MT2 Announces 2011 Top Simulations & Training Companies

With Ben’s expertise in simulations and games, I thought it might be worth mentioning that Military Training Technology (MT2) magazine recently announced its listing of the 2011 Top Simulation & Training Companies. Although companies making the 2011 list come from around the world and have made a significant impact on the military training industry across the spectrum of technologies and services, many produce non-military-based offerings as well.

An impartial panel selected the winners from MT2’s most competitive group yet. The companies’ products and services enable U.S. airmen, Marines, sailors, soldiers and Coast Guardsmen to train and rehearse for missions in theater, or to prepare for deployment at home station. Companies were selected based on various criteria, which included innovation and program effectiveness. Each listing includes the name and description of the company as well as core competencies. Those that made the most significant contributions to the training community are recognized with one of the following awards:

• Best Program - a company that had been involved with or led a program of the year—programs that are revolutionizing military training
  


• Innovation - a company that leads the industry in advancement
  


• Up and Coming - a company that is quickly rising in the industry.

Where Social Learning got its start: An interview with Dave Tosh

I'm sure many of you will have come across Elgg before. For those that haven't, Elgg is an open-source engine that allows you to create your own Social Network. Founded in 2004 by Dave Tosh and Ben Werdmuller, Elgg was often pitched as a Social Network for education - perhaps the first foray into the world of 'online' Social Learning, some time before the phrase entered popular parlance.
Dave Tosh has since moved to pastures new (as has Werdmuller) but I thought it would be interesting to touch base with Dave to talk about those early days before Social Learning became the phrase du jour...

Ben Betts: When you were in the process of creating Elgg, did the phrase 'social learning' crop up or was it yet to emerge as a theme in education?
Dave Tosh: I can't remember anyone talking about social learning back in 2004 when Elgg started. Blogging was just beginning to come on the radar, which did introduce some 'social' aspects but it was not referred to as social learning.
BB: Which segments of the marketplace were quickest to adopt Elgg when you launched?
DT: Education was the first group to experiment with Elgg, however, it was when things moved out of the Edu arena that groups became willing to pay for customisation which was the business model and ultimately dictated the future path.
BB: In persuading your early adopters was there much focus on the command and control mechanisms within Elgg? Were people scared of how users might abuse a social system?
DT: This was one of the major stumbling blocks when people tried Elgg. It was very deliberate that there were no roles and permissions. A student was on the same level as an educator as we tried to create a space where the individual (regardless of position) could control who to collaborate with and who got access to their content. This caused confusion and it was a constant battle to get people to try and forget (for the purpose of a trial) about the top-down, course centric, constraints imposed by the LMS platforms of the time in order to experiment with a platform that was bottom up, user controlled, and experience centric.
There were other concerns raised when we visited the US around kids using the privacy options to plan attacks on the school and the school then being accountable due to provided them with the online platform for this.
BB: In your opinion, is Social Learning a fad, a passing trend, or a sea change in the way we learn online?
DT: I don't know enough about 'social learning' to comment. For me personally, learning is not a solitary pursuit. I feel the informal aspect of the learning process plays a crucial role in moving from the retention of fact to a real/deep understanding. This is something Elgg tried to address: it was not about access to course notes or course work submission but instead capturing and fostering the reflection that many students and researchers do in the cafe or pub after lectures as this was often, at least for me, when the grounding of understanding happened; in those informal discussions.
BB: If you could have kept just one feature in Elgg for social networking, what would it have been?
DT: This is a tough question as different components were important to different people. Some liked the group blogging component, others the fine-grain access controls - it was dependant on context. I guess if I had to choose, I would have kept, and focused more on, the aggregation side of things to make it easier for people to use their own tools but still participate in the community.
BB: You open-sourced Elgg; was this a commercial or idealistic decision?
DT: Elgg started out as a simple proof-of-concept - there was no business/commercial thinking involved at that time - so the decision to go open source was based on encouraging others to help build out the concept.
BB: Finally, do you have any tips for how to engage and grow an online social learning community?
DT: I am not sure about a social learning community. Regarding online communities in general, I would never underestimate the importance of having an engaged community; the community is everything. This is one of the biggest lessons I learnt during my Elgg days.

