Managing eLearning

I am speaking on a panel this Friday at Johns Hopkins at the MedBiquious Conference.  Sounds really cool, but it’s really pretty geeky stuff.  I am still studying up on the various “interface” standards this group sets.  I hope to post an update on my understanding and reflection after the conference. The MedBiquitous Conference is over a decade old.  Since 2001 members of this consortium have been working on developing a common technology framework for online systems to communicate with each other.  It is really about promoting systems communications and interface technology standards so that healthcare education (often referred to as CME or continuing medical education) can promote professional competence and in turn better patient care.  Here is what I think I know:

Goodbye CME Lectures in Hawaii

The medical education community is saying goodbye to the scenario where your doctor can take a vacation and listen to a speaker to receive CME credits for licensing or re-certification.  Health reform advocates are insisting that your doctor stay updated on the speed of change and advancement by demonstrating practice improvement.  This call for active learning is a good thing.  Clinicians are being asked to enroll in educational programs that require them to actively participate and demonstrate practice improvement.  This new CME philosophy and implementation requires numerous technology systems to talk to each other to be successful.  Hello MedBiquitious Standards!  And there are several types:  Activity Tracking, Profile Exchange, Web Services Guidelines, Meta Tagging Rules, SCORM M, Standardized Patient Case Study Format, and others.  It all reads a bit “big brotherish,” but when it comes to a license to practice, you probably want your doctor to be on top of the enormous speed of innovations in medical practice change.  And, computer data when shared can be a part of a quality improvement program; the risk of evil resulting from data accessibility is the trade off.

REMEMBER SCORM?

eLearning managers reading this post, well, SCORM should ring a bell.  So when you think of MedBiquitious Standards think of it as SCORM Plus Plus.  SCORM is a common language that allows one online course to be “seamlessly” loaded and communicate with any LMS.  It is code that provides the LMS with login information and quiz scores.  Among its many standards, MedBiquitious has a SCORM M for medical.  Yep, I told you this was pretty geeky.  The SCORM M is special information in the otherwise typical SCORM manifest which provides for medical information and other special information sent to the LMS.  It is all about interface coding for universal use and it should save thousands of “man-hours” of coders developing custom web services and custom profile transfer protocols.

USB for Tracking Medical Learning Activities and Learning Objects

This standards for interface code stuff is similar to a USB connection (who needs 20 different types of plugs) when one connection is universal.  This means that when a medical association has an AMS (Association Management System) that subscribes to MedBiquitious standards, data can be sent from the LMS (which subscribes to the MedBiquitious Standard ) without special custom coding or custom web services code.  The AMS can in turn send educational activity data to the licencing board or Registry System.  This supports the concept of e-portfolios where health professionals track their own professional development activities.  Another way these standards help is to provide special descriptive information or meta-tagging to learning objects: courses, white papers, and self pace exercises.  This enables a clinician to use a tool that searches a number of online sources to find sophisticated medical content; possibly while with a patient in a clinic.  How we label our medical papers and learning activities or paper based learning materials matter; again the USB concept for quick access—just in time when the doctor needs it.  Equally important is how we organize user profile data.  The MedBiquitious standard for profile data allows for consistency across multiple systems.   So this week’s conference in Baltimore Maryland should prove interesting.  I hope I have more to share with you next week.

Here is a good 2006 journal article on MedBiquitous.

eLearning Guild a True Community of Practice

The Learning Solutions Conference serves as the largest of the eLearning Guild’s yearly conferences and brings together professionals seeking to identify, deploy and manage technology-based learning solutions. I was unable to attend the event last week, but I caught up with Jean Marrapodi, eLearning Guild and Learning Solutions Conference veteran, who was willing to share some of her insights on this year’s conference.

Conference Overview

Jean shared that what makes this conference different from others is the extent to which people are willing to share information. Attendees aren’t looking at each other like competition, they’re working together to develop best practices that they can leverage outside of the conference setting. It is truly a community of eLearning professionals. Jean noted that she personally came away from the conference with a lot of tactical information, particularly in regards to utilization of mobile learning as a performance support tool.

Session Highlights

In my conversation with her, we discussed a few session topic highlights including: the evolving role of the instructional designer as content curator in an increasing “data wasteland,” the power of conversation in learning, and the role of video in education.

