Interview with Marianne Cherney, Gogogh.com: Innovators in E-Learning Series

On-demand online technical courses are often fairly static and do not involve interaction with fellow learners. GoGogh incorporates social networks in an innovative way to bring in interaction, engagement, and to enhance conditions of learning.

1. What is your name, affiliation, and your connection with e-learning?
My name is Marianne Cherney and I own Dashcourses and www.gogogh.com. I have been in technical training for 19 years and have delivered instructor-led live and onsite, and self-paced e-learning courses for the last two years.



2. How would you characterize your philosophy of learning?
I believe that learning needs to be delivered to meet the needs of the client. The provider must be open to understanding the needs of the client and willing to embrace new ideas and ways of delivering training that work for the student. Too many companies are tied to the way that they do things, which forces the customer into a plan that really doesn’t fit them (and eventually will put the training provider out of business).

3. What are some of the emerging gaps in e-learning technologies and access?
E-learning needs to take advantage of bridging the best of all worlds and link the instructors to the students. It is not an all-or-nothing world out there and students need access to the experts. There are many creative ways to do this, such as online communities like www.gogogh.com that provide a platform for the learner to connect to the experts. A program like this enables mentored learning coupled with e-learning.



4. How might some of the old ways of approaching e-learning become obsolete?
This is a continuation of the last question. Learning must be interactive. I think a really interesting approach is to couple e-learning with a mentored learning session so that the students can ask live questions.



5. What is GoGogh and why was it developed ?
The world has changed and we operate at speeds that were never dreamed possible. People and information need to connect in new ways. We have social networks that have brought people together in a brand new way.


At the same time companies are global in new ways and that requires providers to offer new solutions. Some of the technologies that my other company, Dashcourses, teaches are not taught outside of the US and the global market requires these technologies to be taught globally at prices that local markets can afford.

With GoGogh we are able to do that. GoGogh offers high quality e-learning courses built on an interactive platform that allows providers and users (20 million+ IT professionals) to interact, learn , create and keep themselves and their companies learning the way. Companies allocate between $1,000 and $1,400/year/technical employee to keep them up to speed. Traditional training could use this budget in one or two courses. With GoGogh for only $250/person, individuals can get unlimited training. For the enterprise, companies can license GoGogh and save significant amounts of money. For example, a company with 2,500 employees can save over $2 million/year on training costs by using GoGogh.

6. What is your vision for GoGogh?
We want each and every member of the IT, Hardware and Software community to be an active GoGogh member. We integrate new and creative solutions each and every day and we welcome every company, every service provider and every professional to become a part of our community.

7. Describe a few examples of it in action. Who does it benefit and how?
GoGogh benefits the individual by providing on-demand technical trainings – the individual can schedule them for a time that works best for their own hectic lives. For the company, the cost benefit is tremendous – their IT staffs can get outstanding, expert led trainings for a fraction of the cost. Like I said in an earlier question, GoGogh’s $250 annual cost/employee can save a company with 2,500 employees upwards of $2 million every year.

On top of this, GoGogh’s experts are available during the course, but also after. This means that small technical departments have access to a team of global experts outside of their course. And, many of our members find added value in GoGogh because we will build the content that our members ask for .

8. What are two things you'd like to see for the future?
I would like to see people open up and work together in a way that benefits the world community. We need to open the lines of communication and work together for the greater good.

9. Finally -- please recommend a book .... :)
The Go-Giver


Do you have a case study to share? Send a tweet at @beyondutopia.
or, email susan at susan@beyondutopia.com

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Interview with Isaac Grauke, Populi: Innovators in E-Learning Series

Integrating the learning management system with a student information system is often tedious, expensive, and fraught with incompatibility problems. Welcome to an interview with Isaac Grauke, Populi (http://www.populiweb.com), which has devleoped a system that brings together SIS and LMS functions.

What is your name, affiliation, and relation to elearning?
I’m Isaac Grauke and I’m the CEO of Populi. We make web-based college management software, and a major part of that includes online learning and course management.

What made you interested in developing solutions for elearning?
You typically have two different kinds of software, the learning management system (LMS) and the student information system (SIS). In broad terms, the LMS manages courses, and more and more it delivers courses to students online, whether distance ed or on-campus. The SIS, generally, keeps track of the students’ personal and academic information.

So, most colleges have two separate programs for SIS and LMS, which create a number of inefficiencies: duplicated costs, online learners disconnected from traditional learners, and the difficulty of getting two systems to talk to each other. We became interested in developing a solution for e-learning when we saw how much time and money were being wasted, and how good solutions were all but out-of-reach for smaller colleges. We designed Populi to combine SIS and LMS functionality in one system, eliminating the costs and inefficiencies that arise from dividing those functions over two or more systems.

What is Populi and how is it different from other learning management solutions?
Populi is web-based college management software. We strive to combine, in one system, software that helps colleges track all their information—admissions, academics, student billing, financial aid—as well as course management and online learning. Colleges—especially smaller colleges—are a lot more unified than their software might lead you to believe, and we wanted Populi to reflect that.




So, Populi has the major LMS functionality, of course— lessons, tests, forums, bulletin boards, file uploades, gradebook, and so on—and, most important, it offers seamless, effortless integration between the LMS and SIS. In Populi, they’re different elements of the same program, and so they share information where it makes sense. LMS grading info, for instance, automatically feeds into student GPA’s, transcripts, and degree audits.

In addition to the SIS integration, Populi LMS is different from other solutions because of our focus on usability. It’s easy to set up, and easy to use. Anyone who works with a dedicated LMS—whether open-source or enterprise-level—will tell you that they need technical support just to run it and make it work with their other software. That was one problem we wanted to eliminate with Populi—you just don’t need an IT background to run it.

And you don’t need to be any sort of expert to use it. We approached the user interface so it would—to paraphrase the old rule of rhetoric—tell you what you’re going to do, have you do it, then tell you that it’s done. We also eschew customization. From our own experiences going through college, and from reports about LMS systems in general, we’ve learned that when a system allows too much customization, students have to relearn the system every time they take a new course. We built Populi so that if you take a course once, you’ll know how to take any course in the system.

