Saturday, January 30 2010 18:26:57 |
New course comes with its own computer virus
Not many people would want to sign up – knowingly - for an e-learning course that comes with its own in-built computer virus but that is what happens when people embark on the ‘CompTIA A+ 2009 Edition’ programme recently developed by gtslearning, a major supplier of CompTIA-approved learning content, and Toolwire, a world-leader in experiential learning solutions for Information Technology (IT).
The CompTIA A+ certification – acquired by over 700,000 people worldwide since the qualification’s inception in 1993 - is the industry standard for computer support professionals and has long been acknowledged as a primary catalyst for careers in IT. The vendor-neutral certification has been designed to prove competence in a broad range of computer support skills, including installation, preventative maintenance, networking, security, and troubleshooting. In addition, certified technicians must prove that they command the necessary customer service and communication skills to work with clients in today’s modern, highly connected world.
Consequently – among other things - the Toolwire/ gtslearning course introduces a real computer virus into the user’s computer and then helps the user to identify and get rid of it. As Robin Adda, managing director of gtslearning, commented: “The programme’s interactive scenarios bring the learning to life with several weeks in a ‘technology apprenticeship’ with real equipment, operating systems, and applications – all delivered anytime, anywhere via a web-enabled browser.”
Comment: What will they think of next? However, if I was employing an IT specialist, I’d want one who, among other things, could identify and get rid of computer viruses. So maybe, when it comes to computer viruses, it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
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Tuesday, January 26 2010 15:07:12 |
CIPD appears to plumb the depths
Today, I received an email which said: ‘Dear Mr Little, Join Europe's largest HR and development professional body and receive a £20 Marks & Spencer voucher with our thanks. Simply download and return the Affiliate membership form to us by 26 February 2010… Kind regards, Christine Williams, Chartered FCIPD, Membership Manager. P.S. Know a colleague who might be interested in this offer? Forward this email along to them so they can join and receive a complimentary M&S voucher too!’
Comment: I always thought that people joined a professional association to do things like have access to specific information which would be of help to them in their jobs; network with their fellow professionals, and even do some CPD. I never realised that people join professional bodies in order to get money off their shopping at M&S. I’m obviously a bit naive about motivation in the modern business world – unless, by any chance, the CIPD is a bit strapped for members at the moment and so is resorting to this ploy to bump up its membership numbers.
As for this particular invitation, I stand with Groucho Marx in saying that I wouldn’t want to be a member of an organisation that wanted me as a member – especially if they were prepared to bribe me with M&S vouchers.
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Friday, January 15 2010 17:11:41 |
E-learning’s merger mania
First, Ivy Learning Services - one of the UK’s oldest e-learning houses – amalgamated with the Stroud-based Learning&Safety4Busines. The new entity will be known as Learning Nexus and the new joint managing directors – Key George (formerly of Ivy) and Peter Howell (formerly of Learning&Safety4Busines) - say, with masterly ambiguity, that ‘the move is in response to the demands and challenges of the learning and development landscape’.
And then REDTRAY, one of Europe’s leading – and most acquisitive - training outsourcing providers, bought the business of CareConnect Learning. CareConnect provided NVQ and Skills for Life qualifications for in the health and social care sector. REDTRAY now claims to reach every level of the learning spectrum, from literacy and numeracy to high-end corporate solutions.
Comment: In the current economic climate – which is not so far out of recession as some would have us believe – it would be a fair bet to expect further mergers, amalgamations and rationalisation in certain sections of the UK’s e-learning world.
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Thursday, January 14 2010 10:36:33 |
PR embarrassment
Oh dear! Poor James Warnette and Phil Corfan of Octopus Communications have had to do something that those of us in the PR world hate having to do: send out a correction to a press release. Their statement reads:
‘In the news release, "Alexander Mann Solutions Founder Named 2010 HRO Superstar" issued on 12 Jan 2010 08:00 GMT, by Alexander Mann Solutions over PR Newswire, we are advised by a representative of the company that the quotation by Elliot Clark, Chairman and CEO, in the third paragraph, should have read "Our provider superstars are those individuals who are shaping the direction of the HRO industry. Rosaleen has been leading the way in the industry since it began and this award recognises this achievement. The growth of Alexander Mann Solutions to its current position as a worldwide industry leader in breadth of service has been relentless. Ultimately, they continue to set the global standard that other companies aspire to achieve. We're pleased to welcome Rosaleen to the 2010 HRO Superstar list.", rather than "TBA." as originally issued inadvertently.’
