ProtonMedia Announces ProtoSphere Version 2.0

ProtonMedia.com has been on my radar for quite some time. There was a time when 3D virtual environments were all the rage...think SecondLife. Then the fad dropped, but the reality that lies in the usefulness of these tools remains.

Like every other technology used for training, it's not meant for every training problem. But if you have the right training problem and capable users, then I believe interactive 3d environments can prove to be highly effective.

Check it out!

ProtoSphere 2.0 Trial Download here.

1,300 iPads for Level 3 Sales Team - Perfect Mobile Learning Tool

So, if you are one of the people mad about the EULA for iBooks2.  And you are convinced that companies will not use Author for training materials? THINK AGAIN!!!


MacTrast posted "Level 3 Looks to iPad to Reinvent their Sales Team".  They are relaying the story from Information Week's article "iPad's for All: One Sales Team's Story".
While neither article specifically mentions iBooks as part of the intended use, I can bet that it's coming.  I mean, why not? Right? 1,300 Sales people outfitted with iPads means the delivery channel is ready and the sales team will expect it.

The last paragraph of the article states:

What's next for Level 3's iPad app? Taylor doesn't pretend to know. "Enterprise IT is dead," he likes to say--meaning IT needs to take the consumer tools people like to use, watch and learn how people work best, and then provide systems that fit. He's convinced there's something important and different in how efficiently people interact with the tablets' interface, and that "we've only scratched the surface of using that." 

If you work for Level 3 in the training department will you please contact me :) 

Media for Learning: Top Tools - New Research Report from The eLearning Guild

The eLearning Guild released it's highly anticipated TOP TOOLS report today.

Get the download here.

Of course this report was completed prior to the Apple announcement.  But next year's report, I suspect, will have a new tool on the list: iBook Author.  It's definitely a game changer.

What I've discovered over the last few years with regards to iOS is that many people start out wanting to create an iPhone app because they have some information to share.  What they really want to create is an interactive experience...more like a digital book.  Author makes the development of interactive digital content easy, and the app is free.  So, why not? Right?  But I digress...

Here are just a few of the data points revealed in the report:

• 46% want ability to support mobile delivery of their #eLearning media 
• Adobe Captivate has largest media tool market share with 40.4%
• Top-rated #eLearning Media Tool by Cost = Audacity
• 85.6% rate Adobe Photoshop Excellent for #eLearning graphics creation and/or content editing
• 67.1% say Lectora is essential for their overall #eLearning Media toolkit
• 70% report being able to use SnagIt and Audacity effectively within 1 week of use

Find out more from the author of the report at Learning Solutions conference in Florida, March 21-23.

What Great Bosses Know - 10 Training Tips - iTunes U Revolution?

Ever since the Apple education announcement I've been blown away by what this means for our industry.  In the process of scanning the new and improved iTunesU I found this interesting podcast.  It's called "What Great Bosses Know".  Here is the description from iTunesU...

"Jill Geisler heads the Poynter Institute's leadership and management programs. In these Poynter podcasts, she shares practical leadership for managers who want to be great bosses."

Episodes 13 titled 10 Training Tips caught my eye.  It's only 4 minutes so I listened.  Here are her tips.

1. Adults learn differently than young people
2. Make learning practical
3. Interactivity is better than passive learning
4. Do not use Powerpoint as a teleprompter
5. Each person learns a little differently
6. Always tap into the wisdom of the room
7. Don't embarrass people
8. Have fun
9. Always end with next steps in mind - What will the students DO after the class
10. Always include evaluations in your teaching

I like these tips.  Sure, many of you will say, "yeah, duh".  And I know some of you are making a list in your head of all the things she missed or forgot.  But that's not the point I'd like to make.  I don't know what Jill's background is, but she obviously has the ear of many Sr. Management types who NEED to hear this information.  Maybe these managers will be delivering a training session and just one of these tips could resonate with them.  That's helpful.

