My Learning Blog

Socialize Informal Learning

2011-04-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

I created this deck on a sunny afternoon while scanning my neighbourhood library - trying in vain to find out how we can make corporate learning and development more relevant, fast-paced, and fun.

I am not sure if this presenation meets those goals but I sure enjoyed putting my thoughts together.

Social learning 101

View more presentations from arad8

A constant tussle

2010-09-07T00:44:00.000-07:00

At work, I like to take time to think, reflect, and then respond to an issue. In urgent situations, my focus just gets sharper but I still manage to carve time for reflection. I have always believed quick hasty responses impact efficiency as they lead to communication overheads either now or later. However, these days I have been wondering if this strategy is dated.

I find that while I am trying to articulate different aspects of an impending project issue, another colleague will sometimes race ahead with a quick (often half-baked) response (mostly including a senior to the communication). Sometimes, reporting managers expect one-minute responses. In my current project, I often receive comments, feedback, and suggestions from the Wikipedia volunteers. I find 60 minutes too long a response time for these interactions. By that time, the discussion sometimes gets more complex because of incorrect assumptions and misinformation shared by others on a public forum.

In social, crowd sourcing models, since people expect quicker responses, it is probably smart to respond fast as well. When you respond quickly, you have better control and influence on the discussion (and hence your project). If certain facts are incorrectly understood by the group, you are able to immediately step in with accurate/up-to-date information.

This is how I currently cut my response time:

1. Control the scope of the response. I ask myself if the recipients really care about a detailed response.

2. Respond with high level project scope/design messages. I find this information suffices most queries.

3. If I know I need more time, I send out a "I am working on it"/"I will get back to you" message. Yes, I still value reflection. A response ought to be worth everyone's time.

4. Follow up on #3. I need to be trusted so that my projects succeed.

Obviously the above strategy is function of the workplace culture. But now I know how to cut out my response time to 5 minutes for most of my project communications.

Using Wikis: Project Process (Details)

2010-08-18T12:29:00.000-07:00

Content collection, draft, stakeholder review

Contact the sources/SME who will help you define the key talking points
Create the structure aligned to similar deliverables already created
Create your first draft
Validate the talking points and the draft with the key stakeholder for text content
Clean up the content with the new data from volunteers and the stakeholder review
Send the wikipage to the copyeditor for the first review

Note: Although, I prefer the industry standard of one copyediting cycle per product, for the Bookshelf project I added two copyediting reviews because I had concerns around quality of the final product. Here are the reasons for that concern: 1.In the Wikipedia/Wikimedia world, everyone is encouraged to access the page and edit content to help improve the article. 2. The project team, including the writers and copyeditor are geographically distributed or working in a remote setting. 3. English is a second language for a couple of writers and a key content stakeholder.

Copyediting

Ensure the writer follows the writing guidelines. Help the writer understand by explaining what and why the change was made so it is easier for the next time
Ensure that the deliverable is aligned to the design standards established for the project
Contact the Project Manager to define and establish standards for new styles
Best practice: Writer to not touch the content till copyediting is complete
Best practice:Writer to direct the community to Discussion page for any other edits or comments (and not edit the page directly while the copyeditor is reviewing the page)

Final stakeholder review

Give a heads up to the key stakeholder on the day when you will have the content ready for review (maybe a week in advance)
Best practice: Highlight specific areas you want the key stakeholder to focus on. For example, you added a new topic since the last revision.
Ensure that your deliverable is ready, final, and of a quality that you might want it to be printed (you do not want to change the text too much once the key stakeholder has given a final approval)
Implement stakeholder review and send for copyediting

Using Wikis: Project Process

2010-08-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

In my current role as the Project Manager, Bookshelf (Wikimedia Foundation), we use wikis (obviously!) for project management, content development, and testing. As we charged ahead with the first deliverable, I found myself struggling to define a project process that included the Wikipedia community (particularly in content development) and manage risks associated with everyone editing the same content with the need to control the overall product quality and minimize communication overheads between teams.

Here is the summary of the overall project process that I created and currently use (think funnel):
Step 1: Content collection, where everyone is welcome to edit, contribute, and help us define the content elements for that deliverable. The project team needs your perspective and knowledge (and access to information sources)
Step 2: Structure and initial drafts, where the page is edited by the copyeditor, writer, and the key stakeholders. Everyone is welcome to review the page but please use Discussion to post your comments and ideas.
Step 3: At this final stage, only the copyeditor and the lead writer edit the page.
For all the stages, you will find the writers/leads on the deliverable communicating with you using a banner at the top of the page.

Why this process?
We are trying a fine balance between leveraging crowd knowledge and ensuring high quality of deliverables.

Owners

Project process, schedule, managing risks and stakeholder expectations: Project Manager
Deliverables: Lead assigned to each solution
Wrting styleguide: Copyeditor
Design: Graphical designer

Gaming Techniques for Fund Raising?

2010-06-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

Check out how Wikimedia Foundation used gaming techniques for fund raising.

This technique can so easily be extended to make learning fun and encourage students to complete their learning path for a particular competency.

Job Aid for Coaching and Feedback

2009-09-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

I created this job aid as part of my job application with one of the Fortune 10 companies. This was one of the steps in the selection process. I moved to the next level. Check out. I must say, I am quite proud of this job aid because I think it creatively blends various management and leadership theories to create a useful tool for the managers. This is four days of stimulating work. I loved it! I even worked through my birthday for this document.

I did not get the job though. I lost my nerve during my interview with the hiring manager's manager. The sixth and the final round of selection. I guess I tried too hard and balanced too many things that day for a 15 minute call. I honestly believe the decision was unfair, but then who's listening?

Web 2.0 Learning: twitter

2009-07-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

Last month, I read with deep interest Time cover story on How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live. In an example, the writer described how twitter's platform lent itself successfully for an open conversation during a conference. This got me thinking how twitter can be used for learning.

Here are some raw ideas at a tactical level:

Reminders to complete preassessments. The tweet should have link to the preassessment/prework. It does not matter if the link is behind the firewall. Only authorized users in your organization/clients will be able to access the link.
Reminders to complete evaluation questionnaire. Again, the tweet has the survey url.
Tip/tool/shortcut of the day.

At a strategic level, twitter can be used to create web2.0 learning, in real terms

Attendees define the course content

L&D* creates twitter space for a particular learning program with access restricted to learners
Instructor sends a welcome tweet with a wiki** link to a draft course content
The learners visit the wiki site and collaborate to define the course content for that session
On the specified date, the instructor harvests the inputs to create a customize learning session

Attendees seek clarifications

Learners use their restricted learning area on twitter to ask questions
Instructor reviews the question tweets during logical breaks in the course progression. This provides a structure to the question-answer (Q&A) session
Instructor collapses two similar questions, adding further efficiencies to the the Q&A process
Everyone gets a chance to ask a question at any time and when it comes to their mind

Attendees complete the course

Instructor sends the wiki location for the next level course (if it exists) content collaboration
Learners tweet for any followup questions
Instructor and learners provide links to white papers and other related content over an extended time period. This provides for more immersive learning
Learners tweet the instructor for any questions while implementing the training solution in real life
Instructor uses the learning space for subsequent sessions and so learners continue to learn from each other, revise the content, and the instructor has wealth of feedback data for enhancing subsequent course structure. Everyone is happy.

These set of ideas should work well for both ILT and virtual learning environment. Think about it!
I liked on this blogpost on the topic:
Twitter: Ephermal Learning Tool - Focussed on K12 but the ideas are very easily transferred to adult learning.

*L&D= Learning and development team, instructor, coordinator, CEO, CTO, janitor, whoever...
**wiki= I prefer wikis for the stated purpose since they are more efficient for online collaboration in this particular case. However, twitter could be used as well.

It's my downtime

2009-06-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well, so it happened to me as well. Bad global markets, poor financial results, deep budgets cuts, my position ethered (just coined this word. I like the sound of it)! Anyway, so here I am looking for work. While I want the wait to end, the wait has been pretty good...really! A gorgeous son, California spring/summer, camera, and MacBook with its photo and video editing capabilities, need to take their rightful place in this feel good feeling. Stuff I do these days:

I catch up on the latest trends in performance consulting, organizational learning and development, and instructional design.
I try out new tools for learning solution development.
I enjoy blue sky thinking on the merits and application of each tool in an overall learning intervention.
Over time, I now recognize learning leaders as people. One leader I admire tremendously follows me on Twitter!! Cool!
I sit back, review, and analyze my professional life, and think about the next steps.
I hone my selling skills as I get more entrepreneurial.
I meet new people, revive old relations, and realize how important others are to my success.
I accept that not all people will help me when I need.
I have renewed admiration for professionals in corporate America who work, survive this tough market, and still know how to enjoy the not quite welcome times.
And finally, I totally get what Obama meant when he said, keep building your body of work - it is never enough.

