Where are your e-learning “personas”?

Recently I took part in a seminar and followed up by reading Alan Cooper’s “The inmates are running the asylum”. The key concept to extract was the use of “personas” in the interaction design.

The concept of having personas is not new to educators but most have not labeled them that way. In most instructional design we spend a significant amount of time addressing the learner and learning styles. So what is new about using personas? It makes them tangible and thereby sharpens our goals.

We can talk about learners in the abstract just like the traditional user interface designer talks about “users” but the minute that the interaction designer or instructional designer created a persona, one we can call by name and perceive as totally real, our entire view changes. Consciously and unconsciously we will do things to “users” that we will never do to our motivated student Lucy, or Sam who needs an extra hand as he struggles with myriad of issues.

What it boils down to is our getting past learning styles and users to humanizing our design. How we move this from interaction design to instructional design is still something to be looked into by Cooper has certainly raised the bar for designers and educators.

Sales up 25% thanks to e-learning!

CompUSA gets up to 25% jump in sales thanks to e-learning program

Here is an article that brings home tangible results of a good blended learning mix which without abandoning the traditional added a significant measure of e-learning.

Why the success?
1. A good learning mix (traditional vs. e-learning
2. Ability to "distribute the right kind of training at the right time to the people who need it most"
3. Just-in-time e-learning; “So as soon as it’s in stores, our employees are trained to sell it.”
4. In-context-learning: Right timing also provides a context that employees can relate to resulting in better cross-sell products, for example.
5. "The online system offers more flexibility in presenting multiple types of training that cater to the different learning needs"
6. More interactive training is provided online
7. Priming up the learner by preceding the course with broadcasts.

The above steps can be successfully implemented by just about any company and while we cannot all expect 10 to 25% increase in sales, a respectable increase in sales is certainly something we can realistically aim for.

Rapid E-learning templates cut down development time

Template do reduce our development time. They not only focus the subject matter expert but they also make it significantly more efficient for those producing the HTML pages. Past confusion and time coordinating were replaced by actual coding or other needed work.

The technical staff was involved in the development of the templates and therefore, they knew the structure, where things should go, where and what kind of multimedia they could expect, and even what kind of scripts they would need. As a result, a great many of the technical issues that would have been addressed during the actual course development, were addressed ahead of time, shrinking the development time of the course.

Now I am implementing similar templatizing at a medical association. My expectation is that the results will be similar to those seen elsewhere and resulting in more and higher quality courses. Next my aim will shift to bring the same efficiency to other areas of development process.

Rapid E-Learning: reality or just buzz?

We all aspire to produce more with less. There is nothing new about the desire for grater productivity and its related rewards. In e-learning is by nature a path to higher productivity. Instructors and learners no longer have to spend time getting to the class location, instead, they can login and proceed to concentrate on what relevant. Learners no longer have to sit listening to inefficient lectures. E-learning instructors no longer have to repeat lecture every time the class is offered. Still, in spite of all this we are seeking more from e-learning, in part because we became frustrated with its long development time which contradicts the “E” nature of e-learning.

As a result we are now seeking to speed up that development time via Rapid E-Learning. There are a number of ways we are seeking to do this. We are looking at acquisition tools, we are looking a simpler development or delivery tools. But is this a reality of is “Rapid E-learning” only the latest buzz word or craze?

After conducting some tests I can affirm that Rapid E-Learning is real! Products that use to take me months to acquire now take less than that to acquire, produce, QA, and publish. What used to take 6 to 9 months was recently done in 3 with only the use of some Rapid E-Learning approaches and a lot more to test.

The use of templates to focus the subject matter experts (SMEs) had the greatest impact together with the use of well defined learning objectives embedded in the template sections. Templates helped focus the SMEs in terms of structure/format. No longer were they sitting in front of a blank screen overwhelmed and wondering... The template told him/her what to do, and how to do it. The learning object structure made it feel manageable prompting action. The focus provided by an embedded learning objective drove the energy toward meeting a very specific instructional goal. The result was a dramatic improvement in acquisition time.

