The Learned Man!

Top 10 Blunders In Developing eLearning

Some time back I was reading an interesting article about how lists have gained in popularity because people have become lazier! So think about that, and in the meanwhile, heres a list of the top 10 blunders that occur during the development of eLearning courseware by Joeseph Ganci of DazzleTech. He covers the following points:
-Skipping Steps
-Starting It All Wrong
-Underestimating the Work
-Choosing the Wrong Team Members
-Choosing the Wrong Tools
-Choosing the Wrong Media Elements
-Designing Incorrectly
-Allowing Later Scope Changes
-Not Evaluating the Coursework
-Not Expecting the Unexpected

Convergys Buys DigitalThink for $120 Million

Wow! I came into the office this morning and saw this report. This is big...the consolidation continues!

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Billing software maker Convergys Corp. (NYSE:CVG) said Thursday it would buy DigitalThink Inc. (NASDAQ:DTHK) for $120 million, marking its expansion into the market for electronic learning software.

Cincinnati-based Convergys will pay $2.40 cash for each DigitalThink share, which is a 30 percent premium over Wednesday's closing price of $1.84 on Nasdaq.

Shopping For A Learning Management System

If you are in the market for an LMS the choice could be a tough one, as the market is getting crowded and confusing with newer vendors entering the fray every month and consolidation among established vendors taking place. To make some sense out of this chaos, you could read through "Brandon Hall's LMS 2003: Comparison of Enterprise Learning Management Systems" report. This report also includes access to a LMS Selection Tool which, after you input your requirements, will give you a short list of vendors that meet those requirements. Then there's another article by Pat Alvarado titled "Seven Steps to Selecting a Learning Management System" published in January on Chief Learning Officer Magazine's web site. Finally have a look at this pdf doc prepared for LGuide by Charlene Zelberg which will take you through 10 steps toward the successful selection of a Learning Management System. Download PDF

Creating Sales Superstars

What makes the difference between an outstanding salesperson — a star player who consistently meets or exceeds sales goals — and someone who, year after year, plods along at barely acceptable levels? This is an interesting white paper from AchieveGlobal that seeks to identify what salespeople actually do and say to achieve - or undermine - their success and the role played by their organizations in this success or failure. Download PDF

eLearning Across Industry Verticals

Has anyone come across any resources that deal with research into eLearning across verticals. For example: The BFSI and Pharma sectors may spend more on custom eLearning initiatives than the Hotels and Shipping sectors. If any of you are aware of any research, articles or numbers that discuss this please email me at the_learned_man@yahoo.com

Criteria for Evaluating Online Courses

The criteria presented in this guide are based on the national and international experiences of staff in the Instructional Media and Design department at Grant MacEwan College. Although they were developed to assist educators in evaluating the effectiveness of online courses, they may also be used as guidelines for course developers. Download file

2004 Industry Predictions

What blog or resource is complete without a list of predictions. Fortunately for me, we are in March and I can safely include Josh Bersin's eLearning predictions for 2004:

2004 Industry Predictions

1. The LMS Market will grow steadily at 15% or more and at least one other major vendor will merge.
2. Rapid E-Learning and SME-Authored Content will become a red-hot market.
3. Blended Learning will continue to grow and become a mainstream approach to e-learning.
4. Live E-Learning will mature and one or more vendors will merge.
5. Training Analytics will become a mandatory feature of LMS solutions.
6. The “e-learning simulation market” will become better understood but still highly fragmented.
7. Content development will continue to move “in-house” and result in an upsurge in the market for LCMS and development tools.
8. The “packaged” e-learning market will grow rapidly and evolve with new approaches and technologies far beyond “page turning.”
9. EPSS, “Learning on Demand,” and workflow-oriented e-learning will be a hot initiative in most companies by the end of 2004.
10. 2004 Will be an exciting year in e-learning.

eLearning Business Translator!!

Try out this crazy "eLearning Business Translator" to convert Buyer speak into vendor speak and vise versa...As a vendor this one really took the piss out of me.........what can I say!!

"What Difference Does It Make Where The Graphic Is Located?"

Reality Check - a monthly look at the humorous side of e-learning. Contributed by I.D, an anonymous instructional designer. This months column takes potshots at ego maniacal IT managers. And if you liked that one, go ahead and read "When Is An Hour Not An Hour?" by the same anonymous instructional designer.

Partnerships of Indian and Western eLearning Producers

Given the potential for labour arbitrage and the high quality of work being put out by offshore vendors it is not surprising that eLearning companies and corporations are slowly discovering that the best way to stretch their training dollars is to offshore their custom work to vendors in countries like India. This unique partnership though brings along with it several cultural issues which may sometimes need to be addressed for the partnership to work smoothly. This is examined by Patrick Dunn in a very interesting article titled Partnerships of Indian and Western e-learning producers: cultural issues