I asked Jean to tell me about the session about  Avoiding Information Overload: Creating Conversation session.  I asked her what did the speaker suggest about the goal of incorporating conversation into the learning environment and not settling for a lecture style?

At Web Courseworks, we make the most of our video production department in our course development.  I asked Jean about the session “Making the Most of Video,” .

Roundtable on Evaluation

Jean presented a roundtable on evaluation in the Foundations Intensive portion of the conference where she posed the questions: What’s the difference between an assessment and evaluation? How do we determine why a learner isn’t meeting the course’s goals? I asked for her take on how to best convince management or sponsors to take time and money to develop courses.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead, Jean will be taking a systemic look at some of the course offerings at the New England College of Business where she serves as an instructional designer and faculty member. As an undergraduate online course developer, she will be doing her own evaluation of their program to ensure, as she says, “that we’re doing what we say we’re doing… tweaking and improving what we’ve got. We should be continuously improving what we’re doing and if it’s not meeting needs than why bother [offering the courses].”

This year’s Learning Solutions Conference was a huge success to say the least. Learn more about the conference and Jean Marrapodi online.

Your member Experts should lead online courses

I often get inquiries from national associations looking to move their face to face workshops online.  The first myth I often need to dispel is the concept that an expert instructor is no longer needed; the second is the notion that online courses carry higher profit margins.  Research shows distance education as effective as face to face education; but most of that research included distance education courses taught by an instructor.  What is left when you eliminate the instructor?  A lot of reading.   If you plan to create sophisticated interactive learning activities, like games or simulations,  plan to make a significant investment in development. Amortize curriculum development costs over 3 years.

It is true, in the corporate space (where expert instructors are in short supply), a 90 minute self-paced page turner can often be the answer for a specific eLearning initiative. However, I have found that many associations try to copy this model for their distance education courses even though they have much more extensive learning material that warrants a different approach.   Ironically, associations are masters at presenting live webinars.  All association education directors have to do is combine that live webinar instructor with longer running asynchronous material and call it a 3- 6 week distance education course—college style.  Then you have truly replaced the live workshop!

This higher education model generally incorporates a blended approach of both live virtual instruction and asynchronous online course components.  The expert instructor should be available once a week to respond to discussion posts.  This approach creates a more student-centered environment that fosters engagement compared to the corporate page-turner. When it comes to teaching advanced courses, interactive eLearning technology serves as a great foundation, but it is the instructor that gives the course unique purpose.  This approach also helps put butts in the virtual seats since association members generally want to learn from experts in their field.

One of the great benefits of this new online blended approach for both higher education and association learning initiatives is the way a course can be tailored to learners’ unique needs. Offering a combination of lecture, reading, discussion, interactivities, etc. enables each student to approach the material according to their own learning style or learning style preference. The online component of the blended approach opens up enrollment to a wider group of learners because of the decreased need for face-to-face learning and at the same time does not diminish the opportunity for students to engage with their instructor compared to face-to-face sessions. In many cases, learners are more willing to engage with instructors in an online format than they are in a classroom or workshop. Studies on online learning have found that instructor presence in online learning is a significant predictor of student affective learning, cognition and motivation.[1]

As higher education institutions have professors, associations have members that can effectively facilitate courses specific to their expertise. In making the transition to online learning, some aspects of association’s traditional face-to-face training cannot be translated effectively without the presence of an instructor. In moving a live workshop online, it is key to have an expert involved in the new format to be available to facilitate discussion, answer questions, provide additional resources to learners, etc. The combination of “star” member experts, well-designed learning objects and a structured, formal course does nothing but attract enrollment. This model works for associations. Webinar delivered Instructor experts should be a standard course component in association eLearning initiatives.

David Schejbal

The University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) began as an initiative at the University of Wisconsin – Madison nearly one hundred years ago. The association seeks to make education more available to adult learners and serves as an industry resource for continuing education institutions and affiliated organizations. Recently proposed reforms promote the incorporation of more technology into student recruitment and the classroom, solidification of the role of the UPCEA Center for Research and Consulting and development of new member association revenue streams.