Competency Development Formats

2009-05-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

I have finally uploaded the competency development formats for everyone's access.

Click here to access the files.

Click here for the related blogpost.

Elementary Mobile Learning

2009-05-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

We have used mobile learning as just in time learning for our sales team i.e. prior to the ILT on a new product. The learning level was basic i.e. Knowledge in the Bloom's taxonomy. The important design criteria we considered while creating mlearning modules were:

1. Decide the family of devices you will use it for - the platform and technologies for various devices (even within the same brand) are different. So one needs to be very specific about the devices for which the solution is being designed. This turns out to be the biggest challenge for mobile learning solutions.

2. Identify the precise learning objective. What do you want to achieve from the solution? No really, what? considering both elearning and ILT would be more detailed and thorough for the learners.

3. Ensure the images and content elements are light. Obviously! Imagine having to wait for 15 seconds for an interaction download on a small screen!

4. Plan on short learning modules. Maybe 10-12 screens at the most. It is my assumption that the attention span gets shorter as the devises get smaller.

5. End it with a short 1-3 questions which can be reported to the LMS. You want to integrate learning from different media as much as possible.

I believe blended learning solutions work best since each media brings its own unique attributes. The important thing is to repeat key learning points and move up the Bloom's taxonomy.

It is a complex and potentially expensive challenge to integrate mobile learning for all learners because of the large variance in mobile device technologies. One of the solution to consider in such a scenario is to allow mobile users to access information from a web location (rather than download it on their devices). That might work and could be a relatively less expensive.

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Added on May 24, 2009: Click here for a rich discussion on this topic at Linkedin. You will need to log into your Linkedin account.

Localization: Design Parameters

2008-12-19T22:45:00.000-08:00

If localization is the key part of the project, as designers, it is important to know how will we localize? Would we outsource the solution to a vendor or build it inhouse. For larger projects, typically, English language is done inhouse and the solution is outsourced to translation companies for other languages. If the solution is smaller, say the content needs to be localized in one or two other languages, organizations might want to bring the localization experts inhouse so that the teams can work closely. Here are some general guidelines I learnt while working on localization projects:

General

Think globally.
Keeping data and functionality location independent.
Different languages convey the same thought differently. Also, some languages are longer than others. Therefore, always, always, always leave room for text expansion in the page while designing space for text in buttons, menu items and paragraphs.
Stick to the examples that have similar interpretation globally. For example, corporate scenarios, basic infographics (e.g. road symbols), and forces of nature. Avoid text and graphics of sports (rugby, baseball), gestures (thumbs up) and food do not work well for international examples. Also avoid numeric representation of dates.
Avoid cultural references.
Avoid elements that a learner might associate with a specific country. For example flags, maps, and currency.

Graphics

Avoid graphics with text. It is difficult to localize such content since it involves editing the image source files.
Create multiple layer PSDs for all graphics. This allows the graphic artist to copy the localized text and paste it into the appropriate layer without cleaning text off graphics or changing the font. (Remember: Separate data and presentation)
Blur text in images to make them unreadable if it does not need to be read by the learner. For example, pictures of whiteboards. The graphic artist might try to translate the text which would unnecessarily add to the cost of the project.
Use short sentences in graphics to make it easier to localize into double-byte text like Chinese, Korean and Japanese. Since spaces between words are used less frequently in these languages, it becomes a challenge to accommodate the text in the graphic.

Text

Identify text really needs to be localized and for which market.
Plan for updates to the text, if needed. Are the updates geography specific?
On buttons and labels allow for 75% text expansion, and for paragraphs of text allow for 30% text expansion.
If the space does not allow for expansion, then the localization graphic artist must change the tracking or font size to fit the text. This can cause problems and reduce the quality of a graphic.
Use standard fonts. Certain fonts do not support foreign characters.

Back Now...

2008-12-17T03:29:00.000-08:00

It's been a long while since I last blogged! So much has happened since...I lost my father who I was very close to and whose passing away I am still to come to terms with, I became a mother of a beautiful baby boy, I moved overseas, changed my home a couple of times, got a new job and am now on the verge of being laid off. Phew! We will see how the last one turns out. For now, I should blog more regularly...atleast better than what I've been doing for the last one year or so.

Another Leadership Model

2007-09-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

Develop Vision>Share Goals>Gain Support>Deliver Success

Simple!

Being a Situational Leader

2007-09-22T23:31:00.000-07:00

To direct, coach, support or delegate based on the commitment and competence of the team member in that situation, seems to work for me. Over the last couple of years I have consciously practiced situational leadership model with the teams I have led. My ultimate objective is to be able to delegate a slice of work and get quality output. Once there, the team member moves to higher challenges and we go through few of the other phases again. So far, I have had a little over 1 percent attrition. I guess some of this success could be owed to the situational leadership model.

Likewise, I feel more motivated when my manager is able to assess my level of commitment and competence for a given task and align his/her response accordingly.

Situational leadership model really seeks to analyze a given situation as a function of the person's will and capacity to perform the task. Because of this reason, this model finds its application outside the professional environment as well.

Reminders! Reminders! Reminders!

2007-04-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

I have primarily worked in custom project environment. I moved to organizational learning environment - a support function only last year. The transition from seemingly efficient custom project environment to a support function can be tough.

One of my biggest issue is having to remind people all the time - remind the business managers to respond to mails or about a meeting, remind the trainees to attend the training sessions, remind team members to complete their tasks, remind vendors to include all hidden costs or send faculty profiles. Sending reminders is such a waste of time and mindspace!

If this post sounds like I am complaining...well I am.

I am PMP certified!!

2007-03-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

I passed my certification examination today...it feels great!

Funny lesson

2007-02-27T03:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was reminded of an hilarious but powerful lesson on learning solutions design that I learned many years ago at my workplace. At that time, I had a habit of changing my computer wallpaper on a daily basis. My wallpapers or probably my habit typically attracted a lot of attention. One day a team member told me that she too wanted to learn how to place personal pictures as wallpaper.

To keep it simple, I told her verbally--select a picture, right click the mouse, select Set as Wallpaper option... that's all! A couple of minutes later, I sensed frustration from my colleague's desk and so I went by to check out. She had taken a physical picture of her family, placed the mouse physically on top of the picture, right clicked the mouse and wondered why it didn't work!

After digesting what I saw, I demonstrated the steps for her. I returned back to my seat with an experience that besides making me smile every time also compels me to remove any scope of content misinterpretation based on learner's prior experience.

Link Performance and Talent Management

2007-01-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

Most organizations seem to have minimal linkage between the employee development goals agreed at the end of the performance review and talent management handled by the training teams throughout the year. Any attempt to link the two is either met with resistance from the employees (for example, line managers might not consider this activity important enough to allocate time) or is too complex to handle operationally (for example, it might be tough to come to an agreement on various overlapping human resources and training policies).

I find this situation surprising. Development goals seem to be one of the most viable inputs for drawing up training plans especially since employees are typically more motivated to pursue these goals. To the set of trainings thus identified, if we map the trainings specific to the account competency development plan, we have a unified training plan for an employee for that year (or any duration specific to the organization).

The above training plan integrates the employees individual development goals with the organizational competency development plan. As a result, I can bet it would help improve employee learnability and overall motivation. The organization would correspondingly enjoy improved productivity and hopefully lesser attrition.

How to effectively train an ID

2006-12-28T09:54:00.000-08:00

Planning

Determine the recruitment objectives.
Identify the required and desired candidate profile.
Determine the required personal attributes of the candidates (I place weightage on willingness to learn and share).

Design and Develop

Components of the training (or induction) program:

Corporate orientation: Corporate values, vision, goals, structure, teams, market and competitors.
Organization orientation: Various teams within the organization that the employee will work in (for example, project management, quality, engineering services, learning strategy, visual strategy), organizational structure, values, vision, goals, structure, market and competitors of the organization. #1 and #2 could be merged for smaller companies.
Team orientation: Reporting structure, team interaction, roles and responsibilities and expectations.
Project orientation: Customer orientation, introduction and usage of tools (content management system, authoring tools, time tracking, bug tracking, graphical editing tools), templates (scripting templates) and common mistakes.
ID specific: Scripting workshop covering best practices, styleguide, classroom exercise and an intensive assignment to be completed individually (in consultation with peers, if required). The assignments are evaluated with the entire team as a group. Additionally, a workshop that covers tools and techniques to scope individual course component can also be conducted.
Values and Ethics: Acceptable behaviors, conflict management and values that define the team.

