25 Tools for Learning Professionals (2009)

Jane Hart has compiled this year's 25 tools for resource, which contains 25 categories of learning tools.

25 Tools: A Toolbox for Learning Professionals 2009

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

Click here for more information about each tool.

Review Spice

Review Spice is an online review and feedback gathering tool for PPT files. It enables users to easily gather feedback from multiple sources on draft PowerPoints.

• Upload a presentation.
• Reviewers receive an email with a link, rather than a large file.
• Set a “freeze” date to set limits on feedback.
• Each reviewer can see other comments already provided.
• Print a complete feedback report.

Using Elgg as a Social Learning platform

Jane Hart looks at the use of the free, open source Elgg software as a social learning and collaboration platform for organisational use.

Using Elgg as a Social Learning platform

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

Ten commandments of e-learning

Clive Shepherd's ten commandments of e-learning, restricted to the design of interactive, e-learning content:

1. Structure into modules.
2. Keep each module to one main idea.
3. Hook the learner in.
• Gain the learner's attention and obtain an emotional reaction to make the content more memorable.
4. Build on the learner's prior knowledge.
• Use activities that help the learner to relate the new material to what they already know.
5. Present your idea clearly and simply.
• Media should be chosen for their ability to aid understanding and memory, not because they impress.
6. Eliminate all unnecessary detail.
• Make it as simple as you can, but no simpler. Extra detail won't be remembered. If a learner genuinely wants more detail, supply it as a PDF.
7. Put the idea into context using demonstrations, examples, cases and stories.
• Learners want ideas that are relevant to their current problems.
8. Encourage the learner to work with the idea.
• Use cases, problems, exercises, scenarios, simulations to provide the learner with the opportunity to test out the idea and, where relevant, to build skill.
9. Assess knowledge if you must.
• The fact that many of the learner's answers will come from short-term memory makes the reliability questionable; however, managers and learners often want to see some record of achievement.
10. Bridge to the next step.
• Interactive materials are rarely an end in themselves. Consider how the learner will be able to provide feedback on the materials or ask any questions they may have; provide a mechanism for discussion of the content; provide links to supplementary materials etc.

Similarly, click here for Cath Ellis's ten commandments.

Video Debate: The future of e-learning

When we train we all want to get best value from our learning experience. Has e-learning come of age to replace classroom learning? Is the best approach a blended one? What technologies can help?

BCS Managing Editor Brian Runciman discusses the issues with:

1. Clive Shepherd - Chair of the e-Learning Network
2. Samantha Kinstrey - MD of 2e2 Training
3. Laura Overton - MD of Towards Maturity
4. Lars Hyland - Director of Learning Services at Brightwave
5. Jooli Atkins - Matrix FortyTwo and Chair of the BCS Information and Technology Training Specialist Group

http://bcs.org.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.25708

Part 1: Saving money from e-learning
Part 2: Is classroom training finished?
Part 3: Learning technologies to help
Part 4: Getting the blend right

My Award Maker

Printing out elegant certificates has never been easier!

My Award Maker is a free and easy site to print out certificates for sports, school, business, and other special occasions.

What is Social Learning?

Another great presentation from Jane Hart on social learning in organisations covering What is social learning?, social learning platforms, and the role of social learning professionals.

The future of e-learning is social learning

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

How to make e-learning work!

Jane Hart, speaking at the CIPD Conference in London, on how to make e-learning work.

How To Make E Learning Work

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

Top 10 Instructional Design Posts

The following is a list of the 10 most popular sites (2008) from The Writers' Gateway blog:

1. Storyboard Templates for Instructional Designing
2. 8 Easy Steps to Create a Storyboard
3. Learn Cooking Through Games
4. E-learning Design Challenge Series: Designing a Game Based Course
5. How to Think of an Instructional Strategy
6. Applying Instructional Theories/Strategies in Game Based Learning
7. The Role of an Instructional Designer
8. Designing an Effective Instructional Strategy - Learning From Gaming
9. How to Innovate Interactivity Models in E-learning
10. Needs Analysis in Instructional Designing - An Introduction

ToonDoo - Cartoons Online

ToonDoo is a free cartoon strip creator that allows you to create your own comic strips online.

However, please note that your Toon should include the ToonDoo watermark, Toon title and author name (and also provide a link back to the ToonDoo website) so as not to violate any terms of ToonDoo.

