eLearning: Providing Learner Feedback

Real life situations in elearning can make some of the best learning opportunities, but the impact of that learning lies in the feedback.

There is real value in investigating the idea I've noted above. When dealing with learners in a WBT, CBT and elearning forum, feedback in a self-paced course can make or break a learners on-the-job application of the content. I'm in the midst of a very intensive Customer Service training program. The goal is to provide new Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) with the skills they need to be able to function as a first line support system for customers. There are many different modules included in this learning, each touching on a different software application required in the day-to-day operations of the Service Department. As well, there are modules which contain content necessary to be an effective communicator, telephone answerer, anger diffuser, and over-all customer mind reader.

One of the areas I've been struggling with (aside from the sheer volume of content) is the opportunity to challenge the learner in knowledge check, scenario based learning, chapter quizzes, and final assessments and choose appropriate feedback based on the choices or answers provided.

The Goal – Natural Feedback

I've found what works best for this particular course, is to provide feedback to my learner which is NATURAL. For me, the term "natural feedback" means: any feedback which would be given to me on the job given that same situation. This is not your candy coated "Great Job! You chose the correct answer" or "I'm sorry, that is not correct". By natural feedback I mean that is sounds as if someone is speaking to me naturally and providing me the opportunity to truly learn from my mistake. What was the business or even personal implication of the choice I just made? Telling me I got it right doesn't help me reflect on WHY it was right and telling me to try again doesn't help me understand the effect of the choice I just made.

Tips to Providing Great Natural Feedback

Here are a few tips to help you provide feedback to your learners:

• Provide Effect of a decision or action (different than the outcome ) – The unhappy client tells 5 prospects about the service you just provided
• Demonstrate Reactions – expand on the client frowning – why are they frowning, what exactly did they object to and WHY to make this more personal
• Explain (or show) Physical/verbal and non-verbal responses – does the client's face go red? Does an employee overhearing the conversation cringe, does someone else point and laugh? These to the initial event can add depth and an air of reality to the situation
• Discuss Results – The 5 prospects refuse to do business with your company and don't hesitate to tell the sales professional you are the reason
• Define the Consequences – The Customer Service Department has to work harder to regain its reputation, the sales person loses the sale, the company loses the capital
• Identify the Impacts – You lose your job, the company loses business and could potentially go bankrupt
• Reflect on the outcomes or results of the choice – ask the tough questions for learners to self-evaluate: what would you have done better, what could you have done differently?

Feedback should not always be negative. Correct answers should recap the positive aspects of the answer and demonstrate why it was the best answer. Follow through with the positive impact of the correct choice for example, did you just get a bonus, a raise, or did you make it to the coveted corner office? These details add impact to the correct answer.

If you offer an answer that is "almost correct" or works but is not the "Best Answer", provide feedback on what worked and then what doesn't about the selected answer.

Feedback, when given, should provide valuable information to help the learner develop, but keep it real!

PowerPoint 2010: Empowering Rapid eLearning

I've been an avid PowerPoint user, enthusiast, trainer and "evangelist" for many years.

I remember when I discovered the power of manipulating the clip art gallery and still feel the awe I felt when I discovered how to ungroup those clip objects so that I could manipulate the colours and even change the shapes slightly. That was PowerPoint 97 – and I immediately fell in love with the great things PowerPoint had to offer.

As I developed my skills, I shared my enthusiasm with countless students both on the corporate training front and at the post secondary level when I taught at Conestoga College. While the majority of those I taught were there to learn how to create presentations for sales, I always found a way to share how wonderful PowerPoint was as a tool for educating. (After all isn't a sales presentation a way to educate potential buyers?)

Now is no different. Now I have some really wonderful tools to share with you, when you create your next educational PowerPoint!

Screen Shot Tool/Photo Album

From the insert menu there are a few tools which have definitely made me a happy PowerPoint camper! If I had to create rapid eLearning with a budget, these tools would be top of my list. The Screenshot tool, when used in conjunction with other open applications, minimizes the PowerPoint window, places a semi-transparent screen over the desktop window so that you can click and drag to create a screen clip the size and shape you want – and it uses the windows clipboard to immediately copy and paste the screenshot into the open PowerPoint presentation.

I have found this to be very helpful when creating software training and simulations. And it's a much more thrifty use of investment dollars over spending money on screen clipping software. It's also a lot faster and easier than using the old "print screen" button and then cropping the image to suit.

The Photo Album is also very helpful for eLearning. The original purpose of the Photo Album tool is to create a presentation from the images. I use this tool to organize my images and insert them into my elearning. Having my images in one place makes it faster to put my learning together making it truly "rapid".

New Picture Tools


For people like me, these new picture tools are amazing, and quick! No longer do we need to use a third-party imaging program such as Adobe's Photoshop to edit images. Now we can use the new tools to remove background from images (helpful if you only want one part of an image, a person rather than the whole image). The Corrections tool lets you sharpen of soften an image and make image corrections. The Color tool provides an opportunity to quickly re-colour a selected image, and adding artistic effects is just plain FUN!

Here is an image in its original state and then using the "Light Screen" effect. Cool right? And it took three clicks.

1. Select the image
2. Select Artistic Effects
3. Select the effect you want.

There are loads of other great features of PowerPoint 2010 and I'm sure I will find a way to discuss them all, but for now, I'm going to continue to play with these features to help me quickly create elearning courses and add interest to my course images!