The above components can be accommodated in a timeframe of approximately two weeks (10 working days). For lesser duration, I reduce the number of components or the depth of the topics. However, in any combination, I ensure #6 is accommodated since I consider it to be the most important.

Implementation

The topics are allocated to different experts within the organization.
Dates are identified. Times for training are determined with an objective to create an interesting mix of topics. Presenter availability is factored into this mix.
Once the employees are ready to join the team, the point of contact welcomes them, provides an overview of the training plan and distributes a copy of the schedule. This point of contact is available to the employees for any questions during the training period.
The employees are made responsible for completing the entire program in the stipulated timeframe. They are required to handle minor changes to the training plan by themselves. For example, if there is a last minute unavailability of a presenter, the employees need to schedule the session with the presenter for the next available slot.

Evaluation

Collect feedback from the employee either formally using a feedback form or informally, say, over a cup of coffee.
Update the training program with the inputs received.

NOTE: This post is created on request from an anonymous reader (see comments for Seat Time for an Elearning Course). You probably know of smarter ways to train an ID, it would be great if you could share them here.

Seat Time for an Elearning Course

2006-12-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

This post is in response to a request from elearningtyro. I hope you find it useful.

What is seat time?
Seat time is variously described as:

* Amount to time a learner spends to read through each page within the course (Does that include all the related tools and supplementary document? Does the learner need to read every glossary term? What if the learner already knows the terms?)
* Amount of time taken by a learner to click every link within the course (What if the learner clicks the link but does not read it? )
* Amount of time a learner takes to complete the course

How is it calculated?
One of the ways I know (If you know any other, please feel free to leave a comment):
A sample from the target audience is selected to complete the course. The time taken by each is recorded. Seat time is the percentile time that approximately 80 percent of the learners take to complete the course.

When was it used?
In early elearning days, seat time was taken as a metric to charge the clients. However, there were some issues in using this approach. For one, different learners have different learning speeds. Additionally, complex interactions take longer to produce and need more resources even though it takes lesser time to read or review these sections. For example, simulations or game-based learning. Finally, usage of multimedia for example, sound, video animation make elearning more expensive to produce. As a result, today most elearning companies charge their clients on the effort taken to develop the course or curriculum rather than the seat time. Different companies have different methods and standards to calculate this effort.

Related link
http://internettime.com/blog/archives/000327.html

Success story: Former employee profiled on CNBC Young Turks

2006-12-08T05:29:00.000-08:00

While watching Young Turks on CNBC, I found a profile particularly fascinating-

Ayyappa Nagubandi, 28, started his professional life as a security guard. He joined Satyam Computers as a receptionist but soon discovered his talent for web design. He was provided opportunities within Satyam to grow as a web designer. By the time he left the cafter six years, he was a team lead and had supported clients in the US, Singapore and Europe. He left Satyam to launch his own company, TrulyIntelligent Technologies. NowPos Online Services (shortened form of Now Possible), the company’s first subsidiary, offers free voicemail over the Internet, aimed at users in developing countries with connectivity but little literacy. Tens of thousands of users in countries like Vietnam, China, and South Korea have already registered for the NowPos service (www.NowPos.com). NowPos was rated by Frost and Sullivan as one of the top 20 Broadband Innovations in Asia Pacific.

Ayyappa Nagubandi’s journey from being an office boy (correction based on inputs from Ayyappa. See comment.) and a receptionist to being a founder of an organization with cutting edge technology is motivating. However, what impressed me more was Satyam’s culture of encouraging talent and providing growth opportunities for all associates across the board.

What I will remember most about 2006?

2006-12-06T06:40:00.000-08:00

Internet
Youtube, Second Life, Mozilla Firefox, Google Calendar, Google Spreadsheet, Yahoo! Audibles, Yahoo! Answers, Internet connection on cell phones, Internet content on cell phones, proliferation of webinars and webcasts and strategies used to accommodate geographically distributed audience, mySpace, Flickr...realizing that the world is indeed smaller than ever.

Professional growth
Innovative learning solutions blending traditional classroom, elearning, webcasts, coaching and mentoring, competency development for a large (450+) technical workforce, facilitating training sessions, PMP preparation and exam.

Besides the profession
European holiday, swimming, interior design, blogging, Internet games.

PMI Visits My Organization

2006-12-04T06:26:00.000-08:00

A couple of months back, a member from the PMI organization visited my office campus. His goal was to collect inputs and feedback on PMP certification from various organizations across India. In Bangalore, he visited only one other organization besides my own.

Apparently, India has the fastest growing PMP certified population. I also found out that my organization has the largest number of PMPs any organization has in the world.

Among other things, the one input that cropped up repeatedly was that despite being PMP certified, many professionals were unable to manage projects successfully. I felt PMP certification should include an interview round for those who qualify the written test to ensure quality.

It was an interesting discussion since it included employees of different levels who brought out varying perspectives. I am curious to know when and what changes will finally be rolled out in India by PMI.

I am an ESTJ

2006-11-28T04:45:00.001-08:00

I took the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test today as part of a train-the-trainer session. According to the test, I am Extraverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging (ESTJ). ESTJs are also called The Guardian or The Supervisor.

A brief description:
ESTJs tend to be energetic, outspoken, friendly, and productive. They make sure that things get done, having firm standards that assist them in running things. They are often campus leaders and prefer traditional leadership styles. They can achieve a tremendous amount when given room to be in charge and when others cooperate. Their talents lie in bringing order, structure, and completion. Efficient organizers, ESTJs are adept at getting things done efficiently while taking care of routine details. They are opinionated, honest, and direct to the point, sometimes being too blunt. Other words to describe an ESTJ include practical, realistic, matter-of-fact, traditional, and accountable.

Detailed descriptions:
http://www.personalitypage.com/ESTJ.html
http://www.typelogic.com/estj.html
http://www.e-mbti.com/estj.php

Other than a few exceptions, I am pretty much an ESTJ.

Best Practices: Using Webex for Online Collaboration

2006-11-28T03:59:00.000-08:00

Find out if all members of the audience know how to use Webex. If not, train them on the basics and the specific features they would need to use to collaborate in your session. For example, if they need to use the whiteboard, show them how prior to the session.

Send the URL and log in steps prior to the meeting.

Teleconference details (if required) should be sent along with the log in information. This ensures that all relevant information pertaining to the session is provided in a single email.

Keep the password for the session short, easy to remember and easy to spell out over phone.

Advise the clients that installation of Webex software would take about 2-3 minutes before they are initiated into the session.

Be well-prepared to conduct the session in the absence of the Webex tool:

Plan for technical snags (which occur occasionally in online collaboration tools) by sending the presentation and supporting material to the audience ahead of the meeting.
Be sure to have contact numbers of the key audience members for easy coordination.

Sometimes the presentation progresses at different speeds in different locations. For example, the presenter in San Francisco might be at slide 9, the client in New York City at slide 8 and the team in Bangalore at slide 4. Keep this possibility in mind while making the presentation and while moving from one slide to the next. Ensure your audience is always at the same page (literally).

Keep the documents you want to share ready.

Close your chat windows to avoid distraction while presenting (you can chat with your audience from the Webex environment).

Remember to close unnecessary windows especially if you plan to share your desktop.

Record the session, if required. Make sure your clients know that you are recording before the session begins. Recording sessions in Webex is fairly simple. For many of my projects, the alpha and beta testing sessions were recorded because we wanted to thoroughly cover all client feedback (This recording was always in addition to the client input recorded manually in a standard excel sheet format.)

Courseware Localization

2006-11-20T23:45:00.000-08:00

Brainvisa's RapideL product enables SCORM compliant rapid eLearning development in 22 languages. No, I am not advertising RapileL since I haven't used the product. I am just happy to learn that there are localization products focussed on elearning in the market.

A few years ago, I worked on an elearning course that needed to be localized in 15 different languages. This project not only threw up design challenges in building a course in multiple languages and geographies (which was fun) but also brought in a sizeable communication overhead in working with the external vendor.

With localization products, hopefully the focus would remain on designing sexy courseware in multiple languages.

My Current Work Profile

2006-11-16T06:17:00.000-08:00

In my current work profile, I handle training challenges that fast-growing technology companies face in terms of upskilling and reskilling. As a training manager, I consult, market and implement various learning solutions within the organization. The learning interventions cover a range of solutions such as elearning, classroom training, blended learning, mentoring, coaching and on-the-job training. I get a realtime view on how different learning solutions are received in an actual work environment and its impact on the target audience.

Informal Training within the Organization

2006-11-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

I realized that the informal trainings/knowledge transfer sessions in my organization are sometimes not effective despite the best intention of the facilitator. I find that many presenters (irrespective of their seniority) need help in structuring their training sessions.

