Well, it’s been a while since I posted on my blog. The reason? First, I started a new job at a really great company. Second, I was preparing to take the ASTD Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) test.

Let me start with a few comments about my existing job. It’s for a fantastic company in downtown Portland, Oregon. I accepted a position as the instructional designer/trainer and I’ve had the opportunity to meet some really nice people and just love the place. The company was recently voted as one of the top 12 revolutionary companies in Oregon. I’ll talk about more of what I’m doing there in a later post.

The CPLP test! What can I say? It was 2 1/2 hours, 150 multiple choice questions. I started working with a great group of people in the local ASTD-chapter (Cascadia) several months ago to prepare for the test, purchased the ASTD Self-Study kit, and used some of the references on the Owl’s Ledge website. The test was pretty rough but I passed so now it’s own to my work project.

I’m currently looking at developing a train-the-trainer program for subject matter experts for my work submission. Feel free to share your thoughts on what has worked and not worked for you when developing this type of program. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts! Subject Matter Experts are an interesting breed and have a different perspective on “training.”

A week or so ago, I made a post to my blog providing tips for delivering seminars/training online. A few days later, Lisa Neal, Editor-in-Chief of eLearn Magazine, suggested I turn it into an article for their magazine. I took her suggestion and the published article is now available on their web site. You can currently find it under the Top Story link. The title is, “Tips for Delivering a Successful Online Experience“.

Thanks Lisa! I had a great time writing it.

The picture to the left was taken about 2 years ago while I was playing with a Jazz quintet at a local winery in Portland, Oregon. Why is it here? Well, the other day, I started thinking about how many musicians I see working in the computer field. It’s rather amazing, they seem to be everywhere. Guitar players, horn players, drummers, violinists, etc.

After doing a little research on the Internet, I think I may have found the answer. It seems that musical aptitude is one of the strongest predictors of success in technical positions. Terry Skyarek, Director of the Institute for Professional Development in the School of Computer Science at DePaul University, states “The highest scores on the admissions test and best performers have been people with a background in music.”

The articles goes on to hypothesize the reason behind this interesting phenomenon. Here are a few highlights:

• Both music and computers are structured environments.
• There seems to be a high correlation between musical ability and reasoning skills.
• Technical people favor spatial/temporal reasoning, or the ability to visualize. Both Mozart and Albert Einstein excelled at this. Einsten was also known to favor the violin.

What do you think? Is this a just a lot of scientific “mumbo jumbo” or is there some fact to this? Let’s hear your thoughts.

Many companies are starting to move to distance learning courses as a way to increase the knowledge and skills of their distributed workforce. The most common reasons cited are: convenience, cost, and time. Although many articles discuss what to do and not do in regard to migrating classroom content to the Web, little emphasis is placed on how to prepare people to take online classes. Some people are excellent online students while others struggle. Why?

A few years ago while teaching online courses for a university in Arizona, I begin to notice the students who struggled with distance learning the most suffered from a lack of self-discipline and the inability to motivate themselves. Have you experienced the same problems? If so, let’s hear about how you approached them.

Wow! The end of April 2008 is turning out to be an exciting month for me! A few days ago, I had the opportunity to write a short article on delivering training and seminars online for E-learning Magazine. Today, I received the ASTD-Cascadia Chapter’s newsletter and discovered I’m the “Volunteer of the Month”. What an honor! Here is a snippet from the article To read more, click here.

Volunteer, Podcast Committee, Job Listing Formatter
Hey, those of you who are regular listeners to our PodCascadia…have you noticed something different lately? A lilt in Aaron’s voice? A giddiness emanating from Christine? Well, those are the effects of our new podcast producer, Richard Watson!

Christine shares that “Richard has been a great addition to the podcast team, jumping right in to provide logistical support. He’s already organized our schedules, policies and procedures on a wiki. He’s even recorded his first segment. He’s always enthusiastic and full of new ideas.”

Richard has experience as a technical content writer, and is a published author, having authored and co-authored several books published by Prentice Hall that deal with Windows administration and network security.

