...And the Learners Start to Drive...

With many innovations, the end users ultimately take the wheel. One of my pet interests is classroom trainer fears of e-learning, and I've been saying forever, or at least since 2001 (which is almost forever in e-learning years), that eventually the learners would start to drive. This week's Time magazine has a piece on "Daddy Boot Camp" for new fathers that includes this:

"...enrollment in childbirth classes has fallen from 70% of first-timers in 2002 to 56% in 2006--with the drop-off due in part to expectant couples' assuming they can learn just as much from books or online."

Several things here: Learners are recognizing that they can be self-directed and self-taught. The learner assumption that this can be learned via books or online won't change--we're there. So we'd better be sure the e-learning is good.

When to Use Video

Karl Kapp, Susan Boyd and I are in Philadelphia this week providing the ID Institute for the Society for Technical Communication Summit. I'm in the back of the room now while Karl's presenting his session on choosing instructional strategies. He just said something great about when and how to use video, and I think it's worth sharing:

"If the only thing moving is somebody's lips, then you don't need video."

"Heat"

Greetings from Sint Maarten, where I've spent the past couple of days in the sun reading (appropriately, as this is the island of high temps and fine dining) Bill Buford's Heat. Like Atul Gawande's wonderful Complications, Heat is an interesting first-person account of how an adult learns. Those interested in adult learning, reflective practice, self-directed learning, the transfer of tacit knowledge, or communities of practice will likely find this a worthwhile read.

New ID book ships next week!

My new big red (very red) book ships next week, chock-full of tools, templates, checklists, worksheets, guidelines, tips, rants (well, only on problems with evaluation and "ROI"), most of them also available as printable/editable items on the CD.

The long list of contributors reads like a who's-who in contemporary training, including folks like Karl Kapp, Jennifer Hofmann, Jean Barbazette, Don Clark, Patti Shank, and Ruth Clark, and includes some lesser-known trainers with good stuff to share. Check out the searchable version on Amazon: From Analysis to Evaluation: Tools, Tips, and Techniques for Trainers .

Musings about level 1 evaluation....

While I'm not much of a fan of Level I evaluation, I do think it can shed insight into the effectiveness of our programs if we ask the right questions and pay attention to the answers. I'm dealing with metrics-fans right now who want to ask smile-sheet questions like, "On a scale of 1 to 6, did you find the training useful? ..." What am I supposed to do with knowing that people ranked the training as an average of 5.9 in 'usefulness'? Or worse, a 2.6?



Here's an evaluation Kassy LaBorie and I did yesterday in the wrap up to our online "Games Synchronous Trainers Play" session. (See citation at the bottom of this post). It tells us much more than the typical "smile sheet"



What can I tell from this? That we emphasized the right things; that our points were clear; that we met our objectives; that we have provided people with tools (games) they feel they can integrate into their own synchronous programs. Next go round we may emphasize even more the need to incorporate games as they relate to content, not just as filler, I also see that we may have given the wrong impression about something: there's a comment in the lower right quadrant about self-paced learning, which we didn't discuss at all and certainly weren't casting aspersions toward. (Heck, I'd rather access the worst self-paced program than most lecture-based 'webinars' any day!)

And what else does it tell us? Well, for those who believe that the online experience suffers due to lack of eye contact and body language, look at this screen again: are people interested and engaged? Do I really need traditional "eye contact" to tell me that?

If you must undertake Level I evaluation, try to find something that will give you more meaningful information than "4.5" ratings with no explanation. And pay attention to the feedback!

What other ideas do you have for evaluating at this level?



Evaluation activity submtted by Michele St. Pierre; adapted from an activity in Pike & Solem's 50 Creative Training Closers (Pfeiffer, 1998).

PowerPoint lesson of the day...

Yesterday I watched someone wrestle to remove a background from a photo, using expensive software with a long learning curve, with lots of time consumed and much frustration. It took me exactly 4 seconds using...PowerPoint.

According to the Office Assistant: "You can create a transparent area in most pictures except in animated GIF. (Make these changes in an animated GIF editing program, and then insert the file again.)...The Set Transparent Color option is available for bitmap pictures that don't already have transparency information. It's also available for some, but not all, clip art." (Most of the art I use comes from clipart.com, and have had good luck with transparencies.)

Are you a technical communicator-type?

Are you a technical communicator? Lots of "application training"? User manuals? "Help" data?

I'm running the Instructional Design Institute for the Society for Technical Communications' annual Technical Communications Summit June 1-4 in Philadelphia. This is a big, fun event great for those who deal in technical communication and information (hint to those of you who do "app training"...)

Karl Kapp and Susan Boyd will be joining me for the ID Institute; we hope to see you there!

Using Game-Show Games to Replace Quizzes

Cathy Moore has been having a discussion about "shoestring" approaches, and among her suggestions are using, 1. photos of real people, and, 2. multiple choice questions recast as games. I give both of these ideas a lot of coverage in my books, but here's a quick example in practice.

Based on the "Hollywood Squares" game, this was developed for a new-hire orientation program both as a way to cover fairly dry content as well as helping staff recognize people they'd need to know to both "get around" and "get along" in the office. (I remember the morning one of our bright-eyed-bushy-tailed new employees encountered our agency head-- then Governor-Elect -- and greeted him with a hearty "Whassup!?")

The real program is proprietary but I dummied up a reasonable facsimile in PowerPoint this morning-- enough for you to get the idea. See E-Learning Solutions on a Shoestring and especially Better than Bullet Points for more ideas on using game-show game approaches to replace traditional methods of quizzing.