Comment: Actually, ‘TBA’ would probably have been a better and more memorable quote. Oddly enough, that’s often the way when clients want to issue a correction to a story that’s been published.
HR challenges of 2010
Maxxim Consulting, a professional services firm that advises FTSE companies on organisational design and change, has revealed some challenges it believes that HR directors will face in 2010:
• The rise of software-as-a-service (SaaS) products, which will take more than 20% of market share by the end of 2010, with challenging implications for the old world ERP suppliers such as Oracle and SAP. Cheaper, more flexible systems which are easier to set up can only be good news for HR professionals.
• The return of the war for talent. As the recession lifts and employees get their nerve back, companies will struggle to retain their top talent.
• As globalisation continues, it will be a struggle to find HR professionals with international experience of significant breadth and depth.
• A continued squeeze on budgets, with ever more focus on securing value for money. In terms of consulting, organisations are still buying support but they are buying niche teams of 'lean and mean' expertise.
Comment: Of course, these predictions relate to ‘big boys’ business but the trends that Maxxim Consulting have identified will cascade to affect the rest of us. The renewed war for talent is interesting but the rise of SaaS has all sorts of implications. Not only will it affect ERP suppliers but even small companies will be able to have access to software and systems that used to be the preserve of those with mega-budgets – and that should bring efficiencies which will enable companies of all sizes to compete on, if not a level, then at least a more level playing field.
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Monday, January 11 2010 10:07:12 |
Three learning technologies to watch
In his predictions for the development of learning technologies in 2010 (see http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=1405), Clark Quinn – a US-based independent consultant with a PhD in applied cognitive science – suggests that ‘several technologies are poised to cross the chasm: social tools, mobile technologies and virtual worlds. Each has reached critical mass in being realistically deployable, and offers real benefits…
‘I’m hoping that organizations will start taking a more serious approach to a broad picture of learning. The need in organizations is for learning to not be an add-on, isolated but instead to be part of the infrastructure. We are at a stage where learning has to go faster than taking away, defining, designing, developing, and then delivering can accommodate. The need is for learning to break out of the ‘event’ model, and start becoming more timely, more context-sensitive, and more collaborative. Organizations will need their people to produce new answers on a continual basis…
‘As Alan Kay said, “the best way to predict the future is to invent it.”’
Responding to this, Robert Gadd has written: ‘Our experience points to the fact that enterprise accounts may exhibit early interest in these basic [free, open source] tools as they begin to dabble with what m-learning is all about but, once they get serious and need to deploy a solid solution for learning reinforcement, just-in-time access, performance support, sales enablement, whatever, their need to make their mobile learning efforts more scalable, secure, flexible, integration-ready and ‘enterprise-grade’ often dictates the use/adoption of better tools and platforms which likely come at a price.
‘In our experience, mobile learning and social-enabled platforms from companies like our own (as well as Intuition, Outstart/Hot Lava Software, RIM/Chalk, Giunti Labs and a few others) are probably not the ‘first mobile tools a company tries’ but we’re often the second or third one they end up coming with once they realize they need a vendor to stand behind what they are using, to teach them what works and what doesn’t, and ensure their efforts meet their requirements in whatever format, on whatever device, in whatever method they desire — all while being tracked and secure and easily supported…
‘Just as many Global 5000 enterprise organizations don’t rely on open source LMS/LCMS platforms to manage their entire L/D responsibilities, enterprise-grade mobile learning solutions and platforms are a sound business decision for those companies who are serious about mobile learning content creation, development, deployment and tracking. And these platforms are generally not cheap or free but certainly can prove their ROI and value in both the short and long term too.’
Comment: Both Quinn and Gadd have identified some key learning technologies trends:
• Three technologies ‘on the rise’ are social tools, mobile technologies and virtual worlds.