I have decided to offer help to those who are interested. I just need to warn those who come to be a little open about the inputs they receive-I tend to be very detailed in my review. I was helping an employee today and I found that he was getting rather defensive as I went about giving my recommendations on the changes he could make. I am curious to find out how his session went.

Learning Retention

2006-11-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

It is well known that active learners learn better. More the number of sense organs employed in learning, better the retention. People generally remember:
10 percent of what they read
20 percent of what they hear
30 percent of what they see
50 percent of what they hear and see
70 percent of what they say and write
90 percent of what they do and talk about

This thought is exemplified by the unique learning style of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. He had very little formal schooling and was mostly self-taught. Abraham Lincoln read aloud the newspaper everyday (see, speak, hear). This habit enabled him to remember what he read, improve his language skills and overcome his speech disorder to become one of the best orators of all times.

Things to do during Downtime

2006-10-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

One of my friends once made grilled sandwiches for the entire team in her downtime. She became our hero since she saved us from the (company provided) oily snacks we would've otherwise been served. The sandwiches were terrific! However, making sandwiches is not really my way of using downtime. Here is what I would rather do-

Improve my academic qualifications.
Enhance knowledge: training, research, company resources.
Get to know more people in the organization.
Learn more about the organization.
Handle technical snags, machine upgrades or software instalation on hold.
Blog.
Get in touch with old friends.
Volunteer help.
Start a project using the tools and resources at my disposal.
Research on companies in the same line of business and follow the industry trend.
Use company's recreational facilities.
Participate in events organized by the company.

Case Study: Training a Technical Workforce

2006-09-28T07:27:00.000-07:00

Scenario

$80 million triple platinum account—the largest in the organization
450+ employees
Broad technical groups: Three—SAP, Datawarehousing/BusinessIntelligence(DW&BI) and Telecom
Roles: Diverse and in many cases overlapping—team member, module lead, team lead, project lead, project manager, program manager, account manager, analyst, delivery manager, director, consultant, senior consultant and principal consultant.
Employee distribution:
-Onsite:Offshore = 40:60
-Billable:Non-billable = 85:15
-Telecom:SAP:DW&BI= 25:35:40
-Permanent:Subcontractor:Contractor = 80:10:10
-Team member, module lead, team lead, project lead account form almost 50 percent of all billable workforce.

Problem statement

Training a diverse technical workforce

Success Parameters

Global reach
Number of associates trained
Time taken to fill the skills gap based on changing business requirement
Ability to transfer training knowledge to work environment

Learning Solution

I am following a multipronged approach. As far as within my control, I try to provide all the solutions to all the employees distributed globally:

-E-learning: The preferred recommendation for onsite employees, if thetraining requirement is immediate and if the project team is cost sensitive(Please note that the elearning courses are available free of cost across the organization). E-learning is also recommended if the employees need to build a skillset without taking time off their demanding projects.

-Classroom: Preferred solution when the employees to be trained are large in number (typically above ten) or if their project mandates a group/single employee to be trained.

-Blended: Classroom training followed by assignments, online resources and buddy support.

-Webinar: Cutting edge technology, knowledge transfer.

-Seminar: Cutting edge technology, knowledge transfer. Typically, this solution is available locally.

-Mentoring: Provided when a solution requires handholding on account of its complexity or an employee needs active support to master a skill or mature professionally.

-On-the-job training: Demonstrate how various pieces of an overall objective fit in. For example, when a new member joins the project team or an employee is working on a new technology, typically two sessions are planned—
Session1: Tools and their functionalities
Session 2: How these tools work together for project purposes

-Newsletter: Updates on the latest events and development. Accolades,message, culture reinforcement, news etc.

-Online library: Any time/anywhere access to knowledge

-Physical library: Local reach

Venting by Senior Leaders

2006-08-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

At times senior leaders come to my desk and list the set of trainings they need for their teams. I recognize this as venting of the project pressure or a tough conversation with the client.

To handle such outbursts, I first take down the list. Then later in the day or the next, I meet them to further discuss the training requirement-business reason, associate profile, objective, what do they want to accomplish, urgency etc. The requirement typically gets less urgent or important in this conversation.

A Conclusion

2006-07-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

Result is the factor of the scenario in which change is being initiated. Some initiatives take longer to mature despite the best efforts. Some others die young.

Don't be hard on yourself—be patient, alert, flexible and move on.

Not Always True Generalizations

2006-05-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

Today, I am in one of those moods when I just want to oversimplify. The generalizations below are convenient derivatives of my very limited experience. I have to confess that I am embarrassed about this posting—I just want to lock these generalizations in this posting and then forget about it. I cannot allow these thoughts to interfere in my interaction with clients. Preconceived notions can be expensive.

Finance: Paranoid and finicky—stickler for details and content accuracy. Their typical mindset—no one knows how to represent our facts better than we do. They seem to be paranoid about legalities—given a choice, they would probably follow each sentence with one disclaimer and two exceptions. They expertise in making straightforward thought/sentence seem complex.

Pharmaceutical: Similar to Finance. Paranoid particularly about the content—how the formula is written and explained, chemical compositions of the drugs, application of the drugs, the physiological impact of the drugs on human body—each word, even comma seems to have a different meaning!

Hi tech: They vacillate from being particular about details to being relaxed. Unless the issue is blatant or recurring, their general tendency is towards being relaxed.

Manufacturing: Unless there are other compelling factors, for example, if a mega event is being planned for the product launch, they are generally relaxed. As for their solution design, they love a lot of movement on the page. They use different strategies to drive home why they want movement—audience likes it, CXO preference, our content is better represented with more movement and if all else fails, sulking.

Automotive: They are initially suspicious—Are you sure you know automotives? It can be very complicated and not many people get it, espiecially women. However, once you establish your worth in their eyes—they like to trust your decisions completely.

Retail: Creative, high energy, they always want quick results and justification for every instructional or visual strategy used.

Competency Development Plan-Formats

2006-05-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

Impact mapping
This format is used to collect data pertaining to the strategic competencies of the account from the account leaders. This format also assists the learning consultant (LC) to have a focused and effective discussion with the leaders while at the same time assists the leaders to think through/justify their training requirement. The LC asks leaders questions like—“Why is this competency important for you”, “How does this competency link with the overall unit objectives”, “Where do you see your group headed in the next 6-12 months. What competencies would your team need to meet this requirement?”
Click here to view the format.

Competency rating by leaders
Once the LC collates all the data collected during impact mapping, a a comprehensive list of comptencies is identified. The leaders now rank the competencies in order of its importance for their group. This allows the leaders to not only view list generated after inputs from all leaders within the group but also communicate the relevance of each competency to their specific team.
Click here to view the format.
Click here to view the format with sample data.

The competency rating by all the leaders was then consolidated. Those competencies were identified to be built into the team which:

Scored an average of four and above on the importance scale
Were marked five by any leader (even though the average score was less than four)

Self/Manager review of individual competencies
Self and manager review was then conducted. I hid the manager column while sending the spreadsheet to the employee and vice versa to assist in fair assessment.
Click here to view the format.

Please note that tool is currently semi-automatic. It should work in the current format for an account size of less than 15 members. However, for a larger team size, this tool is best automated, if possible.

Competency Development Plan-Critical Success Factors

2006-04-28T16:58:00.000-07:00

Support and commitment of senior account leaders and managers
Atmosphere of trust: It is important to encourage honest self/peer evaluation
Communication: Reiterate that this is an initiative for employees' learning and professional growth. These competencies empower the employees to take charge of their careers, direct their own personal development, continually self-evaluate and improve
Communication: Emphasize that the initiative is not connected to the performance appraisal. If it is felt necessary to link this initiative with appraisal, consider evaluating performance only on delta improvement the account member exhibits as an outcome of training

Note for the learning consultants:

Evaluate leadership’s commitment to the initiative. Tailor the solution based on their level of enthusiasm or commitment towards competency development. That means, if your understanding is that the account leadership might not be able to commit to the time for the above process, reduce some substeps from the above process.
Draw up the blueprint of the plan, any tools needed for the process, get senior management buy-in
Brace yourself for tough days—there will be many days when you will fight a lonely battle. Keep up your motivation and celebrate every progress! I am still into the process and its not easy!

Competency Development Plan-Measurement Matrices

2006-04-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

Qualitative improvement

For each competency, what is the gap between the star performance and desired performance reduced?
How many competencies have we brought to acceptable performance within the organization?

