Elearning - April/May 2008 - (Page 19)

DUQUETTE: Technology-based learning is a critical component of a learning strategy, because it provides training when and where you need it. ASTD’s 2007 State of the Industry Report shows that technology-based learning delivery now accounts for 30.3 percent of the learning hours available, up from 11.5 percent five years ago. Self-paced online learning continues to be the most frequently-used type of technology-based learning, at 19 percent. With the introduction of new technologies with advanced design capabilities, manufacturing techniques, cycle times and a seemingly limitless host of other efficiencies, the challenge of maintaining a workforce with the proper skill and knowledge sets has fundamentally transformed corporations’ view of instructor-led training (ILT). If you have to train your entire sales force every 60 days on a new product or technology, there’s no way that classroombased ILT can work. How is your company accommodating this new approach to elearning? ‘These tools…enable learning to occur with flexibility and at [great] speed.’ —Frank Russell, GeoLearning Inc. training that is directly applicable to employees’ jobs is the best way to gain competitive advantage and maintain employee skill and knowledge levels. We are tasked with taking classroom-based curriculum and developing blended learning solutions that employ classroom and on-line delivery modes. In addition, we have been working with our customers to develop strategies on building learning portals that take advantage of the Web services offered by learning management systems, learning content management systems and other training applications. These strategies are utilizing various employees to find content and training whether it be formal learning courses, community-published content, or links to documents and URL’s. In addition, Saba offers sophisticated communities of practice that provide discussions, wikis and other group-publishing tools that help employees build a network around their role, an assigned curriculum or a corporate initiative. The combination of online collaboration and Web conferencing, community publishing, sophisticated search and communities of practice allows informal learning processes to be ubiquitous and effective. DHOLAKIA: We began investing in this evolution many years ago. We saw this merging of the traditional ‘formal’ learning with the ‘informal’ (now encompassed under the umbrella of Web 2.0) learning and information exchange as the next wave. As a result, we added collaboration and discussion capabilities to our suite, along with portal-like searchable access to ‘learning nuggets.’ This allowed folks to not only take a course when appropriate, but also engage in a discussion thread with experts or find a small bit of information when they needed it. We are evolving the LMS as the information management and deployment platform and the central system of record that helps to connect communities of practice and like-minded people in informal settings. We are doing this through a variety of mechanisms, including: (1) mobile technology, which is pushing the network out; (2) impromptu connections around specific topic areas; and (3) linking talent development with formal learning with Web 2.0 to help the individual take control of his or her own career path. All would be accessed through a customized portal that can be a MySpace-like paradigm. Elearning! April / May 2008 19 ‘With the war for talent, you might have to change your mindset.’ —Jim Riley, Learn.com RUSSELL: Our GeoEngage module facilitates communities of practice (CoPs), enables social networking and provides access to Web 2.0 technologies like blogs, wikis and instant messaging. These are all integrated with our LMS platform so that informal learning can still be tracked, managed and measured as easily as more formal training programs. Clients like Cabela’s and Computer Associates are using these tools to great success because they enable learning to occur with the flexibility and at the speed their marketplaces require. DUQUETTE: We are producing more custom on-demand learning than ever before. Our customers recognize that online services such as blogs, social networking, wikis and podcasts that are known as Web 2.0. These Web 2.0 technologies are gaining traction and allow companies to communicate with customers and encourage collaboration inside the company. LAMBERT: Saba is the only major LMS vendor that provides a comprehensive and unified Learning and Virtual Classroom/Web Conferencing solution. This allows us to capture the knowledge of the enterprise through automatic publishing of Web conference content and refine that content through integrated content management and authoring technology. We also provide comprehensive search and learning recommendations that allow http://Learn.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Elearning - April/May 2008

Elearning - April/May 2008 Editor's Note Contents News Targeting Africa Locating Courseware People in the News Upcoming Events Deals Trendlines Web Services Building a Learning Culture Measuring the Learning Experience Making Learning Fun and Social LMS's 2008: What You Need To Know Learning Leader: CA Case Study: AVI Case Study: IBM Case Study: QualComm WBS Case Study: National Center for State Courts Case Study: Grundfos Pumps Case Study: Virginia Tech Pop Quiz Last Word

Elearning - April/May 2008

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