October 30, 2009
The need for e-Learning technology to catch up with the new learning designs required is greater today than it’s ever been. Certainly, the training requirements of today’s workplace are intensifying. A recent National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) undertaken by the Department Of Education has reported that, “Growing numbers of individuals are expected to be able to attend to multiple features of information in lengthy and sometimes complex displays, to compare and contrast...
October 28, 2009
The death of Theodore Sizer last week should remind us all of the better ways to address our nation’s education needs. The serious shortcomings resulting from “standards” testing needs more critics like Sizer. In a long career, Dr. Sizer was, among other appointments, Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Chairman of Brown University’s education department. Dr. Sizer’s view of education reform — “with a premium on classroom creativity, bottom-up...
October 27, 2009
Digitized CD-ROMs, supported by a robust administrative system and networked over a training-dedicated LAN, are your best choice for effective training today. They can provide the best in instructional quality, programming reliability and administrative capabilities. Complete with pretests, easy-to-follow menus, teaching segments built around specific learning objectives, simulations, exercises, and final evaluations — knowledgeably designed CD-ROMs are supported by easy-to-understand user guides, instructor guides, and fully functional administrative software. Learners interact constantly,...
October 23, 2009
The key to successful training is to make it an integral part of an organization’s business objectives. Up-front planning helps ensure that your investment in training will deliver measurable results. Your goal is to make training a cost-effective solution that supports the business objectives of your organization. It is critical to focus training where it will have the greatest effect on performance. Using needs assessment and task analysis techniques, you can identify...
October 21, 2009
Far, far too often, when training your workforce, much of the basic knowledge required is overlooked. Why? A solid background in industrial fundamentals such as work practice, proper tool use, applied industrial mathematics, reading and writing are all critical elements in any meaningful industrial skills training program. Why is it that these important fundamental skills programs sit collecting dust on a storeroom shelf? Often, it is because the programs are “too academic.”...
October 20, 2009
Training methods vary widely today — from traditional classroom instruction, with hands-on practice, to the latest in technology-based training. But, which method is best? For training a large number of students in a relatively short amount of time, the better training method may be one that can be administered to a large group. If cost is no issue, classroom instruction will work — as long as those lectures are supplemented with hands-on...
October 16, 2009
A few days ago I was invited to review several e-Learning courses marketed by a Midwestern vendor. This particular vendor has a large number of offerings targeted at many industries. And, their catalog describes their solutions as “skills training.” As we shall soon see, that catalog description could not be further from the truth! What I saw astonished me. It was like traveling backwards in a time capsule. Looking at those courses...
October 14, 2009
Of great importance today is the growing emphasis on individualized instruction. Tardily, but not too late, we are finally beginning to acknowledge that there are myriad learning styles out there. An awareness that “Reading—Testing—and, Traditional Classroom Lecture” are not the only ways is essential if we are going to reap the learning-rewards that Multsensory Media and On-Line Education/Training offer us. Dr. Bernard J. Luskin in his recent book, CASTING THE NET OVER...
October 13, 2009
Maybe you’ve had the experience. Concerned about the cost and effectiveness of training in your organization, you decide to investigate this new world of e-Learning. It seems that the more you learn about e-Learning, the less simple it becomes. Sure, it’s available 24×7 from almost anywhere. And, it’s extremely cost effective. But, just what is it? The hype says that it’s adaptations of PowerPoint presentations and/or adaptations of written procedures. (But, as...
October 8, 2009
Raymond G. Fox passed away Monday. To anyone committed to technology based learning systems for education and training, please know that we have lost a giant. To view the Washington Post obituary link please click here. Ray founded The Society for Applied Learning Technology (SALT) in 1972 and served as its president until recently when his highly capable son, John, assumed those responsibilities. SALT is a professional society that provides a means...
October 6, 2009
More and more is being written about the growing importance of e-Learning. And, in terms of future potential, these writers are correct. Unfortunately, at this time, much that passes for e-Learning has few training values. That is because the majority of e-Learning today is either PowerPoint adaptations or written procedure adaptations – neither of which teaches anyone much of anything. The future of e-Learning is very bright. Those producers today that are...
October 2, 2009
We’ve come a long way down the technology trail in the past three decades. The training challenges for the Process & Manufacturing Industries have grown. The training choices have increased. And the trade-offs involving instructional design, production values, plus cost and efficiency issues have complicated the entire process for the Corporate Trainer. However, the heart of the matter has not changed. Learning values have always been balanced against corporate issues, involving both...
