CEdMA-Europe Members' Newsletter - April 2009

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Workshops
 

18 March, "Online Learning in 2010 - The Emperor's New Clothes"

This event was postponed as Steve was taken ill the day before. Once we know the re-arranged date, I shall send out invitations.

At the recent November Conference, attendees voted for this topic very highly for our 2009 programme.

Professor Steve Molyneux is one of the leading experts in the use of Information and Communication technology to support Education and Training in the UK. His expertise scans a wide range of sectors from compulsory Education to Industry and Military Training and is frequently asked to participate in ʻBlue Skiesʼ consultation at a National and International level. He is currently an Independent Consultant for a number of National and International Organisations including Corporations, Publishers, Universities, Colleges and Public bodies. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator and the only non-employee to be appointed an ICL Fellow.

Steve will describe how online learning has progressed and what to expect as commonplace in 2010.

Agenda

1300 Coffee
1330 Introduction - Mike
1345 "Online Learning in 2010 - The Emperor's New Clothes" - Steve Molyneux
1515 Break and Networking
1545 Discussion - All
1645 Summary
1700 Close

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Conference 7-8 May: "Getting Ready for Training in 2010"

The next conference is on 7-8 May at the Marriott Meon Valley Hotel and Country Club at Shedfield, which is near Southampton.

The theme is "Getting Ready for 2010", a topic area voted by you the members as being the most pressing in the current environment.

Following the recent successful change, Pulse of the Industry will again get everyone to share their hot topics, which will have been gathered in an online survey in advance with other input. Pulse is intended to introduce everyone, and help with networking during the event, as individuals explain what their key interests are. Then, after the break, we'll split the hot topics into two and have parallel discussion groups.

The following sessions address the theme.

Strategic Planning Assumptions
Most Training Providers are facing a difficult business climate, whilst emerging skills issues present compelling opportunities for gaining increased market penetration. There has never been a more critical time to assess the impact of economy and skills trends on budgets, project plans and planning assumptions for 2010 and beyond. Delegates will be in two parallel sessions based on whether they are the BU owner or rather functional such as operational or delivery.

 
The Business/Public Value of Training
For ages, we’ve seen the issue of the return-on-investment (“ROI”) on training as the holy grail; we’d love to be able to do it, and for the next project we’ll really try to do it! But the reality is that conducting a comprehensive ROI analysis is something of an elusive challenge! In this session we’ll discuss the background to these problems and propose a solution – well, actually, more of a “work-around”! In preparation, think about these three questions:

o  Why don't current ROI methods ever work well?

o  How do successful L&D Managers address the problem?

o  Should we be thinking about value instead?

More for Less – the Credit Crunch Survival Manual
There has never been a greater focus on reducing costs than right now. All the surveys show greater pressure on learning and development costs. The latest Bersin research on the US market revealed that training spend per learner fell between 2007 to 2008 and is likely to fall further in 2009. In large organisations expenditure on online learning also fell for the first time ever and there will be continued pressure in 2009. ASTD’s recent survey showed that over 50% of respondents are being challenged to do more for less with their budgets. So, what can we do to help?

Where did we go from there (the November Conference)?
During the last conference, we documented actions which we took back to work, based on what customers want, economic pressures, opportunities and challenges. Here, we report back on what happened and with what results.

The training manager's personal development session is Making Change Happen – ‘Managing The Tell’, led by Karen Moyse of Kinetic Future, who specialises in global leadership communications coaching.  The ‘hands on’ session is designed to help you maintain your confidence, gravitas and ability to stand firm ‘under fire’.  All of us will be engaged in ‘robust’ discussions with senior management, sales teams, and our own people as we push to secure support for our own plans & budgets, deal with corporate restructures and manage change.  The session uses techniques from theatre, television, consulting, selling and performance psychology to give you the tools to communicate as a strong leader in your field.

Here is the website page where you'll find full details, to get a printable agenda, send a registration request and get a map for directions.

Here is the printable agenda.

I do hope that you are able to join us and look forward to seeing you on 7-8 May.

