Although it’s been around for some years now, Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) still draws its share of suspicion that it may be a less-effective approach to training than the traditional classroom. While some of us in learning and education feel this question has been answered and re-answered many times, we still find ourselves being asked: “Does it work? And is it worth it?”

Those are, of course, two different questions. As to the first question, the obvious answer is that well-designed and delivered training is effective in any medium, while poorly designed and delivered training is not. If your “training” consists of a disengaged lecturer reading his or her PowerPoint slides verbatim, it will be equally bad in both the real and the virtual classroom. The only advantage to the virtual version is that the students won’t need to conceal their boredom from the instructor.

If you require more documented proof of VILT’s effectiveness, numerous studies have been conducted and reported by some of the best-respected authorities in the field. In particular, Dr. Ruth Clark has written on this subject a number of times, and the weight of her evidence is impressive.

As to the second question, the answer is an equally emphatic “yes” — VILT is definitely worth it because it has proven itself as a highly cost-effective approach to training. Again, multiple studies provide solid evidence that this is true. And as we all know, in this recessionary and post-recessionary period of shrinking budgets and waning enthusiasm for business-related travel, nothing draws more enthusiasm from management than a better bottom line.

What are your experiences with VILT? Has it already proven its worth to you or are you still on the fence? If you’re uncertain (or are dealing with skeptical management), take a look at some of the studies and see how convincing they are.

While still relatively young, most of us learn a basic truth about human communication. As teenagers, for instance, if asked about a first date, our replies to our friends (“He’s a total hunk!” “She’s hot!”) are significantly different than our responses to our parents (“He’s a nice guy; we had a good time.” “She’s nice; it was fun.”). The basic truth, of course, is that sometimes we have to tailor the message to suit the audience, even if the facts behind all the messages are the same.

This is equally true in the realm of education and instruction. All training and development professionals have been faced, at one time or another, with the challenge of developing instruction for multiple audiences, using the same content but with a different “slant” for each group. This has never been truer than it is today, with the current economic crunch pushing most training end-users to require the maximum possible return on their training investment—a “more bang for the buck” attitude that leads to demands for the reusability or repurposing of training materials for as many potential audiences as possible.

This can be a real dilemma for training professionals, because we all know that the audience matters! We wouldn’t teach spreadsheet software to a truck driver who wants to balance his checkbook the same way we would teach it to an accountant, even though both might have a need. So when we’re asked to develop training for several different types of learners—with a wide range of interests and needs—(and maybe even for customers!) we know that we have our work cut out for us.

Fortunately, experienced training developers have wrestled with this issue long enough to come up with solutions…and even a process for effectively tailoring content for multiple audiences. Challenges remain, of course, but the process has proven itself repeatedly—multiple audiences can be taught effectively, with no compromises to the integrity of the material or the instruction, all within budgets that clients can live with.

What experiences have you had with developing for multiple audiences? How did you meet the challenges? Are you happy with your solutions? Let us know how your process compares to ours.

Remember when you were a kid and loved stories?  Like me, you might remember gathering around your 1^st grade teacher as she read a new chapter each day. I remember listening to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald who lived in an “upside-down” house and provided magical cures to children with bad habits. Great fun…and, as it turns out – great learning, too!

Whatever type of training you might design, develop or deliver, you probably face challenges keeping people engaged. Have you ever caught folks dreaming during class? Taking a mental nap while completing an e-learning module? Well…it turns out that one way to keep folks interested is through the age-old method of storytelling.

Storytelling can help learners place new skills into context and, perhaps most important…keeps them wanting more. They want to find out where the story line goes, what happens to the characters and how it all ends. How perfect!

In our work, we’ve had some great successes using storytelling for all sorts of learning – from classroom to e-learning and many types in between. For example, we recently developed some e-learning with a main character – our “hero” – whose story unfolded to reveal the correct skills to use (and not to use) in a customer service role. As the learners got to know our hero, and watched his story unfold, they not only learned the skills, but saw how using the skills worked to the benefit of our main character.

Have you used storytelling in your work? How did you do it? How was it received? Any advice for the rest of us? Let’s engage in some storytelling of our own…and see what we can learn!

Because e-learning brings education and technology together, your efforts may be judged twice!  From an educational viewpoint, how does your e-learning stack up against instructor-led training? When it comes to technology, how “state-of-the-art” are your online courses?

Independent studies show time and again that not only can e-learning be as effective as instructor-led… it can be even more successful than classroom training. In an earlier entry we talked about a study that said just that. On the other hand, many e-learning courses don’t fare nearly as well when judged on their technological merits. This may be due to lower-end e-learning development expertise, but – more often – it’s due to budget and time constraints.

Fair or not, most students cannot help but compare e-learning courses to more advanced technologies they see elsewhere—in gaming or in innovative blockbuster films like Avatar. The fact that these other media require millions of dollars and years of R & D doesn’t change the  perception that most e-learning looks like “horse and buggy” in comparison.

The good news is that affordable technologies, used with the right creative approach, can bring a new level of engagement to e-learning. One approach is the use of simple virtual agents—digital creations who can act as on-screen personalities to guide, coach, tell stories or engage in simulated conversations with learners. While not as realistic or detailed as their “Hollywood cousins” in films and games, they…

• Can have remarkably lifelike characteristics
• Can be created quickly and inexpensively
• Don’t require any of the technical complications or costs of custom video

Once e-learning developers realize that on-screen characters who directly address the learner are an affordable technique that can be used – even on tight production schedules – the opportunities multiply for creative approaches that stimulate and excite learners by relating to them on a more “human” level than before.

