lawnet, inc. the training evolution, part i: elearning elaine pomfrey, elearning consultant, littler...

LAWNET, INC.The Training Evolution, Part I:

eLearning

Elaine Pomfrey, eLearning Consultant, Littler Mendelson PC

Honora Wade, Technical Training Manager, Perkins Coie

 November 21, 2002

E-Learning in the Legal Environment

By: Honora M. WadeTechnical Training Manager, Perkins Coie LLP

First, Consider Personnel Issues and Clarify Your Policies & Goals• How will e-Learning impact the employment relationship and

expectations? It is vital to be clear prior to rollout.– Will use of eLearning modules be required?

• Of staff only? Lawyers, too?• How will you capture/record use and accomplishments? Will your e-

Learning software need to “speak” with your personnel software?• Will it be a contributing factor to annual review? If so, will compensation

or bonus be enhanced or decreased accordingly?

– Will testing be an element? If so, how will it be perceived?• As competency testing? Consider “fear factor” (especially in current

economic climate). • As self-assessment? Is testing something the employee can do unrecorded

by management solely if they desire to gauge their own training needs?

Four Types of Web Based Training*

indicates an appropriate choice for legal environment

• Web/Computer Based Training: self-paced programs that use multimedia (either single or multi-unit learning modules) - for your standard curriculum

• Web/Electronic Performance Support: aka “just-in-time” or help materials

*Adapted from Web-Based Training: Creating e-Learning Experiences by Margaret Driscoll

continue…..

• Web Asynchronous Classroom: group learning - Learners & instructors are not online together, but participate in group learning activities such as projects, brainstorming & case studies (best for certification or college study).

• Web Synchronous Classroom: Online collaborative learning in real-time environment (such as this Webex presentation). Excellent for rollouts, ongoing training to offices that lack full-time trainer, etc.

Where do we start?Web Synchronous Classroom

• Quickest way for a law firm to start. Can be as simple as users seeing instructor’s computer via web connection (similar to this presentation).

• Almost no start-up investment • Reduce training costs - Perkins

Coie provides semi-monthly training sessions to Asia & other offices. Also used regularly for software rollout training to other offices.

• Helps ease users into web-based learning - still have comfort of interaction with live instructor

Web-based Training (WBT) and Performance Support -

Considerations• Due to law firm software customization, out-of-the-box

may not be viable for technical training.

• Start small - look at the applications you currently possess. – PowerPoint for “Brown Bags on the Web” – Basic FrontPage can be used to create “how-to” pages.

– Snag-It, 20/20 (freeware) and PaintShopPro can support graphic needs for either software.

• Full Training Modules or Performance Support/Online Help - which comes first? With some planning, you can accomplish both at once.

• Depends on your resources, both people and budget.

– Do you have enough staff to dedicate to this? Can they effectively balance the ongoing user Q&A needs with development time?

– Do they have the web-design background to do so with reasonable time and effort?

– Do you have the budget to look at outside vendor options?

– How frequently do your network applications undergo change? Can you afford to pay vendor to upgrade modules?

WBT and Performance Support: Develop In-House or Contract Out?

• Error messages & other technical difficulties - Learning can be stressful, especially in an unfamiliar environment like the web. This issue compounds the frustration of tech errors and leads user to feel they’re failing, even when it’s not their fault.

• Inadequate Feedback - When am I succeeding? What am I doing wrong (responses such as “Please try again” do not provide enough information to help me correct my error).

• Poor Navigation Design - confusing pop-ups, too many hyperlinks required to fully access the curriculum content, etc. This can be compounded by the user’s lack of nav skills.

• Ambiguous Instructions - the web amplifies the challenge of providing clear instructions (especially when considering the different types of learners)

WBT and Performance Support: What frustrates users?*

*Adapted from Web-Based Training: Creating e-Learning Experiences by Margaret Driscoll

*Source: www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm (with exception of final two points)

Different Types of Learners*• Visual - Learn through Seeing

– Learns well from reading manual and handouts; Likes screenshots - "thinks in pictures”; Often notetakers

• Auditory - Learn through Hearing– Doesn't process written materials well; Understanding comes from

interpreting the underlying meanings of speech through tone, pitch, speed and other nuances

• Kinesthetic - Learn through Doing, Moving and Touching– Prefers hands-on approach; Doesn’t make sense until they “do it

myself”; Does not handle lectures well; May have difficulty sitting for long periods

• Socratic - Q&A, Needs to Direct Their Learning (i.e., attorneys)

Each type of learner will respond to e-Learning differently

Four Phases of Instruction - Teaching is Only Half of

Instructional Transaction*:• Presenting the Information - no interactivity (

www.diynet.com)

• Guiding the Student - interactive with online guidance (www.quia.com/mc/4.html)

• Practicing by the Student - interactive with little online guidance (click on “The Learning Sandbox”; www.useractive.com)

• Assessing Student Learning - tests and assessments (click on “Try It Out”; www.questionmark.com/)

• “Putting training on the web does not make training

instantly better, nor does it make learners enjoy

training more!”*Source: Web-Based Training: Creating e-Learning Experiences by Margaret Driscoll

Blended Solutions• By blending WBT with classroom instruction, one can ensure

all four phases of instruction take place.• WBT can serve to quantify curriculum for classroom

instruction.• Perkins does “brown bags on the web” as part of our monthly

classroom schedule– By reviewing WBT first, classroom time can focus on

practice and Q&A– Alternately, after classroom instruction, the user can

return to the WBT version to reinforce learning when practicing

Assess e-Learning Design & Examples: Before you shop, read:

• Don’t Make Me Think - A Common Sense Approach To Web Usability by Steve Krug. While not focused on e-Learning, per se, it is hands-down the most useful book I’ve read on web design. It is required reading for employees in my department.

