Understanding Generation Y

I was running late and the traffic on Route 1 South was not helping me in the least. I finally made it to my destination, the Mid-NJ ASTD Chapter meeting. They were hosting the presentation "Wake Me When It's Over: Keeping generation Y Engaged in the Classroom".

I'm intrigued for two reasons. One, being still fairly new to training and development, I like to expose myself to new and relevant information of my industry. Second, I knew the guest presenter.

Kim Rowe is a founding partner of Agentive Sales and Marketing Solutions. We worked together on a project creating e-learning courses in my previous job and I wanted to keep in touch with her.

I arrive just in time to catch the end of the opening announcements, but not soon enough to get any of the breakfast offered. I'm starving. I find a seat and pull out my laptop to take notes. I notice that I'm the only one with a laptop. Everyone else is using pen and paper. I wonder if this is an indication of the generation gap and part of what I will learn about in the presentation. Also, I am the youngest in the room, the only Gen X. Everyone else is a Baby Boomer.

Wake Me When It's Over: Keeping Generation Y Engaged in the Classroom

There are four generations in the workplace now. Well actually closer to three because the Veterans are mainly retired.


There are 70 million people born between 1980 and 2000. They are as large population wise as the Baby Boomers were. They are much larger than Generation X. This means that members of Generation Y will rise through the work ranks much quicker than Generation X and in some cases quicker than Boomers.

This brought up some discussion from the group. One of the members had already had a Generation Y manager. This brought up talks about company loyalty and 'putting in your dues' before you can advance. I responded with "I would be apt to give more respect to someone who was promoted because of her ability than because of her seniority."


So who is Generation Y?
Kim had a great exercise where we partnered up and in 60 seconds, write down as many words that describe what we thought defined Generation Y. Then we shared our lists with the rest of the group.

Some that were listed:

• computerized
• non-verbal
• visual
• ambitious
• ADD - no attention span
• tech-savvy
• entitled
• environmentalist
  
• multitasking
• collaborative
• independent
• curious

What was interesting is that someone realized that their describing words went quickly to the negative connotation. Gen Y was described as lacking interpersonal skills because they mainly communicate via text (phone, IM, email, blog, Facebook...) When put in a work environment where one-on-one communication is more prominent, they falter.

But does a different communication style mean that it's better or worse?
Communication via text, especially when work groups are spread over various locations, is becoming more of the corporate norm.

There are significant preconceived notions about what Gen Y is. But not all members of Gen Y (or any group) behaves like the stereotype. Its important not to push your generational ideals onto another one.

A generation is a group of people who share similar experiences in their formative years. For Gen Y, they were teenagers during the 90's. Lived through the biggest economic boom and bust, 9/11, Columbine, Gulf War, grunge music.

Gen Y's expectations are all about speed. Technology has made communication immediate. They don't think lineally, they skim and jump around (like surfing the web). They think in branches. They want to know what they need to know. Background info isn't necessary. If they think it's important, they can always look it up later.

Kids have been brought up in a cocoon - they have never been unsupervised. In their highly-scheduled adolescence going from one activity to another, they have become multi-tasking experts as a result. They get good at doing what they 'have' to do, and nothing more -- because there just isn't enough time. As a whole, they prefer socializing in groups and grow up in team environments.

This generation is more diverse and expects more diversity - race, age, cultural... There is more awareness and comfort level with people different than themselves-. Older generations can't project their experiences on Gen Y. They have different frame of references and might not relate.

Tips for Training Gen Y

1. Tell them why it matters.
   
   • link to the big picture
   • create multi-generationals training groups
   • tell stories of patients, customers, other employees, real people
   • their motivating factors are different than their parents. create a community
2. Show them what it means to them
   
   • attach the WHY to every process
   • show them what exceptional performance looks like. Set the expectation of success.
   • use assessments - how do they rate among their peers, identify their strengths/weaknesses
   • link it to career goals
3. Engage Them
   
   • let THEM figure it out
   • have them learn it well enough to teach it to others
   • offer branched curricula
   • make it experiential - let them come up with their own solutions
   • let them get the background info prior to a classroom. Use the classroom for the interactions.
4. Do it fast
   
   • take many breaks
   • no more than 10 minutes at a time
   • make it active
   • move fast, then double your speed
   • make it fun and playful
5. Make it interactive
   
   • use eye-candy
   • customize the learning
   • don't waste valuable classroom time in one-way, lecture presentations

When you are the trainer, be who you are. Don't try and be something you're not if you're 50 don't pretend you're 20. Set your ground rules early and explain your credentials. And get rid of tired cliches.

Creating an elearning portfolio

I have been struggling with the idea of putting my personal online elearning portfolio together for months. I just finished my Masters degree and I needed to market myself in Instructional Design. But the problem was that I didn't have the material I really wanted to put together something that really represented me and my skills.

The problem is that I didn't really know what should be represented. I didn't have samples of the development work I did at my previous job two years ago, and I didn't want to show sample of the projects I was currently working on.

