Vretta

After reading a detailed six series article on this very topic, I have decided to break down some very important points regarding partnering with eLearning vendors.

Things to consider before approaching eLearning vendors:

Know your audience and content.

Know your constraints and how they will impact the project (e.g. budget, time, accessibility).

Understanding the characteristics of vendors to find one best suited to your needs.

Make a Request for Information.

 The Request for Information (RFI) is a great tool to get information you need about possible vendors and their products and services.  In general, an RFI is used for preliminary research to help identify which vendors offer the type of product or service needed and what the general costs and turnaround times would be. Here are some details to include:

Information about your company and audience.

What is trying to be accomplished directly through the content of the eLearning.

The scope of product or service that you are looking for with a few specifications you may already know.

How you want them to respond to your RFI (e.g. Email no more than 5 pages).

 When engaging a third party eLearning vendor, useful information you can share is characteristics of your audience.

The demographics of your audience.

The roles in your organization that those groups undertake.

The working pattern, so you have some idea of when and where the course may be undertaken.

Their experience with eLearning including whether they have undertaken eLearning before, and whether they have certain expectations about the format of courses.

Their level of skill and experience in the subject area.

The motivating factors of your auidence.

As mentioned in the series introduced earlier, learning is a highly personal experience. In face-to-face training, a facilitator can tailor information on the spot. This flexibility needs to be translated to a function capable of online learning which can directly impact engagement and retention levels in the users.

Certainly take your time and don’t hesitate to ask others what they have done in their own organizations  through groups like Cloud Learning on LinkedIn or by simply reaching out to other professionals in your own network.

To begin, I sense we may be unsure of how to measure the value of informal learning. This is certainly something we have seen before, especially with newly emerging tools that have attracted so much attention as to create entire sub-industries around them, such as social media.

There are definitions to explain some of the buzzwords surrounding the changing face of learning and development, as an attempt to define the elements of the craft of informal learning. However I think the L&D department knows what these terms mean and how beneficial they can be to an organization. The problem is they are speaking a completely different language than executive management, including CLO’s that are often fixated on numbers. Implementing informal learning absolutely needs endorsement from the top.

A common misconception for learning specialist is their role in an informal learning environment. Some types of learning cannot be managed, and for good reason. Informal learning can to be facilitated and the environment changed to support self-directed learning. Although this can be challenging, learning specialist are to be translators or mediators for performance, similar to how the role of trainers have changed with the implementation of e-learning in an organization.

Insight from a project manager, specializing in e-learning, provides a clear account on the role of learning specialist and instructors in the new landscape of learning and development.

“Teaching and training is both a science and an art. As the science of how people learn progresses, teachers and instructors have to themselves learn and incorporate these elements to provide the most efficient learning experience.

 There are opportunities for us to change prospective on how we use technology in instructing and learning. Instead of being considered as a replacement of face to face instruction, online content should be used to enrich the learning experience. For trainers and instructors, it's understanding that online resources do not necessarily mean less work, but a more effective way to work. Specifically, online resources and learning management systems allow more effective use of time in tracking and analyzing progress.  We have, and will continue to witness technological advancements. With these changes, so must our perception on how we view things evolve in order for us to grasp how we can truly make use of these new developments in an ever changing learning landscape.”

       There is no surprise that more companies are chanting the benefits of change and are looking for the most effective and efficient way to do everything. Training employees has somehow taken the backseat of importance and HR departments are comfortable with pulling everyone into one room for a full day of training and getting the entire thing done as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Much like many other things that have been done the same way for some time, no one asks for metric performance reviews for the effectiveness in those methods being used because, it has always been done that way. I can tell you hypothetically, finely tailored business simulations and e-learning courses can increase retention up to 35% in trainees. In other words, employees will understand and remember more from learning by a different method. This can directly improve ROI– finance guys, did you hear that? There is a world of performance measurements supporting the abilities of e-learning, all swirling around in a great pool of blogs and online articles, but no one seems to care. We’ll still do it the boring old way that we aren’t even sure works most effectively. Surely you must see something wrong with this picture. Once someone throws a percentage into the picture, the immediate follow up question is where did that metric come from? How does e-learning improve retention in employees?

