Mobile learning

One of the interest areas of the learning industry right now is mobile learning. Devices are getting even more widespread and powerful, with decent network access. Take the iPhone and the likes as an example. And in some areas of the world it also makes much, much more sense to use a device everyone already has as a learning delivery vehicle instead of more expensive computers.

Anyway, I wanted to share a link to this platform to create free mobile applications:
http://www.mobisitegalore.com/

Personally I don't use my cellphone for networking because it is still very expensive here in Belgium to do so. But once that obstacle gets out of the way, I might be tempted for a question or module a day on a topic. Or to interact with the speaker/trainer via SMS. Or to send in a picture of my work for review. Or anything else people will come up with...

Study: E-Learning Spending on the Rise

Another study, this time from Global Industry Analysts Inc., “eLearning: A Global Strategic Business Report,” says e-learning is on the rise. Frankly, predictions of e-learning futures have always looked like that, and if those from years ago would have been accurate it would have been omnipresent. That as a side note, the study does shed some interesting light on the distribution of e-learning in the world and relative market shares.

• 60% of corporate e-learning is in the US
• 15% is in Europe, the second largest market
• Japanese and Asian markets are smaller, but due for a catch up in the next years

Moodle + Second Life = Sloodle

I stumbled across a project that aims to integrate the most popular open source LMS Moodle with the most popular 3D internet environment Second Life. It is called Sloodle.

As they describe it:

Sloodle is a project to integrate the VLE platform Moodle with 3D immersive settings such as Second Life. Imagine a Moodle course that, if you wanted, could turn into a proper 3D interactive classroom with all your Moodle resources available to your students in the virtual world.

QTI Tutorial

You can find a nice tutorial on the technical details of the QTI specification on the Cetis web site.
QTI is a standard (most current version 2.1) for implementing assessment questions and systems. The standard allows to make questions once and import and use them in all compliant testing systems. I'm not a person that can easily read document specification documents, so this little tutorial is a big help!

The adoption of this standard has been much slower than for example SCORM, but LMS systems are increasingly picking it up.

http://wiki.cetis.ac.uk/QTI_Training_Guide

SCORM 2004 poster

Do the inner workings of SCORM 2004 confuse you? Rustici software made a free SCORM 2004 poster you can download on their site. As they describe it themselves:

" A handy wall poster containing a complete reference of SCORM 2004 3rd Edition. Including:

• The complete CMI and ADL.NAV data models with data types, syntax and descriptions.
• A road map to the sequencing pseudo code with function relationships and descriptions.
• A syntax reference for the runtime API.
• A summary of the SCORM activity tracking data model and how it relates to the CMI runtime data model. "
  

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Most common reason for not completing courses

This list comes from a Brandon Hall study among 313 learning professionals. It has the common reasons learners do not complete courses:

• learners get the information the need, then exit
• learners get interrupted or distracted
• learners are too busy
• learners don't have incentives to complete courses
• the online courses are boring or badly designed
• the technology doesn't always work right or is confusing
  

The Indians are coming

Don't panic. They are actually already here :-).
Tata systems announced a new LCMS.

"Global learning solutions provider Tata Interactive Systems (TIS) launched Learning Planet, an enterprise learning content management system (LCMS). The technology includes a core learning management system (LMS), along with tools in the areas of competency management, content management, knowledge management, collaboration and communication, and an assessment engine. "

What works: strategies for increasing elearning usage

How do you make elearning work? What can you do to promote it, and to make it more effective? According to a Corporate University Exchange study e-learning dropout rates stand at about 70% as compared with 15% for classroom. I believe 30% e-learning dropout is a common figure in corporations. The dropouts don't say whether that is because of the poor learning, because of a mismatch or because the learner found what they needed and quit. Regardless of the reason, here are 9 tips Brandon Hall gives to make e-learning work better:

1. Talk to your audience - and share the results
2. Pay attention to culture
3. Be specific in your marketing
4. Find e-learning champions
5. Get learner's managers involved
6. Brand your program
7. Don't stop with the launch; keep communicating
8. Tie e-learning to consequences
9. Give learners enough time and space to do e-learning
   

Corporate learning survey

Want to know how your corporate learning compares to that of 'the big ones' or the major players in your sector? Until August 15 companies can freely sign up for participation in the CUX 8th annual benchmarking study on corporate learning and employee development.

Later this year, at the November Online Educa conference, results will be discussed.

Diversity training

This Checkpoint article talks about the 'Respect Diversity Toolkit', a diversity training package from Aviva. Diversity training is gaining in importance. That is a positive evolution, and it is even more positive companies are sharing their experiences on the topic.

