Do you or your company have a training program? What about an e-training/e-learning program? There are unique benefits available to organizations who use online training courses to educate their workforce. Check out this quick Slideshare and learn how your company can benefit from an e-training program!
The Benefits of E-leaning for Email Etiquette Training
October 27th, 2011
Most of us have had an e-mail from a co-worker that was questionable. Without thinking, many people pass along something that they think funny, even though it may prove offensive for others. Perhaps the person just didn’t fill in the subject line properly, which prompts you to open an email which has nothing to do with what you thought. What the sender didn’t think of before pressing the “Send” button may be offensive, or downright inappropriate in the work place. Email etiquette courses that help to correct these kinds of occurrences can be taught online, and can be a much cheaper alternative than sending people to a physical classroom to train.
You may be wondering why having your employees take an email etiquette course is a good idea. Communication reflects professionalism, and email is one of the most widely used forms of communication in the workplace. Rarely would you want to see every single email employees send out on behalf of your company, nor would you want them to copy you on every. Poorly written communications can negatively impact your business and reputation. A training program on email etiquette is beneficial to you and your employees to make sure they are always writing thorough, concise, and professional messages on behalf of the organization they represent.
Email etiquette courses can help teach strategic ways to communicate that positively impact your business. Professional messages are clearly written, and are not too short as to seem brash to the recipient, yet at the same time do not drag on for four paragraphs just to reach the point of the message. Instead of writing a poor email, online email etiquette courses can help your employees write professionally structured messages and promote healthy communication and further relations on behalf of your organization. Here are some quick reasons email courses might be more beneficial than face-to-face training your business:
- Online courses are easy to access, and are efficient as your employees can access them at any desired online location, helping them achieve greater balance work/life balance
- There is often greater impact in online courses because the learner is in the driver’s seat
- There is unity in learning for all employees since they are all learning the same curriculum in the same way
- They help save cost, as there are no travelling expenses wasted with online courses
- There are no lost opportunities due to time spent travelling from work or home to a class, so employees can be more efficient and productive
Theseare just a few of the ways online courses can help your employees and your organization become more professional and productive. Want to learn more? Check out www.enspark.com/courses.
Smartphones: M-Learning’s Most Widely Known Tool is Unsafe—or is the User?
October 21st, 2011
M-learning is a rapidly increasing medium being used in the application of e-learning. I have used my mobile device to access many websites in search of information on the go. This is looking more and more like the norm for the future. But how safely are we accessing information on the web using mobile devices? And who is unsafe—the smartphone or is the user?
Mobile learning devices are becoming more popular every day. According to the article by The Chronicle of Higher Education, “by 2014 mobile internet usage is expected to outnumber computer internet usage.” And you’d think for e-learning, the quicker and easier use of access we have to information, the better. But then, what about for security purposes? Do you enter any kind of personal information on your mobile device, or pay bills? If you aren’t protecting yourself with anti-virus backups, or are carelessly surfing the internet, then you could be putting your information on your mobile device at risk.
Issues with the design of mobile devices can make it unsafe for the unaware user. The smaller screen of a mobile device can make search engine navigation difficult at times, as it will scale down what is trying to be viewed so it will fit the screen, making it too small to access the information desired. Some users mean to choose one website result while browsing the internet, but due to the scaled-down format of the site for mobile browsing, they accidently click an unsafe link above/underneath it. Another large security concern with mobile browsing is Bluetooth. Bluetooth is a great tool when used correctly. But is your Bluetooth activated on your mobile device when you are accessing the internet? Is it on when you are getting a coffee at your local café? Having Bluetooth enabled on your phone is one of the easiest ways someone can hack your mobile device. The only way to prevent hacking is to turn off your Bluetooth when not in use (i.e. turn it off when you exit your car).
So are these concerns reason for panic and alarm? No, but they are cause to be cautious. It’s not the mobile device’s problem if the device is being used unsafely; the user must be aware and cautious about internet usage and other security weak points. Your phone is not secure unless you make it secure, just like your computer. Download your software’s anti-virus, install regular updates, and keep your browsing safe. Then continue on the m-learning path as our society continues to see affordances from increasing technology that requires information on the go. M-learning is not worth giving up because it seems too risky, we just need to be responsible consumers of this technology.
Crowdsourcing: Useful or a Hindrance to the Overall Learning Process?
October 18th, 2011
Last week we were talking about social learning and communities of practice. Now let’s get a little deeper into that conversation and talk about how some communities of practice go about solving problems within the community. Crowdsourcing and crowdfunding are two unique ways of finding a solution to a proposed problem.
In crowdsourcing, a problem is proposed to an unknown group of problem solvers, who then tend to form online communities in which to collaborate and think up methods of how to best solve the proposed problem. It is then up to the problems proposer, or crowdsourcer, to pick the best solution. Sometimes there is a monetary reward for the solution, and sometimes the reward is the acknowledgement of creating the best solution. When all is said and done, the idea of the best solution to the problem is credited and owned by the crowdsourcer.
There are both pros and cons to this technique. On the pro side, crowdsourcing helps create new communities in an industry in an effort to try and solve a problem. This promotes the spreading of new and unique ideas and knowledge amongst communities, and really gets the thought process going along with facilitating conversation. People work towards a common goal, working together in order to achieve it. On the negative side, nothing is ever neat and clean cut. Crowdsourcing can create competition between communities, and sharing ideas and promoting solutions becomes secondary to the competition. When monetary rewards are promised, it becomes a type of mercenary for hire form of problem solving, pitting team against team and communities end up suffering as the conversation and knowledge are not shared with outside communities.