Quality Assurance and E-Learning

FT.com / Business life / Business education - Clicks and bricks work together in the world of corporate teaching: "There is a lot of very poor e-learning around and the introduction of accreditation that gives a quality signal is a very important thing to be doing, says Mark Fenton-O'Creevy, director of programmes and curriculum at the OU Business School.
The e-learning products that have crashed and burned, he adds, are those that have based their product on technology, rather than on teaching and learning.
Technology is merely an enabler for e-learning says Mr Fenton-O'Creevy; e-learning should be about the teaching and learning processes and the quality of students' experiences.
The CEL accreditation, he says, looks at the processes by which learning is delivered as well as the institutional support."

It was a bout time that someone raised up the issue of Accreditation or Certification of e-learning. For too long we have had a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly in e-learning. Yes, it is true that, in the United States, if the institution offering he e-learning is an accredited college or university they must be regionally approved. Having headed the first e-learning approved by the Middle State Association to offer full programs online, I know the issues we had to address. Among those, show that what we were doing online was equivalent to what we were doing in the traditional classroom. Still, there seems to be a need for more checks. It’s not merely enough to see that what is being done is equivalent to traditional instruction.

There should be a new set of standards for e-learning programs. Standards that are appropriate to measure the effects of the technology, continuously push it towards excellence, and guarantee the learners that the instruction will provide the desired outcomes.

The European CEL might not be enough itself but it is a start. It clearly says that we need to do more in this area other than simply jump on the bandwagon of e-learning.

In Europe Corporate universities can turn to Clip, the Corporate Learning Improvement Process, as a quality benchmark, while customers will be able to turn to Certification of e-learning (CEL) for standards. Another model would be Japan’s E-Learning Consortium which offers a variety of services including:

1. Provision of information concerning e-Learning
2. Education of the people engaging in construction, operation, and administration of e-Learning systems
3. Certification of e-learning systems and contents as standard-conformed products

Hopefully we will see something of a similar nature in the United States or so learners can be provided with quality assurances while institution and individuals issuing the instruction and be recognized for their achievements.

Should you consider e-learning for your enterprise?

News: "The march of high technology has brought with it a quick and convenient way of acquiring new skills on the job: e-learning. But it has yet to take off because it isn't cheap. Research has found that smaller firms are unlikely to have enough surplus profit to plough into e-learning platforms or courseware.
However, given the reduction in costs associated with a maturing market, suppliers and developers are beginning to approach small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - and employers like Synergy Connections are seriously thinking about investing in it."

Education and training aren't cheap no matter what approach is used. In the past many thought e-learning would offer a path to cost savings. Unfortunately they jumped into e-learning too soon. Until now e-learning has not been cheaper. I have offered other advantages but cost savings has not been one of them. The reason was that we were not maximizing the advantages that the technology can offer. We were only looking at the technology in terms of delivery but for other aspects of the instruction.

Today we are starting to realize those efficiencies. We not only avoiding time off the job to travel to locations offering the instruction with the related travel costs but we are also producing instruction more efficiently.

The use of authoring templates and authoring systems has helped streamline acquisition. The use of sharply defined learning objectives has focused and made the subject matter expert more efficient and made instruction more effective. Reusability of production templates, content, and full learning objects increased course production efficiency. All these things add up to a very different e-learning landscape for even small businesses.

Other factors that might have an impact are new “Rapid e-learning” approaches (the latest buzz word in e-learning) will also have an impact.

If in the past you were discourages by e-learning costs you should look again either now or in the near future as things are changing significantly.

E-Learning advantages

1. Accommodate multiple learning styles. Through the use of media, text and even live technology mediated interactions.
2. Offer individualized instruction through assessment and remediation addressing the learner’s needs.
3. Provide self-paced instruction for learners wanting to move ahead or learners that wanting extra practice.
4. Offer on-demand access to learning when needed. The learner determines when he/she wants to learn.
5. Allow collaborative learning so learners do not feel isolated and maximize learning.
6. Engages users with stimulating content and interactivity that teaches and reinforces.
7. Increase retention by using reinforcers more consistently than other approaches.
8. Increase consistency when the learning is captured and delivered by technology.
9. Reduce learning time according to recent research (Web-based training cookbook, 1997, p.108)
10. Track learners and provide proof of their work and skill development.

