Elearning! Magazine August/September 2016 by Creative By Design

Best New Trade Magazine

Best Quarterly Trade Magazine

Best Trade Magazine

Best Overall Design

Best Trade Magazine

Best Training Magazine

Best Computer/ Training Magazine

Best Article Series/Trade

Best Themed Issue/Trade

Best Computer/ Training Magazine

Best Digital Edition

Best Trade Magazine

Best Digital Edition

Best Trade Magazine

Best Digital Edition

Best Trade Magazine

Best Digital Edition

Best Web Publication

Best Digital Edition

Best Cover Trade

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

August / September 2016 Volume 12 Issue 3 â&#x20AC;˘ www.2elearning.com

>> Learning! Champions

Honored Pg 37 >> Virtual Learning 2.0 Pg 44

Meet the 2016 Learning! 100 Pg 16

Pg 18

CONGRATULATIONS, Ascension Information Services 2016 Recipient of the Learning!100 Award Through its Talent Training in Technology program, Ascension Information Services (AIS) brings in a diverse group of new associates, including armed forces veterans, and nurtures the skilled professionals already on staff. These efforts and more have allowed AIS to earn the Learning!100 recognition for the fifth year in a row and establish a learning culture through which its innovative professionals can better help Ascension transform healthcare. ascension.org

We learn something new every day with video.

Your most valuable asset is your people. Deliver live instructor-led or self-paced on-demand training for onboarding, continuing education, annual compliance and certiďŹ cation. Learning is simple and measurable with:

A Learning! 100 Award winner.

Contents

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2016 VOLUME 12 NUMBER 3

>> Cover Story:

2016 Learning! 100 Winners Named PG 16

The sixth annual Learning! 100 Awards honor the world’s top learning organizations confronting global competition and constant change. Collaboration, innovation and high performance are the mark of this year’s winning organizations from Amazon to Vi. Discover their strategies inside. By Claire Johnson

>> Essentials

>> Features

8 9 10 11

34 Benchmarking the 2016 Learning! 100 Organizations

News Deals Trendlines People on the Move

How does your organization stack up to the Learning! 100? Eighty-four percent of the Learning! 100 have a Chief Learning, Talent or HR Officer. They embrace mobile, collaborative learning and lead up to 300,000 employees. By Claire Johnson

38 2016 Learning! Champions Inspire

The first annual Learning! Champions were honored in June 2016. Hear how these leaders are inspiring teams, changing behavior and discovering the power of data in learning. Scan the QR code to access to these inspiring leaders’ speeches. By Claire Johnson

39 Solving the 2 Sigma Problem in Learning One of the “holy grails” of education has been the quest to solve the “2 Sigma Problem.” The average student who was taught using the tutoring method performed higher than 98 percent those trained via the conventional classroom. That was two standard deviations, or sigmas, higher. Thus the naming of the “2 Sigma Problem” came into being. By Joe DiDonato

44 Virtual Learning 2.0 Virtual learning technology has evolved rapidly from satellite and audio conferencing to the internet. Today, learning professionals deliver 47 percent of their training via online or virtual learning methods. However, the content is more engaging, interactive and collaborative than ever before. And, the range of content delivered has changed as well. By Claire Johnson and Catherine Upton

August / September 2016 Elearning!

>> Essentials 8 9 10 37

PG 14

Intelligent Symptom Search AI Graduates Pinched Combating the Digital Skills Gap ELC16 Highlights

>> Management 12 Leader’s View

In 2011, there were approximately one million unemployed veterans. Enter The Warriors to Workforce Program hosted by the Veteran Affairs Acquisition Academy, a 2016 Learning! 100 organization. By Stephanie Belella

14 Business of Learning: Once You Stop Learning, You Start Dying If a sales team keeps a company propelling forward by hitting numbers and marketing spurs ripples by creatively capturing mindshare, what are trainers? Trainers help keep business afloat from the bottom up, imparting the data and strategies highperforming personnel need to successfully do their jobs. By Eric Vidal

16 The 2016 Learning! 100 Winners Named Collaboration, innovation and high performance are the mark of this year’s Learning! 100 winning organizations from Amazon to Vi. Discover their strategies inside. By Claire Johnson

34 Benchmarking the 2016 Learning! 100 Organizations How does your organization stack up to the Learning! 100? Eightyfour percent of the Learning! 100 have a Chief Learning, Talent or HR Officer. By Claire Johnson

38 2016 Learning! Champions Inspire Hear how these leaders are inspiring teams, changing behavior with learning and discovering the power of data in learning. Scan the QR code to access to these inspiring leaders’ speeches. By Claire Johnson

>> Tools & Practices 13 Virtual Edge: Supercharge Your Learning

Marketers have been leading the way for many years, delivering a simple yet attractive message in short snippets or segments, like TV advertising slots or social media. When training employees in a virtual learning environment, often the goals are very similar to that of a marketer’s. By Emma King

39 Solving the 2 Sigma Problem The average student who was taught using the tutoring method performed higher than 98 percent those trained via the conventional classroom. That was two standard deviations, or sigmas, higher. Thus the naming of the “2 Sigma Problem” came into being. By Joe DiDonato

>> Business 7

Editor’s Note There’s a lot to celebrate in this issue including the Learning! 100 winners. By Catherine Upton

10 Trendlines Statistics, figures and industry trends

13 Virtual Edge Four Strategies to Supercharge Virtual Learning By Emma King

14 Business of Learning Once You Stop Learning, You Start Dying By Eric Vidal

47 New Products What’s new in Software, Tools & Learning Platforms By Claire Johnson

49 The Last Word A look at what might be next for LinkedIn and the Microsoft giant. By Joe DiDonato

Elearning! August / September 2016

AUGUST / SEPTEMEBER 2016 VOLUME 12 ISSUE 3

Catherine Upton Group Publisher >> cupton@2elearning.com

Online@

2elearning.com Trending Topics

LinkedIn: When Freemium Trumps Premium By Joe DiDonato http://www.2elearning.com/ insights-blogs/blogs/entry/ linkedin-when-freemium-trumpspremium 4 Scientifically-Proven Ways to Improve Your Employee Training Program By Dean Pichee http://www.2elearning.com/ insights-blogs/blogs/entry/4-scientifically-proven-ways-to-improveyour-employee-training-program ‘Best of Elearning!’ Awards Honor 100 Top Solutions http://www.2elearning.com/top-stories/item/56408-best-of-elearningawards-honor-100-top-solutions

Most Popular Web Sessions

Learning Platforms: Trends & Practices http://www.2elearning. com/web-seminars-series/ item/56477-learning-platforms-trends-practices

Events

Enterprise Learning! Conference Online Sept. 8, 2016 7 A.M.-1 P.M. PDT www.elceshow.com 6

August / September 2016 Elearning!

Joe DiDonato Editor at Large >> jdidonato@2elearning.com Claire Johnson Managing Editor >> editor@2elearning.com Jerry Roche Contributing Editor >> jroche@2elearning.com Adam Weschler Manager Digital Programs >> aweschler@2elearning.com JW Upton Vice President >> JW@2elearning.com Larry Bagan National Sales Director >> lbagan@2elearning.com Kim Lewis Art Director >> production@2elearning.com

Beverly Miller Print Production Manager

Contributors: Emma King, INXPO Eric Vidal, The Marketing Scope

Elearning! Media Group is the property of B2B Media Company LLC 44920 W. Hathaway Ave. #1794, Maricopa, AZ 85139 • 888-201-2841 • 951-547-1131 www.2elearning.com Elearning! magazine is published bi-monthly by B2B Media Company LLC, 44920 W. Hathaway Ave. #1794, Maricopa, AZ 85139. Application to mail Standard Class is filed with Sheppardsville, KY Post Office. POSTMASTER: Send all address changes to: Elearning! 44920 W. Hathaway Ave. #1794, Maricopa, AZ 85139. Subscriptions are free to qualified professionals in the USA. All international or non-qualified subscriptions can receive Elearning! e-zine complimentary by ordering at http://www.2elearning. com/reg/choose. Elearning! magazine is a trademark of B2B Media Company and publishes under creative commons copyright.

Editor’sNote

A Winning Combination

very year we are honored to recognize the Learning! 100 Award recipients. These organizations continue to inspire, engage and surprise us with their commitment to making the workplace, and in many cases, the world better. Inside this edition, we recognize 60 corporate and 40 public sector organizations who all share a similar vision: Learning is an organizational imperative; Senior leadership leads or supports learning

initiatives; And, many have learning leaders driving a positive impact on the enterprise. Inside we share their stories including Amazon Web Services which embraces rapid innovation and business growth, projected to account for 50 percent of Amazon total revenues by 2020. (See article on page 16.) We have also added three new features in this issue. Within the cover story, you can view the advice and comments from the top 10 Learning! 100 winners by accessing the QR code on each page. The Learning! Champion Award Ceremony also occurred in June honoring individual contributions made to our industry. Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Frank Anderson, retired President, Defense Acquisition University offers advice to today’s learning leaders. Access his comments and other inspiring Learning! Champions (page 38). Finally, see how you benchmark against the Learning! 100 by viewing the 2016 Learning! 100 Benchmark article (page 34). Mark your calendar for next year’s award programs. The 2017 Learning! Champion Award application opens September 1st, 2016. The 2017 Learning! 100 Award application opens October 1st. See details at 2elearning.com. Next, see how two Learning! 100 winners implemented Virtual Learning 2.0 (page 44). Adobe shares its on-boarding program incorporating video, live sessions, collaboration and mobile aspects. UnitedHealthcare has advanced their multi-state training program to internal and external stakeholders with a state-of-the-art virtual learning platform that is part TV, part live event. See how your organization compares by reviewing the current trends in virtual learning inside. Also inside, Joe DiDonato, editor-at-large, takes on the two sigma problem in training and education. How can the performance gap between classroom based training and personalized tutoring be closed? Review Joe’s analysis (page 39). Finally, if you missed the Enterprise Learning! Conference in June, join us September 8th at the ELC Online. Keynote speaker Karie Willyerd presents “Stretch: How to Future-proof Yourself for Tomorrow’s Workforce.” More than 10 sessions are slated for a full day of engaging, interactive and live collaboration. Learn more at ELCEShow.com Let’s keep on learning, together! — Catherine Upton, Publisher

Elearning! August / September 2016

News

Growth Is CEOs Priority

Microsoft Acquires LinkedIn Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. Microsoft’s Chief Executive Satya Nadella wants the deal to open new horizons for Microsoft Office and LinkedIn. Currently, professionals use the two entities separately, but his goal is to weave the pieces together and have them work simultaneously. One way this could happen is by connecting LinkedIn to Microsoft Office calendar invites — meeting attendees could get to know more about one another in the same platform. Microsoft also sees opportunities in Lynda.com, which was acquired by LinkedIn in 2015 for $1.5 billion. “This purchase combines the shifting focus of Microsoft to cloud and enterprise capacity with LinkedIn’s talent, connection and opportunity capacity. Microsoft has been focused on the threat that Salesforce poses,”saidElliotMasieinhisLearningTrendsnewsletter. “And,LinkedIn providesadeeplinktothe‘connection’and‘opportunity’sliceoforganizational technology.” “From a business perspective, the Microsoft acquisition legitimizes the value of ‘social’ in the business realm. The acquisition shows that beyond consumer social networks like Facebook and Twitter, social networks have concrete value in business,” said Eric Ly, former co-founder of LinkedIn in a Predo blog post. “The world’s biggest software company just bought the world’s biggest professional networking company.”

BY THE NUMBERS

1.5 Billion Windows Users 1.2 Billion MS Office Users 433 Million LinkedIn Members Google App Uses an Intelligent Symptom Search Rather than calling the doctor when immediately getting a headache or turning to WebMD’s diagnoses, individuals will soon be able use a smarter symptom search from the privacy of their own home for their immediate health care concerns. Although not meant to replace a doctor, Google will bring the smarter symptom search to the app by combing through the millions of health conditions mentioned in web results on the platform and then check them against medical information collected from doctors. Google’s Cloud Machine Learning platform powers voice-command search in the app and could help refine searches bringing better results based on what Google already knows about the individual. —Learn more: https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2016/06/im-feeling-yucky-searching-for-symptoms.html 8

August / September 2016 Elearning!

CEOs and senior-level executives report growth as their main priority with customers now ranking second according to “The Year Of Digital Tenacity,” a new report by Gartner. Fifty-four percent of respondents prioritize growth, 31 percent said customer satisfaction and 27 percent prioritize the workforce. Despite these findings, a shift is seen on the horizon back to Customer satisfaction. According to Mark Raskino, vice president of Gartner Fellow, there was a noticeable increase in the word “customer” in the survey responses highlighting rising concern over customer satisfaction. CEOs believe their customer value will rise to 46 percent by 2019, but still lagging growth. —Source: www.gartner.com https://www.gartner.com/ doc/3275917/-ceo-survey-year-digital

CEO Top Priority 54% Say Growth –Gartner 2016

Best of Elearning! Award Nominations Open Celebrating 12 years, the Best of Elearning! Awards voting is now open. The awards recognize best-in-class solutions for learning and workplace technology products and services across 31 categories. Voting is open now until September 1, 2016. Vote for the 2016 Best of Elearning! at: http://www.2elearning.com/rss2/item/56526-2016-best-ofelearning-award-nomination-form

ELC Online 09.08.16 Registration Open

Tech Firms Lure Graduates From University Research Positions In the past, universities had their choice on top Artificial Intelligence (AI) engineers, but with technology giants Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Baidu expanding their AI activities to $8.5 billion in deals in 2015 alone, universities are having a hard time keeping up with the high salaries and exuberant perks that so often come with Silicon Valley. Those students in the highest demand are experts in machine learning. Technology companies have them perform many tasks such as spam-filtering, targeting better online ad placement, building self-driving cars and machines that spot diseases from images. In the Deep Learning field, where computers gather conclusions based on data sets similar to a human brain, nearly 40 percent of papers are written by corporate-affiliated authors according to a University of Toronto study. Graduates are drawn to large technology firms for more than just the salary and the perks — most grant them access to lots of computing power and large data sets — and the freedom from the uncertainty of securing research grants. Another risk seen in this trend is that most large technology companies are located in the United States. Countries such as Canada, who have been focusing on AI for a long time, will be hurt if their brightest staff members and graduates relocate across the border. —More info: quid.com; utoronto.ca

The Enterprise Learning! Conference Online live virtual event is open for registration. Elearning! Media Group’s 26th live virtual event is slated for September 8, 2016 from 7 a.m. PT to 2 p.m. PT. ELC Online’s theme is “Get Smarter Faster” and sessions focus on engaging and empowering employees, best practices of smarter leaders and building a smarter enterprise. ELC Online hosts new live sessions and popular conference sessions including speakers from NASA, SAP and NATO. Karie Willyerd, workplace futurist’s keynote is titled “Stretch: How to Future-proof Yourself for Tomorrow’s Workplace.” A timely topic given that up to 67 percent of today’s jobs may disappear due to computerization and automation according to an Oxford University study. Willyerd reveals five key strategies to extending your professional sell-by-date at ELC Online. Register online at: http://bit.ly/28SU3mH

“66% of job candidates want to know more about the company culture and values.” — LinkedIn JobTrends Report 2016

Deals GRAVITOCITY, INC. is partnering with SALES GAUGE. Together, the two will enable salespeople to improve sales velocity by identifying and reaching new sources of senior-level prospects and closing business with them faster. Gravitocity’s platform gives its subscribers unfettered access to LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, and Data.com, a division of Salesforce.com, providing verified contact information that allows salespeople to conduct immediate outreach to the right prospects. In conjunction with the technology, Sales Gauge teaches salespeople how to gain attention, engage and negotiate with these prospects through a mix of tested techniques

that are presented via live training and e-learning modules.