About Dave:
Dave Tosh is passionate about technology, in particular the web, and its potential for creating new learning opportunities for us all.
Dave co-founded Elgg and is now to be found experimenting
on a couple of ideas around information accuracy.  You can read his blog at http://davetosh.com/

In a cash, time, and people strapped work environment, how can we develop our own games?

A great question from Kevin Shadix is the topic of my first proper blog post here on Learning Circuits. For me, the answer to this question lies in the perception of what a ‘game’ is. Personally, I’ve adopted Jesse Schell’s definition of a game which suggests that a game is “a problem solving activity, approached with an attitude of fun”.

It’s a pretty simplistic definition but it helps me to frame my thinking when it comes to designing a new game. The definition says nothing of time or expense, or even particular skills and resources to be deployed; it is purely about solving a problem with a fun approach.

Of course, Schell isn’t the only person to have an opinion on the definition of games and for many this would be too simplistic. So I’ll throw another at you here; this time from Chris Crawford, which doesn’t so much define Games as it defines the taxonomy of creative expressions…

Things get really interesting with Crawford’s taxonomy when you get to the lower reaches. Crawford suggests that without a competitor whose outcome you can directly influence, you don’t have a game. I’m not so sure direct “attacks” are actually required in order to influence the outcome of an event – think about the mind games that occur in a running race where you can’t actually touch your opponent, but you can psych them out. But his definition really boils down to this element of conflict, an element which makes it into other definitions of games, such as that of Learning Games expert Simon Egenfeldt-Nelson, who suggests the definition of computer games to be ‘virtual worlds with a conflict’.

For me, ‘virtual worlds’ is a contentious term because it conjures the image of 3D graphics engines, Second Life and the rest of it. I don’t believe that this level of virtual world is necessary to create a computer game, but I do believe it is necessary to create a reality which is different to our own – be that through a webpage, an app or a world.

Constructing the ‘world’ is a key part of the games design, as are a number of other elements. I’ll throw back to Jesse Schell who neatly outlined 4 pillars of game design for us to work from:

Schell suggested that all games have a basis within these 4 pillars.

They have Aesthetics – a look, feel and touch which appeals to players and is appropriate to the context. This might mean a 3D virtual world, or it might mean a few scribbles on a piece of paper. If you are short on resources, it probably doesn’t mean a 3D world, but that’s no big issue. Many fine computer games are played out through a text interface within a browser window.

Schell also talks about the Story behind the game. This, for me, is one of the most important features in any game. Does it have a narrative that I am compelled to see through to the end? Am I genuinely interested in the outcome? To often ‘serious games’ overlook this aspect as they seek to rip the ‘fun’ elements out as an unnecessary and childish addition. It couldn’t be more core. If ‘fun’ isn’t a part of your vocab, leave games-based learning well alone.

Mechanics are the pillar which the architects of many a ‘gamification’ have come to rest upon. Mechanics are the methods by which we compete within a game, the way in which we do better and win. Most people come to rest on the ideas of points, levels and badges as being the sum-total of mechanics, but again, this is selling the concept short. Mechanics can be woven into complex design patterns which promote engagement within the game if they are done right. Think about ideas like Quests, Treasure Hunts, Reputation, Scarcity of Resources and Roles as just a handful of mechanics which you can use to promote engagement and signal competence within the game.

Finally, technology is the pillar which allows your participants to play your game. Simplistically, the technology you choose needs to facilitate the other pillars to the best of its ability. If you choose an aesthetic which happens to be a webpage, then you better have a web server which can serve it up reliably and your students better be able to access it. But it doesn’t need to be an X-Box to do this.

I guess what I’m getting at with this background information is that you shouldn’t feel constrained by the ‘normal’ view of what a triple-A rated game on the store shelf looks like. You don’t need to invest in the next Call of Duty to make a great game. By considering the core components of a game and aligning the games objectives with your learning outcomes, you can create a neat solution which doesn’t cost the earth. Games come in all shapes and sizes and, if you structure your expectations accordingly, can be brought in at low or even no cost if you are willing to do the work yourself.

Plagiarism is rife in the game development world and I wouldn’t be adverse from taking a leaf or two from existing games as your inspiration. For example, in a recent project we created a very simple game that replicated “Guitar Hero” to teach students the rhythms behind a horses hoof falls. Really simple, less than a day to make and it works really well.

