The levels of education standards we see these days, are mind boggling, to say the least! I mean, lookin' at the kind of subjects today's students are exposed to, I just can't stop feeling baffled.
'Oxidative Phosphorylation and Chemiosis' revolving around Oxidation, Electrons, Molecules, Hydrogen... is something I couldn't have imagined even in my wildest dreams when I was a student. And, the volume of content that deluges the students today, is again something I couldn't have digested even a li'l bit.
But, the fact also remains I was neither exposed to the technological explosion that's happening today. I wouldn't lose time in seeing it helping the knowledge transfer big time.
I'm kinda awe-struck to see Evolution transpire right in front of my eyes. Literally! The speed with which new things keep hurtling themselves in our midst is like, "Wow! We gonna drown shortly".
See this new trend that's comin' up. The QR Code or Quick Response Code!
A li'l futuristic, at the moment, especially for the students. Not a whole lot of them have started using it. But, the day is not far when they'll have it as a permanently installed mobile app on their cell phones.
Am amazed to see the way it works.
You're goin' thru' a book on algebra, let's say. You get stuck at applying quadratic formulae. All you need to do is locate the QR Code on the book, take your mobile, enable the QR Coder, click the QR Code on the book and there you're, looking at the URL of a YouTube site, that would tell you how to apply quadratic formulae.
It's pretty interesting to see how technology finds its way through to make learning possible.
In this case, being a bridge between the analogue mode and the digital world.
(Nirmal Ranganathan, Instructional Designer, C2 Workshop)
June 21, 2011
The "E-Learning & Interactivity" Bonding!
Kevin was all kicked up about the yet-another prize he had just won.
He tore open the wrapper in a hurry. The exquisitely crafted game console had his eyes popping out and sent his hands scrambling for the joystick.
But, it was missing.
Some more frantic search, and a small note revealed itself, "Hey there... We know you're a whizkid, and would master this one too in no time. For a change, we want you to just hang in there and say 'wow' for the mind-blowin' stuff we've put in here. How about that?"
Kevin cursed. Feeling mocked, he nevertheless plugged in the game and let it run. It was mind-blowin' stuff, awright! A technical wizardry Kevin had never seen before! But, the thing is, the 'wow' factor disappeared just soon after. Kevin wondered why? And, realized he was not an active 'part' of the game.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
E-Learning is so much like video games, on this score. It too gets 'disconnected' otherwise.
A caveat though! The 'levels of interactivity' it offers could differ, depending on the content and other constraints. That's to say, the interactivity component doesn't necessarily have to be such high octane stuff. Nevertheless, the bottom line is, it does remain the medium's backbone.
If an e-learning course needs to succeed with its learners, it has to keep them an active part of what it is discussing. Talk to them, engage them and keep them 'on their toes'! For, is this not the only bridge that keeps it connected with the learners? How does it, otherwise, differentiate itself from, say, a manual or a journal?
Going forward, the e-learning course may contain rich graphics, fancy simulations, and arresting visuals. But, the sizzle factor fizzles out, the minute the learners are let go off the interactive hook. And, in such a case, what remains of it is a boring page turner.
Such is the bonding that e-learning enjoys with interactivity. It can't be without the other.
In other words, if e-learning is the communication vehicle, interactivity becomes its fuel.
(Nirmal Ranganathan, Instructional Designer, C2 Workshop)
June 13, 2011
A Giant Leap Into The Cloud!
The Terminal:
Cut to the front yard of the country house and watch the two brothers, Dan - at his ranger cycle, cleaning it - and Duxe - seated on a rock close by, and watchin' him.
The Departure:
Happy with the way his cycle is looking, ready for the adventure, Dan looks at Duxe. "You sure you not joinin'?"
Smiling at the yawning Duxe, he gets onto his cycle and starts pedaling.
The Deviating Trajectory:
Sweating and panting, Dan braves his cycle up a steep pitch, his eyes popping out in anticipation. One last breath and one valiant push, he is at the tipping point and there... his cycle zooms into the air, with both a gush of wind and exhilaration ripping through his face.
Duxe looks around the dreary land and wonders what's up with life. "What a boring, hot day!" He yawns once again.
Dan goes for a free fall, with the rugged terrain beneath hurtling towards him. Despite deftly steering his cycle in the air, he just about manages to land safely, only to maneuver harder not to go crashing down the steep slope.
