#skillsoft Perspectives 2013 - Higher Ed Track

This year I decided to hang out in the higher ed track. 
See what other institutions using SkillPort are doing.

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- 2 of the 3 higher ed presentations I saw used either another LMS or a portal to access and curate SkillPort content. The 3rd that went to SkillPort directly had a very targeted audience (IT folks).

- The big theme at ALL of these sessions was curation and curriculum.  General finding - the free-for-all model just didn't work when it came to driving adoption. People got too overwhelmed.

Our Organizational Development and Effectiveness group does their curation through a website and deep linking SkillPort content to point to specific content around themes.

We are also taking a long look at how people access the content in SkillPort.

My thinking - the closer we can get to the user where he/she is working, the better off everyone is going to be.

Since we are in the process of re-thinking our "intranet" and portals (otherwise known as "the SharePoint implementation") - we will have to rethink how people access our content libraries.  Permissions, organization, the whole shebang.

This most likely means SkillPort becomes a (very big, very important) content library in our environment.  Not necessarily a bad thing....
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When the Java issue came up at the Higher Ed networking session - everyone nodded their heads. 
It took a LONG time for us to get off the topic. 

One of the SkillSoft reps commented that they didn't hear that as much from the corporate clients. 
A higher ed person shot back:

"Yeah - but they all have much more control over what people are using and how they are configured.  We have to support anything that shows up on campus! It's a free-for-all!"

So true...so true.....
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SkillPort seems to be used in 2.5 ways in the higher ed space
  + Staff development (often to a targeted audience OR to benefit-eligible employees)
  + Staff AND Faculty "enrichment" (the .5, often including adjuncts)
  + Academic use - students.

The schools I talked to that opened SkillPort up to academic use purchased it specifically for that purpose.

Our school is struggling with this particular issue.  We are starting to see demand for academic use, but we don't have the licenses or the personnel to support it.  I know my upper management is thinking about what to do.  The current thinking is to get the staff development side working appropriately.  But since we already opened it up for students in the initial implementation (no structure) - it may be tough for us to stick that genie back in the bottle.
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The eLearning adoption issue came up in a number of presentations.

More interestingly - most groups that started with a fully asynchronous eLearning strategic approach quickly shifted to a strategy that provided more "learning choices" (read - the re-introduction of ILTs). 

No one really discussed why this was beyond "some people prefer learning that way." The education = classroom assumption.  But from what I was reading between the lines - most people missed the conversation and interaction element. 

The only example where folks seemed to prefer the asynchronous eLearning approach was some network engineers studying for the CompTIA+ Network certification. And they, apparently, heavily leveraged the live mentoring function SkillPort offers.

My takeaways from this observation:
- Increase emphasis on the live mentoring functions within the courses.  Especially for on-demand topics we no longer do instructor-led training on (such as Office and Google Apps).

- Make sure we offer some interactive opportunity / human support if we can't do a synchronous class due to resource constraints.  We already do this to a certain extent - but it was a reminder of how important this feature is.
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A little rest - then off to Universal's Harry Potter area, to make ourselves sick riding roller coasters and the broom ride :)

#skillsoft Perspectives 2013 - other stuff

The other sessions I attended focused on talent development.

To be clear - my job centers around IT training.  I am not directly responsible for developing talent.

Some cool ideas though....

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The University of Alberta created an interesting Pathways program leveraging various resources and focused on the 7 competencies they defined for being a successful employee at their organization.

I liked their first go at an interactive map.
http://www.orientation.hrs.ualberta.ca/pathways/player.html

They also give away patches and blankets.

Wonder if we could get away with "scout sashes" at our organization.
Be curious to see how that would go over.
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Active Network did some real interesting work with their management training.

They came up with the structure of "bento boxes" - 5 minute snippets of formal, informal and social learning objects packaged as a box.

The presenters emphasized careful editing.
The users only see what they need to see.
In some of their programs - they only reveal content each month.

This design choice was a result of users getting so overwhelmed with choice that they didn't start at all. Find that this curation is working much better.

The Active Network guys offered an iPhone app that provides a design example of what they did and gives links to their materials.

Of course - I managed to get a bit distracted by Active Network's event management and registration technology.

Found myself half-hoping that SkillSoft would partner with these guys to improve the ILT registration experience.

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I plan for my evening to be chill.
A trip to the hotel gym.
A quick meal from the in-resort market.
Some time to absorb the day....

