Social Learning

Okay, the next big thing? I've used that sentence before but this time I'm more motivated about it. Does this have something to do with recent projects? Err.. yes, but I can sense a change coming across learning.. a move towards more learner centric learning perhaps, and why not? I was teaching a few years (okay, quite a few) back when we started to look at making the learning more centred around the learner than the teacher (believe it or not quite a radical change at the time), the same thing has happened to some extent in good e-learning. So here it is, the real birth of Social Learning?
So what is social learning first and foremost? It could be a session when you grab a few mates and head down to Mrs Miggins pie shop for "brown grit and water" and talk about the advances in metaphysics, but unless you take a web-cam with you (and then we're on some dodgy ground) there's no hint of e-learning in this as an activity. Surely by social learning we just mean engaging those web 2.0 tools (don't you just love the nerdy way it makes simple tools sound impressive and out of the reach of non-techno people?), using forums and wikis and the like? Yes and no, those are in all good learning management systems after all and desperately underutilised by most organisations (another blog, another time), but mostly that still centres around the instructor or trainer. Likewise a good e-learning course may well use a pull mentality rather than a push (yep, 'nother blog) to get the learner to pull on the information they need to complete the tasks rather than force feeding them everything you assume they don't already know. Still not where I am, I'm talking the Facebook (am I allowed to say that?) of the e-learning world, e-portfolio systems with those web 2.0 tools.
Okay, that may not have had the impressive impact I was looking for as I heard (both virtually and asynchronously) the sighs. But wait, there's not only a need for learners to start to gather their own learning and records for themselves, but massive advantages for organisations in encouraging them to do this and share them. Why? Several reasons actually, but the most obvious to me is that if something (anything please!) makes ordinary people into learners that care about their learning then that's a huge positive (the WIFM effect in full force!). Furthermore, think about the real gains in certification areas where we need to ensure professional membership by counting CPD hours and all that jazz. How much easier would it be if we could start to get members to not only complete their training needed but also to pull it across (there's that word again) into their portfolio and share their accomplishments.. share it with their peers, share it with assessors and even share with friends - especially if they get to chose exactly what gets seen and by whom (remember it belongs to them!).

So get ready, this could be the next big thing in e-learning, not the death of our beloved LMS, but an enhancement and link in that will actually generate interest in what we're trying to do! Try and find an e-portfolio system that links up with your LMS (or change your LMS, give me a buzz..) or an LMS that has this feature but beware of the all encompassing mega-systems (see my last blog on talent management).

For those of you who've not yet played in this area check out Mahara (as always I'm a big fan of Open Source software, particularly when it plugs in to Moodle and Totara). For those of you who need to know more about Mrs Miggins check out Blackadder, and for those of you who need to know more about the afterlife just check out ;)

please don't actually check out after reading this blog.. I would feel really bad and somebody (not you I appreciate) might come after me seeking rewenge!

Talent Management

Ooh, there's a new buzz word out there in learning technologies. We're no longer content with an LMS (Learning Management System; I know you knew that right?) that does all that usual learning and development thingy and allows you to track courses and manage all your training? No, now it's all about 'talent'. Or is it? Is this a new dressing on an old idea? Is this like calling me follically challenged rather than the more abrupt and yet slightly more accurate 'bald'?
Partially yes, talent management for existing employees in layman's terms is about matching existing skills, qualifications etc to the needs of the organisation, working out where the gaps are and arranging your training to fill those gaps. Think back two years and we'd have been talking about competency based training and becoming a competency based organisation. The good news is if you're using an LMS with the ability to link to your HR system and that supports a competency framework that you've implemented to automate your training you're probably well on the way to 'talent management' already. If your LMS doesn't do this you're probably using an older more rigid LMS or Moodle. Either way you should consider an upgrade to Totara LMS which is Open Source and great if you ask me (yes, I have a slight lean in this direction and often implement Totara installations for organisations). If you have this and don't know how to approach talent management then drop me a note and I'll try and help!

Of course having the capability to manage your internal talent is not the same as actually doing it. Many organisations have competencies in place but are still more task-based than competency based truth be known and only work with competencies at the current level rather than aspirational positions. If you really want to maximise your talent this will come less from your LMS and more from your internal processes and procedures; this is more about management which has always been more about knowing your people and the organisation, than the system you use to record and manipulate this.