What does "LMS" mean to you?

Will Thalhimer has a recent post in which he discusses "LMS" as the "Learning Means Sitting" mentality, while Mark Oehlert once called it a "Lecture Management System".

What does "LMS" mean to you?

Great E-Learning Tip 1: Develop a good treatment

Want to make e-learning "better than bullet points"? Start by finding a way out of the static-content box and into an engaging treatment that invites application rather than regurgitation. Here, for example, are two ways of approaching an art history lesson. The first is the typical bullet-points approach; the second, an interactive mystery about a painting found in an attic. "A. Pintura: Art Detective" from Eduweb asks learners to evaluate, synthesize, and apply information rather than just memorize.

See the bozarthzone main site for more examples-- and please send links to any you happen to run across!

Composite image from "Better than Bullet Points". Image from A.Pintura: Art Detective used with permission of Eduweb.

For my "E-learning Solutions on a Shoestring" readers

I have been accused of neglect! Mea culpa! Readers of my "E-Learning Solutions on a Shoestring" can check the bozarthzone for updates on e-learning addons, tools, and a recording of my presentation "Collaboration on a Shoestring: Using Web 2.0 technologies in Training". Don't own "Shoestring"? Amazon will gladly send a copy your way...

And while we're discussing mistreatment, let me also direct you to one of my favorite sites, Sue Palmer's Home for Abused Apostrophes.

FREE! Online course: "ID for the SME"

I've been toying with the idea of developing an asynchronous "ID basics" course, and here Clive Shepherd has gone and created this, a gift for us all. It's a FREE online program, "The 60-Minute Masters: ID for the SME". Quick, clean, commonsense, and targeted correctly at the SMEs with whom many of us work.


It's available at http://www.kineolearning.com/60minutemasters/

Virtual Worlds and Grammar Girl

The Illinois online conference was chock-full of interesting sessions and much fun, including "cocktail hours" in Second Life (on Squirrel Island, where my avatar got herself in trouble, as usual...) and a great keynote from Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty. This was an excellent way to attend good informational sessions, many on cutting-edge technologies, as well as meet and network with new colleagues.

Here's a question I asked during Grammar Girl's session, when the participant talked turned to concerns about text messaging bringing about the downfall of good writing, spelling, civilization...:
Is text messaging meant to replace writing, or conversation?

A Blog by Any Other Name

I just did my "Collaboration on a Shoestring" session for the Illinois Online Conference, where we talked about using Web 2.0 technologies for training purposes. I'm always interested in seeing how people repurpose these technologies in interesting ways and to suit varying needs. A local restaurant, Piedmont, is using a blog as a quick, easy-to-edit, free way of updating its daily menu. (The restaurant's good, too!)

What other unusual uses are out there for blogs, wikis, and other Web 2.0 tools?

A Proposal for Banning.... Pencils

I heard Anders Gronstedt speak at Training 2008. After a great presentation on Web 2.0 technologies, including a nice visit to Second Life, he wrapped up with a reference to "the Bureacrat Class". You know 'em: the ones in the organization who try to block anything marginally innovative. Finance says everything is "expensive", Legal says it's "too open", and of course IT says it's "too dangerous". (PS: Raise your hand if your organization is being held hostage by its own IT department.)

Meantime this week, in keeping with the same theme, I see that Karl Kapp has comments on schools disabling the very technologies students use most (to discuss education, even).

So for all of you who share the concern and pain of this, check out Doug Johnson's A Proposal for Banning Pencils .

When is design done?

This month's Big Question on the Learning Circuits blog is: "If, When, How Much?". To follow up on a follow-up question from Jay Cross, "When to stop designing?"

I'll add:
Design is done when there's nothing left to take out.

Illinois Online Conference on Teaching & Learning

I hope to see you at the Illinois Online conference. There are lots of sessions on using Web 2.0 and virtual worlds for training and education, a whole track called "using cool tools", and even some on-demand and virtual poster sessions. And no trips to the airport!

Coming to Training 2008?

Lots of famous training folks will be in Atlanta next week for Training 2008. I hope to see you at my "E-Learning on a Shoestring" session, to include material from Better than Bullet Points. Also be sure to look for workshops from Patti Shank, Karl Kapp, Jennifer Hofmann, Saul Carliner...

And this year marks the return of the fun "99-Second Presentations". With emcee Thiagi, I'll be joined by people like Lou Russell, Marc Rosenberg, Donald Kirkpatrick (yes, that Donald Kirkpatrick), and Ray Jiminez.

I'll be signing books on the Expo floor at noon on Tuesday, so if you're coming please be sure to look me up! Hope to see you there--

Top 100 FREE Tools for Learning

Last year Jane Hart of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies asked learning professionals to submit their recommendations for top training tools. She's configured the answers in several ways, including
Top 100 Free Training Tools.

Watch for the results of her 2008 poll!

The problem with most e-learning # 471

So how often does this happen? A trainer or instructional designer comes up with a great idea for making online content engaging and interesting-- something better than bullet points-- and by the time management and marketing and the Policy Police get through with it it's turned back into a dry, cover-every-possible-contingency-CYA-and, yes, bullet-ridden mind-numbing, learning-less online presentation (not "training").

I've heard from people who've been told games are "too much fun", "we aren't allowed to have anything light", and my favorite, to the student who knocked it out of the park on his final project for one of my e-learning development courses, "It's too entertaining". HUH? Time to push past the fear and give something interesting a try for a change. Stand your ground!


