Social Learning Systems

ASTD Releases Salary and Compensation Study for Learning & Development Industry

With a median salary of $75,000, learning and development (L&D) professionals are 
paid relatively well compared to other HR professionals and the general workforce, but pay levels have not increased, on average, in the last four years. Also unchanged is the gender salary gap – men continue to earn more than women in the L&D profession. These are among many findings in the just-released "Salary and Compensation Report" from ASTD and the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp).

Read the press release here.    

via www.prweb.com

The Ubiquity of Informal Learning: Beyond the 70/20/10 Model by Ben Betts : Learning Solutions Magazine

To quote EDC’s informal learning thesis, “informal learning is ubiquitous” (p. 178). In work, as in life, informal learning has always been present. It isn’t a new idea and it certainly isn’t powered by the internet. To generalize on how much of our learning is sourced from informal happenstance is somewhat missing the point in my mind.

 

-- An interesting look at the origin and validity of the 70/20/10 model. --

Read the full article here.

via www.learningsolutionsmag.com

The eLearning Guild : Rapid eLearning Authoring: Top Tools Report

In this report, author Joseph Ganci discusses which rapid eLearning authoring tools are the most popular and why. Using Guild Research survey data, Joseph also examines how powerful people find these tools, perceived ease of use, how many different tools people use, and trends in tool usage. Joseph also compares features and functions across tools, and closes with a detailed discussion of the top seven tools revealed in the survey.

-- A good look at Captivate, Articulate, Camtasia, etc. --

via www.elearningguild.com

Open Culture

What is Open Culture’s Mission?

Open Culture brings together high-quality cultural & educational media for the worldwide lifelong learning community. Web 2.0 has given us great amounts of intelligent audio and video. It’s all free. It’s all enriching. But it’s also scattered across the web, and not easy to find. Our whole mission is to centralize this content, curate it, and give you access to this high quality content whenever and wherever you want it. Free audio books, free online courses, free movies, free language lessons, free ebooks and other enriching content — it’s all here. Open Culture was founded in 2006.

via www.openculture.com

Beginning Instructional Authoring: Why C.R.A.P. Is Exactly What's Needed (Part 1) by Patti Shank : Learning Solutions Magazine

A lot of eLearning would look better if it looked like C.R.A.P. Really. No, I’m not making a scatological reference – I mean the four overarching principles of visual design: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity.

People form opinions about what they see very quickly, and that goes for eLearning visual design as well. If your eLearning looks like something that belongs on a pathology slide, consider using the C.R.A.P. principles to help learners form a better opinion of your eLearning.

Robin Williams described these four visual design principles in her terrific book, The Non-Designer’s Design Book. After discussing alignment in last month’s article, I received a few e-mails asking me to explain these principles and how they relate to eLearning screens. Yep, I can take direction, and that’s a good idea.

Read the entire article here.

via www.learningsolutionsmag.com

Don’t you hope your surgeon had real-world training?: Instructional Design and eLearning: Tips, Advice and Reviews

When your airplane is about to take off or when a dentist’s drill is aimed at your mouth, don’t you truly hope the pilot or dentist had training that transfers to the real world? With that same passion, we should try to ensure the training we design and develop is transferable to the real world.

Learning transfer refers to acquiring knowledge or skills in one context that enhances a person’s performance in another context. This is known as positive transfer.

Read the entire article here.

via theelearningcoach.com

Teachers must think internet-first | Education | The Guardian

Education and skills professionals are at the frontline in tackling a key cause of worklessness. This work, if the CBI is right, will only become more urgent as the UK moves further towards a high-skilled jobs market, and opportunities for those without qualifications fall sharply.

Digital skills are now vital for education and employment: we know that you're 25% more likely to get work when you have web skills, and, once in that job, you'll earn 10% more. Unison, the biggest public sector union, has just conducted a skills survey of some of its 1.3 million members. Almost half of middle-aged, low-paid women (cleaners, catering staff, carers) argued that lack of digital savvy was their most serious skills gap. Our figures show that 4 million of the 8.7 million UK adults who have never used the internet are from our hardest-to-reach groups.

Read the complete article here.

via www.guardian.co.uk

Evidence-Based Training: Debunking the Myth of Learning Styles « Workplace Psychology

In “Evidence-Based Training Methods: A Guide for Training Professionals,” Ruth Clark (2010) states that one of the biggest myths perpetuated by training professionals is accommodating different learning styles.

“The learning style myth leads to some very unproductive training approaches that are counter to modern evidence of what works…The time and energy spent perpetuating the various learning style myths can be more wisely invested in supporting individual differences that are proven to make a difference—namely, prior knowledge of the learner.” (Clark, 2010, p. 10)

Read more of this review of Ruth Clark's book here.

Clark, R.C. (2010). Evidence-Based Training Methods: A Guide for Training Professionals. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.

via workplacepsychology.net

New Jive Study Unveils Social Business is Top Executive Strategic Imperative -- PALO ALTO, Calif., June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Jive Software today announced the results of a new study of 902 U.S.-based knowledge workers that was conducted by Penn Schoen Berland and commissioned by Jive. The study revealed that Social Business is increasingly perceived as a strategic executive imperative in the enterprise. Seventy-eight percent of the executives surveyed recognized that having a social strategy is critical to the future success of their businesses.

"Social is now open for business, and Jive is at the center of Social Business," said Tony Zingale, Jive CEO. "Today's executives realize that the New Way to business is here and that they must have a social strategy or risk falling behind. The results of this survey underscore the importance and growth of the Social Business market."

The study, called the Jive Social Business Index 2011, was conducted in May 2011 and surveyed 301 executives, 301 working millennials and 300 general knowledge workers at both large (1000+ employees) and mid-size companies (500 – 999 employees) across various industries.

The Jive Social Business Index 2011 identified three key findings:

• Social Business is a top executive strategic imperative;
• App Stores are gaining traction in the enterprise; and
• Email usage is growing but is not solving communication challenges in the enterprise.
  
  Read the article here.

via www.prnewswire.com

Harold Jarche » Resetting Learning and Work

Taking control of our learning and our work isn’t really a revolution. It’s more like a reset to the proper default position for the conceptual age.

An interesting piece on lifelong learning.  Read the entire article here.

via www.jarche.com