You mentioned earlier that Populi eliminates inefficiencies by managing both student information and online learning. What does that mean for students?
Well, first, as I just mentioned, our emphasis on usability benefits everyone involved in online courses—faculty, students, registar, other staff. We provide customer support and other help resources, but it’s amazing to us how little they’re used—even though our customer colleges are really using Populi for everything. When we rolled out the online learning features, just about the only feedback were minor feature suggestions. But nothing in terms of “How do I…?” Students didn’t have any trouble to speak of. They logged in, saw what they needed to do, and did it.



But in the big picture, the combination of SIS and LMS features really enhances accessibility; putting everything the student needs in one place, with one login. 37signals published their thoughts on software design in a book called Getting Real, and one way to summarize their approach is that good software gets the job done and then gets out of your way. So, with Populi, a student can take a test, and once they submit it, they can see how it affects their in-progress course grade. At the end of the term, when courses are finalized, they can print a grade report or see their transcript or check out their Degree Audit—one click apiece—as well as keep abreast of their tuition and fees. Students don’t have to spend a lot of time on the system figuring out the navigation—the things they’re looking for are right there, or within a click or two. Rather than spending a lot of time figuring out software, they can just find their lessons, tests, or other assignments, and simply take care of it. Software that stays out of your way lets you devote your time and energy to the content the software delivers. And, obviously, content and meaningful interaction is the important thing when it comes to learning, and Populi strives to basically get out of the way and let that happen.

How does Populi foster student learning? What are the underlying philosophies of learning that underlie the project?
I suppose I answered this question in part in the previous response—the underlying philosophy of our software is essentially the same as our view of education. The thing that matters is the content the instructor provides and a student’s interaction with it; therefore, the software mustn’t interfere with that process, and so it ought to be as unobtrusive as possible. That’s the basic idea.

In practice, we’re seeing colleges use the e-learning components to enhance their traditional classrooms in lots of creative ways. One instructor used to devote the first fifteen minutes of each class for a review quiz. Within hours of pushing the online learning features, he had already converted those quizzes into online tests with Populi, and effectively gained 45 minutes a week of instruction time (the course meets three times weekly). That critical face-to-face class time now goes to lecturing and discussing material, and things like routine quizzes and tests are handled online.



And, of course, Populi makes it simple for a college to offer any of their courses to their distance-learning students. Online education really fits the bill for a wide variety of people—people in the workforce who need to fit their classes around business schedules, people who need less expensive education options, people limited by simple factors like geography. Giving colleges the ability to offer distance learners the same software access that on-campus students have—that enhances distance access to the college and, again, hopefully simplifies the process a student goes through to interact meaningfully with the course.

Do you have any plans for Populi?
We’re taking it a day at a time at this point! We’ve gotten a huge, positive response from colleges when they see Populi, especially the smaller institutions that are looking to expand their online presence. We provide them with a very affordable, low-stress means of doing that.

Right now Populi streamlines almost all of the day-to-day operations of the college. Our plan is to expand into the few areas we have yet to touch. The big things on our development timeline for the end of 2009 and into 2010 include a library information system, online payment processing, and a donor management system. All of the new features would be integrated into what we have already, and developed in accord with that basic “get it done and get out of the way” approach. And, of course, the more we learn about how our customers use Populi, the more usable we can make it.

What would you like to see in the future with respect to elearning and mobile learning?
I think there is a huge opportunity to expand the e-learning experience by going mobile. Populi has an iPhone app but at this point it is only available to access school email, course schedules, and faculty and student contact information. I’d like to see all of the online learning content in there including lessons, forums and tests. But, again, that sort of thing is only helpful if it fosters that crucial interaction. One of the risks of mobile education is that your courses can more easily disappear into the din of information and e-noise that more and more envelopes a student’s life nowadays. So while we hope to upgrade the iPhone app and make it more of an aid to students in relation to their courses, there’s also something to be said for reserving the educational experience, to emphasize it in a context where the student can concentrate on the meat and not the technology.


Have you read any interesting books lately? Please share :)
Well, on the business side of things, and as I’ve mentioned a few times here, everyone at the office is enjoying the 37signals book Getting Real. Lots of good reality checks in that book, and good, sensible principles for a company like Populi to keep in mind—basically, build your software to solve a real problem, and make sure it’s usable. Ivan Doig’s This House of Sky—I’m reading that for the second time. I don’t know of anyone else who writes about landscapes the way he does. It describes his upbringing in Montana, sheep ranching with his father. Simply staggering prose in places. And then I’ve been reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series to my son. We’re in an educational community that values the Classics, and those books fit rather nicely into that. And they’re pretty funny. I get almost as wrapped up in them as my son has.

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Interview with Heather Hill, Special Olympics World Winter Games: E-Learning Case Study Series

E-Learning Queen is launching a case studies series to discuss applications of e-learning, including mobile learning. We're excited to kick off the series with an investigation of how elearning was used in the Special Olympics World Winter Games. Welcome to an interview with Heather Hill, Special Olympics World Winter Games, and founder of H2 BrandWorks, LLC

Please describe a case in which you successfully used e-learning. Include the following:

**what was your need?

With the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games – an event involving over 2,000 athletes from nearly 100 countries – rapidly approaching, we needed a consistent, high-quality way to train our event volunteers. But just like other non-profits, we were facing challenges stemming in part from the troubled economic climate and needed to get creative in our efforts to raise funds, retain services and reduce costs. For our training initiative in particular, it was imperative that we conduct training on a budget, without sacrificing quality in the slightest. As you’ll see, we were thrilled with the results – and through our successful training program and myriad other initiatives, had a first-class Games experience.

Heather Hill, Vice President of Marketing, Special Olympics World Winter Games

**why e-learning?

Although this year’s Winter Games were held in Boise, Idaho, our volunteers hail from all over the U.S., and all over the world. We had used a traditional, classroom-based approach in the past, including last year at our “dry-run” Invitational event, where volunteers traveled to regional offices to participate in training sessions.

