Rapid development cycle (RDC) - Custom eLearning development

Unlike many other vendors, Cyber Media Creations uses a rapid development cycle (RDC) approach to custom eLearning development. This approach is based on using rapid prototyping for each module. Essentially each of the modules in the course is treated as separate Lego block. CMC is able to develop each module independently. Our rapid development cycle also allows us to develop 3-4 modules at the same time. So what does this mean for you, the customer? It means that you can assign each module to the relevant subject matter expert (SME). What happens if the owner of module 1 is away on vacation? No problem, we start working on other modules that are ready for production. Using the Lego block approach, CMC can work on several modules at the same time. This translates into cost savings for our customers. It also gives them great flexibility in terms of scheduling modules for development. Based on our unique rapid development cycle (RDC) for custom eLearning development, combined with our unique business model CMC has been able to provide highly competitive pricing.

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Interactive learning

Too often the term interactive learning is used in an abstract manner where its actual application or power is lost. Interactive learning is simple and you can contribute in an active way. Actually I want to thank all the contributors over the last couple of weeks. We all heard that Web 2.0 is different and powerful and that it will exponentially increase learning. Well in the case of blogging it has definitely done so for me. Blogging is powerful because not only is it easy for you to share your thoughts or nuggets of wisdom, but it is also easy for the reader to respond directly to you, sharing their thoughts are challenging your ideas.

Yes Web 2.0 has made publishing easy, but it is not a one way interaction it is truly interactive. Sadly many of you read the blog via a reader and as such you may miss out on the comments. This is very sad, because the true learning takes place at the level of interaction i.e the point where my rambling gets challenged by readers' comments.

Let's take one great example. Tim responded to my post on July's Big Question regarding Tool selection with the following comment: "Could you frame some of this rhetoric about e-learning 2.0 in the context of e-learning for large corporations like banks where there is no internet access (no access to blogs as a learning tool), the requirement for mandatory training for compliance purposes, and where standards (restrictions?) like AICC or SCORM are in place?".

Wow, this blew my socks off. What an excellent question. Initially I was a little stunned by the word rhetoric, but after some reflection I realized that to someone who is actually trying to implement eLearning 2.0 in a corporate setting, much of the discussion must appear to be at the level of rhetoric. The fact is that the corporate context does limit the implementation and therefore the implications of eLearning 2.0. Tim's response really got my brain thinking about eLearning 2.0 from a different perspective. My response to Tim then got another comment from an Organizational and Development student (Mary deVore) who thanked us for discussing this interesting topic.

My point is that blogging is a great interactive learning tool. The ease and level of interaction is fascinating and it really makes my juices flow. I would like to recommend that you comment on your favorite blogs and that you read other people's comments. This is really a great interactive learning tool. Please keep up the good work!

Online communites

I found a VERY interesting graphical representation of online communities based on estimated size of membership. It looks like most of the communities are represented, even if Microsoft is relegated to Icy North. I love finding visual representations like this and I am always amazed at the time it took to put something like this together.

Please make sure to check out all the other amazingly interesting maps:
http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/

Be warned this site covers eclectic topics such as:
Gastronomic Cartography: the France of Breads; Where (and How) Evolution Is Taught In the US; Bushlandia vs. Reality; A Vulture’s View of Ethiopia and much, much more....enjoy.

Web 2.0: Quality vs. Quantity

Tony Karrer is having an interesting conversation regarding Web 2.0 and the implications for content creation, and more importantly the quality of the content that is created. I agree with Tony that the new tools for generating and sharing content are great, but shouldn’t there be some sort of arbitration? We are so used to peer reviews and publishers who decide what is worthwhile reading. Web 2.0 is leveling the playing field and any ‘old schmo’ can voice their opinion via the web.

My feeling is that we may be heading towards a tipping point. At the moment tools such as blogging, wikis, RSS feeds etc are really coming to the fore even though some of the technology has been around for a long time. Many companies currently require their employees to blog as part of their job description. Personally I see that changing in the short term, primarily because of the world load that people have. In the end the experts will create a community of bloggers (which I already see in the eLearning industry) and debate important developments in the industry using the new technologies.