Tom Kuhlmann again posts a relevant and timely blog article on the importance of developing a personal elearning portfolio.

Now I have a starting point to pull together samples, or to create new ones that showcase the important elements:

• Instructional Design
• Graphic Design
• Diversity of projects
• Project Management
• Writing
• Technology

I'll start...right after my vacation.

Becoming an Extrovert

I'm not shy, but I don't really like to initiate 'hey, look at me' moments. That's going to need to change.

Yesterday I went to my local ASTD Chapter meeting to watch a presentation on using simulation software for online training. I'm always interested in different software and how people use it. But the real reason for me for going is to network.

Now that I'm not working, I need to find ways to do some meaningful interactions. I can only be on the computer for so long until my fingers start to bleed and my eyes fall out of my head. Although, this time around I'm keeping much more engaged with Facebook, Twitter, Second Life, webinars and blogs than when I was laid off 4 summers ago.

Anyway, at last night's meeting after I found a seat and unpacked my laptop, I got up and went over to a group of people talking to each other and introduced myself. I know it gets easier the more you do it, but it was still a small hurdle to get over.

The good part is that I wasn't alone in feeling this way. The conversation I interrupted was how they have been coping with being 'in transition'. (That's a nice way of saying "I ain't got no job".) Attending these meetings were their way of networking. Collect a business card, add them to your LinnkedIn profile, move on. They have been collecting contacts like they were baseball cards.

Which is exactly what I've started to do as well.

Performance Learning Filter

Today I watched a webinar presented by Allen Interactions on Performance Learning Filters.

Typically, there are three types of training.

Information & Awareness training courses just provide suface content. Its purpose is to transfer knowledge. But with more effort, training can extend deeper to teach learners how to apply the knowledge and to ultimately increast performance by fostering behavior change.

The Performance Learning Filter, when applied, can move a training course from the surface level Information & Awareness level down to further, more performance-driven levels.

• Context - The content must be presented in the same way that the learner will be expected to act upon it in his/her job.


• Challenge - The learner must be able to think about the information and apply it on the job.


• Activity - This is the physical response the learner does to the challenge. Clicking on something with the mouse, dragging one object to another location. The activitydetermines how a learner makes a decision based on the challenge presented.


• Feedback - The response that is provoded to the learner to show his/her effectiveness to the challenge.

When you are designing a course, ask yourself if it has all four parts of the filter. If it does, then your course moves beyond the surface into more performance-based learning.

View presentation PDF.
View recorded version of webcast.

New technology - the threat to our information

The best argument for using social networking technology in corporate training.

New technology - the threat to our information

View more presentations from normanlamont.

Graphic Symbols: The 5th Language

Kevin Thorn, AutoZone, LLC. (personal eLearning blog)

Before I came to this session, I would have said that I only communicate in one language, English.

There are 5 language in which to communicate.

• Spoken
• Written - symbolic form of our spoken language
• Math - symbols for concepts and data
• Body - language of expression or gesture
• Graphic - visual language

Look at that! I can now say I can communicate in 5 languages!

Check out all the corporate logos we all know and love. They are all speaking in a language.

Since the beginning of man, communication occurred with graphics. Think cave paintings and Egyptian hieroglyphics. The Mayan culture had their own graphic language (which strangely enough look like iPhone app icons).

Sequential Art: A Graphic medium are images that are used to convey a sequential narrative. Will Eisner believed that comics had teaching potential.

Now, let's all draw some simple shapes... a rectangle, a triangle, a circle. Simple shapes in just the right order, position and size can create recognizable concepts through images.

Images, turned into symbols turned into words. Now, reverse that. Take your spoken language and revert it back to written language and back into picture language.

If you get stuck drawing a concept, break it down into its core components.

Now we're recreating this clown.

Break it down into core components: big nose, crazy hair, big shoes, poofy hair, big smile... Once you focus on the individual elements and not the big picture, then drawing doesn't seem that impossible.

It doesn't need to be perfect or professional, it just needs to convey your message.

Any problem can be make clearer with a picture and any picture can be made using the same simple set of tools and rules. - Dan Roam

Squares, circles, rectangles, lines and dots... all you need to make the world go round.

Reuse your symbols to create new images. With a library of symbols, you can become the master of your own graphic domain.

An object is first a shape, that shape occupies a space, that space defines the object. An object is a shape that occupies a space.

Take a glass:

And break it down into basic shapes: a warped rectangle and a squished circle. It's not really that hard.

It's time to build a better taco! (you had to be there)

Great session, Kevin!

Rapid, Reusable, and Custom: How to Use Flash & XML to Streamline eLearning

Gayle Beebe, Bottom-Line Performance, Inc.

Today Gayle going to identify ways to use XML and Flash in eLearning, how to change XML to alter a Flash template, analyze best practices and compare and share tips and tricks.

XML - eXtensile Markup Language. It's open standard, meaning that you can use your own tags. So the computer and the human can understand the codes.

Some tools:

• Adobe Dreamweaver (more complicated than it's worth for XML)
  
• XML Notepad Editor (free!)
  
• Microsoft Notepad (free!)
  

