The training / learning model embraced by most organizations can be characterized as top-town, centre-to-periphery, and decidedly one-way. In other words, training is pushed from the centre, out to a dispersed audience of learners to be passively received in isolation. Not only is this usually not a very productive or enjoyable learning experience for trainees,…
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I really enjoy Donald Clark’s Plan B Blog. Clark is an Englishman with loads of experience in the training field. He has an acerbic wit and writes about training in general, and eLearning in particular, with a refreshing candor. You may not agree with everything Clark says, but there is no confusion about where he…
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In the course of helping a company devise an eLearning strategy, we were interviewing a number of key stakeholders in the organization. These interviews are an important part of the process of gathering information on the best ways of better integrating eLearning into the organization’s training mix. When we asked interviewees why the company wanted…
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Although the Wii Fit craze is long over, there is much to be learned from a learning perspective from this game. A balance board plays with the Wii console, hooks up to a TV, and allows users to perform various physical exercises on it (e.g. balance games, yoga, aerobic, and strength training) and see their…
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In helping many instructors make the transition to online learning over the years, I usually hear similar comments in the debrief after their first experience facilitating such a course. A common theme that emerges is that they found that they could have a deeper and more meaningful interchange of ideas, perspectives and arguments with and…
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I was at a university recently facilitating a workshop with a group of very keen and dedicated faculty members and online course developers. We were brainstorming big-picture concepts about the things that contribute to an excellent online learning experience. And we were also grappling with identifying some of the nitty-gritty strategies and approaches that can…
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Mark Smithers, writing from Australia, has created quite a stir in the blogosphere with his recent posting titled “eLearning at Universities: A Quality Assurance Free Zone?” The gist of his argument is that most universities pay little more than lip service to the quality of their online course and programming offerings. Course content is often…
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I have been involved in one way or the other with helping faculty members in higher education make the transition to online learning environments for many years. And I have always been fascinated by the intricate dance that ensues as professors and instructional designers feel each other out, get used to their new “dance partners,”…
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“Change is so fast and furious that work and learning blur into one activity.” Jay Cross, et. al. Jay Cross and his colleagues at Internet Time Group published an interesting article on the evolution of work. Noting the major shifts in human history, from the Agricultural Age, to the Industrial Age, to the Information Age,…
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A little while ago I was interested in a rapid eLearning authoring tool, and a sales rep did a web presentation for me, showing how it worked. He then encouraged me to download this software for a trial period. His demo was 20 – 30 minutes long, and only provided a very quick overview. I…
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