Greetings, and a very Happy New Year to you! We hope your holidays were happy ones, and that 2015 came to an exciting close as we charge ahead into 2016. Last week, we shared some thoughts on what trends our team felt were the most noteworthy in 2015. Today, we’d like to share some of our prognostications for 2016. Will this be the year of Big Data in L&D? How about wearable tech? Our top trends for 2016 are a collection of new and not-so-new (but reaching critical mass) developments in eLearning. Let’s take a look. Growth of Mobile - We’ve noted the growth of mobile as a significant trend for awhile now, but we expect it to continue in 2016. It’s reached a point where clients simply expect the solutions we create for them work seamlessly on mobile devices, and our dev team has responded by taking a "mobile-first" approach. Look for mLearning solutions to become more robust and powerful in the new year. Augmented Reality - Some brands have already started delivering powerful experiences using augmented reality, largely in marketing applications. To put this in a learning context, imagine having a performance support tool that walks someone through completing a task, step-by-step. You can do that on a tablet or smartphone with all kinds of multimedia - checklists, photos, videos and more. Now imagine a multidimensional replica of the exact task the person is working on appearing right in front of them, and imagine they can interact with it not with a tablet, but hands-free with something like Google Glass. We’re still very early in the adoption of augmented reality, but the possibilities are endless and intriguing. Big Data - 2016 may be the year of data and analytics in the learning space. More organizations are creating long-term learning strategies and employee development is becoming a source of competitive advantage, not only in terms of product/service delivery but in employee recruitment. If we aren’t using data in a strategic way to close the loop between learning programs and business outcomes, learning strategy is greatly hindered. Look for greater reliance on third-party data analysis and reporting tools or in-house data analysts this year. Cloud Solutions - Cloud-based learning management systems have been on the rise for several years, but we’re expecting 2016 to mark a major milestone in the rate of adoption. LMS users are becoming wise to the many advantages of using a cloud-based system over one that’s locally installed. We’ll be watching to see whether the benefits can outweigh the switching costs that some learning teams are struggling with. Wearables - It’s hard to say exactly how wearable tech will impact learning this year. It’s still early in the product lifecycle, but smartwatch wearers are already receiving emails, text messages and app notifications on their wrist, which could already impact learning delivery and follow-up. Will learning content be designed for smartwatch consumption, embedding learning even deeper in the workflow than an iPad? Time will tell. What do you think is a trend to watch in 2016? Leave a comment below to join the discussion and be sure to let us know if you think we’ve overlooked anything. Cheers to a great 2016! photo credit: Happy New Year 2016 via photopin (license)

Hilarious examples can be found all over the Internet and in everyday life of kids mimicking adults. They overhear us at our best and worst moments and turn around and repeat what they’ve heard, often to hysterical effect. Learning through observation is the very first type of learning we experience as children. It helps babies start to become more self-sufficient. Young kids learn how to solve puzzles or beat the next level in a video game by watching their siblings or friends. As we grow into our teens and adulthood, a greater percentage of our learning is structured, but that doesn’t stop experiential - or informal - learning from occurring. It’s a learning modality as old as the human race itself. Older, even, as we could surely study learning behavior of non-human species and the role it’s played in biological evolution. We’re most interested in informal learning in the learning & development space. It’s been a hot topic in recent years as we put our collective heads together and try to better understand the informal learning our training audiences experience and how it impacts our work. What Is (And What is Not) Informal Learning In order to understand how informal learning fits within the greater scope of organizational training, we need to have a clear understanding of what is, and what is not, informal learning. And, well, it depends on who you ask. For our purposes, we define informal learning as learning that happens without intent or structure. It occurs naturally, on- or off-the-job. It happens through observing others, participating in water-cooler conversations, overhearing a discussion happening down the hall or in the next check-out line over, visiting your daily Internet news sites...by simply going about your day, you learn things. Those things might be applicable to how you do your job. You didn’t plan to learn anything, but you did. Non-formal and self-directed learning are two other terms commonly thrown around and mixed into discussions about informal learning, and we need to be sure to differentiate. Non-formal learning differs from informal learning in that it’s intentional and at least somewhat structured or orchestrated, though clearly less so than formal learning. Self-directed learning is intentional on the part of the learner, and not necessarily structured or orchestrated by a third party, such as a training department. Now that we’re clear on informal learning’s definition, let’s talk about why it’s great. Informal learning comes with a lot of upside. The lack of intent or structure leaves the individual somewhat unaware that knowledge transfer has taken place. It doesn’t feel like work and occurs entirely on the individual’s terms. It’s not something they’re forced to do, and this can make the individual very receptive to new information. A Framework for a Holistic Approach to Learning Created in 1994 by the Center for Creative Leadership, it’s hardly a new idea. But as technology has made rapid changes to the learning and development space, analysts from the Brandon Hall Group and others have emphasized the 70:20:10 framework as part of ongoing discussions about learning strategy. The model offers a guideline for developing a successful, blended learning strategy, which should include approximately 10% formal learning, 20% social or collaborative learning, and 70% informal learning. Those who have historically directed all L&D resources toward a formal learning strategy should consider a blended approach, using modern technology to its fullest potential. Starting down this path leads many to wonder how informal learning can be accounted for, tracked, or leveraged in the execution of a learning strategy. Does the learning function only have access or control over formal learning, i.e. only 10% of the audience’s total learning experience? What Should L&D Do With Informal Learning, If Anything? It’s important to try to understand what happens during that 70%. What is your audience learning on their own? Understanding this will help you improve your formal learning offerings and tailor them better to meet the audience’s needs. If informal learning is largely considered unintentional and experiential, is there a way we can support it or somehow be involved? There is, and it’s all about creating a culture of learning. Jane Hart, Modern Workplace Learning Advisor, Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies, suggests several ways we support informal learning: "Help managers understand the importance of everyday learning and the part they play in it. Help individuals extract learning from their daily work. Help individuals carry out a planned daily learning workout. Help individuals share what they learn with one another. Help managers measure the effectiveness of everyday learning." You’ll note that her advice isn’t so much about L&D participating in the informal learning itself. It’s about helping participants and others impacted make the most of everyday experiential learning; to be aware of new opportunities, recognize it when it occurs, and embrace it. The opportunity exists to empower the formal and informal to enhance one another, which will only lead to a happier, more knowledgeable audience. If you want to read more about informal learning, Edutopia, Brandon Hall Group, and Learning Solutions Magazine have published great resources. To what degree, if any, has your organization adopted the 70:20:10 framework? Have you started to evaluate informal learning and how it affects your training audience? Please share your experience with us in the comments below. photo credit: So happy =) via photopin (license)

Learning Technologies 2016 is Europe's leading showcase of organisational learning and technology used to support learning and training. The exhibition consists of more than 150 free L&D seminars, 250 exhibitors and two exhibition halls. If you haven’t heard of it, where have you been?! The event will be held on 3rd and 4th February at Olympia, London and we will be on stand P10.        

