Archive | March, 2011
The Wisdom of Experience: Simplifying Complex Learning Targets

The Wisdom of Experience: Simplifying Complex Learning Targets

by on March 30, 2011 in Classroom Learning, Instructional Design, performance support, subject matter experts, Training Development

In recent months, I’ve been working on a project to redesign a national training program for bulk plant employees in the propane industry. The material is being written at an 8th grade reading level and, for the most part, the training content is pretty straightforward. It covers topics like filling and emptying propane containers, and federal codes and regulations as they relate to the training tasks.  And, of course, safety considerations are paramount when training folks to work with a flammable gas that can give you instant freeze burns in its liquid state.  (Before I go any further, please note that propane is an extremely safe product when handled appropriately!)

So, no big deal, right?  I mean, how hard can it be to explain how to safely fill or empty a propane container?  As it turns out, not that hard in terms of procedural steps, but much harder than I expected in terms of how …

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Accelerated Learning: Where Does It Fit In?

Accelerated Learning: Where Does It Fit In?

by on March 28, 2011 in Accelerated Learning, Instructional Design, performance support

While I was taking classes in curriculum design, we discussed at great length different learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic.  I started thinking about this during a program on Accelerated Learning at the Minnesota Chapter of the International Society of Performance Improvement (MNISPI).

At first I couldn’t think whether I actually applied how training was delivered to these different types of learners. Then I remembered a series of highly successful training programs designed to address the three learning styles at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

The audience for the training programs was junior high school students, and the purpose was to learn about works of art in the museum’s collection.  I always thought that program was extremely innovative.  It allowed the students to interact with the works of art in their own way.

But now I wanted to find out more about Accelerated Learning. My learning style is visual, …

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The Return of the (Digital) Native

The Return of the (Digital) Native

by on March 25, 2011 in mobile learning

In recent years, we’ve all heard a lot about digital natives.  These precocious youths, born after or during the general advent of digital technology, have an inherent understanding of its concepts in a way that their forebears cannot hope to achieve.  What’s more, they are beginning to use it at an increasingly young age – a recent study from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Sesame Workshop (producers of Sesame Street) found that 80% of children age 5 and under use the Internet at least once a week. 

 As this is well under the age at which language learning is easiest, and as one could argue that mastering the concepts of technology (as opposed to rote memorization) is somewhat similar to learning language, it’s not really a surprise that many of these children are becoming wired to learn in a way that is much more technology-oriented than their predecessors. …

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What Can March Madness Teach Us About Blended Learning?

What Can March Madness Teach Us About Blended Learning?

by on March 23, 2011 in blended learning, Classroom Learning, Video

Opening weekend of March Madness is over.  Yes, it hurts just typing it.  Although two weekends of mayhem remain, there’s nothing like that first weekend.  Those of you that enjoyed the non-stop college basketball action, whether at home, at the games, or in Vegas, are trudging back to your offices.  Some of you may have brackets that survived this year’s upset-happy opening rounds.  But like me, most of you have no hope.

Nonetheless, we were privy to four amazing days of basketball, and thanks to a new TV deal, we could view every second of it without buying an overpriced DirecTV sports package.  Thank you CBS and Turner!

We also had the privilege to witness blended learning at work.  Blended learning may be a newer phenomenon in the corporate world, but coaches have been using a mixture of video, instructor-led, experiential and peer-to-peer learning for decades.  After a game is …

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Online Academy Helps to Keep Lectures Where They Belong: Out of the Classroom

Online Academy Helps to Keep Lectures Where They Belong: Out of the Classroom

by on March 21, 2011 in blended learning, Classroom Learning, Video

Where do the most innovate ideas in learning come from?   Until recently, the debate over this question had two primary camps:  academia and corporate America.

Now, there’s a third possible answer:  Khan Academy.  This YouTube-based learning environment was founded in 2004 by former Boston hedge-fund manager Salman Khan, and today contains more than 2,200 lectures on more than 100 topics (mostly math related).

From a recent article at Knowledge@Wharton called Technology and Teaching:  Flipping the Model:

Khan stumbled upon the idea for his free web-based academy while trying to teach math to cousins in New Orleans. In an effort to bridge the time and distance gap, he started making 10-minute videos of math lessons and posting them on YouTube. Much to his surprise, Khan found his cousins preferred learning from him via YouTube to learning from him in person.

Quickly, the videos gained an online following, grew like …

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