On-demand e-learning made much more sense, and enabled us to reduce the costs previously associated with training thousands of volunteers at regional locations. And the “on-demand” (i.e., view at any time) aspect was particularly appealing, allowing people to complete the training at a time that was convenient for them – and then to revisit any portion at any time. With a core staff of only 60 people at the World Winter Games, implementing e-learning also freed us to spend time on other mission-critical initiatives.



We calculated that one on-demand training presentation, used for volunteer orientation, saved us tens of thousands of dollars in staffing costs and more than a month of logistical planning and preparation. Using the previous classroom-based model, this same process would have taken an estimated 20 trainers 12 weeks to complete!



**what technologies did you use? software? hardware?

Through Brainshark’s Non-Profit Program, which awards Brainshark software grants every quarter, we received a free one-year Brainshark license. This meant we could use Brainshark’s SaaS platform and services to create, distribute and track on-demand, e-learning presentations/ modules. They were easy to create – we uploaded a PowerPoint presentation to the Web, then picked up the phone to add audio narration. We easily incorporated videos, comprehension questions and poll questions within our presentations, as well as attachments that provided supplementary information. For example, within our online, orientation training, we included an attachment that provided further info on intellectual disabilities and the appropriate terminology to use in communicating both with and about people with intellectual disabilities.

**how did you go about conducting the e-learning?

Volunteers logged in to view the training presentation, which you can see here. http://www.brainshark.com/brainsharkinc/SOWWGsample We used this presentation to make sure volunteers were well-versed in medical screening procedures, uniforms and credentials, the function of the Special Olympics Town, sports competition (alpine skiing, cross country skiing, figure skating, floor hockey, snowboarding, snowshoeing and speed skating) and much, much more. Quiz questions assessed their comprehension of adaptive skills limitations, policies and procedures, and event logistics. With the detailed tracking information Brainshark provides, we could immediately tell who had viewed the presentation, how much of it they consumed, and how quiz and survey questions were answered – enabling us to track completion.



How many people participated?

Nearly 4,000 volunteers from the local area, across the U.S. and abroad participated in the training. Since we were dealing with such a large number of participants, the “on-demand” e-learning aspect was particularly appealing. Instead of having to coordinate schedules so that a live event could occur at a designated time, volunteers were free to watch – and even revisit – the training at their leisure.

What was their background with technology? Did you have any challenges with "comfort level"?

It’s important to note that the people undergoing training were *volunteers,* presenting a different scenario than training staff who already have a similar baseline understanding of an organization’s mission, procedures and even technology. Understandably, our volunteers varied in familiarity with our mission, as well as in technical aptitude, but they uniformly appreciated the convenient and intuitive e-learning format. Survey questions at the end of our e-learning module asked volunteers whether they found the way information was presented to be helpful, as well as what they felt the best way was to present and receive information. Responses were overwhelmingly positive about the online training experience, and volunteers felt the rich, visual information made the training process much more engaging.



How were the instructors trained / oriented before they gave the training? Were they nervous? Did they have any doubts?

N/A – As mentioned, our instructors were subject matter experts within the Special Olympics World Winter Games, who created the e-learning materials in advance, readying them for viewer consumption at any time. They were excited about the new format – which saved them travel and staffing time – and were pleased with the reception.

Was there any anxiety or uncertainty among the learners? What was it? How did you work with them?

To be honest, I cannot recollect any anxiety or uncertainty among the volunteers. The online training was relatively general content and material, and volunteers understood that once assigned to a particular position, role or functional area, they would also receive job-specific training in person at the start of the Games.

How did you know that learning took place? What kinds of assessment did you have?

As mentioned, we incorporated quiz questions within our e-learning modules. In addition, as soon as a volunteer finished viewing (or “x”ed out of) the presentation, we received detailed tracking information, letting us know what portions had been viewed and for how long that volunteer lingered on them, as well as how questions were answered, and in what order slides were viewed. In this way, we were able to check off that learning took place and assess the level of comprehension of our volunteers.

What were some of the immediate results? How did you decide whether or not the experience was a success or a "nice try"?

We were absolutely thrilled with the preparedness of our staff, which, we think is a testament to our e-learning initiative. Feedback from our athletes and participants involved – in terms of treatment, support infrastructure and more – was glowing. Based on our positive experience – and the positive feedback from volunteers – we deem this a true success.

What were some of the "lessons learned"?

I would say lessons learned include making sure that critical information is gathered early from all respective functional areas or leaders in the organization, so that as much as possible can be covered and conveyed in one thorough online training session. I would also recommend a complete and turnkey system of tracking completion and “grading,” if you will, of all participants taking part in the training, so that it is clearly understood which consumers of the training are most suitable for any particular area or function of the organization. In our case, our own staff was not required to take the online training session due to their extensive knowledge of the organization and each of their respective areas; however, given the opportunity to do this again, I would recommend it be mandatory for all staff to complete the online training as well, simply to be familiar with the exact information and format of communication to their volunteers.

Interview with Bryan Orme, CreateDebate.com: E-Learning Innovators Series

Developing technologies that facilitate discussion and encourage learners to engage is critical to maintaining student engagement and motivating them to stay active in the course. Welcome to an interview with Bryan Orme, co-founder of CreateDebate, an online debate forum.

What is your name, your affiliation, and your connection to e-learning?

My name is Bryan Orme, I am a co-founder of CreateDebate. CreateDebate is an online debate forum that can be used in the classroom as a web-based virtual learning environment (VLE) to drive collaboration, discussion and critical thinking.


What is your view of how people interact and learn in the e-learning space?

In my view, the e-learning space is evolving as technology redefines how teachers and students communicate and collaborate with each other and among themselves. It's an exciting time because technology is being used in new ways to supplement traditional classroom activities and enhance the overall learning experience.

People learn best when they are actively involved in the learning process. E-learning technology has unlocked new possibilities for teachers eager to engage students with a collaborative learning approach. For instance, it is quite easy for a teacher to incorporate CreateDebate into an existing lesson plan to drive discussion and constructive reasoning through participation and collaboration.



