October 27th, 2009 by Robin Green

Online training videos and classroom instructional videos are becoming an indispensable tool across the educational spectrum. Anymore, a video isn’t just a slick little gimmick to slap onto a course, devoid of impact and mostly useless. With sites like YouTube and TeacherTube inspiring ordinary people, educators, and course developers alike to create their own videos, it’s no wonder that instructional videos have fleshed out in terms of functionality. 

With the right tools, anyone can create a video. And with a little planning and forethought, anyone can make an online training video or other instructional video not only to supplement learning content, but to work with it as an integrated and vital part of the course material. Videos can work hand-in-hand with other formats of content in a course to make them an enriching and essential backbone of a course. 

From training courses (including compliance and other kinds of training) to online high schools, including video is smart for a number of reasons. 

In both online training courses and face-to-face courses and training programs, online training videos are able to engage the student and illustrate complex concepts using images and demonstrations. A video can bring a classroom to life and create interest for the learning content. 

Another function of instructional videos in a face-to-face or group setting is that it can create a common experience for trainees to share and discuss. 

Online training videos are convenient and allow for dynamic instruction any time. An online training video can be easily made up if a student misses a class, and it can be distributed via a learning management system (LMS) so that it is available for students to review any time they choose, at the click of a button.

In order to avoid a passive learning experience in online training videos take the learning content directly from the video (virtual space) into the real world. This means that directly after students watch a video, ask them to put whatever they just learned into practice, whether it be engaging in role playing, answering questions, or building on what was discussed in the video. That way students will learn the information faster, and more effectively and long-term. Perhaps more importantly, however, is that it will also prompt students to invest more attention in video information as it continues to be presented.

Tools like BB FlashBack 2.6 are making their way onto the online training video scene–especially in the online training world. Course creators who make screen recordings using BB FlashBack can integrate these videos with their curriculum, using Coggno’s simple course creation tools, then deliver their curriculum using the Coggno LMS. 

Don’t rely on old, outdated company demos or other ineffective video tools. Create your own. Using screen recording tools, you are able to record everything you see on your PC screen, whether it be a video, game, web page, or simulation. BB FlashBack also records your commentary, PC sounds and webcam as picture-in-picture video to give your course content a personal touch. 

Another great idea is to make a personal appearance in your own course. Create your own demos, lectures, and visual tutorials for students. Using BB FlashBack and Coggno’s LMS toolkit, you have total control over what students view. You yourself  have the power to create, edit and apply your own online training videos to your e-learning course.

October 23rd, 2009 by Robin Green

In the earlier years of the education system, learning was limited to the four walls of a class room; however, Learning Management System has brought about a new concept to teaching. Varieties of teaching methods have been restricted due to teachers who have their preferred teaching style and may not know how to adapt to their students in regards to what works best for their learning capacity. This has left some parents to wonder why their child is not able to understand the curriculum being taught to numerous other students who are able to comprehend the concepts. For other parents they wondered why it was so easy for their child and may worry that they are not being pushed enough intellectually.

A simple answer to this problem? All students have a unique way of learning and with the difficulty in collaboration between teachers and their students learning mannerisms, Learning Management System has created an answer to appeasing all learning methods. It provides numerous courses that appeal to all students whether they are visual, auditory, or kinetic learners. No longer will students fall behind or have difficulties comprehending the curriculum due to an incompatibility with a teachers and learning styles.

Visual learners associate color coding, pictures, graphs or maps to compartmentalizing various lessons and concepts. As a result, some courses have been created into pictures, movies, slides, visual examples that enables visual learners to grasp a concept easier as they associate what they have learn to that picture. The Learning Management System delivers such videos or graphical material to each student’s computer whether it is at home or in class computer implemented courses.

Auditory learners associate learning by sound, sound bites, music, voice over’s, just as if they were listening to a seminar or a lesson. Such resources are available on these e-learning training courses that provide video with sound to ensure that students will not be lost in written material.

Kinetic learners are those who learn better by “doing”. These are the individuals that have to go through the motions to remember a task. For example, when opening a lock, some people may be able to tell you for memory what the combination is to open it, where as “kinetic learners” have to physically turn the knob to remember what their combination is. In response to these learners, Learning Management System contains e-learning courses that implement labs into the curriculums to ensure a student can go through the motions to truly lock down their understanding.