"Death by Risk Aversion" image used under creative commons license: Kathy Sierra/Headrush.

Finally! A FREE virtual classroom tool

I've gotten many, many questions about this and finally have an answer.

Here's a product with much of the functionality as the big boys:
Chat, VOIP,video, and an object-oriented whiteboard (one of my favorite features, and one missing from several commercial products).

Check out www.wiziq.com (pronounced Whiz + IQ like the test). Live demos scheduled regularly.

Driving School

Yesterday's "Zits" comic pretty much sums up much of what's wrong with most training...e-learning...presentations....

See the left side of this panel.

Storyboarding with PowerPoint

Readers of Better than Bullet Points: Creating Engaging E-Learning with PowerPoint will have noticed all...all...all...the artwork in that one. With 400 images there were bound to be some glitches. In the section on storyboarding with PowerPoint there's a discussion of sending PPT files to Word to create a printed "script", and figure 2.20, page 50, needs a correction. See the Bozarthzone, "bullets" link to access a printable pdf with several sample screens showing the side-by-side image with text result. (One screen is shown above).

Evaluating E-Learning

Happy new year!

Students in my facilitated multiweek "Online Trainer" course look at lots (and lots) of examples of e-learning, good, bad, and ugly. One of their final assigments is to apply their new learning in developing criteria for evaluating an asynchronous program. One of the groups in the Fall 2007 class came up with this excellent list, with items not seen on many existing checklists or tools. Thanks to the members of the "Red Group" for letting me share this.

And: "Better than Bullet Points" ships on Wednesday! Order early and often!

Evaluating an E-Learning Program
by Stephanie Freeman, Steffi Adams, Deanna Sevits, & Freya Brannon

Question
What criteria would you use to evaluate the quality of an e-learning program, either one a vendor is offering or one you were developing in-house?

Criteria
Objectives: Does the course clearly state the objectives up front and does it deliver, does it provide the amount of information required, does it provide too much information?

Instructional Strategies: Are they varied, are the strategies appropriate given the subject matter and backgrounds of the learners, are different learning styles addressed?

Appearance (Graphics/Concept/Theme): Is there enough white space or does the course look “busy”, are the graphics of good quality, do they enhance the subject matter and are they consistent throughout the course? Does the course have a concept or theme – does it engage the learner, does it work with the subject matter and enhance the experience or detract from it?

Functionality (Organization/Navigation/Accessibility Issues): Is the material well organized, does it need to be provided in a specific order, are the modules too long or too short? Is the navigation easy to follow; is it consistent throughout the course, does the interface work? Are accessibility issues addressed, are accommodations made for hearing and vision disabilities – audio transcripts, color blindness, captions on graphics?

Language: Is the reading level appropriate for the intended audience, are unfamiliar terms explained, are acronyms spelled out, are neutral terms used regarding age, sex, race and religion, are there grammatical or spelling errors?

Interactivity and Feedback: Does the course allow for interactivity for the learner, does it provide positive reinforcement and is it helpful when the learner is incorrect, does it allow for interaction between learners and with the trainer, does it allow the learner to give feedback to the trainer?

Evaluation & Measurement: Does the course allow the learner to evaluate its effectiveness, does it allow for measurement of the learner’s progress - can they apply what they learned, does performance improve?

Delivery and Updates: How will the course be delivered, will more than one method be used, will it be a blended course, will the course require changes to keep it up to date, if so, how will they be delivered and will delivery be in a timely manner?

Technology: Is the required technology and software available, do the links work; are the file sizes acceptable for downloading or viewing, will there be support if the learner has a problem?

Cost and Copyright: Is the course cost effective to deliver, to maintain and update? Is the course material protected, are the resources referred to in the course properly cited? Will copyright issues increase the cost?

Additional Resources: Are they chosen so as not to overwhelm the learner, will they aide the learner and are they easy to find, are web-base resources reliable, trustworthy and kept up-to-date?

Voices

I get a lot of questions about narration for e-learning programs, particularly adding narration to PowerPoint. Here are a couple of sources for voice talent that will give you an idea of the voice talent available (both North American and British English) as well as ballpark parameters for pricing. Do-it-yourselfers might find some inspiration and guidelines here as well.

http://www.voices.com/
http://voice123.com/s/voiceovers.html

"Better than Bullet Points" available NOW!

Available now for preorder-- will ship in early January. FREE shipping from Amazon.com.

FREE Training

There's been a discussion on one of the training listservs about free training and/or free content. The discussion is open to pretty much anything, from ILT to web-based. Based on the comments so far it appears that many are looking for ways to use new collaboration technologies, with universities are leading the way. Here are some of the suggestions offered. Rice University's Connexions project: http://www.cnx.org/ MIT Open Courseware: ocw.mit.edu Wikiversity: http://www.wikiversity.org/ Teachertube: http://www.teachertube.com/ Sapling Systems http://www.saplingsystems.com/ Microsoft http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/FX100565001033.aspx OER Grapevine http://oergrapevine.org/OER_projects

Please add your own suggestions. I've had to start moderating comments but am approving them asap.

FREE tool for creating content for iPods

This just in from the Learning Consortium:
"Mogopop is a free service that lets you create content for iPods. Mogopop says to think of its projects like "a mini website that runs on your iPod." Mogopop has a project builder where you can add text, photos, audio, and video to your project. When completed, your project is published on the Mogopop site for the public to download. All mogopop contenct can be found in an iPods NOTES."

