LearningTimes Green Room

In this episode, Susan and Dan talk about some of the differences in instructional design between business versus traditional education.

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Is training in instructional design the same for business as traditional education?

They conclude that it is important to focus on what good learning looks like (how people learn). Adult education is liberal arts of training and is transferable into any setting.

When people get excited in a workshop, it is when designers start talking about designing for learning.

Use of syllabi in business…how do you do it? Typically a syllabus is a document that has a lot of information about the course, instructor contact, overarching goals and objectives, schedule, grading, policies. Doesn’t work in business.

The difference is in how you approach a learner and what info they have before they start. What does business provide before or after training? An invoice!

A learning map. Could be a word doc with technical guide or a calendar. May describe types of learning (blended, elearning, LMS, etc.). Usually includes list of topics.

Storyboarding is another example of where business and traditional education diverge. It’s more of a workflow process in business. Not so much in education (because faculty and designer are usually the same person).

Dan and Susan would love to hear how others present the information about their programs if they are not using a traditional syllabus. Tell us by adding to this topic in the comments section below or call us at 1-800-609-9006 x8055 (US and Canada) or 678-255-2174 x8055 (outside US and Canada) to record a message by phone.

In this episode, Dan and Susan talk with Hadiya Nurridin about looking for a job in instructional design.

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Who wants a job? Hadiya Nurridin has been a previous guest on the Green Room and returns to share her insights on finding a job in instructional design.  Hadiya formerly worked as an employee in a large corporation and now freelances as a contractor.

Hadiya Nuriddin, M.Ed., CPLP, PHR

Hadiya sees a definite interest in e-learning development. Most calls are about development work through Articulate, Captivate and other products. More prone to outsource this piece.  Employers want conceptual development as well as product knowledge.

You get paid more for knowing more! Soup to nuts.  Contractor work has been more in development realm than in design realm.

Importance of designing attractive modules. Develop your eye.  It’s a skill…work at it. Need to know what a screen bean is?  Read Screen beans .. you had me at goodbye    and   Why looks matter ….   for inspiration.

Designing is creating a relationship between the user and the screen: interface design!

Critical skills on a resume?  Hadiya says:

• First decide if you want to be a developer or designer.
• Industry match
• Project management skills

Dan adds:

• Know what you are applying for!  Do your background research.  Network.
• If you are going to try to make connections to the business, make it good!
• List the products you can use.  Don’t try to stretch it.

For someone with no experience?
Make sure you understand the field and the industry.  Make all the connections you can.

No matter who is on your team …. team skills.  You are 100% dependent on the people giving you information, so communicate respectfully and politely!  Leave sarcasm, blaming and whining out of your communication.

More advice from Dan: If you are an employee within a company, maximize the time you have there and learn all you can because some day you are likely to be a contractor.   And build good networks!

Thank you, Hadiya!

Listeners, please add to this topic in the comments section below or call us at 1-800-609-9006 x8055 (US and Canada) or 678-255-2174 x8055 (outside US and Canada) to record a message by phone.

In this episode, Dan talks with Susan about an event he recently attended about integrating informal social and mobile into your learning strategy. The event was led by Bob Mosher and Conrad Gottfredson.

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Dan recently attended and ASTD sponsored event led by Bob Mosher and Conrad Gottfredson about integrating informal social and mobile into your learning strategy.

Dan describes it most about: Integrating performer support.

Performer versus performance? Putting the focus on the learner versus the system.

5 moments of need:

1. When they have something new to learn (content)
2. When they have to build on existing knowledge and need more
3. When they need to apply the information
4. When the environment changes
5. When they have a problem to solve

Susan contrasts with traditional education and how learners are asked to make predictions.

Higher education has talked about learner centered design, but has also been sensitive to learning support. She gives an example.

Dan gives the business spin and asks what business does after the training. How does this fit into the real world? Embrace the whole environment.

How do you document the competencies that a learner is learning? Dan talks about the challenges of assessing some areas.

Ramping down and ramping up: Heavy instructor led activities ramp down to instructor support. Ramp back up to self directed component.

When you design your training strategy, think about the entire scope … ramp down and up.

A lot of money is spent on the ramp down, but not back up.

Support communities: How do we connect the learner to other people? That’s where social networking comes in.

We’ve always known the learner needed support when they are in the workplace, but now there are web-based tools that can help us look beyond the workplace.

Listeners, please add to this topic in the comments section below or call us at 1-800-609-9006 x8055 (US and Canada) or 678-255-2174 x8055 (outside US and Canada) to record a message by phone.

In this episode, Susan and Dan enjoy discussing culturally accessible e-learning with Andrea Edmundson, PhD, CPLP from eworldlearning.com. Dan recently met Andrea at an ASTD event.

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Andrea’s business is all about reminding us that learning needs to be accessible to everyone, regardless of culture. Some of the factors to consider include context, language, and instructional strategies, in addition to graphics and colors.

Andrea refers to the Cultural Adaptation Process (CAP) Model.  You can read more about it and consider case studies through an ASTD Infoline publication.

