Leveraging Technology – VI: Adobe Engage

By now you may be wondering if I work in the marketing department for Adobe. Whereas that is not the case, I certainly am a fan of many of their products.

Most recently, I have become aware of the attributes of Engage software. As the company says, “Easy-to-use templates let you create rich-media interactivity in minutes. Choose from a wide range of interaction types, including process, timeline, pyramid diagram, labeled graphic, interactive FAQ, and more. The familiar Flash format allows interactions to integrate seamlessly into virtually any e-learning course, or even stand alone on any Web site.”

The whole idea is, of course, to create engaging interactive content to further reach your e-learning students, and attain your teaching goals. If you have the cash, give it a try!

Getting Buy-in

Getting Buy-in is always a desirable goal. To do this, it is good to keep in mind that People Do Not Argue with Their Own Data. People are more likely to strongly believe something if they arrive at the idea themselves (or at least think they are arriving at it themselves.)

Presenting structured activities that generate the adult students' ideas, concepts, or techniques will facilitate learning more effectively than simply giving them information to remember.

Getting buy-in is important – perhaps essential.

Edmunds, C., K. Lowe, M. Murray, and A. Seymour. 1999. The Ultimate Educator. National Victim Assistance Academy (Advanced). Washington, DC

Six-Step Plan for Coaching

The Six-Step Plan for Coaching includes the following. Use these steps for every coaching session:

1. Preparation
   Set an objective
2. Open
   Build rapport and state the purpose of meeting
3. Perceptions/Needs
   Let the employee talk first and only then give perceptions
4. Identify and Remove Obstacles
   This is where you get into mutual problem solving
5. Close/Acton Step
   Agree to next steps and be sure to cheerlead!
6. Follow Up
   Set a follow up date

Following these steps will add structure and consistency in your coaching sessions.

Leveraging Technology - V: TeacherTube

Another great technology resource (that is Free!) is TeacherTube:

TeacherTube is an online community for sharing instructional videos. It is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.

Among other things, with TeacherTube, community members can:

1. Upload, tag and share videos worldwide.
2. Browse hundreds of videos uploaded by community members.
3. Integrate TeacherTube videos on websites using video embeds or APIs.
4. Make videos public or private - users can elect to broadcast their videos publicly or share them privately with those they invite.

TeacherTube - Try it out! http://www.teachertube.com/index.php

The Keirsey Tests

The Keirsey Temperament and Character are interesting and resemble the Meyers-Briggs test. The following link takes you to a location on line (scored immediately.)

Participants will enjoy taking the tests and learning about themselves from the scores they receive. The scores can also be used by instructors at the beginning of courses to learn about students and better plan instructional strategies, emphases, and individualized responses.

http://www.keirsey.com/

Give it a try; it is interesting and rather fun...

Life Experiences and Learning

I read the following quote on the web this morning. I am still trying to decide if I think it is true.

“The more life change events an adult encounters, the more likely he or she is to seek out learning opportunities. Just as stress increases as life-change events accumulate, the motivation to cope with change through engagement in a learning experience increases.”

Can it be true that the more we have experienced, the more we want to learn? I am going to have to think about this and come up with some examples.

Roots of Adult Learning Principles

Since the 1970s, adult learning theory has been based on four assumptions:

1. As they mature, adults tend to prefer self-direction.
2. Adults' experiences are a rich resource for learning. Active participation in planned experiences—such as discussions or problem solving exercises can createa powerful learning experience.
3. Adult learners' needs and interests are the starting points and serve as guideposts for training activities.
4. Adults are competency-based learners, meaning that they want to learn a skill or acquire knowledge that they can apply to their immediate circumstances.

"The Ultimate Educator" by Edmunds, C., K. Lowe, M. Murray, and A. Seymour, 1999.

Leveraging Technology IV - Kindle

Okay, I confess; I am an unrepentant technology and gadget freak. One of my current favorites is the Kindle e-book from Amazon. This wireless portable reading device has great appeal to tech-savvy readers, and it also has great potential for sharing information and learning.

Though the Kindle is primarily designed to purchase books from Amazon and then make it readable on a digital screen; it is also a mobile device that creates a connection to the Internet. The capacity to distribute educational materials with this ingenious technology is as yet an essentially untapped resource.

What educational possibilities will be realized through using Kindle in the future? Our imaginations are the only limit…

Using Humor to Engage Your Audience

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I like to use humor in my presentations. I have always found it beneficial in engaging the participants, and it helps to improve student learning.

The creative development of humor in the virtual classroom deals with "how" to teach, not "what" to teach. The use of humor is a teaching tool that increases the amount of "what" that is actually learned by students. Using humor can have a very positive effect on any classroom (or boardroom) experience.

Don’t be afraid. Use some humor in your presentation. Your audience will be appreciative.

Coaching in the Workplace - Part IX

We have discussed the need to use questions to get buy-in from the people we coach. There are questions and there are questions, however.

- Some go for depth in a helpful way and gain buy-in

- Others sound like a prosecuting attorney

When using questions, don't fall into the trap of sounding like an interragator. Find ways to make your questions supportive.

Six-Step Process Improvement Model - Introduction

There are several related modern business methodologies that outline the stages for improving processes.

