viaLearning recently presented a webinar on micro learning, the latest trend in the eLearning space. Like the way many trends in the industry start, it’s been on the periphery of training strategies for a few years, but now is its time to shine. Why, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you my opinion of why.

1. Micro learning is more time effective than more traditional ways of learning. It enables someone to consume content when they need the information, making them more knowledgeable for their job and therefore more effective at it.

2. Micro learning is more relevant for today’s learners. Think about it…people are accustomed, and expect, to consuming content in micro-sized packages. We read short paragraphs or watch 3 minute videos on YouTube to learn how to change a gasket, for example. We are wired for short bits of information.

3. Micro learning  is portable and available when and where learners need it. On the bus? Watch a short video on sales process. Waiting for the train? Listen to a podcast about overcoming objections. Prepping for a sales meeting? Review the product specs five minutes before the meeting.

These three reasons to implement micro learning are all for the benefit of the learner, subsequently benefiting the business. Don’t you think it’s worth a shot?

The next post will discuss when to use micro learning.

Happy learning,

Julie

Come by our booth at the ASTD International Conference May 7 – 9 in Denver, Colorado! viaLearning will be there, demonstrating our capabilities. We are excited to be a vendor there this year. It will be my first time at this conference and I’m certain it will be full of interesting, entertaining and intriguing professionals and organizations.

The theme this year is “Learn something new, perform something extraordinary.” This theme is exciting because what we in the corporate training space do every day is create something that educates and teaches professionals. As a professional adult, we often forget that we need to keep learning to improve ourselves and our businesses. Extraordinary performance grows a business and creates innovation–something we all want to have happen. I’m happy to say that viaLearning strongly believes in and pursues extraordinary performance. Our work is a testament to that. Whether eLearning, ILT, mobile or gaming, we want to make a positive impact in the training space.

So swing by our booth, see what we do, and share what you do so we can all learn together and create something extraordinary.

Happy learning,

Julie

What’s the latest in gaming? How can I start using gaming in my learning strategy? These are the hottest questions in the industry and viaLearning aims to give you answers! Our highly-anticipated new booklet, Game On: How games are transforming corporate learning is now available for download here. This free resource is designed as a primer outlining helpful tips to improving learner engagement and retention.

The interest in game-based learning has accelerated considerably in recent years, driven by clear successes in military and industrial training as well as by emerging research into the cognitive benefits of game play. Developers and researchers are working in every area of game-based learning, including games that are goal-oriented; social game environments; non-digital games that are easy to construct and play; games developed expressly for education; and commercial games that lend themselves to refining team and group skills.

Organizations are faced with numerous challenges, including: training their staff quickly on product specifications, features, and benefits. The tips in this Game Guide help organizations learn how to engage, captivate, and educate their teams by delivering the right information at the right time through gaming. Companies around the world depend on viaLearning’s game-based training initiatives to build creative learning solutions that drive organizational performance. This short guide explains what game-based learning is, and what it can do for your organization.

Happy learning,

Julie

Gaming and mobile learning were hot topics at the eLearning Guild’s Learning Solutions 2012 conference in Orlando, Florida in March. New technologies are allowing for both learning spaces to grow very rapidly.

In mobile learning, a common concern is security of information. One session I attended discussed the different levels of security settings that can be applied and options for security on mobile devices. Options include text and voice passwords, all the way up through custom security settings on native apps. One interesting stat in the growth of mLearning is that IT desks have seen an increase in support requests of 70% because of multiple devices. Why are security and support issues important? They will become obstacles when deploying a mobile learning strategy if the IT team is not consulted early on in the process.

Game-based learning is a big topic, as you all know. We build game-based learning, as do many other companies. It’s definitely a process to integrate gaming into a successful learning strategy. In addition to knowing the audience and culture of the organization to best assess the type of game, if any, to deploy, nailing down game mechanics is equally important. Game mechanics provide a way to give immediate and relevant feedback, learning reinforcement and an engaging and collaborative environment. Ensure these mechanics are determined prior to beginning a game build:

• Points: Will you build in this motivator? How? What values? What does earning points do?
• Challenge/quest: What are the goals? What is the level of complexity?
• Levels: Will there be levels? How will those levels be ‘won’? How is a person’s success at different levels shared?
• Leaderboard: What does the leaderboard indicate? Progress? Status? Competition? Is it visible to all?
• Virtual goods: What do you earn in the game? A piece of cake or point or eCommerce opportunities?