Creating accessible courses in Lectora® isn’t hard to do. In fact, with the many built-in features, options, and tools, it’s a straightforward process. The key is to keep accessibility in mind from the start as you design and develop your title. This will save you significant time in the end and prevent you from having to retrofit your title. In this post, we’ll cover some of the more common items you’ll want to keep on your accessibility checklist as your build your course. Keep in mind, this is not a comprehensive list, and you will still need to check your title for accessibility both manually (try unplugging your mouse and using just your keyboard), using automated tools (like a screen reader or accessibility evaluation tool), and in the field with students. However, this checklist should give you a head start down the path toward more usable, accessible content. Accessibility Development Checklist Web Accessibility Settings are turned on. As you begin to design your content, be sure to turn on the Use Web Accessibility Settings option within your Title Options on the Design Ribbon. When you select this option, Lectora will automatically enable certain features in the application that will assist you with meeting Section 508 standards and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level AA. Select Title Options on the Design Ribbon to enable Web Accessibility Settings   Selecting this option modifies the following options in Lectora: The "Lightbox style" option is disabled for pop-up windows. This style of windows is not recognized by a screen reader. Rather, Lectora will publish with standard pop-ups that open in a new window. ALT tags are always published for images and buttons. ALT tags provide alternative text for assistive technology, like a screen reader, in order to interpret and announce visual content. Video and audio skins are disabled. Certain media players, or skins, are not accessible. Rollover video controllers are disabled. The rollover video option relies on a mouse and is therefore not accessible. The "Set Reading Order to Last" property is enabled for groups. For example, this property allows you to place navigation buttons at the title level but set them to be read last. This way you can take advantage of inheritance, but override typical reading order behavior. The "Language" property is enabled for text blocks. Using this property, you can let a screen reader know that a specific text block is different from the default language of the page. This is useful if you are using multiple languages in the same course. Visible focus indicators are displayed in web-based publishes. This is a requirement of the WCAG 2.0 AA guidelines. A bright orange outline will be displayed for any element on the page that can receive focus, like an entry field, checkbox, or button. * The Use Web Accessibility option is not yet available in Lectora Online.   A language is declared for the title and any necessary text blocks. Use the Language drop-down in the Title Options dialog to specify the default language for your title. This will default to the language you chose when you installed Lectora. *The Title and Text Block Language options are not yet available in Lectora Online.   Set the Title’s language if it differs from the installed language for Lectora.   Layering order is correct on each page. The Title Explorer controls the layering of objects on a page, and therefore the reading order that screen readers use to identify objects. An object at the top of the list in the Title Explorer is actually on the bottom-most layer of the page. A screen reader would identify this object first. Alternatively, an object at the bottom of the list of objects in the Title Explorer would be identified last.   Remember that objects that are inherited on a page are always identified first and layered at the very bottom of that page. A screen reader will first identify inherited title level objects, then identify inherited chapter level objects second, and identify page level objects last.   You can check the reading order simply by reviewing the Title Explorer from top to bottom.   Lectora’s Title Explorer reflects the layering order.   * Use caution when setting the Always On Top property for an object. This option places the object on the top-most layer of the page and at the same time, makes it the first object identified by a screen reader.   ALT Tags (object names) are used for images, media, buttons, and hotspots. Accessibility guidelines require that a text equivalent is provided for every non-text element provided. You can provide text equivalents in Lectora by using ALT tags for images, buttons, and multimedia. ALT Tags in Lectora are created from the object’s name as it is listed in the Title Explorer. The name used in the Title Explorer is the same name that appears in the Name field of the object’s properties. Use short, descriptive object names to create ALT tags for images, buttons, animations, and media.   If you’re layering transparent buttons on top of images to create hotspots or rollovers, ensure that the ALT tags for the all of the transparent buttons (as well as the underlying image) have appropriate ALT tags as well. The name of the object in the Title Explorer used as the ALT Tag.   ALT Tags are turned off for decorative images. If any of the images in your title are of no informational value or are used merely for decoration, they should have empty ALT tags. For example, this might apply to background images and shapes.   Screen readers and assistive technology will skip over objects with empty ALT Tags. You can set this in Lectora by selecting the Empty ALT Tag option in the object’s properties to properly turn off ALT tags for an image. Don’t leave the object name blank or a screen reader will end up reading the image’s filename instead. Select Empty ALT tag from the Properties Ribbon for decorative images.   Descriptions are available for complex graphics. Complex graphics, charts, and images will require a longer description than what you can provide with an ALT Tag. Rather than using an ALT tag, you will need to provide access to a textual description. There are many ways to do this in Lectora: You can layer the description behind the graphic, so it is only recognized by a screen reader but not displayed on the page. Use a small font and a text color that matches the background color of the page. Then layer it behind the image. Describe the image within your page’s text. This benefits all learners by reinforcing the information presented in the graphic. Add a hyperlink below the image to open a textual explanation in a new window. You can use a Display Message action and type the long description in the Message The hyperlink in this example opens a message with a full description of the image.   Skip navigation link is on each page. Accessible content means your learners have the ability to skip repetitive navigation, buttons, and links. This prevents them from having to listen to a screen reader announce each navigation element on the page before arriving at the main content.   Lectora enables you to provide a skip navigation button or link that, when executed, will automatically bring users to the main content on the page and enable the screen reader to begin announcing that content. Follow these 5 steps to create a "skip to content" link: Create an empty text block that will act as a placeholder object. In the Title Explorer, layer the placeholder before the main content. Add a button or hyperlink that is set to Go To > Current Page, and Scroll To the placeholder. Layer the "skip to content" link in the Title Explorer by placing it before any navigation. Use an appropriate ALT tag for the button or text for the link, such as "Skip to Content."   The skip to content hyperlink scrolls directly to the empty text block.   Audio and video include captions and transcripts. Accessible multimedia involves providing equivalent alternatives that are synchronized with the presentation. To accomplish this, Lectora enables you to add closed captioning to video (FLV and MP4) and audio files (MP3, FLV, and M4A) within your title. To add closed captioning: Select the Add Captions button on the Video or Audio properties ribbon. You can import an existing XML file, or open a sample XML file to get started. The sample XML file can then be modified with the correct details for your media. Save and import the modified file to use with the video or audio. When you preview and publish your title, the captioning text is displayed above the controller according to the details specified within an XML file. Remember to use the sample XML file as a starting point when creating your own captions. While captioning is available for audio files, you may also choose to include a textual transcript of any audio narration you add to your title. You can display the transcript on the page, or you may link to a separate text file that opens in a new window. *Audio captions are not yet available in Lectora Online.   Text headers are identified for text. Users of screen readers can search the page to find and identify important content. To enable this, you can mark and structure text using the HTML Text Type property. For each text block, you can set the HTML Text Type to Heading 1 through Heading 6. When you label the text block as a heading, it is recognized by screen readers and even search engines as containing important information. This selection will not affect the formatting of the text block, but will define the importance of the text relative to the content. In order of importance, H1 comes first, then H2, and so on.   Set the HTML Text Type for important text on the page.   Header rows are identified for tables. If you use tables within your titles, accessibility guidelines require you to identify row and column headers so that a screen reader can properly identify the information within the table. In Lectora, you can select the Include Header option within the Table Properties. This will identify the first row as the header. Items within the table are then automatically associated with the left-most column of the table and the identified header row. The Include Header option is on the Table properties ribbon.   Labels are used for form elements and questions. Most questions and form elements are already accessible, but there are a few design consideration to keep in mind.   For example, all form controls like radio buttons and entry fields require a label so that learners can identify the name and function of the control. Radio buttons and check boxes automatically include a Label property you can use to enter a descriptive label. They are added directly to the page. However, drop-down lists, list boxes, and entry fields require a different method. You will need to add a Text Label from the Test & Survey Ribbon. Then use the Label for option within the Text Properties to associate the label with the correct form element. In this example, the Feet Text Block is set to be a label for the Feet Entry Field.   Since radio buttons, check boxes, entry fields, and other form elements are used to make up the parts of a question, it’s helpful to know which questions can be used in accessible titles. Generally, the question text or question choice will serve as the label for the form control.   The following questions are accessible and require no additional work: True/False Multiple Choice Multiple Response Likert Essay Short Answer Fill in the Blank Number Entry Rank/Sequence * Remember to place labels close to their corresponding form elements on the page. If a learner is using a screen magnifier, it should be easy to determine which label identifies which form control.   The Accessibility Check Tool does not return any unintended errors. As you go through the process of designing and developing your title, you can take advantage of Lectora’s Accessibility Check tool. Keep in mind this tool should not be used as the final indicator in determining whether or not your title is 508 or WCAG compliant. No automated tool can fully accomplish what a person can do with a manual test. Instead, the Accessibility Check tool can be used to help identify objects within your title that may require special attention in order to comply with the 508 requirements or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. For example, while the tool cannot determine if you have provided the appropriate synchronized captions for your title, it will provide a warning indicating that you may need to address your multimedia objects. Run the Accessibility Check tool often as you develop your title. When viewing the items listed in the Accessibility Check tool, note that blue items are only warning messages, while red items are errors. You can double-click the message to jump to the page containing the object identified in the message.   Now you can create your own accessibility development checklist to keep on hand as you develop your next accessible title.   Stay tuned for an upcoming post that will cover ways to make accessible content more interactive and engaging. The post How to Use Lectora to Create Accessible Courses appeared first on .

  Integrating technology in whatever you do is no doubt an overwhelming task. As such, teachers find themselves pulled in different directions everyday due to the ever evolving technological advancements. So, how do educators find the ideal balance between technology and teachers? As a result, this article explores a few ideas that teachers can embrace to harmoniously integrate technology in the classroom. Read on to know how those in the education sector can strike a perfect balance between technology and teachers.   As you try to harmonize technology and teachers, it is imperative to note that technology is the literacy that is required in higher education and in the economy. It is the universal language that the entire world speaks. The coming generations are going to have a very tough job market whose competition will be determined by how technologically savvy one is. This does not however mean that job will not be available. It means that career opportunities will continue to dwindle as outsourcing and automation expand. And this is perhaps the biggest reason why technology and teachers have to be coordinated.   As such, technology and teachers have to strike a perfect balance in order to equip learners with both the required technical knowledge and the technological know-how needed to survive in the competitive world of hi-tech gadgetry. If technology and teachers are not synchronized, then we will have educated people who cannot fit in the current career world despite their educational accomplishments. And if technology does not get enough of classroom tutoring, then we will have a tech-savvy generation that does not have any professional clout to effectively discharge their career responsibilities. Therefore, both technology and teachers need to be synchronized to ensure that learning institutions churn out graduates who have mastered professional concepts and have the technological prowess to perform their tasks in the immensely automated 21st century working environment.   Technology and teachers will never be on a balance unless educators stop seeing education as a threat to quality teaching. Instead of technology and teachers viewing each other as enemies, they should they should complement each other. Both technology and teachers need each other. For instance, a teacher should tap into the many benefits of technology to ease the strenuous teaching process and technology ought to understand that it is teachers who gave birth to it. Technology and teachers cannot exist without each other. Each needs the other for survival- and both are very essential. Students who are exposed to technology should integrate it in their class work with the help of teachers and the tutor and the learner should see technological advancements as the fruit of the knowledge acquired in the classroom.   Finally, technology and teachers can be harmonized by those in the education sector to make learning through technology the bedrock of the curricula. This will make learning fun for the students and a lot easier for the tutors. It will help students stop viewing teaching as a boring impediment to their technology-filled lives. In the same vein, it will help teachers realize that technology complements technology and that the two do not clash in any way.   However, it is important to note that the balance between technology and teachers is not very healthy presently. Therefore, whatever measures that are taken to synchronize technology and teachers ought to be systematically gradual in order to be fully effective.   The post Tips for Striking a Perfect Balance between Technology and Teachers appeared first on Fedena Blog.

