Monthly Archives: January 2012

A review of Learning Technologies 2012

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Just when you were thinking that the Learning Technologies’ format was tried, tested and unchangeable, you found that, this year, things had changed.

 

For one thing, the Learning Technologies exhibition – augmented for the first time last year by the Learning & Skills exhibition – was further augmented this year by the Learning Without Frontiers conference and exhibition and a related Cloud Computing exhibition. According to Mark Penton, one of the organisers of this unbridled yet highly focused ‘learningfest’, some 10,000 visitors were likely to attend over the two days of the shows. Initial evidence seemed to confirm Mark’s view. All the events were extremely busy and well attended.

 

For another thing several of the companies traditionally seen at the Learning Technologies/ Learning & Skills exhibitions were absent this year for one reason or another. For example, Trainer1 – now reformed from a limited company into a partnership called The Learning Coach – was absent; as was learndirect, which has gone through a change of ownership since last year’s event, and Ken Wood’s Course–Source/ Core Learning Services. Of course, in the time-honoured manner, this didn’t stop representatives of these organisations from attending the show as visitors and carrying out their networking activities clandestinely.

 

Third, there were some new ideas and approaches on display – notably, from the Learning & Skills event, the launch of Don Hernandez’s LearnCreate (http://www.learncreate.com), a learning technologies wholesaler seeking, initially, both buyers and suppliers of e-learning content.

 

Yet, amid the changes, many of the old certainties remained.

 

The Learning Technologies conference – even better attended than ever – paraded another high class list of speakers, beginning with ‘thinking hats’ and lateral thinking specialist, Dr Edward de Bono, who gave a keynote address on the first morning of the conference which was both compelling and a ‘low-tech’ contrast to such a high-tech event. And again, as ever, the standard of catering for conference delegates was reassuringly high.

 

Many of the ‘same old’ exhibitors graced the exhibition booths, offering their well-known wares. Nonetheless this was more of an issue for old stagers, like me, rather than for the majority of the visitors. Judging by the large attendances at the free seminars held at points around the exhibition floor – and the way in which any pearl of learning technology wisdom was seized upon eagerly – this year’s event seemed to have attracted a great many people who were new to learning technologies. Hopefully, this is a positive sign that learning technologies has become even more ‘mainstream’ within the learning and development function and that more people are finding that learning technologies are part of their job responsibilities.

France joins Britain and Germany in learning technologies events

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While all eyes – on this side of the English Channel at least – are on the Learning Technologies event, in London’s Olympia (25/26 January), there are some important learning technologies related events about to take place in mainland Europe too. Karlsruhe in Germany is, once again, the setting for Learntec (31 January to 2 February), while Espace Champerret in central Paris is set to make its debut as the venue for the iLearning Forum Paris (31 January and 1 February).

 

A number of learning technologies providers – notably eXact learning solutions (see ‘New XML DITA editor on show in London and Karlsruhe’ below) – have got into the habit of launching new products in London and then again, a few days later, in Karlsruhe.

 

Up to now, the event in Paris, which is in its 12th year and is France’s leading learning technologies event, hasn’t figured in the ‘product launch schedule’ – perhaps because of its clash, on dates, with Learntec in Germany. This year, the conference at the iLearning Forum Paris, covers open source platforms; serious games; simulations; interactive instructional design; content development tools; mobile learning; the latest learning technologies and social networks in learning. In addition, thanks to goFLUENT’s CEO, Christophe Ferrandou, delegates will also be considering the ROI of blended learning.

 

According to Ferrandou: “We help our clients determine the ROI of the blended learning that comes from goFLUENT’s e-learning platform, customised content, written coaching and telephone lessons. We believe that all of these combine to provide a consistent and efficient learning experience to help students improve their business English skills.

 

“Owing to their innovative nature and enterprise-wide – often global – scope, many blended learning programmes become highly ‘visible’ to those in the Boardroom,” he continued. “Typically, learning programmes support overall learning strategies which, in turn, are aimed at achieving business goals – so it’s perfectly understandable that organisations should try to measure these programmes’ ROI.”

