Along with ITC’s Adam Kovic, I had the privilege of co-presenting at last week’s SALT Conference in Orlando. The title of our presentation, “Instructional Designers Have Failed E-Learning,” says it all. In sum, too many of our current E-Learning courses are being designed by individuals who apparently have forgotten that full-motion video and optional word-for-word audio are the keys to successful learning for the majority of our population. Instead, the E-Learning courseware...
As the United States continues an uphill battle to reform its education system in an attempt to successfully compete in the global economy, many educators are seeking new and innovative programs in order to better prepare tomorrow’s students while, at the same time, upgrading the skills of today’s workforce. Rapidly changing learning technologies are accelerating their efforts — and, often, our community colleges are leading the way. Many small to medium-sized industries...
You may wish it didn’t have to be this way! You may decry your local public education system for not doing its job! Worse, you may even assume that what you know, everyone knows. But, that is not the case today! Corporate America, for a variety of reasons, must pick up the responsibility of basic fundamentals training for much of its workforce – like it, or not. A solid background in industrial...
We’ve all heard a lot about the lack of basic skills in America’s workforce. But, have all of us read about it? Nearly 40 million American workers can’t! They can’t even read this sentence. Estimates range that up to 70 million Americans cannot even read at a level that would allow them to function fully in the workplace! And, reading is not the only basic skill workers are lacking. Millions cannot perform...
If we can only get this nation to recognize the differences between the two dominant learning cultures, skills acquisition will improve for everyone. I am a big believer in the development of advanced reading skills for certain career paths and for certain professions. I am also a big believer in multi-sensory based education and training for the more-than-half of our population that does not assimilate reading material written beyond a 4th Grade...
In today’s world, how do you develop a training initiative that has the best chance of success – both for your organization’s business needs and for the benefit of your trainees? The shortcomings of traditional methods to keep up with rapid change, as well as the demands of the global marketplace, require a more targeted approach to training. The need for a proven approach to upgrade skills within budget and just in...
For many years, I have read headline after headline calling for “Training” “and Re-Training” as necessary to America’s economic future. Those headline-prescriptions are applied to both the unemployed and the under-employed. And, the lack of sufficient training is used as a “reason” behind the exporting of American jobs. As with so many problems, the cause is clearly visible — but, the means of solution are greatly flawed. And that is because the...
CLAIRTON, Pa. (AP) — It’s only natural that Pittsburgh-area steelworkers would want to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday’s Super Bowl. But a U.S. Steel memo says workers in the Clairton, Irvin and Edgar Thomson mills who miss work Sunday or Monday “without just cause” will face “severe disciplinary action.” The United Steelworkers union has criticized the memo. A U.S. Steel spokeswoman tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the company doesn’t comment on...
“Customer Assurance” is a practice that far too few organizations practice. And, yet, Customer Assurance separates the best from the rest — and, one of the most important criteria you should use when making your supplier choices. What is Customer Assurance? It is a practice that marks the best-of-breed organizations — in any professional or business segment. It is based on a genuine commitment to customers throughout the organization and includes: •...
In order to thrive in today’s competitive world, many organizations are seeking cost-effective, successful solutions to problems that effect quality and productivity. An effective training program is no longer a luxury — it is rapidly becoming a necessity! If you are searching for a training vendor to support you with your training initiatives, here are a few things you should look for. Most importantly, you should be searching for a vendor that...
Higher education has a place in preparing our next generation of trainers and instructional designers. Theoretical understanding is important. However, when it comes to teaching “templates of learning design,” higher education seriously misdirects the student. Cookie-cutter solutions are never the answer. Every training initiative challenge undertaken has specific — not, generic — solutions. Templating (either by the organization itself or by the purchase of a vendor’s templated creation) will not work. You...
As I have commented in previous Blogs, higher education is, unfortunately, crossing over into traditional training objectives — and, away from the historical aims of a higher education. We see the movement away from a liberal arts exposure (with its attendant focus on thinking as exemplified by the great ideas and contributions made by history’s giants of thought and contribution). Instead, we are encountering an almost exclusive emphasis on “skills training” in...
https://www.bloomberg.com/video/65962640/ -ITC Adam
Before you move forward with any new training initiative, you’d better line up your objectives. Unless you know what you are attempting to accomplish, your new training initiative is probably fated to go nowhere. Let’s look at some of the items you might consider when determining your objectives. For example, do your objectives include minimizing downtime, reducing scrap, cross-training your workforce? Maybe your objectives are designed to change employee attitudes or to...