In reality, unless you happen to be a kick-ass coder, most games that are within the reach of your ‘average joe’ probably play out most of their story without the use of a computer game engine. But that’s fine too; the approach transcends computer games technology once you know the core components of creating a decent game. Nowhere in those definitions will you find an insistence to make it a 3D photo-realistic shoot ‘em up.

Let me close on a favourite story of mine for the development of a simple game.

Imagine you are running a new employee orientation course. On the first morning, you arrive 10 minutes late, looking a real mess. You announce to the class that you’ve lost everything for the onboarding programme – every scrap of information, save for the contents page at the front of the binder. Your job is on the line unless you can pull this information back together before the end of the day. You need their help. They need to get online, get around the office, and get talking to people to find you the information you need. They’ll compete against each other to get the info back to you first as you only need one copy. But you need it all by the end of the day.

Well, what are you waiting for? Get going!

Howdy and October's Big Question

Hi all and welcome to my one month tenure at the editing console for the Learning Circuits Blog. Thanks to Justin and the team for the opportunity and the nice introduction!

I've been working in and around E-Learning for the last 10 years or so - enough time to know a lot about nothing and a little about everything. Drawn in by the possibilities of blending technology with education, I'm a bit sad to say that the results haven't always been everything I might have hoped for...

There's a very early episode of The Simpsons in which Lisa imagines herself in the school of the future. She puts on her VR headset and is transported alongside Genghis Khan to explore the battlefields with him on horseback. Somewhere along the way, we seemed to miss out on this vision.

Driven as I was by this view of the future, it perhaps should come as no great surprise that my area of interest resides firmly in Social Learning Games - a whole buzzphrase, let alone buzzword.

We've been researching, experimenting and implementing solutions that embrace both social and game-like behaviour for the last couple of years and we've seen some stunning results. But more of that later... it's time for the Big Question!

Does Gamification have a role in Workplace Learning?

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below.

Option 2 - Tweet your thoughts using the hashtag: #LCBQ. We will do our best to collect together tweets around the topic.

Option 3 - Post in your blog (please link to this post). We recommend including #LCBQ in your title to help us. Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and post, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link (or you could also include your blog name). So, it should look like: Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology.

Feel free to interpret "Gamification" in the way you see fit - we'll discuss the outcome later in the month.

Cheers for now!

Ben

October's Guest Blogger: Ben Betts

I met Ben Betts at last year's Learning 2010 Conference. He was there as part of their great 30 Under 30 group. Ben spoke as part of a panel session on the Sales and Marketing Cycle for E-Learning. I was immediately impressed with him and his ideas.

Ben is the Managing Director at HT2, an innovative learning technologies group focused on gaming, social, and mobile learning. Ben was the lead designer and creator of HT2’s Curatr platform, which adds social and gaming elements to e-learning. As if that’s not enough, Ben is also getting his Engineering Doctorate at the University of Warwick. Make sure to ask him how his thesis is going.

Ben will be blogging here during the month of October, after that, you can catch up with him over at his blog.

A Brief Introduction – Communities of Practice Manager

As Ryann mentioned in a previous post, I’m the Community of Practice Manager for Learning Technologies at ASTD. In this role, I engage with the community and help build ASTD’s portfolio of content—from T+D articles to books to educational programs to conferences and beyond. I also help foster discussion and debate within the community.

I’ve been with ASTD for nearly five years, working primarily on books and Infoline with ASTD Press. While I’m already familiar with many of the concerns and needs of our members and audience focused on learning technologies, I look forward to connecting with many of you, virtually or in person, to discuss this evolving field. My goal is to provide content and support that helps you get your job done, better and faster.

Indeed, no area in world of learning is more exciting than Learning Technologies. My current areas of focus are Social Learning, Mobile Learning, and Simulations and Serious Games. These topics should come as no surprise as they’ve been the buzz for some time. But Mobile and Social Learning are both ready to take that next step in maturity; we’re ready to move beyond the surface of such tools and benefits to explore how these elements take a strategic place in your learning strategy—and we’re ready to take a hard look at results and calculate value. If you’re skeptical about the power of games, consider the recent breakthrough with Fold.it and its role in deciphering an AIDS causing protein. It’s definitely an exciting time to be in the learning field.

