While the focus of this post is not specifically Apple or the iPad, it’s almost impossible to talk about successful mobile strategies without recognizing that the iPad has created a transitional moment for the Learning & Development world. The reasons why have been the subject of countless blog posts, but I think DreamWorks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, in this video from TechCrunch, says it best:

“[The iPad] it’s the first device that actually is a reflection of me – or us. It’s so revolutionary that it’s no longer about me adapting myself to somebody else’s set of programmings or the way in which a device is going to engage. It is the reverse. It is as though I’m looking in a mirror.”

I love this description because it encapsulates what should be the crux of any mobile learning strategy. That is, recognizing that mobile content delivery should be fully controlled by the learner. In other words, what content the learner wants; where and when they want it; and how they want it delivered – with no constraints.

While it took the iPad to make learner-controlled content a reality, this level of flexibility is now the gold standard for delivery to any device, be it tablets, smart phones or any number of performance support devices.

For learning organizations, the clear challenge to meet this gold standard in their frenzied rush to mLearning will be to NOT repeat the mistakes that were made in the move from classroom to on-line training. It’s been 15 years since the introduction of computer-based training and our industry still struggles with delivering engaging eLearning, developing it in a cost effective way and achieving positive learner outcomes.

We all know that old habits die hard, so here are 10 repeat offenders that could deliver a devastating blow to your mLearning strategy:
Read more…

Technorati Tags: blended learning, elearning, iPad, learning content, mlearning, mobile content, mobile learning, Richard Baruaniuk, XML

Dawn mobile learning blended learning, elearning, iPad, learning content, mlearning, mobile content, mobile learning, Richard Baruaniuk, XML

I wanted to take a little bit of time away from busy year-end deadlines to nominate some of my favorite social media resources for this year’s Edublog awards.

Best individual blog – trainingwreck by Dan Pontefract.
Dan’s posts are insightful, well thought-out, well-researched. He’s not afraid to tell you like it really is and back up what he says. I reference him often.

Best individual tweeter – @jclarey
Janet Clarey is all time favorite of mine. I love her informative tweets and her funny observations of life and the world around her.

Best group blog – Workplace Learning Today by Brandon Hall.
I like the variety of topics and reports of key happenings across the industry.

Best new blog – Work, Learn, Play by Jay Shaw.
Jay has a style that is all his own. There is no conformity here and Jay enjoys sparking spirited discussion. A pleasure to read.

Best resource sharing blog – Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies by Jane Hart.
Yes, I do realize that at least a hundred other people have already nominated Jane’s site. But hey, it’s the best.

Most influential tweet / series of tweets / tweet based discussion – @eLearningDebate
I was on the waiting list to attend the eLearning Debate at the Oxford Union. It was a hot ticket and I couldn’t get in. This was the next best thing.

Best teacher blog – The Innovative Educator by Lisa Nielsen.
The value of the educational information that Lisa shares cannot be overstated.

Best elearning / corporate education blog – The Rapid E-Learning Blog
I’m going to pay my respects to a fellow vendor here because Tom lends such practical and valuable advice to his user community. This is the way it should be done.

Best educational use of a social network – Internet Time Alliance
This is new but growing fast. Jay Cross, Hard Jarche, Jane Hart, Charles Jennings and Clark Quinn add such value to the training industry, you’d be silly not to join this community.

Dawn Uncategorized

Last month, I moderated an educational webinar on mobile learning and I was fortunate enough to get some of the leading experts in the field, Judy Brown, Tyson Greer and Allison Rossett, to participate in an online panel discussion to discuss a broad range of topics around mLearning and mSupport.

Normally, our webinars are formal, tightly scripted and tightly controlled events that are planned out to the smallest detail; and I take great pride in the overwhelmingly positive feedback we always get. But as we all know, learning is evolving. Today, we keep hearing that formal presentations are out, that it’s all about informal learning, social learning and user-generated content.

