Training tips that triumph
Memory science, microlearning and what actually makes workplace training stick.
What e-learning features are needed for effective training assessment?
For organisations that are keen to develop their employees, it’s important to know how to evaluate training effectiveness. Being able to do so allows organisations to identify what works well and subsequently refine the training they provide. It also requires organisations to assess the learning performance of their employees.
Spaced Repetition, gamification and microlearning: a glossary of terms
E-learning has done a huge amount to reduce the cost of training for businesses, make it easier for them to deliver and make it more convenient for employees to do. As it has exploded in popularity over the last 20 years or so, though, it has also spawned a whole raft of new learning approaches,
How e-learning platforms can show training effectiveness
We recently looked at how organisations can evaluate training effectiveness by covering Professor Donald Kirkpatrick’s four levels of evaluation:
A change is gonna come: Rippling the waters of corporate learning
Corporate learning professionals are facing the impact of a wind of change. The way we learn, and the way we think about the way we learn, is about to undergo a shift in shape and strength. In just a couple of decades, learning in the workplace has moved away from being an unpopular necessity and has become an industry in its own right. Technology has been the driving force behind this rapid development and it is technology once more that will bring the new changes we are now beginning to see. Just a couple of decades ago, our experience of training involved teams of bored colleagues, hotel function suites, bad coffee, and more interest in the biscuit selection than in the actual content of the training. Then, in the late 90s, technology came along to change the way we think about Learning and Development. Since those heady days, L&D has moved forward, always evolving alongside the technology. Companies and organisations have built Learning Management Systems (LMS) into their day to day operations. The L&D market of today has an estimated worth of $130 billion. It’s a world we all know, one we’re all comfortable with and it’s about to change
The Essence of Play: Utilizing Gamification in Business
We all love to play. We like to win, we need to achieve, and to move forward. These are simple, fundamental human emotions. Simple, but also powerful. We know that gamification plays a huge part in digital learning and in engaging and enthusing employees. We know it to be a powerful tool in learning and development. Gamification is a key element to Wranx, driving users forward through rewards, badges and leaderboards, encouraging competition between peers and teams. It’s a simple idea but incredibly effective, and certainly not just the latest fad. When we make work fun, we get better work. We can increase engagement and motivation in employees and also use gamification as a valuable tool when engaging with customers or clients. There are a wide variety of ways to implement it in the workplace, with an equally broad range of desired outcomes. Not all gamification methods are digital, though. In 2016, City University London, (in conjunction with the NHS and Focus Games Ltd) developed a board game for nurses called The Drug Round Game. The game was devised with staff members’ input, and its face-to-face nature allowed users to share best practice, experiences and knowledge – something not always
Can micro- & e-learning help with continuing professional development?
With a few exceptions, training is not something that should be done once and not revisited. Generally speaking, it should be carried out repeatedly throughout an employee’s career, not to just maintain a level of proficiency, but to improve an employee’s abilities overall – and, by extension, to improve the performance of organisations.
Three Strategies for Successful Employee Health and Safety Training
It goes without saying that health and safety is more of an issue for some organisations than for others. It’s fair to say that your average construction worker faces more potential hazards in the workplace than someone whose role is office-based.
