E-Learning for Newbies
By Janet Clarey | October 9, 2008
ASTD’s Learning Circuits Blog has a monthly ‘Big Question.” This month it’s:
I’m interested in [the field of] eLearning. What should I do first?
I’m responding to this question from the perspective of a person looking to get a job in the field of e-learning vs. a person who knows little about the term.
I think one place to start is to look at the competencies and skills needed for various “e-learning” jobs. E-learning, of course, encompasses many areas - courseware designer, curriculum development, online trainer, blended learning specialist, Flash programmer, game designer, research, etc. Here’s a brief listing of some of the competencies I think newbies to e-learning should focus on:
- history, trends, and direction (history, evolution, impact of technology, etc.) Here is a presentation on learning and technology (historical) done by my colleague, Gary Woodill, some time ago for Operitel and a presentation on learning technology (LMS/LCMS/Talent Management that we, Brandon Hall Research, deliver in a “101″ webinar with Learn.com which should provide an overview. I also wrote elearning 101 which provides an overview of e-learning
- adult learning and the foundation of human learning (theory, practice) If you like print books, one good one is Human Learning by Jeanne Ellis Ormrod.
- knowledge of evaluation
- Need identification, analysis, recommendation, solution
- Knowledge of instructional strategies (application of theories)
- Tools of e-learning - authoring tools, systems (LMS, LCMS, Live Online Learning, social media)
- Methods, processes, delivery channels for e-learning - synchronous, asynchronous, blended, distributed, performance support tools, etc.
- Course authoring - knowledge of software (simulation, game, rapid design tools, multimedia, etc.).
- Web interface design - my favorite books are The Non-Designers Web Book by Williams & Tollett and Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug.
- Online facilitation skills - Jennifer Hoffman has a great program with certification @ insynctraining
- Project management skills - there are books, programs, and experts specializing in project management. Here’s one by a colleague
So, here’s what I suggest:
- Find e-learning experts and follow their work
- Attend webinars
- Attend conferences
- Subscribe to blogs & start your own
- Read - trade journals, periodicals, books, presentations, white papers, research, etc.
- Join e-learning associations (local, national, global)
- Take a course, enroll in a degree program (ID, facilitation of online learning, curriculum development, project management, etc.)
- Attend conferences (online and face-to-face)
- Learn to use authoring and other software and platforms; HTML & other coding (w3schools is good)
- Visit the Learning Circuits blog and find others’ suggestions on this question.
As an aside, here’s my own e-learning journey so far:
- got a job in e-learning! Said ‘holy shit, what do I do?’
- joined ASTD, ISPI, e-Learning Guild, went to Masie lab. Said ‘holy shit, how do I do this?’
- started to read everything I could find on the topic - print, web. Annoyed the heck out of my co-workers and vendors with a sea of questions.
- tried everything
- subscribed to periodicals, email lists, listserv, read blogs. Had several aha moments.
- learned how to use authoring tools, created some asynch courses, developed curriculum, blended learning solutions for tech training. Felt like crying frequently due to some steep learning curves.
- learned how to train online by using an online learning platform (WebEx) by screwing up multiple times and attending a lot of other peoples training (started a best practice log)
- became a project manager for an LMS/LCMS/Talent Management implementation; learned about systems through Brandon Hall KnowledgeBase (this big implementation was the point in time where I knew I would stay in this field)
- joined social networks
- enrolled in a Master’s program at Capella University (Education - Instructional Design for Online Learning); learned theory, application, some tools, web design, project management, how to “do” research
- started working part time doing e-learning research for Brandon Hall even though I had zero time. Said, ‘WTF was I thinking? (Did I mention I had zero time)’
- left training job and joined Brandon Hall Research full-time. A huge step for me - working at home, etc.
- started a personal e-learning blog, joined the edublog community. Realized I was learning as much as I did in my Master’s program.
- joined online social networks, started using all the newest tools and technologies. Tweet!
- enrolled in Ph.D. program at Syracuse University (Education - Instructional Design, Development, and Evaluation) for a still unknown reason…perhaps status, earning right to be an expert, feeling that the future of education is online and that there will be a need for instructors with terminal degrees, unresolved middle child thing.
- Wrote this blog post and wondered if it contained too much info. Pushed “Publish” anyway.
Topics: Brandon Hall | 9 Comments »
Home from IiL08
By Janet Clarey | October 3, 2008
Brandon Hall Research is the type of company where you own your ideas. That means when you have an idea, it’s your to implement. I seem to have settled in to all things ’social media’ after embracing social networks, blogging, microblogging, wikis, and presence technologies. As a result, I ended up not getting enough 2.0 action myself but rather working with other people to establish their own blogs, wikis, Twitter accounts, social networks, and wikis, etc. Truly a gratifying experience. How nice to run across some photos and videos of what was an awesome week it was.
Erin Murphy, Innovations in Learning Recap (favorite quote: “freakin’ sweet!”)
Topics: Brandon Hall | No Comments »
Overcoming shyness
By Janet Clarey | September 30, 2008
Holy cow did this post resonate with me. Mark Hayward writes a guest post on Chris Brogan’s blog offering 10 Tips to Help you Overcome Wallflower Syndrome when heading the BIG conference. I like to blend in with the wall or furniture at a conference. Conference camoflauge. As a result, I leave a conference not having met as many people as I would have liked. I talked to my colleague Gary Woodill about this last week at our IiL08 conference in San Jose and resolved to take some steps to overcome my shyness.
- I’ll accept the fact that it’s OK to be shy. I find a lot of people make excuses for their shyness. I’m not doing that anymore.
- I’ll practice. I decided it’d be a good idea if I work on networking and presentation before an event. I’ll work with a coach.
- Just as Mark suggests, I’ll make contacts before the conference. I’ll do this by using social media tools that are a large part of my online communication. Of those people I easily connected with, all were people I had previously communicated with - some just once.
- I’ll schedule some down time.
- I’ll lunch and break with people I don’t know.
- I’ll be authentic.
I’m not shy online. I’m sure there are many people that are shy online. Similar challenges. Self-awareness goes a long way in meeting personal goals in various situations.
Topics: Brandon Hall | 16 Comments »
On growing facial hair
By Janet Clarey | September 26, 2008
Via Stephen Downes, I noticed this link of 25 Great Edublogs. It is an excellent list. Coming off of a women’s blogging jam here at IiL08 (which went over two hours) I just have to sigh when I see that 22 of the 25 listed are men. Mostly older men. Mostly white. We had some discussion on this.
I realize that this is just a listing based on Zaid’s preferences and applaud him for featuring great edubloggers (I have done so here - in past posts - with women edubloggers). But Zaid’s post (in conjunction with the conference session) leaves me wondering if the Internet is the great equailizer it was supposed to be or just another reflection of society? There are similar numbers of men and women blogging and certainly women are not underrepresented in our field.
Any thoughts on this consistent issue? Genre? Style? Biology? Content? What would you’re list look like and why? And more importantly, is this important?
Topics: Brandon Hall | 20 Comments »
Conference Brain
By Janet Clarey | September 25, 2008
I’ve stolen a moment here at the IiL08 conference in San Jose. Couldn’t be happier with the intensity, engagement, and buzz. Lisa Johnson’s keynote this morning was inspirational. I was taking mental notes as she spoke, barely able to keep up with ideas playing out in my head. Anyway, worst thing so far has been my choice of footwear. You simply cannot work at home in crocs and flip flops and then expect to put on heels.
I’ve got ‘conference brain.’ Will sleep well pass out tonight.
David Allen delivered the lunch keynote. I’ve been a follower for years. Simple message and, as always, not so simple to implement.
Off to procure some shoes and return for a corporate blogging session. Do’s and don’ts of corporate blogging. Sure to be interesting.
The Women’s Blog Jam last night actually ran into the opening reception we talked so long (2 hours). Stimulating conversation. We made a circle, no tables, just talked about the whys. Fun.
The opening reception was outstanding. Good music, food, drink, and conversation on a night with perfect weather. We have a ’sculpture’ of the logo brain that was floating in the pool. Seems like enough people wanted it that we will not include it in the drawing at the end of the conference. More conference brain.
The Social Media Jump Start workshop I did w/ Michelle Martin was great. Michelle is high energy and passionate about social media so it was pleasure to work with her. It was great to see so many people really into the new stuff. Quite a change from just a year ago (my observation). Michelle and I are actually the model of social media. Having just met the night before the workshop, it’s kind of amazing how much you actually “know” about someone simply by connecting and networking on the web. Cool.
Topics: Brandon Hall | 5 Comments »