#skillsoft Perspectives 2013 Day 1 Keynotes

One of the values of a vendor conference (to me at least) is that it allows me to see where my vendor is going.  What is their roadmap? Is it worth following?

Thus far - SkillSoft has been pretty good about listening to their customers (more so than any other vendor I have worked with) and keeping their pulse on the greater learning environment.


John Ambrose gave one of his better presentations this year.  He argues that 2013 is the beginning of the era of Learner Engagement.

- How can we give people what they want when they want it? 

- How can we make the learning experience more engaging?

- How can we encourage them to rent us their hearts, not just their hands?

- How can we leverage the visual experience that makes content more engaging?

- How can we create collaborative experiences that help increase engagement?

- How can we challenge our audience appropriately (since brain activity is highest when anticipating a challenge)?

- How can we use the new opportunities presented through new modes of engagement (like mobile, like wearable computers) and the data these devices collect to improve the learner experience?

We've talked in the eLearning space about the importance of learner engagement and creating learner-centric instruction for a very long time.  We've also talked about performance support and just-in-time learning for awhile. This is a nice summary of how these ideas dove-tail.
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The big reason why I was excited to attend this year's Perspectives was to hear Seth Godin speak.

He believes that we are looking at the development of a Connection economy.
Connecting is a human act.  We, as humans, are the best at that.

To participate in the Connection economy we need to bring 2 things to the table:
- Generosity - because no one wants to connect with the selfish
- Art - which he defines as the "human act of doing something for the first time"

Sharing that art, risking failure - that act leads to connection.
Through connection, we gain AND give value.

As much as I've been resisting the idea of being a connector - I just realized while Seth Godin was talking that I am being thrust in that role whether I want to be or not.

Time to get a lot more generous and perform a lot more art.
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"Is this the best I can do?"

The key question Seth Godin asks of himself daily.

I should too.

The Pandora's Box of Purpose

The Data Whisperer stared at my fancy 2 slide PowerPoint.

What about purpose?

Um...kinda didn't want to open that Pandora's box.  It depresses me.

Open the box, Wendy.  Could be fun!
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What I hear - Professional Development is the real value of this system!

What I observe in our organization (the allocation of resources and effort) - 
Compliance is the important part. Professional Development is a "nice to have."

You can see why I am starting to get jaded whenever anyone in my organization starts touting the importance of Professional Development.  Including friends and allies.  Because I fear they are just blowing smoke.

I know what I want - but I don't believe it is realistic. And if it is realistic - I'm not sure how to get there.

At least I am convinced it is a good idea.

Maybe if I hear it enough, and they say it enough, action will follow.
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Think of it in terms of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Wendy.
Compliance at the bottom - survival.
Then Performance Support
Then the self-actualization of Professional Development.

The Data Whisperer has a way of telling me what I need to hear.

I owe this guy about 15 beers and a really fancy dinner.

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So this is what I came up with.

My previous first slide was a bit too text-heavy anyway.  Still keeping it as a hidden slide for talking points.

Summarizing the Learning Ecosystem

I've been working with the new SWAT Team Member for Enterprise Business Process to help clarify some of my ideas.   Her mandate is to look at things in our world holistically.

She recommended that I come up with a quick single-sheet diagram of what I am talking about to share with others - Sr. Exec types, fellow trainers in outside departments, even peers.

This slide is a summary of the program / service we are developing. 
This initial draft is based on data I've collected over the past 5 years I've been in my job and my recent, focused, nosing around in our environment.

I expect some minor modifications to this as I continue my interviews.

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This, to me, is the meat and potatoes slide.
This is how we visualize this ecosystem.

I made it a point to make this completely application independent.
Mostly because I didn't want folks looking at this to get fixated on specific applications or specific solutions.

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I have been showing these 2 slides to my victims interviewees.
The reaction has been really positive. As in "a-ha" moment positive.
After each interview, I send the slides in the follow-up email with my notes. 
Figure it might be a good thing to let them stew on things.
Maybe see other solutions outside of the "we need to purchase an LMS" paradigm.

Still - I could use some feedback on this from the greater network.

Ping me in the comments or at @wwickha1.

Thanks much.

"We Don't Know Any Better"

This is actually the "Gorilla Change".  Though what I am doing may incorporate some "sleight of hand" - I really was hoping to find a video of a bunch of gorillas in a facilitated brainstorming session.
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I am in the process of performing a bit of guerrilla change management.