It is first important to note that not all observed information or behaviours are effectively learned. After hearing something once, you may be able to recall it almost perfectly after 1 minute and just after 20 minutes with only 58% retention ability. With e-learning, material can be reviewed at any time and information can be digested at a rate appropriate for each trainee. The ability to store information is also an important part of the learning process. “Retention can be affected by a number of factors, but the ability to pull up information later and act on it is vital to observational learning” says Kendra Cherry, author of Everything Psychology Book. In the end, in order for any type of training to work, the trainee needs to be motivated to implement was has just been learned. The means used to accomplish this should be highly engaging, motivating and interactive. This is gold standard for training.

Image Source: Free the Children

Engagement is linked to real performance goals and is exactly why companies should invest in learning solutions for their employees.

Linear Learning

Read, click, scroll describes linear courses with plain click and read functionality providing little to no engagement. This is a common trap trainers fall into because the focus is solely to share information and it may be hard to move past this to consider the benefits of interactivity.

PowerPoint Authoring Tools

Then there is PowerPoint slides with audio voice over which can be said to bring a few new dimensions to learning solutions. This is usually slightly more expensive than a read, click, scroll solution but certainly scalable. The marketplace is flooded with authoring tool products and they can be found in many company learning and development departments as the sole learning solution for employees. There are user interactivity features that are adapted to improve engagement and are attractive because this solution is achievable by an in-house trainer or L&D professional.

Creating Engagement

There are three elements of interactivity that can be used as building blocks for engagement; click, hover and drag. While this is more on the design side of creating learning solutions, it is important to notice how infrequent these core elements are used. Even more relevant to how design affects interactivity, which then affects performance goals, is the use of custom learning solutions to achieve the best results through careful tailoring to the needs of the user and company.

There is a difference between the option to choose Button A, or Button B to take the user to the next part of the course, and putting the learner in control so they can choose how they would like to go through the learning experience. This requires a much deeper understanding of how design and interactivity in combination will enable the user to be more engaged and retain more content. Adaptive methodology is a key element to providing engagement and requires implementing algorithms and computer-based pedagogical agents. The presentation of educational material is adapted according to students' learning needs, as indicated by their responses to questions and tasks. An adaptive layout has its merits because it can be a more pragmatic solution that is cheaper to implement and easier to test.

Keep in mind; if it’s only an information-based course, then it may be easier to do a simple linear standard e-learning course than waste the learner’s time navigating an interactive module.

In custom e-learning solutions, real world simulations have strong potential to break down learning barriers that compromise achieving performance goals. Learners can interact with the content and make real-world decisions that optimize the learning experience to specific needs.  The content, design, user interactivity and overall experience can be tailored to achieve the most engagement from learners and solicit the best performance results through custom e-learning solutions. Read, click, scroll and PowerPoint authoring tools cannot facilitate the same learning experience and cannot be expected to return the same results as engaging customized learning solutions.

E-Learning is a means to an end. This may be a strange topic to discuss considering many of us are heavily involved in the E-Learning market, and for many of us it being our sole profession and source of sustainability. Clive Sheperd shed a light on what exactly that phrase means. It is easy to get caught up in the means we use to achieve our goal, the latest device, platform, or company birth in the e-learning space but we are to be wary of not becoming occupied with these things and to focus on the true purpose. Are we making our game simulations so visually focused that we lose the objective and only entice users to be excited and have fun rather than learn?

Now that we have pioneered several technological methodologies of delivering learning material, we must focus on the user and their performance.  Businesses are allocating budgets to learning and development to see an increase in efficiency, not merely more e-learning courses. Executives are not concerned with how learning is delivered; they want to know how it is going to impact the business.