Click here to view video tutorials for using Mogopop

JotSpace FREE online whiteboard

"JotSpace is a free web-based, collaboration whiteboard. It allows multiple users to work on the same board simultaneously as if in the same room. Whiteboards include sticky pads, photo uploads, chat, connectors and markers that never run out of ink. Great for training and planning."

JotSpace is preparing to launch its alpha version and is looking for prelaunch testers. Visit the website for more information.

Great new FREE features from SnagIt

SnagIt, one of the best investments you'll ever make (and still only US$39,95!) has just added new one-click features for publishing to blogs, flickr, or skype, and added a nifty new 'desktop sticky note' tool, too.

How to paint the MONA LISA with MS PAINT

It's GGG....REAT! Karl Kapp's Book Tour-- Week 2

If you haven't yet gotten your hands on Karl Kapp's Gadgets, Games and Gizmos for Learning are missing out on a real treat. I spend a lot of time in trainer development work and have lately run into (yet another...) disturbing trend. Lots of trainers are interested in "Generations" training, but invariably these trainers are 50+ who stand and orate, backlit by their boring PowerPoint slides, about "Them": "the Millenialls", "the Xers"... and how we must tolerate and accommodate Them. It's about time we heard from someone who understands and defends Them-- the gamers, the future.

Kapp is a champion for "Them" and I, for one, can't wait to see more of Them in the workplace!

Fewer words, more text

Here's a new item for my "end of email" campaign. And amen! Frumpy Netiquette from Donald Clark's "Plan B" blog.

Just because they've HEARD of it doesn't mean it's valid...

...So lately I've experienced a new phenomenon: trainers and instructional designers knowingly including invalid, untested, or discredited tools or theories in training because it's "what people have heard of". To wit 1: a certain 4-letter personality-type assessment that has no construct validity, no predictive value, and boasts a body of "research" for which the insturment's publisher has provided the grant money on the condition that the grantee's research "promote the use of" the instrument. To wit 2: a certain TAXONOMY of training evaluation-- not a "model", or a "theory"-- that everyone has heard of, hardly anyone uses, and that has been shown time and time again to be flawed and, basically useless.

Both times the designers insisted on leaving the stuff in because "It's what the learners have heard of."

As practitioners, isn't it our responsibility to help people discover things they maybe haven't heard of?

Wouldja like some snake oil with that, ma'am?

Love it, love it. Today's pretty email ad said I could attend a "webinar" (red flag! red flag!) and see how a "Web communication tool" could, for several thousand dollars, let me:

"Add interactive audio, video and animation to existing presentation and create and deliver dynamic and effective training courses".

I already have that product. It's called PowerPoint.

And PS: NO PRODUCT will take slides and magically transform them into "engaging, rich, multimedia content." That takes innovation, creativity, and instructional design expertise.

It's about design, not software.

So buyer beware.

Top 10 Tools

One of my favorite sites, the Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies, has asked for lists of "Top 10 Tools". Here's my submission.

News Flash: Register now for NAGTAD online and get $100 discount + free membership

See the NAGTAD blog at http://nagtad07.blogspot.com/ .

"Better than Bullet Points: Creating Engaging E-Learning with PowerPoint"

.... now available for preorder from amazon.com!

Attention Government Trainers

Can't make the NAGTAD (National Association for Government Training and Development) Conference in Helena, MT this year? Then join the concurrent LIVE ONLINE NAGTAD CONFERENCE August 20-22!

First, join in for real-time participation in the keynote along with those attending in Helena. Then participate as three of the most popular conference presentations are repeated just for the online group.

Sessions are:"TrainerSmarts": Live session in real time with the Helena group (me). Succession Planning in State Government" (Laurette Burdyl, State of South Carolina)"Creating a Culture that is Resilient to Change" (Pauline Higgins, State of Mississippi)"A Soft Sale: Using Proven Sales Strategies to Build Training Commitment" (Susan Lowman-Thomas, State of Idaho)

PLUS: conference updates — Enjoy access to conference session handouts, a conference blog, updates and networking opportunities. Conference correspondents will create audioblog messages to keep you posted on activities, themes, and “the pulse” of the live conference in Helena, and offer ideas for helping you stay in touch with new friends you’ll meet in the online sessions! See http://www.nagtad.org/conference2007/conf_online07.asp for details.

Yes You CAN Create E-learning Games

Here's a great reference tool from Diane Elkins and Desiree Ward of Alcon, Ward & Partners. It's their handout from Training 2007. Nice outline of products, most low-cost or free, and quick description of each.

Remote test proctoring: An old problem solved

While I'm not much of a fan of testing I do feel obligated to pass this on for those whose organizations require it. There's also potential here for going beyond the paper-and-pencil test and have remote learners provide teachbacks, demonstrations, or other application of skills by way of a 'test':

http://www.xplanazine.com/archives/2006/10/
smartphoneassis.php

E-Learning Guild event: Note To Attendees

Greetings to those who participated in today's live online event: "It's About Design, Not Software". With over 150 attendees many chat comments just flew by, and some of you were left with unanswered questions. Here are some questions and my comments:

Q. How do you make a screen shot with new data fields more interesting?
A. Don't focus so much on the individual shots. How can you put the entire training program into a more interesting context? Realistic problem, scenario? Airplane engine assembly isn't very interesting... but Karl Kapp suggests creating the "Case of: Why Won't This Engine Start?"

Q. What about learners who don't have their own computers?
A. Well, we don't all have our own photocopy machines, either. Users will likely only need access to e-learning programs for half an hour (I hope!) at a time. Set up a shared station or otherwise arrange short-term access for such users. Michael McGinniss, when he was at Jabil,Inc, began his first organizational e-learning program with surplused machines set up in the corner of the employee cafeteria.