Have you had an opportunity to use virtual agents in e-learning you produced? Have you taken e-learning courses in which realistic, on-screen digital characters addressed you directly? How many ways can you imagine characters like these being used in e-learning? 

Do you prefer taking online or on campus classes? Skeptics have long contested that online learning is a sub-par substitute of conventional brick-and-mortar classes due to a lack of accountability and motivation, personalized feedback, community, visual cues that inform teachers of learners’ understanding, etc.

However, a recent study conducted by SRI International for the Department of Education reports that “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” In fact, Barbara Means, the study’s lead author and an educational psychologist at SRI International states, “The study’s major significance lies in demonstrating that online learning today is not just better than nothing — it actually tends to be better than conventional instruction.”

How can this be?

With the advancement of educational technology, many online classrooms now provide learners with unique and engaging learning opportunities that are typically not incorporated in face-to-face instruction, such as:

• Personalized, action-oriented learning experiences: Because online learning doesn’t lend itself to “information dumping,” most online curriculum is designed to elicit frequent student participation via discussion boards and “learning by doing” assignments. Because learners are accountable for “speaking up in class” frequently, the instructors can better gauge the learners’ understanding of the material and provide personalized feedback. Furthermore, because instructors cannot monitor students as they take traditional exams, many online courses use action-oriented projects to assess learning instead of multiple-choice and true-false style tests. Often, students apply key concepts and skills to a realistic scenario, helping them bring instruction “out of the classroom” and into the “real world.”
• Collaborative learning communities: Social technology like discussion boards, wikis and blogs enable students to collaborate synchronously but more often asynchronously over the Web. This anytime, anywhere convenience makes team projects more logistically feasible than in on campus courses, where students need to synch their busy schedules to complete their work.

Have you completed online learning courses? If so, how did the experience compare with traditional on campus classes you completed? Which offered you a better learning experience, and why?

As a result of the economic downturn, many companies have tightened their training purse strings; yet performance expectations are higher than ever. To help enhance your employees’ performance, one option is to search for low and no-cost educational opportunities like Webinars, publications, off-the-shelf eLearning, white papers, etc. Below are just a couple examples of upcoming learning opportunities  at low or no cost to your company.

ASTD Webcast—Innovation in the Workplace: How successful companies launch and sustain innovative practices

When: July 29^th @ 2pm Eastern

What: This 1-hour program will highlight how organizations develop and sustain innovation efforts. Anjan Thakor, professor at Washington University, St. Louis, will outline the types of innovation. Amy K. Hutchens, author and consultant, will discuss case studies on innovation.
Click here to register.

ISPI’s SkillCast Learning Series

When: Anytime (recorded Webinars)

What: In just 15, one-hour segments, you’ll experience the best in Measurement and Evaluation, Organizational Design Interventions, The Business of HPT, Analysis, Instructional Interventions, and Process and Tools from industry-leading experts like Ruth Clark, Jim Hill, Margo Murray and Diane Gayeski.

Click here to register.

And, of course, you can visit The GMarie Group Website to access our FREE catalogue of white papers!

Have you heard about Google’s next hit invention: Google Wave? This collaborative technology – scheduled to roll out later this year – is being talked about as a replacement for a slew of your favorite social media from Facebook to LinkedIn to MySpace to your everyday e-mail account. And…it’s free!

It sounds like this new technology will greatly impact the e-learning market. Currently, organizations pay big bucks for learning management systems that enable facilitators and learners to collaborate. Google Wave is set to include a variety of interactive, high-end technologies…free! Because it’s open source (like your free Google mail accounts), the cost of live, interactive e-learning should be reduced. Trainers will be able to host web conferences with learners on a unified interface where they can talk, view each other, share files, and access media — with greater flexibility than ever before. It’s a point-and-click type of technology that non-tech savvy users can pick up with ease.

So don’t throw out your LMS checklists quite yet (remember, the product isn’t out yet), but get excited because all your facilitators and learners will need to participate is a computer with a broadband Internet connection — and that’s all! In my work, we’re already talking about how we’ll use this tool to help our clients get e-learning faster, better and cheaper. Does your organization have plans to use Google Wave?

If your training audience snoozes, your company loses. Keep your employees awake via a low-cost, age-old instructional strategy that, if well-crafted, will keep your employees engaged. Storytelling not only catches learners’ attention, but it also helps them visualize a skill or concept in a specific context as well as recognize how using key knowledge can help overcome identifiable challenges.

To incorporate storytelling on a tight training budget, consider delivering your instructional stories via a series of brief and periodic podcasts, email communications, blogs and other free, interactive technologies. In each issue, introduce a new concept or skill with a story—and end the story with a cliffhanger, leaving your learners wanting more and motivated to read or listen to the next issue.

To read a case study, I encourage you to check out the Harvard Business Review article, “To Boost Knowledge Transfer, Tell Me a Story,” in which World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation offers its recipe for learning success through storytelling.

Not sure how to tell a story? Read our storytelling white paper for tips and tricks. Stories can follow a variety of patterns. One of the most common story patterns used throughout history is The Hero’s Journey, in which a hero generally completes a twelve-phased journey. Joseph Campbell, the American mythologist who outlined The Hero’s Journey based on his research of stories throughout history, summarized this storytelling approach: “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

So, what do you think? Do stories help you recall and retain information? Do they help you place unfamiliar concepts in familiar contexts, helping you transfer new skills to your jobs?