“She works on learning and technology
in a way that is creative, concrete and quirky”

Sue describes her online learning as excruciating

Sue got caught texting while sitting in her car at a stoplight. She was just sitting there when law enforcement nabbed her. But that's another matter. We are here to talk about how Sue dealt with the ticket she got. In California, those of us who get tickets may reduce the penalty via traffic school. Some turn to Clown Traffic School or my personal favorite, Shop 'til You Drop  Traffic School. There are even gay and lesbian training options. Sue decided that e-learning made the most sense for her. She did it for the usual reasons associated with online education: access on demand, novelty, and location, location, location. She paid up. … [Read more...]

Leader development is the question. Is mobile the answer?

When you look at the numbers associated with workplace learning and development, the investment in leader performance jumps out. Bersin Associates, now a unit within Deloitte, wrote this in 2012: U.S. companies have increased leadership development spending 14 percent over 2011 levels to an estimated $13.6 billion in 2012. The Bersin group notes that this spending is extending beyond senior leaders and to mid-level and even first-level managers. Talent Edge 2020, a longitudinal study of the matters weighing on executives’ minds, identified leadership as their most pressing talent concern. Can we rely on training and development for … [Read more...]

The Pulse of Mobile Learning

A faint pulse today Most of what is said and written about mobile learning and support touts potential and points to the future. Current studies confirm a faint pulse for mobile in enterprise learning today. I first noticed this enthusiasm-action gap when colleague Jim Marshall and I surveyed workplace learning professionals about their learning technology practices. To our surprise, even in this professionally active sample, only 4% said they were using mobile to deliver learning and support in their organizations. So low was that number that I confirmed it with several large audiences, including one at a conference devoted to mobile … [Read more...]

Want to go mobile for learning and support?

John Park is my guest blogger. I invited him to write this when I recognized my lack of clarity about the options for mobile development and delivery. I think you will enjoy his tour of our choices. We want to use mobile devices, but which mobile? There is great excitement about the potential of mobile devices for learning and support. It is hard to ignore the benefits of learning and information on demand, in close proximity to work. At the same time, there are all those devices out there, available, ripe for use by sellers, repairers, analysts and auditors. It makes sense to look to them. Workplace learning professionals now find … [Read more...]

On the brink with mobile– what learning executives say

Words without actions Words without actions. That's how I described the status of mobile learning in an article in eLearn magazine ten months ago. My point then was that mobile offers immense potential for learning and support but that it is not yet making much of a difference in the enterprise. When San Diego State University (SDSU) colleague Jim Marshall and I surveyed more than a thousand educators in companies, agencies and universities about their eLearning practices, they reported reliance on traditional eLearning approaches, like scenarios, virtual classrooms, and online assessments. Performance support and mobile devices only rarely … [Read more...]

I’m an educator who loves apps

I do love them. I love apps because of what I can do on the go. Apps on my mobile devices enable practice, a quick lesson, a conversation with a coach or team, or a reminder about how it is that I might think about something. Here is the story of how apps helped Aaron Ifland, a doctoral student, who attends two universities 118 miles apart, and teaches at a third. I also love their ability to support activities that appear mundane to others, but are important in the moment. Here is an example. A few days ago, I had to get from a hamlet in Maine to a hamlet in upstate New York. I knew I had to go south through New Hampshire and … [Read more...]

Mobile for learning AND results

Do you want to send your salespeople to training to memorize product features and prices? Would you take a class to prepare to get the very most from your time during a short visit to Paris? Do you want your physician to rely on her memory to anticipate all possible negative drug interactions? Do you want to rely on a college course taken in 1970 in order to comment, criticize and communicate on the subject today, in 21012? I bet you do not. You can use mobile technology to make sure growth and support happen whenever, wherever—at the learner’s convenience—rather than in a single, information-packed session. Visit my article in the … [Read more...]

E-learning– What’s old is new again

Published in T&D, this article reports on a study conducted by Allison Rossett and Jim Marshall. Our focus-- when people are doing e-learning, what are they doing? What forms does this approach to training take? Our findings surprised. You hear about mobile everything, immersive learning, informal strategies and performance support. But that's not what workplace learning people reported that they are up to. They told us that e-learning means more assessments, more instructional design activities. http://www.astd.org/TD/Archives/2010/Jan/Free/1001_eLearning_Whats_Old.htm … [Read more...]

Podcast: Sidekick and Planner Performance Support

Allison Rossett’s Xyleme podcasts about sidekick and planner performance support: http://www.xyleme.com/podcasts/archives/5 … [Read more...]

The iPad is Not a Slam Dunk

The iPad is not a slam dunk. http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/638/the-ipad-is-not-a-slam-dun … [Read more...]