I am sure I will get comments saying that is not what "I" experienced... just remember e-learning is comprised of a wide variety of approaches. The only commonality is the "E" part. These approaches range from those that mimic the traditional classroom to those that push the edge of the envelope. The above are observations of what takes places in most instances.

PharmaLive: Physicians Favor Live And Paper-Based CME Programs Over Online And Electronic Versions

PharmaLive: Physicians Favor Live And Paper-Based CME Programs Over Online And Electronic Versions: "If a survey were made only of younger and more technology-savvy physicians, the less-established and more-novel CME program-delivery methods might well enjoy considerably stronger support "

E-Learning will have an increasing role in CME.

As the quote above state is young physicians are more inclined to pursue technology-based Continuing Medical Education. This fact clearly points to the future. As physicians continue to be pressured to become more efficient the time constraints become too large to devote days or weeks in traditional learning settings, however, technology can bridge the gap.

In addition to the time constraints there is the added issue of comfort with technology. Younger physicians are starting to learn in different ways from prior generations as they embrace the "E" factor. They learn on PC, via DVDs, with MP3, and voice XML, nothing short of an alphabet soup to older physicians.

The interesting thing is that while the delivery method is very different, the content format hasn't changed much. Physicians like to learn interactively with cases and simulations. They also like to be able to control the instruction and have a need to see it direct effect on their practice. These things don't come as a surprise to those of us who understand adult learning as what was just described is backed by solid adult learning theory.

DfES e-Learning strategy: Ruth Kelly comments :: PublicTechnology.net :: e-Government & public sector IT news from

DFES e-Learning strategy: Ruth Kelly comments


Is E-Learning technology the answer our school's problems?

I am all for Ruth Kelly's initiatives, however, the question that comes to mind is "Is this what we need?". Sure this might help some parents be more involved as they take a look that this latest "cool" thing at school. But will the enthusiasm last? If parents were not interested in their kids before will cool technology change that?

I'm usually optimistic but in this I am having difficulty believing Kelly. I think there is a lot more we need to know about parent involvement. Why are so many Asian parents so demanding of their kids, for example. Perhaps the answer is in that they have seen the negative consequences of not being educated. The income potential of education is truly amazing but for some reason that is not seen with the same urgency in other places. At least it doesn't seem to be urgent here in the USA. Maybe because for so long people in America have succeeded doing what they liked. Maybe that is a good thing...

Yes, I do support equipping the schools with up to date technology. I do support the use of e-learning and Kelly's initiatives since I successfully taught and tutored young children with such technology even in the late 80s. I well aware of the benefits of technology but I also know that much of the success we had at the Langston Hughes Institute in Buffalo, New York was due to parent involvement not just cool technology. Parents are the home are the greatest challenge for today's educators. We will be watching with interest the developments of this interesting initiative.

The Auburn Plainsman - Distance learning entices

The Auburn Plainsman - Distance learning entices

Opening the door of opportuinty via e-learning

Many universities are finding out that distance learning is not just for remote students but instead that it can be a great complementary tool to good onsite instruction. Even in the early days on online learning Mercy College saw this as a great deal of the busy adults in its traditional campused programs sought to balance their schedule with e-learning courses.

As the first college to receive full accreditation to offer 100% online programs by the Middle States Association, Mercy saw what now Auburn is confirming. This should be of particular interest to universities that have taken a stand against e-learning initiatives. As a Vice President of a university put it to me when I inquired about the possibility of complementing its programs with e-learning, "that is not the kind of university we want to become". The answer made clear his perception of new instructional initiatives and those that pursue them but, it also provide me with a insight on where his competition should focus.

E-Learning in its many forms is a powerful competitive edge. It can reach those that would have never considered enrollment in an educational program. It can also entice those weighing alternatives between a job and an education. This is true to working adults in the US but it is also true with some traditional age students from overseas. As I put it to overseas students with limited resources wanting to study in the US, "an institution offering solid e-learning might be the difference between staying home and your US experience". A few courses taken from home might reduce the cost of a full overseas education making it possible to study in the US for a semester or a year, of a MBA program, for example. A win for the university, a win for the student who realized his educational dream, and in this case, a win for the US as it brings understanding of its culture overseas. Is this the kind of university you want yours to be?