Considering applying for a role in elearning but worried about your lack of experience?Don’t be. Scriptwriter, Lewis Edwards, suggests it might just be a good thing…If you’ve got experience in other industries and sectors you might be surprised to see how well you fit into the elearning industry.Take my background before joining elearning company, Sponge UK. I’ve already been a journalist, a teacher and even a footballer after leaving school at the age of 16 to join the ranks at Plymouth Argyle.After finding myself on the scrapheap of failed professional footballers, I enrolled on a Sports Media and Journalism degree at the University of St Mark and St John in Plymouth. This led to roles within the local media before I took up a position as a teaching assistant and then, as a course tutor on a TV and film course at Plymouth College of Art while studying for my PGCE teaching qualification.At first, I found it somewhat of an oddity that these broad range of roles could help prepare me for life as a scriptwriter. But at each interview stage for my new job at Sponge UK, I started to realise how, possibly, it was an advantage.The combination of media and teacher training has amalgamated and shaped my transferable skills. I can draw upon my writing ability to contextualise the educational practises and theories I implement in the modules we create. With each passing day, I dip into my tool bag of skills collected from past experiences to tackle elearning tasks.Ask yourself: ‘What could you bring from a polar opposite career to a job in elearning?’I genuinely enjoy my role here at Sponge UK. I could be writing scripts for a game or a video shoot in the morning, then, in the afternoon, be part of a cross-Atlantic call with a client to discuss a new elearning project.Don’t’ let your reservations about being new to elearning put you off a job in the sector.Everyone, at some point in their life, has been taught something. Some, may have had bad experiences of education, others have fonder memories. That’s the beauty of learning, not everyone absorbs and responds to information in the same way. Each person who brings an idea or experience into Sponge is valued, no matter what their background.As a newbie, you’re not alone. There’s an eclectic mix of creative people at Sponge UK, many with a wide experience outside the elearning industry. This only adds to the bank of knowledge that everyone benefits from thanks to our healthy social learning environment.  And, to be honest, the ‘freshness’ of a new employee is a highly-prized perspective. While in other professions it might be regarded as a hindrance, at Sponge UK, being able to draw upon a wide skill set from a range of backgrounds is heralded.What’s more, it’s great to know all your colleagues are more than happy to lend some brain cells when you need inspiration, which is something of a rarity compared to some other company cultures I’ve been exposed to. With the wide spectrum of clients we work with, drawing on this breadth of background often provides the ‘hook’ that helps learners connect with the content.So, make the most of what you have to offer and sing it proudly.Find out more about joining the ever-expanding hive of activity here at Sponge UK.Author: Lewis Edwards, Scriptwriter, Sponge UK The post From footballer to elearning scriptwriter appeared first on Sponge UK.

Retailers are among the most innovative when it comes to elearning, but what can they teach the National Health Service (NHS) about harnessing learning technologies?Despite the obvious differences, there are common challenges and some of the elearning practices being used in the retail sector could help deliver change for the health service.Retail is leading the way in the use of elearning to deliver tangible business benefits. According to the Towards Maturity Retail Sector Benchmark Report, retailers score much better than the private sector for the impact their elearning has on learners. They are using it to cut costs, increase productivity, improve quality, enhance customer service and retain good staff. The way they do this could offer lessons for NHS trusts grappling with similar challenges.Here are some retail innovations that could work equally well for the NHS and other healthcare providers:Just-in-timeJust-in-time elearning allows employees to access training at the moment they need it most. Within retail this can work well to help sales staff stay on top of information in a rapidly changing environment, for example getting to grips with new product lines. It can help knowledge retention rates because there is only a small gap between learning and doing. To be effective, just-in-time elearning needs to short and focused; a lengthy module would defeat the object of in the moment training. It’s a strategy that could benefit NHS staff who need to refresh their training frequently or keep up to date with changes.Pre-inductionAlso called pre-boarding, this is the practice of providing part of an induction training programme BEFORE new employees start work. For retailers, this strategy cuts down on the time it takes for new recruits to get up to speed and helps them feel more prepared for their new role. Research suggests that companies with pre-induction are 11% more likely to retain staff in their first year than businesses without pre-induction. Elearning is ideal way to deliver pre-induction training because it can be accessed remotely and completed using a variety of devices. With recruitment and retention problems in certain healthcare roles, pre-induction may be worth considering for some areas of the NHS. Sports Direct - Pre-induction New starters with the high street and online retailer must complete the initial section of the induction elearning so they are familiar with the company in advance of their first day at work. Find out more about the