Most of us use some form of testing at the end of each training initiative we offer. That testing occurs, often in paper form, at the end of a traditional lecture/reading course. It also occurs electronically after an individual comes to the end of most media courses. We tend to look at the testing results as “proof” of a particular training initiative’s effectiveness. “Leslie” scored a 43 on the pre-test and an...
Today, almost every large university has some on-line offerings for Distance Education. Further, it is estimated that, in any given semester, approximately four million American students are taking at least one on-line course. Both synchronous and asynchronous learning models are being used extensively. My interest, however, lies in the Distance Education being offered by our community colleges for the specific purpose of skills acquisition. Community colleges are a vital part of their...
The Association for Manufacturing Excellence has been a driving force behind the Rebirth of Manufacturing Jobs initiative. The project hopes to stimulate the manufacturing job market by reaching out to policy makers locally and nationally. The goal of the program is to get executives and government officials motivated to join and develop efforts to increase awareness of the green movement and manufacturing’s goal in it. It also aims to unite nearby businesses...
On Wednesday, September 7, 2011 the United States House of representatives voted to extend the trade program known as the Generalized System of Programs. The renewed program, which expired last year, allows tax-free entry for approximately 4,800 products from 130 developing countries. The renewal will extend the 35 year old bill through July of 2013 and will reimburse U.S. importers for any levies paid since the beginning of the year. This bill...
Today, technology-based industrial training is being implemented in several broadly defined ways: • “Stand-Alone,” using myriad computers in a variety of settings in which the worker-to-be-trained works alone. • “Classroom Assisted,” where an instructor or facilitator leads the training while the workers-to-be-trained augment the live instruction with discreet technology assist. • “Asynchronous Online Learning,” where all participants can be networked and the instructor can participate in a technology-created setting. Too often the...
While many public school systems around the country re-opened their doors in August, the day after Labor Day remains the traditional date for the beginning of the school year. When thinking about today’s significance, it reawakened an “education story” that I first wrote about two years ago: “Big Jay”, as he was known in the community, dropped out of school in the tenth grade. He decided that school had failed to serve...
In so many areas of life, technology has made significant contributions. But, unfortunately, technology innovations, too often, become institutionalized. And, there’s the rub. Professional IT personnel can become very excited about the things that technology can do — and so they start stretching the technology to achieve their own satisfaction. Consequently, they can often lose sight of their technology’s goals and end up complicating the lives of the people who have to...
It’s probably no secret to you, but most current E-Learning is a far cry from being an effective learning platform. As a term, E-Learning has been with us for more than a decade now. So, why has it failed to meet the high expectations assigned it by American business and industry. Why? Two major reasons. First it has failed to meet the ROI requirements of business. Much of the E-Learning spin has...
When selecting courseware solutions, you should look for: a) content accuracy and completeness; b) the course’s designed learning objectives; and c) the production values — which should be based on full motion video and optional word-for-word audio, if you are going to communicate effectively with your trainees’ typical learning culture. Today we’re going to examine b) the course’s designed learning objectives as it is one of the three major criteria that will...
Choose your training vendor — carefully! There are just too many choices out there today. No single person can keep up with it all. Reading the trade periodicals and newsletters helps. Attending the expo at the leading tradeshows exposes you to the plethora of solutions available. But, the best way — by far — is to work with a vendor’s sales representative whom you have grown to trust. We all know that...
I’ve never met a a corporate executive who wanted to spend money on training! And, in a perfect world, none of them ever would! In general, companies do not invest in training because they want to — they invest in training because they have to. Yes, all too often, money is spent on training only as a reactive event. Something breaks too often; something doesn’t work the way it should; too many...
ITC Learning’s custom designed training courseware offers several advantages over the traditional classroom approach to learning, one of them being full motion video courseware. Full motion video courseware is one of the best ways to educate your employees because it’s easy to operate, understand, and retain. Browse our catalog for a variety of full motion video courseware topics, such as air conditioning and refrigeration, equipment operation, hydraulic systems, maintenance management, mechanical drive...
In my estimation, the August 7 “Opinionator” column by Virginia Heffernan in THE NEW YORK TIMES, “Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade” is a must-read. ( https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/education-needs-a-digital-age-upgrade/ ) In reviewing a new book, “Now You See It,” by Cathy N. Davidson, Heffernan writes: “Simply put, we can’t keep preparing students for a world that doesn’t exist. We can’t keep ignoring the formidable cognitive skills they’re developing on their own. And above all, we...
When it comes time to retrain your employees, you may be weighing the benefits of e-learning versus traditional classroom learning. After taking into account the amount of time and money e-learning can save your business, as well as the accessibility and convenience of e-learning courseware, it’s easy to determine that comprehensible SCORM compliant e-Learning software is the best and most cost-efficient way to train your employees. E-Learning software is easy to update...