This is adrenaline. Gushing out of the thing called PASSION.
Steve Jobs!
How he transformed his passion into a miracle, he named Apple! And, how he continues to churn out miracles!
The latest one being the iCloud system that would allow the Mac users to access the same set of content - documents, photos, email, contacts, calendars - across all their devices.
This colossal tipping point is going to unleash a change in the way information is going to be shared in future.
Consider this. A student going through a lesson on her iPad at home, finds not just the same content on her iPhone when she gets into the train, but continues from where she left.
Imagine the boost eLearning could get out of this technological revolution. For sure, this contagion would spread out of the Apple systems - like the way it happened with the Graphical User Interface (GUI). It would all be there everywhere, with absolutely no space and time constraints. It would be a sheer evolution of sorts.
A giant leap into the Cloud!
(Nirmal Ranganathan, Instructional Designer, C2 Workshop)
June 04, 2011
Rapid Instructional Development: For once, Rapid doesn't mean Fast!
"So, you know what beam-ends are?"
"Aye, sir".
"Go ahead."
"The sides of the ship, sir. 'On her beam ends' means the vessel is literally on her side and possibly about to capsize. More often, the phrase means the vessel is listing 45 degrees or more."
"Awright. Report for the instructional classes from tomorrow morning, 7.00 AM sharp. We shall cover the beam-ends right from the scratch."
" Aye, sir. Sir??"
"Yes. Any questions?"
"Aye, sir. Just one question, sir. Was my answer incorrect, by any chance, sir?"
"No, you're right, boy."
"Then, why from the scratch, sir?"
"That's the only way I could teach, son."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It is such situations that pave the way for Rapid Instructional Development (RID).
RID speeds up the instructional development process by incorporating prevailing knowledge, existing materials and job-aids. It eases it up by simplifying, combining, resequencing, and even by skipping steps. 'Cos, a good number of times, a major chunk of the conventional Instructional Systems Development (ISD) model could be condensed, by obviating the obvious.
The ISD model uses a rational step-by-step approach and assumes that the content area is stable. But, newer realities include rapid changes in skills and knowledge. And, by this reason, they also include the need for faster and better instructional design.
RID techniques evolve to meet those needs. They flex their approach based on the nature of the instructional objective, the characteristics of the trainees and the context of training.
But...
Ironically, by no means do they point to or result in faster learning. In most cases, the opposite is true 'cos, RID, by its very nature, passes on some of the instructional development responsibilities to the learners, on the ground that they already know a part of the subject.
It's just that RID provides us a preferred alternative when we are working on tight deadlines, limited budgets and constantly changing instructional content. Nothing more.
For once, Rapid doesn't mean Fast.
(Nirmal Ranganathan, Instructional Designer, C2 Workshop)
May 28, 2011
E-Learning: The Fear Factor!
A few things enjoy a unique law of existence.
Take diamonds, for example. They're the offshoot of deep volcanic eruptions that had cooled into igneous rocks, close to the surface of the earth. But for this Nature phenomenon, diamonds wouldn't have happened, right?
Now, take e-learning. It's no different from diamonds. Only thing, this sparkle has sprung out of and flourishes because of a different source - the digital phenomenon. The phenomenon that disseminates information like nobody's business!
E-Learning too spreads information, but in a perfectly channelized way for perfectly carved situations...
Like those folks who are seated in a remote corner, say for instance. Or, those who don't want to sit in a crowd, for example. Or, those who can't allot that kind of time to learn the formulaic way. Such situations, giving the inevitability status to e-learning, could extend into a long queue.
And, these footings give immense room for the designers to craft the channelized dissemination of knowledge, in a most interesting way. They encourage them to use a skillful blend of content and participant interaction while creating a program.
Such content is designed to help the learners assimilate new information with relative ease, to guide them to modify their attitudes and change their behaviors.
All of this sounds great. But there's a Fear Factor and quite a powerful one at that, that one needs to content with! It's this. Getting the learner to 'be tuned in' is one of the most challenging tasks. 'Cos, 20 minutes of sustained attention on any subject, pushes the brain towards the rest zone. And, elicits a yawn from even the best of the 'brains', sitting in a group.
