We here at MindMuze we are really excited about a new web-based authoring system called Shift being added to our repertoire of tools.  It represents a real departure from the traditional client-based applications because it allows anyone to create an eLearning course. And I mean anyone! Basically, if you can use Powerpoint, you can use Shift.

It really is an amazing piece of technology. It lets you create completely professional content. You can create drafts, and reviewers can add comments right in the learning materials, where they can be aggregated with other comments. It can therefore be as collaborative and interactive as you like. It also includes a powerful gallery of content templates that cover everything from straightforward presentations to complex scenarios and software simulations.

We recently used Shift to put together a special H1N1 awareness package. Our clients were stunned by how quickly we were able to put it together — it went online during the first wave of news reports, when people were only just hearing of H1N1 and few people yet knew what to do about it. As a public service, we quickly began offering the course as a free download (it’s still available), all thanks to this amazing system.

And if we were able to rush together an eLearning course of such importance in so short a time, imagine how easily it will be for anyone to create similar packages in response to frequently asked questions, even if those questions are constantly changing.

Shift will be officially launched very soon. Having worked with it myself, I can tell you this will be a huge, potentially game-changing event. Stay tuned!

We are constantly striving to find innovative ways of engaging learners.  Often Scenarios are designed to illustrate correct behaviour in a given situation.  The problem is we cannot really tell if the learner is paying attention and grasping all of the subtle nuances to be successful.

By creating a “First Person” reinforcement activity, learners can practice what they learn in a safe and supportive manner.  A few years ago I began to experiment with this technique.  As technology has evolved we have become able to do some amazing things.  In the past we would have to create a storyboard matrix and lay out the possible paths a learner could take during a conversation.  Once these were identified, scripts for both the Learner and the person with whom they were interacting onscreen had to be created. The script for the onscreen person was recorded with an actor in character.  The script of possible responses or questions was laid out on screen, giving the learner the opportunity to select a response or question from 4 possible ones at that moment.

The tricky part was recording the video with all the necessary outcomes that wouldn’t take the learner so far down a path they couldn’t recover.  I remember in one situation we had to get the on screen character to get more and more upset with the learner during the course of the conversation.  We had over 40 video clips she needed to record.  By the end the actor told me that this was one of the most difficult shoots she had done, especially getting more and more upset, staying in character while keeping it feeling real.  However the project, which was for a very large accounting firm in the US, got an overwhelmingly positive response, with learners scoring very high.

The feedback from this style of learning was fantastic.  Companies were able to see immediate improvements due to the fact that the training was not static and the role playing that typically went on in the class was much more consistent and controlled to maximize the learning.

Results from this online learning experience were fully tracked and then sent back to the LMS when appropriate.

Where are we headed next?  Avatars, “Second Life” style characters, Learning 2.0 online virtual mentors ….?