established Applied Technology High Schools, Fatima College for Health Sciences, and Abu Dhabi Polytechnic. Dr. AlShamsi has more than thirty five research publications in world-class scientific journals and international conferences. His latest publications are a series of books published in Arabic titled: The Making of Education. In March 2015 Dr. AlShamsi was appointed Vice Chancellor of the System of Higher Colleges of Technology. Dr. Edynn Sato, Principal Research Scientist, Pearson's Research & Innovation Network Dr. Sato works pan-Pearson, focusing her research and innovation efforts on addressing issues affecting the learning and achievement of English language learners and students with disabilities in our U.S. schools as well as internationally. Her expertise and experience includes providing research-supported technical assistance to educators in areas related to the implementation of standards and assessment, as well as accountability and systems of support for diverse learners. Prior to joining Pearson, Dr. Sato worked in various academic, nonprofit, small for-profit, Fortune 500, and Internet-based organizations. The International Conference on 21st Century Education 2015 (IC21CE 2015) will be held in Dubai on November 13-15, 2015. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

LMS And Blended Learning  Contrary to popular belief, new technologies seldom replace older ones. The radio wasn’t replaced by cinema. Cinema wasn't replaced by the TV. The TV wasn't replaced by YouTube. All of these technologies still exist, and have even picked up a few new tricks and capabilities on the way. The same goes for old school (pun intended) classroom based learning. eLearning isn’t meant to replace it, but to cover those cases where traditional schooling wasn't convenient, cost effective, or even plain possible. It's also meant to work alongside traditional learning and augment its capabilities. This latter scenario is what's usually called "blended learning" or "instructor led training" (ILT), and it's something that modern LMS platforms increasingly offer support for. In this article we'll have a look at how TalentLMS, the popular cloud based eLearning solution, facilitates blended learning. Blended What?  As you've probably already guessed, the "blended learning" moniker comes from the fact that we mix (or "blend") traditional classroom based training and online learning. There are, of course, several ways we can go about this, which gives us quite a lot of flexibility on whether we prioritize the physical or the online element and in what ways. It all depends on our needs and constrains. At the most basic level we either incorporate eLearning into a traditional classroom based setting, or we incorporate real time lectures and labs (which can also be done through teleconference) in an eLearning setting. TalentLMS can handle both cases with aplomb, as it offers strong support for several typical blended learning scenarios. Blending With TalentLMS  The way TalentLMS models blended learning is through instructor-led training "Units" (think of them as lessons), that may contain one or more "Sessions". The latter are lectures that take place in real-time, either in the physical world (classroom based) or online (webinar based). An instructor can create a new ILT unit from the Courses page, by selecting "Instructor Led Training" from the dropdown and clicking on the "Add" button. After giving the new Unit a name, they can proceed to add Sessions to it. A session is defined by its start date, type ("classroom" or "webinar") and duration, and in the case of classroom based sessions, its location and capacity (the maximum number of students it can accommodate). Students are shown information about upcoming ILT sessions on their TalentLMS homepage, and have the option to register to any session that interests them (as long it hasn't reached its total capacity). When the time for a webinar style session arrives, logged on students can attend it by clicking the "Join webinar" link on their TalentLMS homepage. A blended learning unit is considered completed when the instructor changes the learner’s status from "pending" to "passed" or "not passed" and (optionally) defines a grade. And that's basically it. By keeping it simple and intuitive TalentLMS makes blended learning a breeze to use alongside regular online learning material and lets instructors add, edit, manage and monitor instructor-led sessions the same way as they would conventional eLearning classes. Blending A Conclusion  In this post we explained the concept of blended learning and had a look at how TalentLMS helps instructors implement it as part of their eLearning offering. The approach TalentLMS takes to blended learning is to make it as transparent as possible to the instructor, allowing them to treat ILT sessions like their already familiar online courses and lessons. Thanks to this design, ILT based sessions are able to access all the same TalentLMS features eLearning sessions can, from its organizational and monetization options, to its powerful reporting engine. If you have a need to combine online lessons with classroom or webinar based real-time sessions, in one integrated, easy to use package, TalentLMS might just be the ticket for you. Watch more about TalentLMS’ intuitive ILT options in this short video. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