Advantages to using XML

• Interoperable
• Content is external from the engine/design
• Faster load times
• Write your own set of tags
  

Disadvantages

• A lot of upfront work
• Need an applicaiton to run XML
• code must be well-formed

Streamline eLearning by creating user-friendly templates for IDs and Flash developers.

Gayle's showing how to update XML code using XML Notepad. <>

First the discussion was about the virtues of using XML & Flash. A little antsy because I know this already. But then she got into the code of XML and Flash's Action Script. Woah... it's too late in the day and my head is crammed with too much stuff to look at code. Plus watching her code on the screen was way too hard becasue the text was way too small.

This may have been cooler if it was a hands-on session. Demonstrate how changes in XML show instantly in the Flash output.

Good takeaway -- show a screenshot of the Flash template page and clearly identify the content areas and their associated character/line count available. Excellent for the IDs to know exactly what their paramaters are.

Using templates frees up your developers to make more custom animations or more templates.

Some other good takeaways that will benefit the team back in the office:

• Consistent naming standards
• Folder and file organization structure
• Gayle's Sample Files (Session 710)

Plan for success:

• Create and maintain a detailed programming plan
• Craete an environment that fosters communitcaion

Making the Grade: Quality Assurance for eLearning Design at Penn State

Amy Garbrick, Penn State University

Already excited with this session because of the handouts provided: a course review worksheet, an inspector input worksheet and a whole thing on eLearning design standards. Hallelujah! Finally something I can use to make our courses better. I've been talking about trying to apply standards, but could never find standards to adhere to.

This session is all about how PSU developed quality standards, implemented them and the process of how they did it all.

The problem at PSU:

• course design & development varied among colleges, designers, ect. No one standard. Some developed by faculty, some by teams, some new, some old.
  
• Can PSU decide on design standards (visual).

PSU QA standards based on Quality Matters.

QA Standards are a set of 12 standards and determining what metrics will be measured to know if courses have met these standards, as well as developing best practices for course design. PSU went through a lengthy process to get the results they have today.

Quality Assurance documents at PSU:

• The Standards
• Instructor Input Form (for course review)
  completed by course faculty developer to provide additional information about the course
  
• Course Review Worksheet

They can be used for a new course, to review an existing course, to provide feedback to IDs.

While quality and consistence has benefits, there are some challenges are on flexibility, and internal 'political' hurdles.

Group Work to assess a PSU course based on one of the 12 standards. We're checking #9 Learning Activities and Assessment.

Biggest eyeopening moment: what corporate sees as interactive is very different than what higher education sees as interactive.

The group activity really didn't seem as effective as I expected. The focus of this was geared more towards higher education training and I'm on the corporate side. I think the best thing I got out of this session are the handouts. I would have been more excited if the session covered how PSU came up with the standards or presented a walk-through on how they applied the QA on a particular course.

I started to glaze over when the conversation turned to Moodle, Blackboard, type of course management systems. Again, not corporate based so less relevant to me.

Hopefully the next session is better for me.

The Powerful Webcomic Approach: Learning from Smithsonian

Daniel Bilton, Booz Allen Hamilton
Robert Costello, Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)- responsible for electronic educational outreach

Stories are experience simulators. They provide the information, the context and the models that people need to make decisions. (There's that context word again!)

How do you turn a boring story into a sticky story that produces action?

Case study (boring)
Provide the teaching point, definition and the scenario. Too much facts, but not enough feeling or attention spend on the background stimulus. Where's the human factor?

Action story
Introduce the nurse and what she notices about the patient. ... (then into a compelling story of how the nurse saves the day and what happens). The discussion after the story talked about the learning point. The story provided simulation (knowledge and how to act) and inspiration (motivation to act).

Sticky Story SUCCESS Checklist
Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Sparks Action or, Provides a Solution
(from Made To Stick book)

Stories are good vehicles for many types of communications.

The Smithsonian needed to expand reach and teach scientific learning objectives. So they had to: increase the public understanding of the process of science, increase pubic awareness of NMNH research and increase the understanding of forensic science.

How evffective is storytelling? Among middle and high school students (NMNH target audience), they are technically savvy, connected and play video games, watch movies and read comic books.

So in the MNNH project, the main storyline hero is a character that the audience can relate to. Provide the storyline, give the hook and blend in the lessons, objectives, practice examples and scenarios. The story was based on a true story: a bone forensic mystery found in a cellar in Colonial America. The coolest part... the character even got her own Facebook page!

The webcomic got the audience to become emotional about the training. They became empathetic about the characters in the story. (As well as the other SUCCESS factors)

How popular are comic books? Have you seen the magna section in Barnes & Noble? And those reading... not just nerdy boys. There are plenty of magna for girls, too. Young female creators are also among the hottest new comic artists. So don't think that just because it's comic style that it won't be accepted!

Visual storytelling is sticky and an effective instructional approach.

NMNH didn't do a game because it needed to be done quick, and get acrosss a lot of information. And no audio either because of the cognitive load issues. Most read faster than the audio can run.