Success Criteria

Bridge gap between the star performance and desired performance for 70 percent of all competencies
Improve the skill competency by 50 percent i.e. 50 percent of all account members show improvement their skill rating

Targeted Result

In 12 months, the ratio of planned:need-based training for the account would be 85:15

Competency Development Plan-Evaluate

2006-04-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Step 5: Evaluate

After 12 months

Review and modify the competency dictionary
Undertake skill evaluation of the entire account*
Measure results with the previous year

After six months (if required)

Undertake skill evaluation for targeted competencies

Outcome

Skills improvement over the previous year
Competency framework for the second year

Teams involved

LC
Account leadership

Competency Development Plan-Implement

2006-04-25T05:37:00.000-07:00

Step 4: Implement

Competency evaluation

-Common across the role

Perform self and manager review
Identify the skill gaps (LC)
Recommend appropriate training for the skill-gap (LC)

-Specific to a functional group within the Account (Technical subjects)

Pre-assessment (In-house training department or an identified vendor, as appropriate)
Recommend appropriate training for the skill-gap (In-house training department or an identified vendor, as appropriate)
Post-assessment (In-house training department or an identified vendor, as appropriate)

Pilot followed by organization-wide rollout

Outcome

Table of existing competencies across the organization
Training calendar for every account member

Teams involved

LC
In-house training department (if present)
External training vendors

Competency Development Plan-Develop

2006-04-24T05:37:00.000-07:00

Step 3: Develop

Create the data input format (LC)
Create a brief description on the initiative and how to fill the form (LC)
Identify the early evangelists (LC)
Identify the courses/training relevant to each competency (LC)

Outcome

Finalized format for account members to input data
Communication plan for the entire team
Map the existing courses to the competency dictionary

Team involved

Competency Development Plan-Design

2006-04-02T05:36:00.000-07:00

Step 2: Design

Create a skill-rating scale (1-5) against each identified competency (Learning Consultant (LC))

Benchmark rating on desirable competency performance
Indicate where the star performer currently is at
Indicate acceptable competency performance

Create weighted competency-rating scale (1-5) (LC)
Prioritize competencies in the competency dictionary using weighted scale (Account leadership)
Determine conditional competencies (LC and account leadership)

Outcome

Skill-rating scale
Weighted competency-rating scale
List of role-based competencies in order of their importance to the account

Teams involved

LC
Senior account leaders

Competency Development Plan-Analysis

2006-03-31T04:35:00.000-08:00

Step 1: Analysis
• Determine the job descriptions for the roles—team members, leads, consultants, managers (Learning Consultant (LC) and Human Resources team (HR))

• Determine the competencies across the roles (LC)

• Determine account specific competencies project requirements. (LC and account leadership)

Outcome

• Competency dictionary

Teams involved

• LC

• Senior account leaders

• HR

Competency Development Plan-At a glance

2006-03-30T04:36:00.000-08:00

Objective
Provide comprehensive competence management with an account focus where training function is an active partner to the business objective.

Process
Step 1: Analysis
Step 2: Design
Step 3: Develop
Step 4: Implement
Step 5: Evaluate

Determine the measurement matrices

Define critical success factors

The forthcoming postings will cover the above aspects in greater depth.

Competency Mapping: Introduction

2006-03-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

What are Competencies?

Competencies are general descriptions of the behavior or actions needed to successfully perform within a particular [work] context (e.g. job, group of jobs, function, etc).
Competencies are increasingly applied across human resource functions to drive both employee and corporate performance.
Employees learn, develop and refine many of their competencies over the course of their careers.

Competencies are used to:

Translate the organization’s vision and goals into expected employee behavior
Identify areas for employee development that are directly linked to desired outcomes and organizational objectives
Target training monies into areas that will realize the most return on investment (ROI)
Identify gap between present skills and future requirements

Other tangible benefits

Recruitment process

Define the selection criteria based on the available and required skills
Determine the evaluation areas for prospective candidates
Determine the number of resources needed
Reduce hiring costs

New projects

Match account member skills with the requirement for a new project

Account member exit (from account or company)

Ensure retention of the essential competencies for the success of the account

Competency Mapping: Organizational Scenario

2006-03-23T18:30:00.000-08:00

Audience:
Onsite/Offsite/Onshore account team

Typical Scenario:

Who	What	Why
Client	“We expect the account member to know the bare minimum about…but he did not know about it. We did not want to spend as much time on each new team member”	What was it that the earlier account member knew? What is the performance gap between the two
Client	“The account member does not have the same level of expertise as the account member who earlier handled this project”	I want to be able to meet my client expectations and serve him better. How can I know the skill-set of the previous account member
Project Manager	“I need to immediately train this account member so that my client thinks I have taken action and I can keep him happy. ”	Where can find the skill-set he possesses currently and the level that he is on for each of the skills?
Project Manager	“I need five resources with Java/JSP skill-set for 3 months. Do we have any free resources available for this time? Would I need to recruit/contract resources?”	Who are the people with this skill-set?
Functional Manager	“I need to grow my team. What exact skills should I recruit so that I have a good mix within my team”	Where can I find the skills distribution for my entire team at a high level? Where can I go to identify skills gap in my team?
Team Lead	“I want to be able grow into a Project Manager”	What skills do I need to add to the skills that I currently have?
Team Lead	“I want to be able to consult with my clients effectively”	What skills do I need to add to the skills that I currently have?
Team Member	“I think I am good to be a Team Lead but I am not being recognized as one”	How can I let my Manager where I add value to the team?
Team Member	“I have do not have project work in the coming week, maybe I should take some training”	Would the training help me in reaching my professional goals?

Typical Challenges:

Training is primarily need-based and reactive.
Focus is on quantitative rather than qualitative training.
Training is provided in an haphazard, ad hoc manner.
Risk reduction and change readiness are the key drivers for providing training, not business objectives.

How to Create a List in Microsoft Excel

2006-02-21T18:11:00.000-08:00

I keep forgetting how I can create list in Excel and then have to spend inappropriate amount to time figuring that one out and so…

Open the spreadsheet> Data> Validation> Settings> Allow: List> Source: {item1, item2, item3…}> Input Message> Title: {Your default message. Eg. Choose one…}> Error Alert {Fill the boxes as required}> OK

Online training space

2006-02-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

Why was it necessary:

No single go-to location for all trainings conducted in the organization. The employees had to go to different locations to view the training calendar and register, take an online course, visit virtual library or submit a training request. This was chaotic for most employees who preferred to speak to the training manager each time rather than keep tabs of the urls.
Additionally some urls changed over time. Not all employees made not of the change communication.
There was no single location to house the different newsletters brought out by different units, training updates or forthcoming initiatives.
Project-related knowledge and resources were not being captured at an account level.
Employees referred to various elearning courses on the Net. It important to collate this data to ensure we build a learning organization.
Different teams used different programs for processes that needed to be standardized. For example, induction.

How was it accomplished

Identified a location frequented by the employees: Project dashboard.
Identified the position of the link: Prominent-top, center.
Content sections:
-In the spotlight: Current trainings, newletters.

-Submit your learning request: Links and formats that allow leaders to submit their learning request.

-Instructor-led training: Link that allows employees to nominate themselves/team for the current trainings.

-Online learning: Online resources such as links to the elearning courses within the company and those relevant on the Net.

-Account-specific training: Induction files, process training resources.

-Learning Center sites: Links to Learning Center website, sites that support learning such as library and technical message boards.

-Shout Out!: Feature that allows associates to volunteer to become a faculty or send feedback on trainings conducted.

-Learning Consultant Corner: A section that profiles the training manager, lists the training policy for the account.

Swicki

2006-01-13T18:18:00.000-08:00

A swicki is new kind of search engine that allows anyone to create deep, focused searches on topics you care about. Unlike other search engines, you and your community have total control over the results and it uses the wisdom of crowds to improve search results. This search engine, or swicki, can be published on your site. Your swicki presents search results that you're interested in, pulls in new relevant information as it is indexed, and organizes everything for you in a neat little customizable widget you can put on your web site or blog, complete with its very own buzz cloud that constantly updates to show you what are hot search terms in your community.

Read more from the source: http://swickihome.eurekster.com/faqs.htm

Recent M & As in Learning Industry

2005-11-13T17:36:00.000-08:00

Sumtotal acquires Docent, Click2learn, Pathlore
Saba acquires Thinq, Centra
Adobe acquires Macromedia
Oracle acquires Peoplesoft
KnowledgePlanet acquires KnowledgeImpact
Blackboard and WebCT merge
Convergys acquires DigitalThink

Image sourced from: www.lonelydriver.com

Formative Evaluation

2005-10-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

Conduct one-on-one, small group discussion, field test
Employ informal talk, short test, discussion, survey form (any/few)
Evaluate training needs, objectives and methods
Determine the improvements that can be made on the training program
Determine if supplemental information can cater for the additional training topics identified
Implement suggestions that make sense

Strange Incident in Office

2005-10-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

A team member called me on my cell phone last morning, "Aradhana, I am not coming to office."
me: "You're taking leave?"
tm: "No, I am not coming. The questions that I forgot to include in the script...."
me (interrupting): "Are you saying you are not coming back to office? Are you leaving the company?"
tm: "Yes" (!!!)