Translation Blues

It's complicated enough having to design, develop and implement e-learning solutions but when your company requires that all documentation and training be translated into the "other" official language your job just got a lot more challenging.

My workplace uses Lectora to create our e-learning SCORM packages that integrate with our LMS. Now, I'm not a programmer, I am an instructional designer, which makes me very aware that there is likely a technically more savvy way of doing this – but I don't yet know what it is.

I worked with an E-Learning course vendor over the last 9 months and they were able to use some type of scripting to extract the text from a module, the problem however is that they wanted the translators to use WORDPAD (not Word, or WordPerfect, or OpenOffice) because any "real" word processor would cause formatting issues and cause their developers more man hours-so for the inconvenience we did as they asked, but I have paid the price with one translator who will now no longer work with us because the project was, in their words "HELL".

My big problem was that with the exception of some Office 2007 Word SmartArt that I used, I created everything in Lectora. All the text is in Lectora text box objects. If you are not familiar with Lectora, think of creating a PowerPoint presentation. You may use text box objects and graphics and layer them to create the look you want. Each box is an independent object and each box would need to be translated and then put back where it belongs.

When you create text in Lectora, there is not an easy way to export that text or, for that matter, to IMPORT the translated text into the correct location.

For those of you that know me, you know I like to cheat when it comes to working with computer applications. I'm always looking for shortcuts and I've had to do a fair amount of tweaking to my process, so here is what currently works for me.

1. Create all content in Lectora the way that it needs to be and have it all set up appropriately
   
2. Use two monitors: have word on one monitor and Lectora open on the other
   
3. In Word, use Heading Level 1 to type the first Lectora Page name (or page number)
   
4. For that page, copy and paste the text from Lectora to Word – do not copy the objects, just the text
   
5. If there are other items that need to be translated such as the SmartArt graphics, I leave those in the document (or copy from my initial word document where I created them)
   
6. Save the file and send for translation asking the translator to only translate text that is not assigned Heading Level 1
   
7. When I receive the translation, the Word document headings make it easy to see what pages the content to be replaced goes on to (I also use the Heading Level 1 style to add notes to other things such as objects, or placement that I don't need the translator to work on)
   
8. Always have someone check out the translation before publishing the course
   

I'm sure this process will continue to evolve for me as I become more familiar with Lectora, or develop programming skills, or find another E-learning tool to assist me, but for now, I'm happy and my translators are as well! If you have some tips on helping to make translation processes successful or streamlined, please leave us a comment and let us know your tips!

Procrastination: Synonymous with Summer?

If you are like me, some or all of the following conditions may be true at this very moment:

1. You are very busy getting courses ready for a demanding audience
   
2. You look outside every 20 minutes and long to be out of doors
   
3. Your list of things to do grows, while you list of accomplishments does not
   
4. You close your eyes and relax by remembering the wonderful weekend you had at the cottage, camping, gardening etc.(and open them 20 minutes later with slobber on your chin and eye sleeps left over from your trance)
   
5. You open your email to send important messages to your boss, but when you see the sun outside your cubicle you decide to email your friend for lunch instead
   
6. You have the best intentions of getting everything done, but you don't have enough hours to do them
   
7. Your desk is a disaster area waiting for the next big storm to clean it up…could be October before that happens
   
8. You walk to the mail room to drop off packages and check your inbox and on the way you stop at reception to stare at the visitors, you hit the lunch room to fill up your coffee/tea/water (again), and since you don't want to be rude, you say hello to everyone you pass along the way and get details on everyone else's holidays
   
9. You keep putting off until tomorrow what you didn't have time for today – and that list grows and grows AND GROWS
   
10. Fire – did someone say Fire – you deal with constant interruptions, misplaced priorities and something I like to call the Summer Sizzle
    

So let's start with the fun stuff: Summer Sizzle. Yes, the Summer Sizzle is what occurs when other people want to look as though they have accomplished all their goals while on the golf course. They dish their work to everyone else and turn up the heat until you produce the results they should have worked hard for while you your buns sizzle trying to keep everyone and their brother happy (often this means you are also trying to keep your job).

Even with events like the Summer Sizzle, I can't help but feel that I just can't say no to those people holding me over the fire. My desire to make others happy often gets in the way of my common sense.

I have found that these things generally happen only over the summer. I want to do ALL kinds of work, get loads accomplished. I don't feel depressed because the sun is shining and it's hotter than a sauna in here, the air is on the fritz again and I'll be right back because I have to find a fan to help move the air around.

Yup – it's summer and who wants to be in the office working away on eLearning projects, planning, having meetings, doing design work? Not me, I want to be outside, in the sun (or rain as it happens to be today). I want to be walking down the street, playing with my dog, enjoying a BBQ, and reading a trashy romance. I want to be anywhere but where I am right now. It's sure hard to beat the "I'm in the office all summer" summertime blues.

To lift the spirits, and because I truly like to share, I'm going to share a couple of things that help me deal with the procrastination associated with working during the summer.

