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

I remember the first time I went out on a sales call. I was a young engineer and I really didn’t know much about sales. After the call, the VP of Sales I was with gave me a book called “Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success”. It was a great story about the discipline sales professionals need to be successful. Contrary to what many people believe, the best sales professionals are not “the slick salesman” or the “tell them what they want to hear to get the deal” type. The best sales people have a methodology and rigorously follow it. The most successful sales people will tell you that sales is a hard profession, and the key is making the hard things easier to do.
Read more…

Technorati Tags: Instructional Design, Instructional design for single source, reusable content, single-source publishing, XML content

Mark Instructional Design, Single Source Instructional Design, Instructional design for single source, reusable content, single-source publishing, XML content

If the number of people in my recent conference sessions are any indication more and more organizations are seeing the promise of single-source learning content development. Everyone knows that the old way of doing things is just not working any more once you have any number of courses… doing your Instructor Guide and Student Guide in Word or FrameMaker, your Slides in PowerPoint or Keynote and your learning in Articulate or Lectora.

What happens every time something has to change? EEEKKKKK!
Read more…

Technorati Tags: Instructional Design, learning content development, Reusability 2.0, reusable content, single-source publishing

Stuart Instructional Design, Single Source Instructional Design, learning content development, Reusability 2.0, reusable content, single-source publishing

I want to comment and discuss a real-world example of why XML and XML standards are fundamental to your strategy when selecting an LCMS. One of the great questions we hear when prospective clients evaluate LCMS solutions is “what is the role of XML in my decision”? Does it matter if I choose an LCMS built on a pure XML platform or one that is built on proprietary content formats?
Read more…

Technorati Tags: e-Books, reusable content, single-source publishing, XML content, XML technology

Mark Executive Perspective, News e-Books, reusable content, single-source publishing, XML content, XML technology

I frequently speak at training conferences. My latest talk is “Designing Content for Reusability Across Multiple Audiences and Contexts.” During the session I discuss the benefits of using XML and XML publishing techniques to separate your training content from its presentation format, allowing you to reuse content from course to course. More importantly you can also reuse content across different types of outputs (e-learning, classroom, performance support and even mobile).

Each time I’ve given this talk I get this question, “I can totally see the benefits of this approach, but I have lots of legacy content in Word. How do I get that into XML?”
Read more…

Technorati Tags: Reusability 2.0, reusable content, Word into XML, XML content, XML technology

Stuart Instructional Design, Single Source Reusability 2.0, reusable content, Word into XML, XML content, XML technology