From the Coleface

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

Generally a great result from a course is for the participant to realise that they don’t have to do anything different. But this is the worst result from the employer’s perspective – if people carry on exactly as before, why invest the money on having the course? I think part of this comes down to comfort zones.

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From the Coleface

DECEMBER 9, 2008

When I was working as an in-house trainer for a Big Four firm, the message from on high was that the business needed training courses to be more challenging. More significantly, it would have also put many people in a worse mental state for learning. In the session at TDN, the participant introductions were simply: 1. What’s your name?

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Coaching Job Course Training 100

From the Coleface

FEBRUARY 29, 2008

In March’s TJ, Hatty Richmond writes about her research on L&D practitioners who had been involved in evaluating training courses. If you are aiming to improve the business development effectiveness of your client facing staff, does it matter that 40% rather than 30% of the incremental success related to the training course?

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Kirkpatrick Evalution ROI Comparison 100

From the Coleface

NOVEMBER 4, 2014

It is a truth universally acknowledged in any presentation skills or business writing course that you need to get to know your audience – that way, whatever your message, you can gauge useful things like what they already know, think and feel before you jump into the delicate basis of encouraging them to unlearn some old comfortable behaviours/ knowledge (..)

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Learner xapi Analysis Survey 124

From the Coleface

OCTOBER 16, 2016

Of course it’s not going to work in all situations, so if in doubt do user testing (see #6 above). Subject matter experts may naturally feel that humour has no place in their beloved area of expertise. When done well humour leads to greater engagement and more buzz around the learning. Make the test really difficult.

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Compliance Training Compliance Module Assessment 100

From the Coleface

DECEMBER 6, 2009

The longer the course/ module the more that learners will get bored and frustrated by devices like this. Training courses and e-learning modules are longer events so you need to be careful about how you extrapolate what the generation effect says.

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Cognitive Effectiveness Module Association 100

From the Coleface

AUGUST 27, 2008

Over many years of running Train the Trainer courses and coaching facilitators, I’ve spent time talking about learning styles e.g. Honey & Mumford and occasionally Visual, Auditory & Kinasethetic. The ELN website highlighted a clip on YouTube which I think that anyone running a Train the Trainer course should watch.

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Learning Styles YouTube Coaching Website 100

From the Coleface

OCTOBER 13, 2008

He suggests that a typical ratio of organisational effort around a training course 10% pre-work, 85% learning event and 5% follow up would have greater impact if the allocation was 26% pre-work, 24% learning event and 50% follow up.

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From the Coleface

AUGUST 4, 2014

If comfortable for this incident to be referred to on a training course or in a face to face presentation, why not in e-learning? Your people are already trusted to handle plenty of confidential information, why would you not trust them with this? What’s different?

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Compliance Training Compliance Confidentiality Trust 124

From the Coleface

AUGUST 10, 2009

Over the years on Train the Trainer courses, I have witnessed hundreds of course delegates learn from failing to be able to give adequate instructions for a novice to make a jam sandwich or wrap a pad of Post-Its in paper. It’s well known amongst trainers just how hard it is to issue clear instructions that people can follow.

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Instructional Instruction Examples Sample 100

From the Coleface

JULY 10, 2007

The designer of the course ascribed this success to it being a “bog standard e-learning course, but well communicated” So how come this e-learning was so successful? They did the kind of selling that naturally happens on a face to face training course, but rarely in conjunction with e-learning.

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Adoption Adopt Communication Budget 100

From the Coleface

OCTOBER 3, 2008

A sobering thought: how much more ridiculously overexcited would I be if a picture showing all of me (clothed of course) was published? For the record, no one know who the owner of the 4th sexiest knee was- but my right knee was never in contention, owing to a birth mark and some scarring.

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Photo Reputation Picture Issue 100

From the Coleface

JULY 17, 2007

Of course none of the enlightened L&D professionals reading this would think so simply. Yes: Face to face course. If a training identifies that learners need some learning content, it typically goes through the following process. It’s a pretty flow diagram that I’ll reproduce slightly more prosaically here: Q1.

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Press Slides Budget Learning 100

From the Coleface

MAY 31, 2017

This would be backed up by ring-fencing time on courses for junior staff to introduce and get learners to start using the product. For the launch to leaders and managers, I and L&D colleagues travelled around different offices delivering workshops to sell the benefits of self-managed learning.

