The Boggs e-Learning Chronicle

Using Web Analytics To Evaluate Instructional Design

One method for evaluating e-learning content is using web analytics.  This is a short pdf (5 pages) on using web analytics  in  instructional design evaluation for  e-learning development.   This is not a new idea by any means and many organizations have used this along with other ways to evaluate e-learning content for a while now (since the  mid 90's, of course, e-learning really has even earlier roots, but that is not what this post is about) but the information in the pdf provides a good basic primer for those who are just starting out in e-learning development.

A Model 0f Online Instructional Design Analytics by Kenneth W. Fansler and Rodney P. Riegle, PHD

Abstract:

"The objectives of this paper are 1) to provide data-driven example instructional design evaluation for online course designers and administrators,  and  2) to provide a theoretical framework of instructional design analytics that result in a deeper understanding of online teaching and learning."

elearning	learning management systems
elearning podcasts	Competency Management

Dave Boggs
SyberWorks, Inc.
SyberWorks e-Learning Podcast Series
SyberWorks LMS e-Learning Implementation Podcast Series

Learning Management System (LMS) Hierarchies Article Available In The SyberWorks Media Center...

Below  are  links to the corresponding press release and the latest article posted in the e-Learning Articles section of the SyberWorks Media Center. 

Press Release:

New SyberWorks Media Center Article: “Learning Management System (LMS) Hierarchies”

Article:

Learning Management System (LMS) Hierarchies

elearning	learning management systems
elearning podcasts	Competency Management

Dave Boggs
SyberWorks, Inc.
SyberWorks e-Learning Podcast Series
SyberWorks LMS e-Learning Implementation Podcast Series

Book On Virtual Teams

In an effort to make sure you are getting the most out of the integrated web conferencing functionality in your learning management system, here is a book on virtual teaming:

Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques That Succeed by Deborah L. Duarte, Nancy Tennant Snyder, Nancy Tennant Snyder, Nancy Tennant Snyder, Nancy Tennant Snyder

From the Publisher

"Two global management experts define virtual teams, give step-by-step directions for putting them together, and outline the skills that are critical for making them work. They show how to select technology that matches virtual teams' tasks, attitudes, and experience, and demonstrate ways to deal with the impact of culture on team performance, trust, and dynamics. The only truly practical guide to mastering the unique demands of virtual team leadership and participation, this book includes exercises, checklists, workshop agendas, diagnostic questionnaires, and competency assessments in each chapter. It gives nuts-and-bolts information on how to facilitate virtual team meetings, how to track team results, and how to intervene to solve typical team problems."

elearning	learning management systems
elearning podcasts	Competency Management

Dave Boggs
SyberWorks, Inc.
SyberWorks e-Learning Podcast Series
SyberWorks LMS e-Learning Implementation Podcast Series

Cool Wiki Flashcards Site To Use When Memorizing Information Off the Web....

Going through my RSS feeds, and Jane Hart's blog featured a cool free tool, memorizable.org, "The Flashcard Wiki that anyone can edit"

Memorizable Tables

"This site is the home of memorizable tables, which are an efficient flashcard-like way to memorize information on a web page. Click edit section, edit whole page or create page to add your own memorizable tables to this site. No login is required."

elearning	learning management systems
elearning podcasts	Competency Management

Dave Boggs
SyberWorks, Inc.
SyberWorks e-Learning Podcast Series
SyberWorks LMS e-Learning Implementation Podcast Series

Test Blueprints Should Align with the Presentation of Instructional Content and Course Design..

Teaching One Way and Testing Another: An Interview with Scott Howell by James L. Morrison and Scott Howell

Synopsis:

"Editor-in-Chief James L. Morrison interviews Scott Howell, the co-editor of a three-volume book series entitled Online Assessment and Measurement that was published in 2006 by IDEA Group. In discussing his own research, Howell first highlights the value of test blueprints as a valuable tool for ensuring an effective alignment of assessment methodology with instructional content and course design. In turn, Howell addresses how the changes associated with new technologies in the 21st-century classroom have further deepened the gap between teaching practice and testing practice. To address this problem, Howell argues that assessment strategies should draw upon the same multimedia technologies that already inform innovative teaching methods while maintaining that such technology-enhanced assessment should remain structured and focused on clearly defined learning outcomes. As Howell explains why educators should align their means of assessment with the presentation of instructional content, he also identifies some of the challenges, obstacles, and institutional constraints that must be overcome in order to ensure the best fit between the way we teach and the way we test."

You must register so you can have access to the article.

elearning	learning management systems
elearning podcasts	Competency Management

Dave Boggs
SyberWorks, Inc.
SyberWorks e-Learning Podcast Series
SyberWorks LMS e-Learning Implementation Podcast Series

Out of Sight, Out of Mind...Survey Says Flexible Workers Often Miss Out On Training Opportunities

An article in Personnel Today, "Training and coaching: Make sure flexible workers are not excluded when it comes to training" by Sarah-Jane North,  states, " research from the Institute for Employment Studies found that those on part-time, temporary,  or fixed-term contracts were less likely to receive training."

It also discussed the potential legal implications in denying training to flexible workers, "According to Eileen Arney, learning, training and development adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), it is not only fair to keep flexible workers in the loop when it comes to training and development, but a legal requirement." 