Thousands of content creators work hard to deliver a number of courses to mollify copious learning methods and make learning easier and fun for students. Learning Management System creates a solution for trouble students who are falling behind in school or students that are excelled in their learning capabilities by creating a resource that provides exactly what they need for their education needs in an inexpensive but very effective way.

October 21st, 2009 by Robin Green

Coggno’s LMS Training Marketplace has just become a more interactive and convenient place to visit. Visiting the site, one first notices that the layout of the Marketplace has been completely redesigned. Does layout matter? you may ask. 

When searching for just about anything worth purchasing, layout can be a deciding factor in whether or not customers can find what they are looking for.

For example, say you’re in the market for a new pair of shoes. A shoe store that offers a wide variety of shoes and a simple way of browsing its selection will be more successful than a store whose shoes are piled on a sales rack, or a store lacking in sales representatives, or without a very good shoe selection in the first place.

In the same way, an LMS course provider that lists available learning content in a way that is clear, convenient and easy to browse will be likelier to facilitate connections between courseware authors and individuals seeking courseware.

With this goal of effecting more connections in mind, Coggno has recently announced the launching of its newly redesigned Training Marketplace. Coggno’s new Training Marketplace will highlight courses and enhance their presence and optimization on the web, as well as display graphics for each course.

In the new Marketplace, each learning content creator (Author) can create a short video describing the course, themselves and their expertise. In addition, on the main page of the Marketplace will be a featured video of a particular instructor. These new features on the Marketplace will allow browsers to better understand course content and determine whether or not the course is the right fit for their needs. It will also give Authors a chance to reach out to users, giving them a space to introduce potential learners to their course content; which is the product of their expertise.

As I mentioned, the layout itself of the Training Marketplace has also changed. Once upon a time, Coggno’s former Marketplace page displayed course titles and a short description in order according to their date of uploading.

However, on Coggno’s new Training Marketplace, visitors can browse the available courses and training modules by category. The new Marketplace is designed to be more intuitive, user-friendly, and convenient for users. 

The greater ease in searching for courses combined with more opportunities for Authors to be seen and heard make the new Marketplace an exciting improvement on the Coggno site. 

For those who aren’t familiar with the idea of a courseware marketplace, Coggno’s Training Marketplace is basically a meeting point for creators of learning content and those who wish to acquire it. The Marketplace showcases courses covering a range of training topics, including those created by top e-learning authors like SilkWeb. 

Coggno’s LMS allows users to create and deliver customized training solutions. Users can make training their own, with the option to display their logo as well as a unique color scheme.  Course authors are also able to upload and deliver training for in-house purposes or syndicate their learning content for a wider audience.

And since Coggno uses a pay-per-use business model, it is easy to load and reload learning content as required for relevant, up-to-date training. The model allows organizations and individuals to gain the skills and knowledge they desire when they need it, within a period of time that they themselves determine.

With Coggno’s new Training Marketplace up and running, learners and content Authors are able to leverage robust LMS tools combined with a smartly designed meeting place for the transfer of online courses.

October 20th, 2009 by Robin Green

Online training survey questions are instant reflections of what has been conducted. In everything that people do, there is always an equal feedback that follows. It is the mirror that shows exactly what the outcome of that action has resulted into. Feedback comes in different forms. They could be word of mouth, verbal feedback, reviews, or formal assessments. For trainings and workshops, it is vital to have such feedback. This is where online training survey questions take an active role.

When conducting educational and or online training programs, an essential tool that you can utilize in assessing its efficacy is to conduct surveys. An online training program is just like any other program. The only difference is that it is done online. Training programs consists of courses, curriculum, and trainers, which come in the forms of professors, experts in certain fields, and professionals specializing in a certain topic or service.

Having inadequate courses, or the wrong curriculum, or even incompetent trainers is sure to cause you losses that may stain your reputation. It is in this regard that online training survey questions can help you out. These questions actually evaluate the courses, rate the curriculum, and assess trainers.