Currently, both platforms will continue to work separately.

Polish start-up BRAINLY boasts more than 65 million users across 35 countries and now its adding U.S. company OPENSTUDY to its portfolio. Founded by a Georgia Tech professor, Emory University dean and an undergraduate, social learning network OpenStudy has helped more than 54 million users on its Q&A platform. OpenStudy has raised $1.27 million from Learn Capital and the Gates and Hewlett foundations, on top of support from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Georgia Research Alliance.

MOODLE extends partnership agreement with VIDYA MANTRA to the United States. The e-learning company offers end-to-end learning platform solutions including course planning, content development and deployment of entire portals complete with frontend websites and e-commerce. Already an established Moodle Partner in India, Vidya Mantra is the ninth Moodle Partner in the United States. The Moodle Partner network is comprised of 81 partners serving Moodle users in more than 46 countries.

APPLE named LEARNQUESTas its Authorized Global Training Provider. LearnQuest will offer new iOS developer and technical courses globally to Apple’s enterprise partners and customers around the world. These courses will help developers building transformative business apps with foundational learning and best practice on architecting and creating native Swift apps for enterprise, and app lifecycle management to keep apps up to date with current iOS features and functions. Technical courses will assist enterprise customers and their partners with training on security, large-scale deployment approaches, and the fleet management of iPhone and iPad.

Elearning! August / September 2016

Trendlines News

Challenges with Data and Analytics

Combating the Digital Skills Gap Ninety-four percent of executives in the United States and Europe report a digital skills gap in their organization according to a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Many respondents are concerned about obtaining new talent. Forty-nine percent cite an insufficient supply of qualified candidates, yet 49 percent say there’s internal opposition to creating new jobs. To combat skills shortages, organizations are: Offering additional training to current staff members 55% Outsourcing tasks 47% Improving organization’s image among perspective employees 45% —More info: http://cogniz.at/2amJplm

British Army Utilizes VR in Recruitment Experience Using the latest developments in 360-degree virtual reality, JWT/ Capita was tasked with showing the thrill and first-person experience of showing life in the British army. The goal was to get an increase in applicants for the army and officer training programs. To fulfill the request, a small team was filmed as they trained in a secure house in an urban area and special emphasis was made on listening to battle orders, scaling walls and entering the house in order to show potential recruits what would be expected of them. Adventurous Training, Challenger II Tank Training and Army Parachute Training were also filmed and implemented in the program, giving viewers a well-rounded taste of possible scenarios that may be encountered. The films were a success, with an increase in the number of Reserves application and a 20-percent increase awareness that the Army Reserve is recruiting. —More info: http://bit.ly/2avGtRZ

Results included an increase in the number of Reserves application and a 20-percent increase awareness that the Army Reserve is recruiting 10

August / September 2016 Elearning!

CEOs are more involved with sponsoring analytics activities at higher-performing organizations according to a study by McKinsey & Company. Results indicate that senior-level involvement is key — 44 percent of respondents at higher-performing organizations report that data and analytics initiatives are CEOsponsored at successful companies compared to 16 percent CEO-sponsored initiatives at lower-performing organizations. Data & Analytics Challenges in Organizations Designing an appropriate organizational structure to support analytics activities: 25% Securing internal leadership for analytics projects: 21% Constructing a strategy to prioritize investment analytics: 14% Designing effective data architecture and technology infrastructure to support analytics activities: 11% Investing at scale in analytics initiatives: 8% —More http://bit.ly/2as6vJm

Trendlines

The End of the Annual Performance Review?

Annual performance reviews are on their way out and many large companies are shifting their ways to measure employee benchmarks in relation to their goals. General Electric, which once prophesized the annual performance review, is walking away from it. Previously known for ranking employees each year and firing the bottom 10 percent (that system was ended about a decade ago), it’s now ending annual performance reviews and legacy performance management system in favor of more frequent feedback via an app. Forty-five percent of HR leaders do not think annual performance reviews are an accurate appraisal for employee’s work and 42 percent do not think employees are rewarded according to their job performance according to a SHRM/Globoforce survey. Frequent feedback and employee recognition programs are two ways for organizations to meet challenges. —More info: http://bit.ly/2a5Bmbx

“54% of HR leaders do not think annual performance reviews are an accurate appraisal for employee’s work.”

Employee Engagement a Top Concern

Eighty-seven percent of organizations polled in a recent Bersin by Deloitte survey believe culture and engagement are some of their biggest challenges. Some of the ways organizations can dig deeper and solve engagement problems is by making certain employees are personally accountable for their performances and career paths — it’s easy to get bogged down when looking too far into the future, so it’s in the organization’s best interest to inquire about employees’ long-term goals, and set smaller goals to help each individual achieve them. Internal growth is vital; employees no longer feel tied to a company in the long-term when the company can no longer provide them opportunities for growth. Co-workers play an integral role in an individual’s engagement, through both peer-to-peer recognition, and sideways management — sometimes peer pressure and the eagerness to please those closest to an individual can motive him or her to go the extra mile. Feedback will be more frequent and two-way, upper-management can learn from those working under them and should be setting an example by being open to improving themselves. —More info: http://bit.ly/2atoTmF

People on the Move PETER DE PEDRO, and former Vice President of Leapfrog, DR. SUZANNE BARCHERS, have joined Monkimun, a 500Startups backed company developing language learning apps and tools for early childhood, a s their new Vice President of Curriculum and Experience Director. AN VUJOVIC has joined D Intellum as Director of Client Training. Vujovic, formerly the Senior Learning Design Manager at Cornerstone OnDemand, brings almost 20 years of client-facing learning design and development experience to Intellum with a background that spans curriculum design, instructional design, learning

strategy development, user experience and interactive technologies. In his new role, Vujovic will be responsible for designing, implementing and evaluating client training content and curriculum for all Intellum products and solutions. Former creative lead and founding team member of Toca Boca, JENS

MindTickle Inc., a San Francisco based provider of Sales Readiness software, has appointed MARC WENDLING as the company’s Vice President of Sales. Wendling comes in with more than 18 years of experience building and leading sales teams in leading technology companies such as ClearSlide and Sumo Logic.

LEO appoints learning technology expert BILL MASTIN as Senior Vice President, North America. Mastin joins LEO with more than 20 years of experience in the learning technologies space. Seven members joined the eLogic team: TODD HINES (Account Executive), BRAD NEWELL (Solution Architect), KATIE ULCH (Marketing Director), VIVIAN SADDIC (Account Executive), DANIEL WATTS (Account Executive), JUSTIN TURNER (Director of Implementation) and KRISTINA HUANG (Solution Specialist).

Elearning! August / September 2016

Leader’sView Warriors to Workforce Program Trains Veterans BY STEPHANIE BELELLA, ACQUISITION INTERNSHIP SCHOOL PROGRAM MANAGER, VA ACQUISITION ACADEMY

V Stephanie Belella, Acquisition Internship School Program Manager, VA Acquisition Academy

eterans from across the country began a new career journey in the VA Acquisition Academy (VAAA) Acquisition Internship School’s Warriors to Workforce (W2W) Program. They came into the program not knowing what to expect. Many of them had their military career cut short by battlefield injuries and were left to answer the question, “What’s next?” The W2W Program was created to answer that question and provide returning wounded veterans an opportunity to apply military experiences and highlytransferrable skills to the contract specialist career field within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other federal government agencies. The holistic program leverages GI Bill benefits to meet mandatory college education requirements and provides extensive technical and business skills training, advanced biofeedback work, and mission service. It utilizes a cohort model that provides a built-in support system and network that mirrors the team environment and camaraderie veterans experience in the military, easing the transition to the civilian professional world. In their first year, the interns earn 36 college credits in business courses. To date, W2W participants have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.5 in college level courses. At completion of year one, participants transition into existing career development programs, such as our award-winning Acquisition Intern Program (AIP). Through AIP, they go on to complete the education requirements to achieve a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Level II, which is recognized throughout the federal sector as evidence of a solid education in the professional career field. More than 120 wounded warrior veterans have been hired into the W2W program to date, which includes VA as well as three other government agency participants. Ninety-four percent have completed the W2W Program. Three cohorts have successfully transitioned to the VA’s Acquisition Intern Program (AIP) and one to the VA’s Project Management Fellows (PMF) Program. One-hundred percent of the inaugural W2W cohort that graduated from AIP was placed permanently in the acquisition workforce across the country. They come from all across the country, represent all branches of service and, between them, earned 27 Purple Hearts, 46 Combat Action Ribbons and six Bronze Stars. Veterans display many of the attributes that are important in contracting like trust, integrity, teamwork, problem solving, and leadership. Supervisors in the field offices where they conduct job rotations and are ultimately integrated into the acquisition workforce often remark that they wish they could be cloned. The undertaking supports VAAA’s mission of recapitalizing the acquisition workforce and the VA’s commitment to veteran employment. The program offers new optimism and confidence to returning wounded warriors and provides a great source of talent for the federal workforce. It’s mutually beneficial and rewarding. More information about VA’s Acquisition Academy is available at www.acquisitionacademy.va.gov.

August / September 2016 Elearning!

VirtualEdge Four Strategies to Supercharge Virtual Learning Trainers can apply marketing concepts into learning.

M BY EMMA KING

Emma King, Vice President of Learning, INXPO

INXPO’s Business TV is an enterprise video platform.

arketers have been leading the way for many years, delivering a simple yet attractive message in short snippets or segments, like TV advertising slots or social media. When training employees in a virtual learning environment, often the goals are very similar to that of a marketer’s, the strategy needs to grab the viewers’ attention and help them retain information. Luckily for trainers, marketers have already shown us many different tried and true best practices to apply to virtual learning. Target your demographic. Marketers work to place their TV show on a channel that fits their ideal target audience. “Top Chef ” wouldn’t air on MTV, and “The Deadliest Catch” would never air on E!. Applying this same concept, trainers should segment their content into different channels based on the learning profile, or demographic, of the specific user. Therefore, learning content that is relevant to the user is easily separated, ensuring that the learning topics are better focused to the user. Content should also be delivered wherever employees are with the option to choose to tune in from their phone, tablet or laptop. Create an “Aha” moment in a short period of time. Successful marketing accommodates shorter attention spans and capitalizes on getting a message across in a short period of time while still making an impact. Successful learning must run off of the same concept. Effective trainers should be creating bite size chunks of content that are easier to absorb and retain within a minimum investment in time. Run a social media stream in parallel to content. Live tweeting during TV shows has become an increasingly popular way viewers engage with programming. Marketers know this helps drive activity with their audience. Having a strong presence on social media helps create a conversation around their messaging. When applicable to external audiences adding a social media stream can give learners a platform to share what they have learned and help people to stay engaged. Social streams continue the conversation and bring empowerment to the learners though interacting with thought leaders on the subject. Give an easy reference. QR Codes, such as the one on the left, can often be found on the packaging of products that consumers purchase. The codes are often used to easily drive traffic to How to Guides & Instructional Videos. Marketers recognize that once the attention of their audience has been captured, they need to feel empowered to be satisfied with the purchase. For trainers, this applies to providing learners with a simple cheat sheet handout summarizing the key concepts they learned. The cheat sheet should be able to be downloaded anytime, anyplace, anywhere, in formats that meet the always-on culture we live in today. Next time you tune into your favorite prime time show, watch the messaging; take note of how simply they incorporate music, catchphrases and interesting stories to capture your interest in the moment. Then, think how you can apply this concept when delivering your training program. Emma King is Vice President of Learning Strategy for INXPO, which markets enterprise video communication solutions. More info: inxpo.com

Elearning! August / September 2016

Businessof Learning If Your Stop Learning, You Start Dying

Recharge your training by thinking like a marketer.

f a sales team keeps a company propelling forward by hitting numbers and marketing spurs ripples by creatively capturing mindshare, what are trainers? Trainers help keep business afloat from the bottom up, imparting the data and strategies high-performing personnel need to successfully do their jobs. That’s all well and good — after all, no company, whether enterprise organization or SMB, wants a stagnant workforce. Wasn’t it Einstein who said, “Once you stop learning, you start dying?” I stopped studying quotes years ago, so I digress. Sarcasm aside, the fact of the matter is that while training is necessary, it can also be sluggish and a big budget suck if it’s not approached appropriately. What can help? Train like a marketer — specifically, a forward-thinking, design-savvy, customer-empowering, data-analyzing, digital marketer. Here’s why. THE MARKETING GRASS — IS IT REALLY GREENER? Trainers often look at the marketing team in envy, with their big budgets, fancy graphics, and lavish events. Marketers in this digital age are sort of like hipsters — you don’t really understand everything they do, but you know it’s probably trendy and cool. This, understandably, can be a little off-putting to trainers stuck in a downward spiral of endless budget cuts, PowerPoints and 18 options of Word Art. Although marketers may appear to have more options than trainers when it comes to design (and the truth is that anyone can design, by the way), the real point of contention here is that many trainers don’t seem to need marketers. In fact, they have the tendency to exhibit a bit of indifference when it comes to the tactics marketers use — after all, isn’t most training mandatory? The marketing frills, then, don’t do trainers any good. People will show up anyway — donuts or no donuts, Word Art or cinematography. Not true. The corporate landscape is changing. Now, trainers have to approach customers and partners — not always the other way around — to not only help them improve product knowledge, but even boost product usage or revenue. In addition, some trainers today are being asked to improve attendance rates. That’s where marketing skills come into play. Let’s break down some of the major lessons trainers can take from their marketing brothers and sisters down the hall. MARKETING TIPS FOR TRAINERS Here are a few lessons trainers can take from the marketer’s playbook: >> Leverage, leverage, leverage. Marketers leverage spokespeople all the time, so why can’t trainers? Executive sponsors are recognizable, relatable, and authoritative. You’re probably not going to get an executive sponsor to deliver the training, but he or she could at minimum ask people to participate via email, intranet, instant message or Slack. Even better — have the spokesperson film a short video invitation to hype up the training. It shouldn’t be difficult to get the sponsor on board with this idea. It won’t take much time and, as a stakeholder in the success of the business, it should be a nobrainer.

