Kapp Notes

Cartoons Not all that Bad for Learning

2009-11-25T09:12:00.000-05:00

When most people think of cartoons, they think of a mindless activity for young kids but, it turns out, cartoons used for learning can be very beneficial.

First, check out Howtoons which shows kids how to create really neat stuff with just a cartoon like explanation. I can tell you these cartoons are far easier to follow than a lot of instruction manuals I've read. What a great way to encourage the learning of math, science and engineering topics.

Cartoon from the mega-cool site Howtoons

showing kids how to build a submarine out of a soda bottle.

Second, research by Professor Carol Tilley, from the department of library and information science, indicated that comics are just as sophisticated as other forms of reading, and children benefit from reading them at least as much as they do from reading other kinds of books.

Tilley said there was evidence that comics increased learning vocabulary and instilled a love of reading.

She said: "A lot of the criticism of comics and comic books come from people who think that kids are just looking at the pictures and not putting them together with the words.
"Some kids, yes. But you could easily make some of the same criticisms of picture books – that kids are just looking at pictures, and not at the words."

She added: "Although they've long embraced picture books as appropriate children's literature, many adults – even teachers and librarians who willingly add comics to their collections – are too quick to dismiss the suitability of comics as texts for young reader Check out the full article.

Third, is a comic describing the safe operation of an M16 Riffle. Serious stuff for a serious subject but consider the audience. Typically young people around the age of 18 with a sense of adventure.

One more example is the instruction manual for Google Chrome.

So, next time you are trying to decide how to make that complicated educational manual a little more simpler and ensure that people actually read it, think about a delivery style based on comics.
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Major Video Game Development Contest Focused on STEM Announced

2009-11-24T13:50:00.001-05:00

This week President Barack Obama launched a new “Educate to Innovate” campaign. This initiative aims to increase science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) literacy among students in US educational institutions.

As part of that initiative, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), Microsoft Corporation, and the MacArthur Foundation today announced a collaboration based on a video game focus to improve education.

As Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers, says "Computer and video games are one of the most effective ways to reach America's children and encourage them to stay interested in vital STEM principles." He goes on to say that "We are honored to have President Obama recognize the unique ability of games to act as a catalyst in generating new areas of growth in education."

So what does this mean? A national video game competition will be launched...that's what it means.

This competition is a component of the 2010 Digital Media and Learning Competition, a $2 million annual effort funded by the MacArthur Foundation that advances the most innovative approaches to learning through games, social networks and mobile devices. SCEA, in cooperation with ESA and ITI, will team with MacArthur to support the competition, which will result in the creation of new game play experiences that enhance STEM principles using new discoveries on an existing popular video game--LittleBigPlanet(TM)--winner of numerous "game of the year" awards in 2008. Additionally, SCEA will donate 1,000 PlayStation(R)3 (PS3(TM)) systems and copies of LittleBigPlanet(TM) to libraries and community based organizations in low-income communities and make the winning levels available to game players at no cost.

Applications will be judged on criteria related to participatory learning, the support of learning related to science, technology, engineering and math, and the degree to which assessment of learning is integrated into the learning experience itself.
Proposals will be posted for public comment and multiple awards will be given, including a People's Choice Award, which will be decided by the public. Winners will be announced in 2010.

(Check out entire news release on the topic.)

In early 2010, ESA, ITI and their partners will make a formal announcement of the competition's details including eligibility rules and entry procedures. Winners will be announced at the E3 Expo, the leading video game industry trade show event, which takes place June 15-17, 2010.

Look for details in the near future.
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Alternatives to Second Life (continued, again)

2009-11-24T08:24:00.007-05:00

Here is a companion post to two previous posts on the topic:

Alternatives to Second Life

Alternatives to Second Life Continued

If you know of more, please feel free to add in the comments section.

web.alive

Short "flyby" of Nortel's web.alive.
This is Nortel's entry into the 3D space. web.alive is an enterprise ready, network secured virtual world platform designed to solve business problems of working together over distances in real time and the costs associated with travel and training on complex equipment or in hazardous areas. The project was formerly known under the codename of "Project Chainsaw" and was built specifically for integrating into business applications already existing within the enterprise. Look for it to break out in the near future.

Activeworlds

Location in Activeworlds.

This platform has been around for a while and has the usual features such as customizing an avatar, online stores and the ability to own a home online. Businesses can license the Activeworlds technology to have their own looking for your own virtual world separate from the main Activeworld's Universe. For educational users, Activeworlds launched The Active Worlds Educational Universe (AWEDU). The AWEDU is an educational community that makes the Active Worlds technology available to educational institutions, teachers, students, and individual programs in a focused setting. Via this community, educators are able to explore new concepts, learning theories, creative curriculum design, and discover new paradigms in social learning.

Metaplace

Screen capture from Meteplace.

Is a Flash-based virtual world platform that allows players to buy and sell items, own property and play online games. Because it is Flash-based there is no download required. Another particularly interesting aspect of Metaplace is that it can be embedded into a webpage. This means that a user created "portal" into a virtual world can be accessed from web location. You can add content from other web locations like Amazon or videos as well. Formerly Meteplace was known Areae.

Twinity

Here is a movie showing how to dress in Twinity to give you and idea of the world.

This is a "mirror-world" so it mirrors real places. So far it is mirroring Berlin and Singapore and London is on the horizon. The world allows for creating an avatar and exploring historical as well as modern day locations. One interesting thing is how the world can contrast things like Berlin today and Berlin during the cold war. This has a number of interesting educational applications when you consider the historical value of exploring what cities and locations looked like in the past and what they look like today. Currently it is in Beta which you can join for free.

If you want to learn how to implement and successfully deploy collaboration and training within a virtual world, check out Learning in 3D which will be released January 15, 2010.

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Interviews: Questions and Answers

2009-11-23T11:59:00.003-05:00

Lately it seems as if I have been doing a number of interviews, I was interviewed over at The eLearning Coach on the topic of Games and Simulations. Stop over and check out the interview. It was a lot of fun. Also, here is the second part of the interview (it was so long it became two parts.) Also, check out the other interesting content on the site. Some good stuff.

I also received an email with some interview questions. Here is a glimpse at some of the questions and answers from that email.