elearning developed for Sports Direct by Sponge UK. Bring Your Own DeviceAround 80% of retailers are using some form of mobile learning to overcome problems with IT access for learners. The most innovative companies in the sector are experimenting with a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy that allows employees to complete elearning on their own laptop, tablet or smartphone. This creates maximum flexibility for staff to learn using familiar technology and helps overcome issues around device access. It’s a particularly helpful strategy where employees are not office-based whether that’s on the shop floor or in a warehouse. Similarly, BYOD may be a solution for health service workers who are based in the community.GamesElearning games are being used by some retailers to address specific business issues through spaced practice learning - helping employees absorb what they need to know through replaying a learning game regularly. Games are also a way of motivating staff to complete a module. For an organisation such as the NHS where there is a great deal of mandatory training, elearning games can contribute to a compliant workplace by boosting engagement levels. Waitrose - Games The leading supermarket chain has included an elearning game challenge to help staff learn the rules around selling age restricted items. Find out more about the game approach developed for Waitrose by Sponge UK. Because Sponge UK has more than ten years’ experience working with large retailers as well as NHS trusts across the country, we’re uniquely placed to help organisations learn from each other and share the best elearning practices.Get in touch for some new ideas before you start your next elearning project. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post 4 elearning tricks the NHS could borrow from retail appeared first on Sponge UK.

The team behind the award-winning Adapt responsive technology will be answering questions on multi-device elearning at the first ever Adapt Hangout.Adapt is a free and easy to use elearning authoring tool that creates fully responsive, multi-device, HTML5 elearning content using the open source Adapt framework.Established in 2013 and developed by a collaborative team, Adapt allows people to create single version content that works across multiple types of devices.   Some of the project leaders are coming together to answer questions about the technology in a discussion hosted on Google Hangouts.The panel will include Adapt’s Project Lead and Kineo’s Technical Director Sven Laux, CEO of Learning Pool Paul McElvaney and Sponge UK’s Games Developer Jason Butler.Jason Butler of Sponge UK said:"Adapt is changing the elearning landscape and making multi-device learning a reality for more and more organisations. We’re using the technology to create responsive learning solutions that can meet the needs of large global businesses and their employees. As well as creating a new customised look and feel for the framework, we’re also working to expand its gamification capabilities and range of interactions."The Hangout is a chance to ask questions about the Adapt framework, how it works, the progress of the new authoring tool, the advantages of open source development and the organisational benefits of using Adapt.Paul McElvaney of Learning Pool said:"We’ve been heavily involved in the Adapt project from the start and our focus has been on creating Adapt Builder. I’m hoping to share how this development has significantly changed our business by reshaping the development workflow and encouraging creativity. I can also explain our continued plans for developing this exciting new product as an open source endeavour."Aimed at L&D professionals, instructional designers and elearning developers, the Hangout is the first of its kind to bring together some of the key figures behind the world’s leading open source responsive framework.    The Adapt Hangout will take place on Tuesday, October 6 from 12:00 to 12:30 (BST) via Sponge UK’s YouTube channel or Google+.People can submit questions in advance by email to communications@spongeuk.com or via Twitter @Sponge_UK and @AdaptLearning.              The post Adapt Hangout lifts the lid on multi-device elearning appeared first on Sponge UK.

How games work to increase engagement and how they fit into workplace elearning are among the questions being answered at a free seminar at the World of Learning exhibition and conference.The learning workshop hosted by Louise Pasterfield, Managing Director at Sponge UK, will offer L&D managers and professionals an overview of elearning games and real-life examples of how organisations are using them to boost learner engagement.World of Learning takes place at NEC Birmingham on September 29-30 and features live workshops, free seminars, 120 exhibitors and a highly respected conference.   Louise Pasterfield said:"I’ll be breaking down what it is about elearning games that engages learners. I’d like to show people the sheer variety of elearning games available and how they can be used to target specific learning challenges or develop particular skills. As with all our seminars, you’ll be able to see lots of real examples of the work we are doing for major global businesses including an interactive video project that is helping train managers in how to deal with difficult conversations."Sponge UK is an award-winning elearning provider specialising in bespoke elearning solutions for large organisations.The free seminar is called How to boost engagement with elearning games and takes place in Theatre 2, 12.15-12.45pm on Tuesday, September 29. Entry to the World of Learning 2015 exhibition is free with registration available at https://venturemarketinggroup.circdata-solutions.co.uk/rfg/publish/WOLE15/The post Boosting engagement with games at World of Learning appeared first on Sponge UK.