August / September 2016 Elearning!

>> Make email automation your friend. This might not be suitable for all training programs, but it

certainly is for the ones that have to reach an outside audience like partners or customers. Trainers can send emails via an email marketing automation platform for speed, but there’s another bonus — analytics. Track those efforts to better understand which approach is working and which, if any, you need to reevaluate. >> Get social. Social is a powerful tool, and its benefits aren’t isolated to one department. Like marketers, trainers should consider leveraging (see, there it is again) social media organic and even social advertisements. Facebook has excellent options because it is user-friendly, affordable, and allows for hyper-targeting. >> Empower and inform, don’t dictate and preach. Both marketers and trainers seek to tell their respective audience something — that’s a given. The difference often lies in the approach. Successful marketers tend to view campaigns from a very human, audience-driven perspective. As a result, winning campaigns aren’t dry regurgitations of features and benefits — they’re engaging, memorable snippets of a bigger picture of a brand. Trainings can be, too. >> Go small or go home. Yeah, you read that right. Marketers don’t tell their consumer base everything about a product in one piece of content. Rather, they focus on digestible chunks presented in a memorable way. Rinse, repeat. Trainers can take a hint here. In order to get the big picture, sometimes baby steps are required. Breaking trainings down into segments can be an effective way to reach a larger percentage of the audience more effectively. >> Make it pretty. As marketers know, design and delivery are uber-important, and trainers can get in on the action, too. So, maybe all trainers don’t have access to the hottest design software—but I bet many of them have a smartphone or a device that can record video. Start there. Incorporating video into trainings is an easy and fun way to break up the monotony of text blocks and slide transitions. THE CASE FOR COLLABORATION When I worked at Cisco once upon a time, I worked with Faith Legendre, a wonderful learning and development expert at Cisco. She was always trying to get the marketing experts and training expects together when it came time to design, implement, and promote new training initiatives. She is the one that taught me that marketers and trainers can learn so much from each other. Legendre said, “Just like an effective well designed commercial that a brilliant marketer would do (hint, hint partner with marketers) break up your training into digestible nibblets, take the complex and break it down, make it super simple, sequential and fun. Then embed it right where the learner needs it on that page of the system, application, or even a Word doc.” I agreed with her then and I agree with her now — the case for collaboration here is a strong one. Trainers and marketers have a lot to learn from each other. Trainers, for instance, take so much time and effort to create content that can easily be consumed. They’re also great at making sure that knowledge is transferred. Marketers are great at identifying a message that will reach an audience in a memorable way — seems like a match made in heaven, if you ask me. If your trainers regularly had the help of marketers, how do you think knowledge retention and session attendance would improve in your company? Isn’t it at least worth a try? Can you relate to any of the suggestions above and find one or two that would be a cinch to implement? I’d love to hear your thoughts. – Eric Vidal, Editor & Chief Content Officer, The Marketing Scope.

@EricVMarketing

Elearning! August / September 2016

Meet the 2016 Learning! 100 Collaboration, innovation and high performance are the mark of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winning organizations. BY CLAIRE JOHNSON The sixth annual Learning! 100 Awards honor the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top learning organizations for innovation, collaboration and performance. The Learning! 100 are comprised of 60 corporate enterprises and 40 public sector honorees from government, nonprofit and education. These organizations confront the pressing issues of global competition, innovation and constant change. This year, Amazon Web Services shares how the largest cloud service company 16

August / September 2016 Elearning!

in the world can innovate at a rate of 722 new solutions annually while decreasing costs. Scripps Health takes training from the classroom and surgical centers to their new simulation center where practice breeds success and improved patient outcomes. Think of the training challenges of Ingersoll Rand which brings 32 organizations together under a single sales excellence program across a global sales teams. These are just a few of the great works the learning and development teams across the 2016 Learning! 100 have accomplished, all while generating outstanding financial performance. How is this possible? All of the Learning! 100 winners share a similar vision: Learning is an organizational imperative; Senior leadership leads or supports

learning across the organization; and many, (84 percent), have a learning leader who drives positive impact on the business. Meet these organizations, all 100, in the following pages and upcoming events, web seminars and articles by Elearning! Media Group.

Are you a Learning! 100 Organization? We invite you to apply for the 2017 Learning! 100 via the online application. Invest 20 minutes and apply October 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017 at www.2elearning.com/l100.

Amazon Web Services’ Outcome Based Account Management Program Delivers

More than 10 years ago, Amazon Web Services started as a storage service. Today, it offers more than 70 services for compute, storage, databases, analytics, mobile and enterprise applications. The organization announced 722 significant new features and services in 2015 which is 40 percent more than what was introduced in 2014. In 2015, Amazon became the fastest company to reach $100 billion in annual sales and Amazon Web Services reached $10 billion in annual sales. The two companies are very different — one serves consumers and the other serves enterprises — but both have grown organically over time and have placed an emphasis on uncovering — rather than dictating — company culture which contributes to their successes.

internationally and is receiving a 4.2 score out of 5 from global participants. Outcome-Based Account Management (OBAM) is the process, tools, competencies, and dialogue architecture for initiating and solidifying customer relationships through focus on the journey of the seller in a lifelong strategic relationship. The program offers a number of components which is what makes it effective including pre-call, pre-work, one-day live collaborative training session, three post-workshop coaching calls and on-demand OBAM playbook. Customer-driven products and solutions are at the heart and soul of this program and the results are in: >> More than 90 percent of Amazon Web Services builds was requested by customers. >> Amazon Web Services has dropped prices 51 times. >> Amazon Web Services continues to introduce low-cost services such as Aurora (a database engine), Quick-

Amazon Web Services announced 722 significant new features and services in 2015 which is 40 percent more than what was introduced in 2014. Consistent with the Amazon Leadership Principle of keeping the customer front-andcenter, the Amazon Web Services approach to selling starts with the customer and works backward. It defines success through the customers’ eyes based on each’s individual priorities. The program, Outcome Based Account Management Program Implementation for the Global Sales Organization, has been hugely successful, which is why it’s receiving the No. 1 ranking in the Learning! 100 awards. The program is being delivered

Sight (a business intelligence service), EC2 Container Service (a compute container service) and Lambda (a server-less computing capability). Amazon is working with well-known companies to innovate and fulfill their needs. MLB Advanced Media is an example of a customer that consistently helps reinvent the customer experience with the help of Amazon Web Services’ Kinesis which processes real-time streaming data. It works to measure every pitched ball’s movements

more than 2,000 times per second, stores the data on Amazon S3 and then performs pitching analytics and so many others on Amazon EC2. Collectively, the suite of services generates nearly 7TB of raw statistical data per season shedding quantitative light on baseball myths and pearls of wisdom. Netflix is another well-known company Amazon Web Services serves. About seven years ago, decided to move all of its applications to the cloud. It opted to work with Amazon Web Services because of the greatest scale and broadest set of services and features. With the success of Netflix’s transition, Infor, Intuit and Time, Inc. have decided to move their application to Amazon Web Services. Amazon Web Services already attracts more than 1 million customers and as the team continues its rapid pace of innovation that allows more capabilities for builders, it will be easier to collect, store and analyze data, allowing access from more geographic locations and rapid growth in mobile and connected devices. With this rate of growth, Amazon Web Services is No. 1 on the 2016 Learning! 100 top learning organizations. Amazon Web Services is a first-time Learning! 100 award winner.

AREA OF

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

WHILE ALWAYS KEEPING THE CUSTOMER IN MIND, AMAZON WEB SERVICES CONTINUES TO GROW RAPIDLY:

AREA OF

COLLABORATION EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE

Elearning! August / September 2016

Learning!100

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Leadership Development Program

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), a Department of Energy serves more than 6,500 employees in a number of areas including physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, computer science among others. The scientists work together to combat challenges such as nonproliferation, cybersecurity, clean energy, climate change, manufacturing and medicine. There’s an emphasis on values and employees are encouraged to uphold them with the way they interact with one another, sponsors, stakeholders and the public. With such a highly-skilled and educated workforce, special learning and training techniques must be implemented while upholding the organization’s values — that’s why the Leadership Developing Training Ulearn program was developed. More than 65 percent of LLNL has a Ulearn account which consists of a portfolio of resources that are responsive to the Laboratory’s environment, mission, skill base and future. Learning is aligned with strategic business goals and embedded in the workflow, accelerating business impact and global agility. The learning program connects with talent management, linking skills and competencies with succession planning and leadership development. Employees are empowered to charge of their career development and are supported by a program that promotes knowledge sharing and throughout the employee lifecycle. Financially challenging times and new workforce expectations require leaders and learning programs to be cost-effective and integrate technology. The Leadership Development Training Ulearn program was created as a solution to address both needs.

AREA OF

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

COLLABORATION

EXCELLENCE Pictured: Leslie Positeri, Learning

Development Specialist, uLearn Manager, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Upon completion of the training, LLNL discovered that 96 percent of employees surveyed believed that ULearn benefited them and 80 percent of learners were able to apply what they learned within six weeks. Further, LLNL revealed the return on investment for the program was 1,129 percent or a benefit-to-cost ratio of 12.8 to 1. A self-assessment conducted with University of California-Berkley’s Haas School of Business identified strengths and gaps in leadership abilities. Outcomes indicated that a plan for leadership development needed to be implemented addressing needs at multiple career levels aligned with strategic direction. LLNLs’ revised leadership program has three curriculum components: culture, leadership and account-

AREA OF

August / September 2016 Elearning!

AREA OF

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

COLLABORATION EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

HEAR FROM THE WINNER:

PERFORMANCE

AREA OF

EXCELLENCE

C U LTU RE

ability. A culture of trust, development, and innovation helps prepare leaders. An institutional set of leadership competencies help leaders move the organization forward and make informed decisions and each leader is accountable for their decision, no matter the outcome. When an individual has been identified for a leadership role, he or she will create a 180- day assimilation plan and over the following four years, he or she will work closely with management for assessment, feedback, performance tools and workshops. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a four-time Learning! 100 award winner.

EXCELLENCE

C U LTU RE EXCELLENCE

At Vi, Learning is a Leadership Competency

Vi operates residential facilities for active and retired adults operated by Hilton Hotels. Vi employs 2,046 people across 10 facilities and its corporate office. Vi’s strong collaboration with business partners and alignment of learning strategies and initiatives are what drives results. What makes Vi unique is how the company’s Learning and Organizational Development department engages with its business partners. Responsibility for learning is viewed as a leadership competency and is part of each leaders’ annual goals which are tied to compensation. This partnership has manifested in high levels of employee and resident satisfaction, high levels of employee retention and strong financial and quality performance. performance. Nine out of 11 of Vi’s locations have won awards as top employers and best places to work in 2015. Vi’s future success depends upon developing future leaders with the same cultural DNA. Vi’s Breakthrough Leadership Program does just that. It leverages the best of classroom, virtual and collaborative learning and multi-faceted evaluation techniques to measure each aspect of the program. Vi partnered with organizational development faculty from DePaul University to identify what specific elements of Vi’s leadership training program were effective and worked to refine what specific elements contribute to participant success. In the past, Vi strictly relied on program participant retention, promotion rates and participant and managerial feedback to assess program effectiveness. Although each component of this program offers the benefit of providing unique learning, insight, and reinforcement of concepts, each learning event has its own training assessment associated with it. A determi-

and focused on outcomes known to be empirically associated with increased learning readiness, training motivation, transfer of training and job performance. Findings included: >> Emotional Intelligent scores exceeded benchmark data across all dimensions by 10 percent. Overall emotional quotient scores increased seven percent to 86 percent with a 75 percent benchmark. >> Knowledge gains were evaluated pre-class, after class and one year later, and showed a 25 percent increase in knowledge. >> Attitudes and skills eval¬uated pre- and one year later reported an 11-per¬cent average gain across all dimensions including self-efficacy, utility, transfer motivation, role clarity, supervisor support, skills self-assessment. >> Engagement in leadership development activities asking for feedback by capabilities increased from 30 to 80 percent. >> All 13 dimensions measured saw a nearly 90 percent increase in abilities. VI is a six-time Learning! 100 award winner.