There were many great sessions and speakers at Learning Solutions 2012; it’s hard to capture all the great nuggets of information. It will be interesting to see how today’s comments and projections about mLearning and game-based learning morph over the coming year. Stay tuned.

Happy learning,

Julie

This year viaLearning attended the ASTD TK 12 in Las Vegas to learn what the tech focused trending topics were right now amongst the industry.  ASTD reported about 1000 attendees and the show was the usual mix of hands on application of technology and strategy.  The conference hot topics remained Gamification and Mobile platforms.

Gamification is settling in as a topic – with more of a focus on how to apply meaningful game mechanisms to elearning and less “what does it all mean”.   A notable break out was the impact of successful business environment simulation as a mechanism to take learning beyond knowledge transfer through to effective application of that knowledge.  The results of presented case studies really seemed to show an opportunity for stimulating the learning into higher level application of the concepts.

Similarly on the mobile platform front the take away focus was on the maturity of the offerings coming into play – especially around sales enablement where combined customer content and “learning content” are bought together under a common environment where training and learning are done within a switchable common environment that ensures training and available materials stay in synch.

Overall it was a great validation of our strategy and direction and we left feeling confident that our solutions and experience is building around the right learning objectives.  Feel free to let us know if you were there and had any other “take aways” that would be worth sharing.

Happy learning,

Julie

The New Year always brings a plethora of professionals trying to determine what the coming year will bring. I’m guilty of this as well. We all want to be the ones to say “I told you this would happen…” or “I knew that would occur in this year…” But it really is so hard to know. I’ll bite, though, and take a stab at it.

The training space is always evolving, but one trend in the past few years has now become an ‘official’ business driver. That is the validation that L&D departments need a more reliable way to measure and evaluate training as it relates to the impact on an organization. Intuitively it makes sense: supporting technology and the speed at which people learn is getting businesses to the point where solid measurement  is expected. Plus, to prove its worth, L&D departments are now put in a position to quantify results as it relates to ROI. Because of this, the Kirkpatrick Model has been tweaked for the 21^st century. The article How to Evaluate Learning: The Kirkpatrick Model for the 21^st Century does a nice job of explaining how the model has been flipped from a bottoms up approach to top-down approach. When planning a training program, start with the end in mind and ask what the desired outcomes are and plan to that. Many organizations are doing this now; this model confirms it. You can learn more about the Kirkpatrick Model here.

eLearning is also taking on a new dimension with the addition of gaming (or game-based learning or gamification). eLearning is not simply web-based training any longer. It includes all training that is technology based. eLearning can be delivered by a computer, mobile device, tablet, Smartphone, social networks, really any technological device. It is even integrated into classroom settings. Its form is many as well…ranging from full, asynchronous courses to multiplayer games to texting on mobile devices. Because of the ability of games to engage and interact with learners, I expect the most interesting changes to occur in that space. There will always be a need for ‘traditional’ web-based eLearning, but deployment of that content will transition to a more interactive and sometimes entertaining game solution.

So to start out 2012 I’m going to put a stake in the ground and say that the two biggest trends are:

1. Development of an ROI model for training
2. Games will become the preferred delivery method for eLearning

What do you think?

Happy learning,

Julie

Happy New Year, everyone. 2011 came and went so fast that the training world did not have too many changes. We saw improvements in mobile learning, game-based learning and HTML5 development. Traditional web-based training held steady, although it tended to be blended with other modalities for effectiveness. Which is where I predict 2012 will take us…

Remember in grade school when we had to memorize our addition, subtraction, multiplication tables? Well, there is something to be said to that. Science has proven that repetition is a key in retaining information in the brain. This means that for learning to be effective, the information needs to be consumed by the learner multiple times, a minimum of 3 times. Hence, memorization of math tables.