Learning expert, Clive Shepherd shares his views on the skills gap in L&D, blended learning and creating compelling content.Clive has pretty much done it all in the world of elearning. He started as a Learning and Development (L&D) manager at a big corporate before co-founding the elearning company, Epic.Now a freelance consultant, he’s one of the industry’s most influential writers. His latest book, More Than Blended Learning is the culmination of a decade of work and sets out his vision for strategic learning design in the workplace. In this exclusive interview, he shares his thinking on a range of topics from the L&D skills gap to compelling content.What are the barriers that stop organisations creating successful blended learning?Some people are doing quite well so it’s not that there are dramatic problems. I think that people have a very narrow view of what blended learning is which doesn’t help. At a very simplistic level, a lot of people see it as a way of just reducing the cost of your classroom training by offsetting some of it into some other medium, typically online. That’s okay as a start but it misses the point that blended learning is not just a cheaper version of what you had before, it’s a much more effective version. So I think the barriers are both awareness and the capability of learning professionals. An awful lot of them are either in denial or don’t understand the opportunities that they have and there is a massive skills gap which is really holding us back.How serious is the skills gap and what needs to be done to address it?It’s a big issue. I think what’s holding back a complete change in the way that corporate learning is designed and delivered is not the readiness of organisations (although some are obviously more ready than others), but the willingness and capability of learning professionals to make it happen. Many of them just haven’t been orientated properly into what is possible with learning media and what the new thinking is in terms of learning design. I suppose it’s because a lot of learning professionals are afraid of the whole process, they think it’s technical and beyond them, they hide away from it. But when you can actually break through, and I do a lot of capability building work with them, they are absolutely fine though you do realise what a barrier there has been.Video: Clive on the L&D skills gapYou recently wrote about the art of media chemistry in learning design - can you explain what you mean?It’s a very simple idea and not a huge concept. I did write a ‘mini book’ about it about four years ago. It’s about getting content designers much more aware of why they are using each of the basic elements of all digital media, which you could regard as being text, still images - whether that’s photographs, illustrations or diagrams, speech, music, animation, video and possibly 3D. They must be very savvy about why they are using them and how they are using them rather than indiscriminately plastering them all over a programme with the idea that more is better. There are all sorts of ridiculous ideas people have about stimulating all the senses and all that sort of stuff which is largely nonsense. Yes, we want to be able to make use of the eyes and the ears on certain occasions but it’s not really about senses it’s about what’s the best way of conveying a particular message.Video: Clive expands on his theory of media chemistryWhat is the most important thing to remember when trying to create compelling learning content?I think there are actually six characteristics. I’ve just finished a blog series on this and I’m about to start doing some presentations on the subject, so it’s very much on my mind at the moment.Here are the six characteristics as I see them:A compelling concept - An idea where there is a real demand, an idea for content that will motivate people to use it in the first place, something relevant, practical and not too long.A compelling structure - So much digital content is really slow to get going so it’s got to start by really engaging people in terms of lifting the emotional level of interest and end with a call to action.Compelling use of media - Certain media combinations are compelling and certain ones put you off, so that comes back to the media chemistry issue I talked about earlier.Compelling copy or writing - You have to write in a way that is compelling not in corporate drone as if the content is written by the legal department - it’s about personality in the writing.Compelling stories - Your content needs to be liberally spread with stories whether they are scenarios, examples or demonstrations.Compelling challenges - These need to be stretching but reachable tasks or interactions within the content.     Clive Shepherd has written several books about workplace learning design and strategy. For more details visit www.morethanblended.com or his blog www.clive-shepherd.blogspot.co.uk. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post ‘A massive skills gap is holding us back’ appeared first on Sponge UK.

