Training tips that triumph
Memory science, microlearning and what actually makes workplace training stick.
How can technology help your L&D issues
More so than ever before, learning and development (L&D) professionals need to juggle a range of diverse skills. In addition to their training priorities, they must fulfil project management duties while recognising the increasing importance and growing influence of technology at the same time. Technology for L&D purposes can include but is not limited to LMS (Learning Management Systems), eLearning, webinars, social media, mobile learning, and online tools. All of which can be used to establish objectives, track results, provide support, and administer feedback. But in spite of its extensive applications and the ability to enhance every learner’s experience, technology can also present a number of challenges. However, suitable solutions do exist, which can address your L&D issues simultaneously too. Integrating social into LMS In order for a Learning Management System to stay on point with the ever-changing requirements of corporate training, it must start to embrace social media. Even though LMS has moved away from administration and towards performance in recent years, the learning industry has realised that an individual’s development is not solely based on formal training, be it online or in the classroom. There still needs to be an option to track formal sessions, but by
Ebbinghaus and the forgetting curve
You might think that the teaching technique known as spaced repetition, which has gained more and more traction over the past few years with language learning apps and our very own solution here at Wranx, was developed quite recently. However, it can trace its routes back over a century thanks to the work of Hermann Ebbinghaus. This German psychologist, who pioneered the experimental study of memory, first identified the spacing effect phenomenon in his 1885 book Über das Gedächtnis. Untersuchungen zur experimentellen Psychologie (Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology). Along with his research into spaced repetition, Ebbinghaus also discovered the forgetting curve, a hypothesis that looked at the decline of memory retention over time. But what do you need to know about Ebbinghaus and the forgetting curve? Ebbinghaus’ memory experimentations As opposed to the popular held thought at the time, Ebbinghaus wanted to show that higher mental processes could be studied through experimentation. He wanted to use simple acoustic encoding and maintenance rehearsal to control potentially confounding variables. However, Ebbinghaus needed a list of words that could be easily memorized but which had no prior cognitive associations, as this would affect his results. Therefore, he used items that would later
How to improve the performance of your business and employees
Businesses operating in the modern world have a multitude of technologies at their disposal to improve bottom-line performance. From cloud computing and automation software to digital marketing and social networking, technology can increase collaboration, boost efficiency, strengthen reputations, and enhance communication. But in spite of these essential systems and advantageous resources, the capabilities of people power is beyond compare. Even though humans are prone to errors and have bad days from time to time, an organisation’s workforce has the potential to make or break prolonged prosperity and profitability. Therefore, taking a proactive and positive approach towards people management can have far reaching rewards, especially when performance is concerned. But how can you improve the performance of your employees, and by association, your business? Well, it is all about striking the right balance between traditional means of motivation and utilising 21st century technology. Empower your employees “Empowerment is the key to making people efficient,” says Todd Ross Nienkerk, co-founder and partner of Four Kitchens. “It makes teams happy, and if they’re happy, they produce higher-quality work and are more productive.” Nienkerk also believes that if you put members of staff in control of their own destinies by establishing individual strategies and
What is the best way to learn?
According to neuroscience, the brain learns in two ways: By creating new networks – Neurons pass electrical impulses between one another. The more these neurons fire together, the more established links they create. The more links you create to an idea or insight, the better, and the more new information is presented in different ways, the more likely it is to stick. Through whole-body learning – Mirror neurons allow us to imitate the actions of others, which is how our ancestors learned to use tools. This type of learning isn’t linear and happens pre-consciously. However, new skills need to be reinforced if they are to stick thanks to strong neural pathways. With this in mind, training should be geared towards divergent teaching methods and feature a framework with which students can take influence from, such as role models or mentors. Challenges associated with a brain-based learning strategy “For learning and leadership development to be truly strategic it should of course be explicitly linked to the business strategy and culture of the company,” says Jan Hills, Partner at Head Heart + Brain. “This link is needed when it comes to needs analysis, design and positioning of events.” In a recent CIPD
Gamification: how it can engage and motivate your employees
Bringing the promise of more engaged and motivated employees, gamification sounds like the answer to every organisation’s training problems. However, it is natural to be sceptical of any concept that could potentially revolutionise the way your members of staff acquire knowledge and apply new information at work. Then again, it has been around for quite some time now and shows no signs of slowing down unlike other management fads. In fact, a couple of years ago it was predicted that 40 per cent of Global 1000 organisations would use gamification as the primary mechanism to transform their business operations by 2015. In the opinion of Gabe Zichermann, author of The Gamification Revolution and founder of Dopamine, a consultancy concerned with gamified campaigns for employees and consumers, this training technique’s increasing adoption comes as no great surprise. “When you reward consumers for engaging in fun, easy activities, they engage more often and more deeply,” he notes. But how exactly can gamification engage and motivate your employees? How gamification works “People may be motivated by getting a gift card, but what really drives them is recognition [as well as] status, access power and stuff,” says Zichermann. Unfortunately, a common feature of
Top 10 considerations when selecting e-learning
Classroom-based training may well feel familiar to most employees while also providing members of staff with a chance to network and have a day away from the office, but it is beginning to fall out of favour for a number of reasons. First and foremost, trainees no longer respond well to passively accepting the instructions of a teacher. Even though it worked at school, we now live in a world where the Internet fuels the acquisition of new information and knowledge, which is a very interactive and engaging activity. Secondly, businesses are under increasing pressure to reduce the cost of training, which can spiral out of control when you factor in things like accommodation and transport. Last but not least, traditional training is incredibly inflexible. The whole class must keep pace with the teacher and consume exactly the same learning materials as everybody else, even though they could well miss vital information or not understand key concepts. Thankfully, due to the rapid rate in which new technologies have developed, e-learning is now a viable and cost-effective option for organisations wanting to adopt a new training approach. However, that doesn’t mean to say it comes in a one-size-fits-all package, as there
Wranx appears on trainingZONE
Read our blog about spaced repetition learning for apprentices on L&D website, trainingZONE. As we reflect on National Apprenticeship Week, we discuss how best to approach learning for our talented apprentices of today. You can read the post here.