Why do you think parents disapprove of the idea of videogames in classrooms?

Parents only hear about the “bad” aspects of video games and a number of video games do have offensive language and content but so do books. Some of the most offensive subjects and written word has been captured in books. Do we ban all books as bad? No. We ban certain books but the rest we view as positive. We need the same focus on video games. Some are bad but many aspects of games are good. Parent just don’t know about those aspects because they are not as well publicized.

What are the differences between game-based learning and traditional learning methods used in schools now?
Many academic environments are not situated to take advantage of interactive learning opportunities; instead, they focus too much on one-way communication. The instructor lectures to the students. In that environment not a lot of information is retained by the learner. Other times, students are forced to do rote memorization which can be boring. Games can disguise rote memorization and make it more palatable for the learner. For example, games are played over and over again for a higher score, to beat someone or to reach the next level. We know that distributed practice (or spaced rehearsal) is an effective learning technique and a well designed game naturally embodies that concept more so than a traditional classroom lecture or homework assignment.

Another advantage of gaming over a traditional lecture is that games focus on problem-solving. In many classroom environments, time constraints and the need to keep every learner on the same page minimizes the opportunity learners have of truly engaging in problem solving. Games allow learners to engage in problem-solving on a regular basis.

Immediate feedback is another advantage. Games provide immediate feedback unlike a test or a quiz which requires time for an instructor to grade and return. Games also tend to motivate learners more than text on a PowerPoint slide that is presented in a typical classroom.

What are the problems with traditional learning methods?
The instruction all has to progress at one pace, students don’t get enough of a chance to practice problem-solving. The traditional methods don’t teach students to work with multiple variables and to see pattern recognition.

What can change if schools start to participate in game-based learning?
I believe we can raise a generation of problem-solvers and innovators. We can’t solve today’s problems with the education of yesterday. The classroom model has been around since the 1800’s and is appropriate for an industrial society but we are now an information society and we need a new focus. Games will our children to think on their feet and to aggressively confront issues with a sense of urgency.

Nolan Bushnell, the father of videogames, says “Everything can be done through a game. The learning and the exercise.” He continues to say that games teach much more than any teacher can. “They teach to work in teams, whether it is with another person or a simulation. They teach experiences and creative thinking and encourage students to learn by themselves.” Nolan concludes, “Students will learn if they just continue to play their videogames.”
Do you agree with Nolan Bushnell’s statement?

I agree to a large extent with his statements, I think I would modify to focus on educational games. I think “bad” games can teach some pretty bad stuff so to say all video games are good no matter what is like saying all video games are bad no matter what—-neither statement is true.

Games are an instructional strategy for teaching content but are not a panacea. While many good aspects of video games are ignored and should be highlighted and leveraged more in educational institutions, we cannot abandon all other types of learning in favor of games. An intelligent balance of instructor-led instruction, games, simulations, hands-on experiences and peer-to-peer interactions is necessary. A mistake too many people make is to see any one solution or technique, like video games as the answer to all educational problems. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. So, the “everything can be done through a game,” is, in my opinion, going a little far. But I do agree that learning and the exercise or application of the learning can be learned through the game but, more is needed. Practical, hands-on elements and working side-by-side and being able to see another student and work shoulder-to-shoulder is also important.

Bushnell also wants to create a “Game-Based School” where children learn from only games. What do you think the pros and cons of a school like this would be?
The pros would be the problem-solving focus and the motivation. The cons would be, as mentioned above, one cannot learn everything they need to know at all times through a game. Many more dynamics are needed. A game centered curriculum can be successful if other elements are also included. Again, a one dimensional solution to educational problems is short-sighted and is wrong.

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Training Industry Statistics

2009-11-23T06:37:00.003-05:00

Here are some interesting statistics from TRAINING.

2009 U.S. Training Expenditures (including payroll and spending on external products and services) was $52.2 billion (a 7% decrease from last year)
41% of organizations plan on purchasing online learning tools and systems in the next year.
Payroll was $32.9 billion, about a $1 billion dollar overall loss from 2008.
47% of organizations surveyed reported a decrease in training budgets this year.
Companies spent $1,036 per learner this year ($1,075 in 2008).
Small companies (10-999 employees) spent about 33 hours of training per employee in 2009.
Midsized (1,000 to 9,999 employees) spent about 29 hours of training per employee in 2009.
Large (10,000 or more employees) spent about 33 hours of training per employee in 2009.
1.5% of companies are using social networking or mobile training methods.
47% of training hours are delivered by a stand-and-deliver instructor in a classroom setting.
18.5% use online or computer-based technologies for their training delivery.
$306,178 was the average expenditure for training outsourcing

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Friday of CAC

2009-11-21T09:27:00.008-05:00

It's been a good 3 days of Bloomsburg University's Corporate Advisory Council meeting. We had great Corporate Presentations on Wednesday, the students did a Fantastic Job on Thursday and on Friday, Dr. Doll gave a great presentation highlighting Google Wave.

Dr. Doll makes a point about Google Wave.

Meanwhile, students interviewed with many companies including Kodak, RWD Technologies, Geisinger, Bristol-Myers Squibb as well as several others.
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CAC 2009 Student Presentations

2009-11-19T05:37:00.009-05:00

Today student's present their mock solution to a mock exercise as part of their Master's of Science in Instructional Technology degree requirement. It is a great event. Students have written a 40 page proposal, created a 20 minute "sales" presentation and are prepared for a 15 minute question and answer session from our corporate advisory council members (we have over 30 in attendance this semester).

Here is a brief overview of the Request for Proposal to which they've responded this semester (it changes every semester.)

Mock E-Learning RFP Fall 2009

This semester the focus is on developing a “Training System” for the introduction of a new product from Big Power Tool Company (BPTC). The RFP has opportunities for product training, sales training, e-learning, hands-on instructor-led elements, multiple languages and follow up training. As well as training geared toward experts and novices and the opportunity for students to offer a solution using Web 2.0 and social media solutions.

Introduction

The purpose of this semester’s Request for Proposal is to have the students submit a proposal to design and develop a training system for the launch of a new hardware product aimed at three markets, retail “big box” stores, independent hardware stores and professional contractors. The new combo tool kit will revolutionize the hand tool market and allow for the powering through of work with less fatigue and all day run time.

