Hi Folks, in responses to the post “The prediction made a year back by several training experts and Gurus for 2008 eLearning industry - how far they met the reality?” I have received many replies, many of them supported Clive Shepard and Tony Karrer.
Following are some interesting responses, please have a look:
From Clark Quinn -- "I also saw interest in looking at eLearning more strategically, and I predict this will continue to increase. Organizations are increasingly realizing that they need to move beyond courses, and even beyond content, and start looking at solutions."
I think that SLOW progress is being made, but many organizations are still focused on tactical actions, ie more courseware created to be delivered via their LMS -- instead of really thinking through the right learning medium/media to reach their target audience in their intended environment. I sure wish Clark's prediction had made more progress, as I think most of us (in this industry) would be having more fun once that progress is made!
Mark Oehlert's 2008 prediction I think hit it right - "Organizations will continue to fail to appreciate the strategic and differentiating nature that rich training and learning opportunities provide, that part of that failure will continue to rest with training departments' inability to articulate their alignment with the larger business goals."
Thus I agree, we achieved his "grumpy" prediction, that the most strategic progress will continue to be missed! Maybe in 2009, we can make more progress given the broad array of Web 2.0 tools which have become so easily available recently.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
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Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The prediction made a year back by several training experts and Gurus for 2008 eLearning industry - how far they met the reality?
Elearning experts has made several forecast in January this year; am interested to know the resemblance of behavior of the industry with those experienced statements.
Like, most of the experts talked about eLearning 2.0, Virtual Classrooms and Rapid Development models will rule through out the year.
Also for your reference please find below some predictions I have looked at, by the gurus in 2008.
• Manish Mohan
• Benjamin Hamilton
• Clark Quinn's Learnets: 2008 Predictions for Learning
• John Shaffer - Learning Predictions for 2008
• Wendy Wickam
• Clive Shepard
• Stephanie Sandifer
• Jay Cross
• Tony Karrer - Ten Predictions for eLearning in 2008
• Karyn Romeis
• Gabe Anderson - "Articulate Will Dominate" in 2008
• Peter Isackson - InterCultural Musings
• Suzana Gutierrez - My prediction (in Portugese)
• Sergio Lima - here (also in Portuguese)
• Dan McCarthy
• Kapp Notes: 2008 Predictions, Remembrance and Challenges
• Oehlert's 2008 Predictions
• Christy Tucker: Predictions for E-Learning in 2008
• G-Cube: US Economy and e-Learning in 2008
• http://www.soprando.net/ap/previsoes-de-aprendizagem-para-2008
My own personal study by this time says that Manish Mohan, Clive Shepard and Tony Karrer's were talking close to the today's situation months back.
I welcome your thoughts and observations here and help me to analyze.
Like, most of the experts talked about eLearning 2.0, Virtual Classrooms and Rapid Development models will rule through out the year.
Also for your reference please find below some predictions I have looked at, by the gurus in 2008.
• Manish Mohan
• Benjamin Hamilton
• Clark Quinn's Learnets: 2008 Predictions for Learning
• John Shaffer - Learning Predictions for 2008
• Wendy Wickam
• Clive Shepard
• Stephanie Sandifer
• Jay Cross
• Tony Karrer - Ten Predictions for eLearning in 2008
• Karyn Romeis
• Gabe Anderson - "Articulate Will Dominate" in 2008
• Peter Isackson - InterCultural Musings
• Suzana Gutierrez - My prediction (in Portugese)
• Sergio Lima - here (also in Portuguese)
• Dan McCarthy
• Kapp Notes: 2008 Predictions, Remembrance and Challenges
• Oehlert's 2008 Predictions
• Christy Tucker: Predictions for E-Learning in 2008
• G-Cube: US Economy and e-Learning in 2008
• http://www.soprando.net/ap/previsoes-de-aprendizagem-para-2008
My own personal study by this time says that Manish Mohan, Clive Shepard and Tony Karrer's were talking close to the today's situation months back.
I welcome your thoughts and observations here and help me to analyze.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
How Many People Does It Take to Make a Success: A Look at Qwitter
The following post is from eLearn Magazine Editor-in-Chief Lisa Neal's blog "How Many People Does It Take to Make a Success: A Look at Qwitter" After reading, I find this good to keep on my post as its describes one of the way the people are using web 2.0 technologies.
In Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, Clay Shirky discusses why some social networks stick while others collapse. Wikipedia is one of his examples of a success. When I looked at Qwitter, my first reaction was it was a failure because there were only 614 people using it. Qwitter, a cleverly-named initiative from TobaccoFreeFlorida that harnesses Twitter, is promoted as “a social tool designed to help you quit smoking” through keeping track of daily cigarettes and feelings about smoking. They also provide tips. That 614 people signed up for Qwitter seems low given that 750 people sign up for Twitter daily and 3 million people use it.
My initial reaction was reinforced by looking at how Qwitter was used, since many of the users had started in April (due to launch publicity, I speculated) and had stopped using it after a few - or just one - use. This is notable given that many Twitter users tweet many times daily. Looking through Qwitter users, I finally found a recent and more sustained user who tweeted pretty regularly for the past month, although there didn’t seem to be any cessation taking place. Click here to read more.
In Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, Clay Shirky discusses why some social networks stick while others collapse. Wikipedia is one of his examples of a success. When I looked at Qwitter, my first reaction was it was a failure because there were only 614 people using it. Qwitter, a cleverly-named initiative from TobaccoFreeFlorida that harnesses Twitter, is promoted as “a social tool designed to help you quit smoking” through keeping track of daily cigarettes and feelings about smoking. They also provide tips. That 614 people signed up for Qwitter seems low given that 750 people sign up for Twitter daily and 3 million people use it.
My initial reaction was reinforced by looking at how Qwitter was used, since many of the users had started in April (due to launch publicity, I speculated) and had stopped using it after a few - or just one - use. This is notable given that many Twitter users tweet many times daily. Looking through Qwitter users, I finally found a recent and more sustained user who tweeted pretty regularly for the past month, although there didn’t seem to be any cessation taking place. Click here to read more.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Is it cheaper? Offshore Elearning Development
Given that it's now common for organizations to outsource development work to India and China, is it true to say that it is still cheaper than developing the material in house in or are there other value adds one would need to consider?
Offshore elearning development can be cheaper, but it's important to consider the type of training, availability and stability of written content, clarity of the ISD process, communication channels and goals of the initiative.
In general, the direct costs for off-shoring elearning development are cheaper. However, without clear stable content, a well documented process for providing and reviewing content and solid channels for providing and reviewing work in process, slippages, re-work and delays can eat deeply into cost savings.
Additionally, it has been my experience that some training projects are much easier to offshore than others. When the training covers simple, explicit topics it's relatively easy to offshore. As the learning becomes more complex, it becomes increasingly difficult to offshore.