Please give an example of a discussion that leads to a learning encounter. How do you open people's minds rather than simply reinforcing bias or rigidity?

On the topic of American Imperialism, one history teacher uses CreateDebate to enliven the instructional component by supplementing his lecture with an interactive debate. The lesson plan begins with a central question: With regard to the exploration and establishment of the United States, do the pros outweigh the cons?

As the lesson plan unfolds, students are given the opportunity to write arguments supporting the either pro or con positions. The students are also encouraged to vote for or against the arguments written by their peers. As a result, the most convincing arguments are voted to the top of each position. The net effect is a competition where students are striving to craft well-written, logical arguments.

Each time the students are given an opportunity to write new arguments and vote for the most convincing, the teacher leads a discussion in class to review the most popular arguments. As the lesson plan progresses, the students are encouraged to incorporate new ideas into their arguments and reminded that they can change their votes. By the end of the instructional component, the debate reads like a lesson plan summary.




This teacher has harnessed e-learning by providing a forum for his students to learn through competitive collaboration. As the interactive debate has been threaded throughout the lesson plan, the views of his students have been shaped through instruction and peer-collaboration. All of his students have become active participants in the learning process.



What do you see as the connection between creativity and debate?

Creativity is a mental and social process through which new ideas and concepts are generated. Debate is a method of interaction between people where ideas and concepts are analyzed, argued and judged. Creativity and debate are two dots connected by ideas and concepts.

What is CreateDebate? How does it work? What are the underlying learning theories that support its application in the elearning space?

CreateDebate in the Classroom enables teachers to customize and build an online debate community that can be easily incorporated into almost any lesson plan. Typically, teachers will create debates around questions that will build on the current course of study. The goal is to engage students and enrich the classroom conversation through peer collaboration. Debates can be conducted in the classroom “real-time” (if computers with Internet access are available) or participation can be assigned as homework and reviewed in class.



CreateDebate is built on Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, which states that when students are able to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate subjects they are learning at a much higher level than rote memorization of facts. CreateDebate is also based on James Surowiecki's theory of Collective Wisdom, which argues that the aggregation of information in groups leads to better conclusions and decisions. By engaging in collaborative debate, students are able to exchange ideas and theories that eventually lead to better conclusions than simply calling on the student that raises their hand.

Do you have any future plans? How are you planning to leverage new technologies?

We plan on expanding the CreateDebate platform to make it even more valuable and useful for both students and teachers. We are creating lesson plans that teachers can leverage to encourage debate and discussion in their classroom depending on the grade level of their students as well as the topic of study.



We also plan on enhancing our social networking features to allow teachers to collaborate on what works best in their classrooms and share ideas for how to most effectively leverage debate in their curricula. Additionally, we plan on creating functionality to allow classrooms from around the world that have the same learning objectives debate each other by using the CreateDebate platform. We are actively working with teachers to create new features that make CreateDebate even more valuable for use in the classroom.

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Interview with Christopher Cummings, SpanishDict.com, Innovators in E-Learning Series

Learning Spanish online, in virtual worlds or via distributed instruction (virtual tutors, etc.), continues to expand as people find interacting in real time via avatar or chat to be stimulating, engaging, and effective. Have the reference materials kept up? Have virtual dictionaries expanded their instructional strategies? It is a tough question and one we pose to Christopher Cummings, CEO of Curiosity Media, which operates SpanishDict.com.

What is your name and your connection with e-learning?
My name is Christopher Cummings and I am the CEO of Curiosity Media. Curiosity Media operates the world's largest Spanish learning website, SpanishDict. The site reaches over 3,000,000 people each month and provides free, high quality Spanish reference and learning material.

What is your philosophy of e-learning in relationship to language acquisition?
The number one most important challenge to overcome when learning a new language is persistence. Language learning requires practice and a sustained commitment. Our philosophy is to develop tools make it easy for people to stay committed by keeping them engaged. SpanishDict.com features interactive videos taught by a real Spanish teacher. We supplement each video with multimedia flashcards, games, and writing and speaking activities. These videos and features are then packaged into courses that guide people step-by-step--from beginner to advanced levels--to learning Spanish. All of this is made available for free on our website.

Please describe your new product and how it works. What makes it different or special?
The new version of the website makes it even easier to learn Spanish. We now offer 90 profressional video lessons, hundreds multimedia flashcard sets, and two commercial dictionaries. We also offer an exciting new "Answers" section where people can ask and answer questions. The best answers are voted to the top, creating an extensive database of common and not so common questions and answers.

Here's a tough question: Does the world need another dictionary? How does yours encourage collaboration, interaction, and social networking / learning community development?
We started in the site in 1999, back when the world really did need another dictionary--one that was online, easily searchable, and had audio pronunciations of the words. That formula is what launched the site on its pathway to popularity. Since then we have led a number of innovations on the world of online dictionaries: we use one simple search box for both English and Spanish words, recognize what language you've entered, and bring you to the right translation immediately. We auto suggest words in English and Spanish as you type. We have audio prononuciations for every word. And perhaps most importantly, we licensed some of the best dictionaries available, so that our search results give not only the translations, but example sentences, regional variations, and the information you need to actually be able to use the word with confidence.

We have an incredibly active community. In the question and answers section, people are constantly helping one another. The answers section enhances the results from our dictionary: each time you look up a word we also search for relative posts from the answers section for that word. This can often provide help with hard to find translations and tricky usage scenarios. If we don't already have an answer to your question, we make it dead simple to ask a new question. It's really amazing to see that virtually all questions that are asked get good, solid answers from members of the community.

How do you keep Flashcards from being passive?
We try to make the flashcards interactive with the games that we have linked to each flashcard set. People learn words with the flashcards, and they practice what they have learned with the automatically created multiple choice quizzes, listening games, and a memory recall section that is associate with each word list. Users earn points on these games for each correct answers, and they are able to challenge their friends and other members of the site to see who can earn the most points on any given flashcard set. Finally, we also users to create their own flashcards sets and games. We link this to the dictionary so that is really easy to look up a word you don't know and then add it to a flashcard set of words you are learning.

