There was quite a bit of focus at the 2012 Learning Solutions Conference in Orlando on Learning Management Systems (LMS) and how dissatisfied many users are. Digitec presented a session on “Making a Successful LMS Switch” which drew a crowd of conference attendees. Some attendees were the victims of an LMS that had been acquired [...]

In The Atlantic magazine cover story “Making it in America” (January/Feb 2012), author Adam Davidson offers some hopeful and some dire predictions for the American worker. The bottom line? Unless we can better train our workers, a large proportion of the unskilled U.S. workforce may continue to be replaced through automation or off shoring. How [...]

The rise of the Kahn Academy in mainstream awareness has sparked a great deal of controversy. Funded by Google and The Gates Foundation, this program is a completely free, non-profit source of “World Class Education for Anyone Anywhere”. So what’s all the buzz about? The design is based on a relatively simple learning model.  Students [...]

Here again, helping you navigate the turbulent waters in the sea of eLearning, is another post in the series on What eLearning Clients Get Wrong. I’d like to touch on a topic that tends to get overlooked on most checklists, but can be a very valuable tool in making your learning even more effective. Tip [...]

This is another post in the continuing series on what I believe buyers of eLearning often get wrong. As a “survivor” in the online learning industry for last 20 years, I’ve noticed some recurring trends and misconceptions that I would like to share some insights on, from a “vendor’s” perspective. Tip #2: “Remember the real [...]

A Vendor’s Take on Choosing the Right Vendor Choosing an e-Learning vendor is no easy task. It seems as though anyone who can create a PowerPoint file is an eLearning vendor. And even though there is a science to instructional design and effective visual and user interface design, my prediction is that if a client [...]

With tablet technologies, the App Store, Android Market and so many technologies dominating the learning discussion these days, I wanted to tell a personal story of how the low-tech Apple iPod gave me insights into what we might be overlooking in a learning strategy: simplicity. When I received my first iPod, my first chore was [...]

Mobile Learning Apps: Statistics and Trends With the explosive growth in mobile devices, including smart phones and tablets, mobile learning, or “mLearning” is a natural application for this new technology. With the portability that these devices now give us, we can access the right information, right when and where we need it. How many times [...]

How times change. Last post, Game-based learning > Mobile Apps, I recalled how our earliest application for mobile learning (mLearning) was dismissed by eLearning thought leaders in 2003. Back then, despite the growth of WEP-enabled cell phones and the Palm OS personal digital assistants (PDA), there just weren’t enough handsets out there to justify mLearning [...]

When it comes to Mobile Learning, or mLearning as it’s become known, it’s amazing how quickly attitudes change. Today, with the staggering growth of iPad and iPhone apps, the learning community is scrambling to apply the new technology. But that hasn’t always been the case. Back in 2002, my company released a product called “Knowledge [...]

Clive Sheperd’s blog posting on “A solution looking for a problem?” really hit home. Never before can I remember the release of so many disruptive technologies that directly affect learning. With new tools emerging such as mobile delivery, rapid development, Second Life-style immersive experience, and augmented reality… how do we know which are going to [...]

In past, I’ve discussed how many organizations are struggling to see where Mobile Learning or “mLearning” fits into an overall learning strategy. The answer from industry seems to be rolling out utilities that “convert” eLearning into mLearning. So now, modules published for an eLearning course are also ported out to the iPhone, iPad, Droid and [...]

Based on the results from the eLearning Guild’s recent survey “Getting Started with e-Learning 2.0”, it’s clear that the learning environment is changing. Organizations are struggling to redefine their learning strategies to accommodate more collaborative, user-focused approaches. What is “e-Learning 2.0,” and how can you reflect these tenets in your instructional design? There are many [...]

Digitec developed and just recently launched an innovative course for Florida Virtual School. The Virtual Globe Theatre features the Bard himself, William Shakespeare as the guide for this English IV online course. The interactive games are used as part of the course for junior and senior level high school students. In each level of the [...]

Just recently ran across an article in one of the latest issues of FastCompany magazine, called: “How web-savvy edupunks are transforming American higher education.” This is definitely a must-read for those of us passionate about reinventing education and the idea of continuing education. There’s finally beginning to be a groundswell, and it’s very exciting to [...]

I co-presented a session at the eLearning Gathering in Orlando in March and at the eLearning Guild Online Forum last month on “How to Create Effective AND Engaging Learning Games”. My co-presenter was Ron Weaver, who teaches at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA), a graduate videogame design school at the University of Central Florida. [...]

If you are only using eLearning inside your organization – for employee training, compliance training, etc., you may be missing out on a valuable revenue generation resource. In a Brandon Hall 2004 independent research study, organizations who used eLearning for sales training showed an increase in sales by 30% and a Return on Investment (ROI) [...]

Just got back from DevLearn08 in San Jose, California. The conference was really well-attended. I brought back some great ideas, met some new people and gained some insight into the science of play.   Moneytopia – An Immersive Learning Simulation We presented a session called “Immersive Learning Simulations,” and it seemed to be a big [...]

Team Training – a perfect fit for Co-Op Play So we’ve made some projections of what the future might hold for e-Learning. This is a posting on what we can do today to implement some game-play features into eLearning, specifically focusing on ‘cooperative play’ or co-op. The military has actually been using co-op ‘play’ for [...]

So, today I was interviewed by Training magazine for the October issue, which will be featuring game-based learning. To prepare for the interview, I started listing some predictions I have for the future of eLearning and game-based learning, based on the current trends. From what I’ve learned from my pals over at Electronic Arts, you [...]

The most common question we hear related to game-based learning is… does it really work? And that’s a question that has been difficult to answer using actual research… until now. Last week, the University of Central Florida released a new study that shows math scores increasing when presented using game-based learning. Up to now, most [...]

I was manning the Digitec booth at the Society of Pharma and Bio-Tech Trainer’s (SPBT) Conference in Orlando last week and had the opportunity to sit in on an excellent session by Doug Stevenson on Story Theatre. Being a theatre guy, his booth caught my eye, and I ducked into his session. He has a [...]

Dick Hofmann at Digitec found this link off YouTube, and it’s so apt, based on what I heard at the eLearning Guild conference earlier this month, and what I see teaching my college students. This is a challenge we all need to meet… and we’re running out of time. Next Gen Learning video

So the eLearning Guild 08 Gathering just wrapped up in Orlando, and there were some really good sessions. I moderated a session on “What does the Next Gen Learning Experience Look Like.” Even though the session was held a 7:15 am on Tuesday morning (and I hadn’t slept at all the night before), we had [...]

It seems as though Web 2.0 is pushing everyone in IT to change the paradigm, making the online experience more user-focused and experiential. And eLearning is no exception. Nowadays, a simple drag and drop “game” can hardly be considered “game-based eLearning.” So then what is considered “good game” by Web 2.0 standards, in terms of [...]