Why Should Instructional Designers Use Visuals in Their Training? As John Medina states in Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School; vision trumps all other senses. If you want learners to recall your message, use images any time they are appropriate. According to Dr. Medina, when information is presented orally, people remember about 10 percent when tested 72 hours after exposure. That figure goes[…]
READ MORE about Images in Online TrainingConnect the Dots in Training
When a mobile game has over a million downloads in the week it launches, it deserves attention. I admit to being in the multitude of people who are hooked on Dots. A recent conversation with colleagues stimulated ideas about how this addictive little game could be used in training. Estimated reading time: 3 minutes For the uninitiated, Dots is a pattern recognition game. Points are awarded for the number of dots you connect[…]
READ MORE about Connect the Dots in TrainingAgility and ICE
It’s always interesting to look at conference themes to get a sense of the trends and important topics. Agility was an undercurrent that caught my attention at the ASTD International Conference & Expo (ICE). Once John Seely Brown addressed the topic in his keynote presentation, I noticed the concept in many places. Dr. Brown spoke of entrepreneurial learners who embody the agility to learn in any situation or environment. Estimated[…]
READ MORE about Agility and ICEFirst Impressions: Books Are Judged by the Cover
Why do people say, “You can’t judge a book by its cover?” We make snap decisions all the time and those decisions are based on the first impression, which metaphorically speaking, is the book cover. Books by Chip Heath and Dan Heath got me thinking about their high impact book covers and how important first impressions are to online training. Estimated reading time: 3 minutes For the uninitiated, Chip Heath[…]
READ MORE about First Impressions: Books Are Judged by the CoverFresh from DevLearn 2012: Mobile Learning
Fresh from DevLearn 2012: Mobile Learning Is there any elearning trend bigger than mobile learning? I don’t think so and it was a hot topic at DevLearn. As a nascent delivery platform, there are many questions about how to use mobile devices effectively. The ubiquity of mobile devices, and smartphones in particular, drives our interest in harnessing the learning potential of tools our target audience has with them throughout the[…]
READ MORE about Fresh from DevLearn 2012: Mobile LearningFresh from DevLearn 2012: Games and Learning
Gamification of training has recently been a big trend in the online learning world. Sessions at DevLearn 2012 made me think deeper about the difference between game-based training and training gamification. Designers who employ gaming and/or gamification strategies claim impressive results. Estimated reading time: 2 minutes In a facilitated discussion session on game-enabled learning and gamification, a number of participants shared their training experiences. We’ll start with clarification on the[…]
READ MORE about Fresh from DevLearn 2012: Games and LearningFresh from DevLearn 2012: Tin Can API
DevLearn attracts many leaders in the online learning industry for its annual conference. This year 2,000 learning and development practitioners gathered in Las Vegas for the October 31 – November 2 event. There were numerous sessions hosted by the best minds in the industry on the latest innovations and issues. One of the hottest topics was the new Tin Can API (Application Programming Interface). Estimated reading time: 2 minutes […]
READ MORE about Fresh from DevLearn 2012: Tin Can APIControversy over Objectives – How to Communicate Objectives to your Learners
We all know that objectives provide the foundation for training design and performance improvement. A challenge in the training industry is how to communicate this information to our target audience without creating a mind-numbingly dull introduction. Novices in the training world frequently think the only legitimate way to start a lesson is with the list of learning or performance objectives we used as the framework to design the training. My[…]
READ MORE about Controversy over Objectives – How to Communicate Objectives to your LearnersAre Learning Differences between Generations A Myth?
Compared to differences between generations there are probably few questions in learning and development where people have expressed so many different opinions. Where does that leave learning and development professionals when it comes to figuring out what matters in designing workplace training? Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Generations in the Workforce Talking about generational differences is difficult because while there is vague agreement on dates and labels, there is also[…]
READ MORE about Are Learning Differences between Generations A Myth?Elearning Book Review – The New Virtual Classroom by Ruth Colvin Clark and Ann Kwinn
The New Virtual Classroom is a terrific resource for designing and delivering effective webinar training. One of the biggest differences between this book and others is that it focuses primarily on strong instructional design strategy while many other resources tend to focus on more superficial “gimmicky” interactions. The authors remind us there is no need to start from scratch when designing training for the virtual classroom. Best practices are offered[…]
READ MORE about Elearning Book Review – The New Virtual Classroom by Ruth Colvin Clark and Ann Kwinn