C2 Workshop's E-Learning Blog

Defining E-Learning Objectives

I am all set.

Backpack, sleeping bag, rain cover, tent, compass, et al... everything is perfectly in place for a great trekking experience.

But, where am I going? Blank. I don't know.

Interesting as it might sound, a very similar thing happens with my instructional designing experience as well.

Good command over language, great visualization capability to think scenarios, positive relations with the team... all conducive settings for a neat product to roll out.

But, where am I heading? What do I intend achieving at the end of crafting an e-learning course? It's all vague. I think I know, but am not sure.

Interestingly once again, there is a small tool, but a very powerful one at that, that I do keep using - read misusing - without knowing its real value. Objectives!

My understanding of writing objectives has been just this. Pick up some relevant verbs from Bloom’s Taxonomy. Make a convincing set of sentences out of it. Call it objectives. Freeze it. And, carry on! Period. It doesn’t carry any more weightage than this.

Because, nobody, including my learners, takes it seriously anyways. So, why should I?

The thing is, I fail to note that objectives actually define my destination. And, help me reach it, by:

• guiding me in selecting the right instructional procedures

• acting as the yardstick in assessing the success of my instruction. Did my learners learn what they were supposed to? Because, only then, does my instructional designing exercise come full circle.

So, it is imperative that I define my destination first, before embarking on the journey. To quote Robert Mager, “If I know where I am going, I have a better chance of getting there.”

Now, the question remains. Why do objectives take a back-seat? Why do they look so 'skip-worthy'?'

Let's discuss this part in the next post.

(Nirmal Ranganathan, Instructional Designer, C2 Workshop)

Freedom To Fail !!!

It is that time of the year when corporates queue up at colleges to recruit (or rather, shortlist and book!) students for their organisations. And placement activities at campuses are at their zenith.

As is the norm, the smart students are spoilt for choice as far as job offers are concerned. In a not-so-cruel twist of fate, it is the students who are finally left with the arduous task of deciding which organisation they should join. The fact that these offers are from some of the biggest Indian and multi-national companies only adds more layers of confusion to the already perplexed young minds.

Last week i had the opportunity to address students of two of the premiere colleges in the city. My mission too was to attract the VERY BEST brains to join my organisation, C2 Workshop. On the face of it, C2 didn't stand a chance against the giants we had to compete against. But we offered something to the students that most organisations did not... or maybe, were even scared to offer... the FREEDOM TO FAIL!!!

C2 has consciously built a culture where team members are encouraged to think, experiment, ideate, and innovate. And risk-taking forms the very essence of these activities. As we all know, fear is one emotion an explorer does not pack in his bags when he starts on his journey to unchartered territory. So how can we ever discover anything new if our minds are hounded by demons of failure?

Going by the response we received from the two colleges, i am delighted to see that the students too believe in our philosophy... that the FREEDOM TO FAIL is infact, the greatest freedom a creative mind can ever ask for. After all, failure is the mother of invention!

On seeing Thomas Edison fail repeatedly in his quest for inventing the first long-lasting electric light bulb, one of his colleagues asked Edison if he felt like a failure. "Not at all. Now i definitely know more than a thousand ways how NOT to make a light bulb.", Edison replied. A few days later, Thomas Edison brought light into our lives... forever!

(Ravi Pratap Singh, Co-Founder & Director, C2 Workshop)

Two-Way Knowledge Transfer @ E-Learning Companies!

E-learning companies are in constant endeavour to keep themselves abreast of all relevant technical and technological updates.

Understandable. Because, being on the cutting edge of their core specialization areas is what helps them offer solutions that make a difference to the human capital of client organisations. That said, a select few of the clients don't just receive knowledge transfer from e-learning companies. They give it as well, by transfering back new frontiers of knowledge that e-learning companies require to successfully meet the concerned clients' project specifications. Which is a wonderful thing!

In their own interest, e-learning companies would do well to recognize such clients whose contribution to their search for innovations, could turn out to be highly invaluable.

For, at the end of the day, intellectual growth needs to be facilitated through all possible ends.

More so, when the knowledge transfer is two way... with the clients sitting at the other end.

(Nirmal Ranganathan, Instructional Designer, C2 Workshop)