What is Curiosity Media? Do you have plans for future projects?

Curiosity Media is the company behind SpanishDict. Looking ahead, we are constantly adding new features to SpanishDict and trying to reach more people with the resources we have on the site. We will soon be launching a full-featured iPhone app. This will make it even easier for people to lookup words on the go or brush up on their Spanish with our word game and talking phrase book. Stay tuned for the that. We are also going to be reaching out to more Spanish speakers looking to learn English. Our whole site has been translated into Spanish, and we now have video lessons that teach English to Spanish speakers. I think these will be a couple of the future projects to watch out for on SpanishDict.

What is your core learning philosophy?

Approach the world with a curious and open mind and you will be amazed at what you learn.

Interview with Mark Luetzelschwab, BrainHoney: Innovators in E-Learning Series

Welcome to an interview with Dr Mark Luetzelschwab, of BrainHoney.com, a new learning management system that state standards into the entire teaching and learning process, which, in the past, has been a stumbling block as developers attempt to create K-12 courses for learners in different schools, or as colleges develop Advanced Placement courses for individuals in high schools in located in different states. Brainhoney automatically creates a curriculum map template, populates all of a person's state's standards, gradebook, and mastery chart. It is all web-based.

1. What is your name and your connection to elearning?

My name is Dr. Mark Luetzelschwab, BrainHoney. I have been involved with educational technology for 20+ years in a variety of areas including hands-on microcomputer labs, video analysis, multimedia tutorials, etc. I have focused on eLearning for last 10 years, with an emphasis on practical applications that are available to large audiences. I have also been an executive at a number of elearning startups that have grown to hundreds of thousands of enrollments across the globe. My PhD deals with expert facilitation of asynchronous discussions.

2. Please describe BrainHoney. What makes it unique? What is its structure?

BrainHoney uniquely integrates state standards into the entire teaching and learning process. Teachers track student progress against state standards; this data can be integrated with SISs and other data systems for administrator review. An automatic registration process is followed and then you may drag and drop curriculum mapping to state standards. BrainHoney creates a gradebook from the curriculum map and uses the data and alignment to generate day-by-day reports of student progress against state standards. In effect, the teachers get the same data daily the administrators get annually from state tests - in time to do something about it and provide intelligent intervention.



3. Who will use BrainHoney, and what are the core instructional strategies that it employs? Is it easy to use?

BrainHoney is designed for K-12 teachers. It is so easy and clear, we have even been hugged during demos by a few teachers. The core instructional strategy is that instructional decisions are best made based on available data. BrainHoney makes it practical for teachers to integrate state standards into the day-by-day practice and significantly benefit from that integration by understanding what students know and what concepts need to be revisited before the statewide exams.

BrainHoney can be used in the classroom, online, or both. Teachers can provide supplemental materials online for classroom students, teach online and classroom students simultaneously, and teach completely online.

Teachers who have used online learning systems like Blackboard and Moodle express that BrainHoney "has it figured out" and report savings of upwards of 80% of administrative time (i.e. looking for assignments, grading, responding to discussions)

4. What kinds of collaborative learning strategies does BrainHoney incorporate? Are there elements about BrainHoney that one can't find anywhere else?

While we have some basic asynchronous collaboration tools, we don't dictate the style of instruction. We focus on teachers aligning their activity - whether its a field trip, a collaborative project, or direct instruction - to state standards and providing a tool for measuring and reporting progress.

5. Who is likely to benefit most from BrainHoney's platform?

Ultimately, the students. BrainHoney makes it practical to differentiate instruction, which is one of the most critical aspects of effective instruction. Teachers love that it makes them more efficient, and that it helps them focus on teaching, and NOT on administrivia.

6. Does BrainHoney host the solution?

We host the solution.

BrainHoney's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/BrainHoney/124693531960?_fb_noscript=1

Twitter: @BrainHoneyEd

Interview with Vikram Savkar, Nature Education: Innovators in E-Learning Series

Welcome to an interview with Vikram Savkar, Nature Education, who has dedicated energy and time to promoting science education that is truly collaborative, and which leverages new technologies and social networking to engage students and to make them comfortable with discovery science. He has led the development and launch of a new product, Scitable.com, which offers online learning, a social network, and a resource base of science.



What is your name and your relation to e-learning?
I’m Vikram Savkar, Senior Vice President & Publishing Director of Nature Education, a division of Nature Publishing Group. We are devoted to creating high quality, broadly accessible science e-learning.

Vikram Savkar

What is Scitable? Who are the users? What is their background (age, etc.)
Scitable, Nature Education’s first product, is a global online classroom for science. It is a combination of journal-quality articles and a social network. Scitable provides a library of free, peer-reviewed learning content to an online community of scientists, teachers, and students. Students not only delve deeply into key topics in science on their own using our content, but also reach out to and connect online with others—teachers, scientists, grad students—for advice, guidance, and insight.

Teachers use Scitable to create private online classroom spaces , combining premium content, discussions, news feeds, and more.



Currently, users come from more than 85 countries and include prominent researchers, teachers, postdocs, graduate students, undergraduate students, high school students, and even a number of non-science-related adults who are interested in learning more about science for personal reasons.

Please provide some examples of Scitable in use. E-Learning? Research?
Faculty in several countries have used Scitable to run their undergraduate classes, using our private classroom spaces and premium content. These classes range from “genetics for non-scientists” to intermediate level genetics classes. Researchers are also using Scitable to create public dialogue around topics of special interest to them. And a pleasant surprise is that a number of parents have come to use the site as a way to learn more about science topics covered in the news (like cloning or evolution), so that they can be in a better position to explain them to their children.

How is Scitable used in social networks? What kinds of social networks do you envision developing around Scitable in the future?
The faculty members who are using Scitable to run their classes form a unique kind of narrowly focused social network within Scitable. They are using the site as a powerful communication tool for their students in order to collaborate and have debates with each other.