The UPCEA will be hosting its 97^th Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon later this month March 28-30, 2012. Described on its website as “the premier, international association for educators, administrators and staff working in [professional and continuing education],” the conference offers an opportunity to explore how UPCEA members can make education more resilient and sustainable. Penny Ralston-Berg, Instructional Designer at the Penn State World Campus and co-author of MindMeld: Micro-Collaboration Between eLearning Designers and Instructor Experts, will be speaking at the event on “Student Perspectives of Quality in Online Courses.”

I recently sat down with David Schejbal, Program Chair of the 2012 UPCEA Conference, to learn more about the upcoming conference and his thoughts on what association and non-profit distance education professionals can gain from joining UPCEA and attending the conference. As more eLearning management opportunities become available, networking with these types of associations gains steadier importance.

Click play to listen to the interview (approx. 5 minutes)

“Do you see the L?”

“Yes, we see the L,” came the response.

We typed the O, and we asked, “Do you see the O.”

“Yes, we see the O.”

Then we typed the G, and the system crashed … ” (source).

Technology has come a long way since the first ARPANET link was established from UCLA to the Stanford Research Institute in the late 1960s. The technical core of what would become the Internet more than two decades later, researchers of this era knew the capacity to communicate with others at remote locations over a network held extraordinary promise. The power to hold virtual meetings with team members and clients in geographically diverse locations is now commonplace in today’s business landscape. Recognizing that virtual meetings need to be facilitated differently than face-to-face meetings is the first step towards a beneficial, collaborative, virtual discussion.

Ways to Hold Virtual Meetings

Virtual meetings usually incorporate telephone conferencing, videoconferencing and/or web conferencing. Products like GoToMeeting, Skype, etc. often offer these services in combination.  Web cameras have made video conferencing using these inexpensive services ubiquitous. Yet holding a web conference is still a meeting, and we all know meetings can be counterproductive, boring and resource drains.   Yes, you can take a short workshop or read a book on “how to conduct good meetings” but it always surprises me how many meetings are conducted “on the fly” without thought or meeting leadership.  Here are some tips gathered from other Internet sources.  I plan to create a poster with these ideas and place it in every conference room.

*This blog post does not imply an endorsement by or partnership with mentioned companies.

Visit Interaction Associates online for more ways to improve virtual meetings.

Association LMS – Yes or No?: The Truth Is…. You Might Not Need an LMS

Watching a Webinar or Chatting on a Social Media Platform is Informal Learning

I receive calls from associations who insist they need an LMS when they already have the software systems to deliver their informal professional development programs.  Here are five questions you should ask yourself before entering the murky world of vetting vendors and sending out LMS RFPs (requests for proposals).  (Full disclaimer: I am CEO of Web Courseworks, which markets a SaaS based LMS and course development services).

My premise comes down to the question:  Are you providing informal or formal education?  I’ve blogged about this before (Social Media vs. Formal Education) and so has Ellen at ALearning (Information or… Information?).   The answer is simple:  If you are providing informal learning only you do not need an LMS.  Period.   Chances are between your website’s content management system, association management system and/or your social media platform you can deliver a plethora of information to your members.  On the other hand, if you are providing formal education chances are you should seriously be in the market for an LMS.

First, what do I mean by Informal and Formal Learning activities?

Here are the questions you need to reflect on:

1. Do you provide education for a formal designation?
2. Is your designation, certification, or credential taken seriously?
3. Do you have a professional online course designer on staff?
4. Are you willing to staff for an LMS administrator?
5. Do you want to generate revenue from your formal education?
6. Do you have the staff to run your education programs like a business?
7. Do you believe that a formal educational experience should take serious time commitment on the part of your members?
8. Does your community of practice have a list of expected competencies and is the association responsible for licensing or upholding the quality of professionals in the community?
9. Do you currently have a classroom based formal education program that must go online?
10. Is it important that members perceive your educational offerings as of high value?

If you answered yes to three or more of these questions you should take a serious start down the road of reviewing Learning Management Systems.

eLearning in ‘the Cloud’: Should you go with a brand name or look deeply at the facts?