Q. Does ELearning consist of a chat response like what we have here or is there some other interactive component?
A. Depends. Most of the participants here seem interested in developing asynchronous e-elearning programs, so no, there likely wouldn't be a live chat component. Today's session was a synchronous presentation more than "e-learning".

Q. Can you suggest sources for art?
A. http://www.clipart.com/, http://www.istockphoto.com/ , http://www.shutterstock.com/

Q. What about global training? Don't you have to be careful that pictures, etc. are universally recognized?
A. At some point you may decide to have more than one version of your programs for use by different audiences. I love the add-in characters from VoxProxy; voices can be set to, for instance, American, British, or Australian English. Be careful of making something so generic for all that it becomes relevant to none.

Q. We will be training faculty and they will not want to play games. What other ideas do you have for interactivity?
A. "Interactivity" is not just clicking or playing games. Try using scenarios, cases, etc. Also, be careful of too many blanket assumptions about faculty--- people are more amenable to games than you may think. AND NOTE TO ALL: Please refer to the chart of different activity types-- it's in your handout.

Q. What about a topic like "Professionalism"?
A. Well.... without knowing more about your objectives: a first-person tour of day one on a new job, showing desirable and undesirable on job behaviors (NC has a great classroom program on this, with a great video we're going to convert for the online version); 'what's wrong with this picture' scenarios; quick photo-supported-by-audio examples of good/bad behaviors in a job interview/customer service situation/telephone troubleshooting; photos of dressing for success, or not, offered as multiple choice quiz w/ feedback...

Finally: There were lots, and lots, of comments on what Legal, or management, or SMEs, or somebody, will and won't allow: no scenarios, no humor, nothing interesting.... This is analagous to the classroom trainer who cannot set up a classroom in a way that promotes interaction and collaboration because management ordered heavy unweildy tables that can't be moved. Regardless of whose fault it is, or the rationale, the learning experience -- and the learner -- is ultimately what is hurt by it. If all we are allowed to do is load content onto slides, then what is the point of "doing e-learning" in the first place? Work to educate those around you (and work 'around' when you can). Keep fighting the good fight.
Jane

Pay Attention: Using Technology in Training

Happy Blog of Cheesecake

One of the best new low cost/FREE technologies is the blog. Take a look at http://englishiwate.blogspot.com/ --it's a blog supporting students in Japan learning to speak English, and shows the perfect marriage of technology, instructional goal, reflective practice, and meaningful learner-to-learner collaboration. Scroll down for links to individual student blogs.

Control.

....So I am just home from a fab (or should I say 'magical'?) time at Training 2007. Kathy Sierra kicked _ _ _ , as usual, and it is always good to see Mr. Kirpatrick, Ms. Barbazette, Dr. Hale, et al.

I did my "collaboration on a shoestring" presentation, in w hich we explore training applications for free technologies like blogs and wikis. It's always a fun one, and very gratifying to see the 'ah-ha' lights in attendees' eyes when I show them "23 Things" or the ESL wiki project. What has me concerned, though, is that every, and I mean it, question asked during the session was on the issue of control: "What if they post inappropriate comments? Can I password protect it? Can I install inside our firewall?"

I know that these are legitimate concerns, and yes, there are solutions to them, but: No one asked any questions about effective design, results, whether we felt the approaches were working, etc.

This seems to come up again and again. People are concerned with tracking but not with outcomes. They're concerned with the equivalent of what we used to call "butts in seats" reports, with seemingly little regard for whether anyone can perform better after they leave those seats.

Why Pay for Online Learning Software?

See this kick in the pants from Jim Flood.

FREE 10-minute email

Check this out-- FREE 10-minute email accounts that evaporate. Great for times you need a verification email but don't want to give out your real address. See http://www.10minutemail.com/10MinuteMail/index.html

Just say no...

My friend Karl Kapp (watch for his new book, Games, Gadgets and Gizmos, out soon from Pfeiffer) had a "Shoestring" discussion on his blog recently.

One reader's comment included this, as well put as I've ever seen it:

"How are these vendors able to come into a company and convince them that they need these items without someone inside the company saying “Hold the fort! We can do that for free.” I just find it really bizarre that there is no one there to wave the flag to these people. Also, wouldn’t some of these vendors be better off offering these companies, low-cost eLearning solutions that they can get return business and a good name out there for themselves?"

To which I add, "Amen!"

It's about DESIGN, not software!

Aarggh! So yesterday I get a call from someone proudly proclaiming the completion of her new asynchronous course. She's concerned that it's "all text" and when I suggest using case studies and simulations the response was: "But I don't know how to do that."

The kicker: the organization spent TEN THOUSAND dollars on an 'authoring tool' (that doesn't do anything you can't do with PowerPoint) but not one dime on giving this person a moment of training in instructional design.

Can we all now say in unison: "And two years from now management will say ' We tried e-learning and it didn't work.' "

FREE site tools

Check out Google Gadgets for free calendars, clocks...and PacMan.

from http://www.knitemare.org/cats/

Ha! Talk about full circle...

I was just surfing and ran into this newest twist. CRACKS ME UP.