What this webinar taught me is that it’s actually somewhere in between the two.

Read more…

Technorati Tags: Allison Rossett, Ambient Insight, informal learning, Judy Brown, mobile learning, mobile performance support, Tyson Greer, webinars

Dawn informal learning Allison Rossett, Ambient Insight, informal learning, Judy Brown, mobile learning, mobile performance support, Tyson Greer, webinars

Last week, I had the good fortune to speak with George Siemens for an upcoming Xyleme Voices podcast. The opportunity to speak one-on-one with so many industry luminaries is easily the best part of my job given the lively debates that often flow from these discussions. My conversation with George was no exception as we spoke at length about Connectivism, social learning networks, and the future of current learning technologies (LMS, LCMS, etc.) in light of social media. It was this last point where our discussion got quite animated.

While there are countless articles about the future of the LMS, it was arguably George’s blog post titled Future of learning: LMS or SNS? which kicked this discussion into high gear. So, I was not going to let the opportunity to debate this topic pass me by.
Read more…

Technorati Tags: Connectivism, Dan Pontefract, Gartner, George Siemens, LCMS, LMS, Social Learning

Dawn Learning Technologies, Social Learning Connectivism, Dan Pontefract, Gartner, George Siemens, LCMS, LMS, Social Learning

For those of you who read my blog, have seen any of my blog comments, or follow me on twitter, you’ll know that I’m a fairly big critic of training departments that still tend to disconnect themselves from the rest of the enterprise, be it stand-alone learning content development processes, and now much to my chagrin, siloed social learning initiatives. Today, I’m going to talk about learning content management (ECM) and enterprise content management (LCM).

The enterprise content management software market currently exceeds $4B, so it’s quite clear that the vast majority of organizations place strong emphasis on their ECM strategy – a strategy that the training organization unfortunately typically takes no part in. In his paper At the Intersection of Learning and Enterprise Content Management (available for download at the resource library section of our web site), Chapman Alliance analyst and Brandon Hall associate Bryan Chapman makes clear the repercussions of such a strategy:

1. The training department cannot leverage content used in other parts of the organization,
2. There is limited or no collaboration between training and other enterprise functions,
3. Training have limited influence on the enterprise content strategy.

If there is any question as to why the training department has become increasingly marginalized and the CLO role quickly diminishing, this should provide some good insight.

But this blog post isn’t about why learning needs to engage with the enterprise. I’ve already written about this extensively in my Plugging Learning into ECM white paper (also available for download at the resource library section of our web site). What his blog post is about is what happens when the training function actually engages with the rest of the organization to take a leading role in the enterprise content management strategy and radically grows its sphere of influence to elevate learning from riding the bench to a star player within the enterprise.

In mid-May, along with Xyleme CEO, Mark Hellinger, I attended EMC World where one of our enterprise customers, Informa, had the opportunity to showcase their integrated Xyleme LCMS / EMC Documentum solution to the ECM community. For those of you unfamiliar with scope of this event, EMC World 2010 boasted about 8,000 attendees, filled up the entire Boston Convention and Exhibition Center for four days, and closed down Faneuil Marketplace, one of Boston’s biggest tourist destinations, for a private party for event attendees. It was very different from the typical training conferences that we regularly attend.

In front of an audience consisting of the people responsible for developing and executing on their company’s ECM strategy, Bob Hecht, Senior Vice President of Publishing Technologies at Informa, presented on how Informa’s performance improvement businesses, the groups responsible for the development of the company’s training content, transformed the company’s content-driven business through an enterprise project they dubbed “Olympus”. So how did they do it and what were the results? Read on!
Read more…

Technorati Tags: Documentum, ECM, EMC World, enterprise content management, Informa, learning content management, Single Source

Dawn ECM, Learning Content Management Documentum, ECM, EMC World, enterprise content management, Informa, learning content management, Single Source

I was on Nigel Paine’s blog on Friday when I saw and commented on his post The Mash-up Begins. There have been countless blog posts about the theoretical potential of the iPad on mainstream media, most notably eBooks, so it was nice to see a real-world example of static content and video done in a way that equals, and even improves upon, the quality and design of the magazine layout.