The other part of talent management is about attracting new talent in to your organisation. This is where we start to get muddy in the LMS world. What are you now asking of your previously called LMS? We want a recruiting system to form a major part of the software?! Of course, because it's not good enough to have an LMS that does what it should do about learning, we want it to do wider functions. This is where I think we're starting to go a little awry. I know the wheel needs re-inventing every so often, but this is like trying to put four newly invented wheels on the same car! I thought we'd got past this mega-systems approach to software? No, don't be daft Nigel, everyone likes a good mega approach don't they? Surely your LMS ought to be able to make you as good a Latte as the barrista down the street?
So here's our new 'car'. It's got more wheels than an articulated (no relation) lorry and they are all doing different things. Seems to me that if you had this kind of office vehicle that getting on and off it maybe a bit of a labour of love. I mean, if it's going to do everything and go everywhere maybe I'll just take the bike as I only want to go two blocks? I guess this takes us around to the argument of whether or not we want our software to be able to do everything for us or not.. in fact, that's not really it is it? Because yes it would be great if it did everything, but the question is whether it does everything as well as a dedicated piece of software. So if a system is designed to look after my Human Resources stuff or payroll - I want it to do that really well. If it is designed for learning than I want it to be really good at learning.. you get the theme here..

The problem is that there isn't a single system that delivers the best of everything; that's true of even the core functions of an LMS, let alone managing wider things like your recruitment and HR systems.

I've got a better solution. What about a modular type approach to your systems. This way you pick your HR system, pick your LMS, pick your reporting systems, financial systems, whatever you want to do system. Then they talk. Lets look at an analogy that might work better than my vehicular one above. A small business can work well with a few staff who can do a large number of different types of task; it makes sense for them, but as you get bigger and expand you need specialists to do specific tasks; do you want your billing and accounts staff being the ones designing your graphics and delivering your training? The only issue is getting individuals/departments/software packages to talk to each other.

My advice on talent management is this; you definitely should do it, this mostly comes from knowing your staff and business and being committed to improvement. The system you should choose to do it should be the one that's best for your organisation; if that's an LMS then great, but more importantly make sure whatever you choose does have the capability to link in to your HR, LMS and other systems you run. In good business, talent management, learning and life; communication is the key.

Follow me on twitter: @nigelkineo or message me :)

Going Mobile

So here's the thing; I travel a bit sometimes like many others (I'd say like all of you but that's a bit pretentious as I probably get less hits than Villi Manilli these days - but at least I perform my own work). I've switched down in size from my 19 inch mega-powerful (yet still incredibly slow to start up of course) laptop PC to smaller screens until finally giving in and going for the smooth little iPad 2. Despite being a huge fan of the open source world and working in Microsoft dominated environments most of my life, here I am now with iPhone and iPad. Have I sold out or just moved from one corporate giant to another? My take is neither, I prefer a certain ideology, but ultimately I choose my tools based upon usability with a pinch of style and cost effectiveness thrown in.

The point is I can do so much between my pad and phone that travelling with a laptop is no longer necessary.. or is it? You can probably see where this is heading right? It's going to end up about Flash. I use iOS devices and they can't run Flash which leaves me 99% happy most of the time. I can even run mine and client versions of Totara LMS or Moodle quite happily on the pad and have used it to demonstrate on several occasions. Anything that relies heavily on Flash video files usually has an app that I can download for free or close to it and I'm away. But there's one area that leaves me cold. E-learning. My chosen profession and area of expertise (okay, maybe strong, but at least the area I know more about in relation to the rest of things). The real issue isn't the Flash (well.. it is.. but.. ) it's the SCORM. Share Content thingeys that we often care so much about. The things that let us track and report back to Totara or whatever your LMS is. This is the core of the e-learning problem we're faced with.

Again I can hear the Newtonian's among you (that's a stretch even for my rambling metaphors) coming up with the simple solution of simply changing my platform to Android. But that's not the answer (you have to compare Apples with apples?) as regardless of what I use, my clients have users and we can't control what they use. And these aren't French Golden Delicious; they're popular Apples and sell by the kilo (even in America). Fortunately we are saved by the Apps aren't we? Don't both Apple and Android have lots of Apps? Yes and No, or technically No and Yes; they have plenty of Apps, they're different for each platform and they don't solve the SCORM issue.