• Create a to do list that encourages items to be completed
  
  • I work with the hardest item and make time commitments – I will work for 20 minutes on this item before I go for coffee
    
  • I don't list too many things…if I listed everything I had to do, well that's just too much. I try to keep my list to 8 – 10 items I can accomplish in the day
    
  • At the end of the day/week/month celebrate your successes and accomplishments
    
• Be accountable to someone besides yourself
  
  • When I have to let someone know how I spent my day, even if it is just a friend, it makes me realize that I can't daydream the hours away
    
• Bring your lunch to work and walk around the block, trail, down the road so that you can enjoy the weather, get some fresh air, and soak up that vitamin D
  
• Ensure you take your breaks – but not too many
  
  • I find when I don't take my breaks away from my desk, I don't feel as relaxed as I could/should
    
  • I also find if I don't take my breaks, I want to get up and wander around the office looking for an escape
    
• Don't work evenings or weekends unless it is part of your schedule or work agreement
  
  • If I take work home with me *few exceptions occur where I have to work in the evenings or weekends* I get the time back by leaving early on a Friday afternoon. I have to enjoy my time away from the office and feel like I not only accomplish my work tasks but my personal goals as well.
    

So – I hope your summer isn't filled with the kind of procrastination and longing that occupies my every waking, sun-filled second. Get out there – enjoy the summer, but make sure you earned it!

As The Saying Goes

Is it really true, that old adage: "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach"?

Deep in thought this morning at my desk I was reevaluating my current work/life balance and wondering if, in fact this was true.

As an instructor, I cared very much that the content provided to my students was meaningful, timely and valuable. I tried to relate it with the real world and give as much opportunity for group discussion as could be allotted to our tight course timeline.

I facilitated many successful sales, telesales and customer relationship management courses over my many years of instructing. I read many books, listened to audio tapes and knew what to do in any given situation.

What I couldn't do was put everything I knew, had learned and successfully instructed, into practice. I was not a very good sales person, but I knew what made a good salesperson great and could share that information with others.

Many of the individuals in my training sessions have had very successful careers in sales and I've had many of them remain in contact with me. I received an email not long ago from someone in one of those sessions thanking me for the time I took to share my knowledge, my pain, my ideas, feedback and wisdom and for being frank when I told her at the end of the three days that she really wasn't cut out for sales and strongly suggested she think about other career opportunities. She (like me) knew what had to be done but just couldn't do it…so guess what?

She is now teaching sales management for a large multinational – taking many of the same approaches I did with her and mentoring new sales professionals in her company.

We talked for an hour about how we could take all those great exercises we did in class and translate them to an E-Learning environment, and it's got me thinking about it more and more…

Maybe, just maybe, that saying really is true. I can't so I'll help someone else do.

New E-Learning Network

For those that know me well, you know I have a passion for community, sharing, education and people!

I am pleased to let you know that I've been working very hard to bring all those things together via a FREE community for e-learning professionals from ALL areas of e-learning and instructional design including, content generation, testing, storyboards, graphics, animations, programs used, databases, and will bring you, my fellow e-learning pros, a new blog complete with some of my best friends in the e-learning spere, best practices, cheap solutions (I'm all about the pocketbook fitness challenge) and some networking and free online presentations and support from some of the biggest names out there – like Microsoft, Articulate (thanks Tom!!!) Trivantis, just to name a few. And to the ITPRO community of Greater Toronto – thank you for letting us piggy-back as a Special Interest Group!

My goal for this community is to create a place where e-learning pros can meet and greet, learn new skills, network and find people with expertise that perhaps you don't possess but need for a project, a place for free learning and sharing of ideas, best practices, and solutions as well as a place to engage yourself and your peers in a little friendly competition from time to time.

I invite you to visit the blog and if you are interested in posting an article please let me know – my contact info is in the May post…The online community will go live before the end of June (I hope) www.etrainnetwork.com – currently there is a placeholder there until my good friend Dominic at Rebel Networks gets me up and running. (thanks Dom for supporting the e-learning community). We already have our first item up on the blog-poll – asking about your dedication to Mobile Learning…so get heard and put your vote in.

It is also important for you to understand that while I had the idea for this community I couldn't do it without the great support of Microsoft Canada, Shannon, Jenn, Sheri and Ian, who being in Scotland truly makes this a GLOBAL community for e-learning professionals.

Thank you and I hope you find it as fun and enjoyable to participate as I have had putting it all together.

Discovering Camtasia Studio’s SmartFocus

It's been a number of years since I used Camtasia Studio 3 to create a cool recording of a virtual classroom learning session.

I was concerned that perhaps I had forgotten how to use it or maybe there were so many features they added since 2001 that maybe, just maybe I'd not be able to use it and I'd look a fool for having said, "ooooh – Camtasia Studio ROCKS".

The reality is, it does still rock, only this time, it rocks WAY MORE!

The one cool feature I found that I just love, especially since one of the projects I'm working on is a project to demo a new area of a company "portal", I needed to find a way to zoom in to areas on the screen capture so that I could show a close-up of the screen options.

SmartFocus is a new tool in Camtasia Studio that does just that. While you mouse is resting in an area on the screen, SmartFocus adds code to the record to zoom in to an area, then when the mouse is moved, it zooms back out. The cool thing is that you can edit the SmartFocus points if you want some but not all of the preselected, Camtasia assigned focus points. Unfortunately I was not able to attain permission from my company to use the item I created for this session, but maybe if I can find some time in my busy schedule I'll post the example.