Providing information in a blended format can effectively provide that much needed repetition to learners. Think about it: you want to give training to your sales representatives on a new product. What would the results be if you provided that information in a PDF? Or a web-based training course? Or by posting specs on the website or sending them out in an email? If you simply did one of those, the results would not generally be very good. But, if all three forms of information dissemination were employed, the chances that the sales representatives could remember the information would be much greater. And the learning would be happening multiple times, in multiple ways and recalled in the way it’s needed more quickly and accurately.

I know technology will rule the roost in the training space in 2012. Mobile learning and game-based learning, which I am a big proponent for, will grow and continue to become more commonplace in training plans. HTML5 will continue to open new capabilities for development. I also know that by using those methods, in addition to other, tried and true methods, our training effectiveness will increase and more learning will be happening. And isn’t that what we want?

Happy learning,

Julie

The interiors of fast food restaurants are often decorated in shades of orange and brown, because those colors promote a healthy appetite. Lawyers routinely instruct their clients to wear blue suits during court appearances, because blue equates with trustworthiness. The room where performers hang out before going onstage is called the “green room” and traditionally has green walls, since green promotes relaxation.

The impact of color on our emotions and behavior has been observed throughout human history. From the interiors of hospitals to corporate logos, color influences the way people feel and act. There’s no denying that color has a significant impact on the way we see the world around us. In the hands of a skilled designer, a color scheme can give a sense of peace, make us anxious, influence our opinions about a product’s perceived value or put us in the mood for love.

In eLearning, we are always attempting to dictate the learner’s behavior. We want to instill a state of open-minded relaxation in which the viewer feels comfortable and confident enough to absorb and retain new information. We don’t want to take them out of this frame of mind by introducing startling, jarring colors which might break the learner’s concentration. With this idea firmly in mind, the graphic design of an eLearning course can be formulated so that it optimizes the user’s ability to get the most out of the course and sets them up for success.

There are, of course, considerations other than emotions to take into account when designing the visual look and feel of an eLearning module. More often than not, there is a customer whose brand identity must be preserved. This sometimes means working within strict guidelines, including adherence to a client-mandated color palette. It becomes that much more important, then, for a designer working within dictated parameters to craft a user experience that not only preserves the integrity of the client’s brand, but fulfills their learning objectives as well.

In addition to the emotional impact color can have, there’s a very real correlation between color and an individual’s ability to learn. A study by the University of Georgia College of Education showed that the colors of the walls in schools can have an impact on a number of factors, including:

• Eye fatigue
• Productivity
• Accuracy
• Spatial organization
• Developmental processes

The effects of color aren’t universal, however. One must be cognizant of one’s audience. The study referenced above found that while warmer, brighter colors were most advantageous to learning in preschool and elementary schools, upper grades benefitted more from cooler colors which promote focus and concentration.

Geographic and cultural differences can often change a color’s emotional impact, as well. While Western audiences might equate the color white with cleanliness and purity, many Eastern cultures associate white with funerals and mourning.

Here’s some additional reading to help you when choosing appropriate color schemes for your eLearning offerings:

http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm

http://sbinformation.about.com/cs/advertising/a/colors.htm

http://ms.cc.sunysb.edu/~lscarlatos/classes/ColorPerception/emotion.html

Be mindful of these considerations when designing your eLearning programs to ensure you convey the message you intend.

Happy learning,

Mark

2011 has been a great building year for viaLearning. First, we were recognized by TrainingIndustry.com as a top content development company to watch in 2011. This was based on our new and innovative service offerings, our unique approach to content development, specialized services and our client base. As 2011 went on, we further enhanced our capabilities and expertise in these areas, and then some.

This was validated by our winning of two Davey Awards recently. viaLearning was selected from nearly 4,000 entries from around the world to receive Silver awards for our work on the AT&T Torch – Micro Learning in the Mobile Marketing/Telecommunications category and Hewlett Packard’s Day in the Life in the Interactive Multimedia/Sales category.

We are thrilled to have been recognized with these awards in the eLearning community. The community is rich with creative, vibrant and excellent solutions—I’m very proud of the work our team has done to reach this status. May 2012 bring even more accolades and interesting experiences.

Let us know what your success looked like in 2011. Sharing is a beneficial way to learn from each other!

Happy learning,

Julie