Meeker Report Can Help Your Mobile Learning Strategy

If you are still fighting with...sorry...encouraging your peers or your company's senior executives to embrace mobile learning, then more ammunition just arrived.  The Annual Meeker Report is here and it is filled with all the technology trends you need to support just about any eLearning strategy you can imagine. And that's all I'll say about it so you can just jump right in and see for yourself.  Tell me what you think! See you at mLearnCon.KPCB Internet Trends 2012

Is Learning More Like the Decentralized Starfish?

I'm obviously VERY late to this party. The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations was published in 2006. I'm just now reading about it from a blog post at The Hacker Chick Blog - The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations.

Check out these videos of the authors talking about the big idea within The Starfish and the Spider. Ori Brafman - Starfish and Spider Keynote at TRADOC Rob Beckstrom - The Starfish and the Spider

While I was watching the videos and checking out the book's web site I couldn't help but wonder about education. I'm actually always wondering about training and education, and so that shouldn't surprise you. But how does the idea of decentralized networks play out in higher ed for example? I don't think its surprising to anyone that there is a massive bubble swelling in higher ed. So, what happens when smart people begin to see that getting the knowledge they need to succeed in life does NOT require a degree? Kind of the same way that musicians are discovering that they don't really need a record company to make, record, publish, and sell their music.But there is also concern in corporate training departments. With social media enhancing human networks and flattening the org chart, some wonder if there will still be a need for a formalized training department that too often mirrored the structure and logistical requirements of academic institutions. So, if the academic bubble bursts what happens to the corporate university or the training department? Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, do any Fortune 500s still even have a corporate university?

I don't have an answer to any of these questions. Stumbling across The Starfish and the Spider has simply got me thinking of centralized vs. decentralized organizations again. I've seen the pendulum swing from one side to the other several times during my corporate life. I still remember thinking how crazy it was that leadership just couldn't make up their minds and stick with one or the other.What do you think? What have you experienced in the past 10-20 years? How is corporate eLearning changing?

37% of Executives will Focus MOST Social Strategies on Corporate Training in 2011

Wow! I did NOT see this coming. According to this research found at psfk but done by GetSatisfaction, CEOs really are thinking about social media strategies for education and training.

Well, at least 37.3% are. But hey, that's a start right? Did any of you think it would have been higher?

Na, me either.

The image in this post is pulled from a much larger INFOGRAPHIC that can be found at FUTURELAB titled Let's Get Down to Social Business.

Oops. Just stumbled onto a link to the original post as well. Guess I better spread the link love, right?

Its interesting to me that only about HALF of the 900 executives in the study "believe that they have to adopt social business or will fall behind".

THE BIG DATA POINT

To everyone in corporate eLearning, I want you to pay VERY close attention to the FROM THE INSIDE OUT section of the infographic. Take a look at the first column representing the results to the question...

"What internal social strategies will you focus most on in 2011?"

You'll notice that "Internal education and training is #2 at 37%. Oooh, yea for us! But I want you to take a closer look at what is in the #1 spot. Go ahead. I'll sit here a minute and give you a chance to check it out.

<cue Jeopardy game show music>

Wow, look at that! CEOs are MORE interested in "Creating ROI Measurements"... almost 50% in fact.

Wouldn't it be REALLY cool if you...the little ol' training department person... could go to the CEO and say,

"Hey, I know exactly how to integrate social media into our training programs AND I can show you how we intend to measure employee performance improvements over time."

Or something like that. Anyways, the big message here is to NOT forget that measurements are important to CEOs. They don't care about your Bloom's taxonomy, and your Hannifin and Peck Media Selection guide, and your ADDIE model, and your bla, bla, bla, new shiny rapid development tool. CEOs want results. And they want to know HOW you're going to give it too them and what indicators important to THEM you are going to move forward.

