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Had a great trip last week to Sydney and got to meet many of the blog readers I’ve corresponded with over the years. If you haven’t attended an iDesignX conference, I recommend doing so. You get to meet many of your peers and sit in on some good presentations.
As I was returning home I ran into Dr. Werner Oppelbaumer at the Los Angeles airport. We had a few moments to chat about the state of the industry and what’s new in his research.
There’s a lot going on in our industry. What trends do you see when it comes to online training?
There is a lot of talk about MOOCs. The idea is very interesting but many of the courses are like old-school lectures put online. Their biggest challenge is a lack of identity coupled with reaching the next generation who have grown up on games.
At Werner Labs we’ve come up with a solution for both. As all trainers know, good training starts with a good logo. Don’t waste time trying to teach anything without an appropriate logo. Besides, if you don’t have a logo what will you put on your slides?
Werner labs created a prototype logo to build the MOOC brand and reach young people. We created a gamified logo to attract the young generation who only know how to play games and complain that their Red Bulls are too warm.
That’s interesting. I am sure that the gamification angle will pay dividends. Speaking of MOOCs, I’ve read that they have a very high drop off after initial enrollment. Any thoughts on how that can be fixed?
Yes. At Werner Labs we created a MOOC Collar™. When you enroll in a course we send a reminder collar which is connected to your course’s MOOC app. If participation drops, the instructor can send a friendly reminder. You can test the MOOC Collar™ app here
Click here to test the application.
Speaking of courses, there’s been a lot of buzz in the elearning community concerning the elearning manifesto. It addresses some issues with the current state of elearning and seems to cover a lot of the key points you’ve been pushing the last 40 years. What are your thoughts?
I actually just delivered a presentation concerning something similar. That’s why I was in Los Angeles. But here are a few quick thoughts. You can view my presentation below.
Impressive Logo. As I mentioned before, good training starts with a good logo. It looks like the manifesto team spent valuable time agreeing on a solid logo. I am sure that it was a challenge just getting to a consensus on the spelling of elearning eLearning.
Great presentation. When I first heard the hoopla I was concerned that the elearning experts were going to take me through some sort of interactive asynchronous learning experience. But I was mistaken.
I’m glad they decided to go with the tried-and-true formula of a synchronous meeting where they lectured and read their slides. It was so refreshing. I just leaned back in the chair, closed my eyes, and soaked it all up.
I will add that they did miss a golden opportunity to create an acronym to help us better remember the principles.
Creative Commons. Since the manifesto is under a Creative Commons license we are free to use it as we wish, even for commercial purposes. As you know Werner Labs is a for-profit enterprise and we are already working on manifesto-licensed merchandise.
The first two products are a winter coat inspired by East German manifesto writers of the past and Manifesto Pesto, a nice tasty pasta sauce.
Interesting observations. As always, thanks for the time and letting me post your presentation below. I’m sure we’ll learn something new.
Click here to view Dr. Werner’s presentation.
Have a great day!
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Great interview 🙂 Gotta love 1st April.
I have a lot of respect for Dr Oppelbaumer. I wonder what he would make of our new add-on to Articulate Storyline which we have launched today. Here’s a You Tube video if you’d like to take a peek:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jWjkVQ7msU
Amanda
Touché and LOL!! This is by far the most highly anticipated article for me each year – I wish every day was April 1st! Thanks for the laughter and the nearly hysterical tears 🙂
What a brilliant April Fool’s joke!
Good insights here! One comment on MOOCs…
My personal opinion is that MOOCS are fundamentally broken because they are FREE. I think “free training” is inherently a psychological de-motivator.
I think back to my university days… I had to work two jobs to pay for my education. Since I was investing in my education out of my “hard-earned” dollars, my motivation for school was at a different level than a few of my buddies whose parents picked up the “tuition tab”. Again, I don’t want to generalize here, but when we give away education, the “perceived value” is less and the overall motivation to follow through is diminished.
I advocated for low cost MOOCs where there is at the very least a small investment. I think that will naturally improve stick rates!
You know, I had a feeling you might run into Dr Werner around this time of year. His observations made my day. He should have his own show!
So good to hear from Dr. Oppelbaumer. It’s been too long.
–Allen
.
eLearning manifiesta. I’m still laughing!
@Tom. I did have the good doctor in mind when I built Converta last night 🙂 Always look forward to hearing from him on 1st April – he’s a legend!
Thanks, Tom, for the first good laugh on April Fish day. You have quite the following, btw. We’ve been interviewing for an instructional designer and the ones we like brought up your blog at the first mention of Storyline. Thanks for your contributions to the community!
I checked my local Safeway grocery store and they don’t carry Manifesto Pesto. Would you please ask the good doctor where I can buy it, as it’s obviously a necessary ingredient for good and tasty e-learning?
Dr. Oppelbaumer said:
“I’m glad they decided to go with the tried-and-true formula of a synchronous meeting where they lectured and read their slides. It was so refreshing. I just leaned back in the chair, closed my eyes, and soaked it all up.”
Oh my, that had me in stitches!!
Happy April 1st, Tom!
@jenisecook
@Craig: There is one huge exception to your assertion that free training doesn’t work, and that’s the Articulate Community. It’s how I learned to use both Studio and Storyline. I visit it almost every day to see what else I can learn, whether I’m working on a project or not.
Good to hear from Dr. Oppelbaumer. Such wisdom! 🙂
Good one, Tom!! You are hilarious!!
Tom, please tell the good Doctor that I will use my new sombrero from now on instead of sticking my head in an insulated box for recording. And, I will include Manifesto Pesto along with the staple coffee and bagels in our team meetings. :o)
Thanks for the Far Out Space Nuts tip! Hey, at least I learned something (while having fun). That Dr. Werner is a real character.
I received several looks from cube neighbors as I guffawed through the Doctor’s presentation. Classic! Thanks for bringing humor to my day Tom!
Tom,
You have a fine touch for satire. Dr. Werner’s genius shines.
Ha! This was great Tom. The winter ensemble just looks cool and the and manifiesta sounds so cool. Thanks for the April 1st smiles.
My particular favourite is the MOOC collar app…..
Hilarious reading to start the day!
My favorite was the wry description of the manifesto presentation, or maybe it was the logo modifications, but then again I did LOL at the MOOC collar app & manifesto apparel, and was riveted by the converter demo. I stopped myself from creating a chart to rate humor levels.
Danke Shoen for sharing your wise[crack]perspective, Dr. Oppelbaumer. As always, THANKS Tom! This will be my go-to stress reliever.
The funny thing is that I don’t know if it’s only meant funny. For example, the manifest logo is not serious at all and their web site lacks eehh ‘design’?
When Learning Should Be Fun, Comic Sense ;o)is way to go.
Thanks Dr.Oppelbaumer!
Oh Tom! You have surpassed yourself! Nice touch with the Aussie music by the way – Paul Kelly is our favorite son.
But seriously – for my part the jury is still out on MOOCs and gamification. Its one thing to engage but quite another to achieve the learning outcome that addresses the business need.
I love this post, it is a great reminder of how far we have come with the evolution of non-traditional learning tools. I think the MOOC idea has possibilities, though a huge proportion of those who try it are just there for the experience, while a smaller proportion really want to accomplish it fully. It is definitely a tool for the those who are self-driven and out for learning for the love of it.
Tom, Thank you! you made my day.
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