Check it out: how to create PowerPoint-type files...with Flash: http://www.flzone.com/ShowDetail.asp?NewsId=7364

FREE synchronous programs

Join me for these FREE online sessions. Visit www.insynctraining.com and check the calendar for descriptions and registration information:

Holiday Stressbusters
November 20, 12:45 to 2 pm EST

And for spring 2007:
HQ: Your Happiness Quotient
January 16, 1 to 2 pm EST

TrainerSmarts!
Winner, Training magazine Editor’s Pick Award: Best Synchronous Program
March 13, 1 to 2 pm EST

Juggling 101: Managing Multiple Priorities
Winner, LOLA Award for Best Use of Synchronous Tools
April 10, 1 to 2 pm EST

Speaking with Sizzle, Substance, and Style
May 22, 1 to 2 pm EST

I'll also be teaching the "Synchronous Facilitator Certificate" program for InSync on Wednesdays in February. Check the InSync calendar for details.

Low cost web conferencing tool

Greetings from Vegas! I heard from a fellow government trainer today about a happy experience with the e/pop web conferencing software. Reliable, user-friendly, and LOW COST.

Smith-Corona Award Nominees

...the electric typewriter award for the IT Director most determined to block anything useful. Here are the top 3 so far:

1. The IT Director who will not let his training staff access the 5,000+ member Tr-Dev group because, he says, "If it's free, it can't be any good, can it?"

2. The IT Director who said, "If SIX people look at streaming video at one time, the ENTIRE state network will crash!" After which he admitted they were blocking all streaming media becuse the HR staff kept getting caught watching soaps at work.

3. The IT director who won't let staff enable the wireless technology on the laptops, so they can't access the Internet while on the road...which was the point of getting the laptops...

OTHERS? Oh please oh please send them to me!

Using MySpace for course hosting

Cheers to NC State University Professor Tim Hoban who, in the face of contrarian administrators, is supporting his "Social Movements for Social Change" course via MySpace. Says Hoban:

"N.C. State's distance education is primarily oriented toward what I would say is pushing information into students' brains and then trying to get them to prove that they've learned it," Hoban says. "I want my students to build relationships, to build friendships and to build trust in one another. No one can show me another tool. I've told the university, if they can show me one, I'll move."

URGENT! Wheel just invented!

Oh...wait... that's already been done, hasn't it?

I am in the middle of teaching my government-only "Online Trainer" course, which culminates in participants turning in a storyboard/outline/dummy version of a program the would like to put online. Drafts came in this week: Of the 16 enrolled, one's doing ethics, another 'cube etiquette', and another 'unlawful harassment'. That's great, but they're all planning to do it...from scratch. And...most of it's shaping up to be bulleted text-heavy slides.

I just googled 'free online harassment training' and got, and no I'm not kidding, no fewer that forty-eleven thousand sites to view.

PLEASE, please, watch the temptation to reinvent the wheel! Development time for from-scratch e-learning is often in the hundreds of hours. There's already plenty out there on most topics we do. Unless you are working to train on your company's how-we-make-blue-left-handed-gorilla-widgets, the odds are that someone, somewhere, has already done much of the work for you. If you can't use it outright you can at least use it for idea-starting.

Those on tight budgets must start looking at the hidden costs of creating everything from scratch, especially if something better already exists for free or cheap.

Learn to use what you have before buying something else...

“In user testing, Microsoft found that nine out of every 10 features that customers wanted to see added to Office products were already in the program.”


-- Ina Fried Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: September 20, 2005

FREE PowerPoint templates

Check out Indezine for hundreds of beautiful, free PowerPoint templates, including many for health care, teaching, and computer-related topics.

Prices?

Readers know I'm a proponent of the 'buy-what-you-need' approach; that is, rather than outsource whole projects, I advocate outsourcing work on components, like custom video or a flash piece, that may be beyond your grasp skill- or time-wise. Getacoder lists projects and accompanying bids; not only is this a good source for contacts, it's also a good way to get a feel for what particular work should cost.

Love the One You're With

I've had lots of questions this past week about products -- most costing in the upper hundreds -- that don't do anything that can't be done with things most computer users already have--like PowerPoint, MS Paint, and the MS Sound recorder. Become skilled at using--or at least knowledgable about-- the tools you already own. Check your programs-start-accessories button and take a look at what's there. And: know what you're trying to accomplish, then choose tools that meet your goal. Beware of solutions in search of problems!

Beware of "featuritis"

I can't say it enough...before you buy anything, identify the problem you're trying to solve. AND be sure that you can't already do what the new product does. There are endless products out there in the form of solutions in search of problems. For instance, I had someone come to me last week all excited about a new product he'd gotten an ad for: a 'cool thing' that would let you phone in powerpoint narration. I can't imagine why one would want to do that---there are a pile of microphones in my office (they only cost $10 anyway), and we actually have the luxury of having a soundproof room--but he just thought it was the neatest thing. Apart from the fact that recording sound by phone gives terrible audio quality, the product itself didn't do anything that powerpoint can't already do. Caveat emptor...

FREE "Learn Italian" Podcasts

Basic lessons available to play online or to download. Add-ons are by subscription (still only a few dollars a month) but the basic lessons are free.
www.learnitalianpod.com . Also-- www.learnchinesepod.com and coming soon www.learnspanishpod.com .

FREE Whiteboards, VOIP, etc.

Sourceforge is a repository with hundreds of open-source products. Click 'projects' for a searchable list of what's available.

Cool FREE Timer

Check out this great timer! I use this in synchronous online sessions as well as F2F classroom events. It's available for free download from hahntech.

