Last night’s lrnchat was about ‘data’ how its used and how its not used. Good discussion. I did walk away thinking a lot about the discussion because what I saw was a lot of fear around the idea that we’ve been doing this all wrong to begin with.

Now most of us wouldn’t fess up to this, nor would most of us even recognize the fear, but I saw a lot of people talking about how poor existing data is coming out of ‘learning systems’ but finding every excuse in the world not to find something that did work. One of my favourite comments was ‘Tin Can has great potential, but what does it have to do with metrics?’. That folks is nothing but fear and ignorance and I don’t want that to sound as bad as it does, but I’m being straight up.

When the subject of web analytics was brought up, lots of ‘many of us don’t have web analytic teams’, or ‘what do web analytics people know about measuring performance’? When I don’t have immediate access to people or things, I like to use something called the Internet to find people and communities that can provide meaningful information to help me self educate. There are communities and professions dedicated to data modelling and drawing meaningful data for their businesses on which businesses make critical decisions. I know this may come as a shocker, but I doubt any large business decision was ever made based on LMS data. So if we want to understand how to create meaningful data, maybe we should look to those communities that do this already. Guess what…web analytics people meet that criteria. Not having a person around who does this is no excuse given whats available to you on your freakin’ phone.

So… lots of resistance and lots of complaining. Fear and ignorance. No one is going to like that.

So let me try to add something positive here. what I like about the new Tin Can API is that I can use it to create the infrastructure I need to support designing online activities that generate data I want. Quick example. I have a block of text. I need to know whether the content is engaging. If I put the text on a single screen for somebody to read, I’ll never know if they’ve read the whole thing, the first paragraph or 2 paragraphs etc. If I spread the text over three screens, and make the navigation from one screen to the next an optional element as far as ‘achievement’ goes (people aren’t clicking next cause they have to), if someone actually goes through all 3 pages doesn’t that mean something? Whats the percentage of people that didn’t go through all 3 pages versus those that did? If the majority of people don’t, doesn’t that mean something over if they did? If my goal is to make sure people read it and nobody goes through all 3 pages, then I guess the text isn’t as engaging as I’d like it to be and I have decisions to make. yes? Well before Tin Can, I had no way to do this in a consistent way or correlate that data to potentially other organizationally relevant data. What if everybody that reads page 1 and everybody that reads all 3 pages contribute equally to the organization (imagine their sales people)? Do I need all 3 pages?

Designing for data is something marketing folks do all the time and its ALL ABOUT PERFORMANCE. Did you buy more product? Did the engagement in their social activities generate more revenue for the business? They couldn’t be more performance focused in the right way. Learning people for some reason still give a damn about learning. What they should care about is whether what they do has an impact on the health of their organizations. Find ways of correlating the two.

Designing for data means that you design activities that generates data. Use that data to make correlations to the health of the business. Tin Can offers you the standards for building that plumbing. If you don’t get it, don’t worry. There are people that do.

So…it’s been just over two weeks since the “mother” of all workplace learning conferences took place. The ASTD International Conference and Expo (or as the regulars know it, ICE) is the leading and largest conference in the training space.

This is not to take away the great efforts placed by other conferences (most of them I enjoy) but ICE is IT! ICE attracts the largest number of WLP professional and specialists from around the world…up to 10,000 participants at times. It also invites the most innovative and leading speakers to conduct workshops and concurrent sessions…including yours truly!

That being said, (and to no fault of ASTD ICE or any other conference) why is it that well meaning participants who invest heavily to attend the conference simply return to their jobs rarely applying the awesome new skills they’ve acquired? This is human nature and is what I like to call post-conference euphoria or PCE.

First off, let me say that that I am not a psychologist or human behavior specialist in any way. Here’s the deal…and this applies to most people who attend virtually any type of trade conference…you purchase attendance to the conference; you plan the travel and hotel requirements; you spend weeks reading and re-reading the conference session descriptions; you plan every hour of your conference attendance so that you make the most of what’s offered; and finally you plan your learning wish list to take back once the conference ends.

Sounds good in theory, right? Makes sense, right? Well, you probably completed every step in this process except for the last one. My guess is that you returned to your desk and, with a committed vigor, sought opportunities to apply most if not all of the learning from ICE. Then you looked around and saw the piles of work front of you. Or, your boss/peers/co-workers (pick one or more) got wind of your return and campaigned (a more polite term to “harassed”) you to help solve a problem or to get involved in some work initiative. Day 1 upon your return is a right off. You are feeling (or actually are) overwhelmed with the responsibilities in front of you so the ICE learning’s are set aside.