 

Ferrandou, the only Frenchman in the recently published list of the top ten ‘movers and shakers’ in European e-learning, believes that, in trying determine the ROI of a learning project, people tend to focus on costs rather than results. He said: “That’s because it’s easier to do so! Yet, assessing results is not only fairer, it’s also more closely allied to the organisation’s goals.”

 

Ferrandou added that, in order to define a learning programme’s net benefits, you must set some goals, define an evaluation framework and – only then – do the ROI calculations. He observed: “Setting goals is key not only to measuring ROI but also to engage learners and their managers.”

 

Comment: France’s learning technologies sector – and, thus, key trade event – may not be as well known internationally as those in Germany and the UK but, according to figures from Learning Light’s research into e-learning throughout Europe in 2010, France has Europe’s second largest learning technologies sector. While the UK’s e-learning industry turned over some £472m in 2010, France’s e-learning industry turned over £375m and Germany’s a mere £242m. Undoubtedly, a large proportion of those making major contributions to all three countries’ learning technologies turnover will be in evidence at these events in London, Paris and Karlsruhe.

Asia-Pacific’s list of e-learning movers and shakers

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Among the responses to the publication, at the beginning of January, of lists of the ‘top ten movers and shakers’ in the e-learning field – in the World, Europe and the UK – were a couple which argued for the publication of an Asia-Pacific list to complement the existing lists.

 

So here, following a great deal of research and consultation with ‘e-learning watchers’ and commentators in India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, is the first list of movers and shakers in e-learning in the Asia-Pacific region.

 

As with all these lists, please bear in mind that they are compiled on the basis of a person’s perceived current influence on the e-learning industry – as a practitioner, commentator, facilitator and/or thought leader. You probably won’t agree with all – or even any – of the judges’ decisions but at least you’ll know something about what other people think about the personalities who lead the corporate e-learning world.

 

Asia-Pacific list

  1. Anne Forster (Forster and Gibson), one of Australia’s foremost independent e-learning consultants.
  1. Sahana Chattopadhyay Enterprise Community Manager and Learning & Development Consultant at ThoughtWorks. Prolific tweeter and author of the ‘ID and Other Reflections’ blog.
  2. Sumeet Moghe Director of Learning and Development at ThoughtWorks, and author of ‘The Learning Generalist’ blog.
  3. Sue Waters Support Manager at Edublogs, lecturer, documentation writer, author of the ‘Sue Waters Blog’. Editor and co-author of ‘The Edublogger’ blog.
  4. Joyce Seitzinger Lecturer in Blended Learning at Deakin University, and author of the ‘Cat’s Pyjamas’ blog and ‘Moodle Tool Guide for Teachers’.
  5. Tomi Ahonen Mobile telecoms and digital communities’ consultant, recently rated number one in the Forbes’ ‘Top 10 Power Influencers in Mobile’. Lecturer, speaker, prolific tweeter and best-selling author.
  6. Anne Bartlett-Bragg Managing Director (Asia Pacific) of Headshift, Executive Director of the Learning Technologies User Group. Lecturer, and Education Adviser at the Australian Bussinesswomen’s Network.
  7. Amit Garg Founder & Director of Upside Learning Solutions, and co-author of the ‘Upside Learning’ blog.
  8. Manish Mohan Senior Vice President and Business Unit Head for India Enterprise Solutions at NIIT, and author of the ‘Learn and Lead’ blog.
  9. Ryan Tracey E-Learning Manager at AMP, Advisory Board Member at eLearn Magazine and author of the ‘E-Learning Provocateur’ blog.