With your help, we can advance the learning profession and create a world that works better. Feel free to contact me directly at Justin (at) ASTD (dot) org.

New LC Blog – What Issues/Trends Do You Want Us to Cover?

Change is afoot for the LC Blog. After many years of managing the LC Blog for us, we’re giving Tony Karrer a much needed break. (We’re actually hoping that will give him time to work on other projects for ASTD. Shhh. He doesn’t know about that part...yet.) Please join ASTD in thanking Tony for his many years of managing the LC Blog. We couldn’t have carried on these last years without him—or the Big Question Thought Leaders who helped keep us up and running.

So, what do we have planned? For several years the LC Blog has focused on having industry leaders respond to a Big Question of the Month (the LCBQ). We’re planning on expanding the blog by inviting those experts and other “blogger extraordinaires” to take over the blog. Starting in October, each month a different thought leader will post to the blog weekly. They will pose their own LCBQ, remark on new technology and tools, and report on issues and trends affecting workplace learning and performance professionals directly working with technology.

In the meantime, Justin Brusino, ASTD Community of Practice Manager for Learning Technologies (more about him next week), and I will make a few posts introducing you to the coming blog leaders and asking readers what experts we should tap for this new venture and issues they should address. To that end, the September #LCBQ is:

What issues and trends do you think are having a major impact on the industry—and should be on the hot list for the LC Blog to tackle?

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below.

Option 2 - Tweet your thoughts using the hastag: #LCBQ. We will do our best to collect together tweets around the topic.

Option 3 - Post in your blog (please link to this post). We recommend including #LCBQ in your title to help us. Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and post, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link (or you could also include your blog name). So, it should look like: Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology.

Stay tuned!

Ryann Ellis, Learning Circuits Editor

Vacation in August for the LCBQ

Just a quick note to say that the Big Question Thought Leaders and I will be taking a vacation in August from the LCBQ. Enjoy the time off. Look forward to next month's big question.

Fun e-learning? #LCBQ

This month's big question comes from Jeff Goldman and the rest of the Big Question Thought Leaders.

Summer has begun (in the northern hemisphere) and summer means fun. And if you are from the southern hemisphere, my perception is that you have fun all the time - except maybe taking eLearning. So, the #LCBQ for July is:

How do you make e-learning fun?

We also would like to hear when e-learning should or should not be fun. Or is engaging really what you go after? And how does that differ from fun?

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below.

Option 2 - Tweet your thoughts using the hastag: #LCBQ

We will do our best to collect together tweets around the topic.

Option 3 -

Step 1 - Post in your blog (please link to this post). We recommend including #LCBQ in your title to help us.

Step 2 - Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and past, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link. So, it should look like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0

or you could also include your blog name with something like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology

Posts so far (and read comments as well):

• Clive Shepherd's contribution - see also Enjoyable e-learning–is it an oxymoron?
• Jeff - How I make e-learning fun!
• Eloise - Making e-learning fun
• Andrea May - eLearning and Fun: Two Words Not Normally Seen Together
• Taurna Goel -Making Learning Fun!
• Kasper Spiro - I don't want e-Learning to be funny at all: see my blog
• Holly MacDonald - Loosen Up and Have a Little Fun
  

Break Down Organizational Walls When It Comes to Learning #LCBQ

Thanks to Holly and the rest of the Big Question Thought Leaders for helping me to craft this month's question.

In many organizations, our learners are reaching outside of the organization to enhance their learning experience, through social networking/media and many other methods. In other organizations, the learning audience includes partners and customers, and the learning ecosystem expands beyond employees.

The #LCBQ for June is:

How do we break down organizational walls when it comes to learning?

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below.

Option 2 - Tweet your thoughts using the hastag: #LCBQ

We will do our best to collect together tweets around the topic.

Option 3 -

Step 1 - Post in your blog (please link to this post). We recommend including #LCBQ in your title to help us.

