Mobile Learning - All Talk?

What is the reality of mobile learning in corporate learning organisations?

At the start of 2011, it was widely thought that this would be the year when mobile learning, or m-learning, would reach a tipping point and become part of mainstream learning solutions.

So, surrounded by all the hype, what actually is the reality at the end of the year?

What is its role in the learning mix?

What are the key opportunities and challenges in the adoption of mobile learning technologies?

In this Insights Report we explore the realities of mobile learning in EMEA corporates; the trends, challenges and opportunities.

To download and read our free report, simply follow the link below.

http://www.elearnity.com/EKCLoad.htm?load=ByKey/DWIN8PJEHL

Providence looks to chalk up Blackboard for $1.64 Billion

It is thought provoking that an e-learning company would be worth $1.64 Billion, in cash. But that's exactly what Providence Equity Partnership have valued Blackboard for, in their recent acquisition offer.

Blackboard have historically been the dominant player in the educational VLE market, although over the past year they have been losing a significant proportion of their market share to open source alternatives such as Moodle and Sakai.

So, what does this mean for EMEA based corporates?

Is this shift in ownership going to create some ripples, this side of the pond?

In the short term, not really. Blackboard isn't a name that has really been that visible in the EMEA enterprise sector. Their academic model, hasn't attracted much interest outside of the academic world in Europe.

But, looking further out, this could be a turning point for Blackboard, and could mean the start of a a sea change in the LMS market.

With the Learning Management System market-place moving increasingly towards a more holistic, talent and performance story, corporate talent networks, and collaborative work-based learning approaches; Blackboard's VLE functionality could become much more attractive, if Blackboard moves some of its focus from managing semester based education programmes to supporting the corporate learning context.

Augmented Reality and Learning

Augmented Reality seems to have hit the headlines. And if you aren't sure what that is, the ever popular Rory Cellan-Jones, has just produced an article for the BBC website explaining everything.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13558137

If you consider this technology through the eyes of Corporate Learning the potential impacts for Employee Performance Support (EPS) and Just In Time learning are massive; even truly mind boggling; especially in a technical environment and product rich environment where the learners could even be the customer.

But, who in the e-learning world is ready to address this opportunity?

With all the fixation on mobile content being about taking more traditionally focussed push and pull traditional materials to the learner, and collaboration this is obviously an opportunity for someone to exploit.

But, to some extent for developers of this Learning Content, it also means thinking about how you manage learning content very differently from how you do today. It will mean meta-tagging, data warehousing a rich set of assets... and I can't see most e-learning developers both internally for externally being nimble enough to be thinking less about layout on the screen and nice story based interactions and more about creating a rich, contextual learning ecosystem that is triggered at point of contact.

Augmented Reality could really revolutionise the way everyone one learns... and shift the reality of everyone in L&D... particularly those who have a product or physical context, but it means rethinking what the training departments is about and how it fundamentally operates...

Goodbye Articulate......

Hello... ????? well.. who knows...

Our Learning Technologies 2011 Videos

It's just over a month ago that we presented at the Learning Technologies Conference 2011.

In many ways it seemed like a distant memory; well that was up until Stephen Clee drew our attention to the conference videos that are now available online, and all the memories came flooding back - supported by the relevant slide deck..

Naturally, to anyone other than a complete egotist, the prospect of watching yourself back on video is about as comfortable a feeling as a queuing up for a triple root canal at your dentist.

Thankfully for the spectator tho, the videos are perfectly painless and pleasantly informative.

The Elearnity Presentations are in the links I've attached below, but the entire conference line up is available for your delectation.

The Changing Learning Technologies Landscape - David Wilson

The Key Steps to Selecting Suppliers and Systems - David Perring

The full 2011 Conference Video Archive

It's not quite Oscar material, but it's entertaining all the same.

Enjoy.

David

The Fall and Rise of Academies

Over the past year we have seen a rise in focus on Corporate Academies.

What is interesting is that this appears to be being generated from a couple of different sources.