The functionality of learning solutions should complement the content and focus largely on user needs and employ a blended-mastery approach to implementing the material. What we need are learning resources that can cater to a variety of needs and provide a plethora of information based on demographics such as career industry and location. Specialized content that is specific to an individual within the scope of their company’s objective is an area for opportunity that has yet to be fully explored. For instance, a new Sales Manager at an environmental manufacturing firm in Toronto has just been hired and is going through training using an e-learning course with simulations that make the training engaging. Great! What could be even better is if there were push notifications that suggested workshops in the Toronto area that focused on motivating and empowering employees as well as a recommendation to a LinkedIn group or blog that united similar people in the industry of environmental products. All of this information could still be transmitted through an internal LMS, for example, but now the focus is on the learner and how to increase their performance.

Here’s a question to consider: are e-learning courses a formal or informal method of learning? Naturally, a large part of learning occurs outside of formal structures and this sort of learning can be made accessible through e-learning resources. Learners need a holistic learning environment combining online courses, webinars, face-to-face instruction with forums, assuming roles in practice and user – generated content platforms.

If learners can make a self-assessment based on their level of confidence with a small qualitative portion to make comments on any areas of special interest, learners can skip to areas of need, providing a more blended, personalized approach to learning which ultimately saves time.  There is certainly much more to consider in stressing the importance of learning rather than e-learning than has been discussed, but it is important that we begin to refocus our energies on the learning objectives and in what ways we assess it.

People can pass tests or choose the right multiple choice answers through the process of elimination but the value in a learning experience comes from the change in behaviour, and that is what should be measured. Understanding that e-learning is a means to an end will prompt us to change the way we deliver learning material and how we assess learning overall. 

It is thrilling to observe a real change in the attitudes of educators towards what learning should look like. While there is no definitive right or wrong answer, the marketplace is flooded with tips, products and techniques to help improve the learning sphere. What we have yet to truly realize is the impact of changes and innovations that are being implemented in the North Western hemisphere, on countries that are developing their economy and working to educate their youth as a promise for a sustained future.

Mobile Learning

While eliciting a fair range of differing opinions from eLearning specialist, much to no one’s surprise, the general consensus seems to be that while mobile learning can potentially be beneficial, few people are actually implementing it in any respect. It is difficult to wrap the mind around relaying content in small chunks when in a more traditional setting; information is accessed in larger amounts and in a more conducive learning environment.

What we must consider is how education experts and governments are using mobile learning to address issues of international youth education and proficiency around the world. According to the World Wide Web Foundation, 90% of the world population has access to a mobile telephone device, with over five billion subscribers. This is an incredible figure to consider the implications of increasing literacy rates and making education more accessible.

Game Learning

How is gamification relevant to learning? The ideas that games are fun, engaging and exciting are all adjectives that are rarely used to describe eLearning but behold- there can be a common thread! Effective learning must provide one thing if it will at all be successful, engagement. Much of what is used to build engagement in games can also be applied to other interactive material such as eLearning.

There is certainly the science behind the way the brain processes and perceives what engagement is that largely affects how successful an application can be. In order to develop engaging eLearning, the key is to understand how learner’s brains are being rewarded and use that as an incentive for learners to want to work on the material. It is then the responsibility of the instructional designer and the rest of the team to work on developing systems that learners will like. An additional application that can be added to an eLearning program is to allow users to see how others are responding to the material as an incentive to keep mastering the game and therefore, the content.

This is less challenging to see being implemented in classrooms of affluent schools across the globe however, even in classrooms and communities that don’t have access to advanced interactive learning materials, the same approach to engagement can be used to stimulate learners.

Consider how the methods and products we are implementing in our own learning and training environments can be used to help every learner in the world. Improving quality of education is a worldwide initiative and it is imperative that we recognize the larger impacts it has on the global community.

Bring your own device (BYOD) refers to a classroom technology model where students are asked to bring their personally owned laptop, tablet, or phone to school for the purpose of learning.