 

‘Bubbling under’

Others who just missed out on making this year’s list included:

  • Leigh Blackall Learning Commons Coordinator at the University of Canberra. Speaker, and author of the ‘Leigh Blackall’ blog.
  • Zoraini Wati Abas Professor and learning technologist at Open University Malaysia, and author of the ‘Eye on Learning’ and ‘Research in Education’ blogs.
  • Rob Wilkins Head of Learning & Development at Aussie Home Loans, and author of the ‘Ruminations of a Learning and Development Professional’ blog.
  • Jeevan Joshi Principal Consultant & Founder of KnowledgeWorking, Producer & Community Manager at The Learning Cafe, speaker, author of the ‘KnowledgeWorking’ blog and co-author of ‘The Learning Cafe’ blog.

 

‘Up and comer’

Someone who has the potential to be a ‘giant’ in the e-learning world:

  • Aneesh Bhat Instructional Designer at Upside Learning Solutions. Prolific tweeter, and co-author of the ‘Upside Learning’ blog.

 

There are plans to include the publication of the next Asia-Pacific list with the World, Europe and UK lists in early January next year.

Work or chocolate?

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Yehuda Baruch, a professor at Rouen Business School in France, says that addiction to work (workaholism) could benefit individuals, business and society. In a recent academic paper he likens work addiction to a chocolate addiction and concludes that it can increase self-esteem and strengthen social interactions.

 

In the article, published in Career Development International, Baruch writes that literature on workaholism portrays it as a negative addiction, associated with high levels of stress at work and home and interfering with work-life balance. But empirical research also shows that workaholism’s hallmarks are vigour and dedication – positive constructs that are the opposites of exhaustion and cynicism.

 

Baruch likens work addiction to a chocolate addiction. He claims there are some health benefits to be gained by eating chocolate: it energises people and generates a good feeling. Similarly, workaholics are energised by their work and their accomplishments reinforce a sense of well-being. Using this as a metaphor, unless workaholic employees cause significant damage to their health, it may be best to leave it to them to decide how much work they are willing to carry out.

 

Furthermore, he argues that workaholism can bring intrinsic rewards, particularly when the work is done for a ‘good cause’. It can also strengthen social interactions and result in higher pay and promotions which, in turn, raises self-esteem.

 

Comment: It’s probably only fair to explore the social and cultural aspects of workaholism from a balanced – rather than an inherently negative – viewpoint but, if there was ever a forced choice, I think I’d prefer to experience chocoholism.

New XML DITA editor on show in London and Karlsruhe

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eXact learning solutions has upgraded its eXact LCMS, adding single source XML technical documentation to blended learning and is revealing this upgrade publicly at the Learning Technologies (www.learningtechnologies.co.uk) exhibition in London, on 25th and 26th January (at stand number 34) and at the Learntec (www.learntec.de) exhibition in Karlsruhe, Germany on 31st January to 2nd February (at stand number E30 with partner TWI).

 

As a result of this major upgrade, eXact LCMS and eXact Mobile platforms now support XML DITA content authoring and management. The Darwin Information Typing Architecture – DITA (http://dita.xml.org/) – is an XML-based standard promoted by OASIS, the US-headquartered global consortium, which is driving the standardisation of technical and maintenance documentation within such industries as the machine engineering, semiconductor, automotive, financial, pharmaceutical and translation industries. The DITA specification allows greater flexibility in learning documentation publishing and reuse, enabling authors to organise digital materials and documents into smaller, more focused topic items.

 

The new eXact DITA Editor offers a fully-fledged DITA authoring, management and delivery environment. This environment is fully integrated with the eXact LCMS platform’s SCORM-based online and mobile learning content management and rendering capabilities.

 

Comment: Learning Technologies – and Learntec, come to think of it – are just the places to launch advances in learning technology, such as this DITA editor. I’m sure there will be lots of other product launches at these events. I can hardly wait…

Huzzah for PR professionals!

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Apparently, PR professionals make excellent CEOs.

Rosanna M. Fiske, the chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has leaped into a debate about whether being a PRO is a one-dimensional position that limits what one may be capable of doing in the business world. In a recent article, Ms Fiske commented: “Public relations professionals are expertly positioned to be successful CEOs due, in part, to their extensive role managing a corporation’s reputation, stakeholder relations and crisis management issues. PR professionals gain a strong understanding of the inner workings of a business, as well as where it fits within its industry and its growth opportunities and challenges.