I highly recommend that you try it! You get a 30 day trial – no restrictions on use like some programs. (My new big beef these days are those companies that let you try their stuff but you can't save what you spent hours working on!!!! It makes me not want to purchase their products for the frustration. But I do understand it is a business preservation act so … enough said! J)

Lectora Vegas Conference – April 30 – May 1

I was lucky enough to be given permission to attend the Lectora Conference held in Las Vegas April 30 and May 1, 2008.

For those that do not know, Lectora is a leading software application used to develop e-learning modules and works with almost any LMS or direct to web publishing. Lectora is a product of Trivantis and I have to give huge Kudos to Traci Connor who was a major reason this conference was, in my opinion, a huge success!

The two conference days were jam packed with educational seminars and break-out sessions designed to provide all levels of e-learning professionals, from newbie to the most savvy of designers, with something valuable to take home.

While many of the sessions were really good, there are two that stand out for me and left me with that "wow" feeling I was looking for.

Presentation 1

Title: Turning Heads Not Pages
Presented
by: Brian Doegen and Gareth Harris
Company: PriceWaterhouseCoopers

Why did I like this presentation?

Sorry guys – I didn't like the presentation based on the presentation skills however Brian, if you read this – you are the funniest thing when you roll your eyes! What I really liked about this was that the guys talked with the audience (not to us) and the information was really grounded. The major point of the presentation was that e-learning needs to grab the attention of the learner, and not just be like a book you read on the screen. The major required element for the training Brian and Gareth offer for PriceWaterhouseCoopers is in telling a story to engage the learner and keep them "inside" the training.

The examples shown of some of the low, medium and high tech (and high budget) modules included a fantastic "choose your own adventure" theme which allowed you, the learner, to step into what it would be like to be a mobile professional, with interactive audio, hot-spot elements to assist you in understanding tools you would use in your day to day life, and the ability to make choices and experience the repercussions without suffering the scars associated with on the job failures. It's all part of the real learning process and provides real world experience without the negativity.

Presentation 2

Title: Graphic Design for eLearning
Presented by: Diane Elkins
Company: Elkins, Alcorn, Ward & Partners

Shannon, another conference participant and I had serious reservations at the beginning of the presentation. For those that have been using PowerPoint and WordArt since way back in the day – oh say 1995 – then you will understand when I say that the screen she first showed looked like it was created by someone who had just learned the background colour formatting tools and the WordArt tools. As instructors, Shannon and I both recognized the childish and unprofessional message this title slide showed, but of course we were set at ease right away when Diane vocalized exactly what we were both thinking! ICK!

I will try to recreate a similar screen to what Diane used as the opener!

The take-away from this session was an excellent little tip sheet on thinking about the visual appeal and to minimize the clutter. Yes, I am paraphrasing, but I truly believe that when you use a couple of the recommended tips, like her first, and I do believe the most powerful tip:
"Just because you can't, doesn't mean you should."

That just screams don't clutter the page, keep is simple, sweetie! Just because you know how to use WordArt doesn't mean you should really use it. After instructing PowerPoint and Word for as many years as I have, one of the fun things we learn is how to use the tool – then I burst the bubble of fun and always tell the class that WordArt has special applications…and nothing is special enough to warrant using it! (of course I do still have some fun with text once in a while, but I tend to keep that simple too.

Diane was an excellent speaker, and her tips on creating top notch visually pleasing courseware were excellent – she showed everything from using the new PowerPoint 2007 SmartArt (which I love) to working with graphics in Photoshop! It was an amazing and very informative session.

The next Lectora User Conference is next year in San Diego – I plan to be there…not just for what you learn in the sessions, but also for the valuable networking opportunities, ideas generated and relationships formed.

Putting the I back in I.T.

Once upon a time, when I was a network, computer and software consultant for an insurance database program, I realized that the Information Technology profession was lacking something. At the time I didn't really know what IT was, but I knew that I could find IT and do something with IT.

That's exactly what I did.

For me, what was missing was the "I" in IT: INFORMATION. I found that when other consultants or resident tech staff were working on issues and problems, they were very secretive, almost like you had to have a special membership card to be involved in any discussion about computers, the internet, networking and all other things IT related. Many of my customers were paying very large bills to these IT professionals to create excellent, stable work environments, to upgrade hardware/software and to keep things running on a daily basis, but almost every customer was unable to provide me with any information on the projects occurring in their own front yards!

I was quite taken aback by that. For me, while I appreciate business owners recognizing when they do not have the expertise to work on something that they hand it over to someone who does, but what I don't get is how they blindly give their whole IT Infrastructure over to someone else and then feel as though they are at the mercy of the IT guy or gal to do what needs to be done. The business owner seldom takes it upon themselves to become knowledgeable about what is happening with a project or where the project stands.

I wanted to give information – not knowledge – to my clients, and therefore kept them informed of all types of things I was working on, when I had issues, when something was delayed and why, so that not only did I feel I was accountable to someone for the work I was charging for, but so that my client could also recognize the value I was bringing to their organization.

It didn't take much to create an email message at the end of a session or if I was in the office for the day to provide updates on the half day and at end of day.

A side benefit of this was that my clients generally left me alone to do what I did best. They didn't hover and ask me questions, they didn't pester (unless the server was down for maintenance and they needed their email YESTERDAY because they just might get an email telling them they hit the big-client jackpot!) they had faith that if I had a problem I would solve it or go to them and let them know. I gave INFORMATION to my clients and in return, I got more respect and more business.