AREA OF

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

Pictured: John Quigley, Director of Human Resources and Tonya Piper, Human Resources Generalist, Vi nation of overall program effectiveness requires capturing information about learners that is based on the objectives of the entire program, not simply tied to a given learning event. The end goal was to design a more systematic approach to assessing training outcomes connected to learning across the program. As a result, Vi implemented a variety of assessment tools for participants, their managers and peers. These assessments were taken before the start of the program, during the program, and after the program ended to measure the effectiveness of each program element. In addition, Vi’s Learning and Organizational Development team engaged senior executives throughout the entire program (including virtual sessions) to reinforce key concepts and share personal learning. Vi invested in key partners such as faculty from DePaul University, Harvard Business and TalentSmart to deliver best in class solutions. Successful training effectiveness assessment depended on using multiple methods and sources of data

AREA OF

COLLABORATION EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

PERFORMANCE

HEAR FROM THE WINNER:

EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

C ULTU RE EXCELLENCE

Elearning! August / September 2016

Learning!100

DAU’s Performance-based Strategic Plan

Defense Acquisition University (DAU) graduates 240,000 students annually, serves more than 1 million learners per year and is on the cutting edge of social and mobile learning, as well as virtual learning. DAU’s efforts to develop and implement innovative learning strategies have enabled the organization to achieve international recognition as a premier corporate university. Looking ahead, organizational leaders continue to examine emerging trends and technologies to ensure that the university offers the best capabilities to the workforce, a task that requires constant self-assessment and reinvention.

unique enterprise learning strategy, the Acquisition Learning Model (ALM) into its first three goals that guide all of the university’s efforts to adapt and improve. The three-year DAU Performance-based Strategic Plan for Shaping the Future incorporates the organization’s unique enterprise Learning Strategy, the Acquisition Learning Model (ALM), into its first three strategic goals: foundational learning, workflow learning and performance learning. DAU has integrated with shared assets from all three to create a powerful learning environment for the new workforce. It recognizes that foundational learning delivered in classroom and online courses must be connected to robust learning that goes on continuously, outside of structured courses that includes workflow learning which helps

AREA OF

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

COLLABORATION

EXCELLENCE The current challenge is to not just to do more with less, but to do it better and smarter. AREA OF

PERFORMANCE

—Kevin Carman, Dean, Defense Acquisition University, West Region

EXCELLENCE

The Department of Defense’s priorities are changing; its current challenge is to not just to do more with less, but to do it better and smarter. Additionally, DAU has achieved global reach and phenomenal growth, superb customer feedback, and an industry-wide reputation and accreditation for excellence. To address these challenges, DAU’s Performance-based Strategic Plan for Shaping the Future incorporates its 20

August / September 2016 Elearning!

workers just in time and on the job. Performance learning targets students through high-impact consulting with specific challenges for programs, organizations and individuals.All three are integrated to create a powerful learning environment for the new workforce. The plan is implemented through a continuous multi-year process. The first year is executed and managed by an annual performance plan that is

AREA OF

C U LTU RE EXCELLENCE

organized by five strategic goals and more than 100 performance tasks to be completed. These are cascaded down through the leadership team and to individual faculty and staff via their incentive plans to complete. Another important DAU challenge is to help the new workforce and generation of learners succeed on the job. They will have fewer career opportunities for which to learn and gain experience, fewer mentors to help them learn, and fewer resources, yet still they must prevail. Meeting the demands of this new workforce has already driven significant changes in how they approach workforce learning and development. As a result, they are increasingly relying on DAU learning assets on the job. This new set of challenges has ushered in a paradigm shift from where everyone must play a role in learning and development and successes are gauged upon others’ rather than solely on each individual. The DAU’s strategic plan has been recognized as an award-winning best practice, received a six-year accreditation and has been awarded a commendable rating by the Council of Occupational Education. DAU is a six-time Learning! 100 award winner.

AREA OF

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

COLLABORATION EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

PERFORMANCE

HEAR FROM THE WINNER:

EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

C ULTU RE EXCELLENCE

Publicis.Sapient Launches New Salesforce On-Boarding Initiative

Publicis.Sapient recently emerged when French company, Publicis, acquired Sapient. The new organization is part of the everchanging advertising and digital marketing industry and has embraced an enterprise-wide sales excellence initiative. International mergers face significant language and cultural barriers. Sapient, who is still actively acquiring firms, has sales professionals who speak different languages, use different terms and sales processes and forecasting. Enter the new E-Learning Salesforce On-Boarding and Adaptation Program. The new series addresses these problems and is driven by an engaging video host that takes end users through an informative and enjoyable learning journey. Along the journey, users are introduced to new company sales philosophies and methodologies, step-by-step Salesforce process demonstrations, knowledge checks and even a little singing. To effectively connect Publicis.Sapient’s diverse workforce, the company provided a variety of ways to experience the journey including an internal learning management system and strategically embedding lessons and topics from the series within Salesforce. The interface is easy to navigate and host entertaining content. Based on the success of the initial program, Publicis.Sapient will continue to use this program to drive end user adoption and consumption with its Salesforce platform. The organization’s revenue grew by 32 percent (19 percent before exchange rates), and the operating margin reached nearly 16 percent despite the dilutive effect of acquisitions and high restructuring costs. Net income rose 25 percent. The free cash flow rose 31 percent to

Impact of the program: Revenue grew 32% and net income rose 25%.

AREA OF

of the numerous innovations that bring about breakthroughs or even tipping points for our clients and that require them to transform themselves, just like us. Our own deep-rooted transformation is radically changing our structure and work patterns in order to provide our clients with the most complete array of fully integrated services, a unique alchemy of creativity and technology.” Publicis.Sapient is a first-time Learning! 100 award winner.

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

COLLABORATION

HEAR FROM THE WINNER: exceed the one billion Euro mark for the first time in the company’s history. Maurice Lévy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Publicis Groupe believes that much of the success the company saw in 2015 was due to the company’s acquisition of Sapient and transformation. “Let me take this opportunity to thank all our clients for their trust in us and all our employees for their immense talent, their dedication and their energy at a time when demands are high. They had to take on the challenges of a hesitant global economy, our clients’ changing needs and our own transformation,” said Lévy. “Mention should also be made

EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE

Elearning! August / September 2016

Learning!100

Allied Command Transformation NATO’s Global E-learning Program

E-learning is a new area for NATO and during the past six years, the organization has taken it from being virtually unknown to 90,000 users largely due to Allied Command Transformation. Norfolk, Va.-based Allied Command Transformation acts as a think tank for capability development, education and training and exercise planning for NATO. Allied Command Transformation’s support to the NATO International Security Assistance Force, (now Resolute Support) in Afghanistan with 12 hours of online predeployment training has enabled more than 50,000 augmentees from 35 nations to prepare themselves with no classroom or residential training for deployment into opera-

Pictured: Paul Thurkettle, NATO E-learning Program Manager, Allied Command Transformation

Effective use of media promotions, web awareness and sound fiscal return on investment has influenced leaders to accept and nowAREA demand OF more e-learning creation use for NATO.

INNOVATION

tional theatre. This course requested by the ISAF Commander has met and exceeded their goals of reaching a dispersed and multinational audience across the world. Over the past eight years, the small training organization has worked hard to create online delivery of education and training, which is an important step in the future of NATO education and training. Effective use of media promotions, web awareness and sound fiscal return on investment has influenced leaders to accept and now demand more e-learning

EXCELLENCE creation use for NATO. Additionally,

the challenge of reaching a dispersed audience around the world quickly with full tracking and visibility has led to the success and acceptance of e-learning. Individuals participate in e-learning in many countries: NATO School Germany, NCISS Italy, NDC Italy, NMIOTC Greece. Collective e-learning training takes place in JFTC Poland and JWC Norway. It also supports NATO Nations Centres of Excellence and Partnership Training and Education Centres.

AREA OF

COLLABORATION

August / September 2016 Elearning!

EXCELLENCE

Using the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), the program focuses on blended learning tactics such as ADL, CBT, Immersive Training, mobile learning and Transmedia learning. Servers work on NATO networks using open source software where production is done both in-house and under outside contracts. The program offers direct support to its users. Many considerations were taken into account when the program was developed: The creators wanted to make sure it would be assessable at all user levels, meet stringent security requirements while allowing maximum user access and be considerate on non-English speaking users. The platform design needed to be functional, a combination of interaction and information and utilize authoring tools that require thought and action. Allied Command’s initiative has led to two major effects: the continuing demand for access to learning management servers with more than 2,000 new users per month and the new demand from all areas of NATO for course development and creation of online services, leading to the organization to expand its budget and manpower team. NATO is a first time Learning! 100 Award Winner.

AREA OF

INNOVATION

HEAR FROM THE WINNER:

EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

COLLABORATION EXCELLENCE

Scripps Health Opens Simulation Center for Collaborative Medicine

Scripps Health invests more than $35 million annually in employee learning and development, including $1.56 million in scholarships and tuition reimbursement in its effort to continually recruit employees. Scripps Center for Learning & Innovation (CFLI) offers a full range of programs, performance consulting, clinical trainings and leadership education. Scripps also provides talent development, career services and coaching to maximize the employees’ career potential. In 2015, the organization began using a talent portfolio approach by developing a catalog of current employee talent and proactively reaching out to staff about new career opportunities, programs and development opportunities. Senior Corporate Vice President Vic Buzachero says, “We invest in learning so employees can grow with the organization and achieve their career goals while meeting the community’s health needs.” One of its crowning achievements, the Scripps Simulation Center opened in 2015 providing employees (clinicians and support staff) the opportunity to practice decision-making, team interactions, and hands-on application of knowledge in a safe, real-time environment. The center promotes high-quality standardized safe patient care and is a venue for fostering positive change in work processes while enhancing skill acquisition and mastery. This new setting for learning supports the onboarding and continued skill development of registered nurses and other key staff roles. It’s a venue that allows for facilitation of return demonstrations providing coaching and remediation tailored to each in-

dividual. The program has reinvigorated both trainers and learners and brought a renewed interest in practicing patient care within multidisciplinary teams. CFLI staff members attend simulations training and conferences and visited existing simulation units at local schools and health facilities to discover the best learning outcomes and practices. Scripps leaders collaborated to provide space for the center and promote a revised teaching methodology within their teams. To achieve a ratio of one trained validator for every three students, a pool of clinicians has been engaged and upskilled in simulation management techniques. In collaboration with the recruitment team, new hire registered nurse orientation is expanding from three days to four. Multidisciplinary staff, including housekeeping, are trained and performance is directly observed in the simulated patient care area rather than a classroom setting. A gap analysis was conducted and an extensive list of resources was identified to operate a state-of-the art health care simulation facility was identified. The centralized Scripps Simulation Center provides increased efficiencies by more rapidly mobilizing competent staff to new patient care assignments. In this way the Scripps Health enterprise has addressed the increased need for flexibility in supplying highly skilled care providers. The Simulation Center produces a financial labor savings by decreasing the demand for external labor sources while providing improved productivity at the bedside. The center has fostered the development and deployment of standardized workflows while identifying areas requiring ongoing professional and skill

Pictured: Nancy Saks, Center Director, Scripps Simulation Center, Scripps Health development. The quality of care as measured by such high risk indicators as hospital acquired infection rates, safe patient movement, and patient and staff satisfaction can now be addressed utilizing a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach that allows for piloting proposed solutions prior to widespread implementation. Scripps Health is a five-time Learning! 100 award winner. HEAR FROM THE WINNER:

AREA OF

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

Elearning! August / September 2016

Learning!100

NASCAR Trains at 225 MPH

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is a sanctioning body for stock car racing with an extensive brand portfolio including the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The K&N Series and the Whelen Modified Tours serve as a training ground for up-and-coming drivers. In addition, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), a company within the NASCAR family, is the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. The organization also has a presence in Canada (NASCAR Pinty’s Series), Mexico (NASCAR Mexico Series) and Europe (NASCAR Whelen Euro Series). As with any company with international ties, language barriers are to be expected. Couple that with fast cars where mechanical problems are expected, members of the learning and development team have their work cut out for them. NASCAR employees are continuously encouraged to grow through multiple means; including challenging job assignments, team projects and workplace training. To help employees continuously learn, grow and accelerate, NASCAR offers a hybrid of self-paced and traditional classroom learning programs. The company believes that learning is the key to keeping NASCAR in “victory lane.” In early 2016, NASCAR introduced its Home Tracks Online Training Program to equip newly hired officials with the tools needed to accurately conduct vehicle inspections in accordance with rulebooks and regulations. NASCAR’s Training and Development team partnered with NASCAR Competition subject matter experts when designing and implementing the new train-

ing program which targets nearly 100 NASCAR Home Tracks across North America. Before implementation, there was limited standard training available on a national level to new officials entering the sport and there wasn’t a tool in place to gauge knowledge and understanding of race rulebooks. To address the challenge, NASCAR implemented e-learning modules in a learning management system to give newly hired officials the opportunity and resources they needed to learn the rulebooks at their own speed. The Training and Development team worked with subject matter experts to develop detailed e-learning modules that covered various topics including inspections. All of this was supplemented with the use of Intellum’s Tribe Social, a social learning tool that provides tracks and a platform for head technology officials a private and secure communication tool without the distractions and security issues of public websites. The success of Home Tracks Online Training Program is measured in three areas: participation, efficiency and learning. Within three months, more than 20 percent of NASCAR Home Tracks employees enrolled in the program. Results found that due to the technologymediated nature of e-learning modules, the program greatly reduced the need for hands-on training freeing up more

AREA OF

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

COLLABORATION EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

PERFORMANCE

August / September 2016 Elearning!

EXCELLENCE

Pictured: Karen Masencup, Director, Training & Development, NASCAR

AREA OF

INNOVATION

time for both participants and supervisors. The program exceeds testing and reporting capabilities making it possible to gauge participants’ understanding for on-the-job decision-making and performance, which is especially important when working with heavy machinery. NASCAR continues to develop training that is in the “Victory Lane!” NASCAR is a three-time Learning! 100 award winner.

EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

COLLABORATION

NASCAR WINS IN MORE THAN THE LEARNING! 100:

EXCELLENCE

AREA OF

PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE

Navy Federal Credit Union’s Culture of Retention

Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) maintains a unique workplace culture that attracts, engages, retains, and develops a highly talented workforce. The organization believes that professional development and education starts at the point of hire, and continues throughout each employee’s career. It continually invests in its employees to drive engagement, commitment and quality of service to customers. Many employees join the team at entry level positions and stay their entire careers because of the

learning culture has cascaded throughout the organization. NFCU’s goals are to develop a capable workforce and provide development resources for all employees. The organization recently released a new version of its interactive tool, Pathfinder. Pathfinder provides guidance on learning resources relevant to a chosen career path. It is available on the company’s intranet (eNet), giving all employees access to the valuable information and resources helping guide their development. One of the new features that Pathfinder offers is a step-by-step process for employees to develop specific competencies, develop in their current position, or develop for a future position. The first step provides options em-

Many employees join the team at entry level positions and stay their entire careers because of the professional development opportunities. --Ritu Hudson, Development Manager, Navy Federal Credit Union professional development opportunities. NFCU encourages a culture that promotes from within; numerous senior leaders started their careers and have grown into their current roles with the help of the learning opportunities available to them as their careers progressed. NFCU employees are instrumental in the continued success of the organization and much of their loyalty, skill level, and engagement can be attributed to the training and development they received. NFCU’s robust

ployees can select based on the type of development they’re seeking. When the employee selects a specific competency, a list of relevant workshops and e-learning courses is revealed to educate him or her on offerings that are pertinent to his or her chosen growth area. When the employee selects the option for either development in their current or future role, Pathfinder instantly shows relevant resources including instructorled courses and a comprehensive list of ideas and suggestions for the employee

to acquire the necessary skills required for the role. Employees’ initial response to the new Pathfinder have been positive — they appreciate having additional resources to help them drive their own development. NFCU realized that in order to achieve strategic business goals, its career development offerings need to ensure employees perform their current jobs effectively, accurately, and efficiently, and provide the opportunity for employees to grow and develop for future job roles. The workshops, course and tools detailed in Pathfinder was the solution. Every employee has the opportunity to register for instructor led workshops, e-learning course, leadership curriculum, career development coaching, and job shadow opportunities. Results of their recent Employee Engagement Survey show that 87 percent of employees believe NFCU provides training opportunities to improve their skills. In 2014, 34 percent of all open positions in the organization were filled internally. Additionally, 85 percent of vice presidents were hired internally. NFCU is a five-time Learning! 100 award winner. HEAR FROM THE WINNER:

AREA OF

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

Elearning! August / September 2016

Learning!100

Veteran’s Affairs Acquisition Academy Launches Warrior to Work Initiative

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is responsible for providing federal benefits to more than 23.4 million veterans and their families. The VA Acquisition Academy (VAAA) trains employees who manage more than $17 billion to ensure it efficiently and effectively provides the services to U.S. veterans. An integrated competencybased training curriculum is offered to certify this team. The VAAA’s fundamental learning strategy reflects a commitment to stakeholder engagement and value measurement methodologies ensuring that all business results support the VA major initiatives. In 2011, there were approximately one million unemployed veterans and the unemployment rate for post-9/11 wounded veterans ages 18-34 was, and still is, significantly higher than the rest of the veteran and civilian population. Therefore, the VA developed a program that was designed to address both needs by training post-9/11 wounded veterans whose careers were cut short due to a service connected disability as contract specialists. This undertaking, The Warriors to Workforce (W2W) Program, supports the VAAA’s mission to support the Secretary’s commitment to Veteran employment and succession planning for the acquisition workforce. W2W also supports the President’s Executive Order 13518 to do everything in our power to assist veterans in re-entering civilian life and finding employment. W2W is a one-year transition program at VAAA that offers Veterans an opportunity to build a new career in the federal government by applying their military experiences and skills to

the acquisition field. The ees. So far, three other program focuses on transigovernment agencies tional support, mentoring, (OGAs) have parprofessional development, ticipated in the W2W and foundational career Program and hired training activities to equip and placed ten W2W wounded veterans with interns. The W2W skills and experiences that program consistently allow them to serve a new validates effectiveness, mission as federal civil serincorporates lessons vants. After completing the learned, and moniW2W Program, individuals tors 28 key program advance to existing entrymetrics. W2W suclevel internship programs cesses include: Average Pictured: Stephanie to complete their transition college course GPA of Belella, Acquisition to a professional career. 3.5 out of 4.0; PerforW2W participants have Internship School Program mance rating of 4.5/5.0 successfully transitioned into careers given by supervisors during training as both contract specialists and project rotations; more than 20 W2W interns managers through two programs: the will have college degrees by December two-year Acquisition Intern Program 2016; peak performance training has re(AIP) and the Project Manager Felsulted in 165 percent average improvelows (PMF) Program. Since W2W is ment in attention, 122 percent average designed as a feeder program for varibrain speed improvement for working ous professional track programs, the memory, 139 percent average improvetransition year can be customized and ment on short term memory recall and paired for transition into other career 82 percent average improvement in development programs as well. Interns problem-solving. To learn more about are hired as grade level five federal the W2W program, visit http://www. government employees. acquisitionacademy.va.gov/schools/inThe W2W curriculum includes four ternship/w2wProgram.asp. main components; Business Education, The VA Acquisition Academy is a sixProfessional Development, Mission Sertime Learning! 100 award winner. vice, and Peak Performance Training. The Business Education (BE) compoHEAR FROM THE WINNER: nent provides the necessary knowledge and college credits to meet the positive education requirements to enter the contract specialist or PM career fields. The BE component can be customized for other career fields. To date, the W2W program has hired 93 service-disabled Veterans. Among three cohorts 96 percent (89) completed the program and 24 Veterans are currently active in the program. Two additional cohorts began in February 2016. Of those W2W interns who graduated from AIP and PMF, 100 percent were placed as full time government employ-

AREA OF

INNOVATION

AREA OF

EXCELLENCE

COLLABORATION

AREA OF

EXCELLENCE

PERFORMANCE

AREA OF

EXCELLENCE

C U LTURE

AREA OF

August / September 2016 Elearning!

EXCELLENCE

C ULTU RE EXCELLENCE

You...

Create learning programs that deliver results! Innovate, collaborate and outperform your competitors!

Master budget woes to woo your employees, customers and partners.

Now let us honor you and your teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s excellence.

Apply now at www.2elearning.com/awards/learning-100-awards Application open 10.1.16 to 1.31.17.

Government, non-profit and educational organizations can apply free.

Learning!100

PRIVATE SECTOR ENTERPRISE TOP 60 Rank

Company Name

Industry

Revenues/ Operating Budget

Amazon Web Services

Internet Services

$107 Billion

97,000 Outcome Based Acct Mgt Global Sales Program

Health Care

$495 Million

2,046 Breakthorugh Leadership Program

Publicis.sapient

Media

$9.6 Million Euros

Number of Employees or Members

Program

Area of Excellence Performance Culture

NR E-learning Salesforce On-boarding Program Performance

Scripps Health

Health Care

12,410 Center for Learning & Innovation

Innovation

Navy Federal Credit Union

Banking

$720 Million

13,323 Human Resources - Learning & Development

Innovation

Cisco

Information Technology & Services

$49.1 Billion

71,833 Learning@Cisco

Collaboration

Ingersoll Rand

Manufacturing

$13.3 Billion

NR Global Sales Training X 32 Companies

Performance

United Healthcare

Health Care

$157 Billion

170,000 Medical Provider Network Education

Collaboration

Ascension Information Services

Health Care

$726 Million

3,259 Learning/Organization Effectiveness

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, a Realogy Co.

Real Estate

$5.7 Billion

10,700 Platform Development

Innovation

Shaw Industries Group, Inc.

Manufacturing

4.8 Billion

21,968 START Training Program

Innovation

Salesforce

Software

$5.4 Billion

13,300 Salesforce Foundation SFUSD Computer Education

Collaboration

T-Mobile

Telecom

$32 Billion

50,000 Business Sales: Pathways to Growth Coach- Performance ing Program

ADI Global Distribution N.A. - Honeywell

Security Products

$39 Billion

Paycor

Business Services

AlliedBarton Security Services

Security Services

$20.3 Billion

132,000 Mobilizing Learning 1,350 ACA Compliance Training 64,000 Personalized Learning

Innovation

Innovation Collaboration Culture

Choice Logistics

Transportation

$10 Million

200 Salesforce Adoption Training

Collaboration

Adobe

Software

$4.7 Billion

500 Onboarding

Innovation

Facebook

Media

$17.9 Billion

immixGroup, an Arrow Co.

Information Technology & Services

$30.5 Million

Express

Retail Trade

G4S North America

Security Services

$1.57 Billion

Red Roof Inn

Accommodations & Food Services

$463 Million

The Management Trust - Oregon

Real Estate, Rental & Leasing

Saab Australia

Manufacturing

$3.6 Billion

NR Hololens Training Project

Innovation

INXPO

Information Technology & Services

$14.4 Milllion

100 INXPO â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;On Airâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Education Program

Collaboration

Watco Companies, LLC

Transportation & Warehousing

5,000 Watco University Online

Culture

Media

$2.9 Billion

5,700 Certificated EducationProgram

Culture

August / September 2016 Elearning!

9,200 BluePrint NR Immix Group University 4,000 Training for the Millenials 54,616 Promote Me! 4,500 RED Academy 42 Why We Exist

Performance Culture Innovation Collaboration Culture Culture

PRIVATE SECTOR ENTERPRISE TOP 60 Rank

Company Name

Industry

Revenues/ Operating Budget

MobileIron

Information Technology & Services

$1.3 Billion

NR MobileIron University

Culture

Mercy

Health Care

$964 Million

882 Aligning to Business Goals

Performance

Edward Jones

Finance & Investing

$6.3 Billion

Jafra Cosmetics International, Inc.

Cosmetics Manufacturing

$41.8 Million

MTR Corporation Limited

Transportation

$5.4 Million

Bayer

Pharmaceutical

$4.6 Million Euros

LivePerson

Software

$239 Million

Neiman Marcus

Retail Trade

$5.1 Billion

CapGemini

Business Services

$13 Billion Euros

HEI Hotels and Resorts

Accommodation & Food Services

$750 Million

7,000 HEI University

Brainshark

Software

$100 Million

300 Sales Training

Performance

Broward Health

Health Care

NR Broward Health Leadership University

Culture

Healthstar Communications

Marketing Services

$150 Million

500 Healthstar V Connect Product Training

Collaboration

Gigya

Software

$25 Million

325 Customer Identity Management Platform

Performance

The Go Solution

Retail Trade

200 Go University Launch

Performance

Waddell & Reed

Finance & Insurance

$1.5 Billion

NR Leadership Univeristy

Culture

Number of Employees or Members

Program

41,000 Training & Mentoring 550,000 Virtual Sales & Product Training 32,000 You Have a Sayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Work Improvement Program 116,800 Learning Academy: Product Training 1,028 Sales Onboarding 15,000 iLearn Training 143,000 EMBARK Emerging Leaders Program

56,883 Virtual Customer Training

Area of Excellence

Collaboration Culture Culture Performance Performance Innovation Culture Culture

Fidelity National Title

Mortgage Finance

$8 Billion

IBM

Information Technology & Services

$81.7 Billion

World Fuel Services

Transportation & Warehousing

$6.73 Billion

NR Global Sales Training Across 65 Acquisitions

Culture

First Insight

Computer/Electronics

$3.1 Million

100 Personalized Learning Programs

Innovation

MarketWired

Media

$7.1 Million

100 Global Sales Training

Performance

Service Max

Software

$25 Million

150 Customer Training

Performance

430,000 Virtual Event Reseller Training

Innovation Collaboration

RK Stratman

Manufacturing

220 EPIC Program

Culture

Internet Services

150 Sales Training Gamification

Innovation

nCino

Software

$7 Million

250 Partner Product Training

Performance

DDB Worldwide

Media

$1.1 Billion

NR Learner First Platform

Culture

SurveyMonkey

Software

$65 Million

275 Onboarding Training

Performance

Saatchi & Saatchi

Media

$65.7 Million

6,000 Digital Marketing Training

Culture

Luck Companies

Manufacturing

2,500 Values Based Leadership

Culture

Fivel Systems

Educational Services

Forward Eye

Media

$600,000

Mesilla Valley Transportation

Transportation & Warehousing

NR Learning Moments Security Training 17 Upskill Customer Sales Training 1,918 Micro-Learning Program

Innovation Innovation Innovation

Elearning! August / September 2016

Learning!100

PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS TOP 40 Rank

Company Name

Industry

Number of Program Employees or Members

Area of Excellence

Lawrence Livermore National Labs

Government

6,500

Leadership Development Training Ulearn

Culture

Defense Acquisition University

Government

544

Shaping the Future Learning Strategy

Culture

Allied Command Transformation NATO

Military

1,250

Education and Training Technology

Collaboration

NASCAR

Association

1,000

Home Tracks Online Training Program

Performance

Veterans Affairs Acquisition Academy

Government

105

Warrior to Workforce Program

Culture

Defense Security Service Center for Development of Security Excellence

Government

125

Virtual DoD Security Training

Innovation

Habitat for Humanity

Nonprofit

Safety Training Program

Culture

American Society of Association Execu- Association tives

123

ASAE Technology Training

Culture

Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center

Government

5,129

Project SCAN-ECHO

Culture

University of Phoenix

Schools/Colleges

Redflint Innovation Center

Innovation

Stanford University

Schools/Colleges

12,000 (L)

Virtual Reality for Diversity

Innovation

U.S. Marine Corp

Military

182,100

System Command PM Training Systems

Innovation

SkillsUSA.org

Nonprofit

300,000 (m)

Vocational Education Outreach

Culture

American Heart Association

Nonprofit

3,139

American Heart University

Culture

The Healthcare Information Management Systems Society

Nonprofit

The Learning Center

Collaboration

Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative

Government

The Virtual World Sandbox

Innovation

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Schools/Colleges

3,137 (L)

Online Learning Curriculum

Culture

Team Orlando

Government

Joint Training Integration and Evaluation Center

Collaboration

International Society of Technology Education

Association

100,000 (m)

Digital Ed in K-12

Culture

U.S. Pacific Command Cyber War Innovations Center

Military

Comprehensive Aviation Training System

Innovation

University of Central Florida, Institute of Schools/Colleges Simulation Training

4,900

Simulation Research Labs

Innovation

Khan Academy

Performance

Educational Services

USC Institute of Creative Technology

Schools/Colleges

128

Virtual Patient PTSD Treatment

Innovation

U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Mental Health Services & Infomatics

Government

AIMS Program

Innovation

Cenegenics Education & Research Foundation

Nonprofit

Customer Training

Performance

EdX

Educational Services

MOOC

Performance

Coursera

Educational Services

MOOC

Performance

Florida Virtual School

Schools/Colleges

1,906

Virtual High School

Performance

U.S. Air Force

Military

300,000 (L)

Air TV Network

Innovation

College for America, SNHU

Schools/Colleges

500

Personalized Degree Program

Innovation

iNACOL

Association

200

Advocate for World-class K-12 Online Learning

Culture

August / September 2016 Elearning!

About e-Learning for Kids: Established in 2004, e-Learning for Kids is a global nonprofit foundation dedicated to fun and free learning on the Internet for children ages 5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12 with courses in math, science, language arts, computers, health and environmental skills. Since 2005, more than 15 million children in over 190 countries have benefitted from eLessons provided by EFK! An all-volunteer staff consists of education and e-learning experts and business professionals from around the world committed to making difference. e-Learning for Kids is actively seeking funding, volunteers, sponsors and courseware developers; get involved! For more information, please visit www.e-learningforkids.org.