As with any elearning development or complex project, partnership and teaming experience can be great levers for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the effort. If you have an offshore partner you work with often, they will be more familiar with your content, processes, systems, and methods of communication and potential bottlenecks. The more you work with together, the quicker and better will be the process. If you are looking at costing projects, be sure to think through what this means in terms of the value chain. When you do sign a contract with an offshore partner, make sure the terms are written in such a way that you can either capture or share such savings. In the long run, that will pay you huge dividends.
The cost of creating a simple tutorial can vary greatly. It depends on tools used, whether the cost is based on straight development, or whether time for other components in the process are integrated into the per hour factor used to cost the effort. If you are paying for your partner to make storyboards, complete a detailed design, conduct multiple reviews, add graphics, conduct multiple SME reviews to get content, test the deliverable, load it to an LMS, manage the pilot and complete other critical steps in the process, the per hour rate can look staggering. However, having a skilled partner handle such activities can save time and money. Likewise, it’s important to understand the skill level of the developers who will be working on the project. If they know the various elearning tools required for the project and are familiar with Instructional design, and can work to ask questions and gather unknown information, you will pay more per hour, but end up with a much better, cheaper deliverable.
Offshore elearning development can be cheaper, but it's important to consider the type of training, availability and stability of written content, clarity of the ISD process, communication channels and goals of the initiative.
In general, the direct costs for off-shoring elearning development are cheaper. However, without clear stable content, a well documented process for providing and reviewing content and solid channels for providing and reviewing work in process, slippages, re-work and delays can eat deeply into cost savings.
Additionally, it has been my experience that some training projects are much easier to offshore than others. When the training covers simple, explicit topics it's relatively easy to offshore. As the learning becomes more complex, it becomes increasingly difficult to offshore.
As with any elearning development or complex project, partnership and teaming experience can be great levers for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the effort. If you have an offshore partner you work with often, they will be more familiar with your content, processes, systems, and methods of communication and potential bottlenecks. The more you work with together, the quicker and better will be the process. If you are looking at costing projects, be sure to think through what this means in terms of the value chain. When you do sign a contract with an offshore partner, make sure the terms are written in such a way that you can either capture or share such savings. In the long run, that will pay you huge dividends.
The cost of creating a simple tutorial can vary greatly. It depends on tools used, whether the cost is based on straight development, or whether time for other components in the process are integrated into the per hour factor used to cost the effort. If you are paying for your partner to make storyboards, complete a detailed design, conduct multiple reviews, add graphics, conduct multiple SME reviews to get content, test the deliverable, load it to an LMS, manage the pilot and complete other critical steps in the process, the per hour rate can look staggering. However, having a skilled partner handle such activities can save time and money. Likewise, it’s important to understand the skill level of the developers who will be working on the project. If they know the various elearning tools required for the project and are familiar with Instructional design, and can work to ask questions and gather unknown information, you will pay more per hour, but end up with a much better, cheaper deliverable.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Serious Games and Related Concepts...
This post focuses on the domain of serious games. There are, however, related and sometimes overlapping domains, such as e-learning, edutainment, game-based learning, and digital game-based learning.
E-learning is a rather general concept that refers to computer enhanced learning, computer-based learning, interactive technology, and commonly, distance learning.
Edutainment – education through entertainment – was popular during the 1990s with its growing multi-media PC market. In general, edutainment refers to any kind of education that also entertains even though it is usually associated with video games with educational aims. The primary target group was preschool- and young children, with focus on reading, mathematics, and science. However, edutainment software failed success since it resulted in what has been described as “boring games and drill-and-kill learning”.
Computer video games for non-entertainment purposes were developed long before the edutainment era, however, and as edutainment failed to prove profitable – and technical advancements in providing realistic settings grew, and multiplayer gaming developed – the concept of serious games was re-examined during the late 1990s. With the U.S. Army’s release of the video game America’s Army in 2002, the serious games movement got started. The same year the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholar in Washington, D.C. founded the Serious Games Initiative, and the term “serious games” became widespread.
In general terms, serious games are associated with ‘games for purposes other than entertainment’. Serious games encompass the same goals as edutainment, but extend far beyond teaching facts and rote memorization, and instead include all aspects of education, teaching, training, and informing and at all ages.
Game-based learning (GBL) is described as “a branch of serious games that deals with applications that have defined learning outcomes”. Others consider game-based learning and serious games more or less the same. GBL has the potential of improving training activities and initiatives by virtue of, e.g., its engagement, motivation, role playing, and repeatability.
Digital game-based learning (DGBL) is closely related to GBL, with the additional restriction that it concerns digital games. DGBL is the “newest trend in e-learning”
Also please have a look at the following image taken from University of Skövde, Sweden School of Humanities and Informatics report on Serious Games which clearly describes the differences between Serious Games and Entertainment Games.
E-learning is a rather general concept that refers to computer enhanced learning, computer-based learning, interactive technology, and commonly, distance learning.
Edutainment – education through entertainment – was popular during the 1990s with its growing multi-media PC market. In general, edutainment refers to any kind of education that also entertains even though it is usually associated with video games with educational aims. The primary target group was preschool- and young children, with focus on reading, mathematics, and science. However, edutainment software failed success since it resulted in what has been described as “boring games and drill-and-kill learning”.
Computer video games for non-entertainment purposes were developed long before the edutainment era, however, and as edutainment failed to prove profitable – and technical advancements in providing realistic settings grew, and multiplayer gaming developed – the concept of serious games was re-examined during the late 1990s. With the U.S. Army’s release of the video game America’s Army in 2002, the serious games movement got started. The same year the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholar in Washington, D.C. founded the Serious Games Initiative, and the term “serious games” became widespread.
In general terms, serious games are associated with ‘games for purposes other than entertainment’. Serious games encompass the same goals as edutainment, but extend far beyond teaching facts and rote memorization, and instead include all aspects of education, teaching, training, and informing and at all ages.
Game-based learning (GBL) is described as “a branch of serious games that deals with applications that have defined learning outcomes”. Others consider game-based learning and serious games more or less the same. GBL has the potential of improving training activities and initiatives by virtue of, e.g., its engagement, motivation, role playing, and repeatability.
Digital game-based learning (DGBL) is closely related to GBL, with the additional restriction that it concerns digital games. DGBL is the “newest trend in e-learning”
Also please have a look at the following image taken from University of Skövde, Sweden School of Humanities and Informatics report on Serious Games which clearly describes the differences between Serious Games and Entertainment Games.
Serious Games -- Conferences and Organizations
Following are few Serious Games Conferences and Organizations, may find your interest.
Angils.org (www.angils.org): The European-based (UK) networking organization Angils brings together corporations, groups, and other organizations with industry, with focus on Serious Games and emerging technologies across digital entertainment, the knowledge industries and the media.
Apply Serious Games (www.applyseriousgames.com): The first ASG-conference was held in London, UK 2006. The goal of the conference was to bring together game developers, learning suppliers, publishers, etc., to explore, for instance, effective immersive learning content, correct application design, commercial viability, and innovation in action across many applications.