Be sure to check out the resources at http://www.eworldlearning.com/. Three that Susan found especially helpful are:

• Culturally Accessible E-Learning: An Overdue Global Business Imperative
• When Cultural Blindness Hinders Performance Improvement
• The Global eLearning Community

Listeners, please add to this topic in the comments section below or call us at 1-800-609-9006 x8055 (US and Canada) or 678-255-2174 x8055 (outside US and Canada) to record a message by phone.

In this short episode, Susan and Dan unpack the issue of learning objectives. Where should they go? And in what ways should we present the objectives to the learners?

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Some of the key points in this episode:

Cammie Bean’s blog offers alternatives.

Practitioners may be stuck in a rut, engrained with the idea of telling the learner up front.

If you start with a problem (drama, scenario) you build curiosity and “need to know.”

Also check out Michael Allen’s views that our focus should be on finding out where the learner is at presently. Susan needs support coming up with visuals and ideas for metaphors.  She needs Dan’s bright ideas!  Good support for designing collaboratively.

Listeners, how do you present your objectives? How do you collaborate with others when you come up with your ideas? Please add to this topic in the comments section below or call us at 1-800-609-9006 x8055 (US and Canada) or 678-255-2174 x8055 (outside US and Canada) to record a message by phone.

In this episode, Dan Balzer and guest co-host Jonathan Finkelstein interview Loic Tallon, co-producer of the upcoming Museums and Mobile III conference. They discuss the adoption of mobile technology in the museum world and how best to approach and implement these exciting new projects. Focusing in on Loic’s work in opening up the minds of museums to expanding the visitor experience, the discussion turns to some great examples of already successful programs and the upcoming Museums and Mobile conference.

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Loic is also co-editor of one of the leading books in this field, Digital Technologies and the Museum Experience: Handheld Guides and other media (Alta Mira Press) and founder of Pocket-Proof.

Dan starts us off by asking Loic to tell us about some of the current trends in museums and mobile technology. It’s all about the basics, it turns out. Museums that take the time to really think about what they want from these new projects have the most success. It’s all about using the technology as a way to get at the content, enhancing the learning experience.

Loic explains that the most effective way to keep things focused is to lose any preconceptions about new technologies and to open up our minds to how new projects can add to a museum visit. One way he helps museums keep their ideas flowing is through a play-doh exercise – words can be a weak tool to describe an interactive experience, and physically shaping an idea with your hands can really help inspire new projects.

Loic offers some advice to small museums interested in mobile technology but lacking the resources of larger institutions like the Tate Modern or the National Museum of the American Indian. Beware of “geeks bearing gifts” and keep very specific goals for your project, with communicating your content at the top of the list.

Jonathan turns the conversation to the recent passing of Steve Jobs, and how his influence on mobile technology can be both an inspiration and an example for museums.

Finally, the Green Room looks ahead to the Museums and Mobile III conference on October 24-26, 2011. There’s an exciting line-up of new case studies, including some great projects the Detroit Institute of Art, Boston’s MFA and the MONA in Tasmania.

Listeners, please add to this topic in the comments section by telling us about a recent museum mobile experience you had or call us at 1-800-609-9006 x8055 (US and Canada) or 678-255-2174 x8055 (outside US and Canada) to record a message by phone.

In this second show on gamification, Dan and guest co-host, Jonathan Finkelstein, interview Michael Preston, Ph.D., director of Blended Learning at the Office of Postsecondary Readiness at the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE). They discuss their rollout of DIG/IT, a social and fun community learning space designed to support Digital Literacies, a course for learning about digital citizenship in schools across New York City.

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Show Notes:

Michael Preston, Ph.D.

Jonathan sets the stage by describing how the LearningTimes team approached the design of the course. He also walks through the philosophy of the underlying BadgeStack environment in which the experience unfolds for students. In particular, Jonathan extracts one piece of inspiration from games: that they allow you to substitute in a new set of “rules” to influence how people learn.

Michael describes his vision around using the platform and this new approach with non-traditional high school students to teach Digital Literacy and tech skills for life and college readiness.

Jonathan explains the four key content areas explored in the course. Learners complete Quests and earn Badges for demonstrating newly acquired skills and for supporting others in the community as they work together.

Dan probes how teachers are responding and implementing the platform for learning.

Listeners, please add to this topic by posting game-like elements you are using in your learning environments in the Comments below or call us at 1-800-609-9006 x8055 (US and Canada) or 678-255-2174 x8055 (outside US and Canada) to record a message by phone.

Susan and Dan are joined by Hadiya Nuriddin, author of an article entitled, “Building the Right Interaction.”

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In this episode, Susan and Dan are joined by Hadiya Nuriddin, a freelance performance consultant. Hadiya recently authored “Building the Right Interaction” for Training and Development. She lays out the basics of Michael Moore’s 3 types of interaction and breaks it down for what that means in the real world.

Listeners, please add to this topic by posting below or call us at 1-800-609-9006 x8055 (US and Canada) or 678-255-2174 x8055 (outside US and Canada) to record a message by phone.