How To Become An eLearning Professional In this article, I'll share the best eLearning career tips I've collected from our Free eBook: How To Become An eLearning Professional which is filled with the knowledge, wisdom, and experience of 23 carefully selected eLearning professionals. These top-notch eLearning professionals create a highly influential eLearning team of experts and they are here to share their invaluable know-how on how to become an eLearning professional. Ready? Get comfortable and read on. Go to eLearning conferences. "The eLearning Guild’s DevLearn and ASTD’s TechKnowledge are two good ones. Going to eLearning conferences really does make a difference to connect face to face with other people who are in the trenches, doing what you’re doing. Also, try new approaches and see what works. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. This is exactly how we learn!" By Cammy Bean  Start with an established company. "To really learn the craft, I always advise starting with an established company who can locate you alongside experienced people, who will be able to mentor and guide your training and personal development. Experience counts for a lot, so get this while working alongside a good team. How to use a particular tool is less important, as modern tools are quick to learn. The key to success is to appreciate how people learn, understand the thought process that goes into instructional design, what works well, and a range of different ways of achieving goals." By Tim Buff  Gain empathy from both creators and users. "First, observe and interview high-performing, typical, and low-performing members of your target audience separately. Then, interview people that use the product or service your audience creates in their typical performance context. Understanding both perspectives will help you design for actual needs." By Brandon Carson  Tune in to professional groups. "I advise people interested in joining the profession to start by tuning in to professional groups, such as those available on LinkedIn.  Once you join the group, you get advice about tools and techniques, best practices, methodologies, and adult learning." By David B. Demyan  Learn, apply, and improve. "Make it a priority to learn new technologies, theories, and processes for creating effective eLearning. Then, be sure to use the technologies, processes, and theories you have learned. And finally, to remain creative and competitive, it is crucial that you change, adapt, and grow as an eLearning professional. Hold yourself to high standards! Learn from your mistakes! Improve on your success!" By Joel Gardner, PhD  Focus on one discipline. "If you choose to focus on one discipline, you will be able to advance your skills to the point of being recognized as a "pro" in that discipline." By Parker A. Grant  Be a learner yourself and keep learning. "There’s always something new to discover that will not only help you think from a learner’s perspective, but will also boost your skills. Look for new books, blogs, websites, magazines and journals." By Matthew Guyan  Use communication strategically. "Strategic communication is the surest route to becoming an eLearning Pro. I use strategic communication to establish rapport with my learners, build them confidence, keep them focused, and always ask them for feedback. This is a clever approach to communication; it proves to your students and colleagues that you’re an eLearning pro." By Liz Hardy, PhD  Know how to market yourself. "Apart from education, skills, and experience, you need to have the ability to market yourself. What is your niche? How are you branding yourself? Social media provides an avenue to be an eLearning professional on an international level. Communicate effectively the benefits and qualities of your courses and programs; describing the significance of your program and your development expertise will ensure that you gain the recognition and support of your colleagues and intended audience. Think about the importance of your course and communicate the value to your team, your network, and the world!" By Anita S. Horsley, M.Ed. Learn how to write. "The most engaging eLearning relies on the message it contains. Even the best learning technology cannot mask poor grammar. As the Greek sage Epictetus once said, "If you wish to be a writer, write". I charge each of you that as learning professionals it is vital that we write well." By Ken Hubbell  Expose yourself to all aspects of the planning, development, and delivery process. "This way, you will understand the challenges associated with each phase and you’ll learn how to support a team of developers who each have a different area of expertise to create engaging eLearning courses that deliver on their learning objectives. Finally, you’ll want to expose yourself to as many eLearning courses as you can. Explore different designs and creative approaches used in various authoring environments." By Ruth Kustoff  Help others learn by sharing your excellent finds and documenting your experiences in the public sphere. "But don’t fully rely on the virtual world; get out there and meet people in person. Network at local meet ups, get involved with a professional association, and attend a conference if you have the funds. Perhaps you can volunteer in exchange for the cost of attendance. Even if you work alone, there’s no excuse for remaining isolated. Today there is an endless stream of knowledge broadcast every moment. Jump in!" By Connie Malamed  Practice your "elevator speech". "An elevator speech is what you do and why it’s important, summed up in 2 minutes or less. Consider versions for different audiences (your learners, your boss, perspective