6 Steps to Creating Game-Based Learning

A standard pattern is used in most games. Every game has a goal and steps to solve it. Although you cannot skip levels, you can skip some things (e.g. introduction and help) and start with the main activity. It is never mandatory to go through a game in a linear fashion.

Using game concepts in learning will engage and interest learners. Try presenting a subject as a problem or an activity to allow learners to solve the problem or participate in an activity.

Here are 6 steps to create a game-based solution:

1. Start with a story/scenario
• May be dialogue or just visuals
2. End the story with a problem and invite the learner to solve it
3. Guide the learner
• Explain the controls and how to play the game
• Instructions can be text or guided tutorial
4. Include incentives and rewards
• Feedback, rewards, and incentives motivate gamers
5. Increase the challenge gradually
6. Include trial and error
• Give learners another chance to succeed
• Allow learners to repeat steps

Summary of article from The Writers' Gateway blog.

Creating learning (time and costs)

Bryan Chapman has extracted the following ratios of time to create learning from several Brandon Hall Research reports. The ratio is production hours (including analysis, design, and development) versus 1 hour of "seat time".

• 34:1 (ILT) = 5 days
• 33:1 (PowerPoint to e-learning) = 5 days
• 220:1 (Standard e-learning) = 1.5 months
• 345:1 (3rd party) = 3.5 months
• 750:1 (Interactive simulations) = 5 months

Clark Aldrich has looked at the cost that organisations have to spend to access an educational simulation, either by commissioning custom simulations or licensing them "off-the-shelf, per named user."

	Custom (S)	Custom (M)	Custom (L)	Library (S)	Library (M)	Library (L)
Branching	30K <10m	100K 10-30m	500K 30m-2hr	$30	£100	$500
Mini Game	10K 5m	15K 10m	40K 30m	n/a	n/a	n/a
Virtual Product	30K 30m	75k 1hr	150K 4hr	$10	$30	$100
3D	100K+ 1hr	500K+ 5hr	1000K+ 20hr	$100	$400	$1000

Other items that typically increase costs include:

• Full motion video (use comics/illustrations instead)
• Advanced graphics
• Customising software instead of using off-the-shelf
• Building a complex game

eLearning Examples

Visit Cathy Moore's post for some great elearning examples, and try Tony Karrer's post for links to many more.

The Wealthiest Americans Ever - Image showing how excellent graphic design can make a simple rollover more impressive.

Are you an instructional designer?

Summary of a post on Karl Kapp's blog...

I think people believe that if they understand ADDIE then they understand Instructional Design...

The real value of an instructional designer is knowing when to apply what instructional strategies to what type of content, how to use elaboration theory to teach a fact, or how to use metacognition to help learners develop problem-solving strategies. What should separate an instructional designer from a subject matter expert is the designers ability to apply instructional strategies to the appropriate content and being able to articulate those strategies to the stakeholders so they understand why you are not just writing down everything the Subject Matter Expert says and placing that content on four different screens of intense text followed by a multiple choice question.

Additionally, the goal of instructional design is to change behaviour or attitude.

If you just want to make someone "aware" of something, no need for instructional design (in fact, just send a link). If you want to consciously work to change an attitude or behaviour or increase the velocity of performance then you must design the instruction to achieve the desired result.

Top 100 eLearning Items

A post on Tony Karrer's eLearning Technology blog, looking at some of the top items of all time:

http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2009/04/top-100-elearning-items.html

Brains, learning and e-learning

Dr Itiel Dror believes that learning theories such as Bloom, Gagne, Kolb, and Kirkpatrick are largely 'fossil' theories that have been hanging around because we rarely bother to relate practice back to current research.

It is a myth that there's no stable, scientific learning theory. We need only turn to the many pieces of solid evidence from experimental psychology to see how the three core processes in learning can be improved.

1. Acquisition

Cognitive overload is the greatest consequence of not understanding how knowledge and skills are acquired. The failure to understand how we prioritise and select information, and a lack of detailed knowledge on chunking, top-down processing and modularity, lead to demeaning, over-demanding or dull learning experiences. Expectation, motivation and engagement all have optimal techniques, which can be used to increase the efficiency of learning. Cognitive overload is at best a waste of resources; at worst a destructive force in learning. Yet far too much training ignores the fact that less is more.

