In today's Internet-driven world, more and more knowledge workers prefer to have a say in how the company facilitates their learning. With so much of the world's workforce connected to Social Media, that's where most workers are turning to informally seek their knowledge. In this article, I will cover informal learning and how Social Media tools can be used in learning. I will also cover the points that need to be considered to ensure effective learning through Social Media tools. This is the age of the "knowledge worker" - there's no question about it! Companies, both big and small, invest vastly in delivering workers the knowledge they require to do their jobs successfully. The more knowledge a worker assimilates, and the quicker he/she absorbs it, the more competitive and profitable will he/she become for the company. Informal Learning - Not a New Concept While companies spend a huge part of their personnel development budget on "formal" learning, such as training … [Read more...] about Social Media Tools – Taking Informal Learning To New Heights
Instructional Design and ELearning
How to Design Effective Training Courses Through Facebook Live: Challenges, benefits and opportunities
Everyone knows that eLearning is very popular today – mainly because it enables learners to access training content when and where they want it. However, live-streaming training events are becoming increasingly popular, and Facebook Live is one of the most ubiquitous platforms for live training delivery available today. In this article, I’ll show you how you can get started with live-streaming. Why use Facebook Live? If you’ve ever hosted a meeting using conferencing tools, like Skype, you’ll know how things can quickly get out of hand once you exceed 15 to 20 participants. And if you exceed 25 participants, Skype is no longer a FREE option! Even if you had under 25 participants registered for your training/meeting, you’d have to send out Skype log-in credentials for them to join in- but what if you didn’t know who will come? Other video conferencing platforms, such as Adobe Connect, will charge you based on the number of participants. As a small organization, that could put … [Read more...] about How to Design Effective Training Courses Through Facebook Live: Challenges, benefits and opportunities
Mobile Learning: Is it More Than Just eLearning on The Phone?
People may have different perceptions on what mobile learning really is, and that will certainly vary based on the purposes you use mLearning for. Generally, some may think that mobile learning is just one of the ways eLearning is narrowed down. Nothing more than that. In the back of their head, the only difference will be a smaller screen compared to a wider screen. Frankly though, what do we first think when referring to eLearning? Turns out we think of any form of learning that we receive or deliver, using electronic devices such as computers and laptops via internet or intranet/extranet networks. That is at least the definition we get from the masses. However, when we refer to mLearning, we think of types of learning we receive or deliver using hand-held and portable devices. The "e" in eLearning is broad and stands for all electronics. Whereas them in mLearning stands for mobiles. That, of course, is a no brainer, you may think. And you will be right. Because digging deeper … [Read more...] about Mobile Learning: Is it More Than Just eLearning on The Phone?
Agile ELearning Development: How to create awesome eLearning courses using the Agile methodology.
What is Agile eLearning development? Instructional Designers always look for the most efficient and productive ways to create courses. However, oftentimes, there is not enough time or resources to create the dream eLearning course. Nowadays, a lot of instructional designers and eLearning specialists turn to the Agile Methodology to help them design and develop their training courses. While recently there has been a lot of buzz about Agile, it hasn’t always been that way. In fact, not too long ago, instructional designers used ADDIE, the linear and traditional approach to designing training. However, as time went on, training professionals came to the realization that they needed a more flexible approach to help them stay on schedule, deliver on budget, and bring concrete outcomes. This is where the Agile methodology comes into play. Agile eLearning development means creating eLearning content in short iterations and delivering something meaningful that stakeholders can clearly see … [Read more...] about Agile ELearning Development: How to create awesome eLearning courses using the Agile methodology.
5 Ways AI Can be Applied in ELearning
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a mainstay in virtually all aspects of human life. And now, its presence is reinforcing education in the aspect of eLearning more than any other modern technology. Today, AI impacts the modern educational system in the areas of adaptive learning, virtual teachers and lecturers, customized digital learning interfaces, automated grading, and the automated plagiarism checking, as per report presented in this infographic. Machine learning, an aspect of AI, enables machines to learn and make decisions for themselves based on the analysis of statistical data, behavior patterns, and even the outcomes of previous actions (learning by trial and error). In 2017, Netflix saved $1 billion by using machine learning and that’s only one of the positive examples of AI use. A very basic example of the machine learning application is the classification of spam mail that most mail servers incorporate. Thus, by taking as reference a series of labels such as … [Read more...] about 5 Ways AI Can be Applied in ELearning
The ultimate instructional design models cheat sheet
Instructional design produces the best results when we follow a methodical process. Unfortunately, whether you are a fan of Merrill’s Principles or Bloom’s Taxonomy, or whether you are an ADDIE devotee – there’s so much involved that it’s hard to keep track of what’s what. Having a set of handy cheat sheets, to gently remind you what needs to be done, can be an excellent way to ensure you dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s. Not only will cheat sheets help make your ID process as thorough and complete as possible, but it will also help you save time. Here are 6 cheat sheets that instructional designers will find useful. Cheat Sheet for Merrill's Principles of Instruction Merrill’s design theory, First Principles of Instruction, is a concise ID model that many novice and expert instructional designers might find extremely helpful. Here’s the Coles Notes version of what it entails: Use real-life problems in your instructional events Activate … [Read more...] about The ultimate instructional design models cheat sheet