The American Society of Trainers and Developers (ASTD) (www.astd.org/astd): ASTD is the largest association dedicated to workplace learning and performance. ASTD provides resources and organizes conferences with a focus on, e.g., e-learning.
Christian Game Developers Conference (www.cgdc.org): The Christian Game Developers
Conference is a gathering with the purpose of encouraging game developers to apply Christian principles to their industry.
Cyber Therapy Conference (www.interactivemediainstitute.com/): The Interactive Media
Institute (IMI) is a non-profit organization working for the application of advanced technologies for patient care. The Institute is actively working with experts in utilizing virtual reality, multimedia, computer-generated avatars, personal robots, and other technologies to treat patients with both mental and physical disorders. The Cyber Therapy Conference, held in Switzerland, brings together researchers, clinicians, and funds to share and discuss the field of Cyber Therapy. Technologies include virtual reality simulations, videogames, telehealth, the Internet, robotics, and noninvasive physiological monitoring devices.
Defense Gaming (www.defencegaming.org): Defense Gaming is an initiative by different
Swedish defense government agencies to study, research, and explore the conjunction of the computer and video games world and the military.
Department of Defense (DoD) Game Developers’ Community (www.dodgamecommunity.com): The aim of DoD Game Developers’ Community is to bring together the community developing games within the US military. The web site, among other things, supply information on most major games developed for the Department of Defense and gives design advice on building games.
Digital Games Research Association (DiGra) (www.digra.org): DiGRA is an association for academics and professionals who research digital games and associated phenomena. DIGRA encourages research on games, and promotes collaboration and dissemination of work by its members. The aim of the annual conference (www.digra.org/digra_conference; www.gamesconference.org/) is to bring together all who can provide insights about digital games, from academia to industry, across a wide range of disciplines and expertise, and so be able to get a greater holistic understanding of games, their impacts, and potential.
Education Arcade, Games in Education Conference (www.educationarcade.org , currently redirected to www.educationarcade.org/node): The conference explores issues in the development, use, and marketing of educational games. The initiative seeks to encourage research and development of educational games.
Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) (www.elspa.com): ELSPA is a UK association, comprising interactive entertainment industry, protecting, promoting, and providing both for its members and for the industry as whole. Activities include, e.g., industry reports and research, and official games charts and analysis.
Futurelab (www.futurelab.org.uk): is a non-profit organization committed to sharing the knowledge and experience learnt from their research and development in order to inform positive change to educational policy and practice.
Future Play (www.futureplay.org): The conference focuses on three themes: a) future game development, which addresses academic research, and emerging industry trends in the area of game technology and game design, b) future game impacts and applications, which includes academic research and emerging industry trends focused on designing games for learning, for gender, for serious purposes, and to impact society, and c) future game talent, which is designed to provide a number of industry and academic perspectives on the knowledge, skills, and attitude it takes to excel in the games industry.
Games for Change (G4C) (www.seriousgames.org/gamesforchange/): G4C is the social change/social issues branch of the Serious Games Initiative. G4C focuses on non-profit organizations and promotes games for societal change. The organization has an annual conference.
Games for Health (www.gamesforhealth.org/): The Serious Games Initiative founded Games for Health to develop a community and platform for games being built for health care applications. The annual conference brings together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health care and policy.
Games, Learning, and Society Conference (www.glsconference.org): The conference brings together academics, designers, and educators to discuss how game technologies can enhance learning, culture, and education. One aim of the conference is to prevent the issues of learning and the social role of games from getting lost in the cause of industry building.
G.A.M.E.S. Synergy Summit (www.synergysummit.com): G.A.M.E.S. is an acronym for Government, Academic, Military, Entertainment and Simulation. The conference, which started in 2005 and is expected to be annual, brings together leaders and participants from each of the above sectors.
International Association of Games Education Research (IAGER) (www.iager.org): IAGER is a non-profit member organization dedicated to promoting and improving educational games through educational game research and shared resources. IAGER intends to hold an annual conference. International Simulation and Gaming Association (ISAGA www.isaga.org). ISAGA is an international organization for scientists and practitioners developing and using simulation, gaming, and related methodologies. The main goals include enhancing the development and application of simulation and gaming methodologies in particularly the social, human, and technological domains. ISAGA has an annual conference.
The Inter service/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC)
(www.iitsec.org): The conference promotes cooperation among the Armed Services,
Industry, Academia and various Government agencies in order to improve training and education programs, identify common training issues, and develop multi service programs.
Learning in Video Games (learninginvideogames.com): The website provide news, articles, and other resources on the use of video games for learning and educational purposes. Medicine Meets Virtual Reality (www.nextmed.com/mmvr_virtual_reality.html). The conference is intended to be a forum for, e.g., encouraging and sharing research on virtual reality tools for clinical care and medical education. The intended audience is healthcare professionals and educators, computer technologists, biomedical futurists, and military medicine specialists.
The Serious Game Initiative (www.seriousgames.org): The Serious Games Initiative focus on the use for games in exploring management and leadership challenges facing the public sector. Part of its aim is to help form links between the electronic game industry and projects involving the use of games in education, training, health, and public policy.
The Serious Games Summit D.C. (www.seriousgamessummit.com): The Serious Games
Summit D.C., produced by the CMP Game Group and held in Washington D.C., places focus on exploring new ways to broaden the spectrum addressed by serious games. The core segments of serious games - military, government, healthcare, corporate training and education - play a major role at the conference.
Social Impact Games (www.socialimpactgames.com): Social Impact Games is a web site which catalogues serious games. Currently over 200 serious games are listed.
Visuals and Simulation Technology Conference and Exhibition (ViSTech) (www.halldale.com/vistech/): The first ViSTech conference and exhibition was held in
2005. It aims to bring experts in the visual technologies closer together with professionals in simulation and training. The conference is directed toward commercial and military designers, manufacturers, and users of visual system technology, and covers the use of game technology in military and government applications.
Angils.org (www.angils.org): The European-based (UK) networking organization Angils brings together corporations, groups, and other organizations with industry, with focus on Serious Games and emerging technologies across digital entertainment, the knowledge industries and the media.
Apply Serious Games (www.applyseriousgames.com): The first ASG-conference was held in London, UK 2006. The goal of the conference was to bring together game developers, learning suppliers, publishers, etc., to explore, for instance, effective immersive learning content, correct application design, commercial viability, and innovation in action across many applications.
The American Society of Trainers and Developers (ASTD) (www.astd.org/astd): ASTD is the largest association dedicated to workplace learning and performance. ASTD provides resources and organizes conferences with a focus on, e.g., e-learning.
Christian Game Developers Conference (www.cgdc.org): The Christian Game Developers
Conference is a gathering with the purpose of encouraging game developers to apply Christian principles to their industry.