You return on day 2 with renewed vigor and renewed promise. Recognizing what hit you on day 1, you are more realistic applying the great ICE learning’s. But being a reasonable individual you sit back and quickly recognize that you are not “super-worker” and need to trim back your aspirations. So, rather than try to apply all the great skills you are judicious selecting the most relevant ICE skills to apply and scale back so that you can balance all demands on placed on you. But the demands of day 1 come back to haunt you and reality of day 2 compounds it further.

Day 3 (or 4) arrives…your will is further worn down. Your commitment is not as strong as on day 1. Being rational you make a conscious decision to set aside the ICE learning’s and realize that you need to take care of “business” first. Gaining control of the work demands and getting some of it off of your plate is job #1. You say to yourself, “Once I gain control I will then focus on all of the ICE learning’s.” So, now the ICE learning’s are set aside.

You quickly realize gaining control of some job requirements only finds more work right behind it. It’s like a never-ending tsunami. The days quickly go by and before you know it is the end of the week, month, or quarter. In the back of your mind, you know that the knowledge from ICE would make your job easier/effective/impressive/efficient/results-driven (pick one or more than one). But you never get to it.

Before you know it, almost a year goes by and you are again considering and possibly preparing to participate in the next ASTD ICE. And now, the vicious cycle repeats itself.

So, let’s regroup for a minute. The post-conference euphoria or PCE was the motivation for you to apply these newly found skills but it ended up that the euphoria was just that…euphoria. Once it wore off with work reality the conference learning’s slipped lower and lower down your list of priorities.
This is a great lesson to apply to participants in your learning events. As training professionals, your goal is to ensure that the participants not only learn and retain knowledge (Levels 1 and 2) but to actually apply it and achieve specific business objectives (Levels 3 and 4). But like you post-conference, their learning’s also slip away with work demands. The expectations you have for the participants in your training are the same expectations your organization has for you participating at ASTD ICE.

Few training professional consistently achieve Level 3, let alone Level 4, for their learning initiatives but senior stakeholders expect them to do so. This is because all business activities (this includes training) are expected to contribute to improved performance (Level 3) leading to business results (Level 4). The struggle you face to apply the great skills acquired at ASTD ICE are the same as the struggles you face aligning your learning initiatives with Level 3-4 expectations.

But you really need to capitalize applying what you took away from ICE. Find time to reflect, digest, and integrate the skills acquired into your daily activities and learning initiatives. Take an additional day to do this even at the expense of having some tasks pile up on you. It is critical to change your behavior and to make the organization’s decision for you to participate in ICE worthwhile. Not only will your organization see the relevance but you will also be able to justifiably support your professional development and demonstrate at minimum Level 3 results.

Don’t follow the old adage of “Do as I say, not as I do”. Leverage the PCE you gained from participating in ICE. Lead by example and follow the new adage, “Do as I say and do as I do”!

I tend to live by one saying (which may help you), “If you’re not living life on the edge then you’re taking up too much space.” If you don’t understand this then drop me an email but before you do, think about it first.

Much success in your post conference efforts!

Ajay M. Pangarkar and Teresa Kirkwood are founders of CentralKnowledge.com and LearningSourceonline.com. They are renowned performance management experts and 3-time authors most recently publishing the leading performance book, “The Trainer’s Balanced Scorecard: A Complete Resource for Linking Learning to Organizational Strategy” (Wiley 2009), and award-wining assessment specialist with Training Magazine. Read their blog, “Workplace Revolution” at blog.centralknowledge.com or contact: ajayp@centralknowledge.com

Creative by Design

What does the 21st century classroom

(learning enviroment) look like to you?

Share your thoughts on our blog.

www.readwritetechnology.com

Do your courses make a difference in the productivity and performance of employees you trained?

Are your courses bland and uninspiring?

Creative by Design- Making an Impact! Is a course that is designed to help you lay the foundation for great courseware; courseware that inspires and engages.

If you would like to be a part of a beta group where we explore the differenct facets of ADDIE from a learner centric approach, we would love to have you join us for this 12 week course.

It will be delivered via a webinar once a week for one hour.

Creative by Design- Making an Impact!

You will be encouraged to bring your own training projects for review or you can use the case studies provided through the process of developing great training courses.

If you are interested and would like more information, click here for more information.

*Reminder* If you sign up for the event early and “like” are Facebook site. You will get a DISCOUNT for the course.

What does the 21^st century classroom (learning
environment) look like to you?

What does the ACCESSIBLE 21^st century classroom
(learning environment) look like to you?

What does the 21^st century athlete need to succeed?