“These are many of the same issues and concerns CEOs are tasked with managing, and, in the UK, it is noticeable corporate affairs professionals are exerting more influence in the boardroom.

“Furthermore, one can argue that corporate communications professionals’ main goal is to help businesses grow by connecting them in meaningful and beneficial ways with key audiences and stakeholders. Sounds like the role of the modern CEO.”

Comment: That sounds like good news. I’ll just wait for the offers of CEO jobs to come flooding in, then.

A potential solution to HR evaluation challenges

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Dr John O'Connor, of Ceres Management.

Results assessment specialist Ceres Management – which aims to enable clients to use the evidence of business results to make sound decisions about ongoing investments in people development – has launched a new approach to evaluation that: defines what business success looks like; aligns evaluation goals with business needs; focuses evaluation around clear performance needs; defines success indicators, especially for behavioural outcomes, and is easy to apply and administer.

 

The approach – called ‘Results Assessment’ (RA) (see http://www.ceresmanagement.co.uk) and developed from the work of Brinkerhoff, Holton, Kirkpatrick and others – has been refined for L&D practitioners by Ceres Management’s Dr John O’Connor. A practitioner in the field of learning and performance improvement for over 20 years, O’Connor has a PhD in instructional design from Florida State University. He has worked internationally, with private as well as public sector clients, to design, deliver and measure high-impact learning and change initiatives.

 

Following the launch of RA, Ceres Management is offering partnership opportunities for organisations that are committed to high quality training evaluation practice. O’Connor explained: “HR and L&D leaders who’d welcome a fresh approach to evaluation in their organisation should contact us to be part of our partnership programme.

 

“Organisations should care deeply about their people and their development because a highly engaged workforce is a strong predictor of business growth,” he added.

 

Comment: HR and training professionals who understand the importance of evaluation but who also realise that there’s a gap between what they do and what they want to do could find the answer to this unsatisfactory state of affairs in the RA evaluation approach. It purports to prove the tangible connection between programme delivery and business results.

 

Existing models – notably the Kirkpatrick model – are popular but impossible to use at certain (higher) levels. Moreover, as the renowned writer and commentator Charles Jennings has said, Don and Jim Kirkpatrick’s models make no attempt to address non-course/curriculum based learning – even with Jim’s ‘turning Kirkpatrick on its head’ approach.

 

John O’Connor’s RA model may offer a real, practical answer. O’Connor is convinced it does and is looking for organisations to try RA for themselves. Hopefully, he’ll find some – because RA deserves its chance to prove its worth to HR professionals and main boards alike.

The third, annual, top ten e-learning movers and shakers

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The dawn of a New Year means that, once again, here – based on nothing more than experience and prejudice – are the lists of the ‘Top Ten’ most influential people in the corporate e-learning sector, in the World, Europe and the UK.

 

And – increasing each year since these lists’ inception in 2010 – the debate among the judges as to who genuinely warrants a place on these ‘top tables’ of the great and good in e-learning has been keen. This increasing keenness perhaps indicates that not only is the corporate e-learning world’s profile growing generally but also that its leaders’ public personalities are becoming more widely recognised.

 

Please bear in mind that these lists are compiled on the basis of a person’s perceived current influence on the e-learning industry – as a practitioner, commentator, facilitator and/or thought leader. You probably won’t agree with all – or even any – of the judges’ decisions but at least you’ll know something about what other people think about the personalities who lead the corporate e-learning world.