The kit contains a Drill/Driver, an Impact Driver, a Reciprocating saw, one Work light, one Charger and two Interchangeable Lithium-ion Batteries. The training systems must encompass the needs of both experienced sales representatives and a field force of new representatives who have not previously sold our products before.

Additionally, the instruction must be in three different languages, English, French and Spanish.

About the Client

Big Power Tool Company, Inc. (BPTC) is an international manufacturer and marketer of quality power tools and accessories, hardware and home improvement products focused on making the construction and building of residential and commercial properties easier and more efficient. They are well known for the Model Z drill line and their innovative approach to new product design and development as indicated by our being awarded the IDEAS 5.0 Innovation Award for six consecutive years. BPTC’s products and services are marketed in more than 100 countries, and they have manufacturing operations in fifteen countries.

Objectives Students Need to Fulfill

The objectives of the work BPTC wishes to commission are:

· To design, develop and deliver a training system (no longer than 5 days) that provides sales representatives (both novice and experienced) with the product knowledge and sales approach necessary to sell the SUPER MAX Combo into the three markets.

· The training system must include initial training and then follow up training exercises, techniques or approaches that continually coach the sales representatives and alert them to competitor responses in the market. (This is the opportunity for social media solutions).

· Create both online and hands-on learning events within the overall system for the time frame.

· Create the system in three languages.

The event has over 40 CAC members in attendance.

Jason introduces himself and tells the year

he graduated from the program.

First Team: Stellar Strategies

Liz, Michael, Joe, Nitin and Susan of

Stellar Strategies discuss their solution.

Joe discusses the prototype.

Susan presents her "close."

Team answers questions from CAC members.

Student Team Global Talk

Elaine, Romona, Tony and Dion.

Showing how the training process

flows with a short automated piece.

Global Talk addressing the training

needs of Big Power Tool Company.

Student Team MicroManage

Eric, Rachel, Michelle and Adam present their solution.

Rachel outlines the solution for BPTC.

Adam discusses the prototype.

Written Winner: MicroManage
Presentation Winner: Global Talk
Prototype Winner: Stellar Strategies

MicroManage wins overall.

Throughout the day, I will post pictures and overviews of the student presentations. Also, you can follow the tweets with the #BUCAC hash tag.

(student presentations will not be streamed.)
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Fall 2009 Corporate Advisory Event Starts Today

2009-11-18T06:35:00.014-05:00

Today marks the beginning of one of my favorite events of the year. Our annual Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) event. This is an event where students of instructional technology have a conference with professionals in the field where they can learn, exchange ideas and select students for jobs and internships. It is a great win-win event.

This semester we have over 35 individuals representing 31 different companies including representatives from Kodak, KPMG, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Tyco Electronics, Vanguard, Northrop Grumman and others are in attendance. Including several entrepreneurial companies started by alumni of the program. The first day the corporations will present to the students and each other. On the second day students will present solutions to a mock Request for Proposals (RFP) while the CAC members evaluate their presentations and on the third day students will interview for internships and job opportunities.

Here is a brief synopsis of the RFP the students will be answering this semester. The focus of the RFP is on developing a “Training System” for the introduction of a new product from the fictitious Big Power Tool Company (BPTC). The RFP has opportunities for product training, sales training, e-learning, hands-on instructor-led elements, multiple languages and follow up training. As well as training geared toward experts and novices and the opportunity for students to offer a solution using Web 2.0 and social media solutions.

And, as an added bonus, this year we are going to be streaming live the presentations by our CAC members on Wed (today).

Here is a list of the presenter and link to the streaming video. This is new this semester so we'll see how it works. Also, you should be able to even email in questions using this system so if something is of interest, drop an email. All times are Eastern Standard.

Dr. Phillips Kicks Off the Meeting

Welcome and Introductions (12:15 PM) Dr. Karl Kapp and Timothy Phillips (if you had to miss something, this might be it.)

Carl Siedel of AXIOM Professional Health Learning (12:30 PM -1:00 PM)(not available for streaming)

Jen talks about a virtual preceptorship.

Carl answers a question.

Jason W. Smith of KWConnect (1:00-1:30)

Jason introduces himself and the company.

Talking about developing training to

build relationships and communications.

Jason discusses different types

of training his company delivers.

Screen shot from Jason's streaming presentation.

Ahaa about e-learning
-They are benchmarking you against the web (
-Videos 3-5 minutes
-How does the content help me right now
-Don't bore me (passionate, engaging or I'll leave)
-Let me share it.

Mark Burke of ViaAcademies (1:30-2:00)

Mark talks about

online music education at viaAcademies

Mark explaining how he has integrated several
different technologies to teach music online.

Anna Griffith of Discovery Machine (2:15-2:45)

Anna and her presentation in the streaming interface.

Anna talking about mapping expertise.

Anna answering questions from the audience.

Experts can always identify mistakes new learners make.

Chris Reichart of Zerion Software (2:45-3:15)

Chris highlights some features of their iPhone applications.

Game engine that started it all.

Map of users of one of the applications developed.

Check out more iPhone applications at Zerion Software.

Sherry Engel of Performance Development Group (3:15-3:45)

Sherry talks about forecasting ROI.

Sherry from the Performance Development Group
emphasizes that learning must support business goals.

John Menapace of Menapace Productions (3:45-4:15)

John shows his learning product to walk a

student through the writing process.

John talking about the patterns of teaching.

Cliff Sobel of The Phoenix Group (4:15-4:45)

Cliff and Rhonda talk about interactivity and engagement.

Rhonda talks about Cannon Live Learning.

Cliff describes The Phoenix Group.

Great presentations today, thanks to all the great presenters. I'll be posting the download information shortly so you can check out the presentations at your convenience.
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Designing a Virtual World Learning Event? Think Participant Centered

2009-11-17T08:11:00.001-05:00

Immersed in a learning environment

(notice, no bulleted list of objectives)

An important virtual world design principle is that the participant (not the teacher) must be positioned at the center of the learning experience--a 360 degree immersion in an learning experience. Thus the term Virtual Immersive Environment (VIE)

Unlike the classroom-based “Sage on the Stage” model where the teacher imparts knowledge upon the passive learning consumer, in a 3D Learning Experience, the participant must be actively engaged. Within the environment, the learner's actions and interactions must have consequential outcomes within the learning experience itself.