So, let's put the "I" back in IT and start giving our customer's a little more information. Let them know that what you are doing is important and that they are valued. It doesn't matter if you are an independent or a corporate IT staffer…it never hurts to share information…you just need to know when to draw the line.

Launch of IT PRO TORONTO A “Virtual” Success

After a few bumps in the road (we are really sorry – the location is Nexient - 30 Eglinton Ave. West – the tall glass building in the plaza with the Emerald Chinese Restaurant – 2^nd floor!!!!) the launch of the IT PRO Toronto group was a success. I suggest parking in the back, behind Tim Horton's and enter the building from the double glass doors.

Mitch Garvis, esteemed President of IT PRO Toronto provided an entertaining overview of Virtualization. Some really great goodies (AKA SWAG) was had by some very lucky folks…and our room sponsor, Nexient Learning offered up some discounts to professional development courses they have coming out for the new family or server products! As our inaugural meeting we were very pleased with the participation from the local IT Pro community. We had lots of excellent discussion during the presentation and it continued afterward with a coffee talk at the Second Cup across the road. I unfortunately couldn't stay for the chat, but hope to be able to next time!

And speaking of next time…our next meeting is April 15 with a wonderful discussion on Unified Communications.

Please register online for the event…we look forward to seeing you then!

Effective Training is like an Effective Meeting

We've all read articles or listened to experts discuss how to have effective meetings…and as trainers, many of us have been inundated with materials on facilitating effective training sessions. There are many parallels that can be drawn between tips for effective meeting management and tips for effective training delivery.

I came across an About.com 3-part article titled Effective Meetings Produce Results: Tips for Meeting Management and it made me aware that these same tips and guidelines apply to the delivery of effective training – no matter what the content. I have pulled the main tips from the first part of the article and discuss how they apply to training.

TIPS:

1. Plan
   
2. Make sure there is a NEED
   
3. Ensure appropriate participation
   
4. Distribute (prior to) and Review (after)
   

Plan

For some trainers, their job is information centric, meaning they lecture and provide information and then test the knowledge of the material presented. Other trainers prefer courses that are learner centric – everything they do in the session is designed to allow the learner to get the most practical application of the lessons or skills being delivered – which they may not get by reading, digesting and regurgitating loads of material.

Whether learner centric or information centric sessions are your speciality it is important to PLAN. Planning provides the trainer with a guide for topics, material, examples and exercises that may be included in the session to help assist the learners in understanding concepts.

Notice I said "Guide"? Just like a good meeting, a guide (agenda) allows you to stay on track but still allow a bit of flexibility to include attendee's comments, concerns, discussion and ideas outside of the major focus (utilizing our classroom management tools to keep as much control as possible).

Need

Most trainers understand that if there is no need, there is no training session. Effective meetings are held only when there is a requirement to do so…if there is no new information to share with a group, why take time out of each person's day to meet? Prior to any meetings there should be a needs assessment done – can the information be shared via memo or email or is there really a need to meet?

Trainers know that a needs analysis is a crucial component to any successful training session. If there is no need for the education, there is no need for a training session. Defining the need also helps determine the direction the session will take and will thereby directly impact the PLAN.

Appropriate Participation

There is nothing worse than attending a meeting that has nothing to do with you, your job, your department, your clients etc. I have gotten into the habit of clarifying with meeting callers to determine if, in fact I am truly required at the meeting, what is the impact if I am not at the meeting, is my input required etc.

I would not, for instance, expect to be called into a sales manager's meeting unless there is a need for training advice or discussion on sales training. If I am expected to participate in a meeting but have only one or two things to discuss, I try to request that any portion of the meeting pertaining to me, training or my department, be scheduled at the beginning of the agenda so that I can get on with other things.

How do trainers ensure appropriate participation? By reviewing the Needs Analysis and performing Skills Assessments. Do we want an Excel expert to participate in a basic Excel class unless we want them to be bored and leave the session telling everyone else what a waste of time it was?

By ensuring the proper team members participate in appropriate sessions, we are better able to guide the success of our learners. Yes, a skills assessment takes time, your time as the trainer and the valuable time of the staff members, but failure to ensure the correct audience is in the correct session will result in a much lower ROTI (return on training investment) and we don't want that now do we?

Distribute and Review

It's a great idea for meeting facilitators to send out the agenda in advance of the meeting. It shows the following:

1. Planning
   
2. Need for meeting
   
3. Appropriate people involved
   

Notice those are the first three items on our list?

Once a needs assessment is completed, a course outline (agenda) will be created to assist with the planning phase of the training session. With this course outline distributed in advance, we can ensure that expectations for the session are clearly defined and provide us with a measure for the success of our training session. This is also a great opportunity to get the participants actively involved in learning prior to the session. If you assign case studies that must be read prior to the session, distributing the study with the course outline helps the trainer be more effective because there is now only a need to quickly review the case study prior to inviting discussion.