Several eLearning pundits predicted that 2012 will be “the year of the cloud” for those delivering education over the Internet.  While I don’t disagree that cloud computing will continue to be an important, evolving service, its use loosely as a term makes it difficult to pin down an exact definition for this buzzword or how it will impact eLearning in 2012.  What is true is the buzz about using a Cloud service is reaching a fever pitch.  So let me ramble a bit in hopes of educating managers about the cloud and suggest questions to ask vendors.

The term has only recently become popular, but the concept of “the cloud” has been around much longer and is often used to describe software delivered to users as a service via the Internet Browser.  The idea is that the guts of the software you are using lives in the cloud, not on your personal computer.  Software as a Service has been with us for some time.  This is a decades old concept.  What is different is the acceptability of housing personal files and company data files in the cloud.  Educators, for example, have been using cloud hosted services to deliver education for over a decade.   What is different is what a user should expect from the cloud: in terms of features, security, redundancy, power/scalability, and automation.

What is “the cloud?”

From the user standpoint, the concept of cloud computing can best be explained as a collection of server delivering resources that can be accessed remotely via the Internet in real-time.  These servers are housed in a bunker like structure called a Data Center.  In other words, your data, your software applications are not housed on your computer; they’re on a service’s cloud of web servers (often virtual servers) usually accessed by you via the Internet using a browser like Chrome or IE.  You are renting the use of the software and storage space.  The cloud is effectively a group of servers; more specifically– “virtual servers”–which simulate running multiple computers on a single piece of hardware.  This is beneficial since it’s possible to get more use out of the piece of hardware than if it was just doing the work of one.  A simple explanation:  if I have ten Dell servers each at 10% utilization I will have ten physical pieces of equipment to maintain and upgrade or using the cloud I can have only one server at 100% utilization. The term cloud leverages the fact that these virtual servers can be started up, shut down, upgraded, moved from physical machine to physical machine, etc all through software and in response to demand or other event.  For example, you might want to have more web servers running during the day when traffic is high and fewer during the evening when traffic is low.  Typically cloud servers cost out per hour.  This can be more economical than keeping all of your web servers running all of the time.

What defines a cloud for eLearning?

Clouds are defined by the technology they provide: computation, software, data access, and storage services.  A cloud can be defined as a place for users to create or store files, but has alternative meanings that, for example, explain how using a cloud can optimize processing power on the user end through its network.   Services now deliver software such as Microsoft Office from the cloud.  This means a computer user is renting the use of the software- usually via a monthly payment automatically deducted from a credit card.

Enterprises have been using hosted applications for learning software for over a decade. Software as a service (SaaS) is one type of computing that is almost always in the cloud and delivers a single application through the browser to thousands of customers using a multitenant architecture.  The biggest change in attitude towards the cloud has come over time as Chief Technology Officers realize they do not have to maintain software and services within their own buildings and can maintain the same control via renting the software and server capacity.   Or, the CTO realizes their kingdoms are at capacity and welcome departments outsourcing to the cloud.  Think– enterprise sales tracking installed on each salesperson’s desktop containing a copy of ACT or a ten dollar a month bill for each salesperson’s online log-in to SalesForce.com.

So it goes for distance education using the Internet.  Advanced Learning Management Systems now also come with services attached.  Often administrative support and consulting services are included on the use of the software, allowing the customer to build corporate eLearning viability and online education business offerings.

Learning Services:  Delivery of Learning Website- eCommerce/content delivery/tracking of learner performance

A learning management system (LMS) delivered via the cloud is generally a web application seamlessly delivered over the Internet, accessible from anywhere in the world.  It is hosted on servers at a third parties’ data center.  The use of the Learning Management System is rented.  Advantages for the enterprise are that the software is updated frequently, and does not have to be maintained by the customer.  The application is essentially “version-less” in the customer’s mind since only one active code release exists.  Usually the LMS SaaS provides updates on a quarterly or bi-yearly basis.  The using enterprise does not have to purchase hardware or people to operate/set up the servers.  And during peak usage the cloud service increases capacity to service more users.  Sophisticated clouds will automatically spawn virtual services to meet increasing demand.  Some purists claim that this capacity to automatically spawn virtual services is a key part of being a cloud service.  Others use the term more loosely.