I’ve spent several years training on technical subjects and designing technical content. On some of the projects, I’ve performed the role of Instructional Designer and asked the questions. On other projects, I’ve been the Subject Matter Expert (SME). Here are a few random thoughts on the “Proper care and feeding of a SME.” Enjoy!

As an instructional designer, the first thing you must understand about SMEs is that we are not all created the same. We could be a systems engineer, a software programmer, the person who loads trucks at the shipping dock, a customer service rep, or someone who answers a technical support line. We come in all shapes and sizes but we do have two things in common: (1) We have experience with the product/services that you are documenting and want to learn more about, and (2) We have other things to do beyond just talking to you.

Before scheduling a SME interview, make sure you know why you’re meeting with us in the first place. For example, do you want to talk to us about how to archive email on an Exchange Server? If so, the level of detail we need to discuss will be high. On the other hand, maybe you just want to get our input on the training needs of new employees. The important thing here is to make sure you know why we’re having the interview in the first place. Once you know the purpose of the interview, it’s time to prepare for it. Remember, SMEs have other things to do beyond just talking with you.

Before meeting with us, prepare. Read existing company documentation, training materials, Google for resources, and maybe read a Blog or two. This will help you develop better questions. Starting the interview with, “Can you explain what Exchange is?” may not be the best approach if we’re meeting to document how to archive email. It tells us SMEs that you’re not respecting our time; therefore, we may not be so giving of it the next time you come around.

During the interview, make sure you actively listen to what we have to say. While we’re answering your questions, make a conscious effort to hear not only our words but also the message behind them. This doesn’t mean that we should control the interview, that is your job.

If you’re not familiar with active listening, click here for a short article that provides a definition and includes tips on how to become an active listener. SMEs love active listeners!

When the interview is over, thank us! It makes us feel like the time we spent together was valued. It also encourages us to work with you again in the future.

Signed,

SME

I was recently asked to troubleshoot an audio/video presentation on a friend’s web site. The goal was to help him identify why visitors to his site were receiving error messages when they attempted to watch the presentation.

Before I explain how his problem was solved, let me give you some background on the video. The video was originally recorded using a WebEx proprietary software program called WebExRecording Editor. This same editor provided him with the ability to export the file to a Windows Video File (*.wmv) format. During the export process, he was prompted to select both a video codec and an audio codec. He chose the Windows Media Video 9 Screen codec but changed the audio codec to ACELP.net. This is where he made his fatal mistake. When customers came to his site, they received an error message: “missing audio codec”

Read on to discover how the mystery of the missing codec was solved…

You may be wondering why he didn’t just convert it to a flash format (swf/flv) and stream it. The answer is he couldn’t: the WebExRecording Editor only allowed him to export files to the *.wmv format.

First, let me explain what a codec is. Codec is short for Coder-decoders or sometimes compression-decompression. Codecs can be implemented in hardware or software. In his case he used a software codec called ACELP.net to compress his audio. Compressing the audio allowed him to maintain a high quality signal while using the minimum number of bits. This reduced the size of the file and the bandwidth required to transmit the it. All is well so far, but here is the problem. When he used the ACELP.net codec to compress the file, anyone who wanted to listen to it also needed the same codec to decompress it. When the customer attempted to listen to the training video, it failed because they did not have the same audio codec installed on their computer.

One possible solution was to send them a link to the appropriate codec and have them install it. Unfortunately, the customer did not have administrative control of their computer and their company policy prohibited them from installing any additional software.

The solution? First, I obtained a copy of his WebEx recording (it was in WRF format) and then played it on my computer using the WebEx player. At the same time I was playing it, I used Camtasia Recorder to capture the audio and video coming from the recording. For those wondering how you do this, it requires a change to Camtasia Studio’s default settings which allows it to capture the audio. For details on how to change the appropriate settings, click here.

