Shared Insight

Simulations are Safe

2010-07-10T09:06:00.002-04:00

Computers are a great way to safely provide experience for dangerous situations. Dangerous can read combat, hazardous materials, or even employee relations in some cases.

The beauty of using computers for simulations is you can get a "do over" or simply try again. The consequences of mistakes are minimized. The challenge has been to make the simulation realistic and easy to use. Thanks to continued advanced in technology that continues to become easier.

See also CLO Magazine.

Natural Learning Curves

2010-06-26T19:13:00.004-04:00

Learning is a requirements for life. We learn so much in the courae of our lives. Recently, I brought my third son home from the hospital. He was born prematurely on April 2nd. As I watched him grow, together we learned a lot. One of the things I learned about was the natural leanring curve my son had to go through.

In order for my little guy to come home he had to learn to eat from a bottle. That sounds like such a simply thing until you consider some of the following challenges he faced:

he had been fed through a tube for more than two months since birth
he could not speak or understand the spoken word
he could not read directions or even pictures for that matter
he had a short attentions span
he got distracted easily
he had not seen a demonstration of how to eat from a bottle.

One of the lessons I took away from this observation was again how fundamental learning is to life. As he made progress and regressed I was reminded also of the incremental gains and losses we seen in the various aspects of our work lives. The learning curve is rarely, if ever, a straight line up to perfect performance.

Get a Pro

2009-02-17T13:29:00.008-05:00

"If you were to ask Ray Kelly IV to characterize the learning function of most organizations, he might say it was analogous to coins underneath the cushions of a couch: You have to dig around to recover all that money" (As seen at hrotoday.com on 2-17-09). As Andy Teng continues to write for HRO he points out the fact that there are tangible benefits when an organization commits to outsource task and functions.

When an organization outsources or contracts with someone like LearningCurve to create or manage the learning and training functions of an organization they get what they you pay for. They simply know what it cost in hard dollars and see the results. Outsourcing is a viable option to get visible results for an organization that knows it can not afford to cut out learning yet has trouble justifying unaccountable dollars in tough economic times.

In addition to making the cost and benefit of investments in human capital explicit the quality and delivery can often improve making the learning process a positive experience for employees and clients. Does that sound like a win-win?

Rudderless Training?

2009-02-05T09:17:00.001-05:00

The purpose of the training should be relevant, real, and applicable. A ship without a rudder can launch out on a journey but has little hope of reaching any specific destination.

The training objectives are the intended destiny for each participant or learner. The purpose of the training in this analogy is the rudder. To use the rudder the purpose must direct the activity and direction of the training. Although there may be many useful and exciting ports along the journey the instructional designer must use the training purposes to provide direction in the creation and execution of the training.

Although this sounds simple and logical; reality requires careful discipline and dedication to the purpose at hand to carry the participants on to the intended destination.

Why are we training?

2009-02-04T07:54:00.003-05:00

When you develop training materials one of the most important questions to ask is simply; why train? The sponsor for the program has an agenda. Understanding that agenda is essential. The agenda may be latent and quite simple. However, a successful training instructional designer will have that agenda crystal clear in their mind.

Beware, sometimes a training sponsor suspects training is needed simply because the expected behaviors are not pervasive. If in fact the problem lies somewhere else like in the compensation program; then your wonderful training program still won’t have the impact the sponsor sought out.

Again the need to be crystal clear about the intent of the program and the dynamic factors around the program are essential to successful performance improvements. You need to either buy-in to sponsor’s agenda or coach the sponsor to a more enlightened perspective given your relative expertise.

Simulations are Army Strong

2009-01-20T22:12:00.003-05:00

Simulations can be a powerful method for learning complex procedures and steps. As described in the excerpt below as they replicate reality and allow users to discover information for themselves they become more powerful.

As they share the look and feel of a production environment computer application simulations help users learn to use software without exposing access to sensitive data or otherwise risk the data integrity.

