Showing posts with label Allison Rossett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allison Rossett. Show all posts
Saturday, April 3, 2010
NYNP blog post 9-2-09
Notes from Day 2 of The eLearning Guild's New England Regional Instructional Design Symposium
Designing Learning for the “Moment of Need”
Bob Mosher, LearningGuide Solutions USA
Mosher talked about creating a "holistic learning ecosystem" that helps people at each moment of need for learning. He suggested that there are five such moments of need: 1) the first time we learn something, 2) when we want to learn more, 3) when we try to remember or apply learning, 4) when things change, and 5) when something goes wrong. As trainers, we need to create support for staff that's appropriate for each stage, and Mosher suggested that e-learning can be useful for the first two types of moments, whereas just-in-time performance supports are more useful for the last three.
The learning ecosystem needs to include guidance for learners on what to access and when, because Mosher noted that research shows that 80% of adults make poor choices when given choices in their learning -- we tend to choose based on what's shortest, shiniest, etc., rather than on what will actually help us perform.
E-Learning on the Cheap! Finding Resources for Free (or Virtually Free)
Steven Yacovelli, TopDog Learning Group, LLC
Yacovelli made the point that e-learning doesn't need to be expensive to be good, as long as it's designed well. As he said, "cheap does not equal low quality." Without necessarily endorsing any products, he and the group shared many free resources, including Audacity and Wavepad for creating audio recordings, Moodle and Sakai for managing e-learning content much like an LMS, Udutu for building SCORM objects online, Wink or Camstudio for doing video screen captures, Guttenberg Press for books that are out of print, Stockvault for graphics, Comicpics or Toondoo for creating comics, and Drupal or Joomla for web authoring.
He also said that his company has a paper measurement that can help benchmark attitudes about e-learning before a project begins, which can be used to measure the project's success -- and they will share the measurement for free if the user agrees to share the data collected.
Blended and Interactive Design on a Nonprofit Budget
Matthea Marquart & Zora Rizzi, BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life)
Day 2 of the symposium was the day when Zora and I led a session, which provided lessons learned from BELL's e-learning project. It was a delight to present our project to e-learning professionals, and it was a thrill to receive positive feedback. If you're interested in checking out some of what we shared, our handouts are available at http://www.elearningguild.com/showFile.cfm?id=3495
Closing General Session – Panel
Panelists: Lee Maxey, MINDMAX, Inc.
Bob Mosher, LearningGuide Solutions
Marc Rosenberg, Marc Rosenberg and Associates
Allison Rossett, Department of Educational Technology, San Diego State University
Will Thalheimer, Work-Learning Research
Ellen Wagner, Sage Road Solutions, LLC
Moderator: Heidi Fisk, The eLearning Guild
Here are some highlights of the panel's responses to questions from symposium participants.
In response to the question of the top three things a new e-learning manager should do, Will Thalheimer said that the new manager should prioritize evaluation, learn to be a good leader of many different types of people, and maintain a sense of humor; Lee Maxey said that the new manager should read The First 90 Days, determine success measures, and get a coach that will help the manager be accountable.
In response to the question of what organizations should consider when selecting an LMS or CMS (learning management system or content management system), Marc Rosenberg said that the LMS doesn't really matter because well designed, relevant e-learning content is the key and LMS's can become a roadblock when they control what type of e-learning is produced in order to fit the LMS's limited capabilities; Lee Maxey said that it's not important to have a perfect LMS because there are many web-enabled services you can tack on as long as you get an LMS with 80% of what you need; Will Thalheimer cautioned that having an overly fancy LMS can send the message that training is separate from work if the training becomes more about the LMS than the job.
In response to the question of what kind of interactivity multiple generations need, Allison Rossett said that everyone needs interaction, so we should assume that certain generations don't need to be engaged; Will Thalheimer noted e-learning should engage people to the point that they stop multi-tasking, because research has clearly demonstrated that multitasking doesn't work and that what happens is that people jump from one task to another without focusing on anything and therefore do everything worse.
In response to what books e-learning professionals should read, the panel recommended Ruth Clark on design and e-learning, Jackie Fenn on managing the technology hype cycle, John Kotter on leading change, and Chip & Dan Heath on making ideas stick.
Designing Learning for the “Moment of Need”
Bob Mosher, LearningGuide Solutions USA
Mosher talked about creating a "holistic learning ecosystem" that helps people at each moment of need for learning. He suggested that there are five such moments of need: 1) the first time we learn something, 2) when we want to learn more, 3) when we try to remember or apply learning, 4) when things change, and 5) when something goes wrong. As trainers, we need to create support for staff that's appropriate for each stage, and Mosher suggested that e-learning can be useful for the first two types of moments, whereas just-in-time performance supports are more useful for the last three.