Before attempting to do this, make sure your computer has the horsepower and that you are not using an integrated sound card. Most integrated sound cards can’t keep up. You’ll have great video but you will hear a lot of skipping in the audio track! Nick White provides some technical reasons for sound glitches in his post “An Overview of Windows Sound and Music Glitching Issues“. Although I was running a dual-core processor machine with 3GB of RAM, the sound card was not up to task. I switched over to a desktop system that used a Sound Blaster Audigy SE card, single processor, and less memory. The end result was excellent.

Once the presentation was captured in Camtasia, I was able to produce it into a Flash format that was viewable by all of his visitors.

I’ve done hundreds of online seminars/training sessions over the last year and thought I would write a post on a few of the things I’ve learned. I’ve put them together in a top ten list (no particular order).

#1: Mute attendees when they enter your online session. There is nothing more annoying to a participant then having to listen to people connecting into the seminar (beep, beep, beep) when you are 10-15 minutes into the class. The same goes for when they exit or disconnect from the session.

#2: Don’t mumble! If you don’t know what to say, it’s OK to be quiet for a few seconds. You don’t have to fill every second with information. Know what you are going to say and say it.

Wait, there’s more!

#3: Don’t conduct the meeting from a cubicle! As a host, it’s your responsibility to pick a location that is quiet and free of distractions. If you use a conference room, put a sign on the door that indicates you are currently “online”. This prevents people from walking in on you during the session. Turn off your cell phone, and by all means, do not answer it during the session. Yes, someone I know did this once!

#4: Don’t use a speakerphone when presenting. It makes you (the host) sound like you are talking to the participants from a trash can. Use a good headset (I use the Plantronics CS361N wireless headset).

#5: Provide interaction but make it relevant. In other words, if you are presenting your product, don’t introduce a poll question that asks, “What ice cream flavor do you like..?” Interaction is important but it has to be relevant. If I’m training on a product, I’ll introduce a poll question such as, “Which of the following features do you use the least/most in our product?” This provides vital information that I can use later in the presentation. Knowing what ice cream flavor they like, does nothing.

#6: Know your target audience. I sometimes perform the role of Sales Engineer. Knowing your participants can go a long way to helping close the deal. Check out the company’s web site, Google, check blogs, talk with your internal sales staff, etc. It serves as an excellent ice breaker at the beginning of the online session and can help you tailor the delivery to your audience.

#7: Focus on addressing their needs! Too many companies focus on discussing the features of their products without first mapping them to their customers’ needs. If you know their needs, you can explain how your products meet them.

#8: Pick a stable conferencing package. I evaluated several products before selecting WebEx. In some of the first sessions, I used a product that would disconnect about 2-3 times per session. Other products I tried introduced too much delay. Test the product you are going to use under the same conditions you will use it in.

#9: Don’t use PowerPoint slides as a crutch when presenting. This is true in both online and offline classes. This happens when you fill your slides with paragraphs of text and/or read directly from the slide. You wouldn’t do this in a classroom so don’t do it online either.

#10: Keep your sessions to 1 hour or less. If you need to go longer, provide a short break at the 1 hour point. There is a big difference between a 1 hour session and a 1 1/2 hour session from a participant’s viewpoint.

I hope this helps those of you who are just starting to do online seminars. If you have any questions, please post them here and I’ll do my best to provide you with answers.

A few weeks ago, I was looking for a guest to interview for an upcoming podcast show. I was fortunate enough to locate Michael Grinder who is an international speaker, lecturer, author, and facilitator. For those of you looking to gain insight into the world of non-verbal communication, I encourage you to listen to our podcast.

Michael Grinder, founder of Michael Grinder and Associates, started as a classroom teacher and has taught in Oregon, California, and Washington. In 1983, he started his own company. He is still connected to his educational roots (about 50% of the time) but spends the rest of it in the corporate and public speaking arena. In the podcast, he talks about how to make yourself a better communicator when you’re in front of people. The biggest distinction he mentions is the difference between speaking when you are inside the company versus conducting a public seminar. The set of skills required, in each of these situations, is very different.