Step 2 - Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and past, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link. So, it should look like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0

or you could also include your blog name with something like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology

Posts so far (and read comments as well):

• Harold Jarche - Connecting with Communities of Practice
• Paul Angileri - What's the "High Concept, High Touch" Solution for Organizational Learning Today?
• Andrea May Collaborative Learning in Spite of Organizational Walls
• Dennis Callahan - 9 Ways to Break Down Organizational Walls
• Kasper Spiro: How do we break down organizational walls when it comes to learning
• Jeff Goldman - Making It Over the Wall #LCBQ
• Taruna Goel - Break Free From Organizational Walls
• Glenn Hansen - Breaking Down Organisational Walls

On-Demand Learning and Performance #LCBQ

Last month we asked how you can address the "I want it now!" demand from stakeholders. Jeff Goldman talked about the other stakeholder - the learner - who want their learning on-demand.

The #LCBQ for May is:

How do we need to change in what we do in order to address learning/performance needs that are on-demand?

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below.

Option 2 - Tweet your thoughts using the hastag: #LCBQ

We will do our best to collect together tweets around the topic.

Option 3 -

Step 1 - Post in your blog (please link to this post). We recommend including #LCBQ in your title to help us.

Step 2 - Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and past, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link. So, it should look like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0

or you could also include your blog name with something like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology

Posts so far (and read comments as well):

• Jack Pierce and the e-learning NOT as usual blog
• Eloise - What changes do we need to make for on-demand learning
• Addressing On Demand Learning Needs
• Andrea May Addressing On-Demand Learning and Performance Needs #LCBQ
• Kasper Spiro - Context, Context, Context will make e-Learning work #LCBQ"
• Doctoring the Informal Learning Environment
• Jeff's response - On-Demand Scenario #LCBQ
• Glenn's response: Glenn Hansen- On demand learning
• Holly - May’s #LCBQ – We all want it now
• Mike - 3 New Roles for Learning Professionals Driven by Web 2.0 #LCBQ

Addressing I Want it Now #LCBQ

I'm very happy to be working with the Big Question Thought Leaders on the questions each month.

For April the LCBQ is:

How do you address the "I want it now!" demand from stakeholders?

As one of the LCBQ thought leaders put it:

The other day I walked into an executives office and they had a site up about "Rapid Instructional Design." I spent quite a bit of time in discussion with this executive. It is a real tough balance of providing instructionally sound courses/events and providing it is an time frame acceptable by stakeholders.

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below.

Option 2 - Tweet your thoughts using the hastag: #LCBQ

We will do our best to collect together tweets around the topic.

Option 3 -

Step 1 - Post in your blog (please link to this post). We recommend including #LCBQ in your title to help us.

Step 2 - Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and past, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link. So, it should look like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0

or you could also include your blog name with something like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology

Posts so far (and read comments as well):

• Glenn Hansen - Addressing "I want it now!"
• Kasper Spiro - On Demand Agile eLearning Development
• Clive on Learning - The Big Question: How do you respond to the ‘I want it now’ demand?
• Jeff Goldman / MinuteBio - A Priest, A Rabbi and an Instructional Designer Are in a Bar and Identify a Training Need: A response to the #LCBQ"
• Tony Karrer - Agile eLearning - 27 Great Articles
• Holly McDonald -I want it now – who doesn’t? #LCBQ
• Open Sesame - We Need Learning and We Need It Now!
• Tom Gram, Performance X Design: I Want it Now!
• Jeff's additional response - The Other Stakeholder Wants It Now Too #LCBQ

Assessing Learning Initiatives

I'm very happy to be working with the Big Question Thought Leaders. We've added some European perspective to the group with the addition of Kasper Spiro.

For March the LCBQ is:

How do you assess whether your informal learning, social learning, continuous learning, performance support initiatives have the desired impact or achieve the desired results?

As training organizations increasingly focus on improving performance with new kinds of learning/performance initiatives, how do we go about making sure they have impact/results? The focus here is what people are doing today and what makes sense to do. We'd love to hear examples.

By the way, if you have an idea for what all of this should be called, we would be curious to hear about that as well.

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below. This may be hard given the complexity of the topic.

Option 2 - Tweet your thoughts using the hastag: #LCBQ

We will do our best to collect together tweets around the topic.

Option 3 -

Step 1 - Post in your blog (please link to this post). We recommend including #LCBQ in your title to help us.