Learning!100

PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS TOP 40 Rank

Company Name

Industry

Number of Program Employees or Members

Area of Excellence

National Defense University

Schools/Colleges

700

iCollege

Innovation

U.S. Distance Learning Association

Association

20,000 (m)

Advocacy for Distance Learning in Higher Ed

Collaboration

Federal Governement Distance Learning Association

Association

335

Distance Learning Collaboration

Collaboration

Western Governors University

Schools/Colleges

2,600

Online University Technology Use

Performance

UNC-Chapel Hill

School/Colleges

11,964

ConnectCarolina Change Management

Collaboration

Native American Professional Parent Resources

Nonprofit

Online Education Resources

Culture

Institute of Finance & Management

Association

Certification Training

Performance

National Training & Simulation Association

Association

57,000 (m)

Education Conference

Collaboration

E-learning for Kids

Nonprofit

Global E-learning Curriculum

Culture

For more than 25 years, Vi (pronounced “vee”) has been dedicated to providing quality environments, services and care to enrich the lives of older adults. Find out more at our website, ViLiving.com. Providing an extraordinary environment for senior

Our employees make a difference in people’s lives. And we’re committed to making a difference in theirs.

living starts with extraordinary employees. At Vi, we’re committed to supporting the growth of our employees through engaging opportunities such as our Breakthrough Leadership and Management Development Programs. We’re very proud to be selected as a Learning! 100 organization for a 6th year in a row. But what we’re most proud of is our high employee satisfaction scores and the fact so many of our employees have leveraged Vi’s employee development programs to advance their careers.

Learn more about exciting opportunities at ViLiving.com/Company/Careers

August / September 2016 Elearning!

Join Federal Government Distance Learning Association The FGDLA exists to foster professional relationships to further our collective missions in the distance learning space. We:

F G D L A

Facilitate the exchange of information and the implementation of distance learning. Guide interagency cooperation, economic application of distance learning methods, technology, and research in the Federal sector. Develop distance learning strategies to support a blended media approach to education and training, foster research into distance learning practices and theory, and promote awareness of distance learning. Lead efforts to promote interagency cooperation and collaboration and provide recognition of outstanding achievements in Federal government distance learning practices. Advocate and promote the use of distance learning for education and training within the Federal government and provide a forum for sharing information and enhancing interaction for all government agencies.

Meet learning professionals from key agencies within the Federal government who support distance learning programs by joining FGDLA. Apply for Membership To become an individual member and make your own contribution, indicate your interest by requesting an invite to join FGDLA online at: www.fgdla.us This online community is where the accomplishment of much of our objectives will happen. Please take this opportunity to request an invite today and begin having a voice in collaborating with other FGDLA members. Upon approval to join the FGDLA, you will have the opportunity to create your profile to inform other members of your interests, create a Group focused on a distance learning challenge you may be having, or contribute to a threaded discussion Forum where you have expertise and insight. We look forward to hearing from you!

Federal Government Distance Learning Association

www.fgdla.us

Learning!100

Learning! 100 Profile Benchmarks

Private enterprise Learning! 100 winners reported an average revenue of $11 billion in 2015. The top three winning industries were information and technology services (21.6 percent), media (10 percent) and health care (8.3 percent). Eighty-four percent of the organizations report having a Chief Talent, Workforce, People, OD or Learning Officer on staff and of these, 75 percent report to the Chief Executive Officer or President. The average number of employees at each company was 43,073. (Data compiled from supplied information only.)

Public Sector

Public Government:

22.5%

10%

Association:

17.5%

Military/Defense:

Information Technology & Services: Media:

21.6%

10%

Health Care:

Corporate Enterprise

Schools/Colleges:

Company Revenues

Enterprise

Industry Breakout

20%

Nonprofit:

7% Educational Services: 10%

8.3% Manufacturing: 6.7% Transportation & Warehousing: 6.7% Accommodation & Food Services: 6.7% Banking, Finance & Investing: 5% Security: 5% Business Services: 3.3% Wholesale Trade: 3.3% Retail Trade: 3.3% Software: 3.3% Marketing Services: 1.7% Utilities: 1.7% Pharmaceutical: 1.7% Telecom: 1.7% Consulting: 1.7%

Workers

Billion

Million

209

Private Public Sector Enterprise average operating average revenue budget

Enterprise Staffing & Investments Winnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; company size ranged from

17 people to 300,000 people. Average Training & Development Budget:

$10 Million 84%

Report having a Chief Talent, Workforce, People, OD or Learning Officer on staff Of these, 75% report to the CEO/President

Winnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Emphasis on Customer/Channel/ Supplier Training

62.5% reported remote workers.

26% of these companies have more than half of their workforce worked remotely 34

72% of L100 winners have mobile learners.

Sponsored By:

Enterprise Learning! Conference is a B2B Media Company, LLC brand. Learn more at www.elceshow.com

3 Vote Now!

2016 Best of Elearning!

Nominate your best in class solutions in our annual readersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; choice awards. Winners will be featured in Elearning! Magazine December 2016. Celebrate Excellence

Happy with your learning or workplace technology service provider? Nominate them for Best of Elearning! 2016.

31 categories are available to recognize your solution partners:

>> Best LMS, LCMS, TMS, HRIS >> Best Content: Leadership, IT, Sales, Soft Skills, Compliance >> Best Tools: E-learning Development, Simulation, Presentation, Mobile Authoring, Game Development, Video Capture >> Best Services: Web Seminar, Virtual Classroom, Virtual Environment, Learning Svs, Translation Svcs, Testing & Assessment >> Best Solutions: Social Learning, Mobile App, Video Publishing and more.

Vote At:

Cast your ballot for free at: 2elearning.com/rss2/item/56526-2016best-of-elearning-award-nomination-form Nominations accepted 7/1/16 to 9/1/16. Who is Best-in-Class for 2016? >> Discover the Best of Elearning! in the December edition of Elearning! Magazine

>> See solutions, demos and client case studies at Enterprise Learning! Events in 2017. Learn more at: www.2elearning.com/events

The Ballot In 2016, each product can be nominated in only one product category. All vendor ballots will be nullified. Best of Elearning! and Enterprise Learning! Events are Elearning! Media Group brands, owned by B2B Media Company LLC. www.2elearning.com

Government

Highlights from the 2016 Enterprise Learning! Conference

he 2016 Enterprise Learning! Conference wrapped up June 9th in Anaheim, California. The three-day event consisted of three awards ceremonies — the Best of Elearning! Awards, the Learning! 100 Awards and the Learning! Champions Awards — as well as keynotes, breakout sessions and networking opportunities. A second, virtual event will take place on September 8th with many of the highlights. Registration for that is now open at ELCEShow.com.

Attendees in the “Virtual Reality Experience” used Google Cardboard and were immersed in virtual reality.

Raymond Valenzuela, Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing, Cognician presented “Lessons from the Military: Technology and a Culture of Learning.”

Attendees were engaged in the “The Evolution of Work: Capitalizing on Critical Megatrends” segment presented by Kevin Martin, Chief Research & Marketing Officer, Institute for Corporate Productivity.

Chris Bond, President and CEO, Bluewater Learning and Dean Pichee, Founder and CEO, BizLibrary particpated in “CEO Power Panel: Learning in the Second Digital Age.”

Stephanie Belella, Internship School Program Manager, VA Acquisition Academy co-presented “Learning! 100: Innovation Talent Strategies.”

Elearning! August / September 2016

Learning! Champion Awards

he 2016 edition of the Enterprise Learning Conference also marked the debut of the Learning! Champions Awards Luncheon. Frank Anderson, former president of the Defense Acquisition University, received the Lifetime Achievement Award and opened the award ceremony. We are proud to share the insights and inspiration shared by five of the Learning! Champions. (Scan QR code.)

ReLita Clarke, Corporate Training Manager, immix/group, an Arrow Company 38

August / September 2016 Elearning!

Jill Betters, Marketing Manager of Commercial & Agricultural Programs, CertainTeed Corp.

Frank Anderson, former President, Defense Acquisition University

Dr. Christopher Washington, Provost & Chief Academic Officer, Franklin University

Steven Stone, Vice President of Learning, Performance & Development, USAA

Solving the 2 Sigma Problem BY JOE DIDONATO

ne of the “holy grails” of education has been the quest to solve the “2 Sigma Problem.” This was a problem originally posed in 1984 by Benjamin S. Bloom, the famous educational psychologist, college professor and researcher. In a series of dissertations and subsequent studies performed by Bloom and his students, he observed drastically different student achievement scenarios, depending on the type of instructional methods used. Between 1982 and 1984, a series of studies

were performed by Bloom and some of his students. In 1984, Bloom used those study results to publish a paper that described student achievement results obtained from the following three forms of learning: conventional classroom; mastery learning; and tutoring. Below is a brief summary of these three learning methodologies. Most of us are familiar with conventional classroom training. This is where 20 to 30 students are taught by a teacher or instructor. Tests are given periodically to grade each student’s performance, and the pace of the class moves at a pre-determined rate established by the teacher, instructor, or

Mastery is [achieving] 90% on a knowledge test before moving on to subsequent topic.

Elearning! August / September 2016

2sigma educational institution. This form of teaching was established as the baseline control group for his study. Mastery learning is a bit different than typical classroom training. This method of instruction was first defined by Bloom in 1968, and it was used in class sizes of 20 to 30 students. It specified that the students as a group must achieve a level of mastery of 90-percent on a knowledge test, before the class moved on to subsequent topics. Tutoring is a one-to-one teaching method where a good tutor is assigned to each student (or in some cases, the tutor is assigned to work with a small group of two or three students, who are then taught simultaneously). These students were individually taught, and measured with formative tests and feedback-corrective procedures similar to the tests and prescriptive solutions used in mastery learning classes. It should be noted however, that the need for corrective work was minimal using this teaching methodology, according to Bloom. When compared with the control group

August / September 2016 Elearning!

The “keep on going” conventional classroom pace [is] too fast for one-third of the class, too slow for another and about right for the remaining third. — the conventional classroom — the results were very significant. The average student who was taught using the tutoring method performed higher than 98 percent of the students who were trained via the conventional classroom. That was two standard deviations, or sigmas, higher. Thus the naming of the “2 Sigma Problem” came into being. But it is also noteworthy that even the average student taught using the mastery learning methodology performed one standard deviation above those students taught in the conventional classroom environment. That was still

84-percent above the students in the conventional classroom. The following figure from Bloom’s paper shows those differences achieved. So armed with the knowledge of the absolute best way to teach, we’re now turning to EdTech in our search for solutions to the 2 Sigma Problem. In turn, that search is fueling a lot of investment speculation but not with the inside knowledge that Bloom’s study provides. Many educational outliers have already started to solve the problem with technology — many with only their gut instinct leading the way. When one thinks about mastery learning and the use of educational technology, he or she should think of Sal Khan and the Khan Academy. Khan was the evangelist who pointed to the shortcomings of the “keep-on-going” classroom model. Sal knew intuitively that students learn at different rates, so why should every student be expected to keep up with on predefined learning pace? Khan Academy’s video learning snippets help to solve that problem. If a student doesn’t understand a lesson, he or she can continue to retake that lesson, until he or she finally masters that particular topic. This teaching methodology continues to be a very successful approach for millions of Khan Academy students, and it approximates the mastery learning teaching methodology. Perhaps the only missing piece is to provide each student with a forum where additional clarity on a specific topic can be found. If the same video is watched four or five times, chances are that a fifth review is not going to help the student understand the concept being covered. That’s why tutoring has an advantage over both the conventional classroom and mastery learning teaching methods. Many people have come forward to tell

how their lives were changed by Khan Academy’s approach to learning. In turn, this is a great testimonial for how we can use simple, existing technology to help solve at least the first leg of this battle, the mastery learning teaching methodology. Kahn’s work has helped to throw the whole e-learning industry into high gear. Kahn understood the mastery learning pedagogy, intuitively, and he used YouTube technology and simple e-learning teaching and illustration tools to enable his solution. This same level of mastery would be very difficult in a conventional classroom, without the use of technology. You would have to focus your pace on the slowest learner, by topic, to avoid leaving learners behind, which isn’t fair to fast learners. So the solution has always defaulted to the “keep-on-going” conventional classroom pace that’s too fast for one-third of the class, too slow for another third, and about right for the remaining third. These classroom shortcomings have caught the attention of many political leaders and that added attention and discussion is also fueling the EdTech investment space, as the industry seeks to find better answers to improve teaching and learning. Better solutions can be created if we think through our solutions a bit more carefully, armed with work like Bloom performed. Just because we can do something with technology, doesn’t mean that it’s going to work immediately. Consider how a live MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) operates. Isn’t that simply the classroom model on technological steroids? One-to-thousands seems to completely sidestep the need for the one-to-one tutoring that really helps students thrive. Could this lack of individualized attention be one of the elements that added to the high dropout rate? That’s likely the case. MOOC providers and proponents are figuring it out. Micro-credentialing is probably the biggest incentive for a student to continue in a MOOC course. That credential is useful for résumés and lays the groundwork in case a series of MOOC courses can be used toward an eventual degree. If the student signs up to learn a particular skill that propels him or her into a new career, like the

initial app development courses offered in MOOCs, then the need for credentialing is not as strong. But what we have observed is that the industry is adding hundreds of courses, just to show that they have a full and robust set of offerings. That is where the micro-credential can play a role. Otherwise, a student is likely to drop a course if he or she doesn’t feel it’s germane to their personal needs. If they at least can point to a certificate, then that might be worth keeping up with it. Another solution is the notion of massive office hours. Although this can be a very effective approach, there are other options. Udemy, uses a large base of instructors to teach an equally large range of courses. These courses run the gamut from photography to web development, languages, and even soft skills like management best practices. There are practically no restrictions on topic matter, so Udemy is addressing the general marketplace for consumers and professionals. Udemy puts a lot of the responsibility on the instructors to provide that one-toone support when a student gets stuck. It utilizes a text-based question and answer capability throughout each course that directs questions to the instructor for

are asked and answered, they become a database of knowledge that the rest of the students can access. The more savvy instructors use those questions to revise their courses going forward, thus preventing the same questions from being asked. It can take students 24 to 72 hours to receive an answer, and it may not be one that clicks immediately. The notion starts to change the instructor’s role: “If I don’t have to teach every day, then I guess my role is going to move more toward the tutoring and mentoring side of the equation.” But as instructors, we like that scenario — right? Consider the flipped classroom where students listen to recorded video lectures at night and then spend the class time implementing and discussing what they learned. That has proven to be an excellent teaching methodology, more fun for everyone, and a good use of video technology (read EdTech) to help address the one-on-one tutoring benefits. It looks like Udemy and Udacity are both trying to improve on the one-to-many model by using partners and formal call-in centers that are continuously staffed. Udemy announced in December 2015 that it was creating a partnership with Codementor to provide one-on-one live tutoring

Micro-credentialing is probably the biggest incentive for a student to continue in a MOOC course. that particular course, which can put a lot of pressure on instructors. But the instructors actually do take on that added role, to avoid receiving a bad course rating from a student. Several bad ratings will ultimately affect their sales for any given course so there’s an inherent reward for doing the extra one-on-one mentoring. That coupled with the fact that the course is already developed and delivered electronically, the instructor’s time is actually freed up to provide that additional tutoring. As more questions

for its coding classes. Udacity had already introduced a call center team to provide coaching for their technical offerings back in 2013 and even relied on text chat, video calls, and even phone calls to solve the oneto-one tutoring problem. The downside of the call center approach to tutoring will be whether the people providing that coaching understand the course’s content, as well as the instructor’s method of teaching. That becomes part of the requirement to provide this type of tutoring solution.

