July 31, 2012
Followers of this post have read previous blogs extolling the many virtues of multi-sensory instruction. Whether delivered by networked CD-ROM or in an enlightened E-Learning environment, the use of full-motion video and optional word-for-word audio are essential elements in today’s learning culture. By now you know that roughly 40% of America’s workforce does not assimilate information written above a 4th Grade reading level — and, that most opinions are formed from the...
July 26, 2012
More than forty years of research clearly shows that greater family involvement in children’s learning is a critical link to achieving a high-quality education: What PARENTS do to help their children learn matters more to their children’s achievement than family income or education. What SCHOOLS do to encourage parents to participate in their children’s education matters more to parental participation than parent income or education. What COMMUNITY GROUPS (including EMPLOYERS, RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS...
July 24, 2012
As the United States continues an uphill battle to reform its education system and to re-establish its manufacturing dominance, many educators are seeking new and innovative programs to better prepare workers and students. Tomorrow’s students need more effective training solutions and today’s workers need upgraded skills in order to cope with the ever-changing technologies of today and tomorrow. In its recently released position paper on “Education and the Workforce,” the National Association...
July 19, 2012
For decades, decentralized companies have had to cope with training challenges that included lack of standardization, inconsistency, and facilitation challenges. An absence of centralized record-keeping has also negatively impacted their efforts. We’ve seen how modern LMS’s have addressed the latter issue and, today, the right kind of E-Learning is effectively solving the other challenges. One such multi-national company has commented publicly about the positive impacts made on their organization by a corporate-installed...
July 17, 2012
Today, let’s begin with a series of questions — questions that you should think about and answer for yourself before we talk about solutions. 1) Is your organization growing both its revenues and its profitability? a. If applicable, is the export/import ratio shifting in a positive direction? b. Are your earnings increasing? c. Is productivity increasing? 2) What is happening to the “training function” within your organization? a. Is the traditional “student/teacher”...
July 12, 2012
The philosophy and aims of an educational institution are concerned with the education of the whole person — mind, body, soul and emotion — and with the realization that knowledge is unimportant without the ability to communicate and exchange it. The Harvard Report on “General Education in a Free Society” placed first in its list of objectives “training in the ability to communicate orally and writing the results of thought.” Ideally the...
July 10, 2012
We’ve all heard a lot about the lack of basic skills in America’s workforce. But, have we all read about it? More than 30 million Americans can’t. They can’t even read this sentence. Estimates range that up to 75 million Americans cannot read at a level that would allow them to fully function in the workplace. The numbers are staggering. And reading is not the only skill workers are lacking. Millions cannot...
July 3, 2012
The majority of “reading tests” today primarily measure vocabulary recognition. But, does vocabulary recognition mean very much? Of course not! The ability to form opinions from what individuals read is the only valid test of reading ability — and, that depends upon reading comprehension. What are the facts today? Only 24 percent of this nation’s fourth graders are able to form opinions from what they read, and only 34 percent of our...