The potential of Jing

Jing is a free beta product that allows you to easily share screenshots or screencasts of your desktop and save them or share them. The makers call it 'visual conversations'. Jing is a project of TechSmith, the makers of the popular commercial snapshot product 'SnagIt', screen video product 'Camtasia' and associated hosting site 'screencast.com'. I don't expect Jing to end up as a free product, but as long as they are in beta you get a pretty good, simplified and easy tool with free hosting on screencast.com. I recommend you give it a shot.

I see a lot of potential for Jing, not at least in the field of learning. It lowers the centre of gravity for expertise because anyone can easily, just-in-time make a small tutorial on how to us a certain feature of an application or where to click, and share it. Help desk people will find this a useful tool. Coaches and remote trainers will love this. And if the makers add tags to it and a home page you get an instant YouTube for 'how-do-I-do-this' screencasts. Very cool indeed.

See full article on the about2findout.com blog.

The Learning Savings Account

Some days I'm very proud of my company IBM. Like today. IBM is announcing (at least in the US for now) a radical new way to help employees update their skills and learn new things.

Most of training budgets get spent at the beginning of a career, and then you get some days a year for incremental updates along the way but only for what you need for your own daily job. The most productive employees, and probably the employees that could leverage training the most in real life, get the least of it. But at the same time companies expect their workers to keep themselves 'employable' by updating their skill set and keeping it current. Most often, that is at the personal expense of the employee. Besides, hardly any training you get internally will prepare you for a new job aspiration or heaven forbid a career change at another company.

In today's announcement IBM will create kind of saving accounts that can be used for education and training, and adds 50% of what the employee contributes (up to 1000$ a year). It is completely controlled by the employee.

For more information read this article in the NY Times.

Thomson sells Prometric testing to ETS

Thomson last year sold its e-learning division NETg to SkillSoft. Now they have an agreement to sell the certification division Prometric to one of its major customers ETS (the one from the TOEFL test).

More on http://www.thomson.com/content/pr/corp/acquisitions_divestitures/217831 .

3D for training

Yet another tool to create 3D avatars for learning.

Vcom3D released Vcommunicator Authoring Suite and
Sign Smith Studio 3.0. The tools are designed to
provide users, regardless of computer animation or
modeling experience, the ability to quickly and
cost-effectively animate 3-D characters for training
applications.

Summer break

Back on July 15!

Learning Blogs

I've just added the following blogs to my watch list and wanted to share that with you. I find them inspiring for our field.

http://clive-shepherd.blogspot.com/
http://www.connectivism.ca/blog/
http://www.digitalchalkie.com/
http://elearnqueen.blogspot.com/
http://informl.com/

The circle of learning

The learner is in control of what to learn, when and how. And according to the learner's needs and his or her learning style another format or activity might be appropriate. So far the theory, and it's not a new one.

In the image you'll see one way of putting this theory into practise: it is the navigator used within the IBM Learning Suites. It is a very visual learning compass that allows for summary or in depth study, practise, simulations, access to experts and tests all in one.

What makes a good e-learner?

In a survey of the Department of Instructional Technology's E-Learning Concepts and Techniques Spring 2006 online class, participants were asked to respond to “what factors and/or skills contribute to being a successful student in an e-learning class?” The responses included:
1. Self-discipline
2. Patience
3. Self-motivation
4. Communication
5. Asking questions
6. Knowledge of how e-learning works
7. Familiarity with the software
8. Time management
9. Ability to work independently
10. Ability to communicate with groups via distance
11. Active participation in the class
12. Being able to compromise and communicate effectively
13. Ability to multitask

How much for learning?

This clipping shows a table by De Vries & Bersin on how much different learning development projects cost and the time they take.

What do you put in an RFP for an LMS?

Finding a suitable Learning Management System (LMS) for your enterprise is a daunting, complex and time-consuming task. The world of LMSes continuously evolves and there are many, many vendors out there. Most companies go through a formal process of 'Request-For-Proposal' and a selection process. But what should you put in such an RFP?

Karl M. Kapp (2003) suggests the following general outline of an LMS Request-For-Proposal:
1- Overview of the project
2- Submission process and timeline
3- Selection criteria
4- Ownership statemen
5- Organisation of the proposal
6- Orientation of the business
7- Strategy that is supporting the e-learning initiative
8- Audience description
9- Delivery environment
10- Technology infrastructure
11- System parameters and requirements
12- Quality Assurance
13- Administration and maintenance
14- Implementation schedule
15- Available resources

John Gerald Theis recently finished his PhD thesis on LMS selection RFPs. He studied 25 RFP documents for structure, features asked for etc. You can download his thesis here. The last pages contain 100 RFP questions that you will probably find inspiring.