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Recent Articles from the Education and Training Press

News

Worldwide Training Industry News (Mar 09)
Abstract News ©2009 Information Inc

IT Training Press Releases (Mar 09)

Industry News Headlines from CLOmedia (Mar 09)

Update (Mar 09)
A round-up of the latest news and developments for IT training professionals.
IT Training, Spring 2009, ©2009 BCS

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Reviews and Current Trends

2009 Business Intelligence Industry Report - Executive Summary

This Chief Learning Officer report examines eight significant topics in today's corporate learning industry. These include training and development investment portfolio, training delivery methods, trends in informal learning, talent management, learning and development staffing, alignment of training to organizational strategy, outsourcing and predictions for 2009. Here’s the (free) executive summary. Chief Learning Officer, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

Economic Response and Metrics (Jan 09)

The Chief Learning Officer Business Intelligence Board asks about the current economic downturn.  Chief Learning Officer, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

E-Learning Evolution Panorama - Annual Gathering 2009

Hundreds of e-Learning professionals met in Orlando, Florida for The eLearning Guild’s Annual Gathering 2009 Conference & Expo. This year’s meeting was co-located with Articulate Live ‘09, and featured almost 100 concurrent sessions, plus additional sessions in the ID Zone, Breakfast Bytes, and Espresso Learning. Pre-conference Certificate Programs provided more opportunities to add new skills and knowledge. This article summarizes the conference.

©2009 eLearningGuild

It's a Small World (Mar 09)

Global camaraderie and networking took center stage at Training 2009 in Atlanta.

Training, ©2009 Nielsen Business Media 

5 Ways to Help Your Training Organization Survive and Thrive in a Troubled Economy (Mar 09)

In an economic downturn, you may think that top learning executives map strategies for survival. However, many view an economic crisis as an opportunity to help their company expand market share, secure customer loyalty, and prepare the most talented members of their workforce for current and future success. ©2009 Expertus

Breadwinners in IT (Mar 09)

Top 10 average salaries for popular technical skills and experience in 2008-2009.

T+D Magazine, ©2009 ASTD

Lay Off the False Optimism (Mar 09)

Employees predict that the chances of co-workers receiving pink slips are higher than their own. T+D Magazine, ©2009 ASTD

Leaner and Meaner (Mar 09)

It's tricky to answer the question of how leaner and meaner will look.

IT Training, Spring 2009, ©2009 BCS

Social Net-What (Mar 09)

While most professionals with MBA degrees recognize the value of networking, few actually use it as a tool to increase earnings and accelerate career advancement, according to a recent study.  T+D Magazine, ©2009 ASTD

From quick and dirty to fast and clean (Mar 09)

It's time to re-think your position on quick and dirty.

IT Training, Spring 2009, ©2009 BCS

Sound, or Relevant? (Mar 09)

Time to take a stand. Chief Learning Officer, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

Five Exceptional Learning Professionals (Mar 09)

Expertise leads to innovation.
Chief Learning Officer, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

Equal Opportunity is not always Equal (Mar 09)

Despite 40 years of affirmative action, ethnically diverse populations still lag behind on key employment measures.
Diversity Executive, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing.

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Training Manager/Director Development

Turning the Tables (Mar 09)

Ask potential employers hard questions.
Chief Learning Officer, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

Address the Human Side of M&As (Mar 09)

Due diligence in a merger does not effectively analyze the more dynamic, and equally important, concepts of people and organizational design that enable a business to function properly. Training, ©2009 Nielsen Business Media 

Learning about Integrity (Mar 09)

Integrity is like the value of a stock. It goes up and down with market conditions.

Chief Learning Officer, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

Virtual Leadership for a Virtual Workforce (Mar 09)

As work is increasingly carried out by teams spread across the globe, learning leaders are challenged to design and deliver learning solutions that meet the needs of virtual teams, but also develop leaders who are comfortable and capable in the virtual environment. Chief Learning Officer, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

Your C-Suite Seat (Mar 09)

That elusive seat at your company's executive table might not be as elusive as you think. With attentive alignment to your CEO's strategic goals and long-range plan, that coveted seat at long last may be yours.
Training, ©2009 Nielsen Business Media 

Retrain and Restructure (Mar 09)

Getting through a corporate reorganization with your job intact is quite a feat. Even more difficult is training (and retraining) your company to emerge more engaged and efficient than ever. Training, ©2009 Nielsen Business Media 

Succession Planning Gains Momentum (Mar 09)

Talent management strategies continue to be an important component of organizational success despite workforce reductions and increasing unemployment. Chief Learning Officer, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

Structure to support career climb (Mar 09)

Competency frameworks often provide benefits related to training.

IT Training, Spring 2009, ©2009 BCS

Too Good To Be True (Mar 09)

Are strengths all leaders need?
Chief Learning Officer, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

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Selling and Marketing Education

Creativity Wanted (Mar 09)

There's a reason why catchy jingles and taglines are a disappearing act in the world of marketing and advertising. T+D Magazine, ©2009 ASTD

How to hold onto your customers when times are tough (Mar 09)
Organisations should concentrate on retaining their existing customers when
the economic future is uncertain and there are eight key principles to make sure your customers stay your customers. ©2009 Huthwaite

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Learning Methods and Media

Twitter as a Learning Tool. Really (Mar 09)

Savvy trainers are using micro-blogging to foster informal learning and meet like-minded peers. Really? T+D Magazine, ©2009 ASTD

Gen Y is the least of our worries (Mar 09)
The economy will eventually recover, and demographic trends in most rich countries will make clever young workers even more valuable.

