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

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

Talk has been heating up lately regarding the use of open source versus proprietary systems for learning. For example, if you check out Michael Hanley’s blog, you’ll see that he’s dedicated most of his recent posts to this subject. Sophia Peters provides another interesting post entitled Deciding Between Open Source and Proprietary Software? In her article, she makes the following assertions:

• Open source software has grown to include […] an adherence to established standards, which is a high priority for open source software development.
• Proprietary software has closed standards that hinder further development.

The debate regarding open source versus proprietary is one that will rage on for a long time and it is not really black or white. However, I think there is one thing that most people can agree upon:
Read more…

Technorati Tags: e-learning, LCMS, learning standards, LMS, Moodle, open source, SCORM

Dawn Learning Technologies, Standards e-learning, LCMS, learning standards, LMS, Moodle, open source, SCORM

As the economy has forced organizations to do more with less, we’re seeing more and more interest in LCMS systems. The times of getting through the inherent inefficiencies of the old approach of having multiple copies of instructor guides, student guides, slide decks and online courses are gone. Organizations are looking for ways to streamline their processes and remove waste.
Read more…

Technorati Tags: LCMS, lcms adoption, learning content management system

Stuart Executive Perspective LCMS, lcms adoption, learning content management system

A recently published report concluded that Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) implementations using reusable learning object (RLO) models typically result in a small return on investment. I am not surprised. For starters, I happen to know that none of our customers participated in the study
Read more…

Technorati Tags: LCMS, learning content management system, reusable content, reusable learning objects, RLO, single-source publishing, xml publishing

Mark Executive Perspective, Instructional Design, Single Source LCMS, learning content management system, reusable content, reusable learning objects, RLO, single-source publishing, xml publishing

Jay Cross has started a conversation on the Future of Organizational Learning and Development. Great ideas have been shared so far. We are looking forward to the discussion on April 21st!

Michael Hanley analyzing 5 factors that are contributing to the emergence of informal and non-formal learning. Blended learning, Talent management and Learning 2.0 are discussed in the first part whereas Knowledge centers and Learning simulations in the second part of his blog posting.

Brandon-Hall just published a new 526-page report entitled “Learning Technology Products 2009: Authoring Tools, Learning Management Systems, and Learning Content Management Systems” that contains short one – to three – page profiles of the products featured in three Brandon Hall Research KnowledgeBases: Authoring Tool KnowledgeBase, LMS KnowledgeBase and LCMS KnowledgeBase.

Thinking outside the blocks (yes “blocks,” not box): New ways of learning with shiftables. Now, this is a post Bryan Chapman uploaded in February, but I had to include it. Wow, it is amazing!

Technorati Tags: blended learning, enterprise learning, informal learning, LCMS, organizational development, organizational learning, workplace learning

Despoina Industry Talk blended learning, enterprise learning, informal learning, LCMS, organizational development, organizational learning, workplace learning

As we start the New Year I thought I’d chat about our latest announcement - Xyleme LCMS running as an integrated solution (application) on EMC’s Documentum platform. If you have been following Xyleme, you will know that we have always been built on a native XML content platform. Up until now, the major ECM players have not provided an XML platform that could handle the granularity and performance required by our application. But this has changed with EMC’s acquisition of X-Hive last year and its recent integration into the Documentum platform. We can now offer an integrated solution with the world’s leading ECM platform.
Read more…

Technorati Tags: EMC Documentum, enterprise content management, LCMS, learning content management system

Mark ECM, Executive Perspective EMC Documentum, enterprise content management, LCMS, learning content management system