Cyber Therapy Conference (www.interactivemediainstitute.com/): The Interactive Media
Institute (IMI) is a non-profit organization working for the application of advanced technologies for patient care. The Institute is actively working with experts in utilizing virtual reality, multimedia, computer-generated avatars, personal robots, and other technologies to treat patients with both mental and physical disorders. The Cyber Therapy Conference, held in Switzerland, brings together researchers, clinicians, and funds to share and discuss the field of Cyber Therapy. Technologies include virtual reality simulations, videogames, telehealth, the Internet, robotics, and noninvasive physiological monitoring devices.
Defense Gaming (www.defencegaming.org): Defense Gaming is an initiative by different
Swedish defense government agencies to study, research, and explore the conjunction of the computer and video games world and the military.
Department of Defense (DoD) Game Developers’ Community (www.dodgamecommunity.com): The aim of DoD Game Developers’ Community is to bring together the community developing games within the US military. The web site, among other things, supply information on most major games developed for the Department of Defense and gives design advice on building games.
Digital Games Research Association (DiGra) (www.digra.org): DiGRA is an association for academics and professionals who research digital games and associated phenomena. DIGRA encourages research on games, and promotes collaboration and dissemination of work by its members. The aim of the annual conference (www.digra.org/digra_conference; www.gamesconference.org/) is to bring together all who can provide insights about digital games, from academia to industry, across a wide range of disciplines and expertise, and so be able to get a greater holistic understanding of games, their impacts, and potential.
Education Arcade, Games in Education Conference (www.educationarcade.org , currently redirected to www.educationarcade.org/node): The conference explores issues in the development, use, and marketing of educational games. The initiative seeks to encourage research and development of educational games.
Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) (www.elspa.com): ELSPA is a UK association, comprising interactive entertainment industry, protecting, promoting, and providing both for its members and for the industry as whole. Activities include, e.g., industry reports and research, and official games charts and analysis.
Futurelab (www.futurelab.org.uk): is a non-profit organization committed to sharing the knowledge and experience learnt from their research and development in order to inform positive change to educational policy and practice.
Future Play (www.futureplay.org): The conference focuses on three themes: a) future game development, which addresses academic research, and emerging industry trends in the area of game technology and game design, b) future game impacts and applications, which includes academic research and emerging industry trends focused on designing games for learning, for gender, for serious purposes, and to impact society, and c) future game talent, which is designed to provide a number of industry and academic perspectives on the knowledge, skills, and attitude it takes to excel in the games industry.
Games for Change (G4C) (www.seriousgames.org/gamesforchange/): G4C is the social change/social issues branch of the Serious Games Initiative. G4C focuses on non-profit organizations and promotes games for societal change. The organization has an annual conference.
Games for Health (www.gamesforhealth.org/): The Serious Games Initiative founded Games for Health to develop a community and platform for games being built for health care applications. The annual conference brings together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health care and policy.
Games, Learning, and Society Conference (www.glsconference.org): The conference brings together academics, designers, and educators to discuss how game technologies can enhance learning, culture, and education. One aim of the conference is to prevent the issues of learning and the social role of games from getting lost in the cause of industry building.
G.A.M.E.S. Synergy Summit (www.synergysummit.com): G.A.M.E.S. is an acronym for Government, Academic, Military, Entertainment and Simulation. The conference, which started in 2005 and is expected to be annual, brings together leaders and participants from each of the above sectors.
International Association of Games Education Research (IAGER) (www.iager.org): IAGER is a non-profit member organization dedicated to promoting and improving educational games through educational game research and shared resources. IAGER intends to hold an annual conference. International Simulation and Gaming Association (ISAGA www.isaga.org). ISAGA is an international organization for scientists and practitioners developing and using simulation, gaming, and related methodologies. The main goals include enhancing the development and application of simulation and gaming methodologies in particularly the social, human, and technological domains. ISAGA has an annual conference.
The Inter service/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC)
(www.iitsec.org): The conference promotes cooperation among the Armed Services,
Industry, Academia and various Government agencies in order to improve training and education programs, identify common training issues, and develop multi service programs.
Learning in Video Games (learninginvideogames.com): The website provide news, articles, and other resources on the use of video games for learning and educational purposes. Medicine Meets Virtual Reality (www.nextmed.com/mmvr_virtual_reality.html). The conference is intended to be a forum for, e.g., encouraging and sharing research on virtual reality tools for clinical care and medical education. The intended audience is healthcare professionals and educators, computer technologists, biomedical futurists, and military medicine specialists.
The Serious Game Initiative (www.seriousgames.org): The Serious Games Initiative focus on the use for games in exploring management and leadership challenges facing the public sector. Part of its aim is to help form links between the electronic game industry and projects involving the use of games in education, training, health, and public policy.
The Serious Games Summit D.C. (www.seriousgamessummit.com): The Serious Games
Summit D.C., produced by the CMP Game Group and held in Washington D.C., places focus on exploring new ways to broaden the spectrum addressed by serious games. The core segments of serious games - military, government, healthcare, corporate training and education - play a major role at the conference.
Social Impact Games (www.socialimpactgames.com): Social Impact Games is a web site which catalogues serious games. Currently over 200 serious games are listed.
Visuals and Simulation Technology Conference and Exhibition (ViSTech) (www.halldale.com/vistech/): The first ViSTech conference and exhibition was held in
2005. It aims to bring experts in the visual technologies closer together with professionals in simulation and training. The conference is directed toward commercial and military designers, manufacturers, and users of visual system technology, and covers the use of game technology in military and government applications.
Is there is any difference between e-Learning and serious games?
Serious games provides the learner with an opportunity to actually put the theory into practice in an environment that is realistic but where failure has no real life costs. As a wise man once said "Experience is like giving a comb to a bald man...it often comes too late!"
Serious Games could be argued to be just one way of using technology to enhance learning - eLearning is itself just a niche of this marketplace if one considers DVD, video and interactive whiteboards as technology-based learning resources. On the other hand, eLearning, if it is defined as web/internet-based learning content and delivery/collaborative applications, has become somewhat typecast in it's nature with an emphasis on delivering information (which few would consider to be interactive) albeit with a few ‘bolt on’ communication and shallow assessment instruments.
It is important to distinguish between what eLearning does well, which is providing you with information (the theory), and what it does not. The latter being the provision of rich, rewarding, relevant and multi-faceted environments in which one can actually put the theory into practise in a safe, simulated manner and to learn at a far deeper level as a result.
The design and development competencies of the eLearning developer and the game developer are quite different.
Serious Games could be argued to be just one way of using technology to enhance learning - eLearning is itself just a niche of this marketplace if one considers DVD, video and interactive whiteboards as technology-based learning resources. On the other hand, eLearning, if it is defined as web/internet-based learning content and delivery/collaborative applications, has become somewhat typecast in it's nature with an emphasis on delivering information (which few would consider to be interactive) albeit with a few ‘bolt on’ communication and shallow assessment instruments.