Now, how about someone who is seated all with oneself? That's the fear. How do we take care of his attention levels?
Bringing in interesting twists and surprises in the way the content unfolds, 'distracts' the brain from settling in for a predictable rhythm. Such twists also ensure that the sustained attention is not tested beyond its limits.
Being sensitive to the learner's psyche is one of the innate qualities of a good instructional designer.
The Fear Factor contributes well to that sensitivity.
(Nirmal Ranganathan, Instructional Designer, C2 Workshop)
May 18, 2011
Instructional Designing: Factor In The Invisible
Being entrusted with an ID project has a certain breezy feel goin' with it. 'Cos, every time, we get to shake hands with a refreshingly new situation, get to know more about it, ingest its essence, and present it to the audience in a way they could relate... and, learn.
It's not gonna be zilch though. The whole thing needs an indepth study of what is and a meticulous planning for what should be.
We analyze the people and their learning environment - their current knowledge levels, the age group they belong to, the time they could allocate for the new Knowledge Transfer (KT) and their capacity to imbibe it. Follow it up by designing the KT in the best possible sequence, so it becomes worthy of being lapped up. Develop it in as stimulating a way as possible. Implement it with the needed fanfare. And, evaluate it for the successful reception it enjoyed amongst the Target Audience (TG).
Now, these are the most visible things we do - Analyzing, Designing, Developing, Implementing and Evaluating - to crack the learning experience with our instructional designing skills.
But, how about exploring a li'l bit of the invisible?
The brain!
Being the 'center' of learning, it possesses an uncanny intelligence that veins its way through multiple channels to explore the unknown, without even having to be prompted.
Could any of us recall how we learnt to speak, when we were kids? We wouldn't have been even aware of the 'learning' part, 'cos we were too tiny to know we were learning. But, the verbal linguistic intelligence was working.
It's the logical mathematical intelligence that differentiates circles from rectangles, and makes sense out of abstract symbols.
The interesting part is, this intelligence is not the same as the verbal linguistic intelligence. It's distinctly different.
So is the case with the visual spatial intelligence that understands the world through colors, light and harmony. It's so starkingly different from the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence that in no way could it relate to the physical sensations and touch impressions the way the latter impeccably does.
We see the musical rhythmic intelligence at work when we find someone playing perfect rhythms on his briefcase. And, the interpersonal intelligence in a warm-hearted teacher who is a hit with her students.
Successful entrepreneurs have an intra-personal intelligence guiding them. Their feeling absolutely sure about themselves is, in essence, the manifestation of this form of intelligence.
Now, all of us possess all of these intelligences to a greater or lesser degree. How wonderful it could be, if our instructional designs could actively have something for some or all of them?
The very effort in this direction would bring out the ingenious, 'cos, it factors in the invisible!
(Nirmal Ranganathan, Instructional Designer, C2 Workshop)
May 10, 2011
Accelerated Learning: Bend It Like Beckham
"Hey John... Know what? I met someone like Hercules, yesterday."
"Oh!"
"You know Hercules, don't you?"
"Nope."
"You don't know Hercules? Just can't believe it. You don't know him? Oh, you're in the pits."
"Hey, cut it awright?! Tell me how this guy was like. I'll be there right with you."
"You know, he had a body like, like, as if it was sculpted. His arms were sinewy like teak. His eyes were sky blue. And, he was tall like a giant."
"Awright, got it."
John just learned about the guy's appearance. Almost perfectly! Almost as if he saw him! And, pretty fast too!
Accelerated learning!
Learning becomes fun when the content is given the right context. The context is what one knows. Content is what one doesn't know.
The context creates a conducive environment for the brain to engage its faculties in a way that learning happens much easier and faster.
This is one of the psychological keys that comes of great help to Instructional Designers (ID) in unlocking the learner's mind. Understanding the course content and the goal it needs to serve, the ID looks for familiar grounds that the participants could easily identify with and takes off from there.
Whatever John learned about the guy was enabled by the metaphors blue sky, teak, giant and sculpture. But for these, he might have been at a complete loss, now that he did not know a bigger metaphor, Hercules.
Maybe, what he learned was a very simple fact. But, the fact remains that his learning was made simple.
All, thanks to metaphors!