The learning ecosystem needs to include guidance for learners on what to access and when, because Mosher noted that research shows that 80% of adults make poor choices when given choices in their learning -- we tend to choose based on what's shortest, shiniest, etc., rather than on what will actually help us perform.
E-Learning on the Cheap! Finding Resources for Free (or Virtually Free)
Steven Yacovelli, TopDog Learning Group, LLC
Yacovelli made the point that e-learning doesn't need to be expensive to be good, as long as it's designed well. As he said, "cheap does not equal low quality." Without necessarily endorsing any products, he and the group shared many free resources, including Audacity and Wavepad for creating audio recordings, Moodle and Sakai for managing e-learning content much like an LMS, Udutu for building SCORM objects online, Wink or Camstudio for doing video screen captures, Guttenberg Press for books that are out of print, Stockvault for graphics, Comicpics or Toondoo for creating comics, and Drupal or Joomla for web authoring.
He also said that his company has a paper measurement that can help benchmark attitudes about e-learning before a project begins, which can be used to measure the project's success -- and they will share the measurement for free if the user agrees to share the data collected.
Blended and Interactive Design on a Nonprofit Budget
Matthea Marquart & Zora Rizzi, BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life)
Day 2 of the symposium was the day when Zora and I led a session, which provided lessons learned from BELL's e-learning project. It was a delight to present our project to e-learning professionals, and it was a thrill to receive positive feedback. If you're interested in checking out some of what we shared, our handouts are available at http://www.elearningguild.com/showFile.cfm?id=3495
Closing General Session – Panel
Panelists: Lee Maxey, MINDMAX, Inc.
Bob Mosher, LearningGuide Solutions
Marc Rosenberg, Marc Rosenberg and Associates
Allison Rossett, Department of Educational Technology, San Diego State University
Will Thalheimer, Work-Learning Research
Ellen Wagner, Sage Road Solutions, LLC
Moderator: Heidi Fisk, The eLearning Guild
Here are some highlights of the panel's responses to questions from symposium participants.
In response to the question of the top three things a new e-learning manager should do, Will Thalheimer said that the new manager should prioritize evaluation, learn to be a good leader of many different types of people, and maintain a sense of humor; Lee Maxey said that the new manager should read The First 90 Days, determine success measures, and get a coach that will help the manager be accountable.
In response to the question of what organizations should consider when selecting an LMS or CMS (learning management system or content management system), Marc Rosenberg said that the LMS doesn't really matter because well designed, relevant e-learning content is the key and LMS's can become a roadblock when they control what type of e-learning is produced in order to fit the LMS's limited capabilities; Lee Maxey said that it's not important to have a perfect LMS because there are many web-enabled services you can tack on as long as you get an LMS with 80% of what you need; Will Thalheimer cautioned that having an overly fancy LMS can send the message that training is separate from work if the training becomes more about the LMS than the job.
In response to the question of what kind of interactivity multiple generations need, Allison Rossett said that everyone needs interaction, so we should assume that certain generations don't need to be engaged; Will Thalheimer noted e-learning should engage people to the point that they stop multi-tasking, because research has clearly demonstrated that multitasking doesn't work and that what happens is that people jump from one task to another without focusing on anything and therefore do everything worse.
In response to what books e-learning professionals should read, the panel recommended Ruth Clark on design and e-learning, Jackie Fenn on managing the technology hype cycle, John Kotter on leading change, and Chip & Dan Heath on making ideas stick.
NYNP blog post 8-3-09
Notes from Day 1 of The eLearning Guild's New England Regional Instructional Design Symposium
Event info at http://www.elearningguild.com/content.cfm?selection=doc.1222
The eLearning Guild's Instructional Design Symposium on July 23 and 24 was excellent, and the highlights from my favorite sessions from Day 1 are below.
Mastering e-Learning Instructional Design in the 21st Century
With Brent Schlenker, The eLearning Guild
Schlenker gave a fantastic keynote address. One good quote was "clicking buttons in an elevator is not interactive, but we're told that clicking the 'next' button in an e-learning is." He pushed participants to do better with interactivity, and he suggested that at this point in technological advances, e-learning content should be searchable, editable, linkable, tagg-able, and feed-able. Another good quote was one he referenced by Plato: "You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than you can from a lifetime of conversation." He tied this to Ralph Koster's book A Theory of Fun for Game Design, which posits that with games, learning is the drug -- he suggested that e-learning should be designed to be just as effective at teaching as games.
He also referenced John Medina's book Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School and pushed participants to remember that brains need repetition, stimulation of the senses, and exploration of patterns in order to learn, so we need to build these into e-learning.