It is important to distinguish between what eLearning does well, which is providing you with information (the theory), and what it does not. The latter being the provision of rich, rewarding, relevant and multi-faceted environments in which one can actually put the theory into practise in a safe, simulated manner and to learn at a far deeper level as a result.
The design and development competencies of the eLearning developer and the game developer are quite different.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
eLearning as a strategic tool
E-learning applications are not new as a tool for people development. However, throughout the years the view on its design and implementation has evolved in order to guarantee its biggest effectiveness. Many of the predictions on e- learning development were not fulfilled as it was expected….
Some additional thoughts:
1. Big enterprises have platforms which allow them to spread training solutions through the staff and collaborators.
2. Changes on Market are appreciated: Quality predominates over quantity. The technological investment on platforms and equipment will be paid off not by the volume of courses and applications but by the effective involvement of the employees
3. The ability to surprise is a crucial element for the involvement of the participants. So, as time goes by it becomes more difficult to surprise and motivate through a screen.…
These facts have caused an interesting evolution in Market: as time proved that e-learning implementation was not as easy as it was thought, the exploitation possibilities and therefore the organizations requirements regarding its impact increased.
Well then… What should we expect today from an e -learning application?
1. Elearning can transfer knowledge: of course it can. It is quite easy to transfer objective knowledge through an e - learning application. The effort of the designer will be focused on making comprehensible concepts which will not be debatable because of its objectivity.
EXAMPLES:
.Knowledge of the product.
.Knowledge of use or process.
.Knowledge of sector or market
.Knowledge of Enterprise
2. Elearning can develop skills: It is also possible .However , the aim becomes more difficult to achieve .We must not forget human factors when developing skills, whose treatment may demand a personal relationship in a face to face session in order to get an involvement in the action.
EXAMPLES:
.Sales technique
.Negotiation
.Time Management
.Leadership
3. Elearning can motivate and change behaviors:
The Real Challenge starts here. We are talking about projects that aim to introduce a new way to do things. We do not deal with teaching knowledge, we do not deal with practicing skills, it consists in attaining attitude changes….. and on these occasions, it becomes really difficult to replace the motivational role of a facilitator in the classroom by a Computer application
EXAMPLES:
.Implementation of Commercial Protocols
.Competences development
.Enhancement of rules and internal processes
.Implementation of Management Protocols
4. The great challenge: Elearning can support the implementation of strategic changes within the organization. This way, the application becomes not only a training and development tool, but also an internal communication tool for motivation and even the engine that boosts changes within the organization. It is not strange that challenge increases as difficulty does……………..
EXAMPLES:
.Implementation of Commercial Strategies
.Implementation of organizational changes
.Implementation of models of competences
.Strategic deployment of the Business view
Some additional thoughts:
1. Big enterprises have platforms which allow them to spread training solutions through the staff and collaborators.
2. Changes on Market are appreciated: Quality predominates over quantity. The technological investment on platforms and equipment will be paid off not by the volume of courses and applications but by the effective involvement of the employees
3. The ability to surprise is a crucial element for the involvement of the participants. So, as time goes by it becomes more difficult to surprise and motivate through a screen.…
These facts have caused an interesting evolution in Market: as time proved that e-learning implementation was not as easy as it was thought, the exploitation possibilities and therefore the organizations requirements regarding its impact increased.
Well then… What should we expect today from an e -learning application?
1. Elearning can transfer knowledge: of course it can. It is quite easy to transfer objective knowledge through an e - learning application. The effort of the designer will be focused on making comprehensible concepts which will not be debatable because of its objectivity.
EXAMPLES:
.Knowledge of the product.
.Knowledge of use or process.
.Knowledge of sector or market
.Knowledge of Enterprise
2. Elearning can develop skills: It is also possible .However , the aim becomes more difficult to achieve .We must not forget human factors when developing skills, whose treatment may demand a personal relationship in a face to face session in order to get an involvement in the action.
EXAMPLES:
.Sales technique
.Negotiation
.Time Management
.Leadership
3. Elearning can motivate and change behaviors:
The Real Challenge starts here. We are talking about projects that aim to introduce a new way to do things. We do not deal with teaching knowledge, we do not deal with practicing skills, it consists in attaining attitude changes….. and on these occasions, it becomes really difficult to replace the motivational role of a facilitator in the classroom by a Computer application
EXAMPLES:
.Implementation of Commercial Protocols
.Competences development
.Enhancement of rules and internal processes
.Implementation of Management Protocols
4. The great challenge: Elearning can support the implementation of strategic changes within the organization. This way, the application becomes not only a training and development tool, but also an internal communication tool for motivation and even the engine that boosts changes within the organization. It is not strange that challenge increases as difficulty does……………..
EXAMPLES:
.Implementation of Commercial Strategies
.Implementation of organizational changes
.Implementation of models of competences
.Strategic deployment of the Business view
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Learning Revolution 2.0
Learners are leading the revolution to take control of their environment through social networking. The LMS is dead. Instructional designers are obsolete. Taxonomies become folksonomies. Let me tell you how the new tools of Web 2.0 will change the learning space.
What is Web 2.0?
. The “Web as a platform” – delivering and using applications/through a web browser.
. The transition of web sites from isolated information entities to sources of content and functionality, thus becoming computing platforms serving web application to users.
. A social phenomenon embracing an approach to generating and distributing Web content itself, characterized by open communication, decentralized of authority, freedom to share and reuse.
. Enhanced organization and categorization of content, emphasizing tagging, linking and folksonomies.
. Facilitates participation, collaboration, sharing and democracy to driverelevancy of content creation/consumption.
Applicability to Learning?
. Age of participation
. Fostering and promotion of Community
. “You” connected to “Me” and “Everybody” as a subject matter expert on “Something” with real time collaboration, interaction and feedback. Individuals contribute their knowledge and experiences to the learning environment
The six components of Enterprise 2.0
SEARCH: For any information platform to be valuable, its users must be able to find what they are looking for?
LINKS: Facilitating better search, Links are the excellent guide to what’s important and provides structure to online content. As more links can be built by larger communities, it is easier to find more relevant information.
AUTHORING: Most people have something to contribute, whether its knowledge, insight, experience, a comment, a fact, an edit, a link, and so on, and authorship is a way to harness these contribution.
TAGS: Supporting the categorization of the content by the many rather than the few.
EXTENSIONS: Providing users with association of recommended content- “if you like this” “you may like that”
SIGNALS: Ability to highlight to user when new information has been created. Include email and syndication(RSS)
Web 2.0 Enablers
Social Software
Enable people to participate, connect or collaborate through the web resulting in online communities.
Tools include: User Profile, Instant Messaging, Text Chat, Internet Forums, Blogs, Wikis, Collaborative real time editor.
