Posts by author:

Theresa Tan

WebEx: A tool for learning and development?

by Theresa Tan on December 2, 2010

in Datacraft News,Training and Development

In today’s fast-paced world, businesses must be able to adapt to the never ending developments and innovations presented to us by progress. And companies today must also be able to improve their efficiency in a way that it is cost-effective as well. Great communication is one of the most basic elements for a successful business and to improve on it would obviously be a wonderful thing.

For this post, I would like to discuss a fantastic tool for modern business communication: WebEx. In a nutshell, it is an easy way to share ideas with anyone, anywhere. It masterfully combines real-time desktop sharing with phone conferencing in such a way that everyone connected to it sees the same thing on their own monitors while you talk. This is an efficient way to get everyone on the same page while eliminating the costly need for people to travel and meet on site.

And with that in mind, I’d like to ask if your organization has already subscribed to WebEx (or to similar solutions like it)? If so, do you use it for online meetings, web conferencing, remote support or even video conferencing? Or perhaps you might have even tried it as a tool for virtual learning?

Let’s talk more about that last question. How effective and efficient can WebEx be in terms of being a tool for learning and development? To evaluate, I have filtered it through three areas, namely Technology, Presenter and Content.

1.  Technology

How do we ascertain if the deployed technology is a good solution? Well, there are a few things which we must consider:

  • Ease of use

WebEx is a business productivity tool. If it’s too difficult to use, it just makes it hard for end-users to adopt. I cannot stress enough on the importance on the ease of use for every element of the tool.

  • Presenter (Instructor) Interaction

I believe that this is one area where the virtual classroom can surpass conventional ones. The main argument would probably be the fact that the tool facilitates a high degree of interactivity and learner engagement. Instructors can have the ability to solicit and provide real-time feedback through polls, quizzes etc. In a traditional classroom, the instructor can only cherry-pick some learners to check on the understanding and gather feedback because it’s too time-consuming to go through every learner in the class for every question. In a virtual environment however, the system does the tally and therefore all learners can be engaged for all questions at the same time. It gives the instructor a more holistic view and the ability to adjust the teaching pace/style accordingly and on time.

  • Learner Interaction

In post-course evaluations, I frequently see learners’ feedback that they benefitted from collaboration during breakout sessions. Therefore, moving into the virtual classroom space, learners should have the ability to collaborate as a group to continue to support this valuable peer learning.

  • Technology Support

WebEx is not a solution for clients with employees all housed in a single building in one country, as the organisation is unable to fully maximize the benfits of such a robust application. This solution suits clients who have geographical issues to tackle. The spread of population over distances, however, also implies that learners will have varying bandwidth ranges and different network environments. And the challenge to that is to ensure that the learning experience/outcome is consistent regardless of variance.

  • Administration

Virtual classroom solutions should be specifically designed for training applications and not merely bolted on to an existing web conferencing technology. The solution should be effectively integrated with learning management systems that track individual skills, competencies, resources, and performance against set targets.

 

2. Presenter (Instructor)

I would probably bore you to tears if I start talking about how crucial it is for the presenter to be proficient in both basic and advanced features of WebEx. It is common sense, really. One cannot be efficient if he/she is still trying to figure out how to perform certain tasks, while conducting a virtual class. There is simply no substitute to being prepared.

A presenter’s soft skills are also required to run a successful virtual class, with the role of a presenter evolving from being an ‘instructor’ to a ‘facilitator’. The up-skilling for the presenter should include:

  • Understanding the difference between ILT and Virtual classroom training
  • Understand when to use Virtual classroom and when it is not appropriate
  • Adopting teaching styles to a virtual classroom setting
  • Characteristics of an effective synchronous trainer
  • Creating a conducive environment
  • Communicating with learners (visuals, voice, language)
  • Engaging learners (classroom management, optimal class size)
  • Best practice in virtual session (pre-work, setting expectations, audience engagement, post-work)
  • Facilitation Tips

 

3. Content

An important part of WebEx (in terms of learning and development) is the content that is being presented (online and in real-time) through it. The content is very much as important as the technological and instructional aspects. Things to consider for content:

  • Selection of appropriate content for virtual classroom delivery
  • Re-design of instructor-led content for virtual classroom delivery
    Unless you want to ‘kill’ the audience by way of “death-by-powerpoint”, this is one thing to consider. The average session in a typical classroom would be 45 to 60 minutes and the average attention span of an online learner is about 15 to 20 minutes. Therefore, the structure of the content has to be re-organized by breaking down learning objectives into smaller chunks, for better efficiency.
  • Preparation of content for a virtual classroom
    Learners do not read online, they merely “eyeball” or “scan” the information. Therefore, incorporating info graphics within text has proven to retain attention better.
  • Design activities to retain learner’s attention/ motivation
    It’s always more convenient for learners to “switch off” online than for them to get out of a physical classroom.
  • Preparation of support documentation for distribution
    This is definitely an important consideration – before or after a session, examples include best practices, quick reference guides and so on.