The rise of mobile
Ever since the advent of the Internet and the proliferation of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, the way we access and acquire new information and knowledge has changed dramatically. This is especially true for millenials (otherwise known as Generation Y), who are taking advantage of technology to increase their business acumen through e-learning. The marriage of technology and learning doesn’t look like it will disappear anytime soon either. In five years time, the digital natives that grew up with devices like the iPhone will come of age and enter the world of work. Therefore, it is fair to say that digital and mobile technologies are the future of workplace training. As a result, workforces in years to come won’t feel like referencing a textbook or passively sitting in a classroom to boost their skillset. They could probably access much of this learning online anyway, so will want training to feel familiar and be enjoyable. For these reasons, businesses must realise that traditional training methods won’t be effective for much longer. But how can you shift your organisation’s approach towards mobile learning (m-learning) if obstacles concerning implementation stand in the way? The increasing adoption of mobile According to the report
Top tips for learning professionals when looking at new learning technologies
Over the past few years, both educational institutions and corporate enterprises have been given access to an increasing number of learning platforms, which are effectively self-service. This is in stark contrast to the days when IT departments were in complete control of every tech-orientated device or program an organisation utilised. As a result, end users can use advanced learning platforms with the greatest of ease and even create their own content or build their own courses. But this doesn’t mean IT departments are no longer required, as they must now act as the contact point between the learning technology provider and the learning technology user, regardless of whether its an academic- or business-based. However, this also means that new job roles are being created, which bridge the gap between technology teams and HR departments. Greater integration is required due to the fact that IT assets are joining forces with the long-established responsibilities of staff, such as creating and delivering training. To give an example, instructional designers are now on hand to blend modern tech-based skills with traditional learning and development requirements. You would think this needs to be someone with an IT background and knowledge of coding or support, but
Is traditional classroom training a thing of the past?
Looking back at your experience of school, what did you enjoy the most? For many, it will be meeting lifelong friends, having plenty of laughs in the playground, and participating in extra curricular activities like a sports club or field trip. But these cherished memories don’t take into account the setting where you probably spent most of your time – the classroom. This doesn’t mean to say that classroom lessons were pointless or forgettable, as they no doubt provided you with invaluable knowledge about various different subjects. But at the same time, being told to sit still in your seat while listening to the teacher endlessly ramble on was usually far from enjoyable. Even so, classroom-based teaching and tuition is still the preferred technique among countless corporate training courses. It may well have worked at school when impressionable and mouldable young minds were starting to build up their skillset from nothing, but in the world of work where employees already possess a great deal of verified astuteness, classroom trainees won’t react well to direct and submissive instruction. Thankfully, corporate training is starting to move away from the classroom-based teacher-centric model towards interactive-based student-centric learning, where individuals are given the opportunity
How gamification can collaborate with workplace incentive programs
Along with a weekly wage or monthly salary, your employer may also have some sort of incentive program in place to keep you happy and motivated at work. But while several members of staff appreciate getting a free gift or monetary bonus every now and again, the vast majority of incentive programs are rather boring and repetitive. This is especially true if you have worked at one company for many years and continued to receive positive appraisals throughout this time, only to receive an arbitrary “incentive” as a reward. A lot of the time, each and every employee will receive the same thing too, which isn’t tailored to your contribution, achievement, or how long you have been a loyal member of staff. Thankfully, there is an alternative. You might associate gamification as a way to increase engagement with staff training, but it can also be used as an alternative to traditional incentive programs. Instead of handing out tangible presents that aren’t scalable according to the individual’s performance and can end up costing a great deal of money, gamification provides participants with unique aims and bespoke rewards. In the opinion of Gabe Zichermann, author of The Gamification Revolution, the majority of
Wranx at Learning Technologies 2016
Learning Technologies was a great kick start to February and the Wranx team had a great time at the exhibition. If you didn’t get to visit our stand, here’s what you missed… This year our stand featured an amazing giant itab so people had the opportunity to try Wranx out for themselves. It proved to be very popular!! There was a great amount of footfall and we had lots of visitors throughout the two days of the event- all keen to see what Wranx was about. We also used the event to showcase some of our new features which we have been working hard on- including improved reporting features and brand new testing features. On the second day, Phillip Price hosted a seminar on behalf of Wranx on ‘Enterprise Scale Gamification’, which had a fully packed audience! Phillip handles Virtual Academy Operations at PSA Peugeot Citroen, with over 20 years of experience implementing and overseeing professional development operations. The seminar gave a real time example of how PSA Peugeot Citroen have used gamification as part of their learning strategy for both sales staff and academy learners. In this case, they needed to refine learning and development service to enable their dealer staff to sell
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