Wiki:
Website that allows visitors to add, remove, edit and change content, typically without the need for registration. It also allows for linking among any number of pages. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for mass collaborative authoring. Examples include Wikipedia, LyricWiki
Blogs:
Slang for weblog, it is the user driven website where content entries are authored in journal style. Blogs evolved from online diaries and provide mechanism for people to create content and commentary on anything of interest. Features of blogs include the ability to readers to comment. Blogs are evolving to include different media types including Vlog (Video Log), Photoblog (Photos) and Tumblelogs (mixed media and commentary)
Folksonomies:
User generated taxonomy use to categorize, find, link to and comment on content using tagging. Because the identification of content is facilitated by the community, it can be more relevant, responsive to change and personal.
Tagging:
A keyword term associated with or assign to a piece of information, thus describing the item and enabling keyword based classification of information it is applied to. The power of community based tagging is associating more meaning and context to the content.
Tag Clouds:
A visual depiction to content tags used on website or specific page to convey the key concepts and weighted relevancy of the information. Selecting single tag within the tag cloud will generally lead to a collection of items that are associated with that tag.
Syndication:
Syndication of content on website allows end users to make use of another sites date in multiple context’s, varying from a website, browser plugin or application. Protocols that permit syndication include RSS and ATOM. Syndication allows content to come to users rather than users going to the content.
Podcasts:
A digital media file that is distributed over the internet using syndication feeds for playback on media players and computers. Facilitates people to create content and share audio information with listeners. A podcast is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to downloaded automatically using software capable of reading feed formats such as RSS or ATOM.
Web 2.0 Sites worth checking out:
Netvibes
Flickr
YouTube
Facebook
Wikipedia
Digg
Del.icio.us
What is Web 2.0?
. The “Web as a platform” – delivering and using applications/through a web browser.
. The transition of web sites from isolated information entities to sources of content and functionality, thus becoming computing platforms serving web application to users.
. A social phenomenon embracing an approach to generating and distributing Web content itself, characterized by open communication, decentralized of authority, freedom to share and reuse.
. Enhanced organization and categorization of content, emphasizing tagging, linking and folksonomies.
. Facilitates participation, collaboration, sharing and democracy to driverelevancy of content creation/consumption.
Applicability to Learning?
. Age of participation
. Fostering and promotion of Community
. “You” connected to “Me” and “Everybody” as a subject matter expert on “Something” with real time collaboration, interaction and feedback. Individuals contribute their knowledge and experiences to the learning environment
The six components of Enterprise 2.0
SEARCH: For any information platform to be valuable, its users must be able to find what they are looking for?
LINKS: Facilitating better search, Links are the excellent guide to what’s important and provides structure to online content. As more links can be built by larger communities, it is easier to find more relevant information.
AUTHORING: Most people have something to contribute, whether its knowledge, insight, experience, a comment, a fact, an edit, a link, and so on, and authorship is a way to harness these contribution.
TAGS: Supporting the categorization of the content by the many rather than the few.
EXTENSIONS: Providing users with association of recommended content- “if you like this” “you may like that”
SIGNALS: Ability to highlight to user when new information has been created. Include email and syndication(RSS)
Web 2.0 Enablers
Social Software
Enable people to participate, connect or collaborate through the web resulting in online communities.
Tools include: User Profile, Instant Messaging, Text Chat, Internet Forums, Blogs, Wikis, Collaborative real time editor.
Wiki:
Website that allows visitors to add, remove, edit and change content, typically without the need for registration. It also allows for linking among any number of pages. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for mass collaborative authoring. Examples include Wikipedia, LyricWiki
Blogs:
Slang for weblog, it is the user driven website where content entries are authored in journal style. Blogs evolved from online diaries and provide mechanism for people to create content and commentary on anything of interest. Features of blogs include the ability to readers to comment. Blogs are evolving to include different media types including Vlog (Video Log), Photoblog (Photos) and Tumblelogs (mixed media and commentary)
Folksonomies:
User generated taxonomy use to categorize, find, link to and comment on content using tagging. Because the identification of content is facilitated by the community, it can be more relevant, responsive to change and personal.
Tagging:
A keyword term associated with or assign to a piece of information, thus describing the item and enabling keyword based classification of information it is applied to. The power of community based tagging is associating more meaning and context to the content.
Tag Clouds:
A visual depiction to content tags used on website or specific page to convey the key concepts and weighted relevancy of the information. Selecting single tag within the tag cloud will generally lead to a collection of items that are associated with that tag.
Syndication:
Syndication of content on website allows end users to make use of another sites date in multiple context’s, varying from a website, browser plugin or application. Protocols that permit syndication include RSS and ATOM. Syndication allows content to come to users rather than users going to the content.
Podcasts:
A digital media file that is distributed over the internet using syndication feeds for playback on media players and computers. Facilitates people to create content and share audio information with listeners. A podcast is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to downloaded automatically using software capable of reading feed formats such as RSS or ATOM.
Web 2.0 Sites worth checking out:
Netvibes
Flickr
YouTube
Wikipedia
Digg
Del.icio.us
Friday, September 5, 2008
eLearning Trends
Hi folks, while checking eLearning updates for this month, I came across Stephen Downes presentation on eLearning trends.
Here Stephen is talking about how eLearning industry is leveraging Web 2.0 to make their eLearning interactive, effective and engaging. I hope the below presentation will definitely clear your understanding about eLearning 2.0 technology.
Here Stephen is talking about how eLearning industry is leveraging Web 2.0 to make their eLearning interactive, effective and engaging. I hope the below presentation will definitely clear your understanding about eLearning 2.0 technology.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
2008 Emerging Leaders in Training Outsourcing
Today Training Industry has released 2008 Emerging Leaders in Training Outsourcing companies list. I am wondering, by looking at the list of companies. The companies such as Aptech, Tata, Disney and Aptara are from the very beginning of the training industry and Mzinga, Microtek, Tricore and others are new players. So I am confused on what basis the companies have been selected as Emerging Leaders in Training Outsourcing. Is it their process or the industry recognition? Or does it mean that Aptech, Tata, Disney and others are emerging now? Could anyone suggest me, what would be the basic parameters to select anyone in the Emerging Leaders in Training Outsourcing?
*2008 Emerging Leaders in Training Outsourcing*
*The Learning Factor
*The Training Associates
*Mzinga
*Tricore Interactive, Inc.
*PerformTech, Inc.
*MicroTek
*Technical Training, Inc. (TTi)
*Vangent, Inc.
*Aptech Ltd
*Disney Institute
*Xpertise Training Limited
*Aptara, Inc.
*Tata Interactive Systems
*Learning Tree International
*2008 Emerging Leaders in Training Outsourcing*
*The Learning Factor
*The Training Associates
*Mzinga
*Tricore Interactive, Inc.
*PerformTech, Inc.
*MicroTek
*Technical Training, Inc. (TTi)
*Vangent, Inc.
*Aptech Ltd
*Disney Institute
*Xpertise Training Limited
*Aptara, Inc.