I'm sure someone is clever enough to find a way around this with Apps but currently our tracking would be no more than saying an object has been launched and there's no great advantage in that. Yes, cool content no doubt but a lot of effort (and cost if you're going through Apple) for essentially a step backwards in e-learning. So the answer must by HTML 5 right? I'm not sure. As I understand it even Articulate Storyline that publishes in 5 will be limited by requiring an App to play the formerly Flash content. If that's the case we still won't be able to track unless the App has perhaps a plug-in for your LMS? That would be ironic though, creating as close to a universal standard for e-learning and then finding we had to go back to plug-ins for each LMS to make it work!

Realising I'm not really solving much in the m-learning space today a quick change of tack is necessary. What if we didn't do it? Or what if we did it but we approached the whole thing differently? Firstly, how much m-learning is actually going on? It does, we do a very limited amount, but there are a number of questions, particularly when targeting a phone as the platform. For formal learning for organisations should the phone even be considered? Perhaps it should be a tool to assist or support e-learning rather than an alternate platform? Remember when originally m-learning meant a text from your tutor? What if m-learning meant avoiding the Flash thing by not using flash things? Would this mean bucking the trend of recent e-learning into more engaging visual experiences for learners or would it mean actually returning e-learning to focus on the learning rather than the visual impact? I'm not sure, but what I do know is that these challenges are often in place to test our creativity and sometimes, though not intentionally, to steer us into solutions that will benefit us all in the long run.

We do have to accept that these mobile devices have replaced a lot of laptops and that's a key area to address. Tablets (Apple or otherwise) have taken hold because the market for them is big. They're not in direct competition with your computer or even your laptop, they're a complimentary piece of kit (just go to any airport and watch) and we need to be aware that people want to use their tablet like we used to use our laptops on the go.

For now I'm glad Totara and Moodle play nicely with Apples and that any content I write in them can be used on the devices (and yes, thanks Dave for the new steer on themes that can even detect and run your Totara specifically for mobile devices). If you're using another cloud-based LMS I'm sure you're fine too (Flash dependent of course) but if not, let me know how you get around this.

It's a mobile world and I don't want this to happen..

Choosing your partner wisely

There's one thing that's as true in an e-learning journey as it is life; it's a lot more productive with a good partner. Someone to share the ups and downs with, lean on in difficult times and get advice and support.




The difficulty of course is the same in both life and e-learning; finding the right partner. Picking the wrong one is usually costly, difficult and ultimately unrewarding at best. So great, here I am as a love consultant? Not quite but here's 5 quick tips I can give to help you pick a better partner in the e-learning world:

1) If they don't think of themselves as a partner.. run!

This is a sure sign that you are being operated along a true sales only mode. This is for dump and run type options - your basic equivalent of a one-night-stand in e-learning. This type of 'transaction' is absolutely fine if you know what you're getting yourself in for and your both consenting 'adults', but if it's long term satisfaction this will just leave you feeling hurt. Even if you're buying off the shelf e-learning I would want to find some commitment to updates or future releases; and watch for those extra costs!

2) I seem to get passed around a lot

This is the equivalent of dating a group of friends rather than a caring individual. A good organisation will have multiple people to be able to help you and you may get put in contact with the right person for the right service, but the easy way to tell if you're being given the run around is if you have to tell your story from the start each time. We've all had these poor customer service experiences (especially telecommunication and internet providers for me!!) that leave us feeling that instead of a partner we're just a number and our supposed partner is cheating on us with too many people to name. Hey I can't meet you tonight, but try Bob, he's free.. err.. no.

3) First time you, first time me

So here's a challenging one, in life it would be nice to meet our partner fresh and new out of the box; never been touched before.. of course this does happen and work.. just not that often and life is a true learning experience start to finish. Does that mean that we pick an older and more established partner? One who's been around the block a few times? Yes and no. We want to find someone who has enough experience to know how to treat you right, to know when you need hands on and hands off, someone who at least gives you confidence that they know what they're doing. That doesn't mean selecting the person who has 'done' everything and everybody, it means balancing experience and care. Unfortunately a lot of us in life jump in with both feet first time out and have the scars to prove it; if it's your first time picking an e-learning partner, take your time. That doesn't mean giving them the run around either, it just means starting with relatively light options. A good partner will be happy to do this knowing it takes time to build trust in any relationship.