Elearning! August / September 2016

2sigma There are a lot of other solutions starting to take shape in the peer collaboration, reinforcement, and other areas that technology can enable. Take reinforcement provided by the teacher which can be challenging when faced with a large class size and the burden falls onto a single instructor. An example of an alternative learning reinforcement tool is a product, Trivie, which is based on the game Trivial Pursuit. In the corporate learning world, Trivie uses technology to send out questions to students both during and after a training scenario. As the student gets each answer right, he or she can be rewarded with points, positive comments or other incentives that can be stipulated in the app. And of course, the notion of points has a special meaning because of the world of gamification. The accumulation of points can also be made to have an impact on another list item — peer group influence. This kind of game and learning reinforcement technology can use leaderboards, prescriptive paths when wrong answers are given, or predefined coaching prods if the student doesn’t get the right answer. Some implementa-

August / September 2016 Elearning!

tions even employ an electronic “great job!” to reinforce a student’s learning. But most importantly, reinforcement provides a 1.2 sigma impact on student achievement.

The way this tool works is by randomly sending out a pre-recorded telephone call to each sales team member during their normal work day. Each message poses a recorded objection that a cus-

If [you] don’t have to teach every day, then [your] role is going to move toward the tutoring and mentoring side of the equation. Pepper is a novel tool that begins to address the feedback-corrective variable is a novel tool under development that was designed to help train sales people to overcome the top three objections to hir or her company’s products. If a sales person is able to overcome these objections, there is a lot of data that says it will translate into significantly larger sales pipelines and order volumes.

tomer might verbalize, and the sales representative is required to respond with an explanation that mitigates that objection. That verbal response is stored in a database, and can then be passed to that sales representative’s manager or to a peer for review. At that point, the sales manager or peer can suggest corrective tutoring to help that sales person overcome that objection better. That same type of technology can easily become a tool for determining a student’s grasp of a particular subject. Now that mobile phones are so prevalent, it would be possible to send out a verbal microtest question, in order to see how the student might answer it when put on the spot. If the student gets it wrong, the teacher or professor could use that data to provide the necessary corrective measure to help that student. This same technology might also provide a way to measure critical thinking on the part of a student. Professors often find it difficult to encourage and test critical thinking amongst their students. Using this tool to prompt a judgment may provide a way to test whether an objective analysis and evaluation of an issue is being made by a student. The two best solutions on the horizon for solving the 2 Sigma Problem are AI (artificial intelligence) and the Internet of Things (IoT). Back in 2010, a social robot named Bina48 was a keynote at the Enterprise Learning Conference and she was the most advanced social robot in existence at that point. Questions could be posed verbally,

to her, and her AI framework allowed her to interact with the person in a conversational mode. She represented the precursor of the personal tutor — especially when Bina48’s caretaker mentioned that she would one day sell for less than an iPhone at a store like Sharper Image. That price point could potentially mean a personal tutor in every home. Social robotics is not the only avenue for AI. It’s being used successfully in devices as ubiquitous as our mobile phones, as well as in products like Alexa that Amazon successfully brought to market. Using either of these devices, we can verbally ask questions that we don’t know the answers to. All of this tutoring-like technology is thanks to AI algorithms. And considering its rapid proliferation by major software and hardware producers, it appears that in the next decade we’re going to be able to solve the elusive 2 Sigma Problem using AI. But if a Bina48-lookalike is not by our side tutoring us or answering our every informational need, maybe it’ll be a wearable device that will provide us with coaching, tutoring and mentoring that can help us with our form and tell the wearer when he or she is at the gym and isn’t in the correct position to lift as much weight as they would like. These latter devices are now in early stages of funding and development in the form of wearable vests, and the investment backing is coming from the insurance industry, which

for it. The notion divides knowledge into three categories: 1. Things we know (known knowns); 2. Things we don’t know (known unknowns); and 3. Things we don’t know, we don’t know (unknown unknowns).

Most importantly, reinforcement provides a 1.2 sigma impact on student achievement. certainly has a vested interest in helping people avoid injuries. Another possibility is that tutoring might just be integrated into our work environment or in our work equipment, much like navigation is now integrated into our cars. To ultimately solve the entire 2 Sigma Problem, we’re going to need to consider another teaching conundrum. Part of any teacher’s role is to present new information to students, even when a student didn’t ask

The concept of “known unknowns” and “unknown unknowns” has largely been attributed to NASA in its work. The known unknowns are generally categorized into risks that can be measured for compliance, such as the operation of various sensors in a space craft. It’s the unknown unknowns that are a result of unexpected or unforeseeable conditions, such as a properly installed heat panel failing during re-entry.

We encounter similar problems when we learn more about a topic. There are things we know, and things we know that we don’t know. But how can we be tutored by a technology, unless that technology can introduce the things that we don’t know we don’t know? That will be the final obstacle to overcome when we use AI technology to create an EdTech tutoring device. Just as a human tutor would be able to suggest that a student should consider an additional topic he or she might not be aware of, we need to build that “suggestive capability” into our AI tutors.

REFERENCES Additional Reading: Benjamin S. Bloom, “The 2 Sigma Problem: The Search for Methods of Group Instruction as Effective as One-to-One Tutoring,” Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Association, Vol. 13, No. 6. (Jun. - Jul., 1984), pp. 4-16. URL: http://web.mit.edu/5.95/readings/bloom-two-sigma.pdf.

Elearning! August / September 2016

2.0

Virtual Learning

Virtual learning is the use of a web-based platform for learning, training or educating a dispersed team of students, learners or colleagues. It is used widely in corporate, government and educational institutions.

August / September 2016 Elearning!

BY CATHERINE UPTON Virtual learning technology has evolved rapidly. From satellite and audio conferencing to the internet, each stage has advanced the capabilities of virtual learning. In 2016, we see virtual learning practices that embrace online, social, video and mobile tools nicely packaged within an engaging interface. Yet, virtual platforms are continuing to evolve to meet enterprisesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs. According to E-learning User Study conducted by Elearning! Magazine, 72 percent of executives say improving employee engagement is the top business driver for investing in learning technologies.

VIRTUAL LEARNING SOLUTIONS Web meeting: Online meeting of one or more Virtual classroom: Online training platform with instructor, breakout sessions, whiteboard Virtual learning environment: Online platform with virtual classroom sessions, networking, resource centers, 24/7 accessibility Virtual world: 3D immersive virtual environment

STATE OF VIRTUAL LEARNING Ninty-seven percent of practitioners are using virtual learning solutions ranging from web meetings to immersive 3D virtual worlds. Web meetings still garner the highest usage at 81.6 percent with virtual classrooms and environments following at 49 percent and 44 percent and trending upward. (See Table 1).

Table 1. Virtual Solutions Deployed: Web meeting solutions

81.6%

Virtual classroom

49.8%

Virtual learning environment

44.7%

Virtual world

3.1%

Despite the maturity of online learning, approximately 47 percent of learning practitioners are planning to source a new platform during the next 12 months. Why change? The appetite for engagement, immersion and collaboration is motivating the move to more robust solutions. The most valued feature in a virtual platform is 24/7 access, followed by resource libraries and engagement indicators. Gone are the days of event-based online training. Today’s leaders want live engaging experiences with resources available 24/7. (See Table 2). Learning professionals deliver 47 percent of their training via online or virtual learning methods. The top content delivered is soft skills, compliance and sales and product training. Onboarding employees has jumped to No. 4 in 2016 from nowhere in 2014. (See Table 3). Learning practitioners deliver more hours online every year. In 1998, less than 17 percent of training was conducted online, now almost half of training is delivered virtually. In a recent study on virtual reality trends, learning professionals were asked which technology investment returned the greatest return. Virtual learning and video learning ranked highest. Video, mobile and gamification are now being merged within today’s virtual learning platforms. (See Table 4). VIRTUAL ON-BOARDING AT ADOBE One out of three learning executives is hosting virtual new employee onboarding and

Table 2. Top Features Sought in Virtual Solution (On scale of 1-5, 1 being critical) 24/7 access to content

1.60

Resource library of materials

1.83

Engagement indicators measuring learner activities

1.93

Access to on-demand sessions after live event

1.94

Ability to collaborate with peers before, during or after learning events

2.07

Content &/or presenter scoring or rating

2.23

Live Q&A with speakers/experts

2.25

Table 3. How valuable has your investment(s) in the following been for your organization? (Rank on scale of 1-5, 1 being extremely valuable) Video Learning

1.69

Virtual Classroom

1.84

Mobile Learning

1.95

Adobe has it mastered. Established in 1982 with more than 11,000 employees around the world, Adobe struggled with onboarding its global workforce in an efficient engaging manner at the speed of product development. Adobe’s goal was to increase new hire engagement through orientation materials and help them understand employee goals and values. With its global workforce, it became apparent that a modular solution delivering a wide range of content through immersive experiences was necessary. Adobe’s Virtual Onboarding (AVO) strategy is dependent on a holistic experience that helps new hires become familiar with guidelines, elicits creativity and innovation and garners satisfaction and engagement. Adobe Connect was used to deploy AVO. At the weekly digital orientation, Adobe brings employees together to share a common understanding and vision for the company’s future. By transforming newhire orientation from locally-facilitated events to a standard, shared virtual experience, Adobe is better supporting its growing workforce by syndicating core cultural themes around values and collaboration more consistently, without sacrificing user experience. AVO delivers effective digital

orientation experiences during the critical time frame of the new hire training process, helping establish a foundation for each individual’s success and position in the company’s goals. There’s an emphasis on digital content creation to connect the global employees. “Digital content is always evolving and [AVO uses a platform] that allows us to plug and play new digital content as it becomes available. This is especially true of video media,” says Justin Mass, head of digital learning innovation at Adobe. “[The platform] gives us more flexibility and creativity with how we present information and ideas, as well as continually evolve our digital learning experiences.” Creating a positive online experience can be daunting and it’s easy for learners to get distracted by what’s happening around them which is why Adobe empowers presenters to engage with new hires one-on-one. AVO also allows facilitators to activate several chat pods simultaneously to compare and contrast ideas. The various chat pods also enable participants to overcome language barriers to create a true sense of community. Activities, games, and other types of interactivity can be included in the session.

Elearning! August / September 2016

virtuallearning2.0

Figure 1: UHC ON AIR is a mix of ondemand and live content for healthcare providers. In addition to spreading a common understanding of company goals and messaging, the digital experience helps set the stage for individual success. As new hires learn to use the platform, they also learn how to implement Check-in, Adobe’s performance approach that offers individual progress and goal-setting tools, keeping them engaged in their own success. “To deliver virtual learning at scale, facilitators need to find different ways to draw on the experience and insights of participants,” says Mass. “[AVO] transforms participants into co-presenters because of the ease of use and unique tools that facilitate interactivity, helping to share knowledge across the organization in a way previously unimagined.” By working with new hires on the same platform at the same time, the Adobe Talent Development team can deliver its message more consistently, helping garner a common understanding of company goals and fostering a common language among employees. AVO has made an impact. Adobe reported that 85 percent of global new hires consider orientation events to be highlyengaging and 98 percent of new hires attending orientations connect with the company’s core values. Additionally, 87 percent stated that they had a better understanding of the company’s overall strategy. 46

August / September 2016 Elearning!

