Archive for January, 2012

Adaptive learning is a hot topic in the field of education and training, from children’s classrooms to corporate learning programs. As data becomes more abundant and easier to aggregate, the possibilities are growing for truly customized learning.

The overall purpose of adaptive learning is to allow learners to explore at their own pace, giving those with greater knowledge or skills the ability to move faster and those with fewer skills to take their time. The belief is that personalizing content according to what each learner needs empowers learners to take control of their education and to increase their efficiency and breadth of knowledge.

According to a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the modern-day concept of adaptive learning evolved from psychologist B.F. Skinner’s 1950s-era “teaching machine,” which he developed while working at Harvard University. Students were given questions from a mechanical box, and they were rewarded with “fresh academic material” after answering a question correctly. Today, new technologies make it possible to track student progress to a previously unimaginable degree. Learning management systems track development of skills, provide tailored feedback, and make customized help available depending on how well they master the content. Adaptive learning is still evolving, especially in schools. But new technologies are making it possible to develop highly interactive, game-like interfaces—certainly a step up from Dr. Skinner’s mechanical box!

At ILG, we’re tracking the trends and tuning in to the amazing possibilities adaptive learning offers for business professionals. In a traditional face-to-face learning environment, everyone is exposed to the same content. It’s not always clear to the instructor where people are on the knowledge spectrum. We believe the most powerful application of adaptive learning is a blended approach, combining classroom instruction and a robust elearning solution that offers a self-paced flow, a robust resource library, the ability to go down a custom path of discovery, and other engaging ways to explore material on demand. Students report feeling more motivated and challenged with this blended learning.

The market is reflecting the intense interest in the potential of adaptive learning. A new company called Knewton just raised $33 million in venture funding for its personalized learning platform. (Forbes magazine likens it to Pandora for the learning world; no two people see the same content, because no two people have exactly the same background.) The non-profit Next Generation Learning Challenges recently awarded more than $10 million in grants to 29 colleges and organizations to develop programs around technology that relates to adaptive learning.

Colleges, as well as businesses, are adding highly interactive elearning to their education programs that are inspired by the evolving technology made possible by adaptive learning principles.

Learning is a multi-sensory experience. The more we invoke our senses, the better we absorb the content.

According to a study by the OSHA Department of Training and Education,we only retain 35% from a visual presentation and 10% from an oral one. When visuals and audio are combined, we generally retain 65% of what we learn.

Jillian Douglas recording audio for an elearning course

However, information retention isn’t always the number-one priority in elearning. Sometimes elearning serves as a powerful on-demand toolbox that’s there when you need it. But even if we don’t expect learners to remember everything they’re exposed to in an online course, the instructional design should still be engaging.

Too often, elearning is just passive presentation of information. At ILG, we follow a three-phase approach to create a more complete learning experience. Our second phase, which we call “Think, Feel, Move, ™” is designed to engage participants cognitively, emotionally, and physically.

Used appropriately, audio can help you connect with learners on an emotional level by enhancing the sensory experience. Here are some guidelines for incorporating audio into elearning:

1. Avoid repeating verbatim the words that appear on screen.
   Have you ever been part of the audience in which the presenter read everything to you from the screen? Did it make you want to scream? It’s annoying. And it just creates mental overload. In her book Evidence-Based Training Methods, Ruth Colvin Clark recommends: “Use audio to explain complex visuals and avoid a combination of text and redundant narration of that text.”
2. Create an authentic voice for narration.
   The course narrator should never talk down to the learner or waste anyone’s time by talking too much. The voiceover artist’s tone and language should reflect the learning audience’s needs and expectations. After writing your script, read it out loud multiple times. Cut out unnecessary words before recording.
3. Include audio controls.
   Not all learners are in an environment where they can listen to narrated elearning, and some may be using computers without audio cards. Allow learners to pause the audio or adjust the volume as they desire.
4. Understand your learners’ access limitations.
   As we mentioned above, some learners may be using computers without audio capabilities. It goes without saying that you need this information before creating the course. If you’re unsure whether all learners have audio access, you may still include audio but also carefully convey the information visually so that learners will still benefit from the content.
5. Use audio effects as needed to provoke emotions or set a mood.
   Just as in movies, sound effects can help set the scene and tell a story in elearning courses. Don’t overdo it. Use sound effects to enhance content, not as a novelty. A honking horn can signify danger in an auto safety course. In a course about training dogs, a recording of a fierce growl has, well, more bite than voiceover that says, “a growling dog makes a scary sound.” And just like in life, it’s also important to know when to stay silent, such as during quizzes or activities that require intense concentration.

What are your experiences with using or listening to audio in online learning?

Starting a new business is kind of like having a baby. Is it ever the perfect time?

Like with starting a family, timing is only one of the many considerations when opening a company. After all, well over half of the companies on the Fortune 500 list in 2009 began during a recession or a bear market, according to a study by the nonprofit Kauffman Foundation.

But even if the economy is booming and all the stars are in alignment, new businesses might be doomed to fail without a plan, motivation, and follow-through.

When Jillian and I decided to launch IdeaLearning Group, we decided early on to carefully construct our business from the ground up. Here’s our list of essentials from our experience in starting a thriving business:

Create a strong business partnership

Jillian and I are like two sides of the same entrepreneurial brain. Jillian wanted to start a company since childhood. She even wrote a business plan as a high school student. Both of us have worked at several start-ups, most of which didn’t survive beyond the dot-com boom (and subsequent bust). We bring everything to the table that we learned from the failures of our past experiences, along with our complementary strengths and weaknesses. We regularly brainstorm together and ultimately improve upon our ideas as a result. Although we sometimes split our duties, we’re both versatile enough so that we know everything about our business from the inside out. We know our success is mutually dependent, and it really works for us.

Write a real business plan

This is where a lot of companies skimp, unfortunately. We wanted to be very deliberate and up front about our goals and plans, and the best way to articulate these was to write them down. We formally hashed out our plan, which included plenty of back-and-forth about wording and concepts. Our business plan is a living document. Twice a year we return to it, which includes our marketing strategy, and revise it as needed. Scheduling time to refine our plan allows us to stay relevant and, and to provide what the market needs at the right time.

Know what you believe in

We both came from organizations that had strong brands, and so we already understood the importance of articulating your beliefs and creating a strong brand statement. We knew early on what we believed in: learning is experience, and everything else is just information. Employee development is most effective through custom learning solutions. (We also knew what we didn’t believe in: creating generic, off-the-shelf courses.)

Market your brand according to your beliefs

Our marketing consists of doing great work, doing what we promise to do, and providing real value. Our logo exemplifies our belief in growth and learning through igniting new ideas. The colors reflect energy and excitement, which we agreed were important key concepts early on. The stick in the middle could be interpreted as a matchstick igniting or even a brainstorm bubble.

Know what you want to provide

The elearning/blended learning space is enormous, and the industry growth is expected to continue. A strong brand allows us to compete against small and large companies that create custom learning experiences. We decided to offer our local, national, and international clients a sophisticated “small business” style of service. That means creative, hands-on problem-solving, strong attention to detail, and personalized solutions.

Leverage contacts

Jillian and I both formed a big network of learning professionals at our previous jobs. When layoffs occur and companies close, people tend to scatter in many directions. We’ve kept in touch with our network throughout the transitions. In fact, many of our client relationships are with people we already know, as well as from our network referrals.

If you’re searching for more ideas on how to improve a business you’ve already started, check out Fast Company’s “7 Steps to Scoring New Business in a Bad Economy.”