The shift from teacher-led to media-rich, learner-centered instruction may well be forced upon the American education system in the upcoming years. In case one hasn’t been paying attention, there are big changes on the horizon for education in this country that will result in opportunities for well-designed, media-rich on-line courseware. We all know that a significant trend in education today is toward competency and accountability. Clearly, competency-based on-line courseware, with integrated measuring...
Before getting into today’s post, I need to make a personal observation. I’ve spent twelve August days in hospital and, during that time, became reacquainted with the uniqueness and promise of our great country. America truly is a Melting Pot. During my lengthy stay, I was taken care of by literally dozens, men and women, of the most professional of Nurses. Those Nurses represented at least a dozen ethnicities —- and, all...
“The most common test items for both pre and post-tests are multiple choice, true/false and short answer. It is important to keep in mind that these item types must be consistently used in both tests. Pre-tests should always have very similar, yet different questions from the post-test, and cover a wide range of topics. It is important that test items in both the pre and post-test focus primarily on the training objectives....
Community College enrollment is at record highs. More significant is the increase in employment opportunity for many of those graduates. “Globalization is driving changes in our economy, and the need for an educated workforce has never been greater. The majority of new jobs that will be created will require some postsecondary education. In addition, the demographics of the workforce are changing. As a result, employers increasingly rely on the very students who currently...
We’re now in the middle of summer. The Class of 2017 has graduated and been sent on their way. Those graduates are now exploring the labor market and beginning their professional journeys. Almost none of those graduates are looking back on the academic part of their young lives with either appreciation or scorn. If they even reflect on their recently completed “college days,” likely it’s about certain social events or athletic victories....
We are somewhat closer today to realizing the dreams that will be made possible by online learning. However, the need for the required new learning designs to catch up with the evolving digital technologies is greater today than it’s ever been. But just what are those goals and challenges facing us — and by extension, our companies, our co-workers, and our society? Certainly, the training requirements of today’s workplace are intensifying. The...
Training differs from education in many ways. Its aim is to improve the skills necessary for a better life through increased job performance. And, rightfully, the emphasis today for both training and for education has shifted from the provider to the receiver — allowing us to now focus our attention on learning and the learner. The philosophy and aims of an educational institution are concerned with the education of the whole person...
Robert Jacob Samuelson is a journalist for The Washington Post, where he has written about business and economic issues for four decades. Several years ago he wrote a column that appeared in The Commercial Appeal which contained two paragraphs that succinctly hit two nails right on the head. Samuelson’s initial paragraph serves as an introduction: The college-for-all crusade has outlived its usefulness. Time to ditch it. Like the crusade to make all...
We must begin planning better education and training tracks for our future industrial workforce. Instead of sending everyone into the same college track, we must recognize that interests, talents and innate skills vary from individual to individual. It’s that recognition that must guide us. With that thought in mind, let’s concentrate on the most forgotten members of our population — our emerging, and critically necessary, industrial workforce. Keith Nosbusch, recently retired Chairman...
Learning is not merely memorization of information. Learning is the mental response to informational stimulation, which turns into reflection and new awareness. Meaningful learning initiates action and change, which results in heightened values and skills. Very few individuals will possess the gifts necessary to create meaningful instructional design. And that fact, coupled with high production costs, is why the “do-it-yourself” purveyors will fail. Today, learner-controlled e-Learning is the best answer for effective...
(additional considerations) Before finalizing your e-Learning purchases, in addition to the general considerations we pointed out on Monday, you should also pay close attention to some specific criteria: Is the navigation through the course simple, consistent and intuitive. In other words, are the screens user-friendly and obvious to the learner? Is the instruction both meaningful and interactive. In other words, are the individual units of the instruction performance-based and do they require...
The purchasing process becomes the key that can open the lock-of-possibility for the potential success of the media skills training you provide your workforce! More “live to regret it” decisions are made during that buying process than you can probably imagine. Worse, the wasted money that your company will spend — and, the wasted time your workers will invest in ineffective training initiatives — will do far more harm than good, if...
“The objective of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.” – – – Robert Maynard Hutchins Hutchins was the great American educator of the twentieth century. For much of his exceptional career, he served as President of The University of Chicago (1929-1945 and Chancellor, 1945-1951) and is often remembered for his championing of “The Great Books.” Today, St. John’s College of Annapolis is most often associated with...
After an unexpected three week absence, I’m happy to be back posting again. And, I’d like to start with a bit of history. To understand the power of visual-based e-Learning, it is instructive to look at the visual learning technologies that preceded it. The first generic industrial training video course was produced by NUS Corporation (Rockville, Maryland) in 1973. It was produced for the nuclear power industry and was in black and...