clients, etc.) and tailor your pitches for each type. Practice your pitch on friends to check for understanding. No matter how amazing your portfolio is, you must be able to promote it to the person you’re in front of." By Jessica Martello  Don't forget quality. "Learners will not be happy trying to read text that is too small or watching poor quality videos. Do everything you can to maximize the technical quality of your product. A do-it-yourself video, for example, is not usually a good idea. Consult with the professionals." By Don McIntosh  Provide a chance for learners to practice applying the required skills and get feedback. "Skills are difficult to master by reading eLearning materials alone. Our community really needs to do everything possible to make sure practice applying the concepts is provided as part of eLearning." By Dale E. Olsen Create a solid partnership based on open communications and trust with your clients. "Keep up with the business, understand what success looks like to them, and focus on providing solutions that meet their needs. This way you will find opportunities that are fun to develop, and effective to deliver too!" By William J. Ryan, PhD  Understand the digital shebang (the yin) and learn Instructional Design theory (the yang). "First, learn about social media, games, authoring tools, big data, and new stuff as it emerges. (Caveat: This is all about balance, so reach no conclusions until you’ve read through to the end.) Second, Instructional Design theory is an academic field with a long history and lots of applied brain cells; there is great stuff to learn there. Don’t skip this step and don’t be seduced by authoring technologies and focus on development alone." By Arturo Schwartzberg  Use conversational dialogue. "I’m not sure anyone actually uses business lingo. If and when they do, it sounds trite, pretentious, and confusing. Using a conversational tone in narration can ensure comprehension, while it also feels more real." By Diane Senffner, M.Ed.  Share. "Contribute your time and expertise to individuals or groups to explore ideas, give help, and provide service, or act as an advisor. Even if you think you’re a novice to someone new to the field, you can have a lot to offer." By Christopher J. Stape  Get your hands dirty. "Tinker with authoring tools, play with multimedia, and participate on social platforms. Experiment with all the software you can get your hands on, to find out what it can and cannot do. Familiarize yourself with its nuances, and critically reflect on how you might use it for learning purposes." By Ryan Tracey  Work closely with Subject Matter Experts. "They will help you create meaningful content, which means useful to the learners. Do you know what’s their motivation? Is it to improve their performance in order to earn bonuses? Is it the opportunity to get promoted? No matter what the motivation is, the important thing is that they want to cover a specific gap. Does your solution cover this gap?" By Rosalie Ledda Valdez  Have passion and perseverance. "Perseverance will help you continue pushing yourself to the limit. Passion can allow you to come up with genuinely creative learning experiences. Perseverance will allow you to always offer a fresh solution to problems. Passion will help you stay focused on your goals. Perseverance is all you need to find your own voice. So, create eLearning with passion and persist until you find how you can contribute to this field in a unique way. You will be surprised by what you can accomplish." By Mayra Aixa Villar  Prepare. "I keep a digital "scrapbook" of look-and-feel, activity, and story-telling ideas. I’ve always kept screen shots and written notes, but I’ve begun to use Pinterest as well. Building samples is also a great use of bits of down time. Being able to draw from these resources saves me a ton of time in designing and development." By Mary E. Vivit  Have you ever met a top-notch eLearning professional? Have you ever wondered what makes them exceptional? Read the article The Habits That Separate Top-Notch eLearning Professionals From The Rest and learn the 10 habits that separate truly great eLearning professionals from the mediocre ones in order for you to understand what it takes to stand out from the crowd in the eLearning industry. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

  Free Webinar: Transform SumTotal LMS Into Gamified And Brand-Led Learning Portal Do you want your SumTotal LMS go beyond its traditional role of serving up content, tracking results, and reporting on completion? Do you want to enhance your SumTotal LMS with things like gamification, user experience, social collaboration, branding, advanced analytics and personalized learning? Maybe it's time to transform your SumTotal LMS into a true learning portal. Join this 30 minute free webinar to discover how SumTotal learning portal is a gateway to new era of learning   This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