Online tutoring

A comment from partner in crime Nanette Miner, who saw on a recent Today show "a man in India who is tutoring a 15 year old CA girl in Geometry. The young lady's mother found him by conducting a web search. The camera showed a view of their computers, over their shoulders (both the teen and the tutor) and guess what they were using? WebEx! The tutor was using the whiteboard feature to write equations and explain them to the teen. Too cool, don't you think?"

Free Live-Online Classes!

My fall schedule includes FREE synchronous sessions of "TrainerSmarts", "Speaking with Sizzle, Substance & Style", "TGIM: (Thank Goodness It's Monday)Enjoy Your Job, Enjoy Your Life", and "Holiday Stressbusters", all in collaboration with InSync Training. We'll be using the WebEx virtual classroom platform. Hope to see you at some, or all, of these!

Palm Springs, CA, USA: June 11-14

I'm headed to sunny (and hot!) California tomorrow morning for VNU's Training Director's Forum. Hope to see you there!

WOW

Just home from Ireland, thanks to the conference organizers of the the Irish Learning Technology Association, and saw this at an airport bookshop. Not necessarily "shoestring" (though only about $10 more than a new hardback book), it may be the coolest new tech-thing I've seen in a long while. Check out Playaway self-playing audiobooks. The company website offers suggestions for how to reuse/share the product, too. Though it may not look like much to hard-core iPoders, it's a perfect airport product, and may provide a gentle nudge for some technology resisters. And it would have been just perfect back when my elderly father, losing his vision, found books on tape too cumbersome to manage.

Location, location, location

Am on the road a good deal the next few months so please do look me up if I'm in your neighborhood: Irish Educational Technology Users' Conference, Sligo, Ireland, May 26; Training Directors' Forum, Palm Springs, CA, June 11-13; NASPE, San Antonio, TX, Aug 13; Training Solutions, Denver, Oct 23-25.

FREE file transfer

E-mail attachments getting blocked? Check out YouSendIt for file transfer. Upload your file to the web, send an email to the intended recipient, they go and get it. Very cool. Love getting around those IT dragons...

The Right Technology for the Job

I'm concerned about the oft-mentioned--and, in my opinion, false-- distinction between "classroom" and "e-learning". We need to start choosing the delivery method that meets the learning need. Here's an article about the success of podcasting in training cardiologists to recognize heart sounds. If the skill is listening, then we need training that requires listening...not reading PowerPoint slides or looking at animated hearts.

Do you PowWowNow?

Powwownow provides FREE voice conferencing, shared presentation, and PDF documentation--you pay the phone charges.

Coming to Training 2006?

I'll be in Orlando Sunday--Wednesday. Am presenting all day long Wednesday and have a book signing that morning as well. Please stop by and say hello!

Using Blogs in Training

Blogs (FREE!) can be used quite successfully in instruction: for reflective activities like journaling, support for writing courses, and knowledge management tools. Here's a link to a 52-page pdf file on blogging in corporate America.

Using Mobile Text Messaging

From David Gibson's Eureka! newsletter:
Pre-workshop - Send a text message welcoming learners to their workshop.
Post workshop - Send a thank you text message for their input to the workshop.
Post workshop - Send short tips (or shortcuts if it was a systems training) once a week for the next 6 weeks adding or helping embed what was uncovered during their time with you.
Post workshop - Send links or suggestions for additional resources via a text message.

More on Podcasts

From David Gibson's Eureka! training tips newsletter:
PodCasts are audio files that can be sent an iPod or MP3 player. The great thing here is that learners can listen to the audio file while travelling or whenever is convenient for them.
Why not consider creating and sending a PodCast to learners:

--Before the workshop, explaining what they can expect during their time with you during their workshop.
--Before the workshop outlining some of the content and asking learners to carry out specific tasks prior to their workshop eg for a customer service workshop ask learners to note good and bad service they receive over the next few days and bring these experiences with them.
--Post workshop with additional resources eg web sites, reading material, a bonus idea or technique they can use in the workplace etc.

For information on creating a PodCast go to:
http://www.squidoo.com/learntopodcast/

Wikis at Work

Wikis are a great free tool to encourage collaboration, facilitate communication, and level the field by giving all employees access to an online vehicle for sharing information. Here's an article for those wanting to learn more.

www.bozarthzone.com

Check out Taskstream

The remarkably low-cost product suite from Taskstream provides "a flexible, customizable, and comprehesive electronic portfolio, assessment managment and standards-based instruction solution". VERY reasonable prices. Tell Kevin Doyle I sent you!

Embrace Your Inner Geek

I am delighted to report that Amazon has added a link straight to products for "early adopters". Though they might not always be cheap, they are awfully pretty... Those of you struggling to keep on top of it all may find this a quick way to stay ahead of the curve.

Jane
www.bozarthzone.com

Hoppin' the Pond

For my friends on the other side of the Atlantic: I'll be the keynote speaker for the Irish Learning Technology Association's EdTech 2006 in Sligo on May 25. Hope to see you there!

Free hosted LMS for 18 months

Vignettestraining.com has a special deal right now: 18 months of hosting, 500 learners for 2 programs. Great test drive--Check it out!

Create podcasts on your PC!

This article from WindowsDevCenter outlines steps for creating podcasts "...using tools virtually everyone has or can easily acquire on a tiny budget. Ultimately, if you decide to podcast on a regular basis, some equipment upgrades...will drastically improve the sound quality. To learn the process, though, you don't need anything fancy."

Click here for the article.

Jane
www.bozarthzone.com

Free Stock Photos

From Robin Good

This just in...

From Marc Rosenberg's new Beyond E-Learning:

"A growing discontinuity exists between what business has become and what training has remained."

