There is still a belief out there in our training world that online learning is not as effective as classroom training. Online webinars are often seen as “less than” – less effective, less personal, less engaging. The bias towards in-person classroom training still exists, despite solid research that shows online learning can often be more effective. The debate over online learning has centered on the ways in which it is like or unlike classroom training.

This session will focus on the advantages of online learning from the perspective of Intimacy, Immediacy, and Inquiry. Participants will learn how online presentations are more intimate, fostering a one-to-one connection, instead of existing in a one-to-many environment. Online presentations are more immediate, allowing everyone to participate at the level where they are most comfortable, whether through Voice over IP, text chat, polling, or other method. While participants in a classroom may hesitate to ask questions, online learners are much more willing to do so. You’ll discover how the unique elements inherent in online learning allow instructors and participants to engage in learning with a new perspective.

In this session, you will learn:

• The advantages of online presentation
• The three principles of Intimacy, Immediacy, and Inquiry
• How to apply the three principles to your online webinars
• Instructional design methods to enhance your training webinars

Audience: Intermediate-to-advanced participants should have some experience in designing and delivering online presentations. Participants should be familiar with Instructional Design methods.

New leaders in eleven different states come to Almost Family with high levels of technical and clinical skills, however feedback from surveys and the leaders themselves identified the need to provide learning opportunities focused on leadership skills and business-specific acumen.

Session participants will be introduced to a hybrid model highlighting a 12-month program that integrates custom and off-the-shelf eLearning, Web-based synchronous learning, and face-to-face sessions all designed to provide support and employee success. You’ll get a visual model and process map that you and others can use.

In this session, you will learn:

• What a hybrid program could look like
• The rationale for building a 12-month leadership program
• The design process used to craft three tiers, from technical to executive
• How to integrate Web conferencing into this model

Audience: Intermediate participants should have a solid foundation in instructional design, with leadership development a plus.

This case study will review how Operation Lifesaver was able to create an engaging simulated experience for drivers of various types of trucks – from over-the-road semis to local delivery trucks. The end solution provided the experience for truck drivers to take three different trips and encounter various crossing types along the way. The end goal: making it safely to your destination, with the ultimate goal of getting into the “Haul of Fame.”

This case-study session addresses issues including creating engaging learning on a nonprofit budget, driving for behavior change, application vs. knowledge, and increased focus on great design principles and less focus on the tool or the budget. You’ll experience the course yourself, and you’ll learn how a non-profit was able to create such a great experiential learning program. It’s not about the investment or the tool used to create it – it’s about great design principles. Join us and spread the word – together we can help save lives.

In this session, you will learn:

• It doesn't take a huge budget to create an engaging simulation
• Some great design principles to drive performance outcomes
• The meaning of application vs. knowledge
• How to save lives at railway crossings

Audience: No previous knowledge needed.

Keeping position expectations current in the Learning Field is challenging, especially as positions require Instructional Designers to be specialists as well as jacks-of-all-trades. Complicating the challenge is a Human Resources hiring methodology based on a finite set of skills rather than position expectations. Once we find a candidate, there is a new challenge of keeping attitudes on your team positive and away from the old line, “that’s not my job.” Changing the mind-set of learning professionals to help them transition from an organization of skill-based positions to one that uses role-based thinking can be difficult.

Participants in this case-study session will learn how JetBlue University successfully transitioned their Learning Solutions team during 2010-2011 from skill-based to role-based positions to improve products, meet development requests, provide opportunities, and grow their offerings. You’ll review the data, process, and lessons learned to identify the roles relevant to your learning organization’s demands and industry standards, satisfy the skills-based recruiting proposed by human resources while meeting the needs of the work groups. You’ll discuss how to grow roles rather than just growing skills.

In this session, you will learn:

• Why role-based positions help position a team for growth
• How to brainstorm the roles needed within your organization as well as learning-industry roles
• How to compare traditional skill-based positions with role-based descriptions
• How to generate ideas as a group for ways to encourage role-based thinking within your existing team, without changing structure
• The lessons learned at JetBlue University

Audience: Those interested role-based work environments.