Sketches done on the comics. Then focus groups with middle and high school kids to get their reaction. The kids in the gropus played out the characters to see if the jokes and learning were received properly. Turns out, they got the story and provided great feedback on the language (lingo) used, font style, and other stuff that could only come from the target audience.

The story is a passive experience, but there was the goal to engage the learners into apply what they learned through exercises. They could dig deeper into the information, make their own judgement calls or compare their answers with other learners.

The story used collaboration in an online community and that made them pay more attention to the story (lesson). Try: instead of a regualar multiple choice question that provided an answer, make it a polling question where you can see the results of other learners.

The results of Google Analytics on the course:

• bounce rate low -- good! People are sticking around -- for about 9.5 minutes!
• the target audience is middle & high school kids, but survey respondents on "how old are you" indicate that 66% is older than 46!

Favorite parts of the comic:

• generates more interest
• liked the mystery aspect
• visuals great for memory and learning

The ABC Approach to telling a Sticky Story
Action - What is the starting event?
Background - What is the situation?
Conflict - What needs to specifically happen?
Development - What happens and who is involved?
End - What is the key take-away?

Lessons Learned

• ID's shoudl think of themselves as writers
• Apply SEction 508
• Try to use social media networks

Really interesting session!!

AG09 - Day Two: Opening & Keynote

Let's talk about Ah-Ha moments from yesterday.

• Jenna Delaney's ah-ha moment "I did it! Finally!"
• Sean: "I'm not as alone in joy/misery as I previous thought."

Shout out to the tweople and bloggers in the back of the room by the power outlets!

Recognition by LINGOs to Greg Davis - 2009 Volunteer of the Year. He delivers all his training online from Panama. Corporate partner of the year is Articulate. So now I need to check out LINGOs more. The concept is interesting.

LINGOs (Learning for International Non-Governmental Organizations) works to improve the performance, lower the cost and increase the effectiveness of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs.) Together, LINGOs member agencies provide humanitarian relief and development assistance in over 125 countries around the world. By working together, LINGOs agencies and partners increase the impact of their work by sharing learning resources.

Keynote Speaker, Bill Tancer
Click: What Millions ARe doing Online and Why It Matters to You as an ELearning Professional

Bill Tancer is the general manager of global research at Hitwise, the world’s leading online competitive intelligence services. Or really, a datageek. How so? He entered the talent show at Science Camp in high school and WON! Don't forget to celebrate Pi day! (3/14)

"To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something." Walker Percy

He got started as a writer by given an assignment, then Googling "how to write a magazine column". Immediate need? Immediate search. Immediate learn.

Hitwise's data sampleis massive... can't get into the stats now. Can't read the slide.

So he gets stranger. He has this obsession with prom dresses (?!). Specifically the search terms on 'prom dresses'.

"What is the one thing people is searching to buy on the internet?" Prom Dresses. The spike occured the first week of January. Strange because retailers put out the marketing for prom dresses in March.

Turns out the answer was given by the GM or a teen magazine who approached Tancer at a presentation. The teen magazines started putting out their prom dress promotion in January to change consumer behavior. Solved.

Another data story: data also shows huge spike for the term "diet" starting Jan 1... but drops sharply on Jan 5. Go fugure. Know when "diet" is the lowest? Thanksgiving.

About engagement ring search data...
The search spike is the week before Thanksgiving. Jewelery stores marketing on engagement rings are right after Thanksgiving. WTF?

The theory is: girls bring guy home to meet family. Guys pressured to get an engagement ring. OR... guys are searching before Thanksgiving to get information on them, comparison shop, before they actually make the purchase after Thanksgiving.

An ah-ha moment: Dancing With The Stars is really a popularity content. Therefore, he predictited the winner by checking out the search term data on the contestents. Turns out he was wrong in his prediction. But he was excited that he was wrong. Why? Becasue he's a datageek.

On closer analysis, the data reveals the real reasons why the DWTS search results were skewed. The searchers weren't fans, but sex-starved males checking out the hot contestent. You have to pay attentionto the intent of search as well as the search results. "The Stacy Keilber Correction Coefficient (SKCC)."

Applying the SKCC to housing sales, Tancer predicted how the housing market was going to go. His prediction was wrong, but he was "almost right".

Cognitie Dissonance - the difference between giving an honest answer and giving an answer that you think is the one someone wants to hear. But really, actions speak louder than words. For example, if you ask "who visits porn sites?"... crickets. But when you look at the data of visits to pron sites they're through the roof. So... who's lying?

The Narrative Fallacy: creating a story after the fact so that an event will seem to have an identifiable cause. (See Nassim Nicholas Taleb and his book Black Swan).

The data also suggest that as the market tanks during this recession, eLearning enrollment increases. So, is eLearning recession proof? Enrollment at online universities and online components of brink & morter universities show it's a fact. The higher income people are taking advantage of going back to school.

The value of Twitter: you can listen and and to any conversation in the Twitterverse. Tancer found his value in it when he gave an immediate plug to his book to someone who had just asked if it was any good. For more data, check out search.twitter.com and trends.google.com.