Web-based tools have changed the learning landscape forever. By leveraging these resources, educators can enrich their students learning with advanced interactive content and prepare them for a tech-savvy world that steadily evolves every single day.

Using these modern devices in classrooms to facilitate learning (where applicable) seems like an obvious step forwards in teaching and learning. While we undergo this transition, however, it is crucial that those who are most impacted by this (students) are comfortable with the arrangement. Students who are familiar with the set of tools they are using to learn face a better chance of engaging themselves in their environment. When educational resource providers begin to finely tailor learning to their audience and embrace  the advances in teaching over the past 15 years, we can begin to see how we are helping to produce cultured and technologically sound citizens, who are essential to  our progress as a society. 

 I am not the first to suggest that students may identify most strongly with a number of different learning styles, that which best enables them to excel in their studies. The use of devices in the classroom is an opportunity to personalize learning in a way that ensures each student is fully engaged and is successful in achieving learning goals. Software and tools that are being applied in the learning environment are tools that provide users with 24/7 access to ideas, resources, and communities. Consider a classroom where students have personal devices and are perhaps using an e-textbook. There are the immediate advantages of cost-savings and a possibly lighter backpack, but beyond that, the navigational capabilities within the device allow for new innovations such as integrating online videos and quizzes with class discussion forums or to link sections of the e-textbook with feedback provided in online assessments. When learning resources are presented and made available through personal devices, students can feel they are putting forth less of a mental effort to do school work, and instead be leisurely accessing course content and utilizing tools or applications which augment their learning. Blending their personal and academic lives, students have a greater chance of actively taking an interest and excelling in their education.

Cloud learning is gaining popularity for good reason.

It is a challenge for trainers and educators to train different types of learners simultaneously. While there is certainly no single solution to this challenge, Cloud Learning has become a critical method for engaging learners and improving the learning experience.

Accessibility & Remoteness

Cloud Learning enables users to access systems regardless of their location or what device they are using. Because the infrastructure is remotely hosted and accessed via the Internet, users can connect from anywhere and updated information can be accessed quickly. This is essential for delivering rich and engaging training sessions and simulations.

Assessment & Management

Statistical applications help to evaluate and monitor progress of learners through cloud computing. With the ease of cloud technology, trainers can access this information at any time and provide real time guidance. The management of learners becomes easier and analytical feedback can be used to highlight opportunities for revision and mastery.

The Learner Experience

PowerPoint presentations with monotone audio tracks are becoming a thing of the past, and it couldn’t happen sooner! The capabilities of cloud learning significantly increase the speed of delivery, providing trainers with the ability to use cinematographic techniques, to create highly engaging business simulations to enhance the learning experience.

WHAT IS MASTERY-BASED LEARNING?

The process of mastery-based learning, true to its nature, is meant to break down learning objectives so learners can master them at an individual pace. It became especially influential in the 1960’s during which time teaching methodologies were being re-developed by educators such as Benjamin Bloom with the theory of learning for mastery (LFM).

Mastery learning is a process where learners are developed to master each learning objective broken down into units. Once a unit has been successfully mastered, the learner proceeds to a more advanced learning task and from there, is led on to a journey of learning enrichment where concepts are built on the fundamentals.

Contrary to common belief, mastery-based learning does not require a significant level of commitment by any specific person apart of the process. The ultimate goal of this learning process is to achieve depth of knowledge which can be achieved in several ways. Consider a custom built program where any type of content can be adapted to this process of learning that allows a learner to move through the material at their own pace. This is all done while providing assessment feedback for both the learner and instructor. Thanks to the advancement of Cloud LearningTM technologies, these programs have immense accessibility and added value to implementation.

This sounds like a great idea but the real question is, why adopt it?

It’s clear; mastery learning reduces performance level gaps and improves proficiency. Mastery learning programs have been shown to lead to higher achievement and increased positive attitude from learners toward the instruction they receive and content they are learning.  

Now, while many of us may not be quite ready to give up our traditional ways, change is good and innovative thinking is certainly the appropriate approach to take to new ideas.