Today, you have two effective ways to deal with your training challenges. One, of course, is to adopt video-based e-Learning, a slowly emerging learning solution. It is slowly emerging because of internal bandwidth limitations within most organizations. The video may be PDA-sized right now — but, full screen video is not far from becoming a practical reality. However, your second option is even better in today’s wired environment. As you know, many...
Unfortunately, the passive “lecture/reading” method of instruction — mistakenly — remains the norm for teaching far too many in our working-adult population — while continuing to ignore the fact that nearly 40% of our workforce does not well comprehend above a 4th Grade reading level. Does that surprise you? It shouldn’t! There is a large population group out there that believes, “if it was good enough for me, it’s good enough for...
YOU — THE CUSTOMER !!! — should always drive the “selling/buying” process! Training vendors that ignore your dominant position should be shown the door. Their sales representatives who exclusively pitch “only what they’ve got” are not potential partners for you and your organization. You make the buying decision! You are the “party in power” during any sales discussion! From personal experience, a couple of decades ago, as a long time educator I...
Far too often, we forget the primary reasons behind any training solutions we choose to offer our workforce. We spend too much of our time enchanted by the bells and whistles associated with technology. We, mistakenly, believe that all training solutions offer the same benefits just because the title of the program fits our needs and the content is accurate. However, the truth lies in the learning objectives associated with any training...
As more and more companies and government agencies continue to adopt e-Learning for much of their training, a major new development effort needs to keep pace by marrying the best of instructional design with the power of on-line learning. Appropriate content, communicative design, integral multi-sensory media components, and recognition of varying facility IT environments will, eventually, become the winning combination for e-Learning. This new courseware must be designed for “Learning Excellence.” Consideration...
If you look closely, you can find a pattern in anything. There’s a pattern in the fabrics of our life to how we dress and the behavior of our dogs. In vibration analysis, understanding and interpreting the patterns is essential to determining its mechanical condition. A single reading can provide all the useful information you need to understand the machine. Employees that know how to use vibration analysis to find problems are...
A story on www.cnn.com caught my attention last week. It was a report of an endorsement Bill Gates had made at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Further research led me to an article in FORTUNE that gave some additional background on Salman Khan and his Khan Academy. “’This guy is amazing,’ he (Gates) wrote. Gates and his 11-year old son, Rory, began soaking up videos, from algebra to biology. . . . Ruminating...
Centrifugal pumps are used to transport a wide variety of materials including water, oil, bleach, acid, and more. When a pump grinds to a halt because of a blockage or other problem, this can disrupt the entire system. Centrifugal pumps not only fail when they get older, but also after years of service. They need to be maintained regularly in order to reduce erosion, corrosion, overheating due to low flow, leakage, and...
Sometimes “newer is not better!” In the case of skills training, the newer e-Learning technologies do not begin to compare with the learning values designed into interactive CD-ROM training. And, until the infrastructure within our manufacturing and process facilities begins to allow for seamless moving picture transferal, e-Learning will not compete. Knowledgeably-designed interactive CD-ROM training is not simply an audio-visual system designed to supplant learning from reading a workbook. It is a...
Like the word “Peace” the word “Education” conjures up a positive response in our minds. Yet, I would maintain that higher education, as currently practiced in our country, is fatally flawed. American colleges and universities are no longer as dedicated to the liberation of the human mind. They are no longer as interested in challenging the human spirits they encounter. Rather, American higher education has turned inwards on itself in an attempt...
Those organizations that desire to get the most out of their training programs will routinely begin with an on-line Skills Assessment. The major reasons to begin with a thorough Skills Assessment are: • An awareness of the shortcomings of traditional methods necessary to keep up with rapid change and the global marketplace. • The need for a proven approach to upgrade skills within budget and just in time — in order to...
Without question, E-Learning is the training-delivery medium of the near future. The allure of more economical and less time-consuming learning, available on a 24×7 basis, places E-Learning in the premiere position. However, with the recent flood of new E-Learning products in the market, customers are faced with an extensive range of programs that have been developed without assurance of quality methodologies. The challenge for E-Learning courseware developers is to ensure that E-Learning...
Imagine a system where learners meet clearly stated, performance-oriented goals, acquiring skills and knowledge that are relevant to real-life problems. In this system, designed to enable high performance, learners of all levels meet the objectives with the aid of flexible programs that accommodate varied learning styles and abilities. Learners leave the system with all the skills needed to become a world-class workforce that can respond to changing consumer tastes. Think the system...
Historically, an organization has focused certain time and money on educating/training when either some process or function within the organization has gone awry or an edict-to-train has come down from high up in the organizational structure. It is at this point that the trainer or educator has had to focus on the “who-to-be-trained” and the “what-to-use” components. Far too often today, the “who” is overlooked because of the rush to adapt the...