Corporate eLearning isn't forgotten. They haven't gotten the same huge increase as university eLearning, but searches for eLearning platforms have increased. Technology companies are leading the way, followed by education, online retailers and the entertainment industry.

So...
Observed behavior provides unique insight into changing consumer sentiment.

Great Keynote!! I guess I'm a datageek, too!

AG09 - Wednesday Recap

Wow, what a full day. Now that I can relax in my pj's I can review my notes, tweets and blog posts and make some sense out of what I saw and heard today.

Jeff Howe's keynote presentation on Crowdsourcing was an interesting concept. Got a problem? Share it with the un-named, un-faced public and their collective knowledge and creativity can often return a soltuion that is revoltuionary. There is little to no cost for the problem poster, the talent pool for the problem solvers is endless and the recognition that the problem solvers receive is payment enough for their efforts.

I liked the examples he presented, threadless.com and istockphoto.com becasue I actually use both of those sites.

I snuck out a little early to attend Tom Kuhlmann's presentation at the ID Zone, "Is Rapid E-Learning a Myth?" What I enjoyed most about Tom's session is that it wasn't an Articulate advertisement, but practical application of using a rapid e-learning tool, any tool, to develop engaging learning courses. I read his blog religiously and greatly appreciate all the tips and tricks he provides. But I am a newly converted Articulate lover and I was able to get my product specific questions answered by Tom later in the afternoon. I can't wait to get my hands dirty with Quizmaker and Engage.

My first session of the day was with Patti Shank on "What Activities are Needed?" I never read her books or seen her before. My first thought was 'Damn! This woman has a mind that's all over the place!' Patti is an energetic person who self-admittadly does not think linearly. At times it was hard to follow where she was going, but overall, I enjoyed her session. I didn't blog or tweet while her session was going on because my laptop was recharging. I had to revert to notetaking 1.0 -- pen and paper.

Learning is about DOing (which will be a recurring theme today), so training should be about opportunities to practice what learners will ultimately DO on the job. She shared a cute and interesting tidbit: even songbirds need to learn how to sing. They practice just like the rest of us.

There are three steps to her process:

1. Uncover the DO
2. Convert the DO into activities
3. Select media to support the activity

Then came lunch. Yum!

After lunch I attended Will Thalheimer's session on Situation-based Learning Design. I was looking forward to his session since I've heard him present at a webinar and I follow his blog. He uses research to back up his message: if you make your learning context similar to the work context, there is higher incidence of recall and the learner does the right thing at the right time. I took notes and posted them separately.

I was looking forward to the session by the Suddenly Smart team "A Better Way to Design and Build Immersive eLearning". The premise was intersting: there was to be audience participation & presenter challenge -- collect a topic from the audience that presents a performance need. Then, while Robert does the presentation, Blake will build the course that meets the performance need using the rapid development tool, Smartbuilder.

However the first 15 minutes were back and forth conversations to a few individual members of the audience and completely left out the rest of the audience. They spent so much time trying to get the details of the course they were going to spontaneously build that they forgot that they had an actual session to present. I left quickly after that to find something that was more interesting, which is a shame because I would have really liked to learn more about immersive eLearning.

Instead, I went back to the ID Zone and listened to "Game On! Can You Have Fun and Learn?" with Metcalf and Oehlert. Turns out you can. I arrived late so I didn't do a full blog on this, but I did tweet a lot. Casual games (solitaire, tetris, etc) are simple games that aren't graphic impressive. But how many hours have you found yourself glued to the screen?

Games are really just a simulation with scoring. (See Kongregate for casual games with a social aspect.) They are naturally 'sticky'. People are more easily engaged in a game than in traditional training. What if you were to incorporate casual games with a social aspect (such as a chat window). Then you would see how people learn from each other and created teams. And if you think about it, that's how most people's work environment are as well, formed in teams. So, games for gaming sake probably won't be the answer. But if you align the game objectives with the learning objectives, then you have something that can be really effective.

My last session of the day was also an ID Zone presentation. "Once Upon a Time: The Impact of Storytelling on your Design". This also got its own blog post. I liked this session. They helped you plan out how to organize the components of developing a good story: the objective, facts, the situation, the charaters, the plot and finally the resolution.

It was a good, long day. Can't wait for the next one.

ID Zone: Storytelling in eLearning

You are a natural born storyteller! Every time you tell a joke, relate an incident, explain facts & figures, talk about your childhood, recreate the steps in a task... See, you can do it.

How does storytelling relate to eLearning?
For design:

• confirm what to cover (objectives)
• decide how to cover it (design)

For content:

• using scenarios

For motivation & evaluation

• sell the course to futures learners (WIIFM)
• learn how peiple are using the couse in real life

Stories and scenarios can be used interchangeably. Scenarios are real-file stories with a purpose. A really good story can become a really good scenario.

Nonfiction stories in eLearning
Those stories are captured from direct observation or interviews. These are true events. Nonfiction stories can put the learning into context for the learner and make the resulting training more relevant.