Beyond Kirkpatrick: Taking a Fresh Look at Analysis and Evaluation
Allison Rossett, San Diego State University
Rossett pushed participants to incorporate evidence into our e-learning practice -- both anecdotal evidence and metrics. She said that the data we collect in order to evaluate our e-learning should serve three broad purposes -- to plan, to report, and to improve.
Rossett quoted Abraham Lincoln -- "If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my ax" -- to make the point that e-learning professionals should spend the majority of our time on analysis and evaluation. Her tips to make this feasible included baking in the metrics so that the e-learning is being evaluated throughout rather than just at the end, focusing only on gathering data that's actionable, and prioritizing the purposes of any project so that even with limited time and resources the project can be successful. To quote Rossett, "You can only judge success when you and those you serve have agreed on purposes."
Situation-based Learning Design: Research Insights for e-Learning
Will Thalheimer, Work-Learning Research
To increase long-term memory of what's learned in e-learning, Thalheimer said that e-learning content must be aligned with context, must include practice retrieving information from one's memory, and should be repeated over time. Situation-based learning design focuses on the first two. Content-context alignment can be achieved by matching the e-learning with the workplace in as many ways as possible, including background and incident, as well as look, feel, sounds, mood, space, etc. When designers cannot create a match, the next best strategy is to create many contexts, which also aids in memory retrieval. Regarding practice, research shows that even tests are helpful, especially if they include feedback.
When designing situation-based learning rather than topic-based learning, Thalheimer recommended considering the magic question -- "What do we want our learners to be able to do, and in what situations do we want our learners to do these things?" The answers to that question should guide designers in creating relevant e-learning. To do this, Thalheimer discussed the SEDA conceptualizati on of how people approach situations -- Situation, Evaluation, Decision, Action -- and noted that situation-based learning should include all of these phases.
Event info at http://www.elearningguild.com/content.cfm?selection=doc.1222
The eLearning Guild's Instructional Design Symposium on July 23 and 24 was excellent, and the highlights from my favorite sessions from Day 1 are below.
Mastering e-Learning Instructional Design in the 21st Century
With Brent Schlenker, The eLearning Guild
Schlenker gave a fantastic keynote address. One good quote was "clicking buttons in an elevator is not interactive, but we're told that clicking the 'next' button in an e-learning is." He pushed participants to do better with interactivity, and he suggested that at this point in technological advances, e-learning content should be searchable, editable, linkable, tagg-able, and feed-able. Another good quote was one he referenced by Plato: "You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than you can from a lifetime of conversation." He tied this to Ralph Koster's book A Theory of Fun for Game Design, which posits that with games, learning is the drug -- he suggested that e-learning should be designed to be just as effective at teaching as games.
He also referenced John Medina's book Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School and pushed participants to remember that brains need repetition, stimulation of the senses, and exploration of patterns in order to learn, so we need to build these into e-learning.
Beyond Kirkpatrick: Taking a Fresh Look at Analysis and Evaluation
Allison Rossett, San Diego State University
Rossett pushed participants to incorporate evidence into our e-learning practice -- both anecdotal evidence and metrics. She said that the data we collect in order to evaluate our e-learning should serve three broad purposes -- to plan, to report, and to improve.
Rossett quoted Abraham Lincoln -- "If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my ax" -- to make the point that e-learning professionals should spend the majority of our time on analysis and evaluation. Her tips to make this feasible included baking in the metrics so that the e-learning is being evaluated throughout rather than just at the end, focusing only on gathering data that's actionable, and prioritizing the purposes of any project so that even with limited time and resources the project can be successful. To quote Rossett, "You can only judge success when you and those you serve have agreed on purposes."
Situation-based Learning Design: Research Insights for e-Learning
Will Thalheimer, Work-Learning Research
To increase long-term memory of what's learned in e-learning, Thalheimer said that e-learning content must be aligned with context, must include practice retrieving information from one's memory, and should be repeated over time. Situation-based learning design focuses on the first two. Content-context alignment can be achieved by matching the e-learning with the workplace in as many ways as possible, including background and incident, as well as look, feel, sounds, mood, space, etc. When designers cannot create a match, the next best strategy is to create many contexts, which also aids in memory retrieval. Regarding practice, research shows that even tests are helpful, especially if they include feedback.
When designing situation-based learning rather than topic-based learning, Thalheimer recommended considering the magic question -- "What do we want our learners to be able to do, and in what situations do we want our learners to do these things?" The answers to that question should guide designers in creating relevant e-learning. To do this, Thalheimer discussed the SEDA conceptualizati on of how people approach situations -- Situation, Evaluation, Decision, Action -- and noted that situation-based learning should include all of these phases.