IT Training, Spring 2009, ©2009 BCS

Creating e-Learning for Lawyers Around the World (Mar 09)

As the world becomes more and more interconnected, e-Learning producers find that they must be aware that their audience is now international. This may be nowhere more true than in the case of continuing education programs for those in the legal professions. This article, by a highly qualified practitioner, explores the issues. ©2009 eLearningGuild

Creating Successful Online Modules (Mar 09)

While it is possible to make e-Learning production complicated, the process itself is simple. This article cuts to the chase with an outline of some best practices. These may look basic, but they will save your project (and your reputation). ©2009 eLearningGuild

3 Proven Techniques to Add Creativity to Your E-Learning Courses
(Mar 09)

Building an effective e-learning course is more than just applying the mechanics of instructional design. It also involves a creative approach to visual design and how you present the content to the learner. This is as much art as it is science. So it’s important to have fresh ideas and renewed perspective.

Rapid E-Learning Blog, ©2009 Creative Commons

Here's Why PowerPoint 2007 Helps You Build Better E-Learning (Mar 09)

 I want to look at PowerPoint 2007 and how it can help you build better courses and save time building them. Rapid E-Learning Blog, ©2009 Creative Commons

3 Easy Ways to Create Silhouette Characters (Mar 09)
If you shoot your own photos, you can run into issues with the image quality and who can and cannot be in the photos. Stock photos also raise the issue of representing diversity. It sure would be great if everyone looked the same. There is an easy way around these issues. And that is to use silhouette characters. Plus, the silhouette look is kind of hot right now and it’s a good way to make your courses look a little different.

Rapid E-Learning Blog, ©2009 Creative Commons

Virtual learning - More than a Second Life (Mar 09)

Despite reports of corporate ghost towns across Second Life, virtual training is moving on apace. ©2009 TrainingZONE

Effective Use of Simulations in Business Training (Mar 09)

Simulations offer talent managers a risk-free tool to gauge employee' skill levels, develop needed competencies and provide individuals with a broader business perspective. Talent Management, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

LMSs without the Frills (Mar 09)

With money tight, buyers are going back to basics when looking at LMSs.

IT Training, Spring 2009, ©2009 BCS

Training Professionals Gain Agility and Power from LCMS Technology (Mar 09)

One of the most powerful learning technologies on the market today is also one of the least understood. It’s the learning content management system, or LCMS. Buyers, who understand what an LCMS is capable of, have increasingly looked to the technology as a first step in developing training initiatives.

Learning Circuits, ©2009 ASTD

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Case Studies and Projects

Where Collaboration Counts (Mar 09)

The USDA dramatically improved the agency's e-learning through collaboration between senior management, the training community, the IT department and program managers, along with the support of the learners themselves.

Chief Learning Officer, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

Teaching Finance to Non-Finance Professionals (Mar 09)

Business reality and simulated reality come together to help bring financial concepts down to earth. T+D Magazine, ©2009 ASTD

System Ripe for Replacing (Mar 09)

When fruit supplier Poupart introduced a new system, 80 staff members needed training. IT Training, Spring 2009, ©2009 BCS

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Measuring Education Value

No articles this month.

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Processes/Managing Costs/Outsourcing

How to slice 30 per cent off your learning costs (Mar 09)

In these recessionary times, L&D teams are under pressure to maintain training activity, yet cut the cost of learning. Kevin Lovell claims that 30% can be shaved from learning costs by tackling four areas of inefficiency. ©2009 TrainingZONE  

Best Practices in Working with Learning Service Providers (Jan 09)

At a time when learning leaders can least afford the cost of misalignment, a recent study reveals that less than half feel that their learning service providers are strongly aligned with them.

©2009 General Physics Corporation and Training Industry, Inc

Learning BPO Gets a Charge (Feb 09)

DTE Energy had realized that its learning processes needed a spark, so to put power behind its transformational efforts, the energy business turned to outsourcing. HRO Today, ©2009 Crossing Media LLC

How to Manage Training in Tough Times (Mar 09)
Are you getting the most value out of your training budget? Here's 6 ways to achieve more with less! ©2009 Expertus

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Training Professional Topics

Your Top 10 Training Mistakes (Mar 09)
Just when you thought you had it together, it looks like there are at least 10 mistakes instructors make that you may have overlooked. Often the success of instruction is inadvertently sabotaged by none other than the instructor him or herself. Quality curriculum and exceptional preparation can be discredited by avoidable training faux pas which often leave the learning experience wanting. In exceptional cases these mistakes can be detrimental to future efforts both of the instructor as well as the learner. Training, ©2009 Nielsen Business Media 

Presentation Design (Mar 09)
Presentation success takes more than just getting up, talking and teaching.
T+D Magazine, ©2009 ASTD

Twenty things every trainer should know before going freelance (Mar 09)
 Thinking of going freelance? Or perhaps you face redundancy and working for yourself seems attractive? The authors share some practical advice from trainers who have already created successful freelance businesses.
©2009 TrainingZONE 

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Education Administration

No articles this month.