Obviously, my mind shifted to learning as Nigel’s example got me immediately thinking about how we can apply these same mash-up concepts to traditional instructor-led training materials like study guides, manuals, and presentations. While training departments have been busy spending ridiculous amounts of time and money converting these training materials to e-Learning, Steve Jobs has (surprise!) changed the game by providing us with a new direct channel for ILT materials – the eBook. While eBooks of course aren’t new, the iPad now affords training departments the opportunity to add dynamic and interactive media to textbooks and other traditional learning media. In his insightful Influential Marketing blog post How The iPad Will Transform Mainstream Media (But NOT The Web), Rohit Bhargava provides a great description how the iPad will affect traditional textbooks:
Read more…

Technorati Tags: eBooks, elearning, ePub, ILT, iPad, learning content, Single Source

Dawn Single Source, Standards eBooks, elearning, ePub, ILT, iPad, learning content, Single Source

A couple of weeks ago, Xyleme presented at Intelligent Content conference hosted by the Rockley Group. Intelligent Content isn’t a training event; rather it’s a small conference showcasing how leading edge companies are exploiting the value of content through XML, open formats, and standards. I think the Rockley Group’s definition hits the nail on the head:
Read more…

Technorati Tags: Ann Rockley, blended learning, content reuse, Intelligent Content, multi-channel publishing, Single Source

Dawn Instructional Design, Learning Content Management Ann Rockley, blended learning, content reuse, Intelligent Content, multi-channel publishing, Single Source

This past week, I’ve been reading and referring to Jane Hart’s article The State of Social Learning Today and some Thoughts for the Future of L&D in 2010 quite a bit. As always, Jane combines a wealth of information with some remarkable insights on where organizational learning is (or should be) headed.

One thing that has always been of great interest to me is what I’ll refer to as the integration of social and formal learning content. So when I got to the part of Jane’s article that said it’s time to re-think the design and delivery of formal learning initiatives, I felt we were on to something. Jane nails it when she says:
Read more…

Technorati Tags: formal learning, learning content management, Social Learning, subject matter networks, user generated content

Dawn Learning Content Management, Social Learning formal learning, learning content management, Social Learning, subject matter networks, user generated content

Time to cast your vote for the 2009 Edublog Awards! Voting closes Tuesday, Dec 15 (tomorrow) at 8pm EST.

Congratulations to all of those nominated. It’s an impressive list of bloggers, Tweeters (is that a word?) and other social media leaders who I plan to now read regularly and follow if I’m not already.

This year, our educational podcast library Xyleme Voices was nominated and shortlisted in the category of Best Educational Use of Audio. I’m very honored and thrilled and if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to give a shout-out to our spectacular team here at Xyleme. While I am the host of this library, there are a number of people in the background who put tremendous time, effort, and pride into researching, recruiting, and producing these terrific podcasts.
Read more…

Technorati Tags: CLO, Edublog Awards, learning networks, performance support, podcasts, Xyleme Voices

Dawn Executive Perspective, News CLO, Edublog Awards, learning networks, performance support, podcasts, Xyleme Voices

There is no question that the rise of social networks is creating a profound shift in the way training departments are delivering knowledge to their employees, partners, and customers. According to a McKinsey executive survey, a whopping 71% of enterprises are using Web 2.0 tools for training purposes and this figure is rising fast. While I could write an entire blog post on the reasons for this, I think Clark Quinn summarizes it quite nicely:
Read more…

Technorati Tags: LCMS, learning objects, LMS, Social Learning, social media, social networks

Dawn Social Learning LCMS, learning objects, LMS, Social Learning, social media, social networks