So get busy! You've got work to do. Well...at least 37% of you do.

eLearning Guild Releases Report - Rapid eLearning Authoring: Top Tools

The eLearning Guild just released another report today: Rapid eLearning Authoring: Top Tools.
Joe Ganci authored this report and does a fabulous job of explaining the data collected by the Guild's survey of its members. Since we all want to make sure we are doing our best work by utilizing the "best" tools available, this report can save you endless hours of searching and exploring on your own.
These reports can be tricky. Sometimes, to a few, they don't seem "fair". The data that makes up the foundation of this report comes directly from the eLearning community. Its always been this way with their reports which is why I enjoy them.  
Joe does a great job comparing the tools that showed up most often in the data. There is also interesting data on the number of tools being used by eLearning professionals today compared with years past.
What rapid authoring tools do you use?

[Guest Post] Life Lessons from a Respected eLearning Executive

Steve Cooper has been nominated as Best eLearning Executive in the Maestro eLearning Awards, dubbed the OSCARS of the eLearning industry. What follows is an interview between Steve and the award’s organizers, Maestro eLearning.

Q. Being the CEO of Chandler University, what’s constantly on your mind?
As the CEO, I have three primary responsibilities:

1. To provide the greatest return possible to our shareholders
2. To be responsible for everything our company does, or fails to do
3. To provide the long-term strategic vision (to democratize education), then coach the coaches (our executives) who are responsible for executing these goals while ensuring that they are communicating with each other.

Q. With such responsibilities, how do you approach each day?
Each morning starts with a one minute stand-up huddle and no meetings, except a weekly agenda-less get-together where the team discusses 3-4 pressing things (check out Death by Meeting). Then I go where the action is, wherever that may be. I need to look at the team in their eyes to truly know if they have things under control. No one in our office is allowed to e-mail me unless it’s a document I need to see—this forces people to actually get out of their office, walk down the hall, and communicate face-to-face. It’s an awesome thing!

Q. Sounds like you've learned some "hacks" for supercharging team productivity. Any other useful hacks worth sharing?

Sure: micro-manage, micro-manage, and micro-manage—the reality is that as a leader you have to ensure your vision is executed exactly as you intend, and if you look at most disasters within any organization, it’s because the bosses stopped looking under the hood, kicking the tires, and checking the smallest of details. Instead, they were off at events that rarely ensured quality assurance. Leaders who stay focused on the team getting it right for the customer tend to produce the best results.

Q. In some circles, micro-managing is something to be avoided. How do you go about micro-managing in a positive way?

People usually resent micro-management when leaders don’t lead by example (has an attitude of “do as I say, not as I do”). Nothing inspires employees more than seeing their bosses roll up their sleeves and get dirty with them whenever needed.

It takes time to build a culture that embraces this, and often they don’t realize the value of micro-management until successful results are achieved. And it sometimes takes even longer. When they look back and reflect on why things went well, they realize that I was with them every step of the way.

I don’t have all the answers, but am very proud that most of the employees and executives that have parted ways with me because of an acquisition have repeatedly asked to return and work with me. It’s an awesome responsibility that I don’t take for granted and it’s very humbling.

Q. Thanks for sharing what you’ve learned. For those who want to follow in your footsteps, what resources would you recommend?

Two things. First and foremost: “A violently executed plan TODAY is far better than a perfect plan TOMORROW” - General Patton

Second, a must-read for all managers wanting to move into C-level positions is QBQ: Question Behind the Question . It’s about accepting personal responsibility for everything and how to stop blaming others for shortcomings.

About the Interviewer

Maestro eLearning is a customer service company in the business of creating custom online training courses [http://www.maestroelearning.com]. They’re collaborating with industry consultants and vendors to launch the Maestro eLearning Awards. Delight your colleagues and consider nominating them for some awards [http://goo.gl/cRccg], such as Best eLearning Designer and Best eLearning Developer.

Is Your eLearning +1

Seems like everything is getting a game mechanic these days: Thumbs up. Thumbs down. Yeah! I'm the Mayor! Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Google has announced the +1 button. I've watched the video but have not yet found the elusive +1 button in my Google.




YouTube.com uses game mechanics. Betcha didn't know that! Check out this Google presentation given by Amy Jo Kim (@amyjokim).


She talks about 5 basic game mechanics: Collecting, Points(Game Points, Social Points, Redeemable Points), Feedback, Exchanges, Customization.There are others but this is a good set to start thinking about. While you're watching the video be thinking about how you might incorporate them into your next corporate learning initiative.  Leave your thoughts in the comments.  Let me know how you plan to +1 your eLearning!