Quoted from http://www.workforce.com/section/11/feature/26/08/34/index.html:
The Army’s Training Weapon: Serious Games workforce.com

Simulations “offer a very cost-effective way for clients to reach large, geographically distributed populations,” says Rommin Adl, executive vice president for global sales and marketing for management consulting company BTS. The company, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with offices in 11 other countries, specializes in developing customized simulations and discovery learning experiences for clients. “People can test things in a risk-free before they do it in real life," Adl says. "This helps disseminate best practices before people do things."

Engaging Learners

2009-01-16T16:27:00.002-05:00

Engaging learners or participate in learning is essential to successful experiences. Unfortunately, death by PowerPoint is in some cases being replaced with death by e-Learning. You see in many cases folks have simple converted PowerPoint Slides to e-Learning modules. Though this can be a quick fix to disseminate information is leave much to be desired.

Engagement occurs naturally when the content is relevant to what they need and realistic. So the short answer is give people simply what they want/need. LearningCurve uses three primary modes of learning. In short they are observe the computer software in use, they interact with the software in a simulated environment with cues and support, and finally they test their skill without the cues in a ‘test’ environment.

Why Video

2009-01-09T12:45:00.001-05:00

Video loosely re-translated from the original Greek might also be; “I see.” This is a common phrase heard around computers when an ‘expert’ deftly shows some else how to do something.

Why didn’t this same user pick up or remember that bit of knowledge or skill from a classroom training session? Well for starters:

there may not have been a class/lab training session
the training occurred too long ago to remember
the system changed since the training
the steps were likely in the 300+ paged training manual; but who has time or interest enough to search
if training occurred perhaps the user didn’t know they’d ever need to use that function

Whatever can resolve this dilemma? Well another might ask what dilemma they user got the knowledge they needed no harm no foul; right? Well the truth be told the ‘expert’ is not always around or available to show everyone whatever function they’d like. Others don’t know who the expert is or might not want to ask or be able to ask.

A solution to this situation is to simply level the playing field and give the expert more leverage to show the masses what they know via video, now you see. LearningCurve partners with experts to create and deliver video of the users system. The expert can literally show everyone. Except that everyone only needs to watch when they are ready to learn. Because the video is made available on demand through an LMS users don’t waste time learning functions they will never need. Yet when they need that function they will be able to see it in action and then through interactive simulation learn to replicate the behavior in a positive and constructive way.

What Do You Know

2009-01-07T12:45:00.001-05:00

I’ve updated my goals for 2009 and set out to have a wonderful year. So much the media is saturated with the doom and gloom of the world financial situation. I don’t know when or how the economy will improve. I don’t know as much as I would like about a lot of things. I am thrilled to be in a situation were I can learn. We have to continuously learn as the world we are in continues to change.

I’ve spent some time reflecting on the following quote and encourage you to do the same.
“All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.” Leonardo da Vinci quotes (Italian draftsman, Painter, Sculptor, Architect and Engineer whose genius epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. 1452-1519) With this in mind consider what you are perceiving. How real is it? How much of what is essential for your business do you convey in a way that others can perceive and understand? Would you like to know how you can convey knowledge and skill in meaningful ways?

Comments from Jeff Snipes

2008-12-29T12:44:00.001-05:00

Core principles of learning in turbulent times from Jeff Snipes of PDI Nineth House shared during the Day of Learning 2008 included:

Open Communication and Inclusion (appreciative inquiry is one method of doing this)
Employee engagement (invite participation)
Fiscal discipline and innovation (use technology in a heart based way)
Organizational alignment

Jeff’s recommendation’s included:

Find models in the organization of the leadership behavior. Then market it so it becomes pervasive and apart of the culture.
Take ownership and engage yourself.
Maximize sustainable aspects of the culture and process.