How eLearning content complements an LMS
In the realm of business, the realm of learning and development comes with its own set of specialized terms and expressions. While these aid in effectively communicating concepts for those in the field, they can bewilder individuals lacking expertise, leading to misuse. Two often interchanged terms, “e-learning” and “learning management system (LMS),” hold distinct meanings. This confusion arises due to some overlap and their increased usage in the internet era. To distinguish the two, it’s crucial to note that an LMS focuses on managing learning processes, whereas e-learning pertains to the actual delivery of learning materials. Here are more detailed definitions: – E-learning: knowledge acquisition using computers or similar tech – Learning Management System: software for overseeing, tracking, and reporting learning programs An LMS is one facet of e-learning and requires content to manage effectively. This is where e-learning content plays a vital role. Though an LMS can handle various learning formats, it shines in e-learning content management. Discover how Wranx melds e-learning content with an LMS in our informative video. With e-learning’s structured digital format, learner progress is automatically monitored, and outcomes are often displayed in user-friendly dashboards. This data can be integrated into an LMS, aiding in precise
Our Five Favourite Exhibits From The Museum of Failure
Each and every day we find ourselves engaging with other people’s great ideas. We marvel at the simplicity of an idea and how well it works. We hope for inventions to address certain issues we all face. We just love a good invention. They help make life that little bit easier and, from the wheel to the smartphone, we wonder what we’d do without them. Inventors and developers spend their lives imagining new solutions and ideas and rethinking established inventions for a new use. Take someone like Trevor Baylis. Inspired by seeing a documentary in 1991 about the spread of AIDS in Africa and the need to educate and inform huge numbers of people of its dangers, he set about finding a solution. Radio was already the main method of communication across the continent, but with limited access to batteries it was largely ineffective. So, Trevor holed himself up in his garden shed to develop his idea. Pretty soon, he came up with his solution – the wind up radio. After initial rejection from suppliers, who didn’t automatically see the huge benefits of such a device, he finally secured a manufacturer. His invention eventually swept across Africa, where it is
How Microlearning and Spaced Repetition Fuel Employee Onboarding
Starting a new job can feel overwhelming, especially when faced with a wealth of information to remember. New employee inductions often cover organizational structure, HR procedures, health and safety, equipment overviews, job requirements, training programs, and meetings with colleagues. It’s unrealistic to expect perfect retention of all this data at once. Our brains are not designed to absorb vast amounts of information instantly or recall specific details easily. Despite this cognitive limitation, induction processes are slow to change. Companies frequently bombard new hires with information, hoping some will stick and filling in gaps later. While this may not be the most effective approach, integrating microlearning and Spaced Repetition techniques can significantly enhance the onboarding experience. Microlearning breaks down topics into bite-sized pieces, aligning with the brain’s preference for consuming information in manageable segments. For onboarding, microlearning can be delivered to new employees at their workstations or via mobile apps for convenient access. Building on this, Spaced Repetition involves testing learners on a topic, reinforcing information they struggle to retain and prompting them with content they’ve mastered less frequently. This method is particularly beneficial for onboarding due to the volume and complexity of information involved. By leveraging microlearning and Spaced Repetition,
Digitising the NHS for the future, and the new Digital Academies
As the march towards digital transformation continues, the need to embrace and harness the power of technology could not be more evident. The NHS, ever moving and always under considerable pressure, presents huge demands of digitisation. Technology continually evolves to bring us new solutions, and with that comes a heightened need for skill enhancement. Training providers are already on board across the private sector, engaging with organisations in their need for new learning methods. It could be said that the public sector lags behind on this when, if anything, it should be at the forefront with the greatest need for the support technology can bring. A recent review within the NHS has highlighted a need for an increase in investment for training in technology, as well as the growing need for digitisation. A fund of £4.2 billion has been set aside for the project. For the service to maintain the highest standards in patient care, a new vision is necessary to future-proof the service. The review—carried out by Bob Wachter, a well-respected US clinician—has prompted Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, to announce the introduction to the service of 12 digital academies. These 12 academies will be responsible for training 300
Who’s your favourite educational psychologist?
How many times have you sat with friends at a barbecue, relaxing in the sun with a cold drink, enjoying each other’s company when the inevitable happens…and someone asks… Who’s your favourite educational psychologist? Happens all the time, right? It’s a hot topic for any event, and bound to get conversation going, right? Right? No? Just me, then… Okay, ….. so maybe it’s not one of your go to conversations but it’s certainly worth talking about. The work of so many different psychologists influences thought on how we live, behave and learn, and, because of that, there can be no single winner. There are many who’ve studied the subject over centuries, whose work is still as valid today as it was then. This is work which still influences and inspires those with a focus on Learning and Development and the growth of knowledge. At Wranx, we’re big fans of the work of German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in the 19th Century. We’d have to put him at number one. Through his pioneering work into memory and recall, he developed the idea of the forgetting curve, and gave us an understanding of the power of spaced repetition in learning. Learning in small
Reading about it is the easy part
See what daily retrieval practice looks like running on your own training content.