In e-learning, there is one common goal in the community: to help promote a new and unique way to go about the learning process using tools online. When we use the idea of crowdsourcing here, we are resorting to sharing ideas and knowledge for the benefit of (hopefully newly formed) communities to solve a problem. But what if a monetary reward is interjected as the prize for the best overall solution? We have now created a platform for possibly negative competition and communication, serving as a hindrance to finding the best solution (using everyone’s collaborative knowledge). So what do you think? Is crowdsourcing a viable technique to use in the industry? Let’s hear your response in the comments section.
Motivating the Learning Process with Social Media and Game Mechanic Rewards
October 13th, 2011
Why is it that in today’s society, video games and social media seem to be so “addictive”? Parents yell at children and adolescents to “get off that thing!” and the response is usually “Five more minutes!” Is it because of the potential positive reinforcement or rewards that can be gained from it? You share a point of view on social media and have your friends “like” it and reply back with their own positive feedback, letting you know that your POV is shared and acknowledged. You arrive at a destination, and immediately check in through social media to keep count of your activity and get a status reward. Play an Xbox game and place first on the leader board for your friends and teammates to cheer you on and praise you for playing a great round. Positive reinforcement can be derived from both social media and game mechanics, so why can’t that kind of reward be used with learning and e-learning? And can this learning be translated to the workplace?
Today, video games are not like those of the past. Pac Man was all about advancing to the next level. Zelda was about completing the quest and saving the princess.The reward was knowing you beat a challenge. But today, most games are played online, and have their own unique social society. In some games, its not enough to know that you beat a challenge, you need everyone to know. Some games reward a character that the player creates, known as an avatar (a virtual representation of themselves), by giving them fancy items and apparel that they can show off to other people playing the game. Maybe a unique title that is rewarded to a player after achieving some redicuously hard goal. The point of the reward is the social status that it represents, just like in the corporate office. When you see a player with the title “Immortal”,you know they have done something crazy to achieve and deserve that title. You also know that because of their “social status” you wouldn’t dare trifle with them, the sound of their title alone is enough to make you and your character respect what they have done. Rewards in a video game are just like the social status rewards of the real world.
Who is the one person in your company that deserves the respect and acknowledgement of everyone at the office and even outside of it? That’s your CEO, President, Vice President, COO, etc. Titles such as these have been hard fought for and earned. The social status of their title represents, internally and externally, the person who has worked their way up the corporate ladder the most the reward they sought after. Everyone wants a reward. Whether in the real world, video game, or through studying. And since everything seems to be moving to a more and more digitally social experience and learning experience, why not apply this to a digital learning experience? Can we change a current LMS to incorporate an addictive reward system like found in social media and video games?
Want some more information on this topic? Check out this article on E-Learning learning by Karl Kapp. http://bit.ly/oP5LCh.
Do You Know What mLearning Is?
October 7th, 2011
E-Learning is changing the way that we learn today. Mobile devices are making it increasingly easier to take part in such activities. This has created a subset of learning that is entitled m-Learning. This term is becoming increasingly popular in the education world. Unfortunately, some people use it without knowing the extent of the term. The article posted below provides a more in-depth look at what m-Learning actually entails. Take a look!
4 Reasons Your Mobile Device Can Increase Your Learning/Training Capability
October 5th, 2011
New technologies are constantly being introduced into the classroom setting. In an age where cell phones are less and less a privilege and more of a necessity, finding new ways to implement mobile devices into the learning environment are key in a learner’s education. We came up with 4 reasons that your mobile device can increase your learning/training capability to ensure you get the most out of your eLearning experience.
1. Ease of use
With the breakthroughs of mobile applications and smart phones, it’s safe to assume that people who are in the learning phase of their lives have grown accustomed to using this technology in their everyday lives. So why not use it to learn as well? Even more apparent in today’s learning environments, teachers are beginning to use mobile devices to supplement their normal teaching lessons. There are few lessons required to teach learners how to use mobile devices because they already use them every day. The learning curve is short, and the potential gains high.
2. Enhanced creativity
Students get bored with the same daily education routines very quickly. Forcing students to pore over a 600 page textbook doesn’t help much, either. Mobile applications can help students to become more engaged in the learning process instead of just memorizing text. Having new activities to complete, participating in digital competitions, and using mobile apps helps to piece together lessons you have learned in the classroom are great ways to expand the learning experience for learners. This form of diversification is a huge help in knowledge retention because learners’ brains are being stimulated in more ways than reading comprehension.
3. Increased Participation
Classroom activities can be a tough pill to swallow, especially if the majority of the class isn’t already on-board. Mobile devices can be used to help encourage team-building and successful completion of an activity within groups. We tend to be more receptive to education that uses new technology an exciting way, and it is much easier to process information presented to us in a format that is easy for us to understand.
4. Creating an “informal” education environment in a formal setting
When learners are in a “fixed,” instructor-centric learning environment, they often don’t learn as much as they would in an informal environment. By using mobile devices to supplement the learning experience, we create a more “informal” environment that allows learners to maximize their learning capabilities and control more of their own experience (learner-centric). Mobile applications are informative, but are also designed to be entertaining and fun. Incorporating the creative and fun elements into learning can help foster an environment where students can explore creativity and enjoy the learning process.
-The Enspark Team