The Benefits Of Leadership Training  The good news is that leaders can be created through effective leadership training. At PulseLearning we develop custom eLearning leadership training to cover the emotional, practical, and theoretical aspects of great leadership. Here we explore six of the big benefits that leadership training can offer your organization. Increase productivity. The right, consistent leadership can increase the productivity of your people. At its primal level, leadership is about understanding your people emotionally. In his book The New Leaders, Daniel Goleman states that emotional intelligence is critical to the success of a leader. Emotional intelligence involves being smart about emotions and using empathy effectively to empower and engage employees. Leadership training that encompasses emotional intelligence can hone these emotional skills in your people managers and leaders. Retain your people. 75% of people voluntarily leaving jobs don’t quit their jobs, they quit their bosses! That’s right, employees leave ineffective leaders. By investing in leadership training, you can retain your people and reduce costly recruitment expenses. Nurture future leaders. You need to be strategic about developing and nurturing future leaders. Without strategy, leadership roles are often given to the most forward candidates with dominant personalities. Quality leadership is a combination of the right qualities and the right training. Identify those who have what it takes and provide them with targeted leadership training. Nurturing future leaders supports succession planning and offers career pathways to employees, further increasing retention. Increase employee engagement. We all like to know how we are progressing in our roles, receiving praise when it is well-earned and constructive feedback as necessary. In fact, 43% of highly engaged employees receive feedback at least once a week compared to only 18% of those with low engagement. Giving feedback is a skill of successful leaders. Through leadership training, you can teach effective ways to give feedback to motivate and increase the skill level of your people. Implement an effective leadership style. Leadership training can assist in implementing the most appropriate leadership style for your organization and the work you do. There are several leadership styles, all with their own advantages and disadvantages. Leadership training can also help individual leaders develop their own personal leadership style that their team members will best respond to. Make better decisions. Last, but absolutely not least: Leadership training can result in better decision-making. How? Because leaders functioning at a high level of emotional intelligence have the perspective to make informed, intelligent business decisions. For that reason alone, you can consider your leadership training investment returned. References: Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report Towers Watson Global TMR Survey NA 2012 PDF This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

8 Ways Social Media Usage Can Inform eLearning  Spare a few minutes? What’s the one thing we all now do -rather instinctively- when we have the odd couple of minutes to spare here and there? We get our phones out and frantically scroll through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Flipboard, Tumblr, Flickr, Super, Pinterest, Vine, YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn… You get the picture, social media sites have become the "go to" place to kill time, and catch up on all the amazing (and more frequently less amazing) things all the people you’re connected with are doing, going, wearing, loving, hating, and even eating (let’s face it, who begins a meal without taking a quick picture of it for their Instagram account anymore?). Think we’re kidding? We overheard a conversation the other day where someone was so upset they’d eaten what they proclaimed to be "one of the best meals in their life" - and forgot to Instagram it first. Inexcusable. But what can we learn from these sites, and what habits are they teaching us - good and bad? We decided to break it down, and detail what we like about each one for both personal and business usage. Given that all these sites tap into our lives and as people, we’ve been wondering if the answer to the issue surrounding eLearning and driving engagement could be found in the way we use these sites. If the "have to do" training is structured in the same way as the "want to do" status updates or "want to watch" YouTube tutorials, it would be a logical assumption that we’d be as happy to complete an online course as we would tweeting. Micro Learning. Think learning, but little. Reddit is a great example of this. With 169 million unique visitors per month and well over 800,000 subreddits, there’s lots to read about - ever been on the ‘TIL’ subreddit? You can learn a whole wealth of great (albeit sometimes a little pointless) facts - click here to check it out. YouTube is also a great way of learning something new quickly - 60 hours of video are uploaded every minute, and over 4 billion videos are viewed a day*. Our searches range from DIY projects, craft projects, pet care, exercise routines, to cooking tips. On Demand.  The internet: No closing time, no sick days, no holiday requests. It’s live and active 24/7, all 365 days a year. You can tweet, post a status update, add an Instagram picture, and access a whole wealth of knowledge anywhere, anytime. Just like eLearning. eLearning is quite literally learning without barriers. You choose what to learn and when -no travelling, no days out of the classroom or office- and with the flick app, no internet connection is even needed to complete your training. Apply this same logic to eLearning. Reading topics should be small and snappy - so we learn what we need to know and don’t get bombarded with information. Customizable… And Relevant. Let’s use Instagram as our example this time; users are able to tailor their experience to their interests by managing who they follow. By subscribing to the topics they’re most interested in, they