In conclusion one of the key ideas Jeff shared was that of the Burning Barn Syndrome. In short this syndrome in organizations is analogous with horses that are in a burning barn. They refuse to leave the barn as it burns. They are simply paralyzed by the fire around them unable to think and take action to save themselves and others. If led with a blanket on over their eyes the horse can walk to safety. Change at different levels of the organization is essential for survival.

Social Learning: Why, What, and How

2008-12-28T12:47:00.001-05:00

Earlier this month Dave Wilkins, Senior Director of Social Learning Solutions, at Mzinga shared several great concepts that generated more light around Social Learning. The information that follows conveys some of the primary concepts Dave conveyed.

WHY
Beginning with a historical review learning occurred primarily through one on one relationships up until the early 1900’s. This journeyman or apprentice relationship still remains in a few select disciplines today. As the industrial era took hold along with mass production learning and classrooms filled. This model of one to many places an expert at the head of the class. Today these former models are still in use yet social learning is gaining important ground as a many to many model for learning.
1:1
1:Many
Many:Many
An estimated 13-30% of work place learning occurs in the classroom or one to many model. On the other hand as much as 87% of actual learning occurs in the less formal social network. In summary information and skills are increasingly complex and require faster, more dynamic, and responsive methods for learning. Social Learning is the primary response to this need.

WHAT
Wikipedia, Blogs, Social Networking… When one compares the 80,000 articles in Britannica with the 2,500,000 articles in Wikipedia the value of social learning becomes more obvious. Granted the error rate in Wikipedia is higher with 5-6 mistakes per article versus the 3-4 mistakes per article in Britannica. So depending on the need the balance point of accuracy, scale and depth may more often be found with a Social Learning mechanism.Learning includes a very broad range of delivery mechanisms. If plotted on a continuum from the most casual to the more formal the list might look something like: User comments and ratings Discussions Blogs Simulations Web Conferencing/Webinars Documents Courses Curricula Licenses/Certifications Educational Degrees

HOW
Informal networks exist everywhere and are a natural outcome of social beings in most any formal organization. These informal networks often contain and exchange operational information essential to the organization’s daily operations and future. Tapping in that network without destroying it is the balancing act for the learning professional. Consider overlaying the formal organizational chart with the social learning network…Amazon Books has created a Model with social learning (comments, user ratings…) around learning resources. Perhaps the ideal is to embed those types of behaviors into a community that includes the formal organization along with customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders.The challenge for the Learning Professional in this dynamic perhaps requires more of a change in role. Rather than being the expert or sage on the stage learning professionals need to be the professional that helps the experts share their knowledge and experience.In conclusion Dave shared a lot of great perspective and insight. Remember all things are relative to remember: training is apart of learning, which is a part of any viable community, which is a part of any collaboration, which is a part of any sustained performance. Where do you fit? Do you lead the learning and are you nurturing community?

Additional References: Growing Up Digital; Ning; Media Wiki

Outsourcing & Insourcing

2008-12-16T12:43:00.001-05:00

Lou Bonaiuto was another speaker at the 2008 Day of Learning. He provided a nice recap of the major issues that come in to play when an organization makes the commitment to outsource a service or to insource a service.

Given the colorful backdrop of the move Lou led to help one of our ‘local’ banks outsource their learning. Then in a few years he was asked to bring learning back in house. Lou is clearly an expert in the challenges either change can bring.

Lou pointed out that outsourcing the learning function in general has met with mixed results. In my mind this may in part be due to the need for organizations to ‘own’ their learning/change/growth. You can’t ask a consultant to prioritize you day. Yet they can help you implement and work through the challenges you choose to address.Cost, capacity, unique skill sets, politics and culture are all reasons to do either outsource or insource.

Some of the insight I found most valuable from Lou’s remarks included the philosophical considerations of service level expectations, balance of control, and ownership of the assets and intellectual capital. Another lesson from his experience is to plan on insourcing when you plan to outsource. In other words hope for the best but give some consideration to how you would make changes if the partnerships don’t work as well as everyone would like.View Lou’s presentation on line at the LearningWiki.