Most organizations have a wide variety of talent and people with a broad range of knowledge, but they rarely get the opportunity to speak openly with their colleagues from other departments or fields about instructional technologies and learning trends. This is because many organizations have a siloed approach to their workflow. Hearing from instructors, facilitators, engineers, IT professionals, project managers, 3-D artists, interactivity specialists, and videographers in one setting can unleash so many possibilities and ideas.

Participants in this case-study session will learn how to overcome closed-communication workplace environments by creating an atmosphere where people from cross-disciplines can come together and talk in an open forum. You will learn how Bellevue University hosts a monthly roundtable for faculty and staff that focuses on current instructional designs and learning trends in higher education. You will also learn why they chose a roundtable format, the challenges they faced, and how they overcame them. 

In this session, you will learn:

• Best practices for creating a discussion forum in your organization
• Why creating an open forum is important to your organization
• Why it is important to talk to people from cross-disciplines on a regular basis
• The benefits of hosting a regular discussion forum in your organization

Audience: Those interested in how to create an open forum where colleagues from cross-disciplines can exchange and discuss ideas and thoughts on the latest instructional technologies and learning trends.

Storyboards are not a new concept in media production. Using a database program to organize a media project is not unique. What is unique is applying the storyboard concept with a database. Rather than only the art department using storyboards, this system combines all of a project's elements through a single database in which you can organize a project's graphics, audio, video, locations, props, talent, and just about anything else you can think of.

Participants in this session will address the problem of managing the variety of communications disciplines required by any new media project. Using this method, the use of a single database-driven file, you can manage these aspects. Tying the variety of trails together into one conclusive weave allows managers of each discipline the ability to track their responsibilities within a project in the shared timelines. You’ll learn the advantages of this method of project development and management by using a sample project and the database software FileMaker.

In this session, you will learn:

• A different way to manage multimedia projects
• How to use FileMaker as production tool
• How communication between departments makes a better team and product

Audience: Intermediate participants who have some knowledge of the complexities of a multimedia project. No matter what their involvement in such a project is, the knowledge about how to streamline a project will be of benefit.

In small eLearning organizations, Flash development can be complicated and costly: the software is pricey, and learning to use it is expensive and time-consuming. On larger teams, where software and know-how aren't the issue, limited resources and greater priorities can delay even simple projects. If only a less complicated, less expensive alternative existed. Actually, a faster, cheaper alternative does exist. SWiSH Max is a very accessible tool for both small and large development teams. It's affordable and relatively easy to use, but other than some online tutorials and communities of practice, user support is lean.

Participants in this case-study session, based on a recently completed project, will walk through creating and testing a short Flash animation lesson using SWiSH Max. It will incorporate instructional design principles and showcase some of the software's capabilities.

In this session, you will learn:

• What SWiSH Max software and functionality is
• The SWiSH Max Interface orientation
• Rapid eLearning development principles in practice
• How to design and develop a lesson using SWiSH Max

Audience: Novice-to-Intermediate participants. This session targets non-developers, so it requires no specific knowledge of authoring software, but some experience designing eLearning will be very helpful.

Enthusiasm about the LMS has mostly died since its heyday decades ago. Yet, we still need systems to track employee learning. So what do learning professionals think about the LMS in 2011 … and what does the future hold for the LMS?

Session participants will examine the three major action steps that learning professionals should take to ready their LMS strategy for the future: accept the LMS for what it is and what it was designed to do, integrate the LMS with new systems to get the job done, and continue to track and measure. You will leave the session with ideas about what the next steps for your LMS strategy should be, or what may or will replace the LMS in the future.

In this session, you will learn:

• What technology will overpower the LMS
• Which new technology will be added to LMSs to overcome tracking challenges
• About LMS Self-Service Integration
• About LMS usability issues
• About LMS reporting issues

Audience: Intermediate participants should be familiar with a LMS, understand the basic functions, and want to update or entice learners back to the LMS — and not just think of it as a place that houses training.