The same applies in a meeting. I prefer to have all the information to read prior to the meeting so that I can formulate my questions and facilitate a more efficient meeting by addressing those questions/concerns if I have all the information before. This also results in fewer meetings. Why you ask? Well – let's say we have a meeting to discuss something new. At the meeting we are given 25 pages of documentation on a new tool. It wouldn't be a good use of the meeting time to read through the materials and try to come up with questions so we'd end up having another meeting to discuss our questions/concerns/comments after we have had a chance to review. Doesn't it make sense to provide the information first and have only ONE meeting to discuss the content? Sure it does…unless of course you like attending meetings.

Meeting Minutes as take-a-ways or course handouts like manuals, cheat sheets, tips and tricks are excellent reminders of what was covered in the training session and are fantastic tools for post session/meeting refreshers.

I have, for quite some time, thought of my training sessions as meetings to ensure I run my training as efficiently as possible while still keeping the end goal of student success in mind. I plan for each and every training session no matter how many times I have instructed that session. I ensure there is a need and assess the people who will be attending. Finally, I follow up with post lesson materials, reviews and testing so that I am better able to assess the success of the training session.

It is my belief that my success as a trainer is attributed to using the above skills to effectively manage my "meetings".

 

 

3 Tips to Make E-Learning ‘Stick’

As adults, trying to learn something new whether it is upgrading our skills for our current job, or building our skills to take a step on to something new, we need to make what we learn stick.

I envy my daughter – she really is a sponge. I wish I had appreciated the ability I had to learn new concepts when I was young. Instead, as I get older and spend many hours of my own personal time upgrading skills, learning something new and developing materials for people just like me, I have found three tips that help me.

You know this already – we've seen it as part of the "green" initiatives in our communities.

1. Reduce
   
2. Reuse
   
3. Recycle
   

How can this help?

1. Reduce

As adults, we are easily distracted by things going on around us. How many times have I been reading a book and found I've read the same paragraph 5 times because the phone rings, the dog wants out, dinner needs to be made, a child wants a snack or can't find something they had ten minutes before.

If I reduce the amount of distractions around me, I'm more able to immerse myself in the task. I turn off the television, or find a quiet corner of the house in which to work, I have a little sticky note that says DO NOT DISTURB or MOM IS STUDYING and place it on the closed door.

I also give my family a little notice when I need quiet time…"I need 25 minutes to do what needs to be done. Please look after the dog, and answer the phone on the first ring. Thanks." I will also detail what I will be doing more so I have a measure when I am finished, that way, when I leave my quiet space and get back to real-life, I can tell my family my accomplishments. "I got those 30 pages read. Thanks for letting me have that time."

2. Reuse

You probably wonder where the "reuse" comes into play. I have old papers that I don't need anymore. I've folded them in half and cut the papers to create little notepads. I then use these little notepads to make my study notes. I also use sticky notes and place sticky notes on each page with statements that sum up the main idea or thoughts on a page or list out the main points I need to remember.

I REUSE these papers to help me pull all the information together – if I have two or three days between study opportunities, I will REUSE the sticky notes and papers to refresh my memory on what I tackled in the previous two or three sessions. This way, I am setting a long term reminder in my little noggin by re-reading the items on the sticky notes and committing to memory some of the terms and concepts.

3. Recycle

In my experience, if I am able to take what I've learned and translate it so that I am able to tell someone else what I learned and they UNDERSTAND – I have successfully recycled my information for someone else's use. It can be anything from an email to a friend or colleague, a blog entry, a short story, a telephone conversation – anything that allows you to retell in your own words that which you have just learned.

My daughter and I have quite grownup discussions about technology, the future of technology and careers. Much of that has to do with me translating what I'm learning and attempting to recycle that information. It can be as simple as "hey, did you know that when an adult learns something new, they have to share the information with their kids?" That leaves the door open for my girl to look at me with that my mom is so weird but I'll listen anyway because somewhere in that lame attempt to talk to me she is likely going to say something that will make me laugh look and inevitably I do.

As an instructor to adults, I continue to recommend that every night (or whenever possible) find a quiet place (or a noisy one if that is what works for you) to reduce the amount of unacceptable distractions, review your notes from the previous chapters and begin to create reusable notes for the next section of content. The next day, or the next class session, I would ask the adult learners to share what they are learning – in their own words.

Being able to collect your thoughts and ideas, work with a way of repeating the information and being able to translate and share the information with someone else are keys to the success of the 2008 adult learner.

Give it a try.

When is Writing Hardest For ME?

I've mentioned before how much I love to write.

Writing is a wonderful release for me, an escape from the everyday, ordinary plain old life I lead.

It gives me the freedom to express what my mind is thinking without too much fear of backlash. I sometimes use my writing as a sounding board, preparing my words for a tough situation or helping me develop ideas for a presentation or talk. Writing let's me be funny or serious, silly or factual, depending on the topic.

I find it pretty easy to write blog entries. If I could just get around the time constraints, I'm sure I would have many, MANY more entries to share, but there are only 24 hours in a day, and I like to find some time to be with my family, eat, sleep, play and yes, even work.

I don't have a problem writing about something:

• I'm excited about
  
• passionate about
  
• looking forward to
  
• waiting impatiently for
  
• anxious over
  
• I want to share with others
  

I do have a slight issue today. Of course I'm writing and I'm writing about something interesting to me…but it isn't what I'm supposed to be writing.

