Synapsys Blog - December 2003

Social Software

The latest category of software to be defined (or redefined, depending on your perspective) is 'social software', or tools that enable social networking. The key difference between this and groupware or other collaborative software is that the networks self-organise from the bottom up. Blogs and instant messaging are a perfect example of this. According to Eva Kaplan-Leiserson of Learning Circuits, learning networks in organisations can and do follow a similar model, a phenomenon she dubs 'we-learning'.

http://www.learningcircuits.org/2003/dec2003/kaplan.htm

Designing Emotional Impact Into eLearning

This is a very interesting article from eLearn Magazine that points out how much more effective eLearning can be if it is designed to trigger positive emotions.

"The problem is not the technology, the problem is that nearly all of the [e-learning] environments I know metacommunicate dreariness and boredom, and they only address the cognitive part of learning."

http://www.elearnmag.com

Top Ten Tips for Implementing eLearning

This is a great summary of ideas by Jane Knight, founder of the UK's eLearning Centre (lots of really excellent stuff on this site). She takes a no-nonsense, make-it-happen approach to eLearning, focusing on learning and collaboration -- definitely a breath of fresh air!

http://www.ncc.co.uk/ncc/myitadviser/archive/issue24/people.cfm

Workflow Learning

We are posting this presentation by Sam Adkins for both the message and its medium. The content is very interesting, addressing the phenomenon of informal learning and how prevalent it is in workplaces (backed up by several studies). In addition, the presentation has been exported from PowerPoint to the Macromedia Breeze platform allowing for synchronised voice-over along with the slides. You'll need a pretty fast connection to get all of the audio, but should be able to view the presentation regardless (no plugins required).

http://macromedia.marketing.pr.breezecentral.com/p29338483/

Synapsys Presentation on Training Effectiveness

We delivered this presentation on Dec. 11th as the first in our series of eLearning solutions seminars. In this one, we discuss what effective training means and how to measure effectiveness, including the pros and cons of quantitative vs. qualitative approaches to measurement.

Click here to launch the presentation in your browser...

What We Can Learn From the Video Game Industry

The following is a summary of an online discussion about the power of the video game platform in the creation of learning environments. The panelists are two academics, author Marc Prensky (Digital Game-based Learning) and an American high school student, code-named Cory. There are a lot of interesting tidbits here, most notably about motivation and the power of community, collaboration and competition.

http://www.iaete.org/soapbox/summary.cfm

Aligning Training with Business Strategy

This is a subject near and dear to our hearts and one that is now getting a lot of attention: the importance of aligning training to business strategy and looking for real changes in behaviour and improvements to the bottom line. This article is a discussion about ROI to some extent, but its strongest message is the importance of executive involvement in training decisions.

http://www.optimizemag.com/issue/026/roi.htm

Getting the Most Out of Blended Learning

This article has a provocative title, "Four Blended Learning Blunders and How to Avoid Them", but it's really a primer on the best way to approach blended learning projects. It echoes many of the principles we believe in, like aligning training with business strategies, using the right delivery methods, etc.

http://www.learningcircuits.org/2003/nov2003/elearn.html

Research on Current Practice

In May 2001 Synapsys participated in a survey on online learning practices. The results of that survey are now available at http://www.publicationshare.com/docs/corp_survey.pdf

Respondents were from the corporate sector, spanning all sizes and industries, the largest respondents being education, I.T., Finance and Industrial. The results provide an interesting snapshot of how things were at that time, and canvas a range of issues including:

-barriers to learning
-organisational structure and training methods
-development methods and pedagogical approaches
-communities and resources
-methods for engaging learners
-Return on investment (ROI) measurement, or lack of it
-emerging technologies

Bear in mind the snapshot is of two years ago, but it still makes for interesting reading. There are 15 broad recommendations covering areas such as:

-learning objects
-online learning policies and procedures
-tool development
-freelance instructors/designers
-information portlas and communities