In virtual world learning, the locus of control moves from the instructor or teacher to the learner and the contextual design must accommodate the actions and interactions that participants have within the immersive environment. Learning objectives are not covered conversationally, but experienced viscerally. In 3D Learning Experiences, participants become a component in the design of the learning experience itself (which requires a different approach from instructional designers)

In a typical classroom setting objectives are introduced, explained via illustration or example and processed via conversation. In a 3D Learning Experience, situations are encountered, experienced and learning is synthesized as a part of the experience itself. Content and process are fused to the point where the distinction between learning and doing becomes almost imperceptible.

In placing the learner at the center of the design and in exploring how to bring the learning objectives to life via participant activity, Instructional Designers can discover new possibilities and approaches to improve and enrich the participant’s learning experience.

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Random Web 2.0 Statistics

2009-11-16T05:17:00.005-05:00

Here are some interesting Web 2.0 Statistics gathered from a number of different sources.

Web 2.0 users report a 20% decrease in communication and travel costs both internally and in external supplier relationships (according to a November 2009 T&D Magazine article, The Wonders of Conversion, quoting a McKinsey & Company Survey)
Using Web 2.0 tools, production innovation soared 20% because organizations could receive input from partners and customers quickly and apply feedback to products. (same source as above)
Web 2.0 technology users increased their revenue across internal relations, external relations and dealing with suppliers and other external partners by 13%. (same source as above)
The average consumer is exposed to over 3,000 messages a day. (Digital: Beyond Our Control, But Within Our Reach)
2,000,000,000 (two billion) – approximate number of Google searches that occur every day (How many searches has Google done?)
An estimated 6.8 billion search queries were conducted at Google Search, representing 66.1 percent of all search queries in October 2009.(Top US Search Providers October 2009)
There are more than 85,000 active contributors working on more than 14,000,000 articles in more than 260 languages at Wikipedia. There are approximately 3,094,793 articles in English. Wikipedia has 10,992,799 registered users, including 1,696 administrators.(Wikipedia About)
The breakdown of bloggers, according to Technorati, is Hobbyists (72%), Part-Timers (15%), Corporate (4%), Self Employeds (9%). (Source is Technorati)
Self-expression and sharing expertise are the primary motivations for bloggers, and 70% of all respondents stated that personal satisfaction is a way they measure the success of their blog. Among Pros, however, the leading metric of success is the number of unique visitors. (same source as above)
A total of 16% of bloggers describe themselves as snarky. (same source as above)
20 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute (YouTube Blog)
Meanwhile, at Facebook, There are more than 300 million active users and 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day while the fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older. (Facebook Statistics)
On Facebook, the average user has 130 friends on the site with more than 8 billion minutes spent on Facebook each day (worldwide) providing approximately 45 million status updates each day. (same source as above)
Relative to the entire population of internet users, those who have been to graduate school are over represented on LinkedIn. (Alexa, the Web Information Company)
At LinkedIn, the average age is 41 with an average household income of $109,703 with over 50% having an income of $100k plus. About 64% are male and 34% own a Smartphone/PDA. (Linkedintomarketing)
Unique visitors to Twitter increased 1,382 percent year-over-year, from 475,000 unique visitors in February 2008 to 7 million in February 2009. (Twitter’s Tweet Smell Of Success)
In February 2009 the largest age group on Twitter was 35-49; with nearly 3 million unique visitors, comprising almost 42 percent of the site’s audience. (same source as above)
The majority of people visit Twitter.com while at work, with 62 percent of the audience accessing the site from work only versus 35 percent that accessed it from home only. (same as above)

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Learn about Somali Pirates and Capitalism with This Interesting Game

2009-11-14T09:30:00.001-05:00

Here is a chance for you to step into the role of a

Somali Pirate in Wired's Cutthroat Capitalism.

The folks over at Wired have created an interesting game to "teach" people stories in the news, the idea is that someone can better understand the news story of the Somali pirates by understanding their motivation and by taking on the role of the pirate to better understand the economic motivations behind the Somali attacks.

Give the game a try and see if you can be a successful pirate and...see if you learn anything about the economics of being a modern day pirate.

Imagine if all complex news related information was presented in an interactive format. It might just help people understand the complex world around them just a little better.

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Blogger of the Week

2009-11-13T13:12:00.001-05:00

Thanks to E-Learning Planet for naming Kapp Notes the "Blog of the Week" for November 01, 2009 to November 08, 2009. You can read the criteria and entry at Planet’s Pick of the Week.

So thanks to E-Learning Tyro for the shout out.
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Sometimes It's Too Real

2009-11-13T07:39:00.004-05:00

When creating simulations, one mistake novice designers and developers make is trying to have the simulation be too realistic. Trying to capture every element of the environment, trying to be 100% focused on the simulation aspects and not the learning aspects or the motivational aspects.

Admittedly, the goal is to have a level of realism but in many situations, the real environment in which the performance needs to take place is not all that exciting or motivational and doesn't have a direct impact on the person's performance in that environment.

So adding those parts into a simulation is not always a good idea. A simulation is designed to capture the essense of what needs to be learned, it is a model of a situation or a behavior and not a play-by-play realistic re-telling of what happens in a particular situation.

I think this video from The Onion underscores the problem:

Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks
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Save Yourself Time and Money--Before Implementing a Virtual World, Do an Analysis

2009-11-12T08:55:00.001-05:00

Conducting a virtual brainstorming session.

Jumping into a virtual world can provide a competitive advantage, facilitate collaboration and provide virtual role-plays across the enterprise but, if a careful analysis is not done before taking the leap into virtual worlds, disaster could loom.

Here is some advice (and a sneak peak at content from Learning in 3D) that you should follow in terms of analysis.

Without analysis problems such as developing instruction that doesn’t match the needs of the learners, designing instruction that is not really needed, reconfiguring poor stand-up materials as poor virtual world learning or developing spaces that don’t attract learners are bound to occur. Problems can even occur where the virtual world doesn’t run on the current network. None of these situations is favorable.

To help ensure success, an analysis must be performed prior to launching into a virtual world learning experience.