(Nirmal Ranganathan, Instructional Designer, C2 Workshop)
May 03, 2011
Where is E-Learning? A Bird's Eye View!
Swooping down the learning terrain, we see Universities, hundreds and thousands of them, racing to top the ranking charts, so they could attract hordes of choicest students, from around the world.
In line are the top-notch professor laureates who are on the most-wanted list, so they could cater to the best brains that pool in to the class room.
And, there come the most coveted graduate titles that become the most premium tickets for one's entry into the plum job markets.
What an undisputed, indefatigable and foolproof network this is, almost monopolizing the education system for the near 100% success it guarantees!
Now, where is e-Learning in this impenetrable traditional arena?
E-Learning does form part of the current academic curriculum awright, but a minuscule one at that, identifying itself as a blended learning module. Nothing more! For, the advantages of the former system far outweigh the pluses of this format.
That is the impression, at least.
What explains this? U.S. schools offering on-line courses have seen increases in demand for e-learning options, with 66 percent and 73 percent of responding schools reporting increased demand for new and existing online course offerings respectively (Allen & Seaman, 2010).
Now, what is indicated here is not eLearning substituting the class room sessions, but constructively supplementing them. Because, eLearning has its indisputable strengths too.
Consider these simple questions. Could any of the students press the replay button on the lecture session that just ended? How many of them could, without any inhibition, raise their hands to clarify a doubt? What is the impact of the peer pressure on one's psyche? How long would it take for a student to be left behind, in the sheer pace of the class room sessions?
All these questions are effectively addressed by eLearning. In fact, we could safely guesstimate that probably, the concept of eLearning evolved on these ground realities.
And, the new enlightenment dawning around in the education circles is this. E-Learning is no more perceived as someone locking oneself up in a room, with a laptop. On the contrary, it's seen as a flexible format that gives the students the needed freedom to apportion their time between their studies and their friends as per their convenience.
If students learn on the e-Learning route, it means they definitely "learn". No debates there! 'Cos, learning in this context clearly means that they just love the conducive format, for all the benefits it brings to the table.
And, the new generation employers aren't as much concerned with the degree titles either, as they're about the employability of the people they hire. If there's a real spark out there, it doesn't matter where it comes from. It's there, to be grabbed. That's it.
The whole thing has one great lesson for us, the instructional designers.
There's so much opportunity waiting to be tapped out there. Just do some serious tuning in and master the craft. Set the understanding right. Open the door.
And, get ready to be deluged!
(Nirmal Ranganathan, Instructional Designer, C2 Workshop)
April 24, 2011
Social Learning: Move in Pride!
Seeing the cub sprawl on the ground defiantly, resisting her training, the lioness turned her attention to his more responsive siblings.
Taking them through the life lessons of getting comfortable with the adults of the pride, she also encouraged them to simulate hunting by ambushing her.
She probably knew it wouldn't take much time for the peer pressure to set in, on the defiant cub.
And, she was right. In a little while, she felt her tail being nibbled at, by the stubborn little one, with a reconciliatory look on his face. He was willing to be trained.
Social learning!
This is what happens with us humans too. The inherent need to 'belong' instills in us the capacity to change our behaviors to suit the peer psyche.
Extend this reasoning to an organizational atmosphere, it so perfectly fits in. One doesn't want to be left behind, one doesn't want to be looked down upon and therefore, one nurtures an active interest to catch up. Learning happens by compulsion even in very informal moments.Organizations would do well, by taking stock of this basic psychological reality. By remembering that brilliant things happen in absolutely informal and fun moments!
So, designing the system in a way that learning percolates through this 'social learning' channel is surely a creative and effective route to 'reach' the employees. 'Cos, they have to be an ever-fresh talent pool that would keep the organization's competitive health in good stead.
E-Learning modules designed to educate the staff, for instance, would enjoy a better penetration, if the social learning mode is enabled. Where observational learning and imitation come into play, helping a spontaneous learning!
The entire concept of learning works on this simple, yet beautiful premise...
All of us love to move in pride!
(Nirmal Ranganathan, Instructional Designer, C2 Workshop)
ABOUT US
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C2 Workshop specializes in the design and development of custom e-learning solutions for corporates and educational institutions. Since its inception in 2003, C2 has delivered and deployed learning content for a wide range of domains for clients across the globe.
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