Rob Hubbard

JULY 13, 2016

by Tess Robinson, Director, LAS. The UK’s recent referendum on whether we should stay in the EU produced a shock result that has led to political and economic turmoil on an unprecedented scale. The VUCA acronym (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) has never felt more apt in this country. This is not to say, however, that all is lost. The organisations that will survive and prosper are those who are well-prepared for change and who can focus on it positively.

Learning 40

Learning Agile Module Attitudes 40

Rob Hubbard

JUNE 7, 2016

by Tess Robinson, Director, LAS. Traditional economics is based on the assumption that humans are rational beings, that we evaluate our situation in a logical way, making decisions based on cost- benefit analyses. Behavioural economics turns this on its head and suggests that, actually, we are myopic creatures whose choices are loaded with emotions and cognitive bias.

Cognitive 61

Cognitive Simulations Design Learning 61

Rob Hubbard

MAY 12, 2016

The internet. Television. The telephone. The bagless vacuum cleaner. The chocolate bar. The light bulb. The British are a nation of inventors – we like to tinker and try new things. For such a small island we have contributed more than our fair share of world-changing inventions. I’ve heard our infamous British weather be credited with encouraging our creativity – it’s rarely warm enough to spend time lounging on the beach, so instead we Brits have to find something else to do.

Design 40

Design SCORM Learning eLearning 40

Rob Hubbard

APRIL 12, 2016

At a party recently I had a flash of insight. A number of disparate ideas suddenly aligned in my head with an almost audible ‘clunk’, lubricated by prosecco and stimulating conversation. I was talking to a couple of friends about the sports I’m into and what I enjoy about them: sailing, skiing and mountain biking. In all three of these I’m not competitive.

Design 40

Design Learning Business Innovation 40

Rob Hubbard

MARCH 31, 2016

The limitations of human memory are an eternal conundrum for learning designers – how exactly do you create meaningful learning experiences for learners who have a shorter attention span than a goldfish? Or who are only able to retain 7 items in their short term memory 1 ? Perhaps microlearning is the answer? There are certainly a wide variety of definitions of microlearning.

microlearning 56

microlearning Learning Objects Simulations Performance Support 56

Rob Hubbard

MARCH 7, 2016

by Tess Robinson, Director, LAS. I am trying to teach myself to paint with acrylics at the moment. I have a definite idea in my head of what my paintings should look like, but with no painting experience, they don’t exactly come out like that when translated to canvas. It’s very frustratin g! As with many things, I turned to You Tube for help and found the rather wonderful Will Kemp from Will Kemp Art School.

Learning 40

Learning Design Music Standards 40

Rob Hubbard

JANUARY 28, 2016

by Tess Robinson, Director, LAS. Our MD recently won an Outstanding Contribution award and was named as one of the Top 10 eLearning Movers and Shakers in the UK for 2016. The award was given partly because of all the voluntary work he has done to support the elearning industry but also because he’s seen as somewhat of a thought-leader in digital learning.

eLearning 45

eLearning Skype Performance Support Solution 45

Rob Hubbard

JANUARY 13, 2016

By Tess Robinson, Director, LAS. A few weeks ago I attended a fabulous workshop by Sally Spinks from Ideo. If you haven’t heard of them before, they are a design consultancy headquartered in California but with offices throughout the world. They use the design thinking methodology to design products, services, environments, and digital experiences. We have a bit of an organisational crush on them if we’re honest.

Design 40

Design Digital Lesson Learner 40

Rob Hubbard

DECEMBER 10, 2015

by Tess Robinson, Director, LAS. The latest Towards Maturity benchmark report makes rather depressing reading. Despite being consistently able to show that those organisations who embrace learning technologies perform better, be it through increasing revenue, improving productivity or job performance, the overall situation remains relatively static in terms of budget committed to digital learning or the range of technology used.

Digital 45

Digital eLearning Strategy eLearning Consultant Learning 45

Rob Hubbard

NOVEMBER 13, 2015

As LAS celebrate 10 years in business I find myself thinking back to what has changed over that time, what hasn’t, and what the future may hold. When I started LearningAge Solutions, it was as a jobbing contractor, working for a number of elearning development houses. Over time I started building content myself and soon needed to hire another developer.