2. Memory

We need to understand how to remember in order to retrieve, and so we need to understand how the different memory stores/structures/systems work. This is an area rich in solid research, from Ebbinghaus onwards. Working Memory is different from Long-Term Memory (LTM). It is vital we understand how these work, along with the two different types of LTM: semantic and episodic memory. Then there's incidental versus intentional learning, inferential reconstruction and context sensitive retrieval. These are pretty solid pieces of science that can be used to inform the design of learning experiences.

3. Application

Appropriate representations can be recalled but we must be aware of their limited scope. This is a trade-off between efficiency and flexibility. This 'transfer' problem is fascinating. How do we recall learnt knowledge and skills and apply them efficiently? The whole area of practice and work-related activity swings into action. Practice makes perfect, yet in education this is reduced to cramming, and in training, with its fixation on single, episode 'fixed duration courses’, ignoring actual reinforcement and application on the job, is largely ignored.

Dr Itiel Dror has a sensible and measured run though some basic ideas around how we acquire, store, recall and apply knowledge and skills. His appeal for the practical application of experimental psychology to learning is badly needed.

(Summary from article written by Donald Clark, June 2006)

Cognitive overload – we’re in the forgetting game

Cognitive overload usually results in a loss of psychological attention. We all know the signs: drifting into other thoughts, feeling confused.

The brain is a highly selective organ and has some heavyweight filters. The first is sensory input ,the second is our working memory, and then there’s a whole battery of processes that can aid or hamper encoding, deep processing and retention in long term memory.

The brain is not a learning machine; it is a filtering and forgetting machine.

Every second we ignore and discard millions of bits of data and the tiny residue is consciousness. Most people have no idea about how perception and the representation of the external world works in consciousness – but the illusion is that it is about what we need, not what actually exists. Out of the eleven billion bits of sensory information from eyes, ears, smell, taste, balance and touch, we experience a tiny fraction in consciousness. Unbelievably we seem to process about 16 bits a second and even then it passes quickly into the past and forgetfulness. Then upper limit seems to top out at 50 bits per second. Learning is about catching things in this fast panning spotlight and encoding them in such a way that they can be remembered. This is like juggling a never-ending series of balls and occasionally, and deliberately, popping the relevant ones into your pocket. On top of this we tend to operate with only one or two modalities at a time, sight, smell, hearing etc. making consciousness a process of selection and rejection.

Even worse, consciousness is full of deceit and deception. It is always trying to get you to do things other than learning. It’s a dangerous world out there and we’re genetically disposed towards getting our rocks off, so placing young men and women in a crowded classroom with a herd of close proximity mates is unlikely to promote psychological attention.

Much of the effort in education and training is wasted as it results in instant or near-term forgetting. We know that working or short-term memory is severely restricted, and without adequate rehearsal and spaced practice, little or nothing is learnt. This is why chunking and the parsimonious presentation of content is essential, not just desirable.

Courses are bloated
Many courses are bloated with material that is quite simply unnecessary. It’s common practice to load up a course with stated learning objectives at the front, followed by an overlong introductory session on the history or background of the topic. In e-learning you see it with overlong animations, animations that are illustrative and not instructive, over-written text and spurious graphics that simply match the nouns in the text. Almost all e-learning programmes have text that has not been adequately edited. Interfaces are not consistent or fine-tuned and screens are too busy. Then there’s the absurd text plus identical audio. Note that in 3D worlds I think this is different as your avatar increases attention and forces actual performance. Consciousness is a simulation and that’s why simulations work.

In many courses, subject matter experts load the content up with over-long explanations, examples and legal stuff, as they don’t know anything about learning. If the content has been passed through ‘legals’ it will have gathered a lot of messy unreadable moss.

Delivery designed for dumping
Courses offer the illusion of learning through their breadth and depth of content. In reality, a tiny fraction is retained by learners and even then our memories demand that this knowledge decays rapidly, without practice. Traditional learning delivery therefore seems to be designed for forgetting – talks, lectures etc. In addition to being too ‘knowledge’ based – because it’s easy, there’s a dearth of learning by doing, spaced rehearsal and practice. We’re a profession who are stuck in ‘teacher-mode’.