This morning, IITS installed the JMOL filter on our Moodle server. Now you can upload and view interactive 3-D molecular models directly onto your course page, use them in quizzes, or ask students to share structures in the discussion forum. JMOL is open source software with lots of well documented features. Here is a short video to help you get started using it.   We have written Getting Started Instructions for JMOL, as well as links to additional information on the IITS web site.

A few years ago I read an article written by Jon Gordon entitled "Just One Word." The "one word" concept is explained fully in the book Wisdom Walks, co-authored by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page. Simply put, the authors believe that one word can change our lives.  It’s not a random word, plucked from obscurity but rather a word that is shown to the seeker after much self-reflection, meditation and prayer. Quieting your mind, sitting back and listening to the murmurings of your heart allows you to hear the word that you could use to open up possibilities and give deeper meaning to your life for the next year. Interestingly enough, at the time, I had just read a post by an old friend of mine who shared her journey with "just one word". Over the course of three years, she had moved from "abundance", to "healing" to "determination". All of these might sound like ordinary words, but to her, they provided an opportunity to shape her outlook on life and focus on what she hoped to accomplish through actions, words and deeds for that current year.  After reading these posts, I came up with my own word for 2014, "blessed".  I spent the year reshaping my thoughts and actions to better reflect how I felt and always wanted to feel, which truly is "blessed".  I reminded myself to pause and take a moment before I reacted; a step that freed me to respond in a more conscious way.  My word was about making intentional choices about how I looked at things, how I let things affect me as well as the activities and people I let into my day.  It allowed me to take control and live my life to the fullest. In 2015, my word was "grateful". I found myself alternating between my prior year’s word and this new one. I strove to be consciously grateful throughout the day; for an afternoon of beautiful weather to a night with my children around the dinner table. I also tried to express my gratefulness more, sharing with others how thankful I was to have them in my life. My word for 2016 is "cherish". I want to focus on caring for and nurturing those around me. My youngest went off to college this past Fall, and I realize how quickly time is flying by. This is a new phase for us as a family unit, and instead of dwelling on the feeling of sadness, I'll focus on cherishing our moments together and our conversations while apart. Of course, I’ll continue to feel blessed and grateful and spread those good feelings everywhere I go. For honestly, I look at the "one word" as a ladder - each word builds on the next and all work together to get me where I want to go. As educators, we are well aware of the power of the written or spoken word.  We’ve all experienced the thrill of getting lost in a great novel, turning page after page, devouring the words and reveling in the emotions they stir up in us.  And while a novel is a compilation of many words, the power of just one word is phenomenal.  I’ve shared this story with others who are thoughtfully reflecting on what their word for 2016 might be.  Setting up visual reminders both at work and at home help me focus my thoughts and feelings towards my goal.  Writing "cherish", "blessed" or "grateful" in my planner, on my computer desktop and on a sticky note on my refrigerator keeps it front focus and top of mind. What will your word be for 2016? How can Ed4Online help you? We offer hundreds of career, personal enrichment and professional development courses. The next course on my personal list is The Power of Goal Setting; a course that will teach me valuable tools that will help me work towards my goals. Check out our course catalog here and while you are on our website, sign up for our newsletters and blog posts.  We'd love to stay connected!          

We work with a lot of companies that are relatively new to eLearning, and one question that comes up a lot is: "Should we build SCORM courses or should we bring our existing content (in Word, PowerPoint, PDF, or video formats) directly into LearnUpon instead?" I’ve worked in the eLearning and LMS space for 10 years and even now, it’s still not a straightforward question to answer. The growing popularity of the Tin Can API (xAPI) has recently added another important factor to consider in a future post. There are many pros and cons that can influence a decision about whether to build SCORM-based courses using a popular authoring tool like Adobe Captivate or Articulate Storyline alone. For me, it depends on your individual circumstances and what you’re trying to achieve with the eLearning program you plan to develop. Here’s a list of the main pros and cons of SCORM to consider before making a decision.   Let’s start with the pros of developing SCORM-based content to import into your LMS: Developing courses in SCORM can help you to make eLearning content more interactive. Many SCORM-compliant authoring tools allow you to add engaging features: directing learners to click on images and other onscreen elements, rendering dynamic text as a result, asking learners to expand components before they proceed to the next section, the inclusion of mini-quizzes embedded within the course, to name a few popular tactics. And as most of us working in eLearning believe, the more engaging and interactive your course content, the more likely it is that learners will, firstly, complete it, and, secondly, retain what they’ve learned after they finish the course. A SCORM package will also allow you to control the length of time a learner spends on a course before it’s marked as complete. SCORM-compliant authoring tools include settings that force learners to spend a specific amount of time on each page of a course before the "Next" button is enabled. These features allow you to design a course of a minimum length, for example 50 minutes, which is required for some accreditation bodies in a number of States. While the setting doesn’t mean the learner is more likely to pay attention to your content while they wait for the "Next" button to enable, it does allow you to meet requirements that stipulate that learners must spend a minimum length of time on the course. A SCORM package can also allow you to combine course and assessment content to deliver a superior user experience. If your course must be assessed with a final exam, for example, an authoring tool will allow you to place it directly after your course content and return the score to your LMS. It’s a popular option with some LearnUpon customers because it means the whole course (content and exam) are contained in a single SCORM unit. That makes life easier for learners who don’t need to navigate away to a separate exam once they’ve completed the course. A final advantage of choosing SCORM is that, in theory at least, it should be easier to migrate course content if you need to move to a new LMS vendor. The point of the SCORM standard is that courses built in the format should run in any LMS that’s SCORM compliant. I say "should" for a reason. From our experience, there are many learning management systems that claim to be SCORM compliant, when in reality they struggle to run SCORM courses effectively. But in theory you should be able to migrate course content between SCORM-compliant learning management systems pretty easily.   There are also a number of cons to choosing SCORM that you should be aware of before reaching a decision: Authoring tools can be quite expensive, particularly the good ones. The two most popular authoring tools that publish content in the SCORM format are Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline. Adobe Captivate 9 currently costs about $1099 per user license, while Articulate Storyline 2 is about $1,400 per license. So if 2 or 3 people in your company need to create courses, a SCORM-compliant authoring tool can be a significant investment. There are some cloud-based authoring tools on the market now, such as Elucidat, which allow multiple instructional designers to work on a course at the same time. These tools are certainly worth considering if you have a team of people designing and developing courses. One main drawback to consider is that authoring tools take a while to get the hang of. While basic courses are easy to create, you’ll probably have chosen the SCORM format because you want to develop slick content with lots of interactions. But learning how to create sophisticated course content with an authoring tool can take time. You might even decide to invest in a training course to speed up the process, which will add another cost in addition to the license fee you’ll already have paid. Here are two guides Lisa from our Customer Support team has written on publishing SCORM content in  Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate. The most effective SCORM content has traditionally been developed in and published to Flash. If most of your learners will be using Apple iOS devices to access courses, Flash-based SCORM content can cause headaches. While most popular authoring tools now tackle the problem by providing a HTML5 output option, those outputs can be buggy and of inferior quality. If your content contains a lot of rich media, like video, HTML5 can deliver a diminished user experience. And video-based SCORM content can struggle to stream or buffer properly in a HTML5 player. The SCORM standard has been used in eLearning for quite a while. While I don’t expect it to disappear anytime soon, in the last few years the Tin Can (xAPI) has challenged its dominance. Before deciding to create courses in SCORM, it’s worth investigating if Tin Can may be a better option. Consider whether investing in SCORM now is likely to make sense in a few years, with the future of the format less than certain. Many of our customers have recently opted for Tin Can, due to the advantages it offers for mobile learning, an area where SCORM can struggle. The most popular authoring tools now also support Tin Can. So if you choose to go with SCORM now, you’ll still be able to convert courses to the Tin Can format in future if necessary. Because SCORM is a relatively old eLearning standard, it can be clunky and complicated in places, particularly in the area of course completion, and the communication of statuses back to your LMS. Because we’ve so much experience with the format at LearnUpon, we’ve been able to assist customers who have experienced these kinds of issues with SCORM. But not all LMS vendors offer the same level of support, making it tricky for some organizations to get SCORM courses tracking properly in their LMS.   Deciding whether to invest in SCORM courses isn’t straightforward and there are pros and cons to both options. If you have time to invest in developing nice content, I think SCORM courses are a great idea, as they tend to look polished and engaging. Much will also depend on the type of training you want to deliver and why you need to deliver it. If you’re a professional training company that wants to sell courses online, I recommend investing in the the development of professional-looking SCORM-based courses. If you expect someone to pay $50-100 or more for a course, you want them to see appreciate its quality. If, on the other hand, you simply need to deliver internal training that’s less about learning and is more compliance focused, then adopting a simpler approach of importing PowerPoint and video documents with an exam bolted on at the end may be a more cost-effective option.   Try LearnUpon free for 30 days .learnupon.com Agree to Terms of Service Start my free trial The post To SCORM or not to SCORM, that is the question appeared first on LearnUpon.