limit the information that filters to their feed. This ensures that each user gets the see the posts most relevant to them and allows them to skip over the stuff they don’t want (also apply this logic to Reddit, Facebook groups, Tumblr posts, and YouTube channels). Now consider this in eLearning -completing the need-to-do training as-and-when required and only complete the bits that are relevant to you and your job role. Let’s be honest, no one wants to learn about fire safety specific to fire wardens unless they’re a fire warden. And what you’re learning should be in line with correct and current law and legislation; there’s no point learning something that was produced and last updated in 1853… Ok, so that’s a little dramatic, but you get the point. Security… And Stalking. With all social media, you can keep your settings private and your account on lock down if you want. Only your friends, approved followers, or first connections will be able to see what you’re doing, saying and even what you look like. Keeping your private life, well, private. The flip side of this is when your profiles are open and public. People will be able to see all your social activity when partaking in a little Facebook stalking (be warned). Much like eLearning, the only person able to see your progress or course completions will be your group administrator (if you are the administrator - happy tracking and enjoy those status reports). If you like to keep things social however, and don’t mind being found; things like top achievers rankings will be right up your alley! Searchable. If it ain’t easy to find, I ain’t reading it. Ok, maybe a bit harsh, but with a whole heap of search methods -hashtags, subreddits, and tags to name a few- it’s so easy to find exactly what you want on each social media platform to ensure you only see or find what is relevant to you. This should be the same when it comes to learning online. Finding what you want to learn should be as easy as finding the #tbt posts on Instagram. Interests. Pinterest boards, YouTube channels, blogs, and even groups on Facebook - we only join the ones we’re interested in (why would I follow a trout fishing group on Facebook if I have ichthyophobia?). Social media offers us a range of ways to stay current with our interests and hobbies; Pinterest is the best example for this, many a time have I been lost for hours pinning new ideas and projects to my various boards in the hope that one day I’ll make that DIY outdoor fire pit (?) - no, seriously. eLearning works the same: You can learn anything, and I do mean anything, you want online. With hundreds of different topics to choose from and lots of suppliers out there we challenge you not to find what you’re looking for. Limitless. Let’s thank Facebook for this example; it’s basically a free Dropbox, which means unlimited storage, uploads, and shares. You can add photos, videos, audio… pretty much anything to the site and share it amongst your friends - and rest safe in the knowledge that all this data is being stored somewhere else, not taking up memory on your device or PC. eLearning is much the same, there’s no downloading and storing software, everything’s accessed online, so you don’t need any spare memory on your computer or device to access it! And Lastly, Self Destructing. Who wants a course or certificate that self destructs… Well, no-one? But let’s consider linking this to the play element of learning. As consumers, we don’t have to take ourselves too seriously; allow some play and people will choose to engage. Enter Snapchat - great for sharing hilarious photos and videos that are basically "James Bond" destroyed after one or two views, so your viewers or followers can’t keep them. Who doesn’t love feeling like an exclusive spy?! Genius. Mirroring social media in eLearning will undoubtedly encourage usage.  Keeping a system in line with apps, websites, and forums we use every day out of choice can only create a positive effect in the way we choose to learn. Most social media are made with mobiles in mind. They are built around people using them on their phones and that’s where the majority of people use them. Let’s take Instagram as an example; you can't even post from the web, only the app. It knows where people are and takes their app to them. In 2000, just half of UK adults said that they had a mobile phone - that figure now stands at 93%*. The demand for new features is always around; let’s face it, people anticipate frequent updates... All of us using iOS are still impatiently waiting for the Spock hand emoji! There is always a need to be something new in the pipeline. Playing from habits we can shift our focus from spending those spare few minutes finding out what Lucy, Mike, and Louisa had for dinner to choosing to complete a quick topic on data protection, health and safety, equality and diversity, or anything in fact. What are your thoughts? We’d love to hear from you - comment below, or tweet us @flicklearning and share your ideas. Here’s to keeping learning social! References: 35 Mind Numbing YouTube Facts, Figures and Statistics - Infographic http://www.mobilemastinfo.com/stats-and-facts/ This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

