December 18th, 2008 by Learning Systems
One obstacle that schools face in using a learning management system is that many educators are not well-equipped to use the technology. Training is expensive and often outside the possibilities of a school budget. Many educators are plunged into the stormy waters of unfamiliar technology without a paddle.
Becoming closely familiar with a learning management system as quickly as possible is ideal. The concept of instructional design in a learning management system refers to the practice of creating instructional tools and content to instigate interactions and facilitate learning between students. In order for educators to facilitate the most effective online interactions, it’s important to first analyze and understand the different forms of interaction and learning online.
December 12th, 2008 by Learning Systems
As Derek Bok said, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” Workplace conflict decreases productivity, creates factions, induces absenteeism, prompts resignation, makes recruitment difficult, and prevents creativity. So the skills necessary to manage workplace conflicts are worth every penny an organization might spend on LMS-delivered training. Arrange conflict resolution online training through your LMS. It will prove an effective measure to preserve the most precious resources in the workplace–harmonious and productive employees. Not to mention the time and money it will save a company whose employees are otherwise unable to function as a team.
The best LMS-hosted online courses for conflict management are those that focus on self-awareness. Search for a courseware system platform like Coggno to find a conflict management training course suitable for your organization’s needs.
December 5th, 2008 by Learning Systems
While virtual worlds offer vast potential as a learning system and collaborative space for adults as well as children, they also have a long way to go before that ideal is a reality. Especially for children, virtual worlds continue to offer escapist, fantasy lands that too often miss the opportunity to serve as positive learning systems, and act more like advertising immersion programs.
At a Virtual Worlds Forum held in London in 2007, Oscar-winning filmmaker Lord Puttnam gave the opening keynote speech. He voiced fears that all children will learn from these virtual worlds is that they are first and foremost consumers. Puttnam urged creators to build virtual worlds that help to instill in children the values that societies need. “Are we absolutely sure that this is the very best we can offer young people?” he asked. The potential for virtual worlds to become positive learning systems is there, waiting to be tapped into.
December 5th, 2008 by Learning Systems
Like gesturing, sketching is also lacking in 3D web learning systems. Sketching could involve actually drawing on a whiteboard or a piece of paper. But in today’s online learning system community, “sketching” often refers to doing calculations on a spreadsheet, editing a document, developing flow charts, or modeling products.
Simulation software like that of the Design Rationale Group at MIT helps users collaborate on the production of a sketch, as well as watch a collaborator’s additions play in real time, like watching a movie. For daily sketchers like engineers, who often use the tedious method of paper and pen sketching, the development of this kind of software is pivotal. In addition, 3D web programs like Second Life and other virtual worlds are making strides toward more comprehensive sketching capabilities.
December 5th, 2008 by Learning Systems
Remy Malan uses the three-point communication model (speech-gesture-sketch) to illustrate the capabilities as well as shortcomings of 3D web as a collaborative space. It’s generally agreed that in most collaborative settings or online learning systems, speech is preferable to text. But of course, speech alone isn’t sufficient for optimal communication.
According to anthropologist Edward T. Hall, 60 percent of all our communication is nonverbal. And studies show that gestures serve both speaker-internal and communicative functions. Gesturing not only helps listeners listen, but it also helps the speakers speak.
In online learning systems, using Web 2.0 technologies like video conferencing is extremely helpful for both group collaboration and instruction. Learning systems like 3D web can also involve gestures, though avatar body language doesn’t quite match up to human body language.
December 5th, 2008 by Learning Systems
Implementing video and audio tools in your LMS-hosted training course is one way to capture your learner’s attention, as well as their trust. Organize chats on your LMS, or implement videos. LMSs like Coggno offer features like video and audio tools, and 3D worlds, including Second Life, are also increasingly audio-based.
In the past, the communication between players on virtual worlds was limited to text. For some people that was the ideal medium of communication, allowing them to take on avatar identities and not break the illusion by adding voice. However, a study by Dmitri Williams, a communications professor at Urbana-Champaign, showed that World of Warcraft players who used test-only chat experienced “drops in trust and happiness” amongst their fellow players, while those who used voice chat did not. The emotional signal of voice and tone is critical in establishing online relationships and trust.
December 5th, 2008 by Learning Systems
Employee training across town, states, or countries has never been easier or more cost-effective. One way to efficiently organize training and team projects is to team up your LMS with Web 2.0 communication technologies. Web 2.0 and 3D virtual worlds technology can aid LMS-hosted training in a variety of ways.
Whether you’re operating in virtual worlds or other methods of online group collaboration, learners need to employ some basic tenets of successful communication.
Remy Malan, Vice President at Qwaq Enterprise, writes that the three important aspects of communication are speech, gesture, and sketch. The successful combination of these three capabilities allows learners to recreate online the natural ways we work in a group when we’re in the same physical space. Using these three modes, a team can build the trust that is necessary for virtual team collaboration or group learning on an LMS.
December 4th, 2008 by Learning Systems
One problem virtual teams may experience involves the very learning system tools that are meant to facilitate group collaboration. Although cutting-edge collaboration and learning system technologies like Web 2.0 tools and even virtual worlds can help virtual teams achieve goals, the introduction of these technologies can also impose time-costing distractions.
The introduction of a real-time conferencing and collaboration tools may sidetrack members from their focus and draw them into a distracting cycle of tool experimentation. Or an interactive virtual world that is meant as a product-creation learning system, training tool or meeting space may take hours for users to get the hang of, and ultimately may not even function efficiently. The development of a solid team base is crucial, greatly overshadowing the importance of the newest, fanciest technology.