It’s a new year and people are predicting education trends for 2016. Transparency is one higher education strategy that will definitely gain momentum. As we’ve seen in 2015, transparency is already a major factor in successful education strategies such as feedback,  formative assessment, student-centered learning, self-assessment, adaptive learning, and personalized learning featured in our blog. Transparency basically means clarity. In education, transparency takes a number of forms: analysis of big data to support institutional growth and success demystification of the learning process so that we can understand why and how we are learning analysis of factors in learning for the purpose of improving achievement At the institutional level, schools collect data on many factors that shed light on the nature of their student body such as race, gender, class completion, major selection, graduation, and retention. Analysis of this data helps them achieve their goals and make informed decisions on strategies such as funding, how to attract new students, and how to meet accreditation standards. Input that feeds transparency at the student level focuses on answering questions such as: What do I have to learn? Why am I learning it this way? Are there other ways to learn? How well have I done so far? What is it about my approach that contributes to success or failure? What kinds of changes can I make to improve? Transparency in the classroom isn’t a new education strategy. Many traditional instructors explain to students why they need to learn a specific subject or encourage students to think about how they approach learning. Some would even say that any instructor/student or peer-to-peer communication that sheds light on accomplishing learning during activities such as group projects and discussions represents transparency. What’s changed is that we now recognize transparency as a powerful tool for enhancing learning. In an interview with Mary Ann Winkelmes, Director of the Transparency in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Project, she describes a pilot program in which faculty used basic transparency principles in making assignments more accessible and relevant. The study resulted in enhancing attributes that are connected to greater academic success: …students reported gains in three areas that are important predictors of students’ success: academic confidence, sense of belonging, and mastery of the skills that employers value most when hiring. While the benefits for all students in the aggregate who received the intervention were statistically significant in a small way, the benefits for first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students were significant and large. Digital innovation has given transparency new meaning and scalability. In Acrobatiq courseware, faculty are able to aggregate student data on performance and learning process from one class or many quickly allowing them to make changes in real time. Learning objectives and ongoing feedback are transparent mechanisms that give students a strong stake in learning and motivates them to do better. As we learn more about the impact of transparency in education, we’ll be able to make it even more forceful.

It's TechKnowledge time again and this one is going to be a bit different for me as I've headed in early for my very first pre-con workshop (It's the Duarte Visual Storytelling one and so far it's been amazing!). On one hand, I'm pretty giddy about the workshop, but on the other hand it's an extra two days in Vegas. Is it possible for me to get even sicker of Vegas by the end of a conference? I don't know... but we're going to find out!This conference is also going to be a bit different for a programming reason too. There's an entire room at TechKnowledge devoted to more conversational, collaborative sessions - the Disrupt Room - and my plan is to attend as many of those sessions as possible (including, no surprise, the two sessions I'm helping out with). I really enjoyed last year's Fail Jam and the Disrupt Room programming promises more of that same kind of "learning from everyone in the room" that made the Fail Jam so fun. So if you're at TechKnowledge and looking for something a bit different, definitely come join me there.And now on to the specifics. I don't have my whole con fully figured out, but I'm definitely heading to the keynotes and these sessions:WEDNESDAY1:00-1:45pmSession: Disrupt Room - Outside InspirationSpeakers: Well, it's a group conversation but I'm facilitatingYup... I'm starting out my Disrupt Room adventure by facilitating a session. The main idea of this event is that a great way to keep your work fresh is to look for inspiration OUTSIDE of L&D. That said, a lot of us look in dramatically different directions. While the session is going to be guided by the interests of the people in the room, it's definitely going to touch on what fields people find particularly helpful to pull inspiration/insights from, what they've gained from them, and how you can dip your toe in each topic if you want to learn more.What's particularly cool about this session (and many of the other Disrupt Room ones) is that it doesn't have a set speaker or formal panel. Instead, anyone who shows up has the opportunity to share with everyone else. It's a format that worked fantastically for the Fail Jam and I think it's a great format for this topic as well.So if you get inspiration from ANY other field, whether it's something closely tied to L&D (for instance, software development or film making) or drastically different (gaining L&D inspiration from flying drones or being a volunteer fire fighter? I bet it can be done!), I'd love to see you at this session and hear what you have to say.3:00-4:00pmSession: Not just for superheroes: Exploring learning through comicsSpeaker: Me!SPEAKING of outside inspiration, if you've ever met me or followed me online you probably know that I love comics. They're fun and engaging to read, and it turns out they can be pretty effective for teaching and explaining content too. Want to know more? Watch my session trailer.4:15-5:00pmSession: Disrupt Room - E-Learning CheckupSpeakers: Diane Elkins, Megan Torrance, Julie Dirksen, Connie Malamed, Cammy Bean, and meYou know what can be really helpful when you're trying to polish up a project (or get it unstuck)? A fresh set of eyes. And that's what the e-Learning checkup is all about. Bring your project, whether it's something fully built or just an idea you've been pondering, and you'll get some one-on-one time with one of the six of us to get some feedback and come up with a few new ideas.While I'm happy to help out with anyone's project, I'll admit that I'm probably most useful to people who have graphic design, storytelling, or multimedia questions. Or cupcake-related questions. I have a lot of options about those too.  ;)THURSDAY10:45-11:30amSession: Disrupt Room - Social Collaboration Tool ShowcaseSpeaker: JD Dillon is facilitating this oneCurious about what some of the newer social collaboration tools out there are (and how you might actually use them in the real world to get stuff done)? Then some to this session to see cool examples and ask all the questions you need about how they work.2:15-3:00pmSession: Disrupt Room - Fail JamSpeaker: Becca Wilson is facilitating this event again!Like I mentioned earlier, last year's version of this session was one of my ATDTK 2015 highlights. Basically, it works like this: we all know failure is a great way to learn, but it's not something we get to share a lot at conferences. This session is your opportunity to learn from the mistakes and missteps of others and even to share your own too. That's right, this is another session where anyone who attends can share, and I strongly recommend sharing something if you come. The environment is completely supportive... plus getting to talk about something that didn't go the way you wanted is delightfully cathartic.3:45-4:30pmSession: Disrupt Room - AR and VR in actionSpeakers: Chad Udell and John FairchildEver wonder how you might actually go about using virtual and/or augmented reality for learning and performance support? Ever wanted to just poke the technology with a stick and see what the fuss is all about? Then this is the session for you. Not only will there be a discussion of the applications for this technology, but you'll also be able to get hands on with it too!FRIDAY8:00-9:15amSession: PowerPoint for Graphic DesignSpeaker: Tim SladeI use PowerPoint for graphic design all the time (ah, the joys of often having little or no project budget!), so I'm hoping to pick up a few tips. Plus, Tim Slade is always sharing awesome design stuff on Twitter, so I'm looking forward to getting to see him speak in person.So that my game plan so far. What are you most excited to see or do at TechKnowledge this year?

