• Communication Modes
• Rehearsal/Response Options
• Instructor Pacing
• Social Presence

The class was split up into groups and each was assigned a feature to explore and research.  Our goal was to find what research is out there and published on these features and share our findings with the class.

I was actually pleased to be assigned to the subject of Social Presence in synchronous e-learning.  One of my goals since starting the WELPS certificate program was to find ways to bring social media into e-learning and the workplace.  Conducting some research this week led me to some recent papers on the use of social media in the classroom.  I read about three papers and a couple articles on the subject.  Out of these papers and articles, I found a few that speak well to the subject at hand.

First thing’s first: let’s define Social Presence in learning.  Out of all my research, pretty much all of them agree that Social Presence is…

Tools, systems, structure and functionality that supports social interaction between people and group members.

All of the articles I found agree too that when Social Presence is reduced, communication decreases leaving people and group members feeling disconnected.

The Papers

Enhancing Social Presence in Online Learning: Mediation Strategies Applied to Social Networking Tools

Key points:

• Using social media tools like Twitter and Facebook to create or augment social presence in e-learning places the responsibility on the students to participate and make the necessary connections with others. However, guidance by the instructor must be given to ensure that social media is being used as an educational tool and not a message board or photo sharing site.
• Since most incoming students to college courses and people in younger generations are already engaged in these spaces, instructors should make a concerted effort to engage with their students.
  Students participating in online courses often have a sense of isolation, impacting their success.  Therefore, participation in social media spaces with fellow students builds a sense of community they may not receive in the virtual classroom.

Tweeting the Night Away: Using Twitter to Enhance Social Presence

Key points:

• Although learning management systems (LMS) and virtual classrooms offer a wide variety of tools for social interaction and social presence, some lack the ability to offer just-in-time social interactions and connections.  Twitter can offer free-flowing, just-in-time interaction.
• Learning can take place outside the context of the classroom environment.  Twitter enables users to connect with their fellow students without being tied to the LMS or virtual classroom.
• The nature of Twitter enhances the student to write concisely due to character restrictions (140 characters), target specific audiences and maintains and ongoing relationship after the class complete.
• Instructors should provide clear guidelines for use to support learning and interaction with fellow students.

—–

As you can see, if the synchronous e-learning platform you use does not afford social presence, there are ways around it by utilizing third-party applications.  In order for it to be effective, some guidance should be provided for it’s usage.  However, too much guidance will stifle social presence which should develop organically among the learners.

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What does that mean?

The common myth is that something more visual, like a video, is better than text or spoken word for example.  The truth is, it is not the delivery mechanism or media that is chosen for instruction that facilitates learning, it is the components that make up the instruction that enables the learner to gain new knowledge or change their behavior (whichever the primary performance objective is).

Those “components” and their examples are:

• Communication mode – text, audio, graphics
• Instructional methods – definitions, examples, demos, practice
• Instructional architecture – receptive, directive, guided discovery, exploratory

Out of these components, I wonder how a learner’s learning style comes into play? According to the authors, the media doesn’t matter.  It’s the components employed that are important as to whether or not the learner gains new knowledge or changes their behavior.  Certainly, some media is going to work better than others at delivering a message based on learning style.

Perhaps I’m falling into the very myth I’m trying to debunk here.  One thing I didn’t notice in the text was discussion of some upfront audience analysis that should be done before pulling instructional components together to create synchronous e-learning.  It wasn’t covered in the first two chapters of the text.  Maybe it was only assumed this would be done before any instructional components were pulled together.

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Due to course scheduling, I wasn’t able to register for a course during the Fall ‘09 semester because, well… there wasn’t one scheduled that I wanted to take.  In fact, had I went with my original plan of selected courses, I wouldn’t have been able to take the courses I wanted to until the start of the upcoming Fall ‘10 semester or following Spring ‘11 semester (I think).  Either way, it would have had to sit out for quite a while in order to take the courses I wanted to and receive my certificate in a timely manner.

Unfortunately, I had to compromise somewhat.  Please don’t misconstrue me.  Every course that is part of the WELPS Certificate are worth their weight in gold.  However, I have a feeling that IPT 511 – Synchronous E-Learning in the Workplace, where GoToMeeting will be the preferred application for the course, will be a cake walk.

For the last two years in my professional career, practically all of the training I delivered was synchronous over virtual classrooms.  If the course description is correct…

Students will examine principles and techniques for developing and implementing synchronous web-based learning strategies to improve performance in the workplace.

