November 16, 2015 “The key to troubleshooting industrial equipment lies beyond the process itself. A prerequisite to troubleshooting is the knowledge and understanding of the equipment. Knowing how the equipment functions, what each component installed on the equipment is, what the component does, how the component does what it should, and how the components interact are essential in applying any troubleshooting methodology or process.” (MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY, “Troubleshooting Skills Can Be Learned” by...
November 11, 2015 “Technology can be a boon to pedagogy, but it is not without its perils. Before jumping headlong into the rushing tide of PowerPoint presentations, consider these cautions and criticisms about this popular teaching tool: 1) It’s Inflexible . . . 2) It’s Risky . . . 3) It’s a Crutch . . . 4) It’s Boring . . . 5) It’s Style without Substance” (“THE PERILS OF POWERPOINT” by...
November 9, 2015 Is there any way you can make a better selection than multi-sensory instruction? No! You can’t! Not lectures — not textbooks — not equipment manufacturers’ written operating instructions — not computer-based training (CBT) — not reading-based e-Learning (i.e., repurposed PowerPoints) — not even hands-on with “Ol’ Charlie! Nope! Multi-sensory learning, with an emphasis on full motion video (or animations), is the best way to train — hands down! If...
November 4, 2015 The headline in the NEW YORK TIMES last week said it all: “Obama Administration Calls for Limits on Testing in Schools.” Theodore Sizer would have been pleased. In a long career, Dr. Sizer (now deceased) was, among other appointments, Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Chairman of Brown University’s education department. Dr. Sizer’s view of education reform — “with a premium on classroom creativity, bottom-up innovation...
November 2, 2015 The results of effective training are as important to your organization as almost any initiative your company undertakes. Yet, to be successful, training must be integral. Do it the right way! Assume nothing! Victory comes to those who analyze and plan before they implement. Thinking ahead while presuming little are the most important traits of a successful trainer. New equipment, with its technological improvements (and, its unique training challenges),...
October 28, 2015 In his 2014 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama emphasized the necessity of making sure that Americans have the skills they need to fill the country’s manufacturing job opportunities: “ . . . We have to make sure every American has the skills (they need in order to become gainfully employed). That means more on-the-job training and more apprenticeships . . . “ We cavalierly toss around...
October 26, 2015 “ From a young age, children are told that they can grow up to be whatever they want to be. While some may harbor dreams of being an astronaut or a politician, others may be drawn to different fields – some of which don’t necessarily require a four-year degree. Whether these young people turn to certificate programs or associate’s degrees to further vocational careers depends on the future they’re...
October 21, 2015 What qualities make up an ideal training vendor? There are vendors-of-excellence in Safety Training, HR Training, Microsoft Office Training, Simulations, Custom Production, Industrial Skills Training and many other subject areas. The vendors that will serve you well are dedicated to providing total training solutions within their particular area of expertise. The better ones will have specific solutions for your training needs, whether your challenge requires training management expertise; training...
October 19, 2015 Alvin Toffler, American writer and futurist, observed: “The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Among other things, Toffler and others have acknowledged that individual learning styles are unique and should be addressed more successfully. And other observers have recognized that we live primarily in a multisensory learning culture: “ . . . We...
October 14, 2015 There is a creative aspect of effective learning that is often overlooked. Particularly with most current e-Learning examples we see courseware that has been “engineered,” with little capability to motivate the trainee either to learn or remember. “Cookie cutter” e-Learning (repurposed PowerPoint and written procedures) proliferates all around us —- with disastrous consequences. (These reading-based courses have abysmal retention results, if for no other reason then the fact that...
October 12, 2015 If you are a trainer working in a facility that is part of a large corporation, the workers at your site need you more than they ever have! You have knowledge of the procedures necessary to your plant’s operations. Moreover, you have knowledge of the training gaps that exist within your facility. Gaps that are hindering outputs of more and better products! Gaps that result in increased scrap and...
October 7, 2015 Frequent readers of this blog are well aware of my frequent postings condemning the constant-testing culture that now prevails in our nation’s public school classrooms. Today, however, we’re going to examine another aspect of testing in our schools. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what American students know and can do in core subjects. On that topic, THE WASHINGTON...
October 5, 2015 In 2011, it was estimated that about $35.6 billion was spent on self-paced e-Learning across the globe. Today, e-Learning is a $56.2 billion industry, and it’s going to double by 2015. The world’s most rapidly growing e-Learning markets are Malaysia and Vietnam. In fact, the estimated 5 year annual growth rate for the Asian e-Learning market is 17.3%. ◦ Self-paced e-Learning’s growth rate in the Middle East is 8.2%,...
September 30, 2015 In the past couple of weeks, I came across two very interesting articles. Published opinions I hope you’ll have the time to read. One was focused on the delivery of education and the other emphasized the necessity for more and better skills training. Yet, in important ways, they were related. The first was by Annie Murphy (“Are College Lectures Unfair?”) and appeared in the Sunday Review section of the...