The ‘average’ working is in the trenches putting out the fires. I think I mixed two visual metaphors there, but you get the point. In my humble opinion the web will self regulate and we will see more focused blogging by fewer individuals. The usefulness/ROI of blogging is hard to measure so companies will eventually dismiss most of it as hype and move on. Most employees will cease blogging and the experts will remain.

Blogging is just one aspect of web 2.0. I need to catch my breath and consider the broader implications. Back in a bit.

Offshore outsourcing

Just a couple of ideas regarding obstacles to offshore outsourcing eLearning projects. Not comprehensive by any stretch, merely a starting point…

Cultural differences: These differences may range from subtle to obvious. Some cultures shy away from any confrontation which means that your experts may not challenge you when you make a suggestion that is obviously incorrect or at the very least non-optimal. Cultural differences can also become a major issue if you are working with a team from a not native English speaking country. Even in cases where the project managers are English-speaking this may not be the case for the majority of the back office techies. This may impact the quality of your final product as spelling and grammatical errors may easily be missed.

Intellectual property protection: Some of the offshore suppliers are based in countries where the right to intellectual property is not very well enforced or understood. You could very well end up with a situation where your training is sold to another competitor.

Time difference: Are you able to work in the time zone where your vendor is based? For most eLearning project rapid feedback in real time is an added advantage that speeds up development time.

Transfer of content: How large is the files that you will be working with? Is it possible to transfer content to the web during the development phase or will CD’s be sent to and from the vendor. What is the cost/time involved with that?

Your favorite blogs

I need your help! I am busy updating my blogs and adding them to my Google reader. I would like to know what blogs you're reading. Although I am obviously interested in training/elearning related blogs any other interesting blogs would be appreciated.

You only have three minutes

I’ve been thinking about the Freakonomics blog post where people gave their ideas about why they do and don’t comment on blogs. In my initial post I just mentioned a few of the main reasons that I found interesting, but I hadn’t had time to really think about the implications of these reasons, not only for blogs but also for learning in general.

Having had a few weeks to think about two things really jump out at me, specifically related to how these reasons for not commenting impact the effectiveness of any training. I would argue that looking at why people do or don’t engage in a blog, may give us a fair indication of what people are or aren’t looking for in online training. Many eLearning applications are developed to engage the users so what lessons can we learn from people looking at blogs. Granted the two are fairly different in that reading a blog is part of informal learning, whereas some eLearning courses are required learning. Be that as it may we can still gleam something about what intrigues the cyber junkie and what rouses their interest or squashes their interactive juices.

The first is the fairly obvious and consistent reason for not commenting which is a lack of time. This is a VERY important factor to consider when developing online courses. DON’T try to develop these monstrous courses/modules that take hours to complete, people will become bored and they WILL move on!

How this for a great comment on the fixed cost of time:
“First is the fixed cost.. it just took me 3 minutes to register with Wordpress and that’s a long time for the internet age.” Matt W.

3 minutes! You better have something that is captivating to keep this guys attention!

The second aspect of commenting/not commenting that stood out for me was tone and expertise of the blog author. Check out these comments:

“It is not that I never have the desire, I just usually find myself far less articulate than the author of the blog that I am reading. For that reason I figure that there is no need for me to take away from what they have written with a seemingly un-intelligible response. I feel that there are far too many of these types of responses in blogs and I usually do not wish to be part of it.” Takshaka

“I choose weblogs authored by people much more knowledgeable than myself, written on topics I’d like to understand better. To think I would have something of substance to contribute, leaving a comment through this one-to-many broadcasting technology environment, would be hubris.” Dixie

I concede that people inclination to respond in written format on a blog authored by a blog may be different to engaging in online course, but there is certainly something to be gleaned from this comment. Tone is an essential part of a training course and bloggers comments on the experts should be taken into consideration. Not only have studies shown that simple language is easier to digest, but striking a tone of equality may get people to engage and absorb more of the information… By now my 3 minutes are up and you have probably moved on by now. If not, stay tuned.

Visualization methods: Periodic table

I came across this great resource via Kevin's blog. It's a periodic table of visualizations. Move your cursor over each one and an example pops up.

Let me know if you've found other resources like this.

Have a great Easter!

