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 up to 65 percent if you add a meaningful[…]
READ MORE about Why Should Instructional Designers Use Visuals in Their Training?Connect 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[…]
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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 CoverControversy 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?
Generational Learning Differences: Myth or Reality? 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[…]
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 KwinnIsn’t It Always about Control?
Have you ever used an educational website and been blown away by how interesting and engaging it is? I encounter these types of sites when I’m pursuing informal learning. Part of the attractiveness in the learning is that it’s what interests me. Another factor is the site gives me control. These informal learning sites/tools shed insight on how powerful learning can be when we give learners control over what they[…]
READ MORE about Isn’t It Always about Control?Elements of Effective Elearning
Effective elearning leverages instructional strategies and technology to make new ideas understandable. E-learning can be especially effective for complex and abstract topics. Effective elearning does not take a face-to-face lecture and put it in a rapid elearning development tool with the expectation of delivering effective training at the other end. Giving the learner control, offering opportunities for practice, and integrating multiple media formats are a few methods for creating a rich[…]
READ MORE about Elements of Effective ElearningThe Note-Taking Myth
While preparing a training session on conducting effective webinars, I read The New Virtual Classroom by Ruth Colvin Clark and Ann Kwinn. When I give presentations, I always have handouts for note-taking ― in part, because I always take notes when I’m in a learning environment. I was really surprised by what the authors had to say about note-taking in webinars and other learning events. Estimated reading time: 3 minutes[…]
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