Online/offline overload
Now I happen to believe that cognitive overload, although common both online and offline, is more common offline. That’s why I’m in favour of more online education and training. It’s an observable phenomenon among all ages. I’ve been wholly absorbed in games, programming, research and writing for up to 8-10 hours, almost without a break. My ‘flow’ experiences on this scale are largely online. This is especially true for children who find it difficult to find the intrinsic motivation to stay focused. It also gives us the ability to implement spaced rehearsal and practice, by both reminding us that it is necessary and delivering the relevant content or practice.

(Summary from article written by Donald Clark, December 2008)

Less text = more learning

Do stakeholders want to add text to your materials?

A recent study has shown how more words can hurt learning.

The study compared three lessons about the same weather process. All lessons used the same illustrations but varied in the number of words.

The lesson with the fewest words resulted in the most learning.

Read the original publication: Journal of Educational Psychology.

See the summary on pp. 109-115 of Efficiency in Learning by Ruth Clark, Frank Nguyen, and John Sweller.

(Adapted from a post on Cathy Moore's blog.)

The Media Equation

Reeves and Nass have written a book on how humans interact with computers and other media:

The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places

Their equation "media = real life" means that people respond to the mediated world and the real world in the same fundamentally social and natural way. The authors explain that since the human brain has not evolved to respond to 20th-century technology it processes media as if they were real life.

To prove their equation, the authors combed through existing social science and psychology experiments that tested person-to-person responses in social interactions but changed the experiments to test person-to-computer interaction. In all cases, the results supported the media equation, demonstrating that people interact with media just as they interact with other humans.

In their conclusion, they call on engineers to heed this media equation and improve the design of computers for more effective human-to-media interaction.

In his blog, Donald Clark says that people confusing media with real life is actually a "highly useful confusion: it is what makes movies, television, radio, the web and e-learning work."

He highlights the following guidelines:

• Media equals real life
• There is no reason why online learning experiences should be any less compelling - any less 'human' in feel - than what we experience in the classroom. As long as a media technology is consistent with social and physical rules, we will accept it.
• Don't break the spell
• The spell is easily broken. If the media technology fails to conform to our human expectations - we will NOT accept it.
• Scrap learning objectives
• There is a strong argument for emotional engagement at the start of an e-learning programme and not the usual list of objectives.
• Awkward pauses
• Slight pauses, waits and unexpected events cause disturbance. Audio-video asynchrony, such as poor lip-synch or jerky low frame-rate video, will result in negative evaluations of the speaker.
• Experts matter
• With experts, respected and authoritative views can not only bring credibility to the programme, they can also increase learning and retention. A key subject matter expert, or someone with strong practical experience in the area, can be used to anchor the theory and practice.
• Quality of video no big deal
• Interestingly, they could detect no difference between those who viewed low as opposed to high fidelity images. So don’t waste your money on broadcast quality video.
• Big screens are good
• Larger wide screen format monitors have more impact than quality of image.
• Quality of audio matters
• Users are more sensitive to the quality of audio than they are to that of video. Learners expect consistently high quality at a consistent volume. Record good quality audio.
• Politeness matters
• Politeness is hardwired into our systems. People are polite to computers and expect them to be polite to them. People also respond to flattery from computers, and are hurt if they get negative feedback that is too harsh.

101 Undiscovered Freebies

Preston Gralla and Adam Pash have "scoured the Internet to come up with 101 innovative, entirely free downloads and services."

101 Undiscovered Freebies: The List

Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning

George Siemens and Peter Tittenburg have released their “Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning” both as a Wiki and as a PDF as a resource for educators planning to incorporate technologies in their teaching and learning activities.

Introduction

Over the next decade, a duality of change - conceptual (new models of education) and technological (elearning, mobile devices, and learning networks) - offers the prospect of fundamental change in the practices of teaching and learning.

Information can now be acquired in any manner desired by the individual. Learners piece together (connect) various content to create an integrated network of information. Our learning and information acquisition is a mashup.

Change Pressures and Trends

We can add almost indefinitely to the list of theorists, activists, politicians, and business people calling for education reform (Toffler and Gates, for example, both suggest education is fundamentally flawed in its architecture).

Universities are at a historical juncture, transitioning from the industrial era to the information era, and from a national prospective to a globalised one.

As opposed to expert-produced information, amateur-produced information is generally easily accessible (in language and format). Wikipedia is one of the most popular web sites.