• Web-Based Training: Creating e-Learning Experiences by Margaret Driscoll. Comprehensive but not overwhelming - good definitions of e-Learning jargon - Provides a wealth of links so you can experience the types of e-learning described.

Examples of WBT: Eloquent

• Video & streaming interactive text (user can click to leap to new point in class); workspace for hands-on in application.

• Consider bandwidth impacts of streaming technology.

©2002 Eloquent, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Examples of WBT: TutorPro

• Can purchase modules on wide variety of applications, then customize for your firm’s needs.

• Content can be served up as web-based tutorial and/or “just-in-time” help.

©Copyright 2000, TutorProTM Limited

So you want to create it yourself?

• Different applications serve different masters:– Web Performance Support Systems (i.e., help files):

RoboHTML; CoachWare; Assistware; Vuepoint Learning System (VLS)

– Authoring Applications for WBT: Director/Authorware; iAuthor; ReadyGo.com; ToolBookII

– Test and Assessment Applications: TestGenerator, Utest; TestPilot; TestEngine

– Content Libraries (some will allow easy customization): NETg, Learn2.com; ElementK, TutorPro

When shopping or creating, a few design elements to keep in mind*:• A clear, visual hierarchy that accurately portrays the

relationships between the items on the page will help people find their way around more easily.

• Conventions are your friends - well-applied conventions make it easier for users to move within a new site without expending effort on figuring out how the site works. For example, there’s a reassuring sense of familiarity in seeing a list of links to sections on colored background down the left side of the page.

• Clickable items should be obvious.

• Keep it clean. Cluttered pages are like a noisy cocktail party

- it’s hard to hear with all the background noise.*Adapted from: Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug

Learning Management System

• Many of the vendors and applications mentioned can serve (in part or in whole) the broader concept of LMS.

• “The term embraces just about any use of Web technology to plan, organize, implement and control aspects of the learning process.”*

• Two approaches: buy outright for deployment on intranet or contract with vendor for hosted system

*Source: Web-Based Training: Creating e-Learning Experiences by Margaret Driscoll

Functions of a Learning Management System*

• Developer can author courses/tests & assemble courses into a curriculum.

• Learner can search & enroll in courses; review their transcript; access a personalized training plan; complete an evaluation/assessment; locate additional resources, and more.

• Administrator can schedule classes; manage curriculum; manage enrollment; generate reports; connect to HR and other systems; and more.

*Source: Web-Based Training: Creating e-Learning Experiences by Margaret Driscoll

*Adapted from: User Empowerment and the Fun Factor by Jakob Nielsonhttp://www.useit.com/alertbox/20020707.html

Usability Testing*• Finally, whether choosing a vendor system or creating

your own modules in-house, test with a couple users!• Most studies currently rely on classic and not completely

satisfactory ways of assessing user enjoyment, but it will serve your purpose adequately*: – A subjective satisfaction questionnaire administered at

the end of a study that provides a simple, overall system assessment.

– Observations of the user's body language for indications of satisfaction or displeasure (smiles or frowns), as well as for laughs, grunts, or explicit statements such as "cool" or "boring."

More to come: Setting Up a Firm UniversitySetting Up a Firm University -

12/12• Ideas for elements beyond traditional e-

Learning modules• True Web presentation vs. links to traditional

materials - examples of Perkins materials• Successfully incorporating online learning into

the user’s daily workflow (carrot or stick approach? Hmmm . . . )

Littler University goes Virtual

Elaine Pomfrey

eLearning Consultant

Littler Mendelson PC

Problem?

• 10% of computer’s potential• 30 offices• 3 trainers

Solution? eLearning

• Reach geographically dispersed workforce

• Provide consistent training and information

• Retain employees

Littler University Structure

• Focus groups determined proficiencies

• Proficiencies grouped into customized Learning Profiles for each job type

» Attorney

» Secretary

» Paralegal

» Accounting

» Administration

» Staff

eLearning

Learning Management System

Content Administration

Content

• MS Office - NetG• Macromedia

Authorware & Flash

•Evaluate–Educational Content–Interactivity and Simulation–Time–Cost

Learning Management System

• Started with MindQ• Home built LMS

•Evaluate–Reporting Needs–Personnel–Integration with courses

Administration

• Marketing• Support• Maintenance• Reports• Certification Program

Measuring the Impact

• Enrollment numbers

• $ saved from trainer’s time and travel expenses

• Soft dollar savings – increased productivity, job satisfaction, reduced stress

EvaluateTotal Responses

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Lessons Learned

• Market, market, market!

• Time crunch

• eLearning hurdle

• Offer a carrot or a stick

How to Market eLearning

1. Research audience needs up front.

2. Pay attention to culture.

3. Be specific in your marketing.

4. Find e-learning champions.

5. Get learners’ managers involved.

6. Brand your program.

7. Don’t stop with the launch: Keep communicating.

8. Tie e-learning to consequences.

9. Give learners enough time and space.

--Source: www.e-learningmag.com

For training to be effective, it has to maintain a reliable consistent presence. Employees should be able to count on something systematic, not a rescue effort summoned to solve the problem of the moment. In other words, training should be a continuous process rather than a one-time event.

-- Andrew S. Grove

CEO, Intel Corp

Resources

• Corporate Univ Xchange www.corpu.com

• ASTD

www.learningcircuits.org

• Masie Center www.masie.com

• e-learning

www.elearningmag.com

• Training (& Online Learning)

www.trainingmag.com

Littler University

epomfrey@littler.com

913.649.0611

Web Sites Magazines & e-newsletters

LAWNET, INC.The Training Evolution, Part I:

eLearningElaine Pomfrey, eLearning Consultant, Littler Mendelson PC

Honora Wade, Technical Training Manager, Perkins Coie 

QUESTIONS?