*Tata Interactive Systems
*Learning Tree International
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Ten Web 2.0 Things You Can Do in Ten Minutes to Be a More Successful E-learning Professional
The following findings are of eLearn Magazine Editor-in-Chief Lisa Neal's blog post "Ten Things You Can Do in Ten Minutes To Be a More Successful e-learning Professional." After reading, I find this good to keep on my post.
1. Find an e-learning conference to go to and send an email to your manager giving 10 reasons why this will help you perform better. If travel is a problem, find a local seminar to go to.
2. Find an e-learning conference to submit to. It is much better to go to a conference as a speaker and the process of figuring out what you want to talk about and writing an abstract will be a valuable reflection process.
3. Write a short description of what you learned at the last conference or seminar you went to or the last article or book you read and circulate it to your colleagues. They will appreciate it and it will reinforce what you learned. It might also help your chances of getting funding for your next conference.
4. Do a search on “e-learning”, “instructional design”, “online degrees”, or another topic related to your job and see what people find. Refine your search and try again. Maybe you’ll find something you want to look at, maybe not. If not, use the rest of your ten minutes and search on something totally different,
like “swing dancing”, and see if you like the results better.
5. Write a note your manager with 10 reasons why you deserve a 10% salary increase. Don’t send it unless you came up with the reasons quickly. If you struggled with the list, rewrite it as the 10 things you need to do to deserve a 10% salary increase. Then act upon it.
For the rest things please click here
Thank you Lisa for giving special permission to include this on my blog.
1. Find an e-learning conference to go to and send an email to your manager giving 10 reasons why this will help you perform better. If travel is a problem, find a local seminar to go to.
2. Find an e-learning conference to submit to. It is much better to go to a conference as a speaker and the process of figuring out what you want to talk about and writing an abstract will be a valuable reflection process.
3. Write a short description of what you learned at the last conference or seminar you went to or the last article or book you read and circulate it to your colleagues. They will appreciate it and it will reinforce what you learned. It might also help your chances of getting funding for your next conference.
4. Do a search on “e-learning”, “instructional design”, “online degrees”, or another topic related to your job and see what people find. Refine your search and try again. Maybe you’ll find something you want to look at, maybe not. If not, use the rest of your ten minutes and search on something totally different,
like “swing dancing”, and see if you like the results better.
5. Write a note your manager with 10 reasons why you deserve a 10% salary increase. Don’t send it unless you came up with the reasons quickly. If you struggled with the list, rewrite it as the 10 things you need to do to deserve a 10% salary increase. Then act upon it.
For the rest things please click here
Thank you Lisa for giving special permission to include this on my blog.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Why Elearning?
Learning industry has identified an excellent system for knowledge transfer at the workplace. Through a user friendly and effective approach, “Elearning” is increasing its supporters every second. It saves a lot of time of the learners to travel to the classes, compromised work or not being able to work at all. However Elearning has provided extensive possibility to attend the classes online at any time and from any part of the world.
Popularity and potential of the Elearning can be analyzed by burgeoning number of Elearning development and consulting companies. Elearning environment provides custom, in time, easily accessible and overall cost effective learning mode. E-delivery of learning content helps in better understanding, efficient and productive way to the learners.
One of many reasons why Elearning is being opted by the learning industry is the continuous updates of the tools and technologies and being available to make Elearning content rapidly developed, interactive and more engaging for the learners.
By looking at number of industry surveys and market analysis Elearning surely going to be a milestone!
Popularity and potential of the Elearning can be analyzed by burgeoning number of Elearning development and consulting companies. Elearning environment provides custom, in time, easily accessible and overall cost effective learning mode. E-delivery of learning content helps in better understanding, efficient and productive way to the learners.
One of many reasons why Elearning is being opted by the learning industry is the continuous updates of the tools and technologies and being available to make Elearning content rapidly developed, interactive and more engaging for the learners.
By looking at number of industry surveys and market analysis Elearning surely going to be a milestone!
Is it the right time for emergence of Web 3.0?
The industry is hyping web 3.0, in support of this VC companies are making funds to Web 3.0 start up companies. I guess there is no such benchmark or line to start or stop to work on Web 2.0 technologies. As per me it is too early to talk about Web 3.0. Since still we are exploring Web 2.0. If we have some very good technology or idea and we are positioning at web 3.0, I will suggest why we don’t see it as a value addition to Web 2.0. In this way we can broaden the boundary of Web 3.0 and also can control our anxiety to touch 3.0.
If we think from customer’s perspective, they are always ready to accept new technologies. However it is purely depend upon how to utilize the technology in a proper way for the benefit of the customers.
I came across various articles where peoples are talking more about “Web 3.0 means end of GOOGLE?”, “What industry is planning to go forward with the hyped Web 3.0?” and “Is industry ready to adapt this forthcoming technology?
To conclude this, I am pretty sure whether Web 3.0 emerges or not, industry is very much matured to accept the challenges.
If we think from customer’s perspective, they are always ready to accept new technologies. However it is purely depend upon how to utilize the technology in a proper way for the benefit of the customers.
I came across various articles where peoples are talking more about “Web 3.0 means end of GOOGLE?”, “What industry is planning to go forward with the hyped Web 3.0?” and “Is industry ready to adapt this forthcoming technology?
To conclude this, I am pretty sure whether Web 3.0 emerges or not, industry is very much matured to accept the challenges.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Who's Blogging?
As blogging has started to be a big part of everyone’s professional as well as personal life, it is the best way to connect with the customers. According to research 11.6 percent of the Fortune 500 companies are blogging & as per me the numbers are pretty low. So I am trying to understand what’s bothering them from not to blog and stay connected with their clients.
Per Ragamuffin Soul website there are 112,000,000 blogs in the world and the number is growing day by day like a virus. Blogging is a mean of communicating with the highly dispersed workforce and customers. A simple blog helps the employees and customers to learn more about the organization. For instance, check out the Raptivity, which is used to interface with the clients.
In this age of terrible customer service, blogging serves as a way to restore the confidence in the corporates & organizations, also it leads to improve products and services.
Knowing all this, I am still amazed why only 58 Fortune 500 companies are blogging.
Per Ragamuffin Soul website there are 112,000,000 blogs in the world and the number is growing day by day like a virus. Blogging is a mean of communicating with the highly dispersed workforce and customers. A simple blog helps the employees and customers to learn more about the organization. For instance, check out the Raptivity, which is used to interface with the clients.
In this age of terrible customer service, blogging serves as a way to restore the confidence in the corporates & organizations, also it leads to improve products and services.
Knowing all this, I am still amazed why only 58 Fortune 500 companies are blogging.
Self-Evaluation
Self-Evaluation is defined as measuring oneself against a standard of excellence. The standard may be one's own past performance, an objective measure, the performance of others, tough goals, or even something no one has ever done.