… this is going to easy.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure I’ll learn something new. I always seem to in these courses which has made the experience thus far very worthwhile.

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Articulate is a software company that produces e-learning authorware to create your own media-rich, interactive e-learning courses.  The term Rapid E-learning is used quite often throughout their website and supporting Rapid E-Learning Blog written and managed by Tom Kuhlmann.

Here are 5 of my favorite posts at the Rapid E-Learning Blog that I think will help explain Rapid E-learning and show how you may take advantage of this development methodology within the e-learning space.

• 5 Simple Ways to Get Started with E-Learning Development
• 9 Free Tools That Help Me Build Better E-Learning
• How to Add Scenarios to Your Rapid E-Learning Courses…Rapidly!
• 7 Tips for Better E-Learning Scenarios
• 5 Secret Tips from an E-Learning Pioneer

BONUS: Don’t let the term “Rapid E-learning” fool you.  While it is possible to build quality e-learning quickly, Jon Lloyd at VMG doesn’t believe so. He outlines why in his post, There’s nothing rapid about Rapid eLearning.

I happen to believe it is possible to create quality courses quickly, however the expectations between the developer and the client should be measured and within reason.  Developing e-learning is a craft and you can’t rush the creation of a quality learning experience at the expense of the learner’s needs.  Remember, that is where it should all begin and end.

Further Reading

For more on e-learning, visit the following posts:

• Planning for Effective E-Learning
• Defining Interactivity

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The break has given me time to reflect on my experience and one of the things that came to mind was the differences between traditional classroom instruction and online instruction.  The WELPS certificate is taught entirely online (obviously). For some people, taking online courses is easy, more manageable and flexible versus traditional classroom instruction where you have to commit to scheduled dates and time when class takes place.

If you are planning to take online college courses, here are 5 things you should consider before you commit:

1. Do you prefer a structured environment for learning? Online learning is independent of time and place. The class takes place on a consistent basis (online) where discussions with the instructor and student are almost continuous.
2. Do you need to have face to face interaction with others? In online learning there is a delay in discussions because the conversation is asynchronous – whereas you if you make a comment or ask a question, you’ll have to wait for a response.  Feedback is not immediate.
3. Do you do well with written instruction? Visual learners often prefer to witness a demonstration of the task they are being asked to perform.  The online environment sometimes does not lend itself to being a good arena for demonstration, so learners need to rely on written instruction and create their own mental model to act upon.
4. Do you communicate well through your writing? If you are a good writer and can clearly illustrate you thoughts or ideas through the written word, you can succeed in an online learning environment.
5. Are you engaging? Participation in online courses is measured by your willingness to engage others and to start discussions.  If you are the inquisitive type, you’ll find online courses easy.

This post is certainly not meant to scare you off from taking online college classes. It’s an entirely different ballgame from traditional learning so all things should be considered. If you’ve taken online courses, what has been your experience? Are there considerations I did not mention? I look forward to your insights into online college courses.

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(1) Rapid E-Learning

Rapid E-learning is delivering training (learning) by electronic means and utilizing quick design and development methodologies, along with available resources, to bring a final solution to your target audience in the most efficient manner.  However it is defined, the result is still the same – creating an engaging learning experience quickly and inexpensively.

“Rapid”, in my opinion, shouldn’t be taken too literally.  The successful development of e-learning modules from start to finish shouldn’t be rushed – and for good reason.  Planning in distinct stages works toward producing a quality learning experience.

1. Planning – analyzing the content, creating a look & feel and proof of concept
2. Design and development – produce the e-learning based on the instructional design concept formed during the planning stage
3. Testing – using a sample of actual participants from the target audience pool, test the e-learning module(s) functionality and effectiveness of knowledge transfer
4. Delivery – after final fixes to any technical bugs or errors and content edits (if necessary), deliver the project to the client

Two things come to mind when reviewing these steps. First, in order to produce a quality learning experience you really can’t rush the process, even though you are developing under the banner of “Rapid” E-Learning.  Second, quality is controlled by following a defined process or model like the traditional ADDIE model of instructional design.

(2) Learning from Self-Paced Courseware

About half-way through the course the question was posed, “Is it possible to learn from self-paced courseware”.  My answer is, “Yes, but it depends.”.

Two things need to be present in order for learning to be effective:

1. Context / relevance
2. High fidelity multimedia

A PowerPoint presentation on its own (converted to e-learning) has little or no value unless it has context and is relevant to the learner’s needs.  Keeping things simple is effective, but unless there is context to the courseware it leaves a less than desired learning experience. 