We all feel like we've got a lot of stuff working against us right now. As we slide breathless and exhausted into another year, this thought from Parker Palmer resonates with me: To get unstuck, I must let go of my "career" … and begin again as a novice. In truth, I am a novice in every new moment of the day, each of which presents possibilities unknown and untried. Why not embrace that fact and see what happens? As Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki said: "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few."It's been a tough year, and not just at work. My husband, friends and I were in a Viking river boat 30 miles from Paris when the horrific murders occurred. This quote from Parker Palmer helps me describe how I still feel: I’ve been feeling stuck about many things, including how to respond to the world’s nonstop saga of suffering: the ongoing carnage in the Middle East, endless episodes of mass killings in the U.S. and around the world, the racism deep in the DNA of my native land, our collective blind eye to radical economic injustice and climate change, and the grotesque parade of political "leaders" who bloviate about God and prayer while doing squat about gun violence and other evils.Challenges are always and will always be in our lives. The constant screaming from the media  and sometimes even the people we love makes no sense and hurts us. It's easy to fall victim to the 'oulds':  we should do this, he could have done that, who would do that… etc. The 'oulds' are a plague that drops us straight into the pit of victim-land, allowing us to defer any responsibility we have for the situation. It also paralyzes us and we slip farther and farther from who we want to be. Tim Gallwey, who has graciously provided me much new thought and guidance this year, likes to explain our challenge with this equation:  Performance = Potential - InterferenceInterference comes from others but as likely from our own beliefs. It reminds me of the painful but popular scripture reading in Matthew 18:9 (New American Standard): "If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you.  It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell." We have a choice of who we listen to and what we consume. At work, we may not have the choice to leave the presence of people with negative energy but we do have a choice about how we will react to it. I have had some success re-framing these conversations by working on my empathy, thinking about the person's fear or anger instead of what they are saying that offends me. Tim has helped me see that I limit my own potential and my performance when I do not work to eliminate the interference that is keeping me from my best. Once I decide that someone's a total jerk, I only look for ways their jerk-ness shows up. I interfere with myself with this addiction, allowing this person to shut me down whenever I am in their presence. Any mental model that interferes with progress can play the same role of limiting your performance. The starting assessment statements are all examples of interference. Which one is your biggest Achilles Heel? Technology can help us or completely suck up our time with nothing to show for it. In our Realistic Project Management workshop, we start with clarifying the difference between these three things below.  Just organizing these in the right places gives you hope and energy back. Check out this table: I am impressed by the top leaders doing incredibly chaotic and important work, who always have openings within 24 hours to speak or meet if it is getting them to their goal. I do not see this as much at the staff level. Working through this at the start of the year is like cleaning up after the holidays. Put everything away where it belongs and jump into 2016. Stop just doing the tasks that are easy to cross off. As Palmer says,The tighter we cling to the norm of effectiveness the smaller the tasks we’ll take on, because they are the only ones that get short-term results… 

They say that art reflects life, and when it comes to how we perceive our workplaces, this is often true. Though the situations portrayed in film are often exaggerated (few of us would plot to kill our boss, however often we may dream of their demise), movies and TV shows about workplace dynamics can sometimes be very truthfully reflective of the challenges we face, both as employers and as employees. Here, we take a look at what some of the most notorious bosses in film teach us about what not to do. The "I Own You" Boss This is the boss that usually takes the crown when it comes to horrible bosses. They are perfectly willing to ruin your life to get what they want and they expect you to be grateful for letting them do it. Think: Buddy Ackerman (played by Kevin Spacey) in Swimming with Sharks or Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep) in The Devil Wears Prada. These bosses feel it is their prerogative to make unreasonable demands of their underlings and think it is unreasonable for those underlings to be anything but delighted to serve them or anything but brilliantly successful in attending to their boss’s needs (or whims). The Devil Wears Prada (2006), 20th Century Fox These tyrants often believe, or at least profess to believe, that it is good for their subordinates to be exposed to this kind of treatment in order to "toughen them up" for work in one or another tooth-and-nail industry. They are permitted to persist in their tyranny because they are, when it comes down to it, very good at their jobs and underlings put up with it because it does a career good just to be working in their shadow. But this can’t be the only way. As unforgiving as these fields may be, the dog-eat-dog cultures in these industries persist because they are allowed (and encouraged) to persist by those at their pinnacle. As other industries, i.e. those related to technology, look to raise productivity by raising the quality of life of their employees, it may be time for industries traditionally ruled by iron fists to reconsider whether they are likely to attract the best talent with the old autocratic approach now demonized rather than admired in film. The Unforgiving Perfectionist Perhaps most closely related to the "I Own You" boss is the unforgiving perfectionist. Like Miranda Priestly and Buddy Ackerman, this boss is a tyrant. But unlike them, there is no carrot of career advancement buried under the heel of their boot. This boss rules only through fear and threats. We see a version of this boss in David Harken in Horrible Bosses (another sadistic tyrant played by Kevin Spacey…hmmm), but we think this more classic example really highlights the nature of this approach to management. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox In Darth Vader, we see tyrannical management taken to its extreme. Not only does failure result in very literal termination, his expectations, like those of the boss who thinks they own you, are largely unreasonable ("Asteroids do not concern me, Admiral. I want that ship, not excuses…"). This boss has no interest in his underlings’ success or failure and is happy to move through subordinates (and coworkers) until he happens to come across one lucky enough to stumble upon a route to his end goal - a goal which he can’t be bothered to share with those he expects to help him reach it. This "leadership" style is, besides of course being morally detestable, totally unsustainable. With no promise of reward, employees will do only what they have to in order to avoid punishment. If demands are too high, they get burnt out quickly and will eventually get wise and realize they can find other jobs, appeal to law and workplace regulations, or join the rebel alliance to get out from under the threats of their bosses. In a workplace ruled by a tyrant, it only takes one savvy employee to remind the others of their rights as workers. It is too fragile a system to be maintained in most modern workplaces, and one condemned by management experts and labor laws alike. The Boss Who Has No Business Being the Boss This may be a boss with no managerial skills, no knowledge of the industry, no interest in being a leader, or someone who simply isn’t competent enough to take on a leadership role. In movies, we most often see these bosses pop up when an undeserving heir takes over their parent’s company and is so caught up in their newfound sense of power or access to wealth that everyone in the company - and the company itself - suffers. Horrible Bosses (2011), New Line Cinema Though the business world is certainly rich with inept heirs, in real life, an incapable boss is more often the result of unqualified managers get promoted to their point of incompetence, a phenomenon commonly referred to as the Peter Principle. In these cases, an excellent salesperson, for example, may be promoted to regional manager as a reward for success in sales, regardless of whether his or her strengths include qualities necessary to a capable manager. While this tendency has been well-known in the management industry for decades, it is still not uncommon to see successful individuals promoted to the point at which they fail. Managers, then, must be careful to nurture those who may lack the skills to take on a job for which they may be "next in line", to recognize in themselves areas of expertise that they may need to strengthen in order to fulfill their current roles, and to recognize when the necessary skills or abilities are not likely to be developed - in themselves or others - and find other ways to reward excellent performance. The Passive Aggressive Boss The passive aggressive personality rears its head everywhere, but it is perhaps nowhere more irritating than in the workplace. The passive aggressive boss avoids confrontation at all costs. They send memos instead of making direct requests; they frame bad news and unfair decisions in language that is difficult to oppose; they hide behind company policy and pass the buck in order to avoid taking responsibility for unpopular decisions. Their passive, "everything’s fine" demeanor leaves employees feeling not only disempowered and taken advantage of, but ultimately resentful and just plain annoyed. Office Space (1999), 20th Century Fox Employees will not respect the passive aggressive boss and will always be looking for a way to get out from under them. Because passive aggression is a form of manipulation - one that can easily devolve into sabotage - once it is introduced into company culture, cohesion and morale quickly break down. The result? Attrition and high turnover at best, backstabbing and deliberate undermining at worst. Better to engage with employees directly, listen to what they have to say, and address their concerns. Lance the boil instead of letting it fester and infect the body. The Best Buddy This unfortunate soul is trying at once to be everyone’s best friend and to be everyone’s boss. Usually driven by insecurity - either in themselves or in their position - their primary concern is to be well-liked, which means, among other things, avoiding confrontation, letting poor performance slide, and allowing laxity to go unchecked. The Office (2001), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) While opinions vary on how friendly relationships between supervisors and employees should be, it is fairly certain that a boss who is more concerned with gaining his or her employee’s approval than with running an efficient or productive office is not likely to succeed in either. Add to this the often inappropriate familiarity that can arise as superiors try to forge unnatural friendships with those working for them, and the result tends to be a lack of respect for the boss, a lack of motivation on the part of the employees, and a deterioration of productivity in the absence of any real leadership. The "Everyone Should Be My Clone" Boss This type is also known as the "Know-It-All", and it is not confined to bosses. It is, however, especially unappealing in those in positions of authority. Here, we have an individual who attempts to motivate employees by highlighting his own accomplishments, setting himself as a standard to which subordinates should aspire. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), New Line Cinema The obvious arrogance of such an approach aside, the end result is more often to demoralize those to whom the self-aggrandizing diatribe is directed than to inspire them to comparable greatness. Employees have likely already taken note of their superiors’ accomplishments. The desire for similar rewards is, indeed, often why they have chosen that work in the first place. For the majority or employees, such reminders only serve to highlight a hierarchy which, in many cases, they perceive as working against them. It may also remind them of their own failings or, as in the case cited above from Glengarry Glenn Ross, engender resentment at what they feel is an unfair distribution of opportunity or reward. It is only the very rare employee who believes that their failure to achieve the success equal to that of their superiors results from their own lack of ambition or hard work. The boss who thinks everyone should try to be like them is, by definition, failing to recognize and encourage the strengths of his or her subordinates. The Unscrupulous Boss This character, in film anyway, tends to be primarily cast as middle management. This is the supervisor whose primary goal is to work his or her way to the top of the food chain. But by "work" here is really meant lie, cheat, and manipulate, most often at the expense of subordinates. While we may have come to expect this behavior in our politicians, the effects of this kind of scheming in the workplace can be disastrous. 9 to 5 (1980), 20th Century Fox If a manager’s primary motivation is their own glorification, they will not only be willing to sacrifice the well-being of the employees that make a company productive and profitable, they will likely be willing to sell out the company itself, should a more prestigious or lucrative opportunity present itself. This sense, combined with the knowledge that the accomplishments of the team are likely to be appropriated by the boss as personal achievements, leaves subordinates feeling insecure and unmotivated, resulting in a lack of company loyalty, reduced productivity, and high turnover. Other bosses to look out for: Jekyll & Hyde This is the superior who treats you like the most valued employee one minute, then berates you and threatens your job the next. One day, you’re rewarded for taking initiative, another you’re chided for acting out of turn. Trying to figure out how to please this kind of boss can end up taking an employee’s attention away from their real task - to contribute to the success and profitability of the department and the organization. It should always be clear to employees what is expected of them and how they can succeed, and the expectations of their superiors need to be consistently in line with these standards. The Ghost We rarely see this boss in film because, well, we rarely see this boss. This is because they are out on business trips, at conferences, or schmoozing clients at lunch the majority of the time. On the rare occasions they do make an appearance in the office, they are in meetings or on the phone with the door closed, inaccessible to their team. It is, of course, inevitable that some positions require those who fill them to be out of the office a great majority of the time. However, if travel or meetings mean that someone in authority will be largely inaccessible, then someone who is accessible needs to be placed in a position to act on their behalf or at least be able to communicate quickly and consistently with the actual boss. Otherwise the result is a leadership vacuum inside of which employees may start to form their own agendas and the unified vision of the company will get lost. Of course no boss is relegated to just one cardinal sin of management, and few embrace any of them fully, but being aware of these tendencies and traits can help managers to check their own behavior as well as promote to positions of authority those who are well-suited to lead the team. Film clips used in accordance with the Fair Use statutes of U.S. copyright law. The original post was published at Find My Shift.