Learning Services:  Authoring SCORM Learning Objects/Modules

What the eLearning pundits are talking about for 2012 is authoring content in the cloud. The cloud provides the capability for collaborative development tools for creating, reviewing, and publishing interactive tutorials, assessments, and learning objects.  Typically the control of authoring eLearning content rested with individuals working with specific authoring software installed on desktops.  Project managers looking for efficiency and repeatability have longed for online systems that allowed for distributed workflow that is scalable.  Imagine an online system where subject matter experts can review module pages anytime/anywhere and comment in context and where comments are captured in a database.  The pundits are saying that if websites can be built on a “what you see is what you get” model so should it be for eLearning content.  Content can be meta-tagged, stored for re-use and re-publishing to new formats.  In other words, the eLearning development department is sophisticated to the point where people are asking:  Isn’t there an online system out there that can make us faster and better?

Biggest Concerns Hidden in Cloud Rhetoric

As an eLearning manager, it’s imperative to make sure you’re getting the advantages of the cloud when a company uses the buzzword in their product promotion. Perhaps some of the biggest concerns hidden in the haze of the cloud’s popularity are its ability to deliver on the promise of redundancy, scalability, and security.  Where these virtual servers are housed is a legitimate question to ask.  What data center are the servers being housed at?  And what type of certification does the facility hold?

There are no guarantees. Amazon had a 2011 publicized service hiccup due to human error and Sony has been hacked. Known security issues exist with larger brands, whereas many good SaaS providers have impeccable records.  So go figure.  Here are few topics to ask questions about.

Redundancy and Scalability

The key to redundancy is to design an architecture that does not have any single point of failure. A cloud computing system must make multiple copies of client information and store it on other devices and transfer workloads for easier information retrieval or in case of a break down. Redundancy enables the central server to access backup machines to retrieve data that otherwise would be unreachable. The redundancy associated with clouds is not always a given, but it’s easier as a side effect of this structure.  Since most of the cloud serving a site should be made out of disposable machines (since it’s ideal to shut them down, start them back up, rebuild them, clone them frequently) the loss of one or more virtual machines due to a software or hardware issue is less of a problem than it would be otherwise.  This doesn’t apply to all, but to most.

Security

The security of the software running on the cloud is up to whoever’s managing it.  The security benefits of running in the cloud at a reputable data center must meet certain physical location security measures to accommodate; like HIPPA or other guidelines.  Some data centers are certified (SSAE 16) and must submit to security audits.  Regularly performing a security analysis is vital to the security of any network. It is the only way to ensure that firewalls and access controls are properly configured and that server updates have been applied.  Consider the importance of both physical and electronic security: escort-only physical security, alarm system, video surveillance, motion detectors and glass break detectors, and dedicated network security experts.  Ask your cloud provider if the data center is certified.

All of this can be thrown out of the window when talking about many uses of the cloud.  It’s a big buzz word/ marketing term and gets thrown around a lot.  In some cases it means that someone has placed one or more constantly running virtual machines on a provider,  but it isn’t anything new.  It just has a new name.

As an eLearning manager looking to deliver, author and store content in the cloud, you should be asking questions about auto redundancy, scalability and security. A reputable company with a handle on these important aspects of cloud computing is much more reassuring than just a brand name.

Disclaimer: Web Courseworks offers CourseStage, a learning management system and CourseCreate, a web based authoring system.

Medical Educators – What Will They Think of My Small Project Collaboration Model?

I am speaking this coming Sunday at 4:00pm at the Alliance for CME conference in Orlando, FL on “Developing Interactive Online Education: Engage the Subject Matter Expert via Micro-Collaboration.” Conference attendees represent the association’s 2,200+ membership base of professionals committed to educating medical professionals. Only about 10% of these CME professionals are actually doctors.

After interviewing a doctor and a former nurse, now a performance improvement specialist, I realized how my micro-collaboration model is relevant to CME professionals who often work with busy medical professionals to create educational products.  In order to build in more learner engagement within our online activities, we need to engage and increase collaboration with the SMEs. In no situation is this more challenging than working with medical experts.