 To conclude, WebEx as a learning solution, definitely holds its own amidst a highly interactive, social and collaborative business climate. In light of the considerations that I mentioned in this entry, the concept of delivering dynamic and interactive learning methods to anyone anywhere is definitely something to cherish and make full use of.

Theresa Tan

Theresa is responsible for the development and growth of Datacraft Training Services’ e-Learning & consulting business lines across Asia. She has more than 15 years of experience in the IT and learning industries. She currently serves in the National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF) Steering Committee, as well as the Chairman of the Adoption sub-committee. She was also previously the chairman of the e-Learning chapter in the Singapore IT Federation (SiTF), an association body of IT professionals.


{ 0 comments }

When do you outsource e-Learning content development?

by Theresa Tan on August 3, 2010

in Training and Development

One of our prospective clients asked a really good question today, “Why should we outsource the use of authoring tools, instead of using them ourselves?”

For the purpose of this question, authoring tools are defined as those used for rapid e-Learning development such as Lectora and Articulate.

While considering outsourcing options, clients would usually have these questions at the back of their mind:

  1. Is this service core to our business?
  2. Can the outsourced vendor do it better and/or cheaper than us?

While learning and development is important (some more than others) in many clients’ business, it is usually non-core. Therefore, I prefer focusing on the second part of the question – can the vendor do it better and/or cheaper?

In my experience, I would recommend that clients take on the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) approach when more than one of these factors happen:

  1. Complex content that requires client’s subject matter experts (SMEs) to explain to the vendor, and for the vendor to comprehend – outweighs the benefits
  2. The content has not been tested in classroom training, therefore the SMEs frequently find gaps, and add more content during the development of the e-Learning project. This results in re-work and prolonged schedule.
  3. The course objectives are mainly informational and contain concrete concepts that are easily understood by learners.
  4. Short course duration that results in short delivery time – It would be faster for SMEs to produce something quickly, without the need for formal processes and methodology.

These reasons call for outsourcing:

  1. Instructional design that are not found within a client’s organization, which are needed to break content into logical bites for better learner’s retention.
  2. Interactivity levels that require higher effort.
  3. Media production that requires skills that may not be available internally – such as illustrators, video producers, talents for acting or audio narration etc.
  4. To leverage on consultants’ knowledge of best practices, to avoid making the same mistakes as others in the past. This is especially true in early stages of e-Learning.
  5. Quality control with different members of the team looking at different aspects of the project, and having a second pair of eyes to check for errors.
  6. Project management for large scale projects to ensure that all stakeholders are managed, and a common ground is reached after balancing all parties’ interests 

Having said so, clients should still have a mix of internal capabilities and a trusted vendor partner. Building up the relationship with a trusted partner will save cost and time in the long run. As the partner gains more in-depth understanding of the organization with every completed project, they will be more aware of the client’s product offerings, what works with their audience and the list goes on.

An unbelievable but true thing is how a partner is seemingly part of their client’s organization after working together for a substantial period. After all, successful partnerships occur when clients see the value in outsourcing even the simplest things to a trusted partner.

Do you have such a partner?

Theresa Tan

Theresa is responsible for the development and growth of Datacraft Training Services’ e-Learning & consulting business lines across Asia. She has more than 15 years of experience in the IT and learning industries. She currently serves in the National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF) Steering Committee, as well as the Chairman of the Adoption sub-committee. She was also previously the chairman of the e-Learning chapter in the Singapore IT Federation (SiTF), an association body of IT professionals.


{ 2 comments }

I only need 1hour of e-Learning, instead of my previous 1-day classroom course

by Theresa Tan July 12, 2010 Training and Development

Most of us have heard or said “history always repeats itself”, though in fashion (unfortunately) it never repeats exactly the same way – else I’ll own tons of those self-storage boxes where I can stash away all my retail investments to reuse when the fashion repeats itself in after 10 years. While it doesn’t work [...]

Continue reading…