4) Personality matters; yes it really matters

By this point in life we probably are all well aware of the dangers of picking a partner purely on looks. That big glossy organisation or the funky boutique outfit can both be full of pitfalls as outlined above. The real deal is the way you can connect with a few individuals in the organisation. I'd say the one special person, but in business we have to accept that people do move on, so be a little wary of betting on an organisation because of one person alone (particularly if they're not happy!). Actually that's it, find someone who is genuinely enthused and happy in what they do and you can really connect with. You do this in life and generally things work out well too!

5) Take your time and don't come across as desperate

So the world is a cruel place at times (remember school?!). If you come across as desperate for attention quickly with money to spend the sharks will come and quickly. You have every right to look around and talk to different organisations and not flash the cash from the start. Big budgets attract all-sorts from the good to the bad and the ugly, start out looking for something small, before leaping into bed with your new partner and only then finding out what a mistake you've made. If they won't spend the time and energy on you before a lucrative contract is in place they probably won't be after more than just a big pay-day. On the flip side of things, if all you want is free drinks without any commitment then perhaps you're not in the market for a partner at all - this is why the sharks exist.

In summary this e-learning business can be a little dangerous at times but as in life it's a learning experience and you need to learn something from any partner you have or are going to have. If you do find your life-long partner, then hang on to them, treat them right and never forget to tell them what they mean to you.

Fortunately I've decided not to quit my job as a learning solutions consultant and embark upon a career as a relationship advice columnist for well-known magazines!

How to make assessments meaningful and engaging

Okay at some point we all seem to feel the urge to truly test our users if they understand what we've been forcing them to read (or maybe even, if we're really advanced, interact) with. So like a Newtonian apple we feel ourselves dragged towards the all-important and often all-consuming quiz. It's a necessary evil sometimes, a key part of the learning at others and just there to justify why we put the package together all too often.



The first thing is to determine if your e-learning actually requires an assessment. If it's about doing a job or function, is there a better way than the quiz to achieve this? Okay maybe you don't have the capability to put out a full task-trainer, but is this multiple guess thing you're about to stick in place really the same as being able to do what you are asking? The simple question is really around your aims and what you intend to achieve. If you have approached the learning with the 'by the end of this xxx you will be able to xxxx' (don't laugh, most designers still end up with some sort of objectives listed) the simple thing is to link your assessment to this. The problem this creates is that your assessments are often insulting to the intelligence of your average adult learner. So if you have an objective for the learning (and if not, why bother?), even if it's not stated, surely you should test it? Yes pretty much, but that doesn't necessary mean a simple Q&A that most 5 year olds could do.

The Challenge: Linking assessment to objectives without patronising your patrons

Possibly the easiest way around this is to cleverly disguise your assessment by making it scenario based. This is a fairly standard technique where instead of asking the user to pick the correct option from a list of possibles, we ask them to put themselves in the position of someone performing the task shown and ask 'what should they do?'
This may not be full on Simulation, but it certainly still meets our objectives and doesn't make our user feel like so pointless in the learning. It also allows us to test and retest the same objectives with different scenarios. It takes some practice but is a way to really improve your assessments. Another bonus is that it actually allows us to bring in multimedia; usually a picture or video/audio to enhance our quiz without it being just clip-art to a boring question. I like to run scenarios into several questions like a running metaphor (hold on, shouldn't I try and bring the aforementioned apple back in here?). In the first instance I may have a worker doing something and test for the correct course of action, if I can I may branch the user depending on their response, or I may show that they have done the wrong thing and then look at what their next response should be to correct the problem at this stage. Just like e-learning in general this takes a lot of planning to do well, but the results can be great when you experiment.

The Solution: Scenario based questions

So the question types all look good but I end up choosing multiple choice; is this a bad thing? Yes and no. Multiple choice may be the solution to most apple-eating chimp's challenges, but for us it is a staple part of our diet too, but just because it is multiple choice doesn't mean it has to look like multiple choice! Users can select from pictures or even voices from a 'list' that doesn't look like one. One good example is to set out your map and get the user to choose a direction, sure it's essentially the same as multiple choice but it creates a theme and we're back to that sort of running metaphor that can help to engage our users. I use some variety when writing questions, I like the hotspots and the mix and match (especially the drag and drop type), but I think there's still space for those multiple choice just write them better!