Just a few weeks left before Learning Technologies kicks off at Olympia, London on 3rd-4th February, and we’re really excited about meeting you there. With 150 free L&D seminars, 70 conference speakers and 250 leading exhibitors, this year’s show is a must for any HR or L&D Manager. Over 7,000 visitors are expected at the exhibition - don’t miss out! We have loads of goodies waiting for you, so make sure you drop by for a chat at Stand M11! White Paper: Understanding how Big Data Helps HR You’ll be the first to get your hands on our brand-new white paper, which captures insights and opinions from over 220 HR and L&D experts around the globe. The report is based on the Speexx Exchange 2015-16 Survey. If you’re curious, here’s a sneak peek of what we found: Blended Learning. 63 percent of companies audited said that "blended learning" will continue to be the primary approach for corporate learning as opposed to pure face-to-face training or standalone e-learning. Big Data. Maximising the use of HR data was hit by a barrage of internal issues. Those audited listed five major obstacles: Lack of management support (31 percent), lack of know-how in collecting and using data (24 percent), budget constraints (16 percent), global implementation issues (16 percent) and understanding data privacy issues (13 percent). Mobile Learning. 35 percent of businesses now use mobile devices for corporate learning, while almost one in five companies plan to implement a mobile learning strategy within their organisation within the next three years. Communications. 98 percent of organisations agreed that good communication is "very important" or "important" for overall business success. However, the "lack of management support" (27 percent), "intercultural differences" (23 percent), the "lack of foreign language skills amongst employees" were the top reasons were holding back strong communications. If you want to see our other white papers that have been published so far, click here. Infographic: 6 Bright Ideas to Maximise your Top Talent Don’t have time to read full reports? No problem, we’ve got something in store for everyone. As part of Towards Maturity’s annual Treasure Trail at the show, we’re publishing a fresh infographic which summarises 6 practical steps which will help HR and L&D maximise their top talent this year. Back in December, we had our 5th Speexx Exchange conference in Berlin, where we talked to hundreds of industry professionals and captured what they wanted to achieve this year and how to best go about it. Free Seminar: Top Talent Management - A Call for Better Communications And finally, if you want to hear some of our latest insights first-hand, join our free 30-minute seminar on 3rd February at Theatre 8. I’d be happy to meet you there and answer any questions you may have on talent managament and empowering communication. Session: Top Talent Management - A Call for Better Communication Skills When?: 03-Feb-16,  11:00 - 11:30 am Where? Theatre 8 By the way, here’s our official press release for the Learning Technologies 2016 show. See you very soon! About Learning Technologies Learning Technologies, co-located with Learning & Skills, is Europe’s leading showcase of organisational learning and the technology used to support learning at work. And it continues to grow in importance, value and attendance year on year. With more than 7,500 visitors, 150 free L&D seminars, 250 exhibitors, two exhibition halls packed with the latest learning technologies, innovation and best practice and Europe’s leading L&D conference, it provided a unique and exciting environment for all those involved in workplace learning. In 2016 there will be even more to see and do and the combination Learning Technologies and Learning & Skills has created the biggest show in the entire learning sector. It’s also the best attended and fastest growing. - See more at: http://www.learningtechnologies.co.uk/#sthash.uJBMOhQ0.dpuf

This year’s CES2016 is a glimpse into the near future of tech, but a further future for eLearning. It’s easy to get excited about technology after an event like CES. Many of the really cool products will never get to the hands of consumers, and others won’t go mainstream for several years. And that means that the eLearning industry won’t take advantage of it until a few years after that. However, it’s still very interesting to see what’s coming and how we might prepare ourselves and our learners for the coming changes. Last week I attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas and can tell you it was an overwhelming experience. I thought I did a pretty good job of covering all 3 expo areas of the event, but I’m still seeing things on the internet that I did not see. If you’ve never been to CES it’s hard to explain the experience. People have told me a lot about, but nothing they said prepared me for the massive size of this event. If you ever have the chance to attend, I would highly recommend it. After day one I posted an update and intended to write a blog post each night. But that just didn’t happen for day 2 and 3. I decided instead to do as much posting through other social media channels as possible and then write a second blog post update after I had a change to internalize everything more deeply. And so, this is that blog post. CES Mega-trend: Blended Data There were several trends displayed at CES that effect our industry. But after thinking a lot over the weekend I began to see a larger more all encompassing trend emerging: Blended Data. (I’m not completely sold on the term but it’s the best I could come up with.) Each individual trending technology is important on their own, but put them all together and you see blended data as one mega-trend that truly shapes the future of eLearning and edtech. Blended Data is exactly what you'd think. Its The blending of data from multiple sources to create new data/content. Or at the very least represent the individual data in a larger context with other data. Some of the individual trends at CES were in the automated home, the quantified self represented in the health and fitness section, and the internet of things represented all over the event in every expo category. There were also tools for how we create content which connects to the trend in increased user-generated content. It’s important to note that I considered content like video, still images, audio, etc., to be data in this context. So not only do we have numbers to contend with, but we also have media data as well. How we make sense of ALL the data to create something useful and new is the mega-trend Blended Data. What does Blended Data have to do with the eLearning industry? Everything. The training department is no longer the only creator of content useful for learning. This is especially true for those focused on the performance support segment of our industry. Blending user-generated content, data from the internet of things, the quantified self, and basic automation, you begin to see how performance support will simply become part of the workplace, and part of the job, without a separate intervention from the training team or learning consultant. All of this data also makes it possible for new virtual reality systems based on mobile devices. Intel did a demonstration of their mobile virtual reality toolkit which was quite impressive. This tech is not quite perfected, but you can see how easy it will be in the future to create fully interactive virtual reality simulations for just about any training situation. And like everything else, the tech is getting smaller and cheaper which is helping drive further innovation. Virtual reality had a very big presence at CES2016. And it also fits nicely into the blended data mega-trend. The virtual spaces are being created by data gathered from multiple micro cameras and being presented to the user in real-time. This technology, for most of us, is likely the technology furthest away. But it’s coming. In summary, there was so much more at CES than I can possibly fit into one blog post or even several posts. The event pretty much saturated the online tech media channels. And you can overwhelm yourself in the #CES2016 hashtag stream if you’d like. In future posts I will highlight some specific content creation and consumption products that you can buy and use today for your eLearning content development. But in general, with regards to our industry, the blended data mega-trend is collectively the best definition of what I saw and experienced. You check out my recent Periscope videos for more information as well. Also, if you're interested in hearing more, you can join me and the Litmos team at our C3 Event coming soon. The post CES2016 Update Part 2: eLearning Mega-trend! appeared first on Litmos.

