What does ‘SCORM-Compliant’ mean?

Posted on January 10, 2017February 10, 2017 by doral andersson

To those of us in learning and development we are very familiar with the SCORM acronym, however, for many business owners/managers, organization leaders or general users (students) the term is unclear or foreign. SCORM stands for the Sharable Content Object Reference Model. It is a universal model that complies with a variety of learning management systems (LMS).

Learning management systems are software applications which distribute eLearning materials through the internet. This enables users (employees, students, organizations members, etc.) to take a training course from a remote location – anywhere in the world with internet access and a computer or mobile device. The LMS does not have to be installed. It is on the cloud.

SCORM is a collection of standards and specifications on which the web based training (eLearning) operates. Subsequently, SCORM was created to make it possible for different brands of LMS software to have the ability to run programs created from different authoring tools.

SCORM is a very powerful tool in eLearning. SCORM allows content which is created one time to be used in many different learning management systems and situations without modification. This plug-and-play functionality can be powerful within an organization but even more so across organizations. SCORM enables content which can be sold and delivered to the user quicker, more robustly, and at a cost savings.

SCORM is widely adopted worldwide and by large organizations. It is the de facto industry standard. The US Department of Defense has specified that all of its content must be delivered via SCORM. Industry is following suit. In a nutshell SCORM is the universal standard for online training providing testing and tracking which is the desired feature of widely accepted eLearning.

To learn even more about SCORM: click here

Top 10 eLearning Trends To Watch In 2017

Posted on December 20, 2016February 10, 2017 by doral andersson

With 2017 quickly approaching, it’s time to look at what’s to come for eLearning.

1. Contextualized Learning

Expect to see a wider acceptance of microlearning and digital learning design that addresses needs of the modern learner. Learning and Development teams will use modern design thinking to modernize typically boring eLearning courses like Onboarding.

2. Two-Way Conversations In eLearning

Evolve your content instead of falling into the trap of being out of sync with modern learners’ needs. It’s now easier than ever to capture feedback from learners within content. You can now open up for users’ input and ideas on what they’d like to see or what they need help with.

3. Better Use Of Data

Using data in an intelligent way can help shape your learners’ experience by personalizing content. For example, show learners how their thinking compares with their peers’ by presenting live social-polling results. Personalize content and serve up certain pages of content specifically for someone’s needs because they answered questions A, C, and F in a certain way.

Read whole article at: elearningindustry.com

How To Improve Your Sales Staff Performance With eLearning

Posted on November 15, 2016February 10, 2017 by doral andersson

by Scott Cooper

According to the Education Resources Information Center, “For companies to stay competitive, they must continually bring new products and services to the marketplace. One strategy organizations can use to support this requirement is to provide their sales force with training that enables revenue generation”. As you’ll discover, eLearning is the perfect solution for delivering training to improve your sales staff performance.

eLearning: The Basics

The most basic definition of eLearning is “electronic learning”. However, it’s about more than just attending a school or college online, taking a few courses, and getting a certificate. Today, with all of their new technological advances companies can use eLearning to help their staff learn how to improve their sales skills.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, “Online learning opportunities and the use of open educational resources and other technologies can increase educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning; reducing costs associated with instructional materials or programs”.

Some of the benefits of eLearning vs. traditional learning include: read full article

Use eLearning to Identify and Fill Skills Gap

Posted on September 8, 2016September 8, 2016 by doral andersson

Many candidates or employees have heard the line, “You’re not the right fit for the position,” from hiring managers. This translates into skills gap of the workforce. The Aberdeen Group, a fact based research company, found the skills gap is perceived as widest in these areas:

41 percent critical thinking/problem-solving
39 percent in job-related technical skills
35 percent in professionalism/work ethic
30 percent in leadership
27 percent in adaptability/managing multiple priorities

It can be hard to teach these qualities, but it’s not impossible. E Learning can be implemented to assist in identifying and filling the skills gap in your organization. Soft skills training is one method used to help alleviate the skills gap for current and new employees.

Train for soft skills, like critical thinking. Here’s how:

Ask a lot of questions — as Socrates brilliantly taught us with the Socratic method, the best way to get people thinking is by asking questions. Get your employees’ wheels turning by asking questions, such as “What would happen if we did this instead?” or “Who would this result impact?” You’ll be able to identify strong critical thinking habits if they’re persistent in finding solutions without getting frustrated, able to apply them to their everyday work, and are good learners—all of these qualities can be rewarded with increased responsibility and decision-making power. It’s not just about finding critical thinkers, questioning is also a great way to exercise critical thinking and encourage employees to become more self-reliant.
Simulate scenarios — practice “what if” situations. For example, set up a partner activity where one employee plays a client or vendor with a troublesome request (e.g. an invoice was mishandled by a third party) while the other employee talks them through how they would handle it. You can also test employees on how they would solve scenarios in an e-learning course by presenting a real-life situation that requires open-ended responses for a solution.
Discuss and debate — get a group involved by having the team talk through “what ifs” or debating different solutions to a problem. This teaches them communication skills, leadership, professionalism, and problem-solving.
Encourage self-reflection — break down your own thinking process to teach employees to evaluate their thought processes. When they come up with solutions to problems, encourage them to write down their thought process and always answer, “why?” Who knows, you might find your next team philosopher by uncovering hidden strengths.

Why Employers Can’t Ignore Onboarding with Tech

Posted on February 4, 2016September 8, 2016 by doral andersson

Onboarding methods that encourage more interactive, engaging experiences for new hires are becoming increasingly popular and needed in the workplace. Onboarding is simply employee orientation and socialization.

5 Innovative Training Strategies in Insurance that Work

Posted on January 14, 2016September 8, 2016 by doral andersson

In an article from the eLearning Industry: In today’s environment of economic volatility, increasing causalities and changing global dynamics, the Insurance sector needs to adopt training approaches that will help them equip their employees to manage these variables successfully. While the Insurance sector continues to grow, the Learning and Development professionals in this sector have challenges of addressing the external variables as well challenges that are intrinsic to the industry.