Step 2 - Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and past, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link. So, it should look like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0

or you could also include your blog name with something like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology

Posts so far (and read comments as well):

• Clark Quinn - Learnlets - Social Media Metrics
• Jay Cross - The Big Question: How to assess learning initiatives…
• Eloise Pasteur Assessing Informal Learning
• Kasper Spiro -Impact of informal learning: output learning #LCBQ
• Tom Gram, Performance X Design: Evaluating Training and Learning Circa 2011
• Tom Gram, Performance X Design: Evaluating with the Success Case Method
• Jeff Goldman - Informal Learning... Maybe I can Informally Assess Its Impact
• Guy Wallace -My Answer to the Big Question for March 2011 at Learning Circuits Blog
• Thomas Edgerton - How do you measure informal learning?
• Taruna Goel - Assessing Informal Learning
  

eLearning Predictions and Plans 2011 #LCBQ

This is a month late this year, but I'm excited because the Big Question Thought Leaders are working with me around this question.

For February the question is:

What are your
Predictions and Plans for 2011?

The goal here is to here what people see happening for them this year.

• What are your biggest challenges for this upcoming year?
• What are your major plans for the year?
• What predictions do you have for the year?

In your predictions and plans, don't try to look too broadly. Instead, what's always valuable is to hear from people about their specific area, or what's happening in their job.

You might want to look back at previous years:

• Predictions and Plans for 2010
• Challenges Plans and Predictions for 2009
• Predictions for Learning in 2008?

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below. This may be hard given the complexity of the topic.

Option 2 - Tweet your thoughts using the hastag: #LCBQ

We will do our best to collect together tweets around the topic.

Option 3 -

Step 1 - Post in your blog (please link to this post). We recommend including #LCBQ in your title to help us.

Step 2 - Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and past, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link. So, it should look like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0

or you could also include your blog name with something like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology

Posts so far (and read comments as well):

• Glenn Hansen's 2011 predictions -2011 - the year of collaboration
• Holly - What does 2011 look like for Consultants?
• Jeff Goldman's - 2011 predictions
• Manish Gupta - e-Learning Predictions for 2011
• Thomas Edgerton - 2011 Predictions
• Clark Quinn - Learnlets - Predictions
• Kasper Spiro - My e-Learning Predictions LCBQ
• Tony Karrer - Top 10 eLearning Predictions 2011 #LCBQ

Big Question Thought Leaders

I'm happy to announce that several thought leaders have joined together with me to revitalize the Big Question. We will likely be trying some different things over the next few months. What exactly, we aren't sure. We'll figure it out as we go.

The goals of the Big Question will remain the same:

• A way to highlight thought leaders around topics of interest to eLearning Professionals
• A way to stimulate different perspectives on questions that are of interest to eLearning Professionals.

We are definitely interested in having contributions from other Thought Leaders, so feel free to contact me: akarrer@techempower.com if you are interested in participating.

Glenn Hansen

Glenn has over 10 year's experience in the field of workplace learning and performance, and is currently the Learning and Development Manager at The Salvation Army Employment Plus in Australia. He has a particular interest in how communications technology can enhance and facilitate corporate learning and performance, and the creation of new opportunities for learning in and outside the workforce. Glenn holds a Master of Psychology degree, and enjoys Australian Rules Football, NFL and most other sports that involve a ball and action.

Blog: http://www.glennhansen.tumblr.com

Twitter: @glennhansen_

Thomas Edgerton

Thomas Edgerton is a performance consultant, professional coach, instructional technologist, master swimmer, and perpetual optimist. Over the years, his award winning work traverses sneaker net to the present crossing diverse industries, platforms, pedagogy, and people. Let me warn you beforehand, I am more hopeful today than at any previous point in my life.

twitter: 4EFRSWM

linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasedgerton

website: www.skilledge.,net

Jeffrey Goldman

Jeff Goldman has 13+ years experience in the training and development field, including nine years designing and developing e-learning. He has a dual focus in both online learning and classroom training and has experience designing learning solutions in banking, healthcare, and for nonprofit organizations. Jeff holds a Master of Arts degree in Instructional Systems Design from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Blog: www.minutebio.com/blog

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/minutebio

Twitter: www.twitter.com/minutebio

Holly MacDonald

Holly lives on a small semi-rural island off the coast of British Columbia, Canada where she works as an independent learning strategist, advising clients thoughout their journey to e-learning. She's particularly interested in performance support and the rise of user generated content as growth areas for traditional workplace learning. Holly's been tinkering in the learning field for over 15 years in a variety of roles. After 12+ years in the corporate world, she decided that climbing the career ladder was not the only option and freedom 55 was someone else's dream. She's enjoying the diversity that consulting offers, even if the workload is daunting at times. She's a voracious reader (mostly snobby fiction), a fair-weather sea kayaker, enthusiastic (but not particularly skilful) downhill skier and a busy mom who seeks to find time to do it all.