  Hello HIPAA Gang! Do you remember the HIPPOs everyone gave out when HIPAA was brand new? Well, Mama Hippo just gave birth to a new little Hippo, a new HIPAA Final Rule on January 6, 2015 … at least this one did not complicate the holidays of 2015. This rule, as usual, has an elaborate name; it is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) final rule. Of course, the industry already has a nickname for it - the gun check rule! It really is the FBI check on whether or not an individual who wants to purchase a firearm from a federally licensed vendor is not someone who is mentally ill. The new HIPAA final rule is effective on February 5, 2016. This means that if your organization is a covered entity that cares for mentally ill patients, you will need to understand all the nuances of the new rule and be ready to report to the NICS if necessary. So the nitty-gritty is as follows: The HIPAA Privacy Rule is being added section 512: Uses and disclosures for which an authorization or opportunity to agree or object is not required (k) Standard: Uses and disclosures for specialized government functions, (7) National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Covered entities may do or not do the following: If a covered entity orders involuntary commitments or make other adjudications regarding an individual’s mental health, or that serve as repositories of the relevant data, are permitted to use or disclose the information needed for NICS reporting of such individuals either directly to the NICS or to a State repository of NICS data. If a covered health care entity also has a role in the relevant mental health adjudications or serves as a State data repository, it now may disclose the relevant information for NICS reporting purposes under this new permission even if it is not designated as a HIPAA hybrid entity or required by State law to report. It does not create an express permission for covered entities to disclose for NICS reporting purposes the PHI of individuals who are subject to State-only mental health prohibitors. If you are one of the covered entities that must report to the NICS the preamble states that you must report the data elements that the NICS needs to create a record plus there more that you are permitted to share with NICS. The data elements needed to create the NICS record are: The individual’s name The individual’s sex The individual’s date of birth The Federal mental health prohibitor[1] The record documenting the involuntary commitment or adjudication, and The entity from which the record initiated, in other words your business name. The additional data elements you may send include: The individual’s Social Security number The individual’s State of residence The individual’s height The individual’s weight The individual’s place of birth The individual’s eye color The individual's hair color, and The individual’s race. These additional data elements will help the feds weed out false positives. One last thought, the new section in the HIPAA Privacy rule does not name any data elements outlined above. This gives the reporting covered entity the flexibility to report the data elements required and requested by the feds and any state requirements your state may have for this area. Your reporter, Sue Miller, has a 10-page memorandum explaining the new HIPAA final rule in depth. You may purchase it from her at tmsam@aol.com or 978-505-5660. [1] Federal mental health prohibitor makes individuals ineligible to purchase a firearm because they have been "committed to a mental institution" or "adjudicated as a mental defective." DOJ regulations define these categories to include persons who: Have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution for reasons such as mental illness or drug use; Have been found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity; or Otherwise have been determined by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority to be a danger to themselves or others or unable to manage their own affairs, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease. The post Latest HIPAA Final Rule appeared first on Litmos.

Online training providers are changing the traditional ways we consume training. In this article, I’ll look at five market leaders and break down what I like about each of them. 1. Lynda.com Why we like Lynda.com: Granular course design: each course consists of around 40 videos, grouped into ‘chapters’ with bite-sized segments of around 8 minutes. And every video is stand-alone so it can be taken as an individual course without the rest of the module. Content is organised in learner pathways as ‘playlists’, collections of courses curated by Lynda.com. Anyone can create and share playlists, so learners can create their own pathways. The catalogue provides a selection of free videos in each course so you can browse before purchasing. Subscription based, giving a choice of price and access. Multi media multi channel - including digital materials from publishers such as Wiley, and interactive PDFs that can be downloaded and used in exercises as learners work with the videos. Basic membership includes unlimited access to the entire library. Premium members can download course to phone and tablet devices for offline use. Dynamic transcripts flow alongside videos. Users can make notes below the videos which helps transform the entire UI into a work space. Visit Lynda.com 2. Google Primer Why we like Google Primer: Breaks down information in a really simple way. Lessons take five minutes or less. Uses real case study material, insider tips and interactive tips and quizzes for you to see how you’re doing. The offline feature means you can learn anywhere, anytime (on the underground if you can get elbow room). Beautifully designed and easy to use. Visit Google Primer 3. Treehouse Why we like Treehouse: Clear progression - idea of ‘Achievements’ in a course. Clear structure with timings. Raises the bar with high quality studio produced video lessons hosted by in-house team of trainers and contemporary visuals. Courses organized into ‘Tracks’. These are pre-selected sequences of training topics that you complete in a specific order Visit Treehouse 4. Duolingo Why we like Duolingo: You can set yourself daily goals to achieve. Content is delivered in short learning chunks. Clear roadmap and progress markers for your learning path. Placement tests to put you start you at the right level. Discussion streams linked to the language you are learning. Spaced repetition - neat use of algorithms to determine when you should practice words to get them into your long-term memory. Gamified design unpins the whole experience. Visit Duolingo 5. Codecademy Why we like Codecademy: Clear progression and scaffold approach (lessons build sequentially on what you’ve learned before). Interactive practice activities and quizzes to put learning into action. The content and practice is chunked into series of very short exercises so it’s easy to roll through or get back into after a break. Practice in walled-garden, so you can see the code changing the online elements without screwing up your actual website! Visit Codecademy The post 5 innovative online training providers (and why we like them) appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

It’s that time when we should draw breath and think about what will be significant in elearning in the coming year. In this article, Steve Penfold pulls out his crystal ball and predicts some trends to watch in 2016. Rarely will a technology, product, or technique emerge from nowhere and become a game-changer overnight. These things usually take a while to mature and enter into the mainstream psyche, so it’s no surprise that many of the things to watch this year were also on the radar last year. That said, it’s important to stay up-to-date with the L&D zeitgeist so that when something does hit the mainstream, or you see an opening in your organization to implement something on the edge of mainstream, you’re ready to take advantage of it. With this in mind, here are six things to watch in 2016 . . . 1. Mobile learning Mobile continues to grow. As my recent article on mobile learning indicated, as the penetration of mobile devices grows (in excess of 90% in the United States), and sophistication of authoring tools matures (e.g., Elucidat’s responsive write-once-publish-anywhere capability), and savviness of elearning authors increases, mobile’s impact will become more widespread. And why wouldn’t it? The concept of learning at the point of need, regardless of when and where that is, is a powerful one. And what we consider to be mobile learning today will change as new mobile and wearable devices become the norm and content authoring methods change to take advantage of these. This will keep mobile learning on lists like this for some years to come, in one form or another. 2. Gamification Gamification is another one of those techniques that people have talked about for a year or two, but you can expect to see more of in 2016. I wrote about the motivation factor of gamification late last year in another article, Why gamification in elearning is important. The power of gamification is hard to dispute. And now that authoring tools like Elucidat make it simple to integrate branching scenarios and badges into their courses, and LMS vendors like Docebo have gamification elements like badges and rankings at the learner-group (organizational, team, group, or cohort) level, you can expect to see more gamified offerings in 2016 and beyond. 3. Data analytics LMS vendors have always given administrators reports based on course completion data. But increasingly, learning occurs outside of the LMS, and learning administrators want to know more than "Mrs. X got 85% on her last course attempt," or that "1,095 people have completed module Y since June." L&D professionals are realizing that detailed granular data can tell businesses a lot about their learners and courses. For example, knowing which paths learners are initially drawn to in a branching scenario can tell a business about learner contexts or preferences, which in turn can be extrapolated to determine other learning that should be delivered. This granular data gathered over time and with large cohorts may highlight other hidden patterns that can impact overall return on investment or help an organization to better understand the learning process itself. Like many things on this list, it’s the mainstream availability of sophisticated enabler tools that makes something go from being a theoretical nice-to-have to a realistic must-have. In this case, granular learning-event data captured via the increasingly common xAPI standard (aka Tin Can) or Google Analytics, coupled with ever-more sophisticated analyzing and visualization software will see data mining and analysis become more accessible and common in 2016. 4. Augmented reality Once the stuff of science fiction, augmented reality—the merging of the real environment with other virtual information in real-time—is becoming easier to achieve. Tools from Layar and Aurasma, for example, give L&D and marketing teams everything they need to create highly engaging and interactive augmented reality experiences for their users at very little cost and on a very shallow learning curve. In conjunction with the increased use of mobile devices, augmented reality will be something to keep an eye on in 2016. 5. Social media It’s taken a while, but the term social media doesn’t get the same negative knee-jerk reaction that it once did in corporate L&D circles. L&D professionals are beginning to see the benefit of peer collaboration and support in learning and the power of peer endorsement of corporate goals, learning events, and initiatives. Corporate-oriented social tools like LinkedIn and Yammer have given more credibility to professional social media, and increased corporate reliance on Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies has meant that some of the corporate-mandated blocks on third-party sites aren’t as tight as they once were. These points, along with stronger integration of social elements into learning platforms—for example, how Docebo can harness and curate peer-generated content—mean that social media continues to be something to watch in 2016. 6. Personalization Personalization can mean different things to different people in elearning, but ultimately it’s about providing learning in a context that’s relevant to individual learners, rather than providing a one-size-fits-all learning experience. Two things already mentioned in this list will help facilitate personalization in 2016 and beyond. Firstly, leveraging social media is one way to personalize learning. Learners can voice their opinions, concerns, ideas, and solutions and discuss issues relevant to them, fueled by the concepts and information provided by learning events. This adds a dynamic dimension to learning and makes the course materials come alive and bristle with personal relevance. Secondly, data analytics that indicate why, when, and how learners prefer to access their learning will enable content vendors to tailor learning experiences in ways that meet the needs of learners. However personalization is implemented, it’s something that learners and businesses will benefit from and will be something that learning consumers will expect and demand. Related: Stay on top of the latest elearning ideas, trends and technologies by subscribing to the Elucidat weekly newsletter. In conclusion It’s an exciting time to be in L&D. The tools that enable you to do the types of things on this list are with us today and are getting less expensive and more sophisticated all the time. It’ll be interesting to see which of these are so common in 2017 that they don’t rate a mention, and what will emerge to take their place. Can you recall any Next Big Things that never quite made it into mainstream practice? Jot them in the comments below, so we can all smile and reminisce about them. The post 6 elearning trends to watch in 2016 appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