In the afternoon, her colleague/friend comes to me, "Aradhana, its not that she's got another job. She was just scared to face up to you after the mistake she made."
me: "Which mistake?"
colleague: "The questions she forgot to add to the script she worked on. We made her understand and now she wants to come back." (!!!)

Decision to leave a job based on a mistake as basic as this, communicating leaving a job by a simple phone call and then conveying intention to return...it was a strange incident.

Elearning on a decline? Just one thought...

2005-10-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

Of late, I'm hearing that e-learning is on the decline. That our world is changing--e-learning would soon get replaced by say, mobile learning (learn anywhere, even while riding back from work). That the tools are getting smarter--allowing organizations and corporate to cater for their training needs internally without having to go to the training companies.

The way I see it, these developments are great! We might then have within reach a breadth of media--ILT, online basic (say, e-briefings), online advanced (e-learning), WBT, mobile and a blend of all these. Most likely one media would not win over another. Just as radios, television, films, theatre and television have a definite place in the entertainment world.

If organizations cater for their training needs through inhouse teams (with tools getting simpler and more powerful), our expertise would demanded for times when the training does not need to be just rapid but both effective and extensive. Whether e-learning/training shops become niche or not, my bet is that the market will continue to need skilled IDs.

Cheers to the good times ahead!

Three Years!

2005-09-08T22:04:00.000-07:00

Today I complete three years in my current organization (Convergys Learning Solutions, formerly DigitalThink). Its been an enriching journey!

Why is it OK not to be SME while Developing Courseware

2005-08-21T22:08:00.000-07:00

Instructional design principles remain the same irrespective of the content.
its analyze content not as a subject, but at a higher level--what is the key problem the training intervention is trying to address? Based on the content provided, what objectives contribute towards the solving the problem? How do these objectives tie with the interactions so that the course is within the the scope? What would be the evaluation criteria?
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) might consider some concepts as a given while providing content, without considering the audience profile.
The language used for the online media is direct and straightforward. ID-SME collaboration helps to break complex concepts into simpler, easily understandable content.
Audiences tend to think within their departmental/team silos. Even within the team, people have different levels of subject knowledge. IDs use their skill with content to preempt questions for all levels of learners.

Building a team: Positive Team Dynamics

2005-07-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

At the onset, set and communicate well-defined team principles. Share this information with the entire team.
Clearly communicate your expectations from the team. Listen their expectations from the work experience. Exchange this information with the entire team or during one-on-one sessions with each team member.
Reinforce the team priniciples and values continually and encourage team members who personify those values. Share this information with the entire team.
Lead by example.
Encourage three important values--share learning, help each other and be polite. Perform this activity with the entire team.
Expect team to handle conflicts with other team members one-on-one. Explain techniques on how this can be done. Share this information with the entire team.

The Manager I Am

2005-06-10T01:46:00.000-07:00

Particular about adherence to schedules, quality standards and lucid communicaton.
Define process clearly and actively emphasize on it adherence.
Transparent, true and honest in relationships.
Attention to individual growth, interests and current capabilites.
Direct and straighforward communication.
Emphasis on learning and spreading learning.
Encourage questions and discussions on the project.
Open.
Organized.

More useful urls

2005-06-01T01:27:00.000-07:00

Instructional Theories:
http://ide.ed.psu.edu/idde/theories.htm
http://tip.psychology.org/theories.html
http://mitworld.mit.edu

Instruction Designer's Expectation from QE Testing

2005-05-25T03:20:00.000-07:00

Important Note: Assume that there is a separate the content QE process that addresses script styles, grammar and other issues for the script and this QE refers primarily to the functionality check.

There are no missing instruction text.

Instruction/common text are consistent and accurately written.

Popups, glossary, resources, jobtools, instruction text, page numbers, slide numbers, coach, tutor and all other course features and attributes function as expected.

Exceptions are well-addressed.

Popups, glossary, resources, jobtools, instruction text, page numbers, slide numbers, coach, tutor and all other common course features and attributes have consistent look and feel and reference, for curriculum development.

The content flow is alignes with the script.

Reverse flow is well desgned.

There are no usability concerns - for example, no distinction betweem visited and not visited states.

Outstanding alpha, beta and other issues are adequately addressed and implemented.
Image quality and content readability is adequate.

If image sequence is provided in the script, whether the same sequence is followed in the course.
If the client requests a global term change, after the course has been produced, whether the change is implemented across the course text, resources, jobtools, quiz and glossary.
If there is a content change in the course, whether the change is well-effected in the resources, jobtools and quiz.
For audio files, whether the voice matches with the gender of the character name. For example, Angela is always a female voice.
For audio files, if the same character is used across the course, whether the voice is also kept consistent for the entire course.

Purposeful Mistake

2005-05-24T02:49:00.000-07:00

A colleague told me yesterday that sometimes just to evoke a reaction or kick up a discussion, he intentionally misrepresents a fact. Nice strategy!

About to Sign the Dotted Line? A Checklist

2005-05-19T02:48:00.000-07:00

Know who your prospective manager.
Get information from your prospective manager on the attrition rate in the team. His/her answer would be a good indicator on the kind of manager he/she is. Obviously, lesser the attrition, more successful the manager.
Find from him/her your first assignment and how you would be considered successful--you would know how much thought has gone into working out your role description or how important the role is to the organization.
Insist on meeting other members of the organization--you would get a clue of the culture and the people in the organization and whether you really fit in that environment.
If you aren't happy with the salary being offered, make sure your prospective mananger knows of it and find out how they plan to address this concern once you onboard. Typically, if you aren't really happy with the salary offered and salary is your primary motivator, I would recommend not accepting the offer--I believe that one of the best times for negotiation is just before joining and if the organization is unrelenting at that point, its unlikely that things would turn dramatically later (I'm not sure if I'm being pessimistic here :).
If you have a long holiday in the horizon, let your new manager know--Its my experience that honesty works.

Mentoring - My style

2005-04-20T02:20:00.000-07:00

Set expectations on the role of mentor
If the mentee is new to the organization, make him/her welcome; if not, express happiness in working together
Structure mentoring plans on a weekly, daily and hourly levels
Create a blend of guided and unguided, self-paced and time-based components
If you have work other than mentoring, discourage the tendency of the mentees to seek clarifications any time. Allocate time in the middle/end of each day for questions
Be open and honest about things that you don't know
Follow-up

Politeness - A Best Practice

2005-03-23T05:23:00.000-08:00

The clients blowing things out of proportion and getting intolerant about the minutest slipups
The production team just does not get it!
A peer asks the question already addressed in an email sent days ago
A team member commits the same error explained a number of times before
The production team forgets to implement the change so important for the client

These are some of the frustrations I face in my role as a Learning Strategist, just as many other professionals in this role. In time, my best practice has been to be polite. If that's tough to be rightaway, I just take a break - coffee, tea, friends..anything that allows me to be kind to the 'perpetrator' :) and gives me space to be able to present my dissatisfaction in a dignified manner.

I have to accept that there have been times when I have been direct in my criticism. Having done that, I have almost always regretted my action - it takes away team spirit and the scars sometimes remain much after the project is long over.

Handling client is different. Jeff Jackanicz, an amazing project lead who I once worked with, taught me an important lesson for handling client-related frustrations - "Don't give in to the temptation of justifying your stand. Clients don't have that kind of time to read your explanation and empathize with it. Try to move the project ahead. Don't give another opportunity to the client to complain." I have held on to this advice - it works!

Writing a Self Review

2005-03-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

I completed another one of my performance appraisals last Thursday. My best practices for writing self review:

Keep the records straight: I keep aside postive mails, records etc. received over the year in a separate folder. This practice not only helps me remember my accomplishments for the year but also provides enough material to substantiate my claims.

Leave aside unnecessary humility or modesty: My self review states the facts for the year. Places where I have led, taken initiative, influenced a decision are stated as is. A self review document is a business document. Shying from stating acheivements as is can backfire.

Substantiate each claim: If client consulting is my strength. I provide examples justifying this claim. If multitasking is another of my strength, I state the number of courses I worked on, activities I undertook in addition to the project work.