Practicing Social Media Skills for Learning

This post was inspired by Kevin Thorn's (LearnNuggets) guest post at eLearning Weekly titled Top 5 eLearning Skills for 2011 and the Follow up post. Kevin's take on eLearning skills has sparked a little debate and started a healthy conversation around several topics including social media. Here is Kevin's take on SoMe as a top skill for 2011:

Social Media – As we all know social media is no longer a trend and is becoming the main stream of communicating. I don’t think SoMe is a skill so much as it is a practice. You gain knowledge of how SoMe works by the mere fact of being embedded in it. Similar to video production where many organizations are not set up to handle that type of media, even more organizations have not incorporated SoMe into their business. Just because there are several really great case studies using SoMe in training, doesn’t mean your organization has a business value to implement it. In preparation for the years to come though, I would encourage everyone to get a Twitter account, join LinkedIn groups, and engage in Facebook Groups, etc. to stay plugged in.

Kevin nails SoMe as a practice, not a skill. But I suppose one might argue that you need to acquire the software/internet skills first in order to practice. But I would that today those skills are acquired before getting to this point in your career. The practice of SoMe is not a trivial matter. As an eLearning designer/developer, if you don't engage with social media as a participant/learner you will NEVER understand or embrace the value it offers. However, when that proverbial light bulb goes off, and you see the light, DO NOT rush to consider it your next great eLearning solution either. Many have, and many have failed.

The fastest way to SoMe failure in the enterprise is to call it a learning tool and to have it born of the HR/Training department. Driving technology adoption is something you can influence IF you have a seat at the table. But it is not the responsibility of the Instructional Designer, the Training Manager, or the CLO to implement enterprise wide SoMe solutions. You should have a solid relationship with your IT organization. It's their responsibility, NOT YOURS. SoMe will inevitably become part of the enterprise. Don't force it in as a learning solution.


In Kevin's list he doesn't mention certain traditional ISD skills and that's where some readers begin to share their thoughts.

A commenter on Kevin's post writes:

Surprised in both articles, there is nothing about assessment/evaluation. And I am not just talking about the design or writing here. The mechanics to deploy something and get back items that provide meaningful, actionable data is a critical piece in the puzzle.

Let’s take the hot topic right now: SoMe. Setting up the space to facilitate the connections is great, but we will be asked at some point about the value of the solution. What data will your C-level accept as value? Will your system report this data? What can be done to capture it?

He is commenting on assessment/evaluation of eLearning, but in so doing makes a strong statement reflecting how Learning Professionals misunderstand SoMe. This thinking is how we fail. Did anyone ever ask us to monitor happy hour conversations, or water cooler conversations, and provide "meaningful, actionable data"? No. Why? Because we didn't ask anyone to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to support their implementation. Let IT see/understand the need and take responsibility for its implementation.

The reality is that "WE" should not be the ones required to PROVE the "value of the [SoMe] solution". It must be implemented to support the business...ALL of the business NOT JUST training/learning. The data "your C-level accept[s] as value" is the same data he/she has always accepted...unless you spend their money on a SoMe system "just" for learning/training.

Something to think about...

• Learning Development Practitioners: If your organization does not have a company wide SoMe solution in place then don't even think about it in your design. If you do have an enterprise solution in place its your job to get connected, participate, engage. Your greatest successes will come from farming the rich data that is planted and growing within these spaces. To ignore an existing SoMe solution is an incredible waist of a natural internal resource.
• Training Managers/Corporate Learning Officers: Find your IT Buddy. Okay, so that's a little unprofessional. Try this. Engage with your IT department and begin conversations on how the Training/Learning department can/will leverage SoMe functionality. This gives them the ammo THEY need to prove the cost of implementation, ROI, etc. (REMEMBER: Its THEIR responsibility, NOT yours.) If your IT department is ahead of the curve then you already have enterprise SoMe. You need to engage. You need to ask IT for data. Figure out who's using it, and how they are using it and when. Understanding this data will help you craft your social learning strategy.