Web: http://www.sparkandco.ca

Twitter: http://twitter.com/sparkandco

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/hollymacdonald

Blog: http://sparkyourinterest.wordpress.com/

Kasper Spiro

Kasper has over 25 years of experience in the field of learning and user performance support. His learning experience goes from teaching, authoring textbooks, designing and creating e-Learning, knowledge management and user performance support. As a manager his experience ranges from being CEO of an early internet startup in the nineties to his current position as CEO of easygenerator.

He has a passion for learning, learning technology and innovation. With easygenerator he is on a mission to make it the best e-learning authoring system in the world and innovate e-Learning along the way. He believes that we should bring (e)-Learning to the workplace and that learning content is key in reaching that goal.

Blog: www.KasperSpiro.com

LinkedIn, Skype, Twitter: KasperSpiro

Web: www.easygenerator.com

Big Question - Should It Continue?

I've been moderating the Big Question for more than four years at this point. For me, it's been a great way to foster conversation in the blogosphere.

In the past few months, activity (posts, comments, comments on posts) on the big questions has seen a big drop.

So - here's the big question for January 2011:

Should the Big Question continue?

And if you think it should but with changes, then what are those changes?

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below.

Option 2 -

Step 1 - Post in your blog (please link to this post).
Step 2 - Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and past, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link. So, it should look like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0

or you could also include your blog name with something like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology

Posts so far (and read comments as well):

• 
  

Learning 2010

We are going to continue a tradition in the Big Question ...

The Big Question for December is:

What did you learn about learning in 2010?

If you are a blogger, I would highly recommend taking this as an opportunity to go back through your blog posts over the year and looking for any "aha moments" or highlight the posts that you think were the best/most interesting.

If you are not a blogger, please go read Should All Learning Professionals Blog? and
Top Ten Reasons To Blog and Top Ten Not to Blog and consider if this might not be the perfect moment to start.

If I still (after 3 years) can't convince you, then you should still take this as an opportunity to reflect on the year and come up with what you've learned. I can promise it's well worth the time.

You might want to look back at some discussions going on during the last few yearly recaps:

• 2009 - Learning 2009
• 2008 - Learn about Learning?
• 2007 - What Did You Learn about Learning?
• 2006 - Past experiences. Present Challenge. Future Predictions.

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below.

Option 2 -

Step 1 - Post in your blog (please link to this post).
Step 2 - Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and past, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link. So, it should look like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0

or you could also include your blog name with something like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology

Posts so far (and read comments as well):

• Jason McDonald - Maybe You Should Read the Manual
• Ryan Tracey - Online courses must die!
• Tony Karrer - Seven Things I Learned This Year
• Kelly Meeker/OpenSesame - 10 Useful Things I Learned This Year
• Paul Angileri - The Fluidity of Learning in Today's Organizations
• Jeff Goldman - Reflecting on My 2010 Blog Posts and Happy New Year

Questions No Longer and New Questions

I just saw a great post by George Siemens - Questions I’m no Longer Asking where he lays out the questions that he no longer finds interesting or relevant. This is incredible stuff because it really points to what's changed over the past few years.

George is asking this more for educators, but I'd like to piggy back and ask about this for learning professionals (educators, trainers, eLearning designers/creators, etc.).

The November Big Question is:

What questions are you no longer asking? What are your new questions?

If you aren't sure what I'm asking, look at the post by George. It lays it out pretty well.

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below.