Measuring Business Impact

2008-12-15T12:43:00.002-05:00

During the 2008 Day of Learning Gene Pease, CEO, Capital Analytics, Inc. spoke about the innovative approach they are using with success to demonstrate business impact of learning initiatives. Rather than getting stalled out on Kirkpatrick’s levels Gene and company have simply gone after the golden prize of business impact and optimization of human capital interventions. Their approach builds on the long established methodology of General Linear Modeling (a complex statistical approach). This is the same methodology used in complex clinical trials where a host of variables are changing in different ways. Depending on the availability of internal data human capital initiatives can now measure their impact on sales volume, customer satisfaction and employee retention.

In the most basic terms the Business Impact Analyses approach is:

Conduct a learning/human capital intervention
Compile the data
Analyze the data
Report on the results

Note that Bellevue University is also involved with Capital Analystics in the development of this methodology. Finaly, another component of the process is performance mapping which Gene described as task anlysis on steriods.

Thoughts from Elliot Massie

2008-12-08T12:42:00.001-05:00

As promised I wanted to begin to share some thoughts from the Day of Learning. Elliot Masie was the keynote speaker and he delivered! What follows are some paraphrased thoughts I wanted to pass along.

Learning is not an Island. Learning continues to be proportionately impacted by the economic challenges.

Learning is the core of organizations that survive & thrive due to change. Learning will change in the next 3 years. Here are some predictions:

Context will be melded in with content. There is a thirst for context. This might be provided in a sidebar or through some other mechanism.
Video is a rapidly growing media format. New tools will continue to develop this trend.
Learning on demand will support performance.
Coaching may be in real time whether via an ear bud or otherwise.
The big surprise or application to hit the Learning Industry will actually be neither. It is more likely to be micro resources prepared and selected by Learning Professionals and Learners in an environment were learning is transparent and natural.
Linking learning with readiness and what is the change between here and now and where you need to be.
Small Tools will be the wave of the future (read mobile phone learning apps).

Well if you want more from Elliot please buy his book and or at least visit him online at The MASIE Center.

Day of Learning 2008

2008-12-06T12:42:00.001-05:00

December 3rd of 2008 a Day of Learning conference was held at the International Trade Center Charlotte, NC. This event was co-hosted by the Charlotte Area Chapter of ASTD and Bank of America. The opening key-note speaker was Elliot Masie. The subsequent sessions were filled with eager participants and engaging presenters.
Of course this event would not have been possible without the generous support of many. Day of Learning Sponsors which included:
http://www.berkeleytraining.com/
http://www.calleaglewings.com/
http://www.learn.com/
http://www.ninthhouse.com/
http://www.mzinga.com/
http://www.nexlearn.com/
http://www.skillsoft.com/
http://www.questionmark.com/
http://www.sumtotalsystems.com/
http://www.vangent-hcm.com/
http://www.elementk.com/
http://www.training-pros.com/
http://www.enspire.com/
http://www.povec.com/
http://www.trainingfolks.com/
http://www.trpnet.com/
http://www.visioncor.com/
http://www.handshaw.com/
http://www.webex.com/
http://www.josephbeth.com/
http://www.brainshark.com/
http://www.saba.com/

The finale to this day was a panel discussion with area Chief Learning Officers (CLO) from Wachovia, Bank of America, Lowe’s Home Improvement and others.
I will share more substance from this great event in subsequent posts.

Training

2008-12-06T12:40:00.001-05:00

Most people that reach higher and push themselves farther end up in some sort of training program… If you’d like to do something big get a plan and stick to it!

Shared-Insight

2008-11-05T11:32:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Shared Insight. This is the first post. You can expect a variety of topics and resources to be shared here. For the most part they should all relate to Learning and Performance on an organizational and individual level.