PowerPoint vs. Interactive learning

PowerPoint is a pervasive application used in many, if not most training settings. Sadly many of these PowerPoint presentations can be described only as ‘death by PowerPoint’ rather than being a good learning experience. The fact that PowerPoint is so pervasive generally means that it is used as a starting point for many of my discussions with customer related to developing customized and interactive eLearning materials. Some customers are happy with using PowerPoint presentations for eLearning and their interest in merely in outsourcing the production of these materials to an eLearning vendor. In this case it takes me some time to persuade the customer that there are more effective and engaging methods to teach people using an electronic method such as eLearning. The frustration from a vendor perspective for this example is that the customer doesn’t necessarily understand the complexity of developing a customized eLearning program and they may become frustrated by the amount of effort and time required to build a program. For this type of situation education of the customer is as important as the end user. On the other side of the perspective there is the customer who has tried using a PowerPoint training course deployed via the web which a lot of negative feedback from the user population. Sadly, many of these courses are not redeveloped due to budgetary or time constraints (something that I’ve heard numerous times). Although this customer understands that PowerPoint is not the answer, they also need to be educated on how eLearning programs are developed and how much time and effort is involved to develop a truly engaging and interactive program.

Having said all of this, I agree with Clive Shepherd that PowerPoint is not to blame per se. I think the main culprit is the business community, which has used PowerPoint in a lazy fashion. We are all used to the slides with terrible animation and thousands of bullet points and sadly this has become the accepted norm. Although I haven’t seen too many good examples of an interactive PowerPoint eLearning course I am sure there are examples out there. Although PowerPoint is not a great platform for developing eLearning materials it could very easily be used by a skilled developer to meet specific needs.

My point is that the technology is not that important, what really counts is how the training is developed. Understanding the objectives, content, audience, deployment method etc. is essential to developing a good training program. Blaming PowerPoint for not delivering is similar to blaming eLearning for not meeting its full potential. Ultimately, we should look at who creates the content, rather than what was used to develop the program.

What are your thoughts? What has your experience been with PowerPoint or PowerPoint-like training programs?

BTW, this discussion was stimulated by recent customer discussions, Clive Sheppard's blog post Don't blame PowerPoint as well as April's Learning Circuits' big question: ILT and Off-the-Shelf Vendors – What Should They Do? which addresses time-to-market and costs associated with developing custom content. Obviously cost is always a factor, especially when dealing with the customer that is satisfied or ok with the Powerpoint-type courses for eLearning.

Please also check out Learning Cicuits' big question in January which discusses quality vs. speed when it comes to eLearning development.

Blogging: No comment

Found a great post and discussion thread on the Freakonomics blog about why people do and don’t comment on blogs. It is enlightening to see the gamut of reasons that people cite for not posting comments on a blog. Many of the reasons also beg the question of what role blogs will play in the future and whether one on one interaction is really plausible for blogs.

Here are a few of the reasons listed for not commenting:

• No linear connection between comments and the original post
• Intimidated by the excellent writing style of the blogger
• Takes time to post a coherent comment
• Need to read through other comments to avoid duplication
• Don’t feel you have anything useful to add
• Too many passionate views so no one will listen to your comment
• Blogger is a SME and I couldn’t add anything
• Read blog using a reader rather than going to the actual blog
• Fear ridicule from other bloggers

And the # 1 reason is that many blogs require registration and login, which is time consuming and it requires you to remember your username and password.

Any comments? :-)

BTW, if you haven't read Freakonomics make sure you check it out. Even my wife enjoyed it and she wouldn't claim to know anything about economics.

Mind mapping

I came across a great post on mind mapping for all you visual thinkers out there. If like me, you like to create visual references while you learn, you will find this post very useful. Several references and links to useful mind mapping tools. Make sure to check out the comments section as this has lots of good stuff too.

Have fun mind mapping!

Portable learning content

In my previous post I was deliberating about content overload. Here is another side of the argument about content. Actually it is more of a side view as it relates more to the presentation of content, rather than the amount. I think portable content is great and this is indeed one of the main ideas behind the SCORM standard. Portable is great, but is learning content a case of if you build it in many formats they will come? Does your average corporate worker have the time and inclination to search for content? The main idea behind a LMS is to store content centrally, so how does this relate to multiple formats? Besides, many LMS'es still struggle with video content, but this is a side issue.