Fiction stories
They may be based on real-life scenarios. Often a composite of many experiences. They can be used as cautionary tales or to model exemplary behavior.

So, let's create a story...

First, let's create an objective.
Demonstrate a useful, non-traditional way to use a toothbrush.

A good story contains:

• facts
• situation
• characters
• plot (conflict)
• resolution (ending)

Next, the facts:
Who does this? Define the user categories.
What are their goals?
There are many useful ways to get more from life from a used toothbrush.

Where does this happen and in what circumstance?
You can reuse an old toothbrush at home, at work, for cleaning, or other creative projects.

Characters really bring the story to life.
Personas represent characters' similarities and differences. Personas are composites of user analysis and turning it into a particular character. Also a user profile. They're not one real person, not a sterotype but an archetype, and not your average joe. They have specific properties.
They include:

• name/picture
• job title
• demographics
• goals and tasks in relation to the subject
• environment
• a quote that sums up what matters most to the persona.

If you have a persona for your characters, they can be developed more 'realisticly'. Now, where can you find the domographic info to develop your characters? Think creatively. Customer profiles, Department of Labor statistics, direct observation.

Now, what's the conflict?
BAck to our example. Kathy, our character is having trouble keeping the areas of her sink clean.

The resolution?
Kathy heard from a friend that a toothbrush could help.

Now yout can take that, put it all together, and you can build a scenario that is more robust. Remember elementary school? A scenario is really a story problem.

Change the persona, and the whole scenario changes. Instead of grandma Kathy, how about Paris Hilton or MacGyver?

Go and have fun. How can you use it in your design, in your content and in your evaluation?

Situation Based Learning Design

Situation-Based Learning Design: Research Insights for Enhanced Remembering and Performance
Will Thalheimer, willatworklearning.com

It's just about standing room only in Will's session. Glad I came early and swiped a chair next to a power outlet. These seats are scarce!

It's important to create metaphors that are understandable by "real people".

This session is to share the evolution of the concept of "situation-based learning".

Goal for eLearning designer:

• get learners to act differerntly
• to perform far-reaching tasks
• to retrieve the information they need to apply what was learned

How we Learn / Encode

• an environmental cue can trigger a memory
• our mind searches the information
• from rehearsal, we apply the knowledge
  

If learners don't access the information (application need) soon enough after training, it becomes difficult to impossible to retrieve.

Retrieval = Learning - Forgetting + Spontaneous Remembering.
Don't forget the forgetting factor. Include opportunities for learners to retrieve the information in regular intervals otherwise the learning is lost.

Situation-based learning begins with the magic question: "What do we want out learners to be able to do and in what situations do we want our learners to do those things?"

SEDA - Real-world application process to situation-based learning

1. Situation
2. Evaluation
3. Decide
4. Action

Having a goal by itself is not enough to perform an action. If you have an intention, then the action is more likely to take place.

The problem is presenting concepts without providing practice. This turns into a test of memorization. Or provide decisions with no actions. Or provide inadequate evaluations of situations. Or offer a decision without proving the proper situation to apply. All bad and doesn't provide adequate results.

All steps must be followed through to allow the learner to retrieve the knowedlge at the appropriate time.

We absorb more than just the learning message. It's the learning message and background stimuli (noise, sights, smells, emotions, etc.). When it comes down to retrieving the information, memories of background stimuli can also trigger the retreival event. Multiple cues (triggers) improve the retreival results.

A practical example: you're in the kitchen and remember to get something out of the living room. You go to the living room and forget want you needed. So you go back to the kitchen and remember what you needed in the living room. Your background stimulus (location) triggered the memory.

Move from topic-based to situation-based design. By aligning the situational cues to real-world events, the retrieval is more effective.

Summary

• By aligning contexts, we can create spontaneous remembering
• Start designing differently - based on what learners should DO and not KNOW
• Benefits = more remembering, better results
  

ID Zone: Is Rapid e-Learning a Myth?

Tom Kuhlmann, Articulate
Author of the Rapid E-Learning Blog

Finally, after reading his blog for months, I get to put a face to a name!

Rapid isn't a myth, it 's a reality. Its' not PPT to Flash. (Bad PPT = bad e-learning). Rapid eLearning is the allowing the software to automate the production process for you.

It's not how great your tools are, is how great you're getting the information to the learner.

10 (really 4) you need to know about e-learning:

1. Types of authoring tools
   Form based
   Freeform
   Screencast
2. You are the bridge between the client and the learner
   You need to create that environment that will help the learner actually learn.
   
3. Make rapid elearning your default position
   Start thinking that that's the approach you'll take. Then as the needs presents itself, look for hybrid, then custom solutions. Save your Flash designers' skill sets (and budgets) for more complex, challenging projects.
4. There's more to it than the course
   

Check out some examples:

• CPR Demo
  Learner has the option to get info linearly, or jump into the activity.
• JustLeapIn.com
  3D Virtual reality tool that can be imported into PPT for a more engaging exprience
• Tinychat
  Embed a chat room to allow learners (or maybe even a SME) to interact real time Creates sort of a blended-learning environment

You can include interactive development, despite the limitaitons you might have with the tools you have.