Great teams are not enough, they have to be able to work together. Creating effective elearning requires many different skills and collaboration between team members is crucial to success.Collaborating effectively should be part of every day at all organisations. The apps and technologies have come a long way in recent years and it pays to be aware of the various options you have.Here we present our 5 favourite collaboration tools, perfect if you’re looking for some inspiration for your own L&D team’s workflow.SlackCommunication is key, making it quick and easy to get in touch with any other member of the organisation can make a huge difference.With flexibility and powerful extension capabilities, Slack allows colleagues to interact with each other and the various other tools they use more easily.Creating groups for different teams is easy and provides a great way to get input from a team of people quickly and efficiently.You can integrate many different services and tools with Slack, allowing you to get real time twitter updates in your messaging application, or share Google documents easily amongst a team.We’ve talked about how we use Slack and how it can be part of the natural social learning strategy at your organisation in our webinar "A well bee-hived workplace: Learning socially from nature".  "Slack is a messaging tool, a file sharing tool, a community tool… we are able to come to meetings more prepared and have an understanding of the holistic points of view from everyone within the group because we’re creating communities." Brayley Pearce, Instructional Designer DropboxAll elearning projects involve digital files; Dropbox has become one of the most popular services for storing and synchronising all types of files across multiple devices and locations.Having the right files available when you need them makes for better collaboration. Dropbox stores your files in the cloud and synchronises them across all your devices automatically.If you use a connected device like a Samsung Galaxy camera for photos and video in the office, you can upload straight from the camera to a Dropbox account, internet of things style.The latest update to the service gives you a team option, making it clear that Dropbox is focused on making collaboration even easier in the future.  "Everyone knows and trusts a Dropbox link, which is important when you’re sharing sensitive files." Chris Houlden, Digital Marketing Executive Toms plannerProject managers need something simple and effective to manage their team’s time. Tom’s planner is an easy to use Gantt chart style web app.In an area like project management you have so many different tools available it’s easy to let analysis paralysis set in. The immediate availability of a cloud based tool like Tom’s planner reduces the barriers to trying it out.Having an application online makes it easy for multiple people to update and view a chart. Project managers can create or edit work for various teams and make it available for everyone to view easily and quickly.It’s important to have a scalable solution for this kind of tool. Having your tool grow with the company is an essential requirement for a modern application.Finding the right tool for the job might involve testing out a variety of options before finding the best option for you. Thankfully it’s never been easier to try out the different tools available.  "Tom’s planner makes it easy to schedule people’s time. Any changes made to a project are immediately available to everyone involved so even if circumstances change we’re all on the same page."Richie Harrison, Project Manager PinterestAll creative teams need some inspiration, and Pinterest is a great way to collect images based on a theme together.The real strength of Pinterest for inspiration gathering is that it’s so easy to collaborate.Group boards are an integral part of the Pinterest ecosystem and they can help you gather ideas that will drive the design for your project forward.You can create private boards for confidential projects so you can control who can see your inspirational content.Consistently being ranked in the top 15 social media sites also has its advantages, ensuring that the mobile apps and website is cross platform compatible and up to date.Pinterest is most useful for visual design teams who can easily collect a searchable archive of images on a theme for inspiration in a project.  "The design department will often collect ideas for elements of a design on Pinterest. Collecting images in themed boards that anyone can contribute to makes finding inspiration much easier."Glen Harling, Senior Designer InvisionDesigns go through many iterations with input from instructional designers, developers and clients. Traditionally this process resulted in many versions of files with associated notes from various different teams.Invision takes your original design files and allows you to create interactive prototypes that are updated automatically when the original source file is saved. Comments are easily added by anyone with access to the link and revisions of the files can be saved at every staged for reference throughout the process.Recent news from Invision will be especially useful to people who are also using Slack, with updates from Invision projects automatically being added to Slack chats.  "Invision has increased collaboration in so many ways. From sharing early design concepts with the wider team, to sharing with end clients for review. The comment system keeps everything in one place and clients particularly love the ability to pinpoint areas of a design they want to give feedback on." Paul Messenger, Senior Designer Collaboration is always going to be a part of business, technology is making it easier and more efficient every day. Issues that could have held you back a year ago can now be overcome with free web apps.In a fast changing industry like elearning using the smartest technology and services helps give the best experience for your customers. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post Top 5 collaboration tools appeared first on Sponge UK.