Many users from overseas are using the site to build global networks of likeminded people whom they don’t otherwise know. We frequently hear how isolating it can be to be studying science in a country in which there are not very many science students.



In Scitable, these students find a thriving 24/7 global community of people studying the same area. We are planning to do more to capitalize on this potential and envision playing more of a “connector” role by which the site helps people find mentors or study partners from within the site community.

How much does Scitable cost? Are there articles that are free?
Scitable is free, and all of the articles on the site are free as well.

Does Scitable include images, audio podcasts, video podcasts? What kinds of assets do you incorporate?
Scitable contains text, images, podcasts and vodcasts. Please watch for Simply Science, a new online video series that we will launch shortly. It will explain cutting edge research in very simple terms from which any of us can learn. A podcast series on key trends in science education is also in the works. One of our goals is to provide resources that today’s students will enjoy using. Having a range of media assets is a key part of that strategy.



What are your plans for Scitable in the future?
We plan to expand our editorial coverage from genetics— the field in which we’ve created premium content initially—to the other life and physical sciences. Second, we plan to develop a version of Scitable that is accessible by Smartphone. There are numerous places in the world where top quality science resources are greatly needed that don’t have dependable Internet access, but do have strong mobile networks. Third, we’re going to continue to develop features that facilitate networking among our users.

Interview with Michael Platt on Career Colleges: Innovators in E-Learning Series

Career colleges are experiencing dramatic growth, primarily because they connect directly to the workforce, where learners can train to enter new jobs and careers. Their lives are transformed by their education, and their goals. Welcome to an interview with Michael Platt, PlattForm Advertising.

1. What is your name and what is your involvement with e-learning?

Michael Platt. I have been providing admissions support in the form of lead-generation, lead-management and admissions training, for as long as e-learning has been a significant delivery model, having worked with UOP (University of Phoenix) back in the 90’s.

2. What has your involvement been with career colleges?

My company, PlattForm Advertising, is the largest full-service marketing, advertising and public-relations firm in the sector.



3. How would you define "career college"?

Any school that offers programs taught by industry professionals and focused on the practical knowledge necessary to perform in the workplace.

4. What are some of the standards that career colleges are required to follow? For example, what must they do with respect to graduation rates, student success, and job placement?

Career Colleges, unlike other schools, must meet standards of job placement within the field of study, graduation rates, repayment of loan rates and a certain percentage of their revenue must come from cash, not Title IV funds. These are just a few of the many standards that are required by the DOE, States and Accrediting Bodies. While the DOE controls Title IV-based regulations, each state has its own governing board with distinct, state-by-state rules and regulations. Additionally, Regional Accrediting organizations like SACS and WACS in addition to National Accrediting organizations like ACCSCT, ACICS, ABHES, ACCETT and COE, have THEIR own rules and regulations. It is a major roadmap of rules and regulations that Career Colleges must navigate on a daily basis.


5. Please describe the work you have done in the area of education for "green jobs" or green technology and sustainable business?

This is all brand new, but I personally know of at least a dozen school groups currently working on new curriculum in these areas, both for design, development and maintenance.

6. In your opinion, within the realm of "green jobs," where will the highest growth occur?

Deployment and maintenance. There is a lot of focus on design at the traditional university level, but it will be Career Colleges that train those that will produce, install and maintain the equipment.

7. How do you approach e-learning when it is a skills-based, hands-on field? Do you advocate the use of interactive virtual worlds (such as Second Life), simulations, or "serious games"? Do you encourage the development of preceptorships, as are used in nursing?

In addition to externship components, the most successful model I have seen in using e-delivery of traditionally hands-on education, is to include a capstone event to serve as a final, hands-on component and proving ground. Also, many schools use video and asynchronous delivery models to create more of that hands-on or classroom feel for the students.

8. What do you see as the most important foundational skills for e-learners who are thinking about a program at a career college?

It is about the commitment and what to do when doubt sets in. There are terrific programs out there like the Pacific Institute who provides a curriculum, “Thought Patterns for a Successful Career,” that helps students understand how the mind works as it relates to goals, fear, attitude, accountability, and vision.

Note: Free download of pdf of e-Learner Survival Guide.

Interview with Dr. Donald Green, Florida State College Jacksonville: Innovators in E-Learning Series

Developing effective e-learning content and instructional strategies for deployment at a massive scale, such as that of Florida State College at Jacksonville, can materially change the lives of many students who otherwise would not be able to continue their education and training. There are challenges, though, and the endeavor requires planning, coordination, and a willingness to be aggressive about quality control. Welcome to an interview with Dr. Donald Green, Executive Vice President of Instruction and Student Services at Florida State College at Jacksonville.

1. What is your name and your connection to e-learning?
My name is Donald Green and I am the executive VP of Instruction and Student Services @Florida State College @ Jacksonville. As the chief academic officer I am very interested in elearning. We have over 50,000 enrollments in online and hybrid courses.

Dr Donald Green of Florida State College at Jacksonville and Karl Wahlstrom

2. What is the Sirius Project? What is its goal / mission? Who are the beneficiaries?
The SIRIUS project is meant to be a transforming project--transforming the way teachers teach and learners learn. By teaching teachers about learning and motivational research and incorporating the latest technology with the assistance of instructional designers we have been able to create highly interactive, relative, emotionally engaging, and learner centric digital course materials. And these courses replace a "textbook" mentality. The faculty benefit by being part of a project that incorporates the best in teaching with scholarly activity. Students benefit by having materials that produce better learning outcomes And at a significantly reduced price.

Dr. Donald Green, Florida State College Jacksonville, with Queen Noor of Jordan

3. What were the stages of the Sirius Project? Please describe the courses (subjects, format, level).
All courses begin with preparing the faculty---they learn the latest in motivation and learning research. Next, they become familiar with the latest in educational technology and how to integrate the best of tools into the design of courses. Next, a team is formed with teachers, instructional designers and technology experts. All through the development process, evaluations are done. At the end of the process, beta versions are released and further refinements are made. It should be noted that these courses are design by first defining the learning outcomes and the assessments before the methods of instruction are developed. These courses are learner centric and focus on learning outcomes.

