The Boggs e-Learning Chronicle

The Accessibility Question in e-Learning....

There have been a few interesting posts out about the whole web accessibility conundrum.

10 Reasons Clients Don't Care About Accessibility

Against Accessibility

Some or many of the points can be applied in an e-learning context, and certainly, when it comes to providing e-learning in a corporate context, the some of the points in the article may be valid, depending upon how one feels about the subject. 

Yet, there is a whole other side to this argument, such as the

• social responsibility context,
• audience requirements,
• the value that it may add in the context of mobile learning,
• just making accessibility a consideration throughout an e-learning implementation and online course content development because you design and create a better e-learning widget in the process,
• and more.

My intention is not to get into a long discussion about this except to say plainly,  to a certain extent, as a vendor, more often than not, we live with the reality of it being like air conditioning in a car, i.e. companies come with the expectation that if they need it,  it should come standard, and right or wrong, they should not have to pay extra for it.

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

Breadcrumb trails

I happened across a very neat pdf that outlines three types of breadcrumb trails used in user interface engineering design.  They are:

1. Location Breadcrumbs
2. Path Breadcrumbs, and
3. Attribute Breadcrumbs

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

e-Learning vs. Knowledge Management

Very interesting article about the difference between e-learning and knowledge management. 

Excerpt: "Upon closer investigation, I rarely find anyone at the booth who even can define what they mean by knowledge management. At the huge Training 2000 exhibit, I found only two people who had read a book on knowledge management. No one had read anything on intellectual capital (only the most powerful new thinking about business strategy and learning of the last fifty years) or, they would blithely reassure me that developing elearning courseware allows a company to manage "all" its knowledge.

I dont think so. Most elearning companies really offer training management, not knowledge management. There is a very big difference.

eLearning could be a cornerstone of knowledge management but most elearning companies have failed to master the basic theory and practice of knowledge management. They not only cannot intelligently speak about knowledge management practice from a marketing perspective, they dont even have a coherent internal understanding of knowledge management or a serious knowledge management strategy of their own."

eLearning vs knowledge mgmt

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

Usability Testing for E-Learning

An article in CLO Media discusses  e-learning usability testing models.

Usability Testing for E-Learning

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

Scoping out Your Organization’s e-Learning Needs Series: Segment #4->Select programs and initiatives appropriate for e-Learning delivery

This is the next segment in an occasional series about best practices in regards to getting a clear understanding of  your company's e-Learning needs.

Select the programs and initiatives that are appropriate for delivery by e-Learning.

Like the Internet, traditional media, or any other mechanism for communicating and conveying information, certain types of media are NOT appropriate for conveying certain types of information.  This construct also applies to e-Learning.  Once you have identified the programs you would like to target with your e-Learning initiative, it’s helpful to set up a test plan that compares users learning the material in traditional settings or mechanisms vs. online so you can accurately assess the effectiveness of delivering a course or certain types of training online.

The information from the tests will also help you improve your traditional and online e-Learning initiatives.  As you and your staff grow in its knowledge and experience in applying e-Learning to your programs, you may be able to come up with ways to apply e-Learning to materials that you originally designated as not appropriate for e-Learning or create highly effective training that incorporates both traditional and online e-Learning techniques.

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

More E-Learning Titles

Learning Rants, Raves and Reflections by Elliot Massie

Excerpt From Inside Flap: "Learning Rants, Raves, and Reflections offers a unique collection of passionate, provocative, and professional stories that show how technology is transforming how we learn today and reveals what we can expect in the future. Written to be highly accessible, this non-technological book about technology provides a general overview of the current world of learning and includes real-life case studies, actual examples from organizations, and valuable lessons learned. Learning Rants, Raves, and Reflections also examines the promise and failures of e-learning and the evolving tools that are changing the face of training and education. "

*************************************

"E-Learning in Europe - Learning Europe: How have new media contributed to the development of higher education?"

Publisher: Waxman Publishing, Inc.

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

Consistency in Design is the Wrong Approach

Jared Spool, CEO of User Interface Engineering  has a great little article  that looks at consistency in design vs. designing withing the context of the user's current knowledge.  Below is an excerpt:

"The problem with thinking in terms of consistency is that those thoughts focus purely on the design and the user can get lost. “Is what I’m designing consistent with other things we’ve designed (or others have designed)?” is the wrong question to ask.

Instead, the right question is, “Will the user’s current knowledge help them understand how to use what I’m designing?” Current knowledge is the knowledge the user has when they approach the design. It’s the sum of all their previous experiences with relevant products and designs."

Consistency in Design is the Wrong Approach

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

It's Not About You

Interesting article on the Stanford Business School Magazine site:

Excerpt: "In May, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch visited the Business School to talk about leadership and his new book, Winning. With about 800 people in Memorial Auditorium, we had a public conversation about managing. The best comment he made, I thought, was the simplest. It’s something I believe and try to practice every day. Leadership is not about you. It’s about the people who work for you.

“The day you become a leader, it becomes about them,” Welch said. “Your job is to walk around with a can of water in one hand and a can of fertilizer in the other hand. Think of your team as seeds and try to build a garden. It’s about building these people,” he insisted. “Only you will know the team.”

It's Not About You

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

Feel Free: Opera Eliminates Ad Banner and Licensing Fee

Opera removed all of its banner advertising and is now licensing the new 8.5 release for free. 

Below is  review of the new browser.  Looks like you might want to give it a try.

Opera 8.5. It's free!

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

CETIS briefings on e-learning standards

CETIS, the center for educational technology interoperability standards in the UK, posted its latest briefing on e-learning standards.  Includes PDFs on:

• Enterprise
• LIP-Learner Information Package
• Content package
• Question and Test Interoperability
• Simple Sequencing
• Learning Design
• Accessibility for Learner Information Profile
• Syntax and semantics of Learning Object Metadata

CETIS briefings on e-learning standards

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks