Doing E-learning Podcasts: Season 2!

With November all but over, we're pleased to be bringing you in the run up to Christmas the start of Season 2 of the Doing E-learning podcasts.

Over the next 3 months we'll be discussing more topics in e-learning, and bringing at least one interview from the coal face of implementation.

Don't forget, we focus on the needs of organisations who are doing or wanting to do e-learning - if you want us to cover a specific topic, let us know and we'll see what we can do!

Podcast #6 - Anti-social learning: the legal risks of Web 2.0

Blogs, wikis, and video sharing sites to name but a few are now common daily haunts for millions of people, so it's no surprise organisations want to leverage these services for people development. The user generated content and social interactivity that characterises these so called 'Web 2.0 technologies' is ideal both for formal and informal learning.

But before your organisation rushes in with a Web 2.0 based solution, make sure anyone who intends to launch a participatory web service for learning, communications, or knowledge management is aware of the legal aspects.

Get an overview of this hot topic by listening to Doing E-learning's latest podcast.

Click the controller below to play Anti-social learning: the legal risks of Web 2.0:



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Podcast #4 - How to be an Effective Subject Matter Expert

What makes an effective Subject Matter Expert?

The Subject Matter Expert is crucial to getting the content right - but doing the role is not always an easy task. For the SME what should they know, what should they do, and how should they do it?

Doing E-learning's latest podcast tries to shed some light. Click the controller below to play How to be an Effective Subject Matter Expert.




Alternatively, right mouse click and select Save Target As... to download How to be an Effective Subject Matter Expert.

Mac users may need to hold CTRL and click, then select Download Linked File.

To accompany this cast we're providing our own How to be an Effective SME checklist, together with a great link to a set of slides covering the Critical Decision Method.

Podcast #3 - The E-learning Project: Vendor Management

An e-learning project's not as easy as you may think. And if you're working with a vendor, you need to know what to ask to keep a tight rein on things.

Find out what these are by listening to Doing E-learning's latest podcast.

Click the controller below to play The E-learning Project: Vendor Management:



Alternatively, right mouse click and select Save Target As... to download The E-learning Project: Vendor Management.

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To accompany this cast we're providing The Vendor Management Checklist.

Podcast #2 - Rapid e-learning 101!

Rapid e-learning - but 'rapid' what? Rapid development? Rapid business benefits? Rapid tools? ...or simply rapid hype!

Is it really the next big thing in e-learning?

No more reading... time to listen. Check out our latest podcast - and find out what we mean by the 3Rs of Rapid E-learning, as well as our top 10 rapid factors!

Click the controller below to play Rapid E-learning 101:



Alternatively, right mouse click and select Save Target As... to download Rapid E-learning 101.

Mac users may need to hold CTRL and click, then select Download Linked File.

As per our cast, you may like to have a look at the following:

• Larstan Business Report: Managing Knowledge in Internet Time: Rapid e-Learning Maximizes the Time/Value of Mission Oriented Training


• Bersin & Associates report: Rapid e-learning: What works


• The eLearning Guild's Rapid White Paper

Podcast news

Next Wednesday, 21st May - Doing E-learning will be bringing you our Rapid e-learning '101' podcast.

Very timely as two days later the eLearning Network is hosting a live debate on the subject - Rapid e-learning: dumbing down or gearing up?

Don't forget to subscribe so that you get each one as it comes!

STOP PRESS: e-learning tools!

It seems to have been a hectic few weeks in the e-learning tools market, not least in 'rapid' tools.

Many of the established names have either been releasing newer versions of their tools, or promising new releases later in the year - as well as a few new entrants to the market, with none other than Microsoft making a sneaky appearance!

Raptivity 5.0 has been talking up its 'rich text formatting options'. Atlantic Link released news on how courses can now be developed directly to the native screen sizes for the Sony PSP Slim & Lite. RapideL-i announced a 'host of new features' and a total of 100 templates!

Adobe continues to grow its e-learning offering with its updated Acrobat Connect Pro 7 - due at the end of this month - which will be pushed as a 'large-scale web conferencing tool'. And Webtora is coming out in Q4 2008 - basically a 'Web 2.0' version of Lectora, allowing collaboration among content authors.

And all of the above without mentioning Microsoft's truly 'soft' launch of its *FREE* Learning Content Development System (LCDS), which appeared at the backend of April.

As part of a recent project, one of us here at Doing E-learning had to trial a vast number of the 'rapid tools'. The market is a huge battleground at the moment, with a vast number of them out there adding and improving what's on offer in a series of head to heads - and that can only be good.

E-brain training

Next week on SharpBrains they'll be publishing a full interview with Martin Buschkühl, one of the researchers who recently published findings on how motivated people engaged in mental exercise had improved problem solving ability in unrelated areas. (See The Telegraph's article.)

It has to be said that the findings didn't come as any real surprise, but it will be interesting to hear about his research and ponder how it could benefit Instructional Design.

In a teaser to whet our appetite, Buschkühl comments on the adaptive, complex and transferable aspects of the technology based puzzle he used, stating: "technology, when designed and used well, can expand the realm of the possible."

Now that's the best endorsement for effective e-learning we here at Doing E-learning have heard in a long time.

Podcast #1 - What is e-learning? - 2 of 2

Click the controller below to play What is e-learning? - part 2 of 2:



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E-learning - for all?

Just a week or so on from the CIPD's annual survey stating that 39% of the UK's small businesses wanted to 'do e-learning' (at least for those linked to the CIPD), a study from Germany states 1 in 2 small businesses "wants to invest in e-learning in future".

All indications point to a shift towards e-learning, but this venture for small businesses has to be cost efficient. It'll be interesting to see which route(s) they go down - if they want true effectiveness then surely not just off the shelf courses. Formal DIY courseware, and informal web 2.0 content seem the most likely alternatives. But which will come out on top? Will the great revolution in 'learning 2.0' be driven by 'the little guys'?

In the States wikis do appear to be flavour of the moment for sales training, with one success story even making it into The Wall Street Journal last month.

But will this approach be limited to organisations who have highly motivated individuals?

Open Science... let's properly evaluate

Here's an interesting little article on games and learning in schools in the Guardian by Outer Hebridean blogger John Kirriemuir. John writes about teachers blogging "their good and bad experiences". If this is correct, then if sufficient numbers took to the cause and blogged their results, we'd have sufficient data that backs up the need for an educational revolution. (Our fingers are crossed here - much needed analysis, problem solving, and other higher cognitive skills learnt from games would be a coup.)



It got us thinking at Doing E-learning that the blogosphere should be an invaluable way of relaying empirical evidence on learning in organisations, especially around efficacy. A whole new community of web 2.0 L&D researchers could emerge off the back of analysing published data and findings.

This idea's been around for a number of years now in academia. Open Science - aka Open Source Science - is about making research data publicly available, and not 'hiding' it in costly journals. Surely it's only a matter of time with the mass usage of wikis and blogs until researchers publish their data openly, and build on web 2.0 philosophy.

It'll be interesting to see how the likes of the One Big Lab blog take off.

Podcast #1 - What is e-learning? - 1 of 2

There are as many definitions of e-learning as there are e-learners! On the face of it it's simple: we've got the 'e' part for electronic, and that's the bit that supports the learning. But just because you've got technology doesn't mean you've got learning. It takes a little bit more than that.

We all know that if you want a great meal what you need are great ingredients, and a great chef - the oven and tools simply enable them both to work their magic. So what ingredients do we have at our disposal to make e-learning? And what are the basic cooking skills we need to put them together to make some great e-learning?

Our e-learning '101' should shed some light.

Click the controller below to play What is e-learning? - part 1 of 2:



Alternatively, right mouse click and select Save Target As... to download What is e-learning? - part 1 of 2.

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Welcome to Doing E-Learning

Dominique and Keith welcome you to doing e-learning, the blog that will get YOU doing e-learning. Between the two of us we have almost 20 years of experience in the e-learning business covering most sectors - and from both sides of the vendor/ organisation fence.

So who is doing e-learning for? Well, we want to be of service for organisations wanting to embrace technology as part of their people development strategy. And to do that, we want to help the people involved in the 'doing' of e-learning in those organisations.

Are you an L&D, HR or Training Professional? An e-learning or Procurement Manager? Head of the Technical Department, or Head of a Business Unit? Or quite simply someone who wants or needs to get 'doing' e-learning in your organisation? Then this is the blog for you!

And whether you're thinking of doing, are going to be doing, or currently involved in doing e-learning in your organisation... then this is the blog for you!

So you see, doing e-learning has something for everyone at the end of the day.

The core part of our blog will be our fortnightly podcast, covering the A to Z of e-learning: what it is, how you go about starting to do it, once up and running how you then do it - in-house, vendor, a mix - and finally, the nitty gritty basics of hands-on 'doing': designing, writing, and all that jazz.

What we really need is your input. We want your feedback - on absolutely anything. We want you to tell us what your most pressing need is. We want you to tell us where you're having the most problems - so we can help! We want your ideas too - we can then do a cast on the best ones.

We also plan on doing special focus casts, either interview or group discussions on core themes. These 'folkasts' will feature real people, with real stories - so please get in touch if you want to share some of your experiences in doing e-learning with others. We'll then sort out a show - hopefully with you in it.

Our first cast is out on Wednesday 23rd April, 2008. Please do get back to us with your feedback and questions.