 Elearning games come in all shapes and sizes and they can deliver different benefits in terms of learning and skills development.But what are the different types of elearning games and how do they fit into workplace training?Defining elearning games is proving tricky for the Learning and Development (L&D) world.First of all, we are still struggling with the definition of gamification in learning after years of discussion on the subject. Thankfully, Professor Karl M. Kapp has done a pretty good job of pinning it down in his recent blog post, An Elusive Definition.Secondly, there is a hang up about the difference between gamification and elearning games. This useful graphic helps to compare some of the characteristics.Pinning down these definitions can be helpful to aid our understanding of gamification in learning and elearning games, but dwelling on them can be counterproductive. Pigeonholing elearning games as a specific genre risks overlooking one of their key benefits within learning - their broad range and scope.So when someone asks to see a typical elearning game, it is very difficult to represent what is possible with a single example. Instead, we’ve picked out six types of elearning games that are particularly useful for workplace learning.Elearning game typesRole-playing gamesIn this type of game learners take on the role of a character, usually the protagonist. The character might be represented as an avatar or the game may be constructed from the learner’s point of view (PoV). The game has a strong narrative and the learner must complete tasks or make decision in the role of the character. Role-playing elearning games are useful in the workplace to support customer service, soft skills training or empathy development. Timed gamesWorking against the clock adds to the challenge and some elearning games are specifically designed to make the most of the time element. Playing against a timer can stretch learners and adds a new dimension to learning tasks. Timed elearning games work well in compliance training to boost engagement or where employees have to make quick decisions.Decision gamesThese require learners to make a set of decisions to move through the game. There may be an optimum set of options but there can also be ambiguity with no perfect decision possible. Often, learners will be able to replay and see what would happen if they made a different decisions. Again, a strong narrative is important. Decision games lend themselves well to leadership training and other soft skills development.Collaborative games People often focus on the competitive aspect of elearning games but they can be just as powerful as team exercises. Collaborative games may require learners to work together to complete a complex challenge or allow a single player to seek outside help to finish a game task. In the workplace, collaborative elearning games can help support team skills or act as an ice-breaker in an induction programme.Detective gamesExploring the game space and trying to solve a mystery, puzzle or challenge is the key characteristic of the detective type of elearning game. It hinges on the learner being curious and a narrative works well in this kind of elearning game. They are useful in helping to develop the problem-solving skills of employees, as well as a good way to teach aspects of compliance where observation is important.   Competitive gamesCompeting against individuals or teams not only motivates learners but can help their development by allowing them to compare their performance against others. Competitive elearning games may allow learners to check their score against colleagues in the form of a leader board or similar system. They can be useful in situations where workplace learning needs to be completed within a tight deadline or as part of a team-building challenge.So, in summary, here are six elearning games you might consider using as part of a workplace training programme:Role-play games - Where learners must take on the role of a character in the game.Timed games - Where learners must work against the clock to complete a challenge.Decision games - Where learners must choose the ‘best’ course of action or decide how to respond to a given situation.Collaborative games - Where learners must work in teams to solve a problem or complete a challenge with help from others.Detective games - Where learners must explore the game trying to solve a mystery, puzzle or challenge.Competitive games - Where learners must compete as individuals, or in teams, to score points and win the game.Of course, this is just a selection and by no means an exhaustive list. It’s also worth remembering that some elearning games combine several different types; there are no hard and fast rules.By embracing the variety, rather than worrying about definitions, we are more likely to use elearning games creatively and focus on what really matters - how they can aid workplace learning and development.Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post 6 types of elearning games for workplace training appeared first on Sponge UK.

The impact multi-device learning is having in the workplace and how businesses can make the most of responsive learning opportunities are among the topics being explored in a week long social media event.#Multideviceweek, hosted by award-wining elearning company, Sponge UK, will bring together experts, tips, data, blogs and articles about all aspects of multi-device learning.As part of the event, founding members of the world’s leading open source responsive framework, Adapt will be answering questions about the technology in the first ever Adapt Hangout on Tuesday, October 6.Sponge UK will also be unveiling a new elearning module on cybersecurity, built using Adapt, so people can see how the technology responds to different devices.Louise Pasterfield, Sponge UK’s Managing Director, said:"The learning landscape is changing and the idea that people will sit a desk to do their workplace training already feels outdated. Multi-device learning is on the agenda for more and more organisations and we are hoping to host a lively debate about what this means for the way we design and develop elearning. I think learners will increasingly expect to access elearning on whichever device they choose and the L&D world needs to make sure it can provide content that meets this expectation. #Multideviceweek is a way of highlighting some of the issues around responsive elearning and sharing ideas for the future, so I would encourage people to get involved."The worldwide market for mobile learning is forecast to reach $12.2 billion by 2017, which is more than double its position in 2012. As part of the event, Sponge UK will be running a poll to gauge how widespread multi-device elearning is within businesses and organisations around the world.#Multideviceweek takes place from October 5 to 9, 2015 via Twitter @Sponge_UK and across the company’s other social media channels.Anyone who would like to get involved should email communications@spongeuk.com The post Join the debate on multi-device learning appeared first on Sponge UK.