Flash to HTML5 Conversion 58

Flash to HTML5 Conversion eLearning Social Networks Gamification 58

Rob Hubbard

OCTOBER 14, 2015

by Tess Robinson, Director LAS. “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” — Albert Einstein. Our youngest son (7) is the very definition of curious. Every day is a barrage of questions: “Can anything happen in a nanosecond?” “What would happen if we just breathed carbon dioxide?” “Does the toothpaste come out like that (red, white and blue) because it’s French?

Scanning 56

Scanning Learning Learner Brain 56

Rob Hubbard

OCTOBER 13, 2015

By Tess Robinson, Director, LAS. Lately I have been spending a lot of time on Webflow, a responsive site builder, redesigning our company website. As the number of devices, platforms and screen sizes grows it’s becoming more important to be able to provide an optimal viewing experience in terms of reading and navigation’ whatever the screen size. Responsive design allows you to build sites which can adapt their layout according to screen size, platform and orientation by using fluid grids, flexi

Culture 49

Culture Design Learning Embed 49

Rob Hubbard

OCTOBER 12, 2015

by Tess Robinson, Director, LAS. These days it’s widely accepted that learners don’t really learn much from just sitting passively in front of a screen. It’s all too easy to switch off whilst you’re supposed to be concentrating on what’s in front of you if you’re not required to be an active participant, I’m certainly guilty of popping off to make a cup of tea or feed the cat in the middle of a webinar.

Interactive 53

Interactive eLearning Learner Lecture 53

Rob Hubbard

MAY 8, 2014

'This month we bid a fond farewell to our much cherished and long-running Rapid eLearning Development (ReD) course. Bac k in mid-2009 the concept of a fictional Ministry of Instructional Design with a secret mission became an itch that I had to scratch. It consumed me and I loved it. Jane Hart, Clive Shepherd and Patrick Dunn all helped to shape ReD in the early stages.

Rapid eLearning 65

Rapid eLearning Social Networks eLearning Distance Learning 65

Rob Hubbard

MAY 8, 2014

'By Tess Robinson, Director, LearningAge Solutions. My favourite teacher from my high school days, Mr ‘Geography’ Jones, died recently. I remember his enthusiastic an d, at times dramatic teaching style as if it were yesterday. He brought Geography alive for us and his theatrical demonstrations of a glacier powering through a valley have stayed with all of us – we will forever know our terminal from our lateral moraine.

Wiki 83

Wiki Digital Learning Performance Support 83

Rob Hubbard

APRIL 3, 2014

'by Tess Robinson, Director, LearningAge Solutions. I have to admit that if you say ‘gaming’ to me, it still immediately brings up images of spotty youths barricaded in their bedrooms, slowly developing RSI in their thumbs from their controllers. Increasingly, however, gamification is creeping into the mainstream and particularly into learning. If you look at the basic principles, it isn’t really anything particularly new.

Simulations 45

Simulations Games Gamification Learning 45

Rob Hubbard

APRIL 3, 2014

'There are some words that it is not good to use in polite conversation; the F-word and the S-word for example, are generally best avoided. In Learning and Development we also have the G-word, by which I mean “gamification”. The unrestrained use of this term tends to provoke strong reactions: “Games? My kids play games. I’m an adult and learning is a serious business.”.

Gamification 45

Gamification Games Social Learning eLearning 45

Rob Hubbard

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

'by Tess Robinson, Director, LearningAge Solutions. ‘I absolutely loath elearning with all of my being. I just spent 1hr 40 answering stupid F-ing multiple choice questions in the attempt to gain a poxy bit of paper for work and the blinking site crashed. I get nul points; no poxy bit of paper; no recognition for the time lost, opportunity cost and not even a chance to go back in and waste another couple of hours of my life because of error x2032 – as if I’m supposed to know what to do with that

Corporate eLearning 94

Corporate eLearning eLearning Virtual Classroom Simulations 94

Rob Hubbard

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

'“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” – Mark Twain. The same is true of design, and for the purposes of this article I’m going to focus on the design of learning experiences, websites and apps. The secret to great design is simplicity. The challenge is that designing a simple solution to a complex problem is usually a long journey.