Please respond at:

http://www.readwritetechnology.com/blogs/cherstinane

(Please only respond to the three questions, no soliciting)

I admit that I don’t closely follow basketball or sports in general but you had to be living on another planet not to hear about the recent feats of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin. Lin literally went from a bench-warming third-string point guard to household name and international star in a matter of weeks.

The overnight success of an unknown and initially undervalued NBA player is an incredible “Cinderella” story but it raises questions for both managers and employees alike. What every manager must ask himself or herself is “do you recognize the “Jeremy Lin’s” in your workplace?” And the question employees must ask is, “are you a third string bench warmer or are you able to make a difference for your organization?”

Jeremy Lin’s story is one of specific lessons that both managers and employees can takeaway and relates to the lack of recognition employees don’t receive. From what I’ve learned, Lin didn’t receive any academic basketball scholarship and didn’t decide to play b-ball because some scout recognized a unique talent.

Like the majority of employees, Jeremy Lin’s abilities remained unrecognized and often ignored even though he worked hard to perform well. Team after team overlooked Jeremy’s abilities placing him on “waivers” twice before the Knicks considered “hiring” him as only a backup point guard. Within an organization, being on “waiver” is equivalent to not providing an employee with direction or worse, laying them off for no reason. As in Jeremy’s case, eventually an NBA team, or your competitors, discover how to hire and harness the value of your cast off employees.

Let’s look at the underlying lessons an employee can take away from Lin’s experience.

Have clear personal and professional goals: Jeremy Lin is more than an overnight story. His professional goal was to become a pro basketball player and knew what he needed to do to get to the NBA and survive. Personally, his goals, in the event the NBA route didn’t work out, was to seek a quality education (he’s a Harvard grad) and found other interest that would support him should basketball not work out.

Focus on what you do well; then do it better: To get recognized for what you do well, focus on doing what you do well and then do it better. Lin practiced continuously on his basketball skills and focused on the areas to improve. In business as in life, people recognize tangible results not for what you say you can do but for what you actually do. So, be ready for the opportunity to prove it. Lin recognized the opportunity when his coach (boss) threw him in as a back up into his first game…he went onto score 25 points surprising everyone.

Be persistent: Like Lin, you may never know when the opportunity to prove yourself will arise. From high school through to his college basketball efforts, talent scouts didn’t notice Jeremy. Even when in the NBA (as a bench warmer) he was cut by two teams before the Knicks offered him a one-year backup point guard contract. Jeremy recognized to learn through failure. Determination, patience, consistency, and focus provided the fuel for him to capitalize when the opportunity presented itself…and he did it whether people were watching or not. Do the same.

Stay Fresh; Add Value: Lin practiced every aspect of the game. As an aspiring professional athlete he studied how others played and how the game is played. His philosophy to continually improve is not just for his current role but also for any role presented. You must “stay fresh”…this means don’t rest on what you know but to discover what you don’t know. Push yourself to learn more about your role, your organization, and your industry. Then take what you’ve gained and find how it can be used to add value. Lin realized that he had to demonstrate his value before any team would reward him. The workplace is the same. You have to demonstrate what you’re worth and can contribute to gain the attention of others.

Now, what are the underlying lessons that managers can takeaway? In the words of Jack Welch, “Give your bench a chance!” I couldn’t agree more. Managers and NBA coaches have something in common…they play it safe and play what they know works. The Knicks coach didn’t put Lin in the game because it was a sure thing…he was stuck and had to throw in the backup guard. If he wasn’t in this position he would have played it safe and used his starting point guards and Lin would’ve remained in anonymity.

Managers reading this are probably screaming that the risks are too high. I argue that the risk of playing it safe is too high. It’s true, utilizing inexperience is not the wisest move but use your judgment. I am not asking to put someone in that can’t handle a situation. But if you aren’t comfortable doing so for any occasion then this is more reflective of poor employee management ability rather than ability of the employee themselves.

There is significant upside to offering the right opportunity to the right person at the right time. The Knicks believed that Lin had skills they required and will possibly develop over time. For Lin, his patience paid off and he proved his passion through results. If your hiring practices are solid then rest assured that your “bench” is ready for the “coach” to put them in the game. Your employees want to prove themselves and want to do well. So, your downside risk is smaller than you think and the upside much greater than you expect.

For Jeremy Lin, the story remains to be told. Like with all employees, some are ready when called upon, others may need more time and some may never answer the call. Those, like Lin, that impress quickly, must demonstrate they can sustain the momentum. But this is a two-way relationship. Employees, you need to heed the advice described here to gain attention and recognition. Managers, decide on the calculated opportunities you believe when your team can succeed. We know what Jeremy Lin can do but now the Knicks coaching team must support Lin’s efforts and growth if both are to succeed.

