e capability what and how

LearnWorksLearnWorks

9 June 2010LearnCentral

E-capabilityE-capabilityWhat is it? How do you get it?What is it? How do you get it?

Clint SmithDirectorLearnWorksLearnWorks


Survey: 2008 E-learning Innovations projects

• $5.3 funding for 140 projects

• approx 50% for business-provider partnerships

• survey in June 2009 to review impact and embedding of the e-learning innovation

• research and review by LearnWorks


Business case for e-learningRTO Survey: What were the goals of your project?

Most goals reflect strategic value (business benefits) for provider or partner.


Impact: follow-up deliveryRTO survey: What delivery follow-up has there been?



Impact: flow-on programsRTO survey: What flow-on delivery (other courses) has there been?


Impact: sustainable teamsPartner survey: Is the 2008 team supporting other e-learning initiatives?



How do you embed e-learning?

• Teambuilding: retain teams to implement other initiatives

• Benchmarking: measure your e-progress against others

• Market research: check the demand for e

• Repertoire: extend your e-learning tools

• Planning: integrate e-learning in other plans

• Upskill: build your staff e-capability

• Support: resource e-mentors or champions

• Fund: investigate other sources and models

• Partner: make alliances to build scope

• Prepare: build learner e-skills and awareness

• Market: sell benefits to management, staff, learners, clients

Embedding checklist, Victoria, 2008


Embedding e-learningPartner survey: which of these these strategies have you used?


Top bar indicates high ranking (4 or 5), lower bar low ranking (1–3)

Most did a bit of everything – but building e-skills (staff, learners) main focus


Embedding e-learning: marketingPartner survey: which strategies have you used to make your project known?


Internal marketing key: best teams use case studies, presentations to promote the change


So what e-capabilities do you need?

In education, most effort here, mostly by training: other three areas often ignored.


Strategic e-capabilities



• Interpreting trends in using web-based technologies for training • Analysing business opportunities and threats from the technology trends• Monitoring e-learning development in competitors• Identifying types of e-learning relevant to the training business• Picking winners (e-learning initiatives for success and impact)• Articulating the role of e-learning in the business

ie business analysis

Question: how do you build this stategic capability? More courses (PD)?





Get googling: who offers what you offer online? Who does it best? Where are they?





There are handy tools for this on the popular Designing e-learning site

http://designing.flexiblelearning.net.au/tours/tour3_plan.htm


… and more strategic e-caps

• Developing an e-learning game plan• Marketing, supporting, monitoring and updating the game plan • Establishing clear leadership goals and targets• Identifying, developing and supporting e-learning leaders• Recruiting or developing appropriate e-skills for the business• Designing and implementing e-learning embedding strategies

ie planning & leadership

Recent research indicates a major shortage of these e-caps in VET in Oz.

http://www.jma.com.au/JMAAnalytics.aspx


oh no! even more…

• Identifying business, learner and user technology service needs• Evaluating, selecting and implementing e-learning systems and services• Integrating e-learning needs in Web and intranet services• Developing user-friendly processes and interfaces

ie systems development

Technically, e-learning is mostly about good Web services. It’s not some exotic new beast.


Management e-capabilities

When 2008 projects failed, the problems were mostly this area – project management.

Question: how do you build this management capability? More courses (PD)?


Management e-capabilities

• Managing e-learning projects, on time and on budget• Establishing flexible staffing to support e-learning• Establishing team workflow processes for e-learning initiatives• Contracting and managing e-learning specialists for skill gaps• Managing e-learning content development staffing and processes• Managing contracted e-learning content development

ie project management

Many education and training providers lack the flexibility to support project-based activity: their processes & structures are wrong. So e-learning can be a major change management challenge.


and some more…

• Evaluating the impact and value of e-learning initiatives• Providing e-learning consultancy services to business clients• Marketing e-learning internally, including to client employees• Promoting e-capability externally

ie marketing

There are free benchmarking tools available on the Framework site

http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/content/research


Design and delivery capabilities

• Analysing client/learner needs and readiness for e-learning• Selecting an appropriate e-learning mix (self-paced, facilitated, blended)• Selecting appropriate delivery tools for an e-learning solution• Designing e-learning sequences and activities• Using e-learning tools, resources and systems for training delivery• Using e-learning tools for assessing learning outcomes• Providing client/learner/employee induction to e-learning• Facilitating group learning online• Providing support for e-learners

The Designing e-learning site has several handy tools to help with these tasks

http://designing.flexiblelearning.net.au/


Learning materials developmentcapabilities

• Sourcing content for e-learning courses• Customising available e-learning materials• Writing and editing content for e-learning• Designing and storyboarding e-learning materials• Producing media resources for e-learning (audio, video, graphics, animation)• Developing (programming) e-learning materials• Packaging e-learning materials (learning objects)

and also … The blue items are the ones which the 2008 projects had most trouble with.


Learning materials developmentcapabilities

• Sourcing content for e-learning courses• Customising available e-learning materials• Writing and editing content for e-learning• Designing and storyboarding e-learning materials• Producing media resources for e-learning (audio, video, graphics, animation)• Developing (programming) e-learning materials• Packaging e-learning materials (learning objects)

• Managing contracted development of e-learning materials• Providing non-specialist (rapid) development tools for teachers• Supporting and coordinating individual teacher development of materials

These are options: a weakness in some project RTOs was being uncertain which tram (or trams) they were on.


So who do you spend your e-capability development budget on? Why? How?

• Director, Owner, Board• Planners, business managers, finance officers• Senior managers, education• Senior managers, corporate/admin/IT• Middle managers, project managers• Industry consultants/sales/extension• E-learning leaders/champions/innovators

SO – just roll out more PD for this lot? Will that work? Why and why not?


So who do you spend your e-capability development budget on? Why? How?

• Director, Owner, Board• Planners, business managers, finance officers• Senior managers, education• Senior managers, corporate/admin/IT• Middle managers, project managers• Industry consultants/sales/extension• E-learning leaders/champions/innovators

• Teachers/trainers/tutors/lecturers• Learning materials developers• Media producers• E-learning support/admin staff/IT (LMS etc)• Library/resource centre staff

Tricky bit here is the overlap of roles. Who needs to do what? How? Work processes again!


So how do you get e-capability? Top 10 tips

• Plan for successpick and resource winners: start from the business case, not the technology or pedagogy or PD (and help stamp out pilots!)

• Lead the changeinvest and support management-led, teacher-supported initiatives, not heroic innovations with no flow-on

• Just deliverfocus investment on products (courses), not people or processes

• Count BOCS (Bosteriors on Cyber Seats)set e-learning delivery targets, 1–3 years, not technology uptake audits

• Hunt in packsselect, resource and manage e-learning as team projects, not individual classroom embellishments


So how do you get e-capability? Top 10 tips

• Use what you’ve gotuse existing skills, plus specialists/contractors (mentors), plus JIT training for specific project: save you money on blanket PD

• Look after your matesdevelop and sustain teams, your main IP (good processes, clear roles, confident resourcing, JIT skills development)

• Think training delivery solutionsselect the right delivery mix from your available, reliable repertoire, avoid tool fetishes.

• Sell it, sell it again, and keep sellingMarket your e-solutions internally and externally, all the time

• Reward performersFind clever ways to acknowledge successful delivery solutions by teams (eg funds to try out new tools)


Clint SmithDirectorLearnWorksperformance design services

[email protected] 9528 53370410 569 386skype clintos2

e capability what and how

Technology