What are your thoughts on content formats and dealing with the large amount of content out there?

Informal learning vs. Information overload

It is amazing to me how many people don't actually know about blogs. I mention blogging and their eyes glaze over. Then you mention podcasts, wikis, my space etc and they are ready to run. I keep wondering whether this sentiment is shared by many of the corporate folks out there. Is informal learning a reality when people have day to day tasks to deal with? Will your general business user really take the time to look at blog postings to solve a problem?

I think the answer is yes and no. It depends on the type of person and the type of job/task. It also goes further than that though. I think that with sooooooooo much content being available, it is paramount that content be organized in a way that people can get to it in an easy way. This kind of goes contrary to blogs that are supposed to be free flowing/ informal thought sharing arenas. Considering the number of blogs out there, are we going to get to a point of information overload? Most blogs cover a myriad of different topics so how do you filter through all the white noise to get to the info you need?

Search engines are getting smarter and all the search engine optimization (SEO) literature is telling web builders/designer/content contributors that blogs are the best way to go. If you want your site ranked on the top search engine you better write content and you better write often. So does this mean more is better? Do we leave the content aggregation to search engines? Where does this leave your corporate user looking for info? Are we going to get to the point of information overload or are we there already?

What are your thoughts?

Is custom training content the future?

The information age is upon and most of us are trying to make sense of how all the changes are going to impact our lives and more importantly our careers/industries. Anyone that says that they are totally comfortable and up to date on all the latest changes is kidding themselves.

This month’s big question across many of the eLearning blogs relates to the issue of DYI learning. Can all the new technologies allow for informal learning to replace much of the formal learning that is currently in place? Pulling, creating and sharing custom content is becoming easier with technology such as blogs, Wikipedia, You tube, podcasts, Skype, RSS feeds etc. It is a cliché, but the list really is endless. It is an exciting time for all, not only in the eLearning industry but anyone interested in organizational development.

Below are some links to interesting reading. Not a coherent post, but rather just sharing interesting reading/viewing that I came across.

Are we ready for personal knowledge management (PKM)? For a great overview on PKM check out Harold Jache’s blog post entitled Calgary eLearning Network - PKM. For an excellent analysis of formal vs informal learning check out the learning circuits post The Numbers Behind Informal & Formal Learning Lastly make sure to check out Connectivism: What's happpening with content.

So do you think informal learning will become pervasive? Are people able to spend the time to filter through all the content that is available? Based on some scanning Yahoo Pipes is not yet well understood although RSS readers are now freely available and extremely user friendly. I guess my question is whether the average employee has the time and interest to filter through all the noise.

20 eLearning truths

Below is my eLearning truths top 20. Some of the 20 are based on Kenneth Carlton Cooper's article in January's edition of CLO. Do you agree with my top 20? What are your thoughts? Where did I miss the mark?

1. eLearning is about people not technology
eLearning is merely a delivery method. The success of your training is dependent on people. Ask yourself do you have the right people involved in the project? Do you understand what your learning audience needs? Technology is only as effective as the people running the show.

2. eLearning is not a silver bullet
For some reason people think that each time a new training method/technology is developed that this will be the ultimate answer. Obviously this is not the case. In the case of eLearning, people use the term so diversely that it is often hard to compare apples to apples. eLearning is appropriate for certain situations and not effective in others. If you are new to eLearning do some research and get experts to help you.

3. Branding and marketing your learning content is essential
Many of us hope that if you build it they will come. The truth is that they are busy with their daily work and they often don't even know about your training. Unless you develop a brand for your training that attracts the people, you may be doomed to failure. Build your content around a brand idea and then market it to the people who will need it to solve the issues that they face on a daily basis.

4. Management support/involvement is vital
Having management support and involvement will get your project the necessary resources and visibility. If you have visibility and a good product, people will use it and they will refer others to it.

5. Use the learning cycle: learn, apply, reinforce
This is the most effective training cycle. eLearning is a great way to train people, especially on core skills and content. You can apply many of the concepts/ideas through online simulations or in the field. Reinforce using follow up eLearning content or through face to face training sessions.

