The Learned Man | eLearning Blog

eLearning In The Shipping Industry - Holland America Line

TATA Interactive's corporate blog has a new post that sheds light on innovative and cutting edge e-learning use in the shipping industry. Click here for the podcast, which is a Q&A between Geetha Krishnan of TATA Interactive Systems and Chris Volkle, Manager – Fleet Training with Holland America Line (HAL).

Paris Hilton style eLearning

Great post by Scott Surley:

"Paris Hilton style Technology enhanced Learning

Technology in the service or education and learning. How about Technology in the service of people consuming the service of education and learning. I don't imagine that Paris Hilton could care less about expanding her mind through education, and she is smart enough to already have found her niche in life, however how do we service and leverage the millions of people who look up to her and use her as a role model (even though coolness probably prevents them from admitting it).

If I had to pick one piece of technology which actually reaches the societal group the Paris Hilton personifies it would be the cell phone. The technology which keeps kids in their circle of friends enables them to communicate and document their friends, via mobile phone service, SMS and address books.

Yet the integration of a technology as simple as SMS is absent from the Education Platforms. This is astounding considering the penetration of the technology and ubiquity of the technology. Almost every Higher Education student has one, and many secondary teenage students, and it is with them more than their text books.

Here is a challenge to LMS vendors. SMS students if they haven't submitted their assignments. SMS them course announcements from instructors instead of making them login. Bring the content them to them - Push technology not Pull. Provide a facility to send them simple SMS pop quizzes for extra marks just to keep them interested and mentally aware that they are actually studying.

The downside is that even as I write this I can hear the money piling up in the pockets of the telecommunications providers, but that is just another challenge to overcome.

The main point is to adopt and embrace the technology that people want to and do use, rather than try to force them to use something else. ..."

Scott, the Paris Hilton in the title got me! I completely agree with this. As a student of an Executive Masters in Business Administration which is a blended learning course, I would be much happier, were all announcements and submission deadlines were to be broadcast to me via SMS on a regular basis. Hey if my bank can do it, so can my school! - TLM

Implementing eLearning

Staying on the topic of templates I recently came across another one that has been developed by the CIPD to help different stakeholder groups think through different issues that may arise while introducing/reviewing eLearning.

Download Tool_05.pdf