March 27th, 2009 by Learning Systems
During an LMS-hosted training session, it’s important to keep training groups at a reasonable number of participants. This will facilitate understanding and productivity of the participants. Too many trainees causes a session to become less personal and interactive, like a tedious lecture.
Trainers should make efforts to learn the names of participants, as well as their different intellectual and skill levels, and attention should be provided accordingly. Additionally, participants’ achievements and skill levels can be recorded on an LMS.
A recent report by the CIPD shows that the majority of employees still receive training in an in-person, classroom environment rather than electronically or via an LMS only. However, a large number of participants in the study said they were too busy and training did not accommodate their schedules. Online training can address variety of problems, including the need for flexibility and interactive participation.
March 27th, 2009 by Learning Systems
Even if participants are blessed with a brilliant trainer or an outstanding LMS-hosted training program, all training must have a strong and well-developed base. As writer bell hooks said of development work, you must identify and start at where the people are. It’s quite possible to waste valuable time training people on issues already known or irrelevant to them.
Thus the importance for a needs assessment session. An LMS can be used to organize sessions and record trainee skill levels. The purpose of a needs assessment session is to find out specific needs of participants and areas that require special attention. With the help of an LMS and a carefully recorded needs assessment session, company trainers can assess skill levels and determine the scope of the training accordingly.
March 27th, 2009 by Learning Systems
While GPA, class rank, and community service all play an important role in the admissions process to graduate school learning systems, admission test scores (LSAT, MCAT, PCAT and GRE) can make or break an application. They can also make the difference between receiving a scholarship–which for many students is the only way they’ll be able to afford a higher learning system–and not. Prep courses for admissions tests are another source of financial stress for students.
Nicole Zielinski, Marketing Director for the Princeton Review Boston Branch, says more students are inquiring about scholarships and payment plans for its prep course learning systems. The classroom courses cost between $475 and $1,920, while private tutoring runs anywhere between $3,600 and $10,800, according to the Princeton Review’s website. For many students, these costs are simply out of reach.
Free events such as practice tests, admissions seminars, sample classes and personal statement workshops are also offered by admission prep companies like Kaplan and the Princeton Review.
March 26th, 2009 by Learning Systems
More and more people are looking into not only online and LMS-hosted courses, but also two-year colleges, which are an increasingly attractive option for tight budgets. According to a Reuters article in yesterday’s paper, thousands of people–many laid-off or jobless because of the recession–are flocking back to retrain at more than 1,100 community college learning systems across the country.
High school seniors are also making tough choices. The annual Princeton Review survey, which polled over 15,000 students and parents, was released yesterday with a sober report on the mental state of soon-to-be college students.
According to the report, over two-thirds of high school seniors have experienced high levels of stress over higher learning system admissions, and claim the economic downturn has directly influenced where they applied. Thirty-eight percent of polled students applied to colleges with lower tuition than they would have otherwise. And nearly nine out of ten respondents said financial aid will be essential to their attending a higher learning system.
March 26th, 2009 by Learning Systems
For the past year or so, educators in various parts of the world have been getting prepped on how to use social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo as part of their learning systems. A report was conducted for Childnet International and was funded by Becta, the U.K. government body for technology in education. It suggests that while educators may be using social networking services themselves, most fail to recognize the educational potential for their students.
But what’s the point of integrating social networking sites into online and classroom learning systems? Well, experts say that young people are more likely to learn social skills from their friends or classmates than from any formal instruction or support from adults. However, as social networking sites work their way into LMS learning environments and classroom learning systems, they may serve another purpose. Students can use the sites to collaborate on projects, discuss lessons, and work in teams.
March 26th, 2009 by Learning Systems
Since the beginning of the recession in December 2007, following the home mortgage meltdown, Americans have responded in various ways. Some have decided now’s the time to sharpen their skills with online courseware or training via an LMS, or to reassess their goals. Others have been caught in limbo, biding time, and hoping to ride it out.
Yesterday President Obama called on the American people to have patience and trust that the economic downturn will pass. “We’ll recover from this recession,” he said. “But it will take time, it will take patience.”
Patience is a good idea, of course. However, waiting might not be.
As Violet Fane wrote centuries ago: “Ah, all things come to those who wait, (I say these words to make me glad), But something answers soft and sad, They come, but often come too late.”
Choosing not to act–whether it be not enrolling in university or LMS-hosted courses, or not making a major life decision–isn’t always best. And missing out on great opportunities is the likeliest outcome of inaction.
March 26th, 2009 by Learning Systems
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a hundred times. During times of recession, achieving and/or maintaining a competitive edge is essential. An economic downturn signals a cut-throat job market where competent employees are suddenly laid off and recent graduates harboring great potential find nowhere to focus their efforts. It’s a job market where if you want a chance in Hades, you’d better have a powerful résumé that rises to the surface of the pile.
For both companies and students of traditional or LMS-hosted courses, there’s no better time to maximize your knowledge assets by upgrading your skills and business competency. Top companies and professionals understand this, which is why so many companies have chosen in the last year to reinvest in their staff’s skills, through training administered in person or via an LMS. Online training administered by an LMS can be a cost-effective way to gain that critical edge.
March 25th, 2009 by Learning Systems
One challenge of using Twitter is acquiring “followers” who add you to read your tweets. Within a classroom or school that uses an LMS, or a company training program or learning system, this could be neatly taken resolved. Each member could add everyone else to create a members-only bubble.
One idea, for those willing, is to create a collaborative learning system and hub for educators themselves. Installing TweetDeck, teachers can be prepped on how to use Twitter features including message length, retweets, DMs, replies, hash tags, etc. Conventions can also be established for search terms (those items in tweets preceded by the # symbol).
The key is encouragement without pressure. Many see the inclusion of web 2.0 technologies in learning systems as unnecessary and gratuitous, or a waste of time. When a shiny new tool is made obligatory for people who don’t want it, the fun is lost.