This means walking around and interviewing members of my "in-house" network. 
Getting a feel for who is doing training in our environment these days - what tools they are using, what they are measuring, what's working, what's not.

This does a few things: 
1) I get an inventory of what is going on in our terrorist-style network for staff training.

2) I get REAL answers (vs. the politically sensitive response or no answer at all when I stick a bunch of folks in a stakeholder meeting)

3) They get to ask questions that they might be too embarrassed to ask in a large meeting (see above).

4) We have an honest 2-way conversation (vs. me presenting and one or two people dominating the discussion)

5) I strengthen my network.

I am sticking my list of questions at the bottom of this post. 
The questions are meant to be conversation-starters.
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At the end of my first interview, my victim interviewee said:

We've been doing things the way we have because we honestly don't know any better.

Talk about crushing words.
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There's a form of the "in-betweens" I've been experiencing of late.

I know what I want - but I don't believe it is realistic.
And if it is realistic - I'm not sure how to get there.
And if I believe it is realistic and I know how to get there - I'm not sure it is a good idea.

So I squelch the want. Pretend it doesn't exist.
And yet....the tug....the yearning....
Wanting not to want the want.
And still it tugs.

I'm wondering if this dynamic is what we are seeing play out in the discussions around Tin Can Experience API.

I think even the most resistant of us want to really make an impact on our surroundings.
To make our colleagues better. To make their jobs easier.
To experiment and play with all these new possibilities.
To make a dent in the world (at least our immediate one).

Yet we all scamper back to the familiar.
Partially because it is familiar and, thereby, less scary. 
I think, however, we may also not believe the thing we want is "realistic."
Attainable.
Or how to get there.
Or even whether it is a good idea.

And when we stare at this "want" - do we believe that it is "better"?
Better than what?
Hard questions.

This could also be The Resistance / The Flinch / The Lizard Brain rearing its head and telling me I'm about to level-up again.
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The conversation-starter questions for my interviews:

• Who is your audience?
• What learning initiatives do you currently have going on?
• What learning initiatives are you planning for the future?
• Are you planning to add students to your audience population?
• What metrics are you tracking for these learning initiatives?
• How are you currently tracking it?
• What tools are you using in your environment
• Development (word, captivate, powerpoint)
• Reporting / Tracking (excel, access, LMS)
• Registration
• Access / Hosting (web page, email, LMS)
• What do you like about your system?
• What problems do you face?
• What other things would you like to be able to accomplish in your learning environment?

Use Cases vs Implementation

- One way to get pigs to fly
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I will be the first to admit that I am a buzzkill.
I see new things and my first thought it - "ok - can I implement this thing?"

A few weeks ago, Reuben Tozeman pointed to a couple of resources discussing xAPI.
- First was his blog post from January arguing for hooking into enterprise systems.
- Second was Float Learning's use case for xAPI. (This site will ask for your name and email.  Float Learning hasn't sent me anything as a result of sending this information. The box is unchecked by default.  Which I think is awesome.)

At the time, Reuben was (rightly) complaining about how we are talking ourselves in circles around xAPI and not coming up with good use cases. Guilty.

Then I started wondering whether the whole API discussion is a bit of a red herring when it comes to actually implementing one of these use cases.

A few things I keep fantasizing about will happen about the time pigs fly (without being strapped into an airplane seat, tucked in a cargo hold, or launched via trebuchet)

- Being able to put my grimy mitts directly into our enterprise systems.

- A universal API (a bit more likely as the business intelligence field evolves, but it might not look like or be Tin Can)

We talk about being able to leverage business systems to figure out what people are learning, where they are accessing this information, the impact on the business of these new skillsets and all that.

What if we just focus our implementation on the tools already IN the business?

So instead of worrying about trying to implement a new API outside of the systems I have control over - why not leverage the Business Intelligence folks who are already trying to figure out how to combine disparate data sources?

Besides, they (should) already have access to the enterprise systems and direct hooks into those systems.

This includes Google Analytics (or other analytics tools) for the web sites in the org, audit trails for SharePoint, even tracking around who is accessing what in the network.

I might have a better chance of making one of these use cases real if I use what is already at hand.

The more important thing to focus on - at least in my world - is defining the use cases most important to my organization.

At least we have one.