• Buyers often opt for a basic, free tool or system in order to take their first steps in these technologies but, once they have proved that technology’s usefulness, they look for a more commercially robust solution and solution provider.
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Friday, January 8 2010 15:20:13 |
Bob Little’s top ten e-learning movers and shakers
This is an excellent time of year to review the previous 12 months (not the easiest time for any business) and to offer predictions for the next 12 (maybe more of the same) – and then forget all of that in order to be swept away on the rising tide of optimism that accompanies the Learning Technologies conference and exhibition at Olympia (27th - 28th January this year). It’s also a good time to hand out some accolades – think of the New Year’s Honours List and even (in February) the Academy Awards (Oscars). So here – based on nothing more than experience and prejudice – are my ‘Top Ten’ most influential people in the corporate e-learning sector.
World List
1. Elliott Masie. He’s had this position sewn up for many years and seems impervious to challenges.
2. Fabrizio Cardinali. CEO of Giunti Labs, chair of ELIG and a member of the board of directors for the IMS Global Learning Consortium. Operating probably the largest learning technologies R&D laboratory in Europe, Giunti Labs is at the forefront of systems software and standards development.
3. Nigel Paine. Formerly head of training and development at the BBC and now much in demand around the world as a speaker.
4. Charles Jennings. Although now retired as CLO at Thomson Reuters, his views and insights are still much sought after around the world.
5. Sanjaya Sharma. Head of Tata Interactive Systems, a content producer which has done very well in world markets (especially the USA and Continental Europe) but not so well in the UK in recent years.
6. Ron Edwards. CEO of Ambient Performance and one of the world’s leading authorities on virtual worlds and serious games.
7. Massood Zarrabian. CEO of Boston, MA, based LCMS providers OutStart.
8. Pascal Debordes. E-learning director at Cegos, now Europe's leading player in professional training, generating annual revenues of over €165m and providing training to more than 150,000 people worldwide.
9. Pascal Wattiaux. His job title is ‘consultant at PW Sport Ltd’ and among his jobs is advising the Olympic Committee on the e-learning programmes needed to train workers at the 2012 Games in London.
10. Brandon Hall. Head of the Brandon Hall Research Centre, which provides information about employee learning & development and talent management.
Europe List
1. Richard Straub. The former director of learning solutions for IBM Europe, he is now Secretary of ELIG, where he oversees ELIG’s role as advisor to the EU on all things to do with e-learning.
2. Fabrizio Cardinali. CEO of Giunti Labs, chair of ELIG and a member of the board of directors for the IMS Global Learning Consortium. Operating probably the largest learning technologies R&D laboratory in Europe, Giunti Labs is at the forefront of systems software and standards development.
3. Thea Payome. Editor of the Germany-based CheckPoint eLearning ezine and website.
4. Charles Jennings. Although now retired as CLO at Thomson Reuters, his views and insights are still much sought after around the world.
5. Ron Edwards. CEO of Ambient Performance and one of the world’s leading authorities on virtual worlds and serious games.
6. Pascal Debordes. E-learning director at Cegos, now Europe's leading player in professional training, generating annual revenues of over €165m and providing training to more than 150,000 people worldwide.
7. Dr Ladislava (‘Vlad’ka’) Knihova. A key champion for, and leading user of, e-learning applications within both the corporate and academic sectors in the Czech Republic.
8. Pascal Wattiaux. His job title is ‘consultant at PW Sport Ltd’ and among his jobs is advising the Olympic Committee on the e-learning programmes needed to train workers at the 2012 Games in London.
9. Bryan Hopkins. A top learning design specialist who was once based in the UK and is now working for the UN in Budapest.
10. Carl Kleman. Swedish businessman and consultant with a special interest in M&A activity within the e-learning sector around Europe.
UK List
1. Donald H Taylor. Not just the power behind the success of the Learning Technologies conference (identifying the ‘right’ topics and booking the ‘right’ speakers) but also rumoured to be the real editor of Learning Technologies magazine. Unlike many commentators and bloggers in this sector, people tend to read what he writes.
2. Clive Snell. The publisher of E-Learning Age magazine (now the UK’s leading – some would say only – e-learning title) and the man behind the E-Learning Awards which, in only a few years, seems to have captured the imagination of everyone in the UK’s e-learning sector.