My boss popped by and asked me to write something for the next issue of our corporate newsletter. I was so excited – Hoooray! I get to write something for work, I get to write something meaningful that at least 2000 other people will read, and if I'm lucky be excited about, and I get paid for doing it…

Trouble is I can't seem to concentrate on what I'm supposed to be writing about. The topic is something near and dear to my heart – education in the workplace. And I get to write about the great technologies we are working with and what e-Learning is as well as how it will affect the workforce and what great topics we'll offer as training modules.

For me, it seems, writing is the hardest when I'm given a topic and asked to write about it rather than have a topic in my noggin begging to be let lose…

I do believe that all this writing today has given me a brainwave for the article so I can meet my Wednesday deadline.

Solution??? Pretend it's a blog entry.

Heroes Do Happen Here

I was so excited to be involved in the Heroes Happen Here event that took place February 27, 2008 at the Direct Energy Building in downtown Toronto.

Microsoft puts on a great event – and this particular launch of the Server 2008 products was no different.

I volunteered at the event in the User Group area. It was the official launch not only of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008, but also the debut of the new IT Pro Toronto community group! This event was my third time connecting with the IT Pro community in the User Group area, and I would do it again without hesitating.

Joining me at the booth were Russell – who I spent the majority of the day with, and Simone and Dom. Russell and I were so busy speaking to both the IT Pro and Developer attendees that we didn't have a chance to attend the breakout sessions we wanted, but I've been assured that I will have access to the content at some time down the road! It's a good thing too because I know I missed some fantastic discussions.

The first meeting for the Hip New user group is Tuesday March 18 – from 6pm to 9pm. You can get details (eventually) at www.itprotoronto.ca. The topic is Virtualization.

To those who stopped to chat with us we appreciate your time, and we really do want to see you out at the IT Pro event in March. If you were not able to attend the event, I will post links to the content when I receive them.

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY

I am a real advocate for the IT Pro community, and I was very excited to be involved in a discussion on Tuesday night at a community event prior to the launch focusing on the future of the IT Pro's career. I was honoured to be asked to facilitate one of the many discussion corners.

My group had an open floor discussion on why IT Pros are leaving their careers, what needs to be done to assist IT Pros in retaining their careers, and what we can do to help the future IT Pros decide on a course of action and career in IT and actually go for it!

There was lots of chatter about potential changes to the education system, how technology focused companies could donate their technologies to educational facilities like colleges and universities so that students can learn on what is new and upcoming rather than what is old, outdated and soon to be put to rest. Other conversation focused on the need for sponsorship, cooperative opportunities and mentoring not only for the new kids on the block, but also for those fossils that have for one reason or another been pigeonholed into working with a technology that eventually will not be of value to either them or their employers.

In all my years (4) of working with IT Professionals in a group environment, I have NEVER seen so much communication and discussion – which continued even after the breakout sessions were over! It was wonderful.

Now I'm off to type up my notes on the event and pass them along to the TechNet team to share the ideas and comments generated during the sessions.

When the tour comes to your community – get involved – have your say – get heard!

Time for a New Phone!

Can you sense the excitement? It's time to look at a new phone.

My Blackberry has suffered many abuses. I've dropped it OVER and OVER again from varying heights. I've spilled yogurt on it, and it fell into my peanut butter toast and it's been subjected to hand sanitizer to stop the spread of my (and other people's) cold viruses.

It has served me well and I love it, the problem is, the keys stick when I type messages, and I swear it is having a mental health day today because it has reset itself FOUR – yes F-O-U-R times.

The reset process is a long and frustrating one, because all you see on the screen is a rotating hourglass. Oh Joy! There it goes again – and no my problems are not related to any RIM outages! It is hardware related.

And of course, I want to lower my bills from the horrific $90.00 a month to something a little more manageable – since I am no longer using the device for it's original intended purpose (work) I think I should look at reducing my data plan while I'm at it (currently unlimited no longer offered by my carrier).

So I have the happy task of researching and testing phones.

My friend Connie has a new phone. She's had it for almost a week now and I'm not really sure if she loves it or not, but it certainly is a lovely little Windows Mobile 6 device (complete with pocket office!!!!). Her phone is the HTC Touch. It is a touch screen and has all the cool features a phone should have without being classed as a SmartPhone.

Did you know that as soon as a device is classed as a SmartPhone, telecom companies can charge an increased fee for data services (mostly because of the push email feature)?

I recently found out that my friend Barnaby Jeans also has one and he likes it.

My problem is I am so used to the QWERTY keypad setup on my blackberry, I'm not sure I want to go back to the touch pad, use a steno to draw my letters like I did when I owned my palm pilot (which by the way people stopped using only a couple months after I bought mine!).

So I'm also looking at the HTC Touch 6800. It has a slide out keypad in the QWERTY style – but because it does, it is classed as a SmartPhone and therefore is automatically going to cost me a minimum of $25 a month for data plus my phone pack.

I'll keep you posted on my new phone adventures.

Microsoft’s Goal – Interoperability

I just read a press release regarding the impending changes to Microsoft's technology and business practices as it relates to developers, partners, customers and competitors.

"Specifically, Microsoft is implementing four new interoperability principles and corresponding actions across its high-volume business products: (1) ensuring open connections; (2) promoting data portability; (3) enhancing support for industry standards; and (4) fostering more open engagement with customers and the industry, including open source communities."

This stems from the European judgement passed in September 2007.