Hierarchical command-and-control models are limited; networked models of learning will replace existing curricular models.

Harvard's new core curriculum focuses on attributes and qualities of learners, rather than particular knowledge elements.

What We Know About Learning

Since the mid 20th century, cognitivism and constructivism have developed as learning theories to address the weaknesses of behaviourism. Literature on learning reveals the following four components:

1. Social - Learning is a social process. Knowledge is an emergent property of interactions between networks of learners.
2. Situated - Learning occurs within particular situations or contexts, raising the importance of educational activities mirroring actual situations of use.
3. Reflective - Learners require the opportunity to reflect on, defend, and share what they have learned.
4. Multi-faceted - Learning incorporates a range of theory, engagement, tinkering, and active construction.

The importance of engagement and motivation cannot be overstated as foundational to learner retention.

The full spectrum of learning must be attended to be the educational process:

1. Formal
2. Informal
3. Simulation
4. Mentoring
5. Performance support
6. Self-learning
7. Communities

Connectivism has been suggested as a model of learning in an age defined by networks. Connectivism is the view that knowledge and cognition are distributed across networks of people and technology and that learning is the process of connecting, growing, and navigating those networks.

A node in a neural network is a neuron. In a conceptual network, a node is an idea or collection of ideas. In an external network, a node is a person or information source.

Technology, Teaching, and Learning

Through the use of Google Docs, Skype, blogs, wikis, podcasts, flickr, YouTube, del.icio.us and other tools, academics can provide a rich learning experience often exceeding the static experience of an LMS.

Chickering and Ehrmann advocate for seven key good practice elements in online instructions:

1. Encourage contact between students and faculty
2. Develop reciprocity and cooperation amongst students
3. Encourage active learning
4. Give prompt feedback
5. Emphasise time on task
6. Communicate high expectations
7. Respect diverse talents and ways of learning

Effective learning online requires an instructor to focus less on lecturing and content presentation, and more on assisting learners in creating personal learning or knowledge networks.

New Learners? New Educators? New Skills?

Even though technology enables greater learner control and autonomy, learners generally value social contact and faculty guidance, especially when entering a new field or course of study.

Implementation

The use of technology for learning can be seen as a continuum with three key marking points:

1. Augmented - the course takes place in a traditional classroom setting, but technology is used to enhance the learning experience. E.g. podcasts, online quizzes.
2. Blended - the course takes place partly face-to-face and partly online.
3. Online - the course takes place entirely online with no face-to-face contact. E.g. blogs, wikis, online lectures.

Tools for creating content for online learning have improved significantly over the last few years. Articulate Presenter, Audacity, Engage, Flash, Jing, and Camtasia are tools that novice users can master in a short period of time.

Management of digital resources is an important consideration often overlooked by elearning developers.

Tools

• Blog
• Wiki
• Social bookmarking
• Audio and podcasting
• Image sharing (Flickr)
• Video
• Open education resources
• Microblogging
• Social networking software
• Web conferencing
• Aggregation
• Games, virtual worlds, and simulations

Conclusion

The use of technology for learning is influenced by developments in technology itself, global trends (economy etc.), societal trends, and trends within educational research. Greater use of emerging technology can serve as an important bridging process between the traditional role of education and the not yet clearly defined future.

Websites for Learning about Business

Jane Hart has compiled a list of FREE sites to learn about business.

The websites cover all aspects of business: strategy, management, leadership, marketing, finance, accounting, economics, as well as business skills.

A range of sites are included, suitable for business studies education, workplace learning, educators, learners, and managers alike.

The sites include both formal and informal learning resources: games, podcasts, blogs, videos, books, PDFs, as well as online courses, communities and other general resources.

100+ FREE websites for learning about business

Teaching Law by Design

My summary of a subsection on Selecting Instructional Strategies from Michael Schwartz's paper - Teaching Law by Design: How Learning Theory and Instructional Design Can Inform and Reform Law Teaching.

The Events of Instruction

There are general principles to designing instruction applicable to all learning objectives and learners:

• A lesson should be organised to include:
1. An introduction
2. A body
3. A conclusion, and
4. An assessment.
• Instruction should be "learner-centred, active, and meaningful."