New elearning for the growing data centre industry is being launched aimed at helping employees and visitors stay safe, reduce downtime risks and avoid possible accidents in the mission critical space.The online training has been developed by award-winning elearning company Sponge UK for leading data centre training and certification provider, DC Professional Development (DCPro), and uses the latest learning design techniques to bring the subject to life.DCPro is raising awareness and standards within the data centre industry, enabling individuals and organisations to keep up with constantly evolving best practice and acquire news skills in a fast-paced industry with engaging cost-effective training.Simon Banham, Managing Director at DCPro, said:"Human error is the main factor in most cases of data centre downtime so providing effective workforce training in health and safety is really important."The global rise in demand for data storage space has prompted a growth in data centres with annual spending in Europe alone rising by 8.3% in 2015 to $63.3 billion (€56.1bn).Louise Pasterfield, Managing Director at Sponge UK, said: "This new elearning course is designed to be interactive to enable people to ‘learn by doing’, with clear, concise language, engaging images and short video clips to support key messages."Learners can choose their own path through the course, depending on their role in the data centre, so the training is a suitable introduction to Health & Safety for anyone working in and around a facility.It also includes regular knowledge checks with supportive feedback to help learners monitor their progress through the module.The one hour online induction course is available globally through DCPro’s website.The post Mission critical health & safety elearning for data centres launched appeared first on Sponge UK.

A new interactive video featuring actors with disabilities reveals what it can feel like for vulnerable people when a charity fundraiser knocks on the door.It’s been created by elearning company, Sponge UK as part of an online training programme for The Public Fundraising Association (PFRA), the membership body for charities and agencies carrying out face-to-face fundraising. Three actors play the role of homeowners who are unexpectedly disturbed by a door-to-door fundraiser.They all have disabilities that are not immediately obvious and the training video explores the rules on how fundraisers should behave when dealing with people with physical and learning impairments.Each video shows two different perspectives so people can see the same encounter from both the fundraiser’s point of view and that of the person answering the door.Peter Hills-Jones, CEO at the PFRA, said:"This is a ground-breaking approach that has never been more needed in the charity sector. Creating this innovative platform for fundraisers to learn on has been a huge leap forward for us. The interactive video is a powerful way to highlight issues of vulnerability and help fundraisers understand what it can feel like to answer the door to a stranger. Driving up standards in face-to-face fundraising using this online training will help to create better fundraisers and longer-term donors."Actor, author and disability campaigner, Lewis Adler appears in the interactive video as a homeowner with a hearing impairment.In real life, Adler has severe hearing loss and Dystonia, a progressive neurological movement disorder. He said:"I’m one of more than 70,000 known Dystonia sufferers in the UK. I truly value any opportunity to raise awareness of the condition, and that of hearing loss. Without a doubt, this initiative by the PFRA lifts the training of face-to-face fundraisers and disability awareness to a new level. Indeed, it has been a privilege for me to be involved in its production."The interactive video also features actors Di Cram who is blind, and Ellen Coulton who has Tourette’s Syndrome.The PFRA has invested in a state-of-the-art elearning training package, which includes the interactive video, to help fundraisers stick to the rules and follow best practice.The online learning is mobile-friendly and also includes elearning games to help make it as dynamic and engaging as possible.All PFRA members can access the programme for free and it’s expected to help supplement the training of hundreds of face-to-face fundraisers across Britain.Sponge UK is one of the Britain’s leading elearning companies and works with both private and public sector organisations to provide tailored-made online training courses, games and interactive videos.The post Interactive video helps fundraisers learn best practice appeared first on Sponge UK.

In this post, we'll be diving into the murky waters of eLearning video. Most of us agree that video is a wonderful tool for aiding the learning process. It's fun, visual, and appeals to more learning styles than a 'rote-learning-read-this-100-times' approach. What's more, according to KZO Innovations, 98% of organizations are predicted to use video by 2016 in their digital learning strategies. So video is useful, widespread, and fun - no downside, right? Not quite. Video comes at a cost, and not a metaphorical one. Staying in budget is a big concern for most eLearning professionals, and video is renowned for eating up that budget quicker than you can say "it's not that expensive!". A viable alternative is to produce your own video, cut costs, and personalize your eLearning program. But, before you put on your director’s cap and grab your iPhone, there are a few things you need to know first. So grab your notepads and buckle your seatbelts, let's get going. The Small Print: While DIY video is an option, it has to be taken seriously to have the desired effect. This means that if you shoot an eLearning video on your 2008 camera phone, you may have some very awkward meetings with your boss in the immediate future. Video has to be allocated the resources, manpower, thought, and rigor that it deserves. So while doing it yourself can cut costs drastically, make sure you know what you're getting into. So, without further ado, here are the five main steps you should follow for producing your own video for your eLearning courses:

What did you get up to in 2015? In between helping our customers to get started or stay current in all aspects of online learning, we wrote a bunch of great blog posts. Compliance was a particularly hot topic, especially when it comes to registered training organisations. The use of video to engage learners was […]

  Rural India is still struggling with widespread poverty, limited opportunity, and low teacher attendance rates in school. What role can the virtual classroom play in improving the quality of education and life?   In June last year, the Madhya Pradesh government took a leap forward by introducing an attendance tracking application on smartphones to tackle teacher absenteeism. The situation had hit at an all time low when a study found that some teachers were absent for 23 of their 24 years of service. A study done by the University of California pegged the fiscal cost of such absenteeism at $1.5 billion a year. Districts like Dhar and Burhanpur are beautiful, river-side, and have great historical meaning in our heartland. They can also be a bleak place to live.   The virtual classroom presents us with a great opportunity to tackle this problem. Willing teachers from around the world and the country can be tapped without their physical presence with the help of the virtual classroom. This would enable the rural children to get the quality of education they should be getting and their parents expect from schools.   When teachers, pundits, and theorists analyze our Educational system, they usually focus on urban and suburban schools and colleges, but rural schools make up for more than 50% of our country.  Unlike many of the urban peers, students here fight with generational poverty, low quality of education, a lack of awareness and limited job opportunities. Virtual classrooms could easily help these children get a better quality of education and ensure a bright future ahead. Interactions with their urban peers, guest lectures by leading industry specialists, virtual tours of various places all over the world, would open their minds to the possibilities that exist through education all through the medium of virtual classrooms.   A report released by the World Bank last year in October suggested that India might be overestimating the number of it’s poor, but it still doesn’t change the fact that nearly 7% of the rural population of our country is still facing extreme poverty. The government taking an initiative towards virtual classrooms shows that they are trying to take a step ahead towards building awareness through higher quality of education.   With the Modi government allocating close to 100 Cr towards virtual classrooms, let us analyze what could possibly be the benefits of such a system and how we could salvage rural India through them. We will be taking an in-depth look at the classrooms and schools in rural India and tackling all the problems they face with the help of virtual classrooms.   In the coming months, we will study the number of states with the highest rural population facing poverty, the quality of education and life in such areas and how virtual classrooms could be effective in providing students with the quality of education they require to uplift their lives and break out of poverty.   The post Salvaging Rural India with Virtual Classroom : An Introduction appeared first on Fedena Blog.

This week's challenge is to create an interaction to play video in e-learning, so I made a video slider using snippets from a recent trip to Turkey. Read more...

One of the main sources of employment and economic growth in the United States includes jobs that require skills and expertise in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), yet too few American students pursue expertise in these fields. STEM education has therefore become one of the focus points in the effort to maintain global leadership and competitive position. In order for American universities to produce the required quantity of graduates in the STEM fields to meet the present and future demand, the process of instilling an interest and developing the right attitudes and skills necessary for success in these fields must begin at an early age. According to the National Math & Science Initiative, 69% of American high-school graduates are not ready for college-level science and 54% are not ready for college-level math. One of the reasons behind these statistics is the dearth of trained K-12 teachers tasked with preparing students for success in college. To address this particular challenge, Excelsior College has partnered with Tata Interactive Systems and Questar III BOCES to develop a series of courses focused on best practices in teaching mathematics to students in grades K-8. To know more, click here: http://www.tatainteractive.com/whitepapers.html This joint initiative of Excelsior College, Tata Interactive Systems, and Questar III BOCES, earned a Brandon Hall Group Excellence in Learning silver medal honors in the Best Advance in Custom Content category, which recognizes self-paced, custom-designed online courses targeted to address specific workplace learning needs.