6. Task orientated learning works best
People are busy and they want to make sure that your training course will help them with their job. All content should be task orientated to be successful.

7. Effective needs assessment is critical: People, content, delivery
I can't stress this idea enough. Don't start developing content before you understand what the people need. Determine what the objective of this learning content will be. Now that you know what the content will be, what learning elements will you use? How will this content be deployed? Once you have the answers to these questions you are ready to move on.

8. Avoid boredom by developing custom content
'Boxed' content is boring. Learners have seen the boxed stuff over and over and they are bored to tears in the first 5 minutes. Avoid this by developing your own content that will engage the user by using authentic content and examples from your particular business.

9. Speak with the learner, not to them
Use the voice of the customer. Speak to them in their language and tone and you will be able to get your points across.

10. Create engaging content
Engaging content is content that speaks to the user. The user understands the examples that are presented and he knows that this content will help him be more effective in his job.

11. Compact is powerful
As the saying goes time is money and people don't have a lot of time. Developing content that requires a user to sit and learn for an hour is not realistic. Develop a learning structure that requires a user to sit for a short amount of time, while learning an immense amount.

12. Engagement = interaction
Interaction doesn't mean physical interaction for its own sake. Effective content requires mental and emotional interaction as much as physical.

12. Deliver where needed
Make sure that your content is flexible enough so that it can be delivered in the most effective way, be that LMS, intranet, pda, podcast etc.

13. Create once, deploy many
This sounds easy and logical, but making it a reality requires a lot of preplanning. If you are going to use video, can you deploy the video to all your mediums? If the course is developed using an in-house software program how will this affect web deployment? All of these issues need to be addressed during the needs assessment stage.

14. Test for success
There are lots of ways to develop this thought as testing is important in so many ways. You can use testing during your initial brainstorming sessions. Develop a prototype and test your ideas with your audience. Testing is essential during Beta and pre-production phases. Essential to your overall success is to test using a representative sample of your audience. Test to make sure that technological differences (networks, firewalls, desktop settings) don't impact the deployment of your content.

15. Develop for the future
How will your content be used in the future? Can you build on your current structure? Can new content be added seamlessly? If you don't have an LMS at the moment, could this content be ported to an LMS without having to redevelop from scratch? All of these questions should be addressed early on. If you don’t develop now with the future in mind you will waste money and your content will become stagnant.

16. Identify and engage resources prior to deployment
Who's going to be involved in testing? Who's going to be responsible for uploading/deploying the content? Who's going to help with deployment challenges? Who's responsible for supporting the program going forward? Who's responsible for updating the content?

17. Get feedback from your audience
The only way to improve your training is to engage the support and feedback of your audience. Do they think the content hits on the most important issues facing them? What could be improved? What critical areas need to be addressed? Is it easy to access the content? Is the content engaging? The only way to get answers to these key questions is to get feedback from the users.

18. Issues are unavoidable
Set up a support structure based on this truth. Not all your users will be able to access the content without any issues. Even if the content was developed and deployed based on your organizational infrastructure you will still have a small percentage of users (1-3%) that will have issues accessing or viewing the content. Do you have a help desk? Do they know what the requirements are to access/view the content? Do the users know who to contact?

19. Start small grow big
This applies to several facets of eLearning including technology and content development. Don't try to solve all your problems at once. Focus on an area that requires training and where benefits will be evident in the short term. Remember even with technology it is better to keep it simple.

20. eLearning is about people not technology
I had to throw this one in there again! Technology is great as long as you have the people and the resources to make it a success.

eLearning: Unaviodable truths

Kenneth Carlton Cooper wrote an interesting article in January's edition of CLO where he details 12 unavoidable truths about eLearning. Below is a shortened version of the 12 truths that he describes. I would recommend reading the entire article as he gives some great examples in most of the point.

If you were able to add another 8 truths to make it the top 20, what would you add? Even if you can't add another 8, send me what you have. My thoughts coming soon....

"Truth No. 1: It’s All About Compelling Content.
Providing real benefit is the primary requirement of all learning, regardless of delivery method or clever instructional design.