Clearly state next year's goals: I keep the goals for the upcoming year achievable, measurable and aligned to my interest and company's direction. For example, if the company would be venturing into other markets in the coming year, consulting for those markets would be a goal for me since it aligns wonderfully with my interest and company's business direction.

Finally, take the appraisal for what it's worth: In my over six years of professional life. I have come to believe that an appraisal is as good as the manager. Hence, I factor in the integrity and maturity of my manager before entering the appraisal meeting. Some of my enormously talented managers have helped me tap my potential and mature professionally - they congratulated me on my achievments, helped me identify my growth areas and recommended possible solutions and they listened. Some other managers have left me wondering if they ever read my self-review!

Designing Elearning Curriculum

2005-03-10T05:34:00.000-08:00

Strategy:

Work out the curriculum and course level instructional strategy.
Identify consistent elements for the entire curriculum - what are the look-and-feel elements and functionality what will remain same for the entire curriculum.
Identify the disparate elements - what look-and-feel elements and functionality will change for a specific course within the curriculum so that the learner interest is maintained.
Work out a higher level assessment strategy for the entire curriculum. Decide if pre- and post- assessment will be provided at curriculum level, course level or both.

Scripting:

Maintain a comprehensive style guide. Keep the document alive.
Maintain a glossary document that houses the glossary terms and descriptions for all the courses, as they develop. You will be able to easily reference this document for newer courses.
Make sure the design changes as a result of content variation is aligned to the curriculum look and project scope.
Keep an eye on the word count to make sure the interactions are not strained at the production stage.
Be aware of all the interactions available to you - these are the tools with which you will make effective courses.

Graphics:

Maintain consistency.
Identify icons, images, elements, resources that can be leveraged across courses.
Make sure that the look-and-feel is consistent per lesson across courses. For example, if lesson 3.1 refers to a process workflow, make sure that the arrows and the junction elements are consistent for all the courses within the curriculum.

Audio:

Plan your audio strategy - one voice for all courses or different voices for different courses?
Identify the audio elements that will remain consistent for a particular lesson for all the courses within the curriculum.
Keep the audio generic.
Record various permutations and combinations for instructional text audio so that later if the voice talent is unavailable, your project remains unaffected.

CBT and WBT: A Comparison

2005-03-01T02:23:00.000-08:00

CBT

Installable/downloadable to learners' hard-disks
Allows course access without Internet/Intranet
Learners can track their progress
No bandwidth concerns
Convenient for traveling learners
Does not allow community-building and score comparison

WBT

Course accessed using a virtual address or location using the Intranet/Internet
Learners can track progress and compare result with other learners
Bandwidth and net access speed are the primary design factors
Convenient for traveling learners with Internet/VPN access
Provides tremendous scope for community-building, for example, tutors, chats and web-seminars

Building a Team: Interviewing

2005-02-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

-Introduce yourself.

-Ask open ended questions that covering the following aspects:

Behavioral - Conflict, challenges, prioritization, pride project
Technical - Process work flow, instructional design, instructional theories and their application

-While the interviewee grapples with the questions take additional notes on:

Communication skills
Individual dynamic and the impact it might have on your team
Skillset that the candidate adds to the team

-If you are a panel of interviewers, divide the questions. Allow some overlap.

-Provide an overview of the company's operation and function.

-Address the any questions that the interviewee might have. Which area do the questions fall in?

-Fill out a predefined evaluation format that covers the parameters that are important for your team.

-Debrief

Efficient Use of Downtime for Professional Growth

2005-02-18T07:48:00.000-08:00

Look into your company's reference location, you might find a wealth of information there. If there is no such location, create one.
Talk to members of other teams - educate yourself on the work they do and find out how your job fits into the overall picture.
Have technical discussions with your own team members, if they have time or match their lunch/tea times with yours. :)
Visit technical sites and e-zines to keep yourself posted on the latest trends.
Maintain your blog.

e-learning links I'm currently refering

2005-02-13T06:06:00.000-08:00

http://www.pitt.edu/~poole/onlinelearninglinks.html#assessment
http://www.globaled.com/articles.html
http://www.webscenarios.webcentral.com.au/id3756h/
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/InstructionalDesign.htm
http://www.elearningguild.com/
http://www.clomedia.com
http://captology.stanford.edu/
http://learningcircuits.blogspot.com/
http://www.rmcdenver.com/useguide/lessons/lindex.htm

Designing a Content Collection Guide

2005-02-08T15:34:00.000-08:00

A content collection guide (CCG) is a tool that allows the subject matter experts (SMEs) to provide content for the course. A CCG eases communication and smoothens the content collection process. Here is how to create one-

Write out the lesson objectives.
Against each learning objective, describe the content required.
Exemplify the content.
Insist that the SMEs provide only the core content and not spend time on cleaning the language.
Invite the SMEs to provide urls and other referenece materials.
Add a note on how to use the document in the beginning and finally-
Provide a thank you note at the end of the document.

Designing Scripting Templates

2005-02-07T23:35:00.000-08:00

Identify the primary, secondary and tertiary users of the template. For example - external clients might be the primary users, instructional designers (ID) secondary and the production team tertiary users.

Collect the requirement and expectation that each set of users has with the template. Work out how your design would address these needs. For example, it might be important for the external clients to be able to visualize the solution. Hence they might need some props like images of the interactivity. For one of my solutions, I devised, "Interactivity at a glance" which was a series of key interaction frames to address this requirement of the clients.

Evaluate the interactions that have been approved for the project. You might need to get in touch with your production team or the Creative Director to get this information.

Group the interactivities in their families. This will help you decide if you need to create a different template for each interaction variation or if the same template can be reused by providing variation details. Let me illustrate this point by using an example-
Suppose there are two variations of drag-and-drop interaction- one where the image is dropped to a label and other that uses just labels for drag-and-drop. Group them as one family. If there are six kinds of flipbooks - three with same-sized images placed in left, right and bottom position. two with a larger image placed to the left and right and one with no image. Group all flipbooks as one family.

Within each family, identify the unique variations and provide this information at source. For example- Provide word count related information close to the text area, image related information where image needs to be uploaded. If there a precondition attached to the usage of a particular interaction, provide this information at the start of the template.

Provide headers for each interaction - Which course, module/lesson, page does the interaction belong to? It is very important that interaction headers are provided since they are important linkages that bind the entire script into a logical whole.

Create a template for the course/lesson skeleton which would have course/module/lesson/page headers, introduction and conclusion.

Test this solution with the internal teams, take their feedback and incorporate changes that bring the solution closer to the user requirements.

Develop your template. I prefer creating automated templates using MS Word. You might have another preference. A very helpful document created by my friend and ex-colleague, Swati Sengupta on developing automated templates using MS Word -

Create a user manual/help for the template so that the users can refer to it, if needed. You will be surprised to know how many practicing IDs don't know how to attach a template!

Undertake a training session for the users, explaining the different features.

Go live!

13 Checks while Reviewing a Script Document

2005-02-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

While reviewing scripts, I ask myself-

Is the course/lesson/module titled properly?
Are the lessons structured in accordance to the instructional strategy?
Is the numbering for the lesson/interactivity/page correct (so that when the course goes into production there are minimal clarifications from that team)?
Do the content blocks belong to the lesson that they are placed in or are they more suitable elsewhere in the course? If so, which location?
Does the script follow the style conventions adopted for the project?
Are the sentences grammatically correct?
Is there a sentence that is long and difficult to understand? If so, how can it be modified to make it easier to understand of the learner?
Are the instructional texts for interactivities/lessons/pages provided?
Are the course/lesson objectives mentioned in the beginning of the course/lesson and revised again at the end?
Do the assessment questions appropriately address all the core components of the lesson?
For a series of courses within a curriculum, is the script style and instructional/directional text consistent? If not, point out the deviation.
How does the course initiate the learner feedback?
Does the course have an orientation module? If not, investigate why not. If yes, does the orientation module appropriately address all the functionalities within the course?

Best practices:

Always, always, always - be polite.
Give reasons why the change is being suggested.
Provide solution(s) wherever possible.
Compliment the writer for places where the script is clean.

Urgent Writer Needed for Technical Courses? Try this!

2005-02-01T04:14:00.000-08:00

If your project courses are primarily technical, google to find the training centers for those software, languages, packages or OS.
Locate the Corporate office for the training institute.
Talk to the hiring in-charge.
Express your requirement for a technical talent who can write.
Suggest that they post the requirement to all their centers, shortlist candidates based on your requirement and send them to you. You may also suggest the number of applications that you are willing to entertain at one time.
Mail the hiring in-charge the company profile, job requirement, number of vacancies open and if you prefer to disclose - salary range candidates can expect.
Hope to get resumes that match your project need!