 

World List

1. Elliott Masie. Head of The MASIE Center, a Saratoga Springs, New York, think-tank focused on how organisations can support learning and knowledge within the workforce. (Position last year: 1)

2.    Jay Cross. A writer, commentator and speaker who was a surprise omission in previous years and, thus, is a surprise inclusion in this year’s list. He was the first to coin the term ‘e-learning’ many years ago and continues to promote informal learning. (New entry for 2012)

3.    Fabrizio Cardinali. CEO of eXact Learning Solutions’ North America and Australia operations, Senior Vice President of the company’s Global Business Development and Chair of the European Learning Industry Group (ELIG). (Position last year: 3)

4.    Cathy Moore. Recently voted third in the world’s top ten most influential bloggers about e-learning. According to at least one of the judges of this list, she is ‘changing the way we approach instructional design’. (New entry for 2012)

5.    Roger Schank. One of the influential early contributors to artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology in the 1970s and 1980s, he is president and CEO of Socratic Arts. (Position last year: 5)

6.    Tom Kuhlmann. A blogger and host of The Rapid E-Learning Blog (the user community for Articulate) who has developed many hours of e-learning and managed e-learning projects. Having done it himself, he’s now teaching others how to do it too. (New entry for 2012)

7.    Anne Forster (Forster and Gibson), one of Australia’s foremost independent e-learning consultants. (Position last year: 6)

8.    Massood Zarrabian. CEO of Boston, MA, based LCMS providers OutStart. He has been bucking the trend (of tracking and reporting) to stress the LCMS/ LMS’s role in knowledge sharing and transfer at the point of need. (Position last year: 7)

9.    Muyiwa Bamgbose, the CEO of Nigeria’s Educational Advancement Center (EAC), which works with The University of Ibadan, one of Nigeria’s leading universities, to deliver learning materials to students via their mobile phones. (Position last year: 10)

10.  Lisa Gualtieri. Academic and conference speaker. Formerly an editor of the ‘eLearn’ website and now editor-in-chief of the new ‘Future Learning’ magazine, being published in Holland for a worldwide audience. (New entry for 2012)

‘Bubbling under’

Others who just missed out on making this year’s list included:

  • Abdullah Al Mogheerah, Manager for Planning & PMO at Saudi Arabia’s National Center for eLearning (NCEL). (Position last year: 4).
  • Sanjaya Sharma. Head of Tata Interactive Systems, an e-learning content producer which is part of the Tata Group of Companies. (Position last year: eight)
  • Reuben Kyama, of Kenya and Brenda Zulu, of Zambia – who are among the contributing editors to the eLearning Africa conference.
  • Catherine Upton, CEO of the US-based ‘Elearning! Magazine’.
  • Charles Jennings, the former CLO of Thomson Reuters who is now a conference speaker and thought leader.
  • Harold Jarche, the Canada-based ‘thought catalyst’, writer and blogger.
  • Clark Quinn, learning technology consultant, writer and blogger based in California.

Europe List

1.    Fabrizio Cardinali. Chair of the European Learning Industry Group (ELIG) and Senior Vice President of eXact Learning Solutions’ Global Business Development. (Position last year: 2)

2.    Richard Straub. The Secretary General of the European Learning Industry Group (ELIG), overseeing ELIG’s role as advisor to the EU on all things to do with e-learning. (Position last year: 1)

3.    Thea Payome. Editor of the Germany-based CheckPoint eLearning ezine and website (http://www.checkpoint-elearning.com/). (Position last year: 3)

4.    Dr Ladislava (‘Vlad’ka’) Knihova. A key champion, user and publisher of e-learning applications within the corporate and academic sectors in the Czech Republic. (Position last year: 4)

5.    Christophe Ferrandou, the Paris-based founder and CEO of goFLUENT, an award-winning producer of business English training. (Position last year: eight)

6.    Jane Hart. Recently voted top in the world’s top ten most influential bloggers about e-learning. She is the founder and CEO of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. (New entry for 2012)

7.    Armin Hopp. Founder and President of digital publishing AG/ Speexx and a member of ELIG. (New entry for 2012)

8.    Carin Martell. Business development manager at the LCMS and digital repository producer, eXact learning solutions. (Position last year: 7)

9.    Helge Scherlund, the Denmark-based writer and blogger on e-learning topics. (New entry for 2012 but was ‘bubbling under’ in 2011)

10.  Elmar Hussmann. ELIG’s Deputy Secretary General. (New entry for 2012)

‘Bubbling under’

Others who just missed out on making this year’s list included:

  • Piers Lea. A member of ELIG and CEO of LINE Communications. (position last year: 6)
  • Steve Rayson, of Kineo – a UK-based company which continues to expand its interests.
  • Dirk Burkamp. ELIG member and head of learning technology at PwC Germany.