So what tool do I write my quiz in?

Yes a big question and the eternal challenge for developers. If your LMS has an internal tool don't necessary write it off straight away and fall for the pretty box on the e-learning quiz thingey you've been dying to buy. If you're using Moodle or Totara for example, the built in quiz thing is pretty decent, especially with the ability (like Blogger!) to let you use html. But the real advantage of using these quiz tools is that the analysis is way and above that which SCORM contains. Surely not, I hear them cry, SCORM is the standard! SCORM is great for allowing basic level of launch and track and getting some standard analysis from questions, but if you're into the deep analysis stuff you'll probably find more options in your LMS.

That said, I love a couple of the tools; Articulate Quizmaker is very good and much easier to use than most internal tools. It looks pretty, particularly if you have properly designed or get designed for you a decent skin and can really help in the rate you can produce the quiz (but please read the challenge first). I like Captivate too when it comes to putting in complex branching quizzes, but this is probably for more advanced users. Captivate also has some advantages in software simulation as essentially that's what it originated from. Most importantly the tool is nowhere near as important as using it properly and perhaps more importantly getting the design right.

The last tip for your assessment is probably so obvious that I don't need to say it.. but how many times has this happened I wonder? Test it. Not yourself, you'll think it's great, get someone else to test your work, take a sample, and listen to their feedback. First thing you'll be surprised at is how different some people see the thing to yourself! You won't please everyone but if you get several of the same criticisms from people then there's probably something worth changing on your assessment.

Finally please click on the assessment link at the bottom to begin (and go beyond the t-shirt bit!):

http://youtu.be/SkNyCGkWcFE

Learning and e-learning and technology

Okay, is there a difference between e-learning, learning and the way we use technology to learn? (or who's doing dishes tonight?)

I've heard that e-learning is a misnomer that we should change to e-training; that makes some sense because you wouldn't stand in front of a class or group and suggest that what was going on was learning just because you were there? Perhaps e-training would be more accurate, but that's kind of an argument that we should have had before the phrase got coined. But the point is valid, how much learning goes in to an e-learning package - after all who writes most of them? Someone who knows about the subject (that sure as hell doesn't make you a teacher or trainer; although I've been around long enough to realise plenty of people believe it does)? Someone who knows about technology (not necessarily the subject OR how to deliver it) or someone who knows about online learning (training I guess)? Actually none of those is what you really need is it? You really need someone who knows the material, knows about training, learning and education (yes, they're all different) and about the learning technologies!
Got that sorted, so where do you find this person? The problem is that there really aren't many of these specialists that want to come and work (or are already working) for your organisation so you need to approach the whole e-learning thing in a slightly different way.
So I can't just buy a copy of Articulate or Captivate, throw it at my L&D people and expect good online learning?? Of course you can, you just probably won't get it! In fact it's about as likely as if you pay for off-the-shelf learning and find it's perfectly suited for all your bespoke needs. Of course you can get an e-learning company (not just a generic software house please!) to develop content for you; foolproof right? No, and I'll cover that one in another blog.
If this all sounds doom and gloom (best said with a deep Scottish accent) and you're about to despair and admit defeat, remember that's the main reason that e-learning/training/education has never really taken off quite as well as everyone predicted when it was the next big thing in the 90s.
E-learning is like the mahusive (spell checker says no, but I'm pretty sure that's a real word you know) pile of washing up that you don't want to do. Once yohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifu get into it you wonder what you worried about, or rather if you don't start it now, it gets harder the longer you wait, or at best your 'hands that do dishes can feel soft as your face'! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-taEaSfPtbY
Anyway the best way ahead with e-learning is actually like going up a mountain for the first time, it's a damn site easier if you have a guide. So here I am, a guide if you will (maybe even a good one if you're lucky). This is the cheap version though, reading my guide notes is not the same as having me (or someone with a background in e-learning, training and education) with you holding your hand/rope.
So we'll end here.. not at the end but at the beginning, from here we'll guide you through what to do, what platforms exist to make the climb easier and where to put your feet on the way up.