Elearning best practices: Working with distributed production teams

2005-01-31T04:00:00.000-08:00

Audience: Instructional designers interacting with distributed production teams.

Objective: List the best practices for interfacing with distributed production team.

Best practices: General communication
1. Premise: Distributed development is slower, requires greater process maturity, constant definition, stricter change management and over-communication.

2. Trust: Trust helps to better relationships, allow faster communication and reduce stress. It is a good practice to have an honest and open conversation about things that don't work.

3. Questions: Precise questions give an opportunity to the team member to clarify. You can ask team members to repeat or summarize so that both sides are clear. If you are making an assumption, it’s a good practice to state that.

4. Expectation: Finding out what works for the team and communicating what works for you could be a good way to begin working in a new project. For example, you might say: “I am a early-morning riser and am normally at work by 7 AM hence I would prefer to have team meetings in the mornings rather than late nights. Does that work for you as well?” “As a best practice, I like to document all our decisions in an email. Are comfortable receiving this process?”

5. Relationship: Building relationships helps all the above and makes working fun. A friendly chat or email can is all that it takes to know the people behind the roles.

6. Cultural dimensions: Understanding cultural differences if the production team is based in a country different than yours eases communication.

Telephone:
1. Accents: Talk slowly and ask your production team counterpart to do the same if you have trouble understanding what they are saying.

2. Tone: Make an effort to sound friendly. In the absence of visual clues, your voice becomes “you” for the listener.

3. Snags: While communicating long-distance across countries, be prepared to sometimes experience technical snags during telecoms - hearing an echo, voice cracking up and low volume are just some of the snags that you might face.

Mail:
1. Language: Make sure your language is clear and concise. Use short sentences and simple language.

2. Format: Instead of using a lengthy paragraph in conveying information, use ordered/unordered lists.

3. Over-communication: Often mails or production related documents are not consistently understood across the teams. Consider picking up the phone to talk to your counterpart (don’t forget the time difference, if it exists) to clarify or sort out questions...it generally works. Also, it is a good practice to document and share your conversations so that you, your counterpart and everyone else in the team is well-aware of the decisions made.

Chat:
1. Clarification: You might use chat for questions that need immediate response or to set instant meeting.
2. Relationship building: You could use chat as way to get to know their teams better. A good occasion to break the ice is when you see your team member online way beyond office hours or to enquire about the holiday that she/he just took.

Best practices: Beginning a new project
1. If you are joining a project that is already in process:
a. Study the approved prototype, if it exists. The project interactions are built by the production teams based on the design and scope presented in the approved prototype. Don’t forget to notice the global links to be used for the project that are presented in the prototype.
b. Familiarize yourself with the project scripting template and the interactions that are being used for the project.
c. Pay special attention to where the content gets placed in the various interactions. You can request your production team lead to give you a walk-through on all the interactions that are being used for the project.
d. Take note of the project scripting style guide. If it does not exist, consider creating one.

2. Know the production team lingo--.fla, .swf, externalized content, html.

3. Know the difference between SCO and multi-page SCO

4. Know the time-difference.

Best practices: Scripting
1. Visualize your course:
a. Asssessments:
- Feedback
- Number of attempts
- What happens if the learner fails on all attempts?

b. Interactivities:
- What would a learner to do after she/he clicks the interactivity?
- Does the learner have clear instructions for the interactivity in the beginning and at the end.
- Has the interactivity been described clearly? Important points to bear in mind while writing interactivity descriptions:
· Be specific where you need to be, let the team handle the creative aspect e.g. Keep the space between the cars consistent.
· Let the team know clearly what you definitely need/don’t need to see in the interactivity.

2. Are there any double spaces? Spelling errors? The production team is not expected to correct them.

3. Images:
a. Resolution (800x600, 1024x768), Color (True, 16 bit), Format (.png, .bmp, .jpg)
b. Good quality screenshots.
c. If taking the images yourself, remember the above factors. If the client is providing the screenshots, pass on the information to them.
d. Contact the Creative Director or the production team lead for this information.
e. Use the same operating system and retain its settings while taking all the images.
f. More specifically for application training, take images for all the steps and the effects in that step (if you care for that level of details). For example, if you want to show the change in state when a user scrolls over a dropdown menu, provide all the images in the “over”state. If you aren’t able to do so for all instances, the production team will be able to doctor the screenshot based on the “over”state for other instances but the quality of the interactivity gets affected.
g. If the screenshot needs to be manipulated, the production team expects clear instructions on the change. If the data needs to be manipulated, clearly state what the team needs to change. E.g. If the names of the registered vehicle users needs to be changed, mention clearly how those names need to be changed.
h. Clearly mention the image filenames and provide the screenshots in the script.
i. Provide the images (using the same filename as in the script) to the team in a separate folder when the script is released for production.

4. Resources:
a. Provide the reference to the Resources in the script.
b. Provide the Resources in the same folder as the images folder.

5. Production team leads should ask for the draft script so that they can have a better feel of the content. If they don’t ask, provide them anyway to help them plan but be sure to mention clearly that the script is draft and not to be used for production purposes.

6. Final step before releasing the script for production, check if your script bundle has:
a. Scripts for all lessons
b. All glossary terms within the script have description
c. All images
d. All resources
e. Images and resources are referenced clearly and consistently in the script—when you change an image filename, make sure the reference to the image in the script is also made
f. Course description
g. Course information

Best practices: Releasing scripts for production
1. Adopt consistent practices for checking in and checking out documents.

2. Find out where to upload the resources, audio files and images and make sure it is known to the entire team.

3. While releasing the script for production, send the mail to the project team alias announcing the release of the course. Send the location details where you have placed the raw course content.

Best practices: Internal reviews
When the production team sends you and other design team members url, usename and password to access the course:
1. Use a standardized format to log all feedback and comments.

2. Be very specific: When logging an issue, be sure to mention the exact location (Module/Page/Paragraph/Sentence). Mention the original sentence and then mention the changed sentence.
E.g.: Module 2>Lesson 5> Page 2> 1st paragraph> Last sentence> Change: “Finally, in some countries, like Germany, we pursue industry-standard offerings.” to: “Some countries like Germany pursue industry-standard offerings.”

No matter which application you use be sure to cover all the above points as incomplete information could mean time spent in simply locating the issue. This also leads to a lot of frustration on the production side.

3. For changes that need to be implemented for the entire course, describe the change under the header “GLOBAL”

4. For exceptions to the global entries, write “EXCEPTION: ”

5. For any issue, describe the issue as clearly as we can, mention why it is wrong (so that if it is an ongoing project, the team is better geared for future courses), and provide a fix.

6. Do not provide the production team options for fixes—asking him/her to make the decision. As an instructional designer, it is highly recommended that you work out the best solution for the issue and ask the production team to implement the same. If we need some inputs from the production team to make the decision, connect with the production lead to collect that information but make the final call. Being client facing, instructional designers are better geared to make these decisions.

7. “Capitalize” can be misunderstood as “capitalize the entire word”. Hence be sure to address this confusion when making an entry. You may write “initial capitalize ’Liquidity Management’” or “Change “liquidity management” to “Liquidity Management””

8. While making entries, do not add new format styles to emphasize a text change—it may confuse the team to mean that the text format needs to change as well.

9. Sometimes when the change in sentence is just a word, it saves time for the production team to have that exact fix. We can emphasize the change by using a different font color.
E.g. Change “liquidity management” to “Liquidity Management””

Best practices: Directing client feedback
1. On receiving client feedback during alpha, beta, pre-live process, the instructional designer must review client feedback and discuss outstanding or unclear issues with the client.

2. That done, the instructional designer can add more information to the client entry for change to ensure that the production team has clear directions. For example, if the client has not written the page number of the issue or hasn’t articulated the issue well, the instructional designer may need to edit the entry to ensure its clarity to the production team.

3. For those issues that are logged by the client and later found to non-issues, clearly state that the production team does not need to take any action against the entry.
For example: The instructional designer may write, “NO CHANGE. IGNORE THIS ENTRY”.

4. If you heard some positive feedback from the client, be sure to share it with production team as well.

Course goes Live!
1. Don’t forget to congratulate the team and each other.

2. Your project team might share the lessons learnt and best practices experienced in the course. Keep your observations ready!

Coming Up...

2005-01-28T20:54:00.000-08:00

I hope to post on the following subjects in the near future, not necessarily in the same order-

Defining learning objectives
Creating instructional creative strategy
Creating scripting templates
Interacting with globally distributed production teams
Designing e-learning curriculum
Designing content collection guide
Interacting with US-based clients
Role of e-learning copy-editors
The art of peer review
The art of quality testing online courses
Brainstorming
Scoping e-learning projects and curriculum
Sourcing the right writers