4. Who were the stakeholders?
There were a few people at the college who understood that this project was not just a textbook replacement model but much more. The few of us decided that failure was not an option and kept pressing against the odds.

5. How did Sirius work in the beginning? What were some of the accomplishments? Lessons learned?
The beginning was rough! Teachers did not understand learning and motivation research, they did not know instructional design, they were not competent at using technology, and working in teams was a strange idea. Plus, the idea of building materials that were focused on student learning outcomes from a very comprehensive and complex systems theory approach was alien. We have still not been able to explain that the idea of a textbook is an antiquated idea. We also have learned that the text is a form of security blanket for faculty and students. Furthermore, it was difficult to assist faculty in realizing that the content bases textbook united with the"pray and spray" method was not the design of the future.

6. What are future plans for Sirius?
SIRIUS has an exciting future and we move toward embedded intelligence. I see the future of education being design with life-style integration as the key driver. This means that people will demand to learn when, where and how they desire and with methods that match who they are as learners. We will continue to look for partners who have the same vision and continue to build more powerful learning solutions as tools increase in their sophistication.

7. What do believe are the future directions of e-learning and how does Sirius contribute?
Learning is a way of life--a way to not only survive but flourish. SIRIUS is just one of the project that will assist those involved in designing the future of teaching and learning that a new paradigm is upon us and that we need to contribute actively instead of react.

Dr Donald Green getting ready to take off


8. Please describe your military experience and how it has shaped your vision of higher education and distance education. How is Sirius deployment-friendly?
Being a military family provides the opportunity to experience a variety of cultures and to learn to make the best of change. Adaptation becomes a social and psychological skill. My vision has been shaped through the recognition that ignorance is evil's playground. Because of our advances in communications technology, we in higher education have a greater responsibility globally to provide meaningful educational experience. SIRIUS is all about creating and sharing powerful learning experiences that are in a continual state of enhancement. Because SIRIUS materials are digital, deployment is only limited by a faculty member or administrator's desire to join a project based upon the belief that if the very best faculty contribute new and better ideas on an ongoing basis, more powerful materials will be designed and shared.

E-Learner Survival Guide: Free Download for E-Learning Queen Readers

E-Learning Queen readers may download a free pdf of E-Learner Survival Guide, a collection of articles, insights, instructional strategies, lesson plans, and more. For individuals who would like a printed copy, it is available in perfect-bound paperback at Amazon.com. This 325-page book has the low price of $26.95.

E-Learner Survival Guide: This broad reaching collection of essays on e learning examines accomplishments, new directions, and challenges from many perspectives. The essays are arranged in categories, which include e learning and e learners, teaching and instruction, student engagement, learning communities, outcomes assessment and institutional leadership, all of which relate to learners and programs from college, K 12, career, to corporate training. Of special interest is a focus on successful outcomes for students and programs, and essays on often overlooked niches of learners, including generational differences (Gamers, Boomers, Gen X, and Gen Y), stay at home mothers, working mother e learners, homeschoolers, bilingual online education and training.

E-learning is covered, along with mobile learning, and the use of simulations, virtual worlds, serious games, and more.

Very useful approaches to studying online, and developing effective success strategies make the articles helpful to students and instructors.

Interview with Tina Sartori, Turning Technologies, on Social Learning Communities: Innovators in E-Learning

Finding the best way to incorporate social learning communities within an e-learning environment can be challenging. Dr. Tina Sartori, Turning Technologies, has addressed the challenge with a combination of robust instructional design and innovative technology.

Welcome to an interview with Sartori, who addresses how to develop social learning communities that are effective in a variety of e-learning settings.

What is your name/title and your relation to distance and e-learning?

Dr. Tina Sartori - Educational Consultant, Turning Technologies
My relation with distance and e-learning is multi-faceted and is grounded in the theories and research of Lave and Wenger. A major component of my doctoral degree in Instructional Technology at Pepperdine University focused on social learning communities and the program itself was a distance learning hybrid format. I worked with the Georgia Department of Education as a K-12 online course developer using Desire to Learn and as a college professor, I utilized Blackboard as for course content. Currently, I develop online professional learning courses in Moodle which are located at www.turningcourses.com. Additionally, as the educational consultant for Turning Technologies, I work with schools and districts to promote social learning communities with their educators.


What is Turning Technologies, and what do they create?

Turning Technologies, LLC develops interactive response systems utilizing the latest software and hardware tools available and transforms them into state-of-the-art applications for audience and student response. We are focused on school improvement and student achievement, and have developed products, programs, professional development and partnerships that have had positive outcomes in a number of educational settings.



How would you define a social learning community?

A social learning community is a community of practice that promotes learning from a social perspective. Social learning communities are both complex and dynamic with learning stemming from both the convergence of the competence and experience of its members who range from newbies, to old-timers. A strong sense of belonging, member interactivity and the collective development of community norms, artifacts, knowledge and tools are critical components of these social units.

How does a social learning community work, at least as you envision it?

A social learning communities are generally cultivated out of learning should include elements such as membership, leadership, connectivity and all necessary tools to promote the community. However, true social learning communities are fluid and are driven by the members of the community itself. Healthy social learning communities include both organized constructed learning opportunities as well as open trajectories that allow for flexible community evolution.

How does Turning Technologies create social learning communities? Where? Under what conditions?

Turning Technologies' users are passionate and innovative. Shared ideas and strategies improve the quality and effectiveness of learning. TurningTalk is our online learning community located at http://www.turning-talk.com and is dedicated to providing an open forum for the discussion and sharing of these valuable insights. Furthermore, Turning Technologies hosts onsite user conferences that allow for important face to face interaction between members.

What are the best ways to use social learning communities to achieve learning objectives and to perform well on assessments?