Task, Concept or Skill. When deciding if a task, concept or skill is appropriately taught in a virtual learning world, consider several variables. The first is determining the type of content being taught. Is it facts and jargon or concepts and procedures or it is problem-solving? Identifying the type of knowledge will help with the rest of the process of creating the instruction. Second examine whether or not the instruction requires group coordination and working together in real-time to accomplish a goal or solve a problem. Virtual worlds make a lot of sense for group learning.

Learner Environment/Experience. Should the learning be in a realistic environment? Should it be in a more stylized or surreal setting or even a setting not possible in real life? The immersion can be realistic like putting a person in a sales situation and asking them to perform or it can be more surreal like having a doctor walk through a giant heart to gain another perspective on human anatomy.

Technical Considerations. One area that can quickly derail a virtual learning effort is technical obstacles. Conduct an analysis of the types of servers available, firewall issues, client computer capabilities and other technical specifications to ensure that the virtual learning world will function properly when launched.

Learners. One of the most important elements is the readiness of the learners to engage in a Virtual Immersive Environment. It is important to understand that the best developed v3D virtual learning experience will not be successful if the learners don’t understand how to gain access to the world, how to navigate through the world or how to set up their avatar. For example, have a greeter meet newcomers in the world so they do not feel alone when they first arrive in-world.
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For New Software Training: Spend a Full Class on the Help System

2009-11-11T13:15:00.000-05:00

I frequently get calls from clients, students and others who want to know a certain piece of information and call me hoping I will have that piece of information at my finger tips. They might want to know the different types of e-learning awards that can be won by an excellent e-learning course they are developing.

When I get that call, the first thing I do is access an online search engine and find what I need. The person making the request could have performed the same search but the concept of searching for the information online doesn’t occur to them. For some reason, it is not ingrained in the thought pattern for information retrieval; instead, the person is more comfortable and familiar with looking up a phone number and calling someone who might know. Think of the time and effort that could have saved both himself and me by simply conducting his own search.

An important element in providing information to employees is to teach them how to access the necessary information. Because it is impossible to teach an employee everything that he or she is going to need to know to complete a job in an environment that is constantly changing, teach them how to maximize their existing systems. We need to spend more time teaching architectural elements of a software application than the content of that system. You can always look up the content in the online help (which, admittedly is not always that good).

Learning professionals need to take time to teach learners layout of a job aid or help system and how to use it properly. This time will repay itself over and over again to the organization. The content in the help system may change but the basic tenants of the system usually remain the same. This is often overlooked within an organization. Stop, teach people how to use the built in tools to help themselves, don't always teach them the details of the system.

How to enforce this? Take a full class period and teach help, you'll be surprised by how many questions that answers.(again assuming the help system is decent, if it isn't you need to get involved at the design level to help the software developers and documentation folks to develop good help systems.)

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Higher Education Bubble Post Sparks Reactions and Affirmations

2009-11-11T09:03:00.004-05:00

Image from the website Texas Higher Ed a

project from the Texas Public Policy Foundation

My post The Higher Education Bubble Continues to Grow sparked a number of interactions and posts.

First, Daniel Christian pointed me to his interesting and thought provoking post titled The forthcoming Walmart of Education.

He also pointed me to an interesting presentation that highlights what is wrong with higher education and some solutions. You should check it out How to Not Only Survive, But Thrive in the Future.

Next, Stephen Downes writes of the bursting of the higher education bubble in his posting The Higher Education Bubble Continues to Grow:

I have long affirmed that such a crisis is coming and that it would arrive very suddenly after being years in the making. It is now very close - within a matter of months. 2010 some time, maybe (at the outside) 2011, at least in North America. Funding will dry up, there will be significant staff reductions, institutions will merge or close, and administrators will be desperate for alternatives. Not just in education, but education will be very hard hit, and at all levels

Additionally, Tom Haskins not only confirms the bubble but offers some much needed solutions in his posting Making College Affordable. He also has a great series of postings called Why Are College Costs Soaring? at his Clues to the College Blues blog.
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If Possible...Let's Eliminate Training

2009-11-10T06:52:00.001-05:00

It doesn’t always make sense to teach or educate people. Sometimes it is better to automate the process and eliminate the need for training.

Training is time consuming, expensive and not always effective. As an example, many software and/or hardware training programs, classes and manuals are necessary because the designers of the software or hardware did not take the time to think through how those using the product would be interfacing with it. This is one of the reasons Apple has been so successful...they think through their designs...where something like the earlier so called smartphones...not so much.

Look at what is happening in airports, supermarkets, hotels and convenience stores, you will notice a shift toward customer-automation interfaces. At the airport, a kiosk is used for you to check into your flight, check your baggage and receive a claim ticket and boarding pass. The entire process of checking in at the airport is now done by the customer. The kiosk is so easy to use that you don’t require any training; you just follow the instructions on the screen. An expensive the need for expensive check-in personnel is reduced.

At the supermarket, you can check yourself out after you have gathered all of your groceries. No need to train someone on how to use the cash register, the customer is learning how to do it themselves…in half the time. At many convenience stores, you can order your own sandwich at a kiosk and the clerk behind the counter gets an automated printout of the order. No need for training on how to take an order or how to ensure accuracy.

What are we doing in the learning field to automate our processes? Are we busy trying to teach someone how to do a complicated process? Or are we trying to simplify the process? Are we involved in the design to build the learning right into the hardware or software or are we just cleaning up after the mess made by research and development on a cool new technology that few people can intuitively understand?

Think about what can be done to automate the simple, error prone processes that require a high level of training? What can be done to automate complex processes that require intensive training? Too many times organizations spend time and money conducting training or providing e-learning events because the system is not “smart” enough to handle mundane, repetitive, non-value-added tasks. Look at your organization’s processes and identify opportunities to replace training with automation. It is being done all around you.

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Defining Quality in Learning for Virtual Worlds, Mobile Devices and Online Modules

2009-11-09T07:27:00.001-05:00

What is the definition of the world "Quality"?

There are five ways to consider "quality" in terms of e-learning, virtual worlds or mobile learning:

Functionality. The first and most basic form of quality is "does it work." This is a baseline of quality. Do the links work properly, do the SCORM elements transfer to the LMS properly, the avatars don't freeze or the mobile device doesn't drop the learning nugget. This level of quality does not separate excellent e-learning from good e-learning, however, without functionality, the learning is not of a high quality.

Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation. The basics of the language must be in place. If there are glaring errors in spelling, grammar and use of punctuation, the quality of the learning is not high. These basic elements are a baseline requirement along with Functionality.

Usability. How easy is it for the e-learning, virtual world or mobile lesson to be navigated and used by the learner? Does the learner understand how to move from one screen to another, what items are "clickable" and which are not? How does the learning know to find all of the information within a module. This is where the use of Usability Labs can come into play for determining eye movement on the screen, level of learner frustration and how much time a learner spends on each screen or in each unit of learning.

Content. Is the content accurate, correct and easy to follow. If the content is not correct, it doesn't matter how usable, or error free the material happens to be, the information must be correct. The learner has to be learning the right stuff. Valid content is critical to quality learning in any format.

Learning. This is the most important element. Learning must actually occur for it to be considered high quality e-learning., virtual world learning or mobile learning. If no learning occurs, then the quality is poor. High quality is a result of applying instructional strategies and designing the instruction appropriately.

Is something missing? Did I cover all the issues related to high quality? Tell me what you think?

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Learning Statistics from ASTD 2009 State of the Industry Report

2009-11-06T08:21:00.001-05:00

ASTD, recently released their State of the Industry Report. Here are a few highlights.

US organizations spent $134.07 billion on employee learning and development in 2008.
$88.59 billion was spent on the internal learning function
$45.48 billion was allocated to external services
Average annual expenditure per employee fell 3.8% from 2007 to $1,068
The figure for learning expenditure as a percentage of payroll was 2.24% a small increase from 2007.
The average number of employees per learning staff member was 253

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The Higher Educational Bubble Continues to Grow

2009-11-05T08:49:00.007-05:00

The definition of an economic bubble is, according to Wikipedia, “trade in high volumes at prices that are considerably at variance with intrinsic values”.(Another way to describe it is: trade in products or assets with inflated values.)

Universities and colleges have inflated values disproportionate to their value. A number of signs of the stock market bubble, technology bubble, and recent credit bubble point to the higher education bubble continuing to grow.

Core Mission and Fundamentals are Ignored
A really insightful meme on this was written by Clark Aldrich called Schools from Stockholm Syndrome to Cruise Ships. Where he indicated that colleges are becoming more like cruise ships than educational institutions. They are indeed closer and closer to resorts than to serious places of educational intent. The increase in costs is not going to the educational missions of the colleges, it is going to amenities. They amenities are not going to help new college graduates to get jobs, they are not preparing them for workplace acumen. In fact, as Clark points out, they are creating unrealistic expectations.

One sign of a growing bubble is when core missions and fundamentals are ignored. Financial institutions did not focus on core business drivers, they ventured into exotic loans schemes. When they discovered that fixed mortgages were no longer profitable enough, they created variations such as interest only mortgage and other "modified" mortgage vehicles. Colleges and universities have lost focus on education and, instead, have focused on amenities and cosmetic campus improvements not on fundamentally improving the education of the students. The educational model--put them in a classroom and lecture--is basically unchanged since the 1800s.

Disproportionate Compensation
Another sign of a growing bubble is out of control compensation at the highest levels. Recently a lot of attention has been given to the fact that 23 Private College Presidents Made More Than $1 Million. While the salaries of public school officials continue to rise as well. This is especially striking when an average worker (an adjunct faculty) makes about $49,000 a year according to SimplyHired. This is a new phenomenon, according to the article, as recently as 2002, there were no million-dollar presidents, only four earning more than $800,000, and 27 earning more than $500,000 (now there are 110). This shows a growing, not a shrinking bubble.

Product Value Doesn't Match Marketplace Expectations
Yet, one more sign is that the perceived product value doesn't match marketplace realities. Students are not graduating with high priced jobs. Many are graduating into the unemployment lines with huge debt. An example of this is student, Trina Thompson of the Bronx. She graduated from New York's Monroe College in April with a bachelor of business administration degree in information technology and couldn't find a job so she sued the university for her money back. Many comments are that she needs to "grow up" or "that a college education doesn't guarantee a job" or "her attitude proves why she doesn't have a job".

But wait a minute...she paid over $70,000 for a four year education and now can't recover her value. This law suit is only the first of what will be many.

Here is an interesting quote from a US Today Article. "The average debt for a college graduate has soared 50% in the past decade, after inflation, according to the Project on Student Debt, a non-profit advocacy group. Just as record-low mortgage rates have eased the impact of soaring home prices, low student-loan rates have let borrowers cut their payments, softening the impact of rising debt."

Because money was easy to come by, students didn't mind borrowing. Things are changing. Undergraduate students aren't getting jobs but average over $20,000 in debt when they graduate which makes it hard to make ends meet especially if they except to live as well as they did in college. Trina is not the only one wondering if college is still worth the price?

Prices are Manipulated Without Regard to Market Supply/Demand
The sticker price of college tuition is seldom ever paid, colleges continue to let parents and eager young students know that financial aid is available in a number of formats and they will work with you to get the best "deal" on your four years of college.

Isn't this like buying a car (before Edmunds), dealers put an outrageous sticker price on the car and then you "negotiate" them down to a "fair" price or a "bargain." Since no one knew the real price, many people ended up paying more than they need to. Additionally, according to a US Today Opinion piece, In good times, colleges blame tuition hikes on high labor costs. In bad times, they blame endowment troubles. Either way the rates continue to go up unabated. This is a growing bubble.

Exclusivity Perception
One trick Bernie Madoff used to steal money from investors was to indicate the difficulty "average" folks had in getting into his selective fund. It was perceived as difficult to get an opportunity to invest with him. To many it seemed his doors were closed. He made you think that you had no chance to invest with him. The prey would then be frustrated, upset and a little disappointed because they weren't good enough to get into the club.

But a little while later, Bernie would circle back around and say, "well because I like you, I'll make an exception and let you in." The victims couldn't hand him their money fast enough. As one article states, "A chance to send your funds to Mr Madoff was so coveted that it was in essence by invitation only." The academic equivalent is the concept of Selective or Highly Selective Colleges. If you are "lucky" enough to gain admissions, you are so grateful...you pay the high tuition...a carefully orchestrated result.