You’ve spent a long time recruiting the best people for the job, but how do you know which of your employees are performing best?It’s not just HR that need to be aware of the skills and potential of your employees. All line managers can benefit from knowing which members of their team are suited to which roles.Retaining your best employees requires careful attention and nurturing, but why is it so important to keep identify your A-players?Internal vs external recruitmentSometimes it’s not possible to source an applicant from within the organisation to fill a role, but whenever it is you should make every effort to do so.Advantages of internal promotion:Fewer applications to processKnowledge of the candidate is already good, no need for lots of researchFaster than external, interview process is quicker and easier to organiseCurrent employees are already familiar with company culture, a huge part of the settling in processMorale is boosted when an internal hire is made, it indicates career opportunities are availableBetter able to fill the position being vacated before they move up, reducing costs of lost productivityThe time for an external candidate to achieve full productivity is often underestimatedIt’s no surprise then that 42% of all positions are filled from within the organisation, making it the biggest single source of new hires.An often quoted study from 2011 confirms that external hires are paid more and perform worse than an internally promoted employees.Knowing who the best person for the job is ahead of time can speed things up even more. No application process is needed if you have the information you need to make the decision already.Bad employees are costlyDiscovering the cream of the crop can help in many ways, including highlighting the below average performers.Many companies have realised the importance of not hiring bad employees in the first place.This practice is exemplified by Zappos’ mid-training offer of $2,000 if new customer service employees quit there and then. The hope is that by ensuring that only employees who really want to be there complete your initial training you’re filtering out unengaged candidates.But sometimes an employee might be a great fit for the company culture, but missing some piece of the puzzle. Identifying different traits, both strengths and weaknesses, is essential for managers to get the best out of employees.It could be as simple as a change to the working environment, in Susan Cain’s book and Ted talk she explains the importance of allowing introverted people to work in a way that allows them to be themselves.Whether you can turn an under performing employee around or not, it’s invaluable to your management process to be able to judge how they are doing.Elearning can helpNow we know why it’s critical to know who your best employees are and what they are good at, we’re going to explore why elearning is one way to identify the top performers:TrackingUsing any modern LMS you can track your employees’ progress through courses and see results from assessments. Having objective figures on training performance allows managers to quickly discover high performers.Many LMS allow you to monitor whether staff have returned to an elearning module. Staff who are referring to their training to retain their knowledge are likely to exhibit other positive traits at work.Cross trainingIf you have a course which is designed for your sales team and one for your marketing department it’s easy to allow the target audience of each course to access the other.Known as cross-training, it can help people collaborate better and if it’s introduced on a voluntary basis it will help highlight employees who are willing to put in extra time to better learn how to best help their colleagues.ComparisonBy providing standard assessments to all members of staff it becomes much easier to directly compare individuals to the group and other individuals.Adobe’s recently launched Captivate Prime LMS makes a big deal of the ability to compare progress between employees.Whether you keep this information confidential and use it for performance reviews only or make it a part of motivating your staff is something to consider, but the value for discovering high flyers is undeniable.Self-paced learningGiving staff the opportunity to take the learning when it’s most convenient is a big plus for elearning. As a bonus for management it can help reveal who is most motivated to complete training quickly.If a deadline is set for the completion of the module you will be able to see who has decided to leave it to the last minute and who takes a more calculated approach.InteractivityElearning gives you the opportunity to get feedback from staff during or directly after the training. Hearing what employees have to say about the course can really help you find the people who are asking the right questions.Beyond feedback there are many LMS’s that allow learners themselves to create and share content about the training. Giving staff the chance to record a video or statement which is made available to the rest of the team is a great way to get the stand out a-players.We’ve outlined the ways keeping track of your best employees can benefit your organisation and how elearning can help with the task. If you’d like to learn more about any of the ways elearning can help you get in touch.Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post Can you name your best employees? appeared first on Sponge UK.