UK List

1.    Donald H Taylor. The power behind the success of the Learning Technologies conference and Chairman of the Institute of Learning and Performance. (Position last year: 1)

2.    Jane Hart. Founder and CEO of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. (Position last year: 3)

3.    Laura Overton. Managing Director of Towards Maturity, a not-for-profit community interest company that provides research and online resources to help organisations deliver effective learning interventions at work. (Position last year: 4)

4.    Steve Rayson, of Kineo, who is making the UK’s most innovative production company into a worldwide player. (Position last year: 5)

5.    Julie Wedgwood. A Towards Maturity advisor and an e-learning developer described, by some, as “the people’s favourite when you want to know ‘how-to-do-it’.” (New entry for 2012)

6.    Clive Shepherd. Still as shrewd a commentator on the e-learning scene as any. (Position last year: 7)

7.    Piers Lea. A member of ELIG and CEO of LINE Communications. (Position last year: 2)

8.    Martin Baker. Managing Director of LMMatters and the founder and Managing Director of the Charity Learning Consortium (CLC). (position last year: 10 equal)

9.    Ben Betts. Managing Director of HT2 who is gaining an international reputation – and has introduced a highly original product in Curatr. (New entry for 2012)

10.  Donald Clark. A long-established speaker and commentator on e-learning. (Position last year: 6)

‘Bubbling under’

Others who just missed out on making this year’s list included:

  • Clive Snell. The publisher of E-Learning Age magazine and the man behind the increasingly popular E-Learning Awards. (Position last year: eight)
  • Gillian Broadhead. Director of Learning and Development at Learning Light. (Position last year: 10 equal)
  • John O’Connor, the founder of Ceres Management, who specialises in measuring the impact of people development initiatives.
  • Nick Shackleton-Jones. Currently group head of e-learning at BP who, as a writer and speaker, makes genuinely thoughtful and original contributions.
  • Charles Jennings, conference speaker and thought leader.
  • Elizabeth Eyre, editor of Training Journal (http://www.trainingjournal.com)
  • Rob Hubbard, the new chair of the eLearning Network (eLN)
  • Steve Wheeler, author of ‘The Digital Classroom’, speaker, avid Tweeter and blogger.

Of the 28 names on the three lists (19 men and nine women), only two names appear on more than one list: Fabrizio Cardinali and Jane Hart.

The USA continues to have the largest representation on the ‘World’ list; while Germany (with four representatives) is the only country with more than one representative in the ‘Europe’ list. Again, only one British name – this time Jane Hart’s rather than Piers Lea’s – appears on the Europe list.

Two of the three people who topped the lists this year – Elliott Masie and Donald H Taylor – have retained their positions since the first list was published, in 2010. In the Europe list, for the first time, Richard Straub gives way to his ELIG colleague, Fabrizio Cardinali.

The biggest rise in positioning comes from Jay Cross, who is both long established and well-known in the learning technologies industry but is a new entry at number two in the World list. Others whose ‘star’ has risen this year are: Cathy Moore, Tom Kuhlmann, Muyiwa Bamgbose and Lisa Gualtieri (World list); Fabrizio Cardinali, Christophe Ferrandou, Jane Hart, Armin Hopp, Helge Scherlund and Elmar Hussmann (Europe list), and Jane Hart, Laura Overton, Steve Rayson, Julie Wedgwood, Clive Shepherd, Martin Baker and Ben Betts (UK list).