When conducting a survey, the primary aim is to be able to know what the recipients or the people think about the training or workshop. Was it worth it? Was the information given enough? Was it effective and useful for them? Was the course something they would consider as a waste of time? These questions cannot be thoroughly answered unless a survey is given.

Meanwhile, online training survey questions must be kept as simple as possible including only keywords that foster clear understanding. People are usually tired and somewhat in a hurry after trainings, seminars, and workshops. These people are often itching to go home to beat the rush hour or just to be home in time to prepare dinner or fix up the house. Also, it might just be the simple reason of being tired. After all, an entire day of workshops, trainings, or seminars can get an individual quite weary.

Online training survey questions may include things such as what they think about the materials, was the course well explained and conveyed by the trainer or instructor, was the pace of study just right, were the items and lessons covered of help or useful to the individual, were the methods used in teaching or presenting effective in promoting understanding with the audience, and so on.

Keywords such as effective, useful, convey, well explained, materials, trainer, topic, and lessons are easy to understand as well as easy to spot. A rating system such as “not satisfied, satisfied, very satisfied” may be used so as to make the choices simpler. “Poor, satisfactory, very good, excellent” may also be used.

Thus, online training survey questions are used to find out one thing: the efficacy of the training, seminar, or workshop.

October 20th, 2009 by Robin Green

The learning management system is evolving into an indispensible resource. With the economy plummeting, and H1N1 virus hitting hard, continuity of education has become difficult among students ranging from Grade School to the Universities. With Star testing and New  Standardize reports that just came out stating that proficiency in mathematics within our schools are at a record low, has California worried. Due to courses and programs being cut from our schools’ curriculum and more teaching jobs terminated to appease budget issues, our students have had to deal with a compromised education. The No Child Left Behind Law (NCLB) Act of 2001, is an assessment on whether or not our public school systems are making the necessary progression to advance their students to the next level. If standards are not met this could potentially mean major repercussions for California’s school system.

Answers are being sought after as to how we can provide an alternative in the education system to alleviate the budget crisis in California, and not sacrifice the quality of content or standard of teaching. Learning management system (LMS) provides a solution to this problem by providing students with cost efficient software delivering content to students and establishing a way to track their learning and their progress within each course. Exposure to the web and technological advances could potentially stimulate a student’s desire to learn and increase their comprehension in many different areas of studies.

Not only does a learning management system provide answers to budget issues and learning content but creates a creative way to keep students safe from the epidemic of the H1N1 virus. School districts no longer need to worry about their students falling farther behind in their curriculum or exceeding over regulated free days due to their schools shutting down in precaution to this epidemic. They can now look into holding class in the comfort and safety of their own home as they participate in distant learning. Such tools such as online training can potentially increase the effectiveness in how they learn as it also provides options that comply to visual, auditory, and kinetic learners. Various Specialty Colleges and Universities have already established successful distant learning program that provides their students with an extensive curriculum and a way to advance their education. Such programs can successfully be implemented into our schools.

California has teamed up with numerous programs granting millions of dollars devoted solely to the education systems, but at this point in time how can we best utilize those funds to ensure that our students are not set up for failure but rather set on the road to higher education. The Government is starting to put their faith in the learning management system as they have already gifted grants to various organizations that enable them to introduce distant or online training courses within some schools. Hope of furthering education among all students and creating an opportunity for a greater future is a goal worth striving for and can be achieved with an open mind to alternatives.

October 14th, 2009 by Robin Green

With less-than-sparkling federal test results making the headlines, the call for public education reform–including better salaries for educators, more federal funding, and the inclusion of more technology such as online course options and LMSs–has become more urgent.

Surprisingly, while education should be and typically is a “recession-proof” area of work, it has not proven to be so in the U.S. during this crisis. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy lost 273,000 jobs last month. Of those lost jobs, 29,000 were in state and local education, making the total losses in that category over the past five months 143,000.

Obviously, this reflects a huge change in U.S. educational standards. These standards are ingrained in our cultural heritage and go back to the 19th century, when the U.S. owed its success to the quality and high standards of its education. In the beginning of the 20th century, even more advancement was seen in the U.S. when the “high school revolution” took place. And in the later half of the 20th century, the U.S. established a competitive position in higher education. 