At the start of #multideviceweek, we’re highlighting the kinds of devices your learners use to access your elearning, and you might be surprised by the results. Accessing training on a range of devices is becoming a necessity, there are more people expecting it and the benefits are growing. The costs of desktop learningLike 66% of people I use my smartphone at home, at work and in between, it’s sitting in front of my PC monitor as I write this. I might tweet a link about something I’ve read on the PC, or I might have an alert from one of the Slack or Skype groups that I use regularly for work.People now use their phones and tablets to access the internet wherever they are, and mobile-friendly courses have been around for years to take this into account.But are there any other devices being used to take elearning courses that don’t fit into the mobile phone or desktop mould?What does truly multi-device learning look like in 2015? Our research "Make sure your LMS is responsive, as your learners will use whatever devices they have to access their training." Karla Anker - LMS Support Coordinator, SpongeUK We’ve looked into the statistics from Sponge UK’s Launch&Learn LMS and pulled out some surprising devices that have been used to access elearning by real learners. Launch&Learn is a cloud based LMS which holds many different types of courses for a variety of organisations.We were surprised to discover that solid data on the specific device use is quiet hard to find.  Most statistics bundle all mobile users in together, so we’re going to dive deep into our own LMS numbers and share some data that everyone may find useful.We can assume that many staff have an android handset or an iPad which they use to access the internet. The people you need to plan for are the ones who don’t have a work PC, a modern phone or tablet.What do these people use to access the internet, and your elearning?These are the outliers, there aren’t many people using these devices for elearning, but it highlights the need to adopt a truly multi-device approach if you want to include every member of your audience. Weirdest devices Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii Now games consoles are connected to the internet they become another channel to view your online learning.The Xbox 360 was the most popular console to appear in the data.The average time spent on the LMS for games consoles was very similar to the time spent on desktop platforms, showing that people were likely to sit down and take time over their learning on their TV. Playstation Vita The only hand held console on the list is the PS Vita, with a 5 inch touch screen and decent processor you’d think that any elearning made for smart phones will work well.Unfortunately the web browser which is supplied with the PS Vita is reportedly not up to displaying HTML5 content, so it could end up being a frustrating experience. Bada and Symbian OS based phones Samsung’s phone operating system Bada didn’t take off like Google’s Android (which was a close second to iOS as the most popular mobile operating system). However the latest version, Bada 2.0 released in 2012, has all the features of a decent smart phone including support for HTML5 and multi-tasking.Symbian OS will be familiar to anyone who had high end Nokia handset pre-iPhone, think N95.There are fully featured web browsers but the app ecosystem never became as established as Android or iOS, and Nokia’s move to Windows Mobile OS saw the end of development for this platform. Series 40 - feature phone The most basic phone used to access the learning ran on Nokia’s series 40 operating system.It does have a browser but it’s very basic, supporting HTML4 only.The chances of this kind of device being used to access your elearning from the UK or US are very slim, but there are people out there who are more likely to use a 5 year old feature phone to access your elearning than a desktop PC.If you’re planning on delivering an elearning project to a wide audience in a developing country you might consider making it feature phone-friendly. Likewise, if you’re launching in Japan you might be surprised to know that flip phone sales are on the increase as smart phone sales drop.  How often do you test your elearning on a TV screen? Or with a gamepad as the only input device?Even if your course isn’t designed to be used this way it might be, and the chances are greatly increased if you don’t supply computers for your staff and especially if you employ younger people. Responsive designHow can you offer a consistent multi-device experience that can cope with all the different screen sizes and inputs that your employees can throw at it?Elearning can take a cue from web design which faces the same challenges of an ever-changing device landscape. The answer for web, and now for elearning, is responsive design; one set of content that changes it’s layout to fit best on whichever device it is being access on.Building an elearning course using a responsive approach means you can use it effectively on any device with a modern web browser.If you know the full range of devices that are going to be used to access the elearning then you can tailor the content to those devices, but our research shows that if it can access the internet it’s going to be used to access your elearning.Throughout #multideviceweek we’ll be putting out more multi-device facts and tips through Twitter, so keep an eye on the hashtag or follow @Sponge_UK . If you want to find out more about creating responsive elearning content join us on Tuesday 6th October at 12:00 midday for the Google Hangout Q&A with some of the team behind Adapt, the open source responsive elearning framework. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter  The post Multi-device elearning - The weirdest ways learners access content appeared first on Sponge UK.