AG09 - Keynote Speaker

Jeff Howe, Wired Magazine

Crowdsourcing: Why the power of the crowd is drivin the future of business

Jeff's video explanation of Crowdsourcing:
The internet created a virtual crowd that comes together through shared interests. When a company takes a job that was once performed by employees and changes it to an open call, undefined position to the general public. Photography is an example. Digital SLR, Photoshop & the Internet make amateur photographers now providig their work to stock photo sites. These groups come up as organicaly by people formally know as customers. Online communities are the building block of crowdsourcing. Shows that people can come together and create organized units.

The Warped Tour grabbed his interest on how the participants have a creative relationship with the tools to create their art. The art isn't about the technology but how the 'kids' used it to seemlessly create thir own works. It's not about content. It's about everyone having a changed relationship with their products. There is a blurring of the lines of producer and consumer.

Example: Threadless.com. User created designs for t-shirts. Then, users can vote on t-shirt designs. The tasks are things that can happen in 30 seconds. Revenue exploded. What started as an idea to please their designer friends, the site creators are now 'doing very well for themselves." What does the crowd do for Treadless?

• gives cheep labor by creating the designs
  
• designers become pseudo-famous because their designs are everywhere
• marketing & advertising (Threadless Street Team) Threadless never spent $ on an advertising budget becaues their users do all the free advertising.
  
• instant metrics for consumer demand
  

Example: iStockphoto.com. User genereated photos for general use. Pay by credits, not by photo. Created to benefit the community. Photographers have a place to publish their work. Designers have a place to purchase cheep photos.

Cardinal Rule of Crowdsourcing:
Ask not what your community can do for you -- ask what you can do for your community.

... left early to attend ID Zone.

Designing Scenario-based eLearning

Today was the first day of the eLearning Guild's Annual Gathering 2009. I took the Designing Scenario-based eLearning certificate program.

Tom Eucker, a colleague of Ruth Clark started off talking about his experience, then brought up this statistic:
The US spent $134 Billion on training in 2007! (ASTD: 2008 report) Most of that (62.2%) is salaries, development, admin, etc. Classroom training has been leading the charge, but technology is rapidly gaining ground. Most of the technology has been self-study. But classroom will never go away. There's always the human element that people like to be around other people to get their perspective. Most relevant in complex and deep topics.

Info

• Inform: to present information
• Perform: to build skills
• near transfer - the training is similar to real life; precedural; routine tasks
• far transfer - learn a generic ability, but it can be applied to different situations; strategic skills; problem solving

Scenario-based learning is geared for far transfer learning.
There is a shift happening from near-transfer to far-transfer situations. Routine tasks are being done by machines. Workers are being asked to do more problem-solving, troubleshooting tasks.

Three course architectures:

1. Receptive
   
• sit back and absorb
• lecture; video documentary
• best to inform learners.
• appropriate for anyone
2. Directive
• bottom up; short lessons
• rule/example/practice + feedback
• most software training is directive
• best for near-transfer goals
• appropriate for novices
3. Guided Discovery
   
• problem-centered
• inductive approach
• scenario-based learning
• best for far-transfer goals
• best for learners who have some prior knowledge

Three views of learning

1. Transmisssion
• absorbtion teaching view
• Receptive
2. Behavioral
• instructive teaching view (provide examples & drill)
• directive
3. Knowledge construction
• inductive teaching view
• guided discovery
• provide learners with the skill to create their own connections in their head so they can recreate the correct response later on.

Three levels of knowledge:

• explicit (stuff you can read in a book, take a class, etc)
  
• implicit (learn by doing; the experts know the problems that novices won't know. Basis for scenario based learning)
  
• tacit (subconscionous knowledge where the person doesn't know how he knows)
  

SBL & Architectures

• Directive
• Guidelines -> examples -> scenario
• Guided discovery
• scenario -> derive guilelines

Experiential Learning

1. Experience (provide examples) [inductive approach: 1+2] SBL
2. Process (develop rules)
3. Generalize (create rules & examples) [deductive approach: 3+4]
4. Apply (do it)

SBL Synonyms

• problem based
• goal based
• scenario based
• cognative apprenticeships
• games / simulations
• cased based
• experiential
• challenge based
• role play
• interactive storytelling

Key Features of SBL

• evident problem / trigger event / job assignment
• lessons provide case/background information
• manage flounder (of content, not technology) with guidance (let them go down the wrong track for only a short time)
• access to knowledge and skills (experts, consultants)
• feedback provided
• intrinsic - the result of decision making built into the scenario
• instructional - popup text to work the scenario
• time compression
• mistakes are ok - you learn more from the mistakes you make rather than the successes you achieve.
• holistic vs. linear (choose your own adventure)
• inductive vs. instructive
• opportunities for reflection

Design Features (posted separately at tinyurl.com/ag09-p1 )