Communicating with Experts

My model suggests that designers and developers of online education view collaboration with experts through five lenses.  First, it is important to understand the power dynamics.  Doctors can be full of hubris.  There is a joke goes that it is not evidence based medicine but “eminence based medicine”.  And some experts are even considered rock stars in their field.  This presents a personal power imbalance when working with expert doctors.  My interviewees tell me that there are two main ways of approaching this. One is to position yourself as a professional educator by explaining your product development process and your credentials for doing a needs analysis and for writing learning objectives.  You have the templates, those are your tools.

Another way to gain the respect of the expert is to offer to help them gain prestige through publishing or positioning them on a team with a rock star.  Positioning yourself as a professional means making sure you take care of the structure of the project by appointing a project manager who knows how to run a project.  You might have to wear two hats but it is critical that the busy expert knows there is a schedule and process that respects their limited time.  This might mean you record the expert discussing the topic with other experts, transcribe and repackage the content for their approval.

The third frame of my model asks you to consider how to develop a shared language with the expert. You might take a look at the doctor and view the medical expert’s brain as a rubric cube to solve.  Use communication tools to solve this puzzle while you earn respect for what you know. Make the discovery process and expertise sharing process go smoother by over communicating dynamically.  This means being able to brainstorm, interview, and otherwise find ways to prompt passionate communication and sharing.  Using a mind mapping software can help. Consider using flowchart software or whiteboard to make sure you are on the right track.  Use professionally produced graphics and art boards to help communicate your concepts.

You can also enable collaboration by using formal formative evaluation.  This forth frame involves getting the expert involved with user testing evaluation while you are developing iterations of the educational product.  Nothing like the goose bump moment of seeing users excited about the product you have built together.  Also try to provide resources for continuous improvement of the educational product.  As many medical professionals like to say: “What is true today is not true tomorrow.”  Receive an extended commitment from the expert under the notion of quality improvement.

Lastly, my last frame of my model –momentum- should keep you aware of the passion level of all team members, especially the expert.  I like to suggest the team maintain a “Spiking Mo Schedule”.  An example of spiking MO might be presenting the computer program’s interface on art boards.  Anything that gets your experts excited and engaged is a momentum builder for your project.

Learn more about my micro-collaboration model.

Medical Subject Matter Experts: Medical Records Implementation and Training Challenges

A growing number of hospitals and ambulatory clinics are consumed with the task of implementing medical records software.  This national rollout of medical records software has increased the need to collaborate with medical experts.  Technological advancement means adoption of new ways of thinking and often requires Change Management training.  Special use of medical records holds the promise of improved patient outcomes through medical educational interventions for both medical practitioners and patients.  Implementation of a medical records system for software engineers involves understanding of the clinic workflow, while practitioners need a better understanding and appreciation of the advantages of using medical records software.  When there is two way respect and communication, good things happen for the patient and for medical care in general.

Over the holidays, EPIC Systems, a national provider of medical records software, invited me in to their audio studios to do a podcast on the relevance of my micro-collaboration model to medical records implementation.  I was excited to hear that my model can be applied generally to working with any type of expert, even brain surgeons and ER doctors.

I will be speaking at the Alliance for Continuing Medical Education Conference in Orlando, FL on January 22nd and hope to explore in depth the importance of micro-collaborating with medical experts.

Take a listen as I discuss the need for medical records software implementers to understand how to engage doctors and staff through micro-collaboration.

Disclaimer: This interview does not imply an endorsement by or partnership with Epic Systems.

Click play to listen to the podcast (approx. 24 minutes)

As a frequent eLearning blogger, I’m excited to share how Tony Karrer, CEO/CTO of TechEmpower, is continuing to be a leader and innovator in the eLearning industry. His TechEmpower site eLearningLearning.com serves as a gateway to the very best eLearning blogs, including ManagingeLearning.com, by aggregating eLearning-related content from a variety of sources that are organized around keywords.

Karrer has just announced that eLearningLearning.com now has a powerful personalization engine. Based on a combination of social signals, interests, and other factors, the site’s platform now creates a custom newsletter for each subscriber.

Karrer says of the new feature, “The reason that I’m most excited about this is that I partly use eLearning Learning to make sure I don’t miss things that is good content that is relevant to me.  Now with personalization, it is even less likely that something will sneak by.”

Read more about what he has to say on his blog eLearningTech.blogspot.com and sign up for the eLearning Learning newsletter here.