Design 73

Design Budget eLearning Instructional 73

Rob Hubbard

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

'We were thrilled this month to win Silver at the 2013 eLearning Awards in the ‘Best eLearning Project (Private Sector) for a project that we did with bookseller, Waterstones. It was the toughest category with over 30 submissions. This project was a lot of fun to do, as Waterstones embraced an innovative and creative approach with commitment and enthusiasm.

Case Study 56

Case Study Learning eLearning Strategy eLearning Tools 56

Rob Hubbard

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

'This year, I had the great privilege, in my position as Chair of the eLN, to have edited and co-authored the eLN’s first ever book, The Really Useful eLearning Instruction Manual, published by Wiley. The book features contributions from world leading experts in all aspects of elearning and was a fantastic excuse to work with people whom I respect enormously.

eLearning 66

eLearning Instructional Instruction eLearning Tools 66

Rob Hubbard

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

'I have now officially stepped down as the Chair of the eLearning Network. My four years on the Board are up and I will be handing on the mantle to another dedicated soul. It has been a privilege and pleasure to have worked with so many lovely, talented and committed people over my term. I can’t deny that it’s been a lot of work, but when I look back on what the Board has achieved I feel very proud.

eLearning 56

eLearning Network Mentoring Authoring 56

Rob Hubbard

OCTOBER 8, 2013

'By Tess Robinson, Director, LearningAge Solutions. Technology now affords so many more options to learn new skills without being physically present, but how can we ensure that participants are kept engaged and motivated when they’re not sat in front of us? It’s a constant challenge and one that we haven’t yet completely cracked but we’d like to share some things here that have worked for us….

Distance Learning 67

Distance Learning Learning Learner Wiki 67

Rob Hubbard

OCTOBER 8, 2013

'Firstly I should clarify what I mean by a ‘distance learning course’. A distance learning course is something that: Is undertaken remotely. Typically takes a number of weeks, months or years to complete. Includes self-study and assignments. I’m not talking about elearning tutorials or online webinars, though these may form a part of a distance learning course.

Distance Learning 56

Distance Learning Course Design Learning 56

Rob Hubbard

MAY 24, 2013

'Anyone who has attempted some form of learning design project will know that the goalposts have an annoying habit of moving. The objective that you set out initially to meet might evolve or even change co mpletely. This means that traditional approaches to learning design and development can struggle to adapt the design and keep pace with continually evolving requirements.

Agile 71

Agile Design Learning eLearning Tools 71

Rob Hubbard

MAY 24, 2013

'by Tess Robinson, Director, LearningAge Solutions. For me it conjures up images of acrobats and contortionists. Although this is a little strange, it’s probably not too far from the truth because business agility is indeed all about being flexible and adaptable; being able to adjust to changes in the business environment without wobbling or losing your balance.

Agile 61

Agile Business eLearning Collaboration 61

Rob Hubbard

APRIL 17, 2013

'Whenever I speak at a conference I take the same approach – I look for ways to get people talking to one-another and contributing to the session. I figure; we’ve got a room full of smart, highly experienced p eople – talking at them for an hour would be a huge waste of time. Better to make use of their knowledge and experience – their ‘collective intelligence’ – for the good of everyone.

Yammer 81

Yammer Digital Learning Learner 81

Rob Hubbard

APRIL 17, 2013

'by Tess Robinson, Director, LearningAge Solutions. We’re so used to self-directed learning these days that we forget we’re even doing it. I’m a trainee silversmith in my spare time. If I want to know the best way to solder a joint or set a stone, I’ll Google it, find a video on YouTube or ask my social network of fellow jewellers. I don’t need to wait for my class day to have a tutor instruct me in the technique, although undeniably it’s useful to have an expert on hand to help if I get stuck.