Take a look at the Microsoft Interoperability Site.

New IT Pro Group Meet and Greet at HHH Launch

It's official!

I will be assisting with the newly "reformed" IT Pro group getting together for the Mississauga-Toronto (GTA) users.

My first official duty will be to meet and greet and spread the word about the Toronto IT Pro group and encourage people to sign up for the monthly meeting announcements.

Our first venue is the Heroes Happen Here event in Toronto on Wednesday February 27, 2008. We will be wearing our community shirts so please feel free to introduce yourself and chat with me, Mitch Garvis and many of the other people volunteering their time and expertise to assist in getting the IT Pro group up and running smoothly.

We look forward to seeing you at the event.

It’s Spring When…

It is a sure sign of spring when the crocuses bloom…and my crocus is a lovely deep purple.

Spring? You ask, checking the calendar no doubt to confirm that it is in fact still February.

Crocuses blooming? You ponder as you look outside and realize the ground is still frozen and covered in snow.

That's right – I always know it is getting close to the spring season because fundraising for all my favourite charities begins in spring…ok well they begin in February, but it makes me feel as though spring is not far away.

The beauty of seeing something wonderful growing in a sunny window on the coldest day in February makes me feel as though there really is light at the end of this very weird-weather-tunnel as known as "winter". I feel a sense of anticipation and hope that the snow will soon stop, the dirt and grime of winter washed away in the spring showers.

This all leads me to a brief discussion of my favourite charities.

I am currently registered as a walker and team member of Hutch's Heroes. This is the second year that we are participating in the MS Super Cities Walk, a world wide fund raiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. (If you would like to donate to this walk we would appreciate it. You can check out my pledge page, see a story about how MS is affecting my life and access a link to my team site from here. For my friends and family that have joined our team and have supported us – we THANK YOU!)

I also support the CNIB with their fundraising of crocuses, and I always buy daffodils and donate to the Canadian Cancer Society and the Weekend to End Breast Cancer as well as the JDRF- Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund.

All of these events happen in and around the same time – the end of winter through spring.

I watched the first of my CNIB crocus bulbs flower today – it truly is an amazing sight to watch it grow and I feel as though every hour I can look up and see it has grown a little more, spread it's petals a little wider and the purple colour becomes just a little more rich.

I'm also filled with a small sense of satisfaction that I have done even a little (my crocus plants cost me $10.00 – not a lot really I gave up two lattes to help fund research for the visually impaired – really I don't need the lattes anyway!)

So with thoughts turning to spring, I hope you will think about supporting a cause or charity that affects you or someone you know. It's a big scary world, but we really can make a difference!

 

When Templates Will Do

I have a need for something very specific for a project I am working on. I've been trying to figure out how to create the "form" I need, determine which program would be best suited to my need and then decide exactly what I need to put into my selected document to capture the maximum amount of information in the most efficient way but also so that I am able to use the captured information EASILY at a later date.

Am I really asking too much of myself…to be able to analyze my needs and create that form?

I didn't think so until I actually sat down to do the work.

It was then that I realized I want too much – and when I want, I feel that sense of need and then of course, not unlike most people who feel a strong need, I bordered on a sense of entitlement. The item I had in mind had to have a breakdown for the Phases of the projected I am working on. It also needed to be a bit of a project manager where I could keep track of estimated completion dates, tasks and assignments. To top it all off, it had to be one page and have a yearly calendar on it. AND I just HAD to have all the features I was looking for without using Microsoft Project.

While I admit to being a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my forms, documents and template, I also recognize that I do, upon occasion, lack motivation to do things for myself when there is no immediate sense of gratification. (read that as "I won't get as much out of it as the hours I put in" just in case you needed a Jac translation)

I decided that instead of putting in a lot of work for this I'd check out the templates and see what I could come up with to use for this particular problem.

Well – wasn't I surprised to find that in Microsoft Word 2007 (go figure!) there is a fantastic template that completely met my needs – the Event Schedule Planner included all the elements I wanted with the exception of the task list. Taking a look at the screen shot (my first try here with this so I hope it turns out ok) I replaced the Project Phase section on the right (not colourful fields) and added the task list there. So now I have everything I need!

And it was as easy as a template. I spent less than three minutes looking for the template and another five or so minutes changing it to suite my needs. That was a huge savings in my eyes and actually made me more productive at work because I "cheated" and used an existing template to make my life a whole lot easier.

The good thing is that templates are available for so many more things than they used to be – and so many more people are sharing templates they create with the world at the Microsoft Office online site. Give it a try and see if you can save time – or if you have a great template, maybe you can help out another user and save them time.

 

The Passion to Blog

I love to blog.

I love to share my thoughts, ideas, feelings, tips and tricks with others – and I love to do it in writing.

I love to write. I enjoy it and hope that some of my readers enjoy it too.

Because of my passion for blogging, education and technology, I often come across items of interest that I believe would be great to share with others.

Last spring I purchased a book called Blog Schmog by Robert (Bob) Bly, a copy writer I enjoy reading when I have the time. His book is and excellent foray into the realm of blogging from a corporate perspective…do we really need a blog? In reading much of his stuff…I often wonder if he's so down on blogs, why does he have one, but I love his style and he really does have many thought-provoking things to say about all things writing, not just "blogging."

On another note: I'm going to try something new.

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.