However, American educational success was greatly based on the quality of its public schools. These days, state governments, who are responsible for their own public education systems, are in dire straits. And at a time when practically any federal government spending is viewed in a negative light, it’s time for schools to start thinking out of the box.

The need for cost-effective and efficient online tools like LMSs to help educators boost student performance is revealed in the recent math test results.

According to new standardized test results, New York’s state elementary math achievement has fallen for the first time in nearly ten years. This year’s fourth grade test results from federally funded National Assessment of Educational Progress reveal that New York’s scaled scores dropped two points from 2007. The state’s latest average score is 241, on a scale of zero to 500. (National scores have stayed flat, at 239.)

The results came as a bit of an embarrassment to some Albany officials, as it was apparent that even though federal tests of fourth-graders showed no gains in New York from 2007, the state’s own tests show steady improvement.  

A major obstacle to overcome is not only how to boost student achievement in math across the board, but to bridge the continued discrepancy between the performance of white students and their black and Hispanic peers.

And the problem isn’t limited to New York. The NAEP (National Assessment of Education Progress (often referred to as “the nation’s report card”) reported that fourth graders have made no learning gains since the last time the NAEP math test was administered in 2007. Despite years of state and federal education reform efforts, less than four out of every 10 U.S. fourth and eighth graders are proficient in mathematics.

As U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement, these results underscore the need for “reforms that will accelerate student achievement.” 

Reforms will require funding, but we can’t afford another fruitless and costly scheme like No Child Left Behind. In fact, it can be done cheaply. If we want our students to graduate with the math skills necessary to compete in an international economy that is increasingly dependent on technology, technology like LMSs and Web 2.0 tools needs to become an integral part of our education system.

October 6th, 2009 by Robin Green

The number of organizations using a learning management system to create and deliver online sales and compliance training to employees is on the rise. Why?

LMS online tools allow leaders of training programs discuss and demonstrate sales principles in an efficient and simple way. 

Another great benefit of learning management system-delivered training is the interaction that is made possible between learners and the insrtuctor. Learners can contribute to discussions started by workshop leaders, role-playing and receiving coaching on telemarketing processes and skills. Because learners are given the self-paced convenience inherent to online learning, such online interactions are often a effective means of practicing skills than in-person ones.

Why is powerful, effective and up-to-date sales training a must? Sales strategies, and therefore sales training programs, are undergoing sweeping changes in recent years and even months. New sales strategies are a response to different factors including the economy (tough economy = difficult clients) and the different ways in which customers and potential customers are using the internet.

More and more organizations are tapping into social networks to reach potential customers, understanding that to understand clients, you have to first go where they are going, and see how they are interacting.

Harvard Business School professor Mikolai Jan Piskorski has dedicated years to studying online social networks and how people use them. A recent post on the Harvard Business School blog discusses how Piskorski helps organizations develop strategies for leveraging social networks for profit. 

According to Piskorski, corporate marketers struggle with how to use social networking to reach customers. The main problem is that execs think of online social networks as social media, and treat them as simply another channel to get people to click through to a website. However, Piskorski notes, it doesn’t work out that way. His studies show that people don’t generally click through on ads posted on social networking sites. 

“A good analogy is to imagine sitting at a table with friends when a stranger pulls up a chair, sits down, and tries to sell you something while you are talking with your friends. You will not get far with a strategy like this,” Piskorski says.

“To be successful,” he continues, “you need to shift your mindset from social media to social strategy.”

Then there is the shift from pitching to engaging a potential customer in a conversation. The ability to listen and respond to a client’s needs, ask the right questions, and overcome objections by listening rather than pitching are increasingly taught as effective sales techniques. 

Conversation-building and tapping into online social networks are just two examples of how traditional sales methods are being edged out, as better sales strategies are able to respond to factors such as new forms of media and new economic circumstances. 

Online sales training for an organization’s sales professionals and managers can be organized and delivered internationally, linking a company’s LMS to its various human resources departments and ERP systems, to perform multi-locational, cost-effective and efficient training. An LMS serves an important role in keeping track of tasks, goals, and learners’ training activities and achievements, in order to ensure that successful sales strategies are executed down the line.