Learning Strategy 93

Learning Strategy Learning Strategy Social Networks 93

Rob Hubbard

MARCH 6, 2013

By Tess Robinson, Director, LearningAge Solutions. It is incredibly disheartening to put all of your creative efforts into a piece of learning design for it to be largely ignored by your target audience. You’ve identified the organisational need, followed a robust design process and come up with a killer approach – so why won’t people engage with it?

Social Networks 86

Social Networks Tips Learning eLearning Strategy 86

Rob Hubbard

MARCH 5, 2013

This is another skiing themed post – I think I’m becoming obsessed. I recently returned from a short ski break. I’ve been thinking about what I enjoyed most about the trip – and it’s got to be skiing off-piste. If you don’t ski; pistes are the marked routes on the mountain. Outside of these routes is known as off-piste and here there is much adventure to be had.

Design 53

Design Learning Exercise Project 53

Rob Hubbard

JANUARY 30, 2013

After a 20-year break I’m getting back into skiing. I’ve just returned from a four-day ski trip to the French Alps. It was awesome. Returning to a soggy grey UK, I’ve been thinking a lot about the trip and reflecting on my learning process. I went with three goals in mind: Learn to parallel turn (turn with my feet parallel). Start to carve (turn using the edges of the skis).

Skills 70

Skills Learning Learner Classroom 70

Rob Hubbard

JANUARY 22, 2013

by Tess Robinson, Director, LearningAge Solutions. We’ve put our heads together and come up with our favourite (mostly free) tools for aiding rapid elearning development. As our team are located all over the world, we particularly love cloud-based tools that allow for collaboration: MockFlow Wireframe Editor Screenshot. MockFlow – Cloud-based collaborative design tool.

Rapid eLearning 69

Rapid eLearning eLearning Tools eLearning Tools 69

Rob Hubbard

JANUARY 22, 2013

As well as our free online Rapid eLearning Development (ReD) course we also deliver a one-day workshop covering some of the same material. In fact it was from this workshop that ReD grew. Quite regularly people ask us which elearning author tool they should buy, the assumption being, you must have an elearning author tool in order to create elearning.

eLearning Tools 56

eLearning Tools Rapid eLearning Flash to HTML5 Conversion Wiki 56

Rob Hubbard

DECEMBER 12, 2012

by Tess Robinson, Director, LearningAge Solutions. Being innovative doesn’t mean that you have to come up with big radical new ideas all the time. Sometimes the very best learning innovations are quite simple and subtle or are just improvements or diversions from existing ideas. Having just won an award for innovation, we’d like to share our 10 top tips for innovative thinking with you….

Innovation 102

Innovation Tips ASTD eLearning 102

Rob Hubbard

DECEMBER 12, 2012

We were recently recognised with an award for innovation. This meant a huge amount to us as a company and to me in particular. I’m a designer. I love design in all its forms and I’m passionate about making things work better. Being recognised for something that I designed (and that utterly consumed me for about nine months) is a BIG deal to me.

Innovation 53

Innovation Ideas Design Budget 53

Rob Hubbard

OCTOBER 3, 2012

In order to thrive in today’s tough economic climate, it’s no longer enough for your people to just ‘know stuff’. Learning needs to be focussed on performance and that’s where goal-based learning comes in. Goal-based learning is an extension of Cathy Moore’s Action Mapping process, of which we’ve been firm advocates for a long time. It concentrates on developing real-world behaviours that will lead to performance improvement.

Learning 74

Learning Social Networks Learner Exercise 74

Rob Hubbard

OCTOBER 3, 2012

by Tess Robinson. (Director, L earningAge Solutions). So goal-based learning sounds great but what can you use it for? And how can technology augment this way of learning? 1. Performance support. Learning shouldn’t stop when a learner leaves the classroom. A goal-based approach can ensure that the learning continues into the workplace, making the most of the investment that the organisation has made and ensuring that learners are fully supported in attempting to improve their performance at work

Learning 93

Learning Performance Support Learner Compliance 93