UNITEDHEALTHCARE’S VIRTUAL LEARNING OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL TEAMS UnitedHealthCare (UHC) is the largest healthcare provider in the United States serving 29 million insured patients, 850,000 physicians and healthcare providers, and 6,000 hospitals. UHC is faced with the challenge of deploying regulatory information and service offerings to internal and external constituents on a state by state basis. The solution? UHC ON AIR, a virtual platform with a mix of on-demand and live content. (See Figure 1). “Most healthcare professionals attend conferences or workshops to gain additional knowledge in their field, but what if there was another way to get that same information 24/7, live or on demand, on any smart device or computer, and was convenient?” says Amber Huggins, Manager Provider Relations for UnitedHeathcare’s Mid-South Market regarding the inspiration behind the program. Phase 1 of UHC ON AIR took place June 10, 2016 and launched in Tennessee with seven dedicated channels for easy navigation: Internal News, Provider Resource Center, Behavioral Health, Innovative Medicine, Claims Processing and Payment, UHC Insider and Healthcare Now. The roll-out extended to 12 states, each with its own channel. Over the course of the next few months, channels will become available for the rest of the states. Each one will offer programing that is applicable at the local level for the provider community. “UHC ON AIR has information on many topics impacting all different providers

across Tennessee,” says Huggins. “These educational topics include sessions on our various lines of business like Medicare, Commercial, Medicaid, daily operational topics, clinical topics, and what is hot in the healthcare news now.” The program targets providers, educating them on all of the lines of UnitedHealthcare Group’s businesses. It allows for a greater outreach and is a convenient way for providers to receive news. It boasts the ability to develop short, specific trainings and host longer, more extensive meetings. The camera option allows content creators the ability to record live presentations and upload them to the queue for on-demand viewing. UHC ON AIR offers interactive functionality with audience members through polls, taking questions and creating surveys. The detailed reporting features offer insight on broad usage for each program and can be narrowed down to pinpoint information about each individual learner. “Programming is delivered in a live format where the viewer can interact with the speaker and ask questions, as well as in a pre-recorded format that is posted for viewing,” says Huggins. “Miss a live program? No problem! The viewer can go back and watch it on demand. The viewer can watch any program at their convenience.” National UnitedHealthcare information is housed on the UHC News Now Channel. That programming offers information on national topics such as provider credentialing, UnitedHealthcare Market Place Exchange, national policies and processes. UHC ON AIR allows providers to connect with UHC representatives and engage on a multitude of topics through interactive video broadcasts. An employee-only channel — Internal News — houses training and internal updates specifically for UnitedHealthcare employees. Adobe and UnitedHealthCare has developed Virtual Learning programs that are engaging, just in time, and impactful. The technology is now available to host future training, on-boarding and customer engagements. It is time to embrace virtual learning 2.0. Sources: This article references two studies conducted by Elearning! Magazine. 2015/2016 E-learning User Study and 2016 Virtual Reality Trends Report are downloadable at: http://www.2elearning.com/resources/research-white-papers

NewProducts: Solutions online training include: new employee onboarding, compliance training, manager and supervisor training, customer service skills and more. —More info: bizlibrary.com

NEW MOOC TO OFFER MANAGEMENT QUALIFICATION A new MOOC course for a one-of-a-kind leadership and development program launched this summer on the FutureLearn platform. The new program was created by Charter Management Institute (CMI) and The Open University Business School (OUBS). CMI and OUBS have developed the Management and Leadership: Growing as a Manager MOOC to address the growing appetite for online education by digital savvy managers. According to CMI’s 2015 Learning to Lead report, only 20 percent of managers say that digital learning they have undertaken has been accredited. The two-part MOOC has been designed for new, aspiring or existing managers to develop professional skills. The courses are open to anyone regardless of previous qualifications or educational experience. Each course in the program takes learners three hours of study per week, over the course of four weeks. Managers will be able to update their skillset through a blended approach including social learning, selfdirected study and peer learning. After completing both parts of the MOOC, managers will be eligible to take a CMI Level 5 Award in Management and Leadership, which will help them work towards achieving professional Chartered Manager status. —More info: managers.org.uk

INFOGIX OFFERS NEW E-LEARNING TRAINING MODULES Infogix will offer new e-learning training modules designed to make it easier for its global customers to continually improve their proficiency of Infogix product knowledge and learn how the latest product updates can transform data analysis. The new modules are designed to fit busy professionals’ schedules and enable new product leaders to understand product capabilities via web-based recorded sessions with a guided lecture and product demonstration. Depending on the subject matter, modules take between 30 minutes to one hour to complete. Each module consists of web-based guided lectures and assessments, and product demonstrations and hands-on practice. —More info: infogix.com BIZLIBRARY OFFERS NEW EMPLOYEE TRAINING SOLUTION FOR SMALL AND MIDSIZE BUSINESSES BizLibrary’s latest release specifically addresses small business challenges and their ability to implement practical employee training programs. The BizLibrary Collection can now be used by small and midsize business leaders to help their company grow and reach goals through effective training. Some examples of small business challenges that can be addressed through the

VETTECHTREK LAUNCHES NEW E-LEARNING PLATFORM With the goal of helping veterans find gainful employment in the technology industry, VetTechTrek was launched in 2015 and matched nearly 200 veterans and spouses with technology startups in New York, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. Soon, the organization was overwhelmed with requests from companies and veterans looking to participate in the program. In response, VetTechTrk launched Project Standard, a library of lessons that help veterans translate their work in the military to civilian work. Lessons are available in three content categories: companies, topics and roles. —More info: https://www.kickstarter.com/ projects/vettechtrek/a-digital-library-tobuild-incredible-post-militar/description EXACT LEARNING SOLUTIONS RELEASES NEW LCMS eXact Learning Solutions’ new version — known as M16 — includes some major upgrades and brings important changes to the project management area of the platform. It features a fully interactive Gantt chart software, enabling project managers to manage a project directly from the dashboard — including assigning tasks, setting deadlines and more. M16 also features major updates to the LCMS’s Online Editor. These bring the Online Editor closer the company’s authoring tool, eXact learning Packager, by offering, among other things, full support for interactions, along with theme personalization. eXact learning Packager offers users HTML5 templates to make creating screens and courses merely a matter of dragging and dropping raw assets (audio, images, video and so on) into a visual tree structure representing the template. —More info: exact-learning.com

Elearning! August / September 2016

NewProducts: Solutions MICROSOFT LAUNCHES PLANNER Microsoft Office is launching a new product to its line-up, Microsoft Planner. The team collaboration software gives users a visual platform to organize plans, assign tasks, share files, chat and more. Planners use of “Boards” keep projects organized. “Cards” are on the boards and utilize due dates, attachments, categories and conversations. The Cards can be organized into “Buckets” which can be color-coded and prioritized. One of the benefits of Planner is that it’s easily integrated into other Microsoft Office services allowing users to attach Word, Excel and PowerPoint files to a card. Beyond that, the program integrates with OneNote and every plan has a OneNote Notebook created for it. —More info: microsoft.com OUTCONS LEARNING MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS Recently launched OutCons has more than the typical LMS capabilities, it acts as

a distribution center for learning. Whether mobile, on site, or hosted in the cloud, consultants help administrators optimize their LMS and its infrastructure allowing employees to get information they want and need. The program offers custom software and mobile applications, data and content migration, and SCORM/AICC Courseware integration. Their customer software solutions include application development, system architecture, search engine optimization and website and graphic design. —More info: outcons.com MICROLEARNING WITH KNOWLEDGEBYTES Knowledge Bytes is an elegant learning platform for content curation and content aggregation. The company has recently expanded its microlearning options allowing users to position content for anytime access or as part of Knowledge Path. Users can groom content to match interests,

stay current on new information, and learn on-the-go on their mobile devices. Administrators have access to simple customizations and repurpose existing information. —More info: knowledge-bytes.com ELOGIC LEARNING LAUNCHES NEW VERSION OF ITS LMS Version 10 (v10) of eLogic Learning’s eSSential LMS is now available to all current and new clients. This latest version of the eSSential LMS was based off of feedback the company received from current clients as well as numerous industry analysts. The intent was to create a more modern LMS design as well as improve various features within the system for an even better user and administrator experience. It’s easy to use for both administrators and learners; has a configurable design; has an advanced e-commerce engine; robust reporting capabilities; supports many authoring tools such as Claro, Articulate and Captivate; and is supported on mobile platforms. —More info: elogiclearning.com AREA9’S ADAPTIVE LEARNING APPROACH FILLS KNOWLEDGE GAPS Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) made their Area9 testimonial public at the ATD Conference. Area9 Learning’s adaptive learning methods helped the modular mid-range and high-end storage systems, software and services company achieve a 50-percent decrease in training time for its sales teams and uncover and remediate critical knowledge gaps. The platform uses a “teaching-by-asking model to personalize the learning experience in real time. As individuals answer content-related questions and give each response a confidence rating, the system analyzes the responses and customizes the path through the content, delivering material most applicable to each learner’s needs. The result of Area9’s adaptive approach is that users reach target proficiency in much less time and gain a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. —More info: area9learning.com

August / September 2016 Elearning!

LastWord The Implications of the LinkedIn Acquisition by Microsoft

BY JOE DIDONATO hen I originally wrote the Freemium blog that was posted on our site, the thought crossed my mind about what the LinkedIn acquisition by Microsoft could mean for our industry. It was the sheer volume of data — on each of us — that could be mined, which makes you ponder the possibilities. Deep down, I’ve always believed that the strategy behind LinkedIn’s original purchase of Lynda.com was that together, they could have achieved a what may be considered an unfair advantage as a training provider. After all, They would know so much about each of our careers and experience. It was all there — possible education gaps, career direction, current career level, etc. But it didn’t happen. And now, Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, exclaimed at the Sun Valley CEO Summit that AI and machine learning will affect more than just the manufacturing sector, it will affect those in professional spheres. Microsoft makes its own move, bringing with them a deep knowledge of machine learning, AI, Big Data, and data mining, and all of a sudden, here sits a partner that can take advantage of that enormous asset. The potential to take each of our profiles, analyze them, and then recommend what training we might want to take, what networks we could take advantage of, and even more is all sitting there. And it all started with the Freemium model which created tremendous value because of what we all willingly contributed to it for free. It’s like Wikipedia’s value. And what’s in it for us to have shared all of this information? As long as all of us can use the crowd-sourced data for free, find interesting groups to belong to, discover like-minded individuals, and possibly get our credentials in front of someone who might think we were a good match for a position opening, it has great value to each of us. It’s when people want to dive deeper, like in the case of recruiters and sales reps looking for prospects, that this model can easily be monetized. People will pay for extending their search and email solicitations, or even to view data in certain ways. Imagine the value of running a sales conference in a metropolitan area and then being able to see all of the sales people in that area. Or maybe it’s a specific training event for instructional designers. The next step along my marketing and sales journey is to advertise to the target audience. The marketing capability is a huge potential that not even LinkedIn has taken advantage of fully. To me, it would have been of great value to see an “Events In Your Area” newsletter that gets customized for each of us. So will this mining and interpreting of data happen? I suspect not right away. But here’s what lingers in my mind. Microsoft owns Dynamics — a competitor to Salesforce.com. Imagine what could be extracted from LinkedIn about prospects. Microsoft also owns Yammer — a competitor to Facebook and other social networks, but a network that competes at a more professional level. And then there’s our world where Microsoft is trying to play a stronger and stronger role. It includes Microsoft Classroom for the K-12 arena, and then LMS365 Cloud, Learning Management for Office 365 for the rest of the market. However, in all of these cases, Microsoft isn’t the market leader. Does that point to systemic weaknesses in their organizational fabric and management? Is there not sufficient autonomy to let people execute? Are their moves over-scrutinized by regulators? We’ll probably never know from the outside looking in, but I’m also thinking that they won’t be as nimble when it comes to achieving this outcome. That’s especially true because they have to first assimilate all of these new cultures into their own. But consider the potential. It’s all there, waiting for Microsoft to execute the plan. — Joe DiDonato is Elearning! Magazine’s Editor-at-Large. He has served as CLO for Oracle and Countrywide, as well as CEO of many learning technology firms.

Elearning! August / September 2016

Do You Make the

Grade? 2

Results:

6-7 correct makes you Mensa material. 4-5 correct means you are a skimmer â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and can learn oh-so much more. Fewer than 4? This issue is your Sunday reading assignment. Try again!

Who was the Lifetime Achievement award-winner featured in the ELC16 Highlights? a. Frank Anderson, DAU b. Darren Louie, SAP SE c. Michele Chetwynd, Instruction By Design d. Mike Jewett, Bulletproof Solutions

According to the 2016 Learning! 100 Benchmarks, what percentage of winning organizations have a CLO or similar role? a. 48 percent b. 54 percent c. 76 percent d. 84 percent

How much did Microsoft spend when purchasing LinkedIn? a. $262 million b. $2.62 billion c. $26.2 billion d. $262 billion

According to a survey by Gartner, what do CEOs prioritize most? a. Customers b. Growth c. Workers d. Values

What is the biggest challenge in data and analytics facing organizations? a. Constructing a strategy to prioritize investment analytics b. Securing internal leadership for analytics projects c. Designing an appropriate organizational structure to support analytics activities d. Investing at scale in analytics initiatives

Which of the following companies was ranked No. 1 in the Learning! 100? a. T-Mobile b. Amazon Web Services c. Facebook d. Adobe e. Edward Jones

What percentage of organizations deploy virtual classrooms currently? a. 33 percent b. 49 percent c. 53 percent d. 63 percent

Editorial Index Bersin by Deloitte http://bit.ly/2atoTmF

LinkedIn Business http://bit.ly/2a7PwJY

Enterprise Learning! Conference Online pg 35

British Army Recruitment Experience http://bit.ly/2avGtRZ

McKinsey & Company http://bit.ly/2as6vJm

Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Association, Vol. 13, No. 6. (Jun. - Jul., 1984), pp. 4-16. web.mit.edu/5.95/readings/bloom-two-sigma.pdf.

Microsoft http://microsoft.com

E-learning For Kids www.e-learningforkids.org

E-learning! User Study 2015/2015 www.2elearning.com/resources/research white-papers Gartner http://gtnr.it/2av4HjS

www.ELCEShow.com

Federal Government Distance Learning Association http://www.Fgdla.us

Virtual Reality Trends Report 2016 www.2elearning.com/resources/research white-papers

INXPO http://wwww.Inxpo.com

ADVERTISERS Ascension Information Services http://www.Ascension.org

pg 2

Globoforce http://bit.ly/2a5Bmbx

Best of Elearning! Applications pg 36 http://www.2elearning.com/rss2/item/565262016-best-ofelearning-award-nomination-form

Google Symptoms App http://bit.ly/2ajEa8s

Elearning! Magazine Subscriptions www.2elearning.com

pg 51

pg 31

pg 33 pg 3

Learning! 100 Applications www.2elearning.com/awards/learning100-awards

pg 27

Salesforce http://Work.com

pg 52

Vi ViLiving.com/Company/Careers

pg 32

Answers: 1a; 2) d; 3)b; 4) c; 5) d; 6) b; 7) b

Elearning! magazine is published bi-monthly by B2B Media Company LLC, 44920 W. Hathaway Ave. #1794, Maricopa, AZ 85139. Application to mail Standard Class is filed with Sheppardsville, KY Post Office. POSTMASTER: Send all address changes to: Elearning! PO Box 1794 Maricopa, AZ 85139. Subscriptions are free to qualified professionals in the USA. All international or non-qualified subscriptions can receive Elearning! e-zine complimentary by ordering at http://www.2elearning.com/reg/choose. Elearning! magazine is a trademark of B2B Media Company. All rights are reserved.

August / September 2016 Elearning!

Empower your salespeople to succeed with Salesforce Work.com. From the maker of the world's #1 CRM application, Work.com helps sales teams align, motivate, coach, and drive better performance. Amplify winning behaviors and drive more consistent results while leveraging your investment in Salesforce CRM.