It is important to note that this article is from a UK organization, and this may not be the case when it comes to the legal implications for US companies and workers.

elearning	learning management systems
elearning podcasts	Competency Management

Dave Boggs
SyberWorks, Inc.
SyberWorks e-Learning Podcast Series
SyberWorks LMS e-Learning Implementation Podcast Series

Insights from Brain Research and Pedagogical Theory That Relate To Designing Learning Environments

Fodder for online course development, Ten Core Principles for Designing Effective Learning Environments: Insights from Brain Research and Pedagogical Theory by Judith V. Boettcher

Synopsis:

"In this article, Judith V. Boettcher provides ten core learning principles that can guide technology-enhanced teaching as well as more traditional forms of instruction. Drawn from both traditional pedagogical theory as well as current research about how people learn, the ten principles integrate these findings in a helpful set of guidelines that give emphasis to issues of instructional design. Boettcher first presents a fourfold framework that delineates the respective roles of the learner, the faculty-mentor, the knowledge and content of instruction, and the environment in which learning occurs. Subsequent principles then provide more focused treatment of these four elements while highlighting further pedagogical concepts that should inform course design, teaching practice, and assessment measures. In discussing these principles, Boettcher suggests ways in which online technology can help educators create learning environments that respect the individual needs of students, foster collaboration, and promote deeper, sustained levels of engagement with the course content."

You have to register to have access to the article.

elearning	learning management systems
elearning podcasts	Competency Management

Dave Boggs
SyberWorks, Inc.
SyberWorks e-Learning Podcast Series
SyberWorks LMS e-Learning Implementation Podcast Series

President's Day 07

We will not be posting today due to the President's Day Holiday. 

elearning	learning management systems
elearning podcasts	Competency Management

Dave Boggs
SyberWorks, Inc.
SyberWorks e-Learning Podcast Series
SyberWorks LMS e-Learning Implementation Podcast Series

Growth In Corporate Training $$ Spent and Workforce Factors Impacting The Growth In Training $$ Spent...Or Atleast We Hope So!!!

Bersin has a report out which says that corporations spent "seven percent more on corporate learning than in 2005".  Other interesting datapoints:

• "Total spending on training grew from $51.1 billion in 2005 to $55.8 billion last year, with spending on products and services up to $15.8 billion, from $13.5 billion two years ago."
• "While budgets have increased, salary spending over the last four years has remained relatively flat. In 2005, 73 cents of every training dollar went to payroll expenses; in 2006, payroll expenses were 65 cents of every dollar."

• "Learning technologies were now also being widely used by companies of all sizes, it found. Six out of 10 employers said they used virtual classroom technologies, and four out of 10 used learning management systems."

• "Sales training and management/supervisory training were the programmes most in demand, and more companies were outsourcing their needs to external learning specialists."

Employers spending more on training

Learning Budgets Rising, But Salary Spending Remains Flat, Says Bersin and Associates

Jim Kissane's Workforce Development Blog has a post that debunks some of myths associated with our country's  job creation and the impact as the labor market continues to tighten.

Why Workforce Development is Struggling - Part 3 - The Truth about Job Creation

I can't say for sure, but his point  may be played out some (or atleast we hope so...)  in the numbers reported by Bersin, Jim states,  " Many ask me about hiring more Immigrants? Older Workers? Younger Workers?  Older and younger workers are already working at historically high levels. And while the number of migrants has grown and remains steady in the 1990s, net migration may not be as strong in the future, especially in light of new Immigration and related Homeland Security laws.

That leaves as a viable and economically attractive option - the development of the existing workforce.  This is a huge area of opportunity since these are already people who you know - who work for you - and you know a great deal about them."

I have also seen a few different articles about how people are actually moving back to their countries of origin,  Indian immigrants enticed to go home, Boston Globe, 2/5/2007, so I think that companies will only be forced to spend more on training and retraining their employees in the future.

elearning	learning management systems
elearning podcasts	Competency Management

Dave Boggs
SyberWorks, Inc.
SyberWorks e-Learning Podcast Series
SyberWorks LMS e-Learning Implementation Podcast Series

Survey on e-Learning and Learning Management System Use In Non-Profits...

LearnSomething and N-TEN groups released a study about e-Learning and learning management system use in non-profit and associations. 

 3rd Annual Nonprofit E-learning Survey Report Released

Here are some highlights:

• The general upward trend in adoption of e-learning throughout the nonprofit sector has continued. From 2004 to 2006, the percentage of all survey respondents indicating current usage of e-learning grew from 40 to 53 percent. Among 501(c)(3) organizations, the percentage grew from 36 to 51 percent; among membership associations, from 40 to 55 percent; and among educational institutions, from 49 to 58 percent.

• Training budgets have increased somewhat. Slightly more than 56 percent of survey respondents indicated their organization's general budget for training and education will increase in the coming year--nearly a 12 percent jump over 2005. Approximately 4 percent of respondents indicated an increase in spending specific to e-learning in the coming year.

• Use of facilitated and blended e-learning formats may be on the rise. While use or planned use of the most popular e-learning format, self-paced e-learning, continued to grow in 2006, survey responses also indicate rising interest in asynchronous facilitated, live facilitated, and blended (a combination of classroom and online formats) e-learning approaches. The number of respondents indicating they are using or plan to use asynchronous facilitated or live facilitated e-learning rose approximately 7 percent and 6 percent, respectively, from 2005. Those indicating they are using or planning to use a blended learning approach rose approximately 17 percent.

• The importance of learning management systems (LMS) continues to grow. The percentage of respondents indicating usage of an LMS more than doubled from 2005, and the percentage of respondents indicating that they do not know what an LMS is dropped by nearly 20 percent. Additionally, the number of respondents who indicated that integration between an LMS and other popular types of nonprofit-oriented software would be either highly or somewhat valuable rose from approximately 53 to 67 percent.

2006 Nonprofit and Association E-learning Survey - Report Summary

elearning	learning management systems
elearning podcasts	Competency Management

Dave Boggs
SyberWorks, Inc.
SyberWorks e-Learning Podcast Series
SyberWorks LMS e-Learning Implementation Podcast Series