Free LMS info

Check out:
http://all-free-info.com/learning-management-system/ .


Jane
www.bozarthzone.com

Lots o' free stuff!

Here's a list of free STUFF: sites, templates, tutorials... from the NC Office of State Personnel's computer training unit.

E-mail is free

Email is one of the most woefully abused technologies! Here are some ideas for using email in e-learning (games, relays, etc.) from the folks at Australia's flexible learning site .

More reader recommendations

This just in from this morning's ASTD chapter event:
Swishzone.com for flash templates
edirectsoftware.com for SALE prices on software
Quask workflow learning tools
QuizMaker extension for Articulate

And now from our friends at Kellogg's...

Those of you who bought the great (best one I own) Toucan Sam microphone (2 box tops + $2.99) will be delighted to hear about the newest offer from Froot Loops: an uber-cool Pirates of the Caribbean SKULL MOUSE for a mere 2 box tops + $4.99. Very tasteful, complete with gold teeth. I'm ordering mine today!

"E-Learning on a Shoestring" October Pick of the Month!

Visit the e-learning centre uk's site for the October pick of the month, including E-Learning Solutions on a Shoestring. While you're there, take a look at all the great information provided by fearless leader Jane Knight.

Reader's Suggestions

Comments just in from my Author's Forum session on InSync today:

"Live Meeting has a low monthly rate"
Use the "Options" buttons in Outlook 2003 to take a poll/vote
Use email to send out a weekly 'question for thought'
Microsoft's Groove personal version (collaboration tool)

And LOTS of people are using Quia! And with good reason...

Smith-Corona Award for IT Department Most Determined to Block Anything Useful

I spent a long day trying to free up some trainers being held hostage by their own IT department. My favorite line from the IT director (government, by the way, as in Your Tax Dollars at Work), RE accessing a 5,000 member training and development-focused Yahoo site:
"Well, if it's free, it can't be any good, can it?"

Quia Quizzes IMPROVED!

Just in from Quia: New format for the fabulous quiz feature and great new tutorial for creating quizzes and using advanced features. For those of you who aren't quia-savvy, for $99/year ($49 for schools) Quia provides templates for creating flash games and online quizzes, gives quite sophisticated quiz feedback, lets you set up a class home page, etc. AND hosts it all. See www.quia.com .

Book's Out!

E-Learning Solutions on a Shoestring: Help for the Chronically Underfunded Trainer

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787977128.html

Cutting costs with student help

Using college or graduate students for e-learning development projects can be a wonderfully affordable way to get a high-quality product. Many colleges offer programs in instructional design and writing for the Web. Instructors are often looking for "real-world" projects for students, who need practice working with a real client and want items for their portfolios.

If you decide to go this route I'd suggest approaching the task with a very clear, specific project in mind. My most successful student-supported project, for instance, took the form of a semester assignment, due by the end of the term, for which students would receive a grade. A friend, meantime, brought in a summer intern to "help" with "e-learning". Vague ideas about just what the student would spend the summer doing resulted in much frustration for both the company and the student. It's not reasonable to expect a 20- year old part-time worker to come in and initiate projects on her own.

Strong suggestion: approach an instructor with a specific project in mind, contract with the students for outcomes and deadlines, and provide milestones and feedback along the way.

Creating web pages with Word and SnagIt

Those of you who are SnagIt users will probably agree it's the best $35 you ever spent. Those of you who aren't SnagIt users: SnagIt is a great, easy-to-use product for creating and editing screen captures (still and video). It's available from TechSmith (and can be bundled with the great Camtasia tool, too).

I was looking at the TechSmith site and found this link to a tutorial for creating a Web page with Word and SnagIt. Take a look!

Scary words about an LMS decision

The cardinal rule of buying an LMS is, of course, to develop your list of criteria and hold the vendor to it. This week I was asked to sit in on the vendor's demo of a product that ultimately will cost several million dollars. I sat down with my list of criteria--developed over days by a group of stakeholders--and told the audience I was ready.

One of the key decisionmakers said: "Well, we're not going to ask the vendor to show us whether the product can do every single thing we want."

Uh, Oh and Wow.

LMSs: Good News

Here are some encouraging words from Josh Bersin. This appeared in an article on "Evaluating LMSs" in the April 2005 issue of Training, discussing LMS satisfaction factors.

"Hosted LMSs. Hosted LMS customers were significantly more satisfied than those who run LMSs internally. Hosted solutions reduce cost, complexity, and resource requirements. They are also much more likely to be completed on schedule and within predicted budgets. Providers specializing in hosting usually have highly responsive support staffs and tools that simplify content integration. We strongly recommend that buyers consider a hosted approach if they do not have sufficient resources to implement, configure and manage an internal LMS. (Note fromJane: This can also be cheaper than buying own...)

Smaller overall budgets. Interestingly, organizations with smaller budgets—no matter the overall organization size or number of learners served—had higher satisfaction levels. The likely reason is that these organizations are forced to simplify their LMS implementations. The lesson here: Focus on a single learning application at a time. After an application, such as deployment of an e-learning program, is implemented and running smoothly, another application can be rolled out. "

Free interactivity/collaboration

Just got review copy of a GREAT new book: Ryan Watkins' 75 E-Learning Activities (Pfeiffer). Written in the style of the old Games Trainers Play books, this is a compilation of ideas for online (mostly asynchronous, using discussion boards) exercises. Good ideas, clear directions, assessment of skill level needed by both instructor and learner.