Truth No. 2: It’s Initial Learning and Refresh Learning.
Over time and without reinforcement and use, people forget nearly all of what they learned in any single event. If you want people to truly know how to do something, you must regularly refresh that training.

Truth No. 3: Management Support is a Requirement.
Performance management processes must specify the new behaviors. Management must expect and encourage new behaviors, and employees must see they will be formally and informally rewarded for using the new behaviors. If management isn’t supporting the effort, skip the training and save the money — it isn’t going to work.

Truth No. 4: Focus on the Task Versus Topic.
Learners prefer courses that address specific tasks they have to do now… The content is already “pre-integrated” for immediate use and doesn’t require workers to figure out how to adapt the learning to their job.

Truth No. 5: It’s Not Blended Learning — It’s Learn/Apply.
Blended learning is the wrong way to segment content. The most effective and cost-efficient approach is to use distance learning to “teach” and some type of synchronous learning to “apply” that knowledge to the job.

Truth No. 6: Content Must be Totally Custom.
Even with relatively generic content, simply creating custom background graphics, putting the instructor in a logo shirt and customizing a few stories can make all the difference in learner interest and retention. Learners need to be thinking, “They’re talking about my business.”

Truth No. 7: Use the Voice of the Learner.
Content can’t be “everything is wonderful” propaganda. If a new product sounds eerily similar to a previous failure, then that issue must be candidly addressed. Whatever the situation, the learner should be thinking, “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’d ask in a meeting … if I had the guts.”

Truth No. 8: It’s a TV Workforce.
Today, people should consider digital streaming video with special characteristics and instructional design as an ideal teaching medium. In “2004 E-Learning Research Year in Review: Predictions for 2005,” an annual year-end review, analyst Josh Bersin wrote, “One of the biggest challenges in self-study e-learning continues to be the problem of engaging the learner. Recently, we have run across some very compelling and exciting uses of Flash-based video. It is now possible to take a fantastic instructor or celebrity and put them online.”

Truth No. 9: Shorter is Better.
According to an article in The New York Times Magazine from Oct. 16, 2005, a University of California-Irvine study found the average time between interruptions at work is 11 minutes. It’s a fantasy to think 21st-century workers can sit through a 60- or 90-minute online course and maintain their train of thought… Learners require just-as-needed content: short programs delivered right before they undertake a task.

Truth No. 10: Engagement = Interaction.
Many instructional designers start with the false assumption that physical interaction is a requirement for effective distance learning. As a result, organizations create custom-programmed courses with fancy animations and mouse clicks — all for the sake of interaction. These are no longer needed, and they are costing organizations millions of dollars in unnecessary expense. What is required from a distance learning course is mental “engagement.”

Truth No. 11: Deliver Where Needed.
People can now learn at any time, in any place. Organizations must start delivering training in nontraditional locations (e.g. home, car, gym, airplane) and in nontraditional ways, including mobile computers, phones, PDAs, route handhelds, iPods/Zunes, etc.

Truth No. 12: Create Once, Deploy Many.
Organizations need to take compelling content and deliver it for the variety of uses required to maximize learning, retention and application. The mistake that most instructional designers make is trying to develop a version of the training for each primary use. This “create many, deploy once” approach is time-consuming and enormously costly. What is needed is a “create once, deploy many” approach — a form of “multipurposed learning.”"

Developing learning content

I found this awesome blog post by Kathy Sierra that demonstrates how to develop learning content effectively. This is well worth a read! It was motivational for me to see how Kathy used simple graphics to share a powerful message. Bravo!

SCORM becoming irrelevant?

I had some great discussions with several folks in December of last year.

During one of the discussion Mark mentioned:

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I think that Web 2.0, SAAS, and AJAX have the power to make something like SCORM decreasingly relevant/substantive in a very short while.
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What do you think? Is SCORM becoming increasingly less relevant and will it go the way of the dinosaur shortly? Does this assume that the LMS will also disappear? I found an interesting discussion at Tony Karrer’s blog regarding eLearning 2.0 and the future of the LMS. Many of the people felt that the LMS would not disappear, but this with the advent of Web 2.0 that content management systems would need to change drastically. Is Web 2.0, SAAS and AJAX a natural extension for the new eLearning landscape or will SCORM continue to serve a purpose?