Option 2 -

Step 1 - Post in your blog (please link to this post).
Step 2 - Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and past, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link. So, it should look like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0

or you could also include your blog name with something like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology

Posts so far (and read comments as well):

• Jason McDonald - Maybe You Should Read the Manual
• Clive Shepherd Clive on Learning
• Questions I No Longer Ask - Jeff's Response
• Paul Angileri - There Is No Chalk
• Holly MacDonald - Spark Your Interest! - Questions I'm No Longer Answsering
• RK Prasad - Custom Training and eLearning Blog
  
  

Examples of Big Impact from Technology

Whoops, October completely snuck up on me. I'm a couple days late posting this. And I have a bit different question this month.

One of the things that has always bugged me is that its very hard to find good case studies. A few years ago, we asked a big question Where are the Examples of eLearning? It resulted in finding some good examples such as: Elearning samples and eLearning Examples. There are a few more to be found via eLearning Case Studies on the eLearning Learning site.

But most of the time, these examples and case studies tend to focus on different styles of interaction in online courses.

I wanted to do something a bit different here. For most of us, we've worked on a few projects that use technology and have had a Big Impact on performance and the business. It wasn't just a check-the-box kind of training exercise. It was big and meaningful. I want to hear about those projects.

The October Big Question is:

Examples of Big Impact from Technology?

Brag a little, it's okay. If you can't name the company, just say "Big Box Retailer" or something like that. I want to know what projects you are most proud of in your life. But it does need to have technology as part of the solution.


How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below.

Option 2 -

Step 1 - Post in your blog (please link to this post).
Step 2 - Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and past, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link. So, it should look like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0

or you could also include your blog name with something like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology

Posts so far (and read comments as well):

• Jason McDonald - Maybe You Should Read the Manual
• Tony Karrer - Goals Accountability and Social Support for Big Impact
• Ignatia Inge de Waard lists her success factors for big impact eLearning

Voice-Over in eLearning

Over the past couple of months, Dr. Joel Harband has been teaching me all about Using Text-to-Speech in eLearning. This has been a great way for me to learn about the topic.

However, there was a comment on one of my posts that made me realize that the discussion of the use of voice-over in eLearning was far beyond the conversation that Joel and I were having. The comment was:

Even the best Text-to-Speech can only do one thing - receive text and spit it back out. There is no substitute for a professional voice talent, who can interpret the meaning and message of your e-learning scripts. A good voice talent knows how and when to change up the tone or feel of a read when things are getting overly technical or have gone on a while. The most sophisticated text-to-speech cannot approach a real voice person for e-learning. Why do text-to-speech when the cost of a good voice talent will more than pay for itself with satisfied clients and learners?

If you step back, there's a set of broader questions that I've often struggled with:

• When does it make sense to use voice-over in your eLearning course?
• Given the range of solutions for voice-over from text-to-speech, home-grown human voice-over, professional voice-over: how do you decide what's right for your course?
• How do you justify the budget and how does that factor into your choice of solution?
  
• Are there places where text-to-speech makes sense?
• Given relatively low-cost recording and editing solutions, does anyone use a studio anymore? When/why?
• And, last but not least, I've read a lot of conflicting information about the right way to use voice-over in a course. How do you do it right? Can you have the same text on the screen? Can you have text on the screen or diagrams/animations only?
  

The September Question is:

Effective voice-over in eLearning?

This is one of the bigger big questions. I'm hoping that we can use this to collect up some pretty good information to help eLearning professionals to make smart choices about voice-over in eLearning.

How to Respond:

Option 1 - Simply put your thoughts in a comment below.

Option 2 -

Step 1 - Post in your blog (please link to this post).
Step 2 - Put a comment in this blog with an HTML ready link that I can simply copy and paste (an HTML anchor tag). I will only copy and past, thus, I would also recommend you include your NAME immediately before your link. So, it should look like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0

or you could also include your blog name with something like:

Tony Karrer - e-Learning 2.0 : eLearningTechnology

Posts so far (and read comments as well):

• Jason McDonald - Narration in eLearning
• Ignatia / Inge de Waard's thoughts on when to use TTS or the human voice in eLearning.
• Cathy Moore -Do we really need narration? and Addicted to Audio? and Should We Narrate On-Screen Text?
• Jeff's Response - Narration in e-Learning, Sometimes
• Shaun - Perception of value
• Karl Kapp - Kapp Notes: Audio in E-Learning
• Tony Karrer - Text-to-Speech vs Human Narration for eLearning
• Nibha Verma - Effective Voice-Over In ELearning!