On the one hand it appears to be fueled by corporates wanting to provide a platform for corporate social networking, and on the other hand, they seem to have grown from "Capability" based Organisational Development (OD) strategies, where an academy provides a focus for introducing organisational competencies.

The power and opportunity of Social Media and collaborative tools is self evident. You only have to look at Neilsenwire's article on web-brands for Jan 2011 to see the comparative importance of Facebook. When combined with the impetus behind Organisational Development (OD) in HR, it looks, at face value, to be an irresistible force.

But, the history of Corporate Academies has seldom been littered with success stories. Of the academies Elearnity researched 5 years ago, none are still operating today.

So, will the power of social media and OD make things different now?

Perhaps they will, but more importantly there are lessons to be learnt by looking back. Why did they fail in the past and what do you need to do differently if you are to make Corporate Academies succeed in the future?

Our latest Viewpoint Paper called "The Fall and Raise of Academies" will provide you with some insights into our view of the critical factors that are needed to help them bloom.

Naturally, the next chapter in how Academies are growing, evolving, whithering or flourishing is still being written, so if you'd like to share your story, please get in touch.

David

Getting a Clearer Vendor Perspective

Learning Technology is fraught with competing functionality and product views. If you wandered around the Learning Technologies 2011 Exhibition last week comparing your options it can be bewildering.

That’s why, today see's the launch of Elearnity's Vendor Perspectives programme, the creation of reports designed to help you to clarify, accelerate and de-risk your decisions in the e-learning market place.

The reports will provide independent analysis of Learning Technology solutions not only in terms of their functionality, but also their market presence, the completeness and sophistication of their offering, their level of innovation, value for money, scalability and user experience.

Uniquely, they are all taken from an EMEA perspective and appreciate the diverse corporate needs that can create. They are based on over 12 years of insight into learning technologies and the real experiences of real customers.

But most importantly, because we don’t have a vested interest in your choices, you can trust our objectivity and independence. In the past we’ve provided that insight on a one to one basis with our customers. With the range of options getting ever more complex, it’s time to provide a wider access into our perspectives.

To find out more about our programme, please have a look at our press release using the link below.

http://www.elearnity.com/EKCLoad.htm?load=ByKey/DWIN8DQE7J

#LT11UK

Trends for 2011 - What are the emerging trends in Learning technology?

The world of learning technology has changed a lot over the last 5 years. New approaches to learning, new technologies and new supply options are fundamentally changing the choices available to organisations. So what are the main options available to organisations today, and the key decisions or trade-offs as organisations determine their future strategy for learning technology? What are the key challenges and realities in adoption of these learning technologies? In particular, what are the key trends we see from our corporate research? This ViewPoint paper supports David's presentation at the Learning Technology 2011 Conference tomorrow and gives you a flavour of what he'll be covering. You can open the report using the following link.

http://www.elearnity.com/EKCLoad.htm?load=ByKey/DWIN8DEEZF

Elearnity ViewPoints: Functionality Isn't Everything:

The start of the year is a time of reflection. It’s also a time to start something new.

At Elearnity, that's meant us thinking about how we share our insights into the Learning Technologies market and corporate best practice. As a result we've just created a new report format, called ViewPoints. A summary view of what we see as being core trends and supporting models that will help you be more successful.

The first ViewPoint we’ve made available is a piece titled... "Functionality Isn't Everything".

Why? Tomorrow sees the launch of the Learning Technologies Conference and Exhibition for 2011. No doubt many organisations will be using it as an opportunity to do some window shopping; checking out the products and solutions that will help them take advantage of the latest functionality.

In a very timely way, this paper highlights the importance of looking beyond the corporate functionality tick list; to consider some wider, often more important perspectives.

So, if you are in the space of reviewing your learning technology options in 2011, you may want to hold these lenses up to your prospective vendors, to get a clearer view of how right they really are for you.

They may well just help you find a lasting match.

You can find the report here in our Elearnity Knowledge Centre:

http://www.elearnity.com/EKCLoad.htm?load=ByKey/DWIN8DEF32

Enjoy!

David P