The Instruction Introduction

The instructional introduction should accomplish 4 goals, causing learners to know what they are supposed to learn and how they are going to learn it:

1. Get students to attend the class
2. Establish the instructional purpose
3. Arouse the students' interest and attention
4. Preview the lesson

The Body of the Lesson

There are 5 events in the body of a lesson:

1. Recalling relevant prior knowledge
• Retrieve from long-term memory the knowledge and skills necessary and helpful in learning the new objective
2. Processing information and examples
• The instruction of new material (discovery or expository sequence)
3. Focusing attention
• Attend to the critical features of the concept or principle; pattern recognition
4. Employing learning strategies
• Creating a mnemonic, graphic organiser, or analogy, for example; supplying additional examples/problems; rehearsing recall and application or the learning; self-monitoring
5. Practicing, and giving feedback
• Problem-solving not to evaluate for grading purposes, but to allow the learners to develop their skills under supervision; should be sequenced from easy to hard
• Feedback should be informational; students should be told if their analysis is reasonable or not and why; feedback should be coupled with additional practice if the learner did not enjoy sufficient success
• For problem-solving objectives, it is recommended students are provided with a model answer
• Hints and guidance should be included early on during practice, but should decrease as learners develop their skills

The Conclusion of the Lesson

The overarching goal of the conclusion section is to allow students to consolidate their new learning. It consists of 3 events:

1. Summarise and review
• It takes time to fully grasp new learning; periodic cumulative review is recommended to ensure recall
2. Transfer learning
• The application of learning to new contexts; reference near transfer (application in a similar context) and far transfer (application in different situations)
3. Re-motivate and close
• Appreciate the importance of the learning; explore how information can be used in the future

Assessment

Suggest remediation instruction for those students who failed to demonstrate competency on the assessment. One way to implement this is to require those students who did not pass an assessment to restudy the subject matter and then (a) explain their errors, or (b) take a new form of the test.

Instructional Design Theory

Instructional Design Theory

• Learning theory describes how people learn.
• Instructional Design theory is based on learning theory, describing how to best design instruction so learning takes place.

Traditional Instructional Design Process

There are hundreds of Instructional Design models, but they are almost all based on the ADDIE model.

• A – Analysis
• Determine the training needs, including an analysis of the desired outcomes, target audience, performance/tasks gaps, and media selection
• D – Design
• Develop a blueprint of how the solution will look, including a storyboard and flowchart of the structure of the finished product
• D – Development
• Create a working model of the learning materials
• I – Implementation
• Deliver the solutions to the learners
• E – Evaluation
• Evaluate whether the goals set out in the training needs analysis are met

This traditional approach is not without its problems, and many criticise the model for being too linear. This makes the design process inflexible and less able to accommodate interactive changes.

Instead, a model that promotes an iterative approach to instructional design, such as rapid prototyping, may be required.

Learning Theories

Courses are designed according to the leading models of adult learning that cognitive psychologists have proven to be effective, including Benjamin Bloom, Robert Gagne, John Keller, and Malcolm Knowles.

Benjamin Bloom

Bloom identifies six levels of learning from the simplest behaviour to the most complex. Instructional Designers define observable and measurable learning objectives (and from that the appropriate treatment) using Bloom’s Taxonomy.

1. Knowledge: The need to recall information.
• E.g. Define, List, Name, State
2. Comprehension: The need to interpret information.
• E.g. Describe, Discuss, Identify
3. Application: The use of knowledge in a novel situation.
• E.g. Apply, Demonstrate, Illustrate
4. Analysis: Breaking down knowledge and showing their inter-relationships.
• E.g. Compare, Explain, Order
5. Synthesis: Bringing together separate elements to solve a problem.
• E.g. Arrange, Organise, Propose
6. Evaluation: Use knowledge to make judgements on the basis of criteria.
• E.g. Determine, Evaluate, Recommend

Robert Gagne

Gagne outlines nine instructional events that should satisfy or provide the necessary conditions for learning and serve as the basis for designing instruction and selecting appropriate media.

• Prepare
• 1. Gain the learner’s attention
• 2. Inform the learner of objectives
• 3. Link to personal experience and prior learning on the subject
• Present
• 4. Deliver the instruction
• 5. Provide learning guidance
• 6. Allow practice
• Support
• 7. Provide feedback
• 8. Assess performance
• 9. Enhance retention

John Keller

Keller's ARCS Model of Motivational Design is a problem solving approach to designing the motivational aspects of learning environments to stimulate and sustain students’ motivation to learn.