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Management Adoption Adopt Learning 100

From the Coleface

NOVEMBER 23, 2009

Phew…most of the courses I’ve run on career development and business development had significant elements of this, where the learning is active and practical…the challenge was normally to get high quality self reflection as professionals are so used to moving onto the next challenge.

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Case Study Learning Quality Study 100

From the Coleface

SEPTEMBER 18, 2007

In marketing and change management courses, I have found the tipping point concept (Gladwell) really useful to illustrate how small changes can cause a big effect. Gladwell’s book is unashamedly US focused. but now we have just lived through a great UK example – Northern Rock.

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Tips Trust Picture Market 100

From the Coleface

JUNE 24, 2008

L&D’s role will be more to facilitate the process of self-managed learning rather than being the monopolistic provider of training courses. To make best use of their time they will need to become more skilled at metalearning i.e. being more aware of how they learn best and choosing the appopriate learning approach.

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From the Coleface

APRIL 14, 2009

There’s a popular myth in the learning industry that 80% of the learning that happens in organisations is informal whilst 20% is derived from formal learning interventions e.g. face to face courses and e-learning. Think about it.

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Informal Culture Budget Informal Learning 100

From the Coleface

JULY 16, 2009

It’s next easiest if the on-line community integrates into another business process: e.g. use an on-line community as part of the pre-work for a course to help establish what participants would like from it. A lot depends on the subject: is it something that people are likely to spontaneously contribute about?

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Community Specialist ROI Learning 100

From the Coleface

DECEMBER 8, 2008

If we present something as a fact on our courses or in our literature which isn’t, it can only result in hearsay that is damaging to the credibility of the profession in the long term. The intention behind my pickiness is to ask L&D professionals (and specifically writers and editors) to make the distinction between assumption and fact.

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Statistics Reference Effectiveness Training 100

From the Coleface

DECEMBER 4, 2007

Not all of the time management techniques that are typically found on training courses work for everyone. Whilst our scripts may be helpful in many situations, recognising our own scripts and how to flex them is essential. Scripts give us an insight into why and the path to greater effectiveness.

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Analysis Management Work Styles Network 100

From the Coleface

AUGUST 3, 2009

One firm reported having achieved the landmark of a partner developing a course in Articulate – almost unthinkable 5 years ago. . In this context, time spent authoring e-learning is seen as recognition that you have eminence in a field that the rest of the firm can benefit from. It’s more how we work.

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Virtual Classroom Compliance Training Services Survey 100

From the Coleface

NOVEMBER 24, 2008

All of this of course, rigorously mediated and monitored by the SMEs to ensure clarity and accuracy. A wiki could be created which would enable each standard to have case history examples and comments added to it, creating a bank of worked examples, do’s and don’ts and SME (subject matter expert) advice.

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Culture Blended Learning Wiki Write Blog 100

From the Coleface

SEPTEMBER 6, 2007

As someone who had to get through over 70 exams during the course of becoming an ACA, I am probably more acutely aware of how important it is to answer exam questions directly. Possibly the PR/ marketing departments of e-learning consultancies are more inclined to answer questions at the end of the spectrum nearest the politicians i.e.

Case Study 100

Case Study Compliance Training News Learning 100

From the Coleface

JULY 21, 2008

Saying that rapid e-learning will be the only form of e-learning available is about as facile as saying that the only face to face course worth going to is Situational Leadership. Rapid e-learning has changed the shape of the e-learning market, but there is still lots of room for high quality bespoke e-learning.

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Blended Learning Rapid eLearning Journal Blended 100

From the Coleface

MARCH 19, 2019

Although I spend far less time studying chess openings than I should, I make time to analyse my games and work out where I have gone off-course and what I need to improve. In real life it’s a bit harder to get an objective version of what happened and why, but you can seek feedback and make time to reflect. Make your own plan.

Player 20

Player Games Study Expert 20

From the Coleface

JUNE 23, 2009

Unless, of course, you really can’t tell the difference between the two… ” “What are the truly creative things that my e-learning provider can offer which make the high priority learning points a special experience?”

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Content Budget Cost PowerPoint 100