“The shocking lack of interest in doing things that are truly innovative is a directbyproduct of an educational system that’s aiming toward passable standardized test scores instead of something much greater.” Why do we teach like this?
The answer is simple- we have a 1 out of 3 maybe 4 chance of guessing for the correct answer. Since the standardized tests are timed, the school would prefer that a student guesses rather than spend too long on investigation. “Is it any wonder then that the average reading ability of a person in the United States is at the level of an 8th-grade education? We even have tools to make sure that you’re writing at those levels. How can we expect innovation when we can’t get people to understand higher principals because they can’t comprehend what we’re writing?” You can find the full article on Cherstinane’s blog.

Do you have full access to online learning modules with assistive technology? Are they tedious and time consuming to navigate? RWL Tech, Inc. has created a new tool that allows you to efficiently navigate online learning modules and have full access (not separate but equal access), even if the module has complex Flash interactions. Read more here and sign up to be a beta tester. We LOVE having your perspective and feedback. For more information on CoursePower click here.

Read Write Learn
http://www.facebook.com/RWLLearning

Read Write Learn Technology
http://www.readwritetechnology.com/

Greg Green, principal at Chintondale High in Michigan is in charge of a financially challenged school. He is trying to provide his students with the best education possible. The students that attend Clintondale are all on different skill levels. With the economy today the students have limited resources to do their homework at home. With the students in mind Greg wanted them to become excited and to show interest in school, thus the flip model was integrated into their school by the help of Tech Smith. Tech Smith helped us create a flipped classroom structure through the use of their screen and writing software. Teachers than record their lectures and the students watch these lectures at home as their homework. When the students are in classroom they then have the available resources to do their homework, including the help of their teacher. The flip model has made inequality no longer an issue. If educators can come together and work toward a common goal of fixing the education system, education could be changed forever. Thanks to the flip model every student can have a chance to succeed. To read the full Flipping The Class Article click here.

First day at my new job… I learned lots…
1: Easy to use is also easy to demonstrate
2: Computers and phones have a way of levelling the playing field. Today neither my android or my Outlook wish to be configured, it happens
3: Learning a new product is tiring and motivating all at the same time
4: It is about the people as much as the product…

Feel I still have some learning to do after the house goes to bed tonight !

RWL Technology

http://readwritetechnology.com/landing/coursepower

Many students aren’t willing to admit in class that they don’t understand the material being taught. But for one Utah classroom that isn’t an issue anymore. New technology is making it possible for students to input their response into a handheld device called the SMART response device. This device sends the students answer directly to the teacher’s computer allowing the teacher to know if she needs to recover the material or if her class understands and its ok to continue with the lesson. The teacher also no longer needs to spend hours grading the tedious assignments the teacher’s computer will keep track of all the scores.

For resources on SMART Devices:

http://smarttech.com/us/Solutions/Education+Solutions/Products+for+education/Complementary+hardware+products/SMART+Response

For the Utah Classroom story:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=18915170&title=smart-technology-enhancing-classroom-learning-experience

Do you have full access to online learning modules with assistive technology? Are they tedious and time consuming to navigate? RWL Tech, Inc. has created a new tool that allows you to efficiently navigate online learning modules and have full access (not separate but equal access), even if the module has complex Flash interactions. Read more here and sign up to be a beta tester. We LOVE having your perspective and feedback. Course Power.

RWL Tech
http://www.readwritetechnology.com/

RWL Tech- Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/RWLLearning

Making Learning 508 Compliant and Accessibile
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Making-Learning-508-Compliant-and-Accessible/95298389507

In Kelly Gallagher’s new book “Teaching Real-World Writing Through Modeling & Mentor Texts.” He focuses on this topic of why reading is a problem of how it is taught in schools. He turns his attention to writing instruction, which he believes is in a state of crisis. Gallagher states reading/writing as a subject “seems to have gotten lost in many of our schools, it has been buried with curricular pacing guides, huge class sizes, worksheets, and over-the-top testing. When writing is taught at all, it is often subject to “prescribed school discourses” that limit students’ development and fail to capture their imagination.” It’s been estimated as many as 70 percent of students graduate from high school with inadequate writing skills. Are you one of those? Gallagher’s book consists of how he teaches to write six different real-life discourses, and after that he provides a series of writing prompts. Kelly Gallagher is prepared to get you or your class back on track. Click to read more on Kelly Gallagher’s new book.