Following are some examples & aspects of Self-Evaluation
Planning and Initiative
Teamwork and Cooperation
Client-Service Orientation
Critical Thinking
Developing Others
Expertise
Flexibility
Impact and Influence
Information Seeking
Listening, Understanding and Responding
Organizational Awareness
Self-confidence
Self control
Team Leadership
Planning and initiative
Planning and initiative mean undertaking initiatives whenever possible. This competency pertains to current projects as well as to future opportunities or challenges. To what extent does the person not only think ahead but also act on future needs and opportunities?
Teamwork and co-operation
Teamwork and co-operation call for a strong willingness to work closely with colleagues or with other employees toward a common goal (task force, special issue) as opposed to working alone or in competition with others. To what extent does the person act to enhance the operation of his or her team?
Client-service orientation
Client-service orientation implies helping or serving others, to meet their needs. It means focussing on discovering those needs and figuring out how to best meet them. The term "clients" refers to both internal and external clients. To what extent does the person act on behalf of the person being served?
Concern for order and quality
Concern for order and quality is the desire to see things done logically, clearly and well; it takes various forms: Monitoring and checking work or information, insisting on the clarity of roles and duties, setting up and maintaining information systems. To what extent does the person pay attention to details and organize them?
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is the ability to break a situation down into smaller pieces to identify its key or underlying issues. It includes not only organizing the parts of a problem systematically and comparing all the aspects of a problem, but also figuring out cause-and-effect relationships (if...then...) that can help solve it. To what extent does the person understand cause-and-effect relationships, establish constants, gather items into coherent groupings, and find new ways to look at things?
Developing others
Developing others is the desire to foster the long-term growth of others, but without playing the role of a formal trainer or facilitator. To what extent does the person help others grow personally and professionally in the long-term?
Expertise
Sharing of expertise means both the motivation to expand and use one's knowledge, and the willingness to share this knowledge with others. To what extent does the person share his or her expertise with others?
Flexibility
Flexibility is the ability to work effectively in a variety of situations, and with various individuals or groups. It entails understanding and appreciating different and opposing perspectives on an issue, adapting one's approach to the changes at hand, and easily accepting and making such changes, be they in one's own duties. To what extent can the person change gears or drop the task at hand when circumstances demand it?
Impact and influence
Impact and influence imply the will to convince or influence others so that they end up supporting the speaker's plan or ideas. To what extent does the person use persuasion tactics?
Information seeking
Information seeking is driven by an underlying desire to know more about things, people or issues, beyond that required in the job. This competency may include searching extensively for exact information, solving problems by asking a series of questions, or stockpiling information that may be of future use. To what extent does the person go beyond the obvious to stay on top of information?
Listening, understanding and responding
Listening, understanding and responding combine to create effective interaction with others. They include the principle of dealing with people in a direct, open, trusting and respectful manner. To what extent does the person care about what others have to say?
Organizational Awareness
Organizational awareness is the ability to understand and use the power relationships. It is therefore the ability to identify the real decision makers and the individuals who can influence them; finally, it involves predicting how events will affect both staff in general as well as specific groups. To what extent is the person sensitive to the realities of the politics and structure?
Self-control
Self-control is the ability to cap one's emotions to avoid negative reactions when provoked, when faced with opposition or hostility, or when working under stress. It also includes the ability to stay focused despite prolonged stress. To what extent can the person control or properly channel strong emotions such as anger?
Team Leadership
Team leadership is the willingness to head a group and, as such, the desire to direct others. This competency is generally, but not always, shown in positions that involve formal authority. To what extent does the person bring a group of people to work effectively and in harmony?
Following are some examples & aspects of Self-Evaluation
Planning and Initiative
Teamwork and Cooperation
Client-Service Orientation
Critical Thinking
Developing Others
Expertise
Flexibility
Impact and Influence
Information Seeking
Listening, Understanding and Responding
Organizational Awareness
Self-confidence
Self control
Team Leadership
Planning and initiative
Planning and initiative mean undertaking initiatives whenever possible. This competency pertains to current projects as well as to future opportunities or challenges. To what extent does the person not only think ahead but also act on future needs and opportunities?
Teamwork and co-operation
Teamwork and co-operation call for a strong willingness to work closely with colleagues or with other employees toward a common goal (task force, special issue) as opposed to working alone or in competition with others. To what extent does the person act to enhance the operation of his or her team?
Client-service orientation
Client-service orientation implies helping or serving others, to meet their needs. It means focussing on discovering those needs and figuring out how to best meet them. The term "clients" refers to both internal and external clients. To what extent does the person act on behalf of the person being served?
Concern for order and quality
Concern for order and quality is the desire to see things done logically, clearly and well; it takes various forms: Monitoring and checking work or information, insisting on the clarity of roles and duties, setting up and maintaining information systems. To what extent does the person pay attention to details and organize them?
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is the ability to break a situation down into smaller pieces to identify its key or underlying issues. It includes not only organizing the parts of a problem systematically and comparing all the aspects of a problem, but also figuring out cause-and-effect relationships (if...then...) that can help solve it. To what extent does the person understand cause-and-effect relationships, establish constants, gather items into coherent groupings, and find new ways to look at things?
Developing others
Developing others is the desire to foster the long-term growth of others, but without playing the role of a formal trainer or facilitator. To what extent does the person help others grow personally and professionally in the long-term?
Expertise
Sharing of expertise means both the motivation to expand and use one's knowledge, and the willingness to share this knowledge with others. To what extent does the person share his or her expertise with others?
Flexibility
Flexibility is the ability to work effectively in a variety of situations, and with various individuals or groups. It entails understanding and appreciating different and opposing perspectives on an issue, adapting one's approach to the changes at hand, and easily accepting and making such changes, be they in one's own duties. To what extent can the person change gears or drop the task at hand when circumstances demand it?
Impact and influence
Impact and influence imply the will to convince or influence others so that they end up supporting the speaker's plan or ideas. To what extent does the person use persuasion tactics?
Information seeking
Information seeking is driven by an underlying desire to know more about things, people or issues, beyond that required in the job. This competency may include searching extensively for exact information, solving problems by asking a series of questions, or stockpiling information that may be of future use. To what extent does the person go beyond the obvious to stay on top of information?
Listening, understanding and responding
Listening, understanding and responding combine to create effective interaction with others. They include the principle of dealing with people in a direct, open, trusting and respectful manner. To what extent does the person care about what others have to say?
Organizational Awareness
Organizational awareness is the ability to understand and use the power relationships. It is therefore the ability to identify the real decision makers and the individuals who can influence them; finally, it involves predicting how events will affect both staff in general as well as specific groups. To what extent is the person sensitive to the realities of the politics and structure?
Self-control
Self-control is the ability to cap one's emotions to avoid negative reactions when provoked, when faced with opposition or hostility, or when working under stress. It also includes the ability to stay focused despite prolonged stress. To what extent can the person control or properly channel strong emotions such as anger?
Team Leadership
Team leadership is the willingness to head a group and, as such, the desire to direct others. This competency is generally, but not always, shown in positions that involve formal authority. To what extent does the person bring a group of people to work effectively and in harmony?
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