A Delusion that "This Market is Different"
Housing prices will never decrease, this market will never slow down, we are in a new economy, these are internet-based business models, not old school models. No matter what the bubble, people within the industry always seem to have a rationale of why "This is different and normal rules of economics don't apply."

The same is happening in higher education. In one article William Powers, the president of the University of Texas at Austin states "The market is choosing quality regardless of incremental costs." These aren't incremental costs, college tuition has increased by more than three times the rate of inflation for the last 20 years, despite U.S. wages flat-lining since 2000. That is not the definition of incremental.

But do cost and quality really equate, the answer is not really. In fact, the high sticker price of many colleges is actually part of their marketing strategy.

As counterintuitive as it seems, schools have often found that raising tuition attracts more applicants because families tend to equate high price with quality (Money Magazine Article.) The market has gotten away from the rational fundamentals.As an example, in 2000, Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa. boosted tuition and fees by 17.6%. The following year the school received nearly 200 more applications than the year before, and within eight years the freshman class had grown 56%. Schools are competing in an environment where, it is hard to convince potential students that a school is as good as its rivals unless they charge an equal or higher rate of tuition.(Money Magazine Article.) This is a price war based on perception and not on the reality of the actual value of the education.

According to the same Money Magazine article "prices for colleges have begun to follow their own peculiar logic. In the absence of any objective measure of the value of an education, price becomes the default yardstick. The more expensive a college is, the better the education it presumably provides."

But as Charles Miller, who chaired the U.S. Department of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education was quoted as saying: "If college costs continue to escalate at this rate, you may reach a point where the investment simply isn't worth it."

Bubble Articles
Here are some other articles about the bubble:
Is Higher Education the Next Big Bubble?
Evidence of the Tuition Bubble
The Coming College Bubble?
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Recent Second Life Happenings: Going Corporate

2009-11-04T11:00:00.004-05:00

Some interesting things are going on with the folks over at Linden Labs, the developers of the virtual immersive environment of Second Life.

Second Life is going corporate.

First, they are sponsoring a contest called The 2010 Linden Prize. As described:

The Linden Prize will award one Second Life Resident or team with $10,000 USD for an innovative inworld project that improves the way people work, learn and communicate in their daily lives outside of the virtual world. This annual award is intended to align with Linden Lab’s company mission, which is to connect all people to an online world that advances the human condition. The criteria for winning are:
Work in Second Life that also achieves tangible, compelling results outside of Second Life.
Distinctive, original work using Second Life that clearly demonstrates high quality, execution, function, aesthetics and technical sophistication.
Work that has the capacity for inspiring and influencing future development, knowledge, creativity, and collaboration both inside and outside of Second Life.

Clearly the folks at Linden are looking for corporate and educational uses that extend beyond the virtual world into the physical world with behavior, attitude and other changes influenced by working, collaborating and learning in a virtual space. See more at The Linden Prize.

Second, on November 4th (tomorrow), the behind-the-firewall release of Second Life will go public. It has been undercover with the code name Nebraska but it will be announced formally at at Metanomics in-world event. Rumor has it that pricing for the behind the firewall Second Life Enterprise starts at $55,000 and that it will be handled by a value-added network of service providers (see more below.)

These announcements come on the heals of Second Life announcing that the Second Life economy hit One Billion Total User Hours last quarter, a milestone.

A representative from Second Life also indicated they are looking to go mobile as well. He is quoted as saying:

We plan to bring Second Life to mobile devices in the future, but rather than recreating the full 3D inworld experience you get with the Second Life Viewer, it will likely focus on the functionality most appropriate for mobile devices -- such as the ability to communicate with friends and colleagues who are inworld. Already, several developers have used the open source Second Life Viewer to bring varying degrees of the experience to mobile devices. For example, Genkii's Sparkle iPhone app enables residents use their iPhones to IM with friends in-world.

Check out the full interview. Looks like Second Life is on the move toward enterprise integration, further expansion into academic and corporate organizations and an effort to make virtual worlds more mainstream through a network of what they call Gold Solution Providers (currently there are 35 of these providers.)

The future for virtual worlds just got a whole lot more interesting and are coming to an online learning experience near you!

To get ahead start on virtual worlds in 2010, you might want to check out the following book which covers several projects that are worthy of the Linden Prize.

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Selling Social Media for Learning: ASTD Big Question

2009-11-04T01:07:00.007-05:00

This month's ASTD Learning Circuit's Blog Big Question is "How do I communicate the value of social media as a learning tool to my organization?"

Here are several ways to help sell Social Media in an organization.

Address a Business Need
The most important element in communicating the value of Social Media is to solve a pressing business need. If you try to sell the use of social media as a technology play, it will not work. Address the need to share knowledge over distances or the value of timely information to sales tactics, don't focus on the technology.

For example, if an organization is having trouble keeping training manuals up-to-date or keeping SOPs up-to-date and tracking changes and referencing older versions of the documentation, a wiki is a perfect tool In fact, one company saved over a million dollars by transferring their three-ring binder training manuals to a wiki and the wiki is used more than the old manuals were.

If you have scientists and engineers working across geographic boundaries in isolation and knowledge of what they are doing within the organization is limited, consider having them establish blogs to share their insights and ideas. Focus on the business need and the technology will follow.

Consider the Organizational Culture

Cultural influences in terms of sharing information openly is more important than the technology. An atmosphere of sharing is required for Social Media to be adopted. If people feel they will be punished or “get in trouble” for postings, Social Media will not work within the organization. People don't share business insights, innovations and concepts just because technology is available, they share because they feel everyone is working toward a common goal. If that feeling doesn't exist, social media won't work as a productivity enhancement tool.

Point to Case Studies
The case studies for Pfizerpedia or Intellipedia are great examples of how social media can work in highly regulated industries. Check out the use of social media by the US State Department, Wachovia Bank now part of Citigroup and others in Pedia Palooza and see many examples of how Social Media can be valuable.

Rename
Instead of social media call it "Knowledge Media." Names seem to matter and sometimes Knowledge Media has more traction than social media as a term within the organization.