1. Begin with an authentic job problem
1. job specific
2. linkd to learnign objectives
3. designed at the right level of complexity
4. incorporates procedure, knowledge and starategic elements of the job
2. provide acces to case related info
1. job realistic
2. easy to find and access
3. reflect normal job sources
4. linked to case objectives
3. manage flounder factor
1. closed (more guidance) vs. open (many choices) design
2. simple to complex problems (give them feeling of success to start)
3. provide guidance
1. instructor
2. collaborative groups
3. model solutions
4. worksheets
5. pedagogical agents
4. provide access to knowledge and skills
1. traditional tutorials
2. online experts
3. links to docs and presentations
4. examples and models of best practices
5. email to instructor/coach (to get to the tacit knowledge that can't come from the training)
   
5. plan scenario feedback
1. peer comparisons
2. model answers
3. intrinsic-consequential
4. instructional
5. expert review & comments

Differences between text, video and animation in learning

• Animation / Video returned higher test scores in application test and their satisfaction
• so long as the animation/video has a distinct purpose.
  

THere's a balance to the complexity of a SBL

• narrow scope / broad scope
  
• directive architecture / guided discovery
  
• problems as a trigger to thinking / problems as enging
  
• low-end media (text/graphics) / video; animations
  
• behaviorial task analysis / cognitive task analysis
  
• branched scenarios / open simulation
  
• defined outcomes / variable outcomes
  
• instructor lead training / e-learning
  

Design Plan for SBL

1. task deliverable (learning objective)
   
1. what is the desired final outcome
2. trigger event
1. what initiates the problem? What's the storyline to start it?
3. case data (givens)
1. what kind of data will be provided
2. where is it located
4. feedback
1. intrinsic
2. instructional
5. reflection opportunity
1. process comparison
2. rationally comparison
3. feedback - replay
   

Program Design

• Branched scenario
• closed design (fixed set of decisions and responses)
  
• choose your own adventure
• good for linear scenarios
  
• MEnu
• list (navigation) of all elements available to the learner
• non-linear
• Full simulation
• open design
• sequence doesn't matter
• simulation engine determines situations and outcomes
  
• Virtual World (Second Life)
  
• open ended

Answering the call

Last night President Obama gave his first State of the Nation address to congress. One of the three areas his administration will invest in to secure our nation is education.

In a global economy, where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity. It is a prerequisite....So tonight I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be a community college or a four-year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma.

This is good news to me because this means that there is a place for me and the work I want to do. My challenge is now finding how I fit in.

Doing More with Less

I went to the Mid-NJ ASTD Meeting today to attend the presentation "Doing More with Less: Adding Value in a Turbulent Economy" presented by Michael Schiavoni & Nicholas Russo.

Here is a presentation of my summary.

War Games

The NBC Nightly news ran this story about an Army recruiting site in the Franklin Mills Mall in Philadelphia, PA. But it's not your typical recruitment center. It's a place where people can play video games -- war simulation games -- to experience the front lines of an Army unit in a war zone.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

As a marketing tool, I think it's brilliant. It targets young adults who are into video games. The facility has cutting-edge technology and is pretty much an opportunity to 'try before you buy'.

As a learning tool, I also think it has many of the characteristics mentioned in my previous post:

• Personalized and goal based - Individuals are part of a team to accomplish a mission. This parallels the goals and missions defined by military units.
  
• Coaching and immediate feedback - I'm not sure if there is coaching, but there is definitely immediate feedback based on the learner's actions. You can see if your shot was on target, or if you are not careful and get killed.
  
• Flexibility - The outcome of the simulation is based on the learner's actions. The simulation will be different each time it is used. Just as in combat, a soldiers actions have consequences and they must learn how to act and at what appropriate time.
  
• Simple, intuitive navigation - There isn't time to sit down and read the instructions. Just like in combat, learners must be able to hit the ground running.
  
• Hard fun - Because it is a simulation, learners have the chance to make mistakes, see the outcome, overcome challenges and try again.
  

What are your thoughts about the Army Experience? Do you see the learning value is these simulations and video games?

Hard Fun

It's time to come back to this blog. I'm on my last class for my masters degree and I think I can at least use my final project as a focus.

But in the meantime, I came across Rick Nigol's blog entry on what lessons he learned from using Wii Fit. He matched them to the same goals that should designers should strive for in creating e-learning courses.

• Personalized and goal based
• Coaching and immediate feedback
• Flexibility
• Simple, intuitive navigation
• Hard fun

It's important to me to be continually reminded on what elements make for a good e-learning course. I'm not doing any ID work at my current job -- yet, but I can see where the deficiencies are in the projects that are being developed. So I learn from examples and non-examples.

I especially like the last bullet, hard fun.

Learning something doesn't need to be a chore or so boring where the only 'interaction' is clicking on a "Continue" button. Learning should be challenging and relevant. It should make you think and not be afraid to fail. You should be able to take whatever facts and concepts that are presented and use them in a meaningful manner. It shouldn't be easy, because face it, life never is. But it should be fun.

I will keep this phrase in my mind as I start to develop my own courses.