Grinder states, “If people are coming for a very short amount of time (2 days or less), and the group is large (greater then 50 people), you have to assume the posture of being the “pilot” of the airplane. Use lots of guttural sounds, curl your voice down at the end of anything you say, and pause a lot. This indicates you are really credible, you know what you’re doing, and they feel safer!”

If you go in-house, or it’s a smaller group and they know each other, or you’ve been together with the same group over a length of time, you would use a more approachable pattern, more of the “flight attendant” approach which reflects a more facilitative role.”

In other words, in the role of the pilot, you send information; in the role of the flight attendant, you seek information. Grinder goes on to say, “The evolution of a group, the more it gets formed, the more you stay away from being the pilot and the more you switch over to being the flight attendant.

If you want to know more about these three variables (the duration of the event, the degree to which the attendees know one another, and the size of the group), and how they can impact your approach to communication, stop by the PodCascadia Web site today. Michael is also speaking at an upcoming ASTD Cascadia chapter event on May 15, 2008. For details, click here.

I was recently talking to a friend of mine regarding how to increase the readership of my blog. He said, “It just takes time…” Well, in the interest of increasing traffic to this blog, I’ve decided to do a little research to further this process along. First, it’s important to get a baseline measurement of how things are going on my blog as of today. I can then use this information as I start to make changes to see how much progress I’m making. So, in the first part of this posting, I’ll talk about some things to put in place on your blog to track current activity. In a later post, I’ll provide some insight into how others are increasing traffic to their blogs.

Counting Pages
First, you need to know what your current stats are. In other words, how many people are reading your blog today. Luckily, this information is available in the software provided with most blogs. If it’s not, there are other services you can use (Google Analytics is one example). If you have a WordPress blog, you can access your current page stats via your Dashboard. From there, you’ll see a Blog Stats link (shown below). If you click the link, you will see a graph that shows you how many times your blog has been viewed on a Daily, Weekly, or Monthly basis. You’ll also be able to see which links people clicked to get to your blog. These links are called Referrers. You will also see additional blog stats such as the total views, best day ever, and views today.

Tracking RSS Subscribers
Setting up an RSS feed allows visitors to subscribe to your blog. This keeps them from having to visit your blog each time they want to see what’s new! Instead of them coming to your blog, postings made to your blog are sent to them and appear in their RSS reader. So, how many people have subscribed to your RSS feed? If you don’t know, then it’s time to find out.

I use Feedburner to track my RSS subscriptions. It’s free and it provides an excellent resource to help me identify who my readership is. For example, after signing up for a free account, I can track the following: (1) How many people have subscribed to my blog, (2) What feed readers they are using, and (3) other services and sites using my feed. Once you create your account, you’ll need to integrate it with your blog. How this is done depends upon what blogging software you use. For example, Feedburner provides a snippet of HTML code that I attached to an RSS feed icon on my blog site. In WordPress, you can do this by using a Text Widget. You can use plug-ins as well but you’ll need to check on the Feedburner web site to determine your specific options.

Tracking Who is Linking to Me
At this point, I’m collecting information on my page stats and also the number of subscribers to my RSS feed. Wouldn’t it be nice to know if your blog has made a difference in other peoples lives on the Internet? I do, so let’s see how to find that information.

To do this, I need a way to see how many other blogs/web sites link to my blog posts. Although there are several tools out there, I’ve been using Technorati. To use this tool, visit their web site and select the Advanced link next to the search button (top of page). Next to the URL search box, enter the URL for your blog. Once the search has completed, you will be able to see how many other blogs/web sites have linked to your blog. In Technorati language, the word Authority, with a number next to it indicates the number of blogs that have linked to yours in the last 6 months. The higher the number the more Technorati Authority your blog has. If you want to increase this number, write things that are interesting to other bloggers who in turn may link to you.

I hope you found this information useful. If you have any questions about how to read your blog stats, how to integrate Feedburner into your blog, or track who is linking to your blog, I’ll be happy to discuss it with you.