Social learning communities can be leveraged to achieve learning objectives in a variety of ways. The predominant method is through collaborative knowledge creation, management and sharing. The community can merge individual and company capabilities through dialogue and relationship building. The collaborative nature of learning communities allows for both concrete and tactic knowledge exchange which generally leads to accelerated achievement of learning objectives. Increasing performance on assessments is fostered through sharing of resources, best practices and the ability of learning communities to provide mentorship relationships through the co-mingling of new users, mid-level users and advanced users.

Interview with Massood Zarrabian, OutStart: Mobile Learning Applications

Mobile learning continues to expand as applications are developed for use in corporate training, K-12 activities, research and field work, and general education. Welcome to an interview with Massood Zarrabian, CEO and President of OutStart. OutStart has created a solution is that supports all mobile platforms, 500 devices, and works in connected and disconnected form

What is your name and your relation to e-learning?

[mzarrabian] Massood Zarrabian, CEO and President, OutStart

What made you interested in mobile learning?

[mzarrabian] Other than the market hype, lots of different things:
1. Our customers kept on asking us to help them with their corporate mobile strategy. All of them wanted to do something with mobile, but were looking at us to work with them and develop a comprehensive strategy.

2. My sons who showed me quizzes that were being sent around on mobile devices, and while sitting in the back of the car were discussing the answers with each other.

3. And personal experience. We use our products internally for a variety of business processes, and I was frustrated with the way they worked on my mobile, forcing me to boot up my laptop to do something that I should have been able to do with my mobile device, specifically around small training modules, and interactions with SMEs about a variety of things I needed to get done.
When did you first see a successful application of mobile learning?

[mzarrabian] Earlier this year Hot Lava’s CEO showed us some of the things his customers had done, including the Kauffman/Sprint project that was developed to deliver mobile based sports-themed science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) training (modules coupled with brain teaser content and quizzes to evaluate knowledge capture) to youth at professional sports games via mobile phones. The project experienced such great results (see below) that the Kauffman Foundation developed a video about their experience. The video is compelling, and had similarities to what my children were doing and talking about. Anyone can access the video on the Kauffman Foundation website:

http://video.kauffman.org/services/player/bcpid1811456713?bclid=1612721919&bctid=3843734001



Results from the Kauffman/Sprint STEM Project:
• 415,281 registered users
• 12,306 stadium SMS texts
• Global usage - North America, Europe, Asia, Africa
• Replicable model - Demonstrates the potential with mobile content

What kinds of applications have you developed and where are they used?

[mzarrabian] OutStart’s applications enable our customers to develop, deliver and track all types of mobile content without the help of someone with content development experience. Our customers like this flexibility as it allows them to deliver content faster, enabling the organization to be more agile, while leveraging their subject matter experts. We have a number of customers who have used our products to develop, deployed and track mobile content.

Examples include: A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband who uses Hot Lava Mobile to send SMS messages and surveys. Content developed, delivered and tracked include technical information as well as sales training; A healthcare information center uses Hot Lava Mobile as a way to develop mobile content and deliver it to inner city youth as part of a blended learning format.

The youth involved attend workshops and presentations which are followed up by several five-to-eight question modules on their phones as refresher trivia; And, an aviation training company who is using Hot Lava Mobile as part of their training for a new plane they are building. The aviation center sends quizzes and tests to pilots to further their training. As part two of the program, the center will be conducting internal and external surveys with their employees and pilots.

Please list the instructional strategies you use:

I asked one of our Consultants who has a Ph.D. and has been working with our customers for over one year to comment on mobile content development to help with the next questions, here is her response:

The instructional strategies for mobile content development are very different than those for developing content for elearning or traditional learning. On the content development side, you need to keep in mind the screen size that your audience will be using, the need and ability to include interactivity in your content, the attention span of your audience and the fact that the users are on the go when accessing your content.



To help in the development process, Hot Lava Mobile was developed to allow content developers to visualize content in the new environment by providing mobile skins for content development. It also has the ability to integrate images, audio, video and animations and allows developers to play with a full range of font sizes, colors, and alignments.

Traditional Instructional Strategies used include:

· Behaviorist: Stimulus-response systems that provide problems, challenges, or prompts to the user who then responds and receives feedback.

· Situated Learning: Due to their mobility, phones and PDAs can be taken into authentic contexts where the user can experience what is happening, as well as interact, observe, or collect information. Data can be collected and recorded and responses contributed.

· Informal Knowledge Sharing: Mobile devices now afford access to information, people, and services that support anytime anywhere access to knowledge.

On the delivery and tracking side, for those organizations that care about what mobile content their audience is using, or want to have the ability to track and record surveys or compliance results, the ability to develop fully trackable content is required. This functionality was built in to Hot Lava Mobile as well.]

How is this different than simply downloading a video from YouTube and watching it?

Youtube is not a dedicated instructional or performance support platform/medium/tool.

Youtube does not provide tracking and does not provide data that can report if learning/performance support is actively occurring.

The content on utube is not content that an organization decided to develop to improve their business

Hot Lava Mobile can track and monitor user's/learner's behaviors/responses/achievement/test scores, etc.
What makes it a learning experience?

Learning/performance support goals, objectives, and instructional strategies have been intentionally designed to elicit desired learner/user behaviors/outcomes.

Users/learners receive feedback and can access quizzes and tests to monitor their achievement/performance as well as access final scores.

Users/learners choose modules based on specific learning/performance support outcomes with the intent to transfer knowledge to their target performance environment (their job)

Are your mobile applications useful in countries where connectivity and online access are limited?

[mzarrabian] Yes. We have customers all over the globe, from South Africa to India to Australia and Brazil, as well as customers in areas where connectivity is not as much of an issue, like the US, Canada and Norway. One of the beauties of our solution is that is supports all platforms, 500 devices, and works in connected and disconnected form.

So, even with limited connectivity and bandwidth, the content will get downloaded when they are connected, and the results will be synchronized back when they connect again. This is the same model that Blackberry uses for email, but our solution for mobile content works on all devices. In addition all the content created in Hot Lava Mobile is optimized for mobile phone delivery, eliminating issues with low bandwidth areas.