In the weeks ahead, we will explore one such methodology which incorporates the following steps:

1. Defining the problem in terms of the process
2. Identifying and documenting the process
3. Measuring performance
4. Understanding why
5. Developing and testing ideas
6. Implementing solutions and evaluating

As with all things, it is important to know where you are going, and how you are going to get there.

Leveraging Technology III - Moodle

Moodle is a free software e-learning platform typically referred to as a Learning Management Systems (LMS). As of early 2008, it had a worldwide base of over 17 million users.

The construct of Moodle contends that learners can contribute to the educational experience in many ways. Moodle's features reflect an enormous range of possibilities in its design aspects (e.g. forum, learning activities, wikis, quizzes, and much more). It embraces a broad range of learning philosophies, from constructivism to focused outcome-oriented methodologies.

As has been discussed previously in this blog, the days of doing all training in traditional classroom settings is past. Fulfilling your company's educational requirements through the use of powerful tech solutions such as Moodle is not the future, it is now!

Coaching-In-Workplace-Part-VIII

“Buy-in”; the word/phrase is used frequently in today’s business world. The question is, “how do you get “buy-in”?

The answer is in the form of questions and practiced skill:

• Use questions when doing your coaching
  
• Be patient and wait for the answer


• Do not let the employee sidestep the question


• Keep asking probing, leading questions


• Listen to the answers

Let’s be clear; this is no “easy fix”. Using questions is quite likely contrary to your experience and training (if you are lucky enough to have had that luxury). It is a nonetheless worthy goal.

Get Buy-in!

Identifying Key Processes

Knowing which of your processes are truly key to the success of your organization takes a bit of analysis.

Four questions can be used for identifying key processes:

Ask yourself:

1. Which outputs are of the greatest importance to our customers?


2. Which processes produce these outputs?


3. Which processes are most visible to our customers?


4. Of the processes identified in response to Questions 2 and 3, which seem to have the greatest potential for improvement?

Once you have identified your key processes, you will be well on your way to serving your customers better, and growing your business!

Leveraging Technology II

As I have mentioned in an earlier blog, the days of doing all of your training in traditional classroom settings should be a memory of the past. Fulfilling your company's educational requirements by leveraging the multitude of tech solutions is not the future, it is now!

Another one of my favorite sets of training software is made by Articulate. Articulate Presenter is an easy to use and very powerful solution to e-learning. As their website says, "Presenter lets non-technical users create e-learning courses by adding narration and interactivity to a standard PowerPoint file. At the press of the button, your presentation is transformed into a compelling Flash-based course.”

It's true! It is easy and allows you to create very professional training modules with a minimum of effort (Wow, I should get paid for this…).

Once again, leverage technology; it is the wave of the present.

The Importance of Benchmarking

Why is benchmarking important? Simply put, “If you do not know where you have been, how will you know how far you have come”? Another way to think about it is to ask yourself, “Well, I think we are doing well, but how do I really know”?

There are four basic ways of benchmarking. Think about which one may apply to you, your department, and/or your company:

1. Internal Benchmarking
   Compares one department’s procedures to another
2. Competitive Benchmarking
   Compares organization’s procedures to those of a direct competitor
3. Functional Benchmarking
   Compares how dissimilar businesses perform similar functions
4. Generic Benchmarking
   Searches for the “Best of the Best”
   
   Benchmarking will help you know how far you have come, and how you stack up against the competition.

Coaching in the Workplace - Part VII

"Lead by example" is such an old axiom it is not often heard in modern business discussions. It is nonetheless as valid in today's business world as it was in the past. Being a model for the behavior of others is a very worthy objective for any corporate coach.

• During day-to-day coaching sessions, it is important that you be open to receiving feedback (as well as giving it…)
• Be the model!

Measuring Learning with Kirkpatrick's Model

It can be argued that it is pointless to provide instruction to people if you have no idea whether they are learning anything.


Donald Kirkpatrick first published his widely recognized four levels of learning model in 1959:

1. Reaction of student - what they thought about the training and the instructor
2. Learning - the resulting increase in knowledge or capability (can be measured with a pretest and posttest)
3. Behavior - extent of behavior and capability improvement and application to their job
4. Results - the effects on the business or environment resulting from the students' performance (often quantified in ROI)

If you do not know what your learners are gaining from your instruction, you cannot know if you are succeeding in your educational efforts.

Crosby’s Four Absolutes of Quality

Phillip Crosby, PhD, former president of the American Society for Quality established four absolutes for quality performance. These "absolutes" are as applicable to service industries as they are to manufacturing:

1. Definition of quality is conformance to requirements, not goodness


2. System for causing quality is prevention, not appraisal


3. Performance standard is zero defects, not “that’s close enough”


4. Measurement of quality is the cost of nonconformance, not indexes

Although "zero defects" may be an impractical goal for most businesses, it nonetheless is an interesting a worthy ideal parameter. The broader point is, of course, to know what you are measuring and what the proper standard of measurement should be.

Leverage Technology

The days of doing all training in traditional classroom settings is past. Fulfilling your company's educational requirements by leveraging the multitude of tech solutions is not the future, it is now!

One of my favorite pieces of training software is Adobe Captivate. As their website says, "Adobe Captivate 3 software enables anyone to rapidly create powerful and engaging simulations, scenario-based training, and robust quizzes without programming knowledge or multimedia skills."

It's true! With some experimentation and a little practice, you can create learning modules that can replace expensive, instructor-led training initiatives.

Leverage technology. It is the wave of the present.