• Attention
• Include sensory stimuli, thought provoking questions, and variability
• Relevance
• Answer the question: “What’s in it for me?”
• Confidence
• Provide time estimates and a measure of progress through a course
• Satisfaction
• Learners should find their new skills immediately useful and beneficial

Malcolm Knowles

Knowles' theory of andragogy is an attempt to develop a theory specifically for adult learning. Knowles emphasises that adults are self-directed and expect to take responsibility for decisions.

1. Adults need to know why they need to learn something
2. Adults need to learn experientially
3. Adults approach learning as problem-solving
4. Adults learn best when the topic is of immediate value

Cognitive Neuroscience

These learning theories are still applicable even though education and technology are both evolving, but what’s exciting is the advance in cognitive neuroscience (what we know about the brain and how it works) as this is presenting us with more solid evidence for why we should design one way rather than another.

• Overload
• The brain has limited resources for processing information, and attention is selective
• Working memory consists of 7 +/- 2 items
• Reduce overload by:
• Grouping (“chunking”) items
• Remove every word or picture that is not relevant to your learning goals
• Provide the learning when it is needed, not before
• Be consistent in the level (e.g. the complexity) and manner (e.g. the interface) of your presentation
• Retrieve
• You never lose anything from long-term memory, just the ability retrieve it
• Retrieval is a function of how you encode memories, and the number of ‘links’ you provide
• Engage
• Engage the learner by grabbing their attention, allowing them to determine their progress, providing constructive feedback, and introducing an element of excitement/surprise.
• Challenge
• The learning benefits by being challenging. Performance targets, rewards and competition can increase the degree of challenge, perhaps through the use of games.

Summary

Instructional Design theory plays an important role in guiding the practice of designers, but as technology and education are constantly evolving it’s important that instructional designers keep up to date with these changes.

In his book ‘Guide to e-Learning’, Michael Allen defines three priorities for training success:

1. Ensure learners are highly motivated to learn
2. Provide access to appropriate content
3. Provide meaningful and memorable learning experiences

Levels of Interactivity

Level 1: Passive

The learner receives information only, and is required to read text and view graphics/illustrations to progress through the course.

• Visual menu
• Use a visually engaging menu to explore the scenarios within a course. Details of each scenario could be presented on rollover of each character.
• Rollovers
• You can display the definitions of specific words and terms on mouse rollover. This instant access to definitions can enhance knowledge retention of important terms.
• Rollovers can also be used to present a lot of information on a single screen e.g. considering advice and testimonies from several colleagues.
• Rollovers can be used to allow learners to explore a system or structure. Each part is explained by showing a description about it.
• Click to Reveal
• Select labelled items (text and/or images) to reveal further information.
• Information can be revealed in a sequential manner to illustrate a story.
• Information can be presented in such a way as to help explain a process or system. The screen can build up progressively to reveal text or graphics that remain on screen, rather than disappearing.

Level 2: Limited

The learner makes simple responses to instructional cues. Activities include multiple choice questions and matching exercises related to text and graphic presentations.

• Text MCQ
• Simple text questions can be integrated in the content to allow learners to assess their understanding of the information presented. Generic or specific feedback can be provided with an explanation of the correct answer.
• Question screens where more than one answer is correct can also be used. Where appropriate, feedback can acknowledge where the learner is partially correct.
• Visual MCQ
• Multiple choice question can be designed using images. To answer the question, the learner clicks and selects a single image. The use of images increases the appealing power of the question and the retention of the concepts in question.
• Similarly, multiple correct answer question using images can be used. The learner selects all the appropriate images to solve the question.
• Video
•  Multiple-choice questions can also be interspersed with video to help keep the learner engaged and actively involved with the concepts.
• Drag and drop
• Create a matching pair question using images. The learner places the answer image on the question image.
• Or, create a multiple matching pairs question using images. This activity aids in associative learning of concepts and their visual representations.
• With categorisation interactions, the learner is presented with a set of pre-defined categories. Items associated with each category are presented one by one. The learner has to categorise each item. A time limit could be added for an additional challenge.
• Alternatively, all the items associated with each category are already presented on screen. The learner has to categorise each item.