Another aspect that makes self-paced courseware effective is multimedia, using all or a combination of audio, images, video, animation and text.  To demonstrate the effectiveness of multimedia in self-paced courseware take a look at Dale’s Cone of Experience.  The more interactive you can make your training, and the higher fidelity of the multimedia (the more real it is), the more effective it will be.

(3) Interactivity

Interactivity is more than just delivering content in an online format.  Just because you use multimedia, doesn’t make it interactive.  You have to have things such as challenges, decision making and problem solving on the part of the learner integrated in the content.

Elements such as the following help make e-learning interactive:

• Activity (task)
• Case study (to provide context)
• Discussion Activity (with other learners)
• Quiz (with feedback from a moderator or automated by the learning module)

In the past, I’ve taken issue with e-learning that are "page-turners" and sit-and-view modules. By adding these elements you can support learning and provide rich – interactive experience.

—–

So there you have it, my recap of the class and what I took away from it.  Of course, this post is repurposed from previous posts, but the three main points discussed here are what I feel are the highlights of IPT 523.

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Elements such as the following help make e-learning interactive:

• Activity (task)
• Case study (to provide context)
• Discussion Activity (with other learners)
• Quiz (with feedback from a moderator or automated by the learning module)

In the past, I’ve taken issue with e-learning that are "page-turners" and sit-and-view modules. By adding these elements you can support learning and provide an interactive experience.

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I believe it is possible for students to learn from self-paced courseware, but I feel two things need to be present in order for it to be effective:

1. Context / relevance
2. High fidelity multimedia

I can tell you from personal experience that a PowerPoint presentation (by itself or converted to E-learning) has little to no value if it is not in context or relevant to the learner’s needs.  In my current work as a consultant, I use PowerPoint as support material to the live training I conduct.  After the training session, I deliver the PowerPoint slides I create as job aids to reference as learners begin to work on their own.  Had they not gone through the training I provide and were simply given the PowerPoint slide to use as their initial training, I highly doubt it would produce positive results.

Note: I try to follow the “simple is better” rule with the PowerPoint slides I create and deliver. With that said, my slide decks aren’t very meaningful without the actual training session to support it.

The other aspect that makes self-paced courseware effective is multimedia, using all or a combination of audio, images, video, animation and text.  One way to clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of multimedia in self-paced courseware is looking at it through Dale’s Cone of Experience.  The more interactive you can make it, and the higher fidelity of the multimedia (the more real it is), the more effective it will be.

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As I understand it, Rapid E-learning is delivering training (learning) by electronic means, utilizing quick design and development methodologies along with available resources to bring a final solution to your target audience in the most efficient manner.  If you have conducted your own research on the subject, you may have found different definitions.  Nevertheless, the result is still the same – creating an engaging learning experience quickly and inexpensively.

In addition to this course I’m taking, I also operate a small consulting company called PinPoint Performance Solutions.  A recent project with a client happened to coincide with this course and had me thinking about the process behind developing e-learning. Although it was successful, the development of the e-learning modules from start to finish was a little rushed, but for good reason.  Under normal circumstances I would have a planned out development methodology into distinct stages to produce a quality learning experience.

1. Planning – analyzing the content, creating a look & feel and proof of concept
2. Design and development – produce the e-learning based on the instructional design concept formed during the planning stage
3. Testing – using a sample of actual participants from the target audience pool, test the e-learning module(s) functionality and effectiveness of knowledge transfer
4. Delivery – after final fixes to any technical bugs or errors and content edits (if necessary), deliver the project to the client

These stages were discussed to some degree in our textbook.  As I reviewed those stages, two things came to mind.  First, in order to produce a quality learning experience you really can’t rush the process, even though you are developing under the banner of “Rapid” E-Learning.  Second, quality is controlled by following a defined process or model.

The e-learning development model in our text, to me, resembled the traditional ADDIE model of instructional design.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  In fact, it just goes to show that proper planning leads to better results as I learned when building traditional training programs. 

By applying these steps or phases to your e-learning development, and using basic project planning methodology, a quality learning experience can still be produced at a cost and within a timeframe acceptable to everyone involved.

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Within the last 3 months I have been using Adobe Captivate as part of my consulting business.  It may seem ironic that I’m taking a class on a software tool that I’ve been using and mostly learned on my own, but by taking a formalized class I think it will result in me producing better training.

Wish me luck!

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