Your thoughts are appreciated!

Challenges to implementing SCORM courses

Implementing any technology effectively requires knowledge and flawless execution. As I mentioned in my previous SCORM post, the SCORM standard is not a silver bullet. Don’t get me wrong it is a massive step towards standardizing content that is deployed over the internet and we shouldn’t take away from it. Having said that, the development and implementation of SCORM content still requires detailed planning, knowledge and in some cases effective problem solving steps. Before I proceed, let me make it clear that many of the issues and challenges that I will highlight over the next couple of weeks are not directly related to the SCORM standard, but rather they are implementation challenges.

This discussion is not intended to necessarily critique the SCORM standard per se, but rather I want to demonstrate that having a SCORM conformant course doesn’t mean that you (the customer or developer) won’t have any issues in terms of deployment and continued support. Many people think that all you need is a SCORM conformant course and then you won’t have any issues. I’m sorry to break it to them, but they overlook the fact that technology can’t be implemented in a vacuum. Technology lives in the real world with people. Technology has to deal with organizational politics, limited resources and in some cases incompetent people. Pardon the personification of technology, but my point is that technology is developed by people who interact with other people and as we know, people are far from perfect. This means that even if you have a perfect technology standard (which SCORM isn’t at this stage) you are still going to have issues.

Let’s start with the most important part of the SCORM standard, which is the fact that it is a standard not a mandate. The SCORM standard is a basic road map to developing content that allows the developer a massive amount of freedom. This is not a critique of the standard as it would be impossible and unrealistic to force developers to follow very stringent rules. SCORM outlines the way a course interacts with a SCORM conformant learning management system (LMS). The course can send information to the LMS and it can also pull information from the LMS based on standard SCORM CMI scripts. Wow, I hear you say that is great. Yes it is, but SCORM does not dictate what type of application your course is developed in. You could have a SCORM conformant course that does not work on your user’s computers. You’re probably asking yourself whether that is really possible. Surely having a SCORM conformant course means that it will work on my SCORM conformant LMS, right?

Again, let me make it clear that the issue is not directly related with the SCORM standards itself. The standard is great but it does not define or control the context in which the content will be implemented. Let’s go back to you having a SCORM conformant course that doesn’t work on your SCORM conformant LMS. How could this possibly be the case? Well, as I mentioned SCORM doesn’t dictate the deployment program, so in many organizations the actual course application requires a particular software application to function correctly. Examples of applications that are commonly used for deploying eLearning courses that require a software download would be Shockwave, Flash and Authorware. In addition most proprietary software applications require a download to work correctly.

It is true that Flash is now native in most current web browsers and users don’t need to download the Flash plugin. However, many large organizations are still using older versions of the browsers that still require the flash plugin download. So the first wrinkle in the SCORM standard is the interaction between the application and the LMS. You could run into a situation where the developers used all the correct scripting to launch the course but users can’t launch the course due to a down load issue. The natural response to this issue is to blame the course, when in reality the issue is a result of the larger corporate infrastructure. In many large organizations users don’t have administrative rights to their machines, so downloading even a simple plugin may be a challenge.

Over the next couple of weeks I will share some more ideas on deploying content using the SCORM standard and other areas where you may run into trouble. If you find this discussion useful I would sincerely appreciate your comments. Hopefully you will share your eLearning experiences with me as I am sure you have had other issues/challenges that I may not cover.

I wish you and your family a happy and relaxing holiday season!

Effective blogging

I have been having a very thought provoking and interesting conversation with some experienced blogging folks at Tony Karrer's informative blog. I would definitely recommend that you check out Tony's blog which he describes as a blog that covers "trends in eLearning and more broadly the use of technology that aims to improve human performance".

So the discussion that I have been having relates to the use of blogs and more specifically what type of content should/could be covered in blogs. The responses that I got were interesting and some times a little heated, but none the less posted with good intentions. These discussions have been enlightening to someone who is admittedly new to blogging. My intention was to get some insightful feedback on what it means to blog effectively and to this end I feel I have been extremely successful. I would appreciate any more thoughts on what you think a good blog is and please provide some examples and links to thought provoking/engaging blogs.