Level 3: Complex

The learner makes a variety of selections using varied techniques in response to instructional cues. Techniques include complex simulations, data entry, and/or scenario-based branching logic where the learner’s journey is based on their decisions.

• Simulations
• Simulations allow learners to perform realistic tasks, such as logging on to a website, closing a sale, completing a form, or – as in this case – setting up a military Forward Operating Base.
• Text Entry
• Create a question with predefined blank spaces. For each space, the learner needs to type in the correct answer. Alternatively, the correct answer could be selected from a drop down list.
• Multi Branching Scenarios
• Multi branching scenarios allow learners to apply their comprehension of the content by choosing from several paths and experiencing the consequences. Core concepts can be reinforced with the aid of instructive feedback.
• A universal ‘slider’ provides learners with full user control, allowing them to pause, rewind, fast-forward, and replay entire conversations.

Compliance Training

An article written by Karl Kapp, voted as one of TrainingIndustry.com's 2007 Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals...

Compliance training is seen by many organizations as a "necessary evil." Training that is mandated. Well, yes it might be mandated but that doesn't mean it needs to be "death by PowerPoint" or "PDF on a stick" (that is a PDF document that a learner reads and signs off on to indicate they’ve been trained). Compliance training can and should be made attractive, relevant and interesting.

Here are common problems and suggested solutions.

• Much of the content of compliance courses are a list of what the learner should NOT do...how about what they can or should do for compliance and profitability.
• The format seems to be a page of text followed by two more pages of text followed by a multiple choice question (repeat until final mastery test)...let’s be a little more original with clickable spots, drag and drops and scenarios.
• The course is simply the memorization of information and then a regurgitation of the exact same information...how about application questions or scenarios where the learner applies what he or she has learned to solve a problem encountered on the job.
• These courses tend to have a lack of war stories or history of what has happened at that company...when an organization does have a compliance violation (like not reporting a large deposit and tracking it to an illegal activity and the subsequent firing of the individual)...how about adding that to the training...make it relative to the people at THAT organization.
• The courses do not have a chain of events sequence...what I mean by this is that most compliance disasters or major problems are a result of not one violation but a series of violations often by different people, illustrate this chain of events so learners understand how one little oversight can be compounded into a larger problem.
• The "Why" is missing. The learner is told what not to do but the real impact on the individual in terms of what might happen to them or their co-workers is never explained. Hey...I know I shouldn't speed but if I do...what could happen? Compliance programs need to explain...you could loose control of your car, get a speeding ticket, be unable to avoid an obstacle on the road, not notice a warning sign..etc.

Building a "Stop Sign"

Partners wanting online learning to teach as much information to as many people as possible…

Stakeholders arising out of nowhere and changing the scope…

How familiar is this!

iPhone and Learning

The iTouch and iPhone both have the traditional iPod functionality to listen to audio (music/podcasts/audiobooks/MP3 files), view photos, and watch videos (MPEG-4 files), but they also have on-board Internet applications, which include:

• Safari web browser - to search the web
• Mail reader - to read HTML, Word, Excel and PDF attachments
• YouTube player - to locate and view YouTube videos
• Google maps - to get directions and check traffic

The iPhone is a perfect m-learning device for the following reasons:

1. Size of the screen
2. Quality of the video
3. Always-on functionality of the iPhone and wi-fi connectedness of iPod Touch
4. Safari web browser provides access to great range of web apps
5. Valuable device for listening to instructional and informational podcasts
6. Ideal for the delivery of short bites of JIT content
7. Well designed; good to look at and great to hold

Cisco WebEx is one of the leading enterprise web conferencing systems, and now you can attend a web meeting on your iPhone.

i-Clickr allows you to view and give PowerPoint presentations using your iPhone as a remote clicker.

Ref: Jane Hart - iTouch Learning

Review of 2008: 100 Great Articles

Click here for a list of Jane Hart's 100 favourite resources (articles postings, PDFs, presentations, etc) about learning tools and technologies in 2008.

Note: Jane created the word cloud above, which identifies trends in this collection of resources, by feeding all the titles into Wordle.

Confusing Words

Confusing Words is a collection of over 3000 words that are troublesome to readers and writers. Words are grouped according to the way they are most often confused or misused.

Some of these words are homonyms (words that sound alike but are spelled differently) and some are just commonly confused.