There's lots of talk about how to build eLearning, but the reality is that many people still struggle with doing more than linear, click-and-read courses.

Session participants will learn the basic framework for building effective and interactive eLearning. You will learn to think about your courses in a different way and go from information dump to courses that engage the learners.

In this session, you will learn:

• There's not just one course type
• How to build courses for the adult learner
• What role visual and Ul design plays in the course
• How to develop instructional design strategies that speed up production

Audience: Novice to intermediate.

On-boarding of new employees is critical for both employer and employee, and can be a taxing operation for key staff of geographically dispersed employees. Collaborative tools such as blogs and micro-blogs can aid in increasing engagement with fellow employees, maintaining manager-level contact throughout a start-up period, leverage organizational expertise, and extend training and development initiatives.

In this session, participants will learn about the implementation of social media tools to quickly build community, create collaborative nurturing environments, and enable expert sharing. These tools help to reduce on-boarding and initial training durations, maintain morale through community development, improve the capture of formative evaluation data, and connect senior knowledge experts with novices.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use SharePoint Blogs to encourage collaboration for geographically dispersed new hires
• How to create asynchronous training extension (knowledge checks)
• About the steps to implement a successful slow-growth strategy for implementing social media tools  in the organization
• How to use micro-blogging tools like Yammer to more quickly ramp up new employees

Audience: Novice-to-intermediate participants should be familiar with social media concepts and social learning foundations.

Mobile learning is more than just converting your existing content to a mobile App. The foundation of any learning is good instructional design. Just as there is poor eLearning, there can also be poor mLearning. Mobile learning can be a great platform for learning if approached correctly. Understanding how to shape content for mobile, and knowing the options of how to deliver it on a mobile device, are the keys to an engaging and effective learning experience.

Participants in this session will explore ways to shape your content using sound instructional design. You will learn the differences and advantages that delivering learning on a mobile device offers. You will see and talk about examples of both good and bad mobile learning. Finally, you will discuss some basic ground rules for creating a successful mobile learning strategy.

In this session, you will learn:

• The options available for delivering mobile learning
• How to shape content for mobile learning
• Why “less is more” strongly applies to mobile learning
• The basics for building a mobile learning strategy

Audience: Novice-to-intermediate participants should have a basic understanding of learning or instructional design.

SunGard Public Sector utilized the software scrum/agile process for a non-software development project. They used it to develop learning paths and learning materials, and it made working across departments more streamlined. It also allowed SunGard to streamline and organize course development for faster results.

Participants in this case-study session will learn what the Scrum/agile process is, and how you can utilize it outside of software development. You’ll learn how SunGard successfully utilized the process, and you’ll gain an understanding of the value of using this process.

In this session, you will learn:

• To define the scrum/agile process
• How to use this process to create leaning paths
• How to use this process to create learning materials
• How to define and use the Kanban process
• How to successfully integrate this process in your organization

Audience: Those looking for an alternate process for learning path and course material development that will streamline the process and help to better manage costs and budgets.

We have forgotten how to converse. We know how to SMS, we know how to use social media to chat, we revert to e-mail hundreds of times a week and we know how to listen. But we have lost the power of conversation as a learning tool. Learners are inudated with information … a veritable waterfall of data and content is dumped on them and eLearning is too often a lecture not a conversation. That is, it pushes the information to the learner, but the learner does not get to ask about what they have learned.

Participants in this session will learn a method to reintroduce the art of conversation to our existing learning tools. You’ll learn how to create a conversation with a known path and how to direct the conversation in order to introduce the learning outcomes. You’ll explore how to filter the content and present it to encourage conversational learning and you’ll learn how you can introduce these techniques to the classroom, eLearning, and mLearning.

In this session, you will learn:

• The power of conversational learning
• The four dimensions of conversation
• A practical method to create a conversation
• How to ask powerful questions
• How to direct a conversation to a known goal

Audience: Participants who want to learn how to listen and talk.