The Boggs e-Learning Chronicle

Another post about the use of play in e-learning...

Back on 10/26/05, we had a post on "Questioning the e-Learning Fun Factor".  Today we have another post about the role of play in e-Learning on  Terri Senft's blog.

The Privilege to Play

Not too sure anyone in the corporate arena training towards a certification would see it as a privilege, but maybe.  Or believe that on the company's dime, they can "play".  May be some companies,  department heads, or training managers want to give corporate learners freedom to 'play', but, I tend to think not in most cases. The pragmatic, matter of fact, bottom line would most likely be take the training and pass the certification so you can perform your job.

But, it's a nice thought....

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks
 

Enterprise Usability....

Jakob Nielsen's latest post on enterprise usability :

Summary:
Usability goes beyond the level of individual users interacting with screens. It's also a question of how easy or cumbersome it is for the entire organization to use a system.

We can consider usability at three different levels:

• Individual users. At this level, we examine what happens as a person tries to operate a user interface. Is it easy or difficult to find things and make desired actions happen? We tend to focus on this level because it has the most direct impact on screen design. Also, most websites, software applications, and consumer devices are single-user designs. Finally, this level is crucial because if individuals can't figure out how to work with your design, the larger levels are irrelevant.
• Groups of users. Many designs aim to coordinate multiple users; the design's usability therefore depends on more than an individual user's ability to click buttons. At this level, it also matters whether the UI helps or hinders group efforts. Examples here range from chat systems and wikis to applications that support multi-user workflows, such as a company's hiring process.
• The enterprise. At this level, the focus is on how the system impacts the company over time, including issues in administration, installation, and maintenance. Total cost of ownership (TCO) is often one of the most important usability metrics at the enterprise level.

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

All things in moderation...even in e-learning..

George Siemans, on  elearnspace.org, in a post regarding "Understanding the market", he states,
"elearning is an aggregate industry - it relies on developments in various technology and research fields. For example, tools like blogs, wikis, iPods were not developed for learning. They were developed for communication and content creation/sharing. We simply adopted them for learning purposes. As a result, we misread what's really going on if we don't take time to see what people are using for communication and personal learning. I think we have failed to capture the mobile learning market (it's all there, we just don't have a clear vision of how we should do it). We have also failed to grasp the effectiveness of peer-created content (we focus on learners dialoguing about our content, but we rarely involve them in the creation stage). In order to understand what's happening, organizations need to poll and survey their potential market (Duke CE is currently running a public survey on tools used for learning). As an industry, however, we really don't have a defined process of asking our potential market what they are using to learn. I wonder why..."

Well, I agree to  certain extent that it is an aggregate industry within the context he states above.    I also agree that technology gets adopted and adapted to and for learning purposes, to a point,  and his view on the mobile market.

In regards to  peer production of materials, only to a limited point.  For the most part,  corporations and organizations that engage in e-learning are training on specific knowledge areas or to attain specific certification requirements.    Its good to involve various techniques like creating interesting learning activities to engage the learner.  Learning activities can be centered around a game or an interactive task where learners create content using content [i.e. concepts, data structures, sets of material, etc.] already provided  to help them learn as a way for them to ingest and assimilate the material, but, all things in moderation.....

Previous post on Peer production of learning materials and Will the Prosumer/Folksomies Trends spread to e-Learning?

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

Are we "Creatures of Convention" in e-Learning?

Are we "Creatures of Convention" in e-Learning? My answer is yes.  Jared Spool has a great post out about users being "Creatures of Convention".

David Boggs, SyberWorks

Ray Ozzie's Latest Take on the Next Shift Microsoft Should Make

Former CEO of Groove Networks, Massachusetts own Ray Ozzie, who upon the sale of his company to Microsoft, was ushered into the inner circle of Microsoft when he was offered the position of Chief Technology Officer, reporting to Mr. Gates, himself.

In his short time there he has issued a memo called the  The Internet Services Disruption  that has leaked to the Internet where he takes a critical tact, "But for all our great progress, our efforts have not always led to the degree that perhaps they could have. ........And while we continue to make good progress on these many fronts, a set of very strong and determined competitors is laser-focused on Internet services and service-enabled software.  .......Even beyond our large competitors, tremendous software-and-services activity is occurring within startups and at the grassroots level. ....Many startups treat the ‘raw’ Internet as their platform...And the work of these startups could be improved with a ‘services platform’."

He then goes on to talk of three key tenants:

1. The power of the advertising-supported economic model.
2. The effectiveness of a new delivery and adoption model.
3. The demand for compelling, integrated user experiences that “just work”.

Very interesting stuff, when I think about e-learning and learning management systems,  2 & 3 jump out as critical lynch pins for success.

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

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Scoping Out Your Organization's e-Learning Needs Series: Segment #6->Use business metrics to help evaluate and validate e-Learning priorities based on company needs

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.

Use business metrics to help evaluate and validate e-Learning priorities based on company needs. 

Use numbers and statistics that make sense to most managers when building a case for your e-Learning initiative and learning priorities. For example, your department analysis tells you that you currently have a 35% failure rate for every new sales person that starts at your company. You know that it costs you approximately $15,000 (probably even more when you figure in hidden labor costs, opportunity costs, etc) to bring a qualified sales person on board. If you start an average of 2 sales people a month, your company has lost $126,000 over the year. If in the first year you reduce the failure rate just 5% you have saved your company $18,000 or 15% and even more if you start looking at other metrics that are impacted by your LMS initiative like lost production time, etc. If you reduce the failure rate to 20%, you have saved your company $54,000.

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

Users trust the Internet less...

Latest survey from CNN.com:

Cenus: Internet use up, users' trust down

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

e-Learning Skills Help

e-Learning Skills (Study Guides) (Paperback)
by Alan Clarke

Synopsis:

"The popularity of e learning courses those that offer education via the Internet, network, or standalone computer is growing. Such courses benefit both students and educators by offering more flexibility about the place, pace and time at which to study, making education more widely accessible. However, to take advantage of these benefits, students and educators must extend and develop their existing skills. This book covers all the main topics of e learning, has a glossary of e learning terms and includes many practical activities to actively engage the reader. It will be an essential guide for students on e learning courses, and will be of interest to educators and course providers offering such courses. "

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks

Course Management Systems Versus Learning Management Systems

Interesting article up on the ASTD site:

Course Management Systems VS.  Learning Management Systems

Dave Boggs,  SyberWorks

Peer Production e-Learning Resource

In recent posts, we have talked about prosumer/folksonomy trend in e-Learning.  Below is a book esposing the pros and cons of peer-created learning materials. 

Common Wisdom: Peer Production of Educational Materials

Excerpt :"The networked environment seems to have successfully released enormous creative energy in domains ranging from software design to encyclopedia writing. It has come, in many cases, to compete with and outperform traditional proprietary, market-based production. The question we face is whether the basic economics and organizational strategy that have proved so successful in other areas are equally applicable to learning objects and other educational resources. The answer seems to be: it depends."

Dave Boggs, SyberWorks