I often hear of the struggles to "get a seat at the table".  We want what we know about instructional design, and corporate training design, to be important and cared about.  Maybe iTunesU can help?  

Now that Apple has introduced the hardware, delivery system, AND authoring tool for designing, delivering, and consuming instructional content, it's only a matter of time before the market is flooded and ONLY the BEST instructional designs will float to the top.  And, at some point every training manager, or CLO, in the Fortune 500 will hear from their C-level peers, "Why can't our LMS be easy like iTunes U? And why aren't our training manuals as cool as the textbooks on my kid's iPad?"

Adobe Preview of Tracking Tool for Captivate eLearning Courses

The Adobe Captivate blog's new post is titled Course Companion for Adobe Captivate.   According to the blog post a preview has been launched at the Adobe Labs.

Get the free download here from Adobe Labs.

The blog post says...

You will be able to - 

• Track usage of content
• Track learner behavior
• Get feedback on the course by tracking the learner metrics
• Track progress of the course as you roll it out
• Track effectiveness of the content

VERY interesting!  What do you think?  Is this something you are excited about seeing?

Obviously the Captivate team feels there is a need for this type of tool.  Is this something the Captivate community requested?  If you are a Captivate user, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Apple Announces Textbook Revolution

This morning Apple held a press event to announce their entry into the world of textbooks.  Everyone knew this was coming.  It's just been a matter of when and what will it look like.  And basically, what it looks like is a complete game changer.  Not just because the iBook Store will now sell you interactive textbooks via your iTunes account, but because they also announced a new authoring tool...and it's FREE!

I think digital books with integrated media were an inevitability.  After all they've sort of already existed in other forms such as websites, and apps, and pdf files, etc.  So, the big story is really about how this effects the billion(s) dollar industry of textbook publishing.  Apples iBooks will sell for no more than $14.99.  So, if the publishers are looking to keep their profits at current levels that most likely means someone is going to get cut out of the deal.  It's obvious that someone is the author.  But the good news is that with a free authoring tool and the iTunes/iBook marketplace, I think the authors may end up getting the better end of this deal.

I've been it for several years now but I'll say it again, "Teachers will be the next millionaires".  With today's technologies, and the new technologies just around the corner, there is no reason why a great teacher couldn't produce content for sale, and mentor students for a fee, and make a very good living.

I've only taken about 20mins to review iBooks Author (direct download link iBooks Author).  But the exciting thing is that if you are familiar with Apple apps then it won't take much more than that for you to start writing a fully interactive textbook of your own.

The starting templates are beautiful...very similar to templates in Pages with clean elegant designs.  I started with the Contemporary template and just started clicking around.  It's so easy to get started that really wish I has some sort of textbook project to be working on.

It's easy to incorporate videos, images, and other media by simply dragging and dropping.  But like I said, this is an Apple app and that's just how you do it. No fuss.  You can also add shapes, tables, and charts which is also similar to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.

The new features are in the form of widgets:  Gallery, Interactive Image, Keynote, 3D, HTML, and Review.  You'll be happy (or not) to know that the Review widget is simply a multiple choice quizzing tool. From the Apple web site...

"Let readers test their knowledge using a variety of question types: multiple choice, choose the correct image, label the image, or a mix of all three. Authors can include six possible answers to each question."

 The accepted 3D format is COLLADA or .dae.  It's been a while since I've worked in 3D and so this format is new to me.  But according to wikipedia it looks like all the major 3D creation apps support the standard.

I'll let you go off and explore the Apple site and other places to get more details.  For the sake of this blog I want to know if you think this is revolutionary, or a game changer, for the work that you do?  Would you consider iBooks to be eLearning? Are you concerned about SCORM compliance?  Or how about LMS connectivity?  Many of you work in Windows only environments so does this make you think a little harder about buying a Mac?

mLearnCon is only about 5 months away.  If you are planning on creating iBooks between now and then let me know and we can figure out a way to showcase your work.  This is big news for Mobile Learning so we will most definitely be talking about it at mLearnCon.  mLearning is only just beginning!