The Top 7 Video Conferencing Pricing Models Even though we may live in a tech-savvy world where instant messaging seems to be more common than face-to-face communication, there are times when text chats just won't suffice. Video conferencing tools are perfect for just such an occasion, giving eLearning teams the power to stay connected and online learners the chance to interact with their peers. Below you'll find a video conferencing guide that can help you choose the ideal cloud-based (hosted), installed software, or videoconferencing room for your eLearning needs, regardless of your budget. Annual Licensing Fee (Video Conferencing Room). This first option is an enterprise grade video conferencing solution. It requires a yearly fee that covers the licensing for one "room" and a certain number of users. For example, the provider may charge $500 annually for the use of one room and up to 25 users. You can typically add on additional rooms and users, depending on your Video Conferencing needs and audience size. Some even offer reduced pricing for smaller rooms that include fewer features. A "room" or "virtual space" can boast a variety of different perks, ranging from big flat screens to HD video cameras to record the conference. This is often the most expensive option, as it involves the "wow" presentation factor. However, larger corporations with larger budgets may opt for this pricing model if they carry out video conferences on regular basis, such as to hold meetings with remote teams or clients. Monitor Codec (Installed Software). This is a miniature version of the enterprise grade conference room. Essentially, the user’s computer screen also serves as VC system whenever they hold a virtual meeting. When they have an incoming video call, the system automatically notifies them and instantly switches the screen to video conferencing mode, then back to the normal display when the meeting has concluded.  It can be quite costly, however. Some monitor code solutions can set you back thousands of dollars, and that’s not including the annual upgrade and maintenance fees. It does offer a professional presentation and is convenient to use though, which makes it a good choice for mid-sized companies who don’t have the budget for grand-scale virtual meeting rooms. Licensing Fee (Installed Software). Organizations who don’t necessarily need a video conferencing suite or monitor codec have another, more affordable, VC tool at their disposal. The licensing fee pricing model involves an annual or perpetual fee that gives the user access to the conferencing software. They simply download it onto the computer, hook up their webcam and microphone, and then start holding virtual meetings. You can even hold conferences on your smartphone or tablet, in some cases, as long as you have an internet connection. This is a great option for mobile sales teams or remote workers who need to be able to chat with clients or co-workers anytime, anywhere. Before you sign up for a year-long subscription, make certain that there are no hidden fees or maintenance costs to consider. Monthly Subscription (Hosted). This Video Conferencing pricing model is hosted or cloud-based, which means that there are no software downloads necessary.  The user simply logs into the platform using their ID or username and password, then makes a video call. The monthly fee usually includes the basics, and other services come at an additional cost. Also, the subscription is typically for one "host". For example, the provider may charge $25 per host per month, and hosting a webinar that involves multiple users would involve an additional fee. Pay per participant (Hosted). The pay per user Video Conferencing pricing model is a cloud-based alternative that is based on the number of participants who attend the video conference. For instance, the provider might charge $15 per month per user, for up to 100 participants. Regardless of how many people attend the video conference, as long as you stay under the cap you won’t have to pay an additional fee. It’s all covered under your subscription. Also, thanks to the fact that it is hosted online, you can access the chat anywhere, provided you have a smartphone or tablet with an internet connection. Pay per minute (Hosted). The pay per minute cloud-based Video Conferencing pricing model is typically for audio or teleconferencing only, and the video component is not included. For example, you may have to pay 3 cents per minute per line, and an additional fee for operator assistance or to upgrade it to a web conference. Free Video Conferencing Tools. If all of these Video Conferencing pricing models aren’t within your eLearning project budget or you would prefer a more basic platform, a free video conferencing tool may be the ideal solution. These tools are ideally suited for smaller organizations looking for a one-on-one solution, or a platform that accommodates fewer participants. It does, however, lack many of the features that the other VC pricing models offer, but you are usually able to upgrade to a paid subscription in order to get more functionality. If you’d like to learn more about free video conferencing tools, read the article Top 10 Free GoToMeeting Alternatives to discover the top free GoToMeeting alternatives that you may want to consider. Before you make your final decision, consider researching the tool's features and services, and ask for a free trial or demo. This can help you find the best video conferencing tool for your future eLearning endeavors. Once you have chosen your video conferencing tool, consider reading the article Top 7 Tips To Be A Successful Webinar Host to find out how to be a successful webinar host so that you can be sure that you feel relaxed and highly professional while you deliver a flawless, entertaining, and stimulating webinar. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.