3. Nigel Paine. Formerly head of training and development at the BBC and now much in demand around the world as a speaker.
4. Charles Jennings. Although now retired as CLO at Thomson Reuters, his views and insights are still much sought after around the world.
5. Ron Edwards. CEO of Ambient Performance and one of the world’s leading authorities on virtual worlds and serious games.
6. Donald Clark. Still opinionated and vocal, although more of a spectator and commentator than a player these days.
7. Clive Shepherd. Mastermind behind the rise and rise of the eLN CIC – providing valuable information and networking opportunities for everyone in the corporate e-learning sector. He’s also as shrewd a commentator on the e-learning scene as he ever was.
8. Piers Lea. CEO of LINE Communications, a company which is one of the leading players in the UK e-learning market.
9. Steve Rayson. A figurehead in the success story that is Kineo, champions of open source among other things.
10. Phil Green. A former chair of the eLN and co-founder of Olignment, he is exceptionally well informed and knowledgeable about all aspects of instructional design and e-learning delivery.
Helping government officials get it right
Last year, there were lots of stories about embarrassing data loss – mostly involving the Government. These stories led to government reviews including the Poynter Review, the Cabinet Office Data Handling Review and a cross-government review of data handling procedures. These highlighted ‘systemic, rather than individual failures’, due to ‘woefully inadequate systems’ and that ‘data rules had not been adequately communicated, raising serious questions of governance and accountability’.
So, the Cabinet Office asked The National School of Government (NSG) to
• develop a common language and approach regarding risk awareness practice
• ensure civil servants handling ‘protected personal data’ underwent mandatory training, with annual refreshers
• create a positive, demonstrable change in behaviour regarding risk awareness practice
The result was an e-learning programme - ‘Protecting Information’ - developed by Epic Performance Improvement. To date, over 250,000 civil servants have completed the programme, across 320 departments and agencies, with 300 new users every week - at an average cost per user of less than 20p. It has achieved eight times as many users as any previous e-learning initiative. The Cabinet Office estimates that this initiative has saved up to £20m compared with departments commissioning their own solutions independently. Moreover, prior to the training:
• Only 53% of users ensured they had the authority to release information and only sent the minimum required (After the training, this had risen to 99%).
• Only 43% of users knew how to send information securely (now 98%).
Comment: This would appear to be a great advertisement for the power of e-learning to provide relatively cheap and, importantly, effective learning for the benefit of government staff and us, the people whose data kept going missing. Of course, you also have to consider government departments’ low degrees of competency (53% and 43%) before this e-learning programme was rolled out. It’s been nice to train them at our expense –some £50,000 of taxpayers’ money – but should the need for this training have existed? Maybe there’s a need for some more e-learning materials – this time on recruitment and selection criteria and procedures for the Civil Service.
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Friday, January 8 2010 14:06:51 |
Research identifies 30 key organisations for the next decade
According to a recent report by the publishing and information industries research and advisory firm Outsell, Inc, success for information and publishing companies no longer hinges on just content or technology. The ability to provide unique and exceptional experiences will drive success and growth in the decade ahead.
The report – ‘Information Industry Outlook 2010: A New Dawn, New Day, New Decade’, available from http://www.outsellinc.com/store/products/897?refid=pr897 – contains ten predictions along with key themes and recommended actions for publishers. In particular, Outsell cites three key factors driving the need to create ‘incredible experiences’ which, in turn, will drive industry growth: tight budgets; unique, new technologies, and the information consumer’s own selectivity (driven by her/his available time and attention).
In Outlook 2010, Outsell also names its ‘30 to Watch’ – companies that are innovative, disrupt the status quo, or are creating unique experiences. They include Apple, Blackboard, Bloomberg, E Ink, Giunti Labs, Kaplan, National Public Radio and TechCrunch.
Outsell’s predictions include: advertising will continue its structural decline; location based services will pick up steam; paid content will be challenged, and M&A activity will accelerate.
Comment: There is some thought provoking stuff here – and top marks for perspicacity in identifying Giunti Labs as one of the most innovative companies in this sector.
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