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Skills Gap/Technical Certification

Getting Credit for Life (Apr 09)
With the economy being what it is, nothing today is “recession proof,” including education. As a result, some would-be students are turning to prior learning assessment to validate their skills. CertMag, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

Transitioning into Microsoft 2007 with Certiport (Apr 09)
Although research suggests employees spend up to 80 percent of their workdays using Microsoft Office, many organizations don’t think to validate these skills. Training and certification are key for maximizing productivity and producing better business results. CertMag, ©2009 Media Tec Publishing

Revision no help for tough governance exam (Mar 09)

A new qualification is available for IT governance. It's so hard that you can't revise for it, only take it and hope you are good enough to pass.

IT Training, Spring 2009, ©2009 BCS

Stood up and delivered (Mar 09)

Live training delivery is a cornerstone of ICTP, the new trainer certificate awarded by BCS and IITT. IT Training, Spring 2009, ©2009 BCS

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Webinars and Podcasts

Death by PowerPoint - Web 2.0 Version (Mar 09)

As travel budgets fade and web conferencing grows, it is important to remember that even though learning is beamed to you from thousands of mile away, PowerPoint presentations have the power to bore you to death.

LX Briefing, ©2009 ASTD

Battling IP Theft (Mar 09) - charts only here

Joe Cannata described Brocade's efforts to identify infringement sites, courses of action taken and success stories. Certification SIG, ©2009 CEdMA

How to Reduce Costs and Improve Quality for your Learning Delivery
(Mar 09)

This webinar describes current trends in learning delivery and best practices to increase the effectiveness and the efficiency of your workforce development investments. In addition, we see behind the scenes at Microsoft and share how its Talent & Organizational Capability team overcame critical challenges related to training program efficiency, cost and scalability to provide high-quality employee development for a worldwide workforce. ©2009 Training Industry Inc

Ten Test Security Lessons from ATP 2009 (Mar 09)

John Fremer of Caveon describes lessons learned at ATP 2009.

©2009 Caveon

Symantec's Use of Trojan Items (Mar 09) -charts only here

Beverly Van de Velde covered Symantec’s policies around inclusion of these items on exams and the effect it has had on candidates.

Certification SIG, ©2009 CEdMA

As Interactive and Effective as In-Person Training (Mar 09) (Handout here, CLO BI Report 2009 - Summary here)
This webinar described how to deliver live online training sessions that are as interactive and effective as in-person sessions, while reducing costs and utilizing fewer resources. ©2009 Training Industry Inc

Starting Up Virtual Classrooms at LSI/Engenio - charts only here 
Patty Crowell and Andy Woodgate described the processes and decisions they went through to get started.
Virtual Classroom SIG, ©2009 CEdMA

How is Training Facing Up in the Recession (Feb 09)
How is training shaping up in the recession? What skills should IT professionals concentrate on and what actions should training departments be taking?
©2009 BCS

Ensure the life of your system after go-live (Feb 09) - charts only here
This webinar discusses sustainment strategies to optimize your investments and continually recognize the value that was initially planned.
©2009 Chief Learning Officer

Wikis, Blogs, Performance Support Tools and Podcasts (Jan 09)
Wikis, blogs, performance support tools and podcasts are all examples of learning technologies. They embrace much more than e-learning and offer low cost options. ©2009 BCS

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And, Finally.....

T

Did you hear about the Texas teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put on his cowboy boots?

He asked for help and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn't want to go on. By the time they got the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat.

She almost cried when the little boy said, 'Teacher, they're on the wrong feet.' She looked, and sure enough, they were. It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as, together, they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet. He then announced, 'These aren't my boots.'

She bit her tongue, rather than get right in his face and scream, 'Why didn't you say so?', like she wanted to. Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they gotten the boots off when he said, 'They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear 'em.'

Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. But she mustered up what grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again.

Helping him into his coat, she asked, 'Now, where are your mittens?' He said, 'I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots.'

She will be eligible for parole in three years.

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Feedback, please!

I would really like to get input from you, the readers.  Please give me your feedback and point me towards any article or source that you think the rest of the membership might enjoy. Thank you.

Mike Dowsey

Executive Director

CEdMA-Europe

mike@dowsey.net

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