Follow the "Diffusion of Innovations" process"
This process, described by Everett M. Roger outlines how a technology "takes off" within a social system. Read about Diffusions of Innovations. Roger's also talks about the technology adoption continuum which will help position social media within the organization. Also understanding how to sell technology to different groups within the organisation such as techies and visionaries versus pragmatists, conservatives and skeptics is important as well. Learn about that in Selling to Visionaries and Techies.

Follow Lessons Learned by Others
Lessons learned from others like, "don't start with a blank slate" and "seek contributors early" will help position the social media appropriately. Check out these lessons learned for helping with the implementation of social media within an organization from the post Web 2.0 Lessons Learned.

Position Social Media Differently Than It's Intended Use
For example, the Twitter question is "What are you doing?" Most knowledge workers, when hard at work, don't care what others are doing. But they do care about what others are thinking. The question should be "What you are thinking?" or "What problem are you trying to solve?" or "Can anyone help me...?" Reposition the use of something like Twitter to be a productivity tool, not a social networking tool. Position it as an extended, continuously-on call network of individuals within an organization who can help each other by having access to the thoughts, ideas and mentoring of the knowledge workers within the organization.

Have an Orientation Session
While many of the Social Media tools seem intuitive and familiar to just about everyone, some employees will need to be oriented to Social Media in face-to-face sessions. Providing up-front assistance and training is essential for the majority of employees to adopt. A small group will adopt irregardless of training but others will need some sort of training to become familiar with the tools just like we had browser and mouse training back in the day. Here is a link called Blogging to Learn, Learning to Blog that describes some things to cover when orienting someone who is going to become a blogger. For additional adoptions tips, here is a link to a few ideas for adoption of social media within an organization.

Make Sure Stakeholders Understand the Potential Business Uses of the Technology
My blog Tech Dimensions contains a series of posts about how blogs, wikis, RSS, Twitter, and other Social Media tools can be used to address business needs.

Don't Tell Anyone, Just Start Using It
Sometimes it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to beg for permission. Start using social media tools without fanfare to address your needs and others may follow...just don't tell them they are social media tools...maybe you use them to communicate or post information (this relates a little to some earlier ideas.)
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Audio in E-Learning

2009-11-03T06:00:00.001-05:00

Audio is a powerful and impactful tool, but it is often used incorrectly within e-learning courses. I recently had a discussion with Dan Bliton in his role at the Metro DC ASTD chapter about this topic, here is a small part of the interview.

A common question is "Should we have audio in the e-learning module that exactly matches the text on the screen?"

The general answer is no. It’s not that you can’t learn from audio and text, it is just that the learning is more productive if the two are separate (audio that enhances what is on the screen not repeats it word-for-word). I think tend to report that they want the audio with matching text together but if they sat through that type of instruction for a long time, they would eventually tune out. And research show that is not the best for learning. Here are some reasons why.

According to the cognitive theory of learning, people have separate information processing channels for visual/pictorial processing (sometimes called Imagens) and for auditory/verbal processing (logogens). When learners are given graphics along with onscreen text, both must be processed initially in the visual/pictorial channel which can overload the working memory and make it difficult for the learner to take in all the required information. Essentially, the learner is overloaded with information. He or she cannot simultaneously be looking at the graphic and reading the text. Thus the learners many not be able to adequately attend to all of it because their visual channel becomes overloaded.(Clark, Mayer, 89-90) So having text with programmed audio reading word-for-word is not a good design technique (although, you might want to have audio together to help those with certain disabilities).

Is it good to have audio to describe graphics on the screen?
We know from research that the meaning of visual messages are often ambiguous and subject to personal interpretation. The use of verbal words to direct attention can be essential. It has been found that with visuals, some verbalization is better than none, but no optimum amount has been found. When displaying animations or video with audio, learners tend to want the audio a little slower than the typical 150-100 words per minute provided in a typical classroom lecture (contrasted with the average speed of thought for colleges students of approximately 400-800 words per minute).(Clark and Mayer, 90-95)

Appropriately, we did a podcast about using audio in e-learning, here is a link to the audio interview I did with Dan Bliton about using audio in e-learning.

Dr. Kapp And Daniel Bliton Discuss The Role Of Audio With Elearning, the topics we discuss include: When To Use Audio in e-learning; The Affective Domain Of Audio, The Role Of The Voice And Many more tidbits. We discuss Cue Summation Theory and other theories of using audio in e-Learning.

I had a lot of fun with Dan and Charles who helped with the technical aspects and some of the logistics.

Here is a book that describes the appropriate uses of audio. I highly recommend it.

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Become an Investigator with Online Games

2009-11-02T08:17:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite shows on TV is CSI because I like the mystery and putting together the clues to solve the crime. You can recreate those feelings with a couple of online games.

The first is called Fraud Scene Investigator (FSI). This game is created in a comic book style with stylized images and events. The movement from one scene to another is done by shifting from one frame to another. This is well done example of using a comic book approach to a serious subject.

It looks like Grandma is a victim of a stock scam.

Let's investigate further.

The entire scenario progresses like

you are reading a comic book.

The site is called Finance University and is developed by the West Virgina State Auditor office, Newspapers in Education and NASSA.

Check it out as a good example of incorporating a discovery learning, online simulation and a stylized approach to online learning. Additionally, there is a teacher mode and a student mode so as a teacher you can gain some insights for presenting the concepts in class.

Over at Edheads, you can become the lead officer of a crash scene investigation. You get to help the highway patrol recreate a deadly crash by examining the evidence and calculating the forces of the accident. There is a teachers' guide and other resources to help you lead the investigation.

Gaining an understanding of the accident.

Determining the velocity of the cars at the time of the crash.

This simulation allows the learner to run calculations make determinations and investigate the cause of the crash.

These games will bring out your inner Crime Scene Investigator. If you know of any others, please share.
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Thinking about Teaching, A Conversation

2009-11-01T15:20:00.000-05:00

The other day, I wrote on the topic of teacher performance and school reform in Bill Gates Puts his 2 Cents in the Pot (ok, a little more than 2 cents) then Clark Quinn of Learnlets posted a related comment and then expanded it in a really thoughtful post called Teacher preparation, and more, I think the discussion is worth following so check out these discussion threads and feel free to leave a comment on the entries, let us know what you think about teacher pay for performance and school reform.
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