NYNP blog post 6-10-09
Notes from Day 1 of the International Conference on E-Learning in the Workplace
Today's keynote address was given by Dr. Allison Rossett of San Diego State University and was titled "E-learning is What?" Rossett shared her thoughts about good e-learning design and the future of e-learning, and I thought you'd be interested in three of her quotes:
"Consider designing training that's just-in-time, not just-in-case."
Rossett suggested that training shouldn't include every possible piece of information that learners might possibly need, but rather provide information that learners will use. One way to move overly detailed information out of training is to create performance supports that provide information right when staff members need it. An example of this concept is the Coast Guard, which used to train their staff on every single type of boat and what to do when each type of boat was encountered, even when it was likely that staff would only encounter certain boats once in their careers, if ever; they replaced much of that training by creating palm pilot devices where staff can look up boats as needed on the job.
"Training should move material to the mind, heart, and belly."
Rossett pointed out that the best training changes the brain so that the brain has new knowledge to access and use, while at the same time convincing people's emotions and guts to actually use that new knowledge.
"Trainers need to be fluent with technology, but skeptical."
Rossett said that trainers need to keep up with new technology, but also look at it with a critical eye rather than jumping to use every new type of technology that comes out. We should remember that training needs to be effective, rather than just flashy.
Another highlight
Another highlight of the day was Hal Christensen's session on electronic performance supports, in which he demonstrated two examples of just-in-time supports and passionately argued that if training provides information that learners may never use or will use so long after the training that they're likely to forget it, that particular training doesn't have much value. His top quote was "aim to change the performance, not the performer," meaning that organizations should aim to make the workplace smarter by making it easier for people to do their jobs well. He argued that performance supports are a key way to do that.
Today's keynote address was given by Dr. Allison Rossett of San Diego State University and was titled "E-learning is What?" Rossett shared her thoughts about good e-learning design and the future of e-learning, and I thought you'd be interested in three of her quotes:
"Consider designing training that's just-in-time, not just-in-case."
Rossett suggested that training shouldn't include every possible piece of information that learners might possibly need, but rather provide information that learners will use. One way to move overly detailed information out of training is to create performance supports that provide information right when staff members need it. An example of this concept is the Coast Guard, which used to train their staff on every single type of boat and what to do when each type of boat was encountered, even when it was likely that staff would only encounter certain boats once in their careers, if ever; they replaced much of that training by creating palm pilot devices where staff can look up boats as needed on the job.
"Training should move material to the mind, heart, and belly."
Rossett pointed out that the best training changes the brain so that the brain has new knowledge to access and use, while at the same time convincing people's emotions and guts to actually use that new knowledge.
"Trainers need to be fluent with technology, but skeptical."
Rossett said that trainers need to keep up with new technology, but also look at it with a critical eye rather than jumping to use every new type of technology that comes out. We should remember that training needs to be effective, rather than just flashy.
Another highlight
Another highlight of the day was Hal Christensen's session on electronic performance supports, in which he demonstrated two examples of just-in-time supports and passionately argued that if training provides information that learners may never use or will use so long after the training that they're likely to forget it, that particular training doesn't have much value. His top quote was "aim to change the performance, not the performer," meaning that organizations should aim to make the workplace smarter by making it easier for people to do their jobs well. He argued that performance supports are a key way to do that.
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Allison Rossett is taking a look
Yesterday I attended a Training Magazine webinar featuring Allison Rossett on the topic "Elearning Is Not What You Think It Is." I've been a fan of Rossett since I got to see her speak this summer at the International Conference on E-Learning in the Workplace and The eLearning Guild's Instructional Design Symposium (see my blog posts from 6.10.09 and 8.3.09 for details), and she was excellent once again.
Rossett is a professor at San Diego State University, and she and one of her colleagues, Jim Marshall, recently conducted a study on today's definitions of e-learning, today's e-learning practices, current aspirations for e-learning in the future, and organizational barriers to e-learning. In yesterday's webinar, Rossett shared some of their study's findings.
It was interesting to learn that amongst the almost 1,000 respondents, the top five e-learning practices today are:
1) Our programs include tests of skills and knowledge
2) We use computers as part of classroom instruction
3) Our programs present content and opportunities to practice and receive feedback. Employees work on these tutorials at a time of their own choosing.
4) Our programs use visuals with an audio track. Employees watch and listen at a time of their choosing.
5) Our programs are based on realistic scenarios which press employees to make choices and learn from the results of those choices.
The least selected response was "Our programs are delivered on mobile devices."
If you'd like to see the recording of the webinar, it's archived on Training Magazine's network at
http://www.trainingmagnetwork.com/topics/show/893 or http://bit.ly/arossettrecording.
If you'd like to participate in the study, Rossett and Marshall are still collecting data, and the SurveyMonkey link is available at
http://tinyurl.com/elearningpractice.