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<title>Personalized Learning</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/personalized-learning/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/personalized-learning/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:14:09 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Knowledge Sharing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[adaptive learning]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[avatar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[intelligent tutoring]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[learning management system]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[personalization]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[personalized learning]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=58692</guid>
<description><![CDATA[What is personalized learning? Simply put, a school student taking private tuition outside of school is personalized learning. When parents …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/personalized-learning/">Personalized Learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h4>What is personalized learning?</h4>
Simply put, a school student taking private tuition outside of school is personalized learning. When parents sit with their children and help them learn a tough concept using a trick or tip they learnt in their childhood, such as an analogy or a mnemonic is also personalized learning. In addition, when an experienced surgeon performs a surgery and students observe how she wields a scalpel with precision, and the expertise with which she makes an incision is personalized learning too. Now to extrapolate that to the digital learning world, self-paced, responsive, and adaptive learning nuggets that address the unique needs of the target learner is also personalized learning.
 
 
 
 
 
<hr class="divider clear" />
<h4></h4>
<h4></h4>
<h4></h4>
<h4>What is the significance of personalized learning?</h4>
While we all go through systematic and established learning curriculum in schools and colleges, many of us may think, “wish this was explained to me in a better way”, or “how does everyone understand this, and I just can’t”? However, as is with structured education, it is not always possible for teachers to cater to the specific needs of each student in the class. Now, with advancement in technology and awareness of specific learning needs, things are changing fast to provide customized learning to whoever may want it. Personalized learning has been in vogue for decades now, though it has not been discussed as much until recently.
Benjamin Bloom’s Paper (The 2 Sigma Problem, 1984) compared lecture, lecture with feedback, and one-to-one tuition, and what he found was an 84% increase in mastery for the lecture with feedback approach and 98% increase in mastery for one-to-one tuition. From this simple yet effective data, you can understand how effective personalized learning is.
 
<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-58698" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma.png" alt="" width="487" height="340" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma.png 914w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-460x321.png 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-150x105.png 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-768x536.png 768w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-300x209.png 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-120x84.png 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-310x216.png 310w" sizes="(max-width: 487px) 100vw, 487px" />
 
<hr class="divider clear" />
<h4>How is personalized learning rendered?</h4>
Personalized learning can take many forms such as, using examples that go well with the assigned learner group and helps them understand the content better, or using specific formats to target a specific group of learners to aid assimilation of learning, or using learning strategies or technology that resonates well with the target audience. Personalization can range from simple to complex as can be seen in the figure below.
<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-58699 size-full" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PL_Continuum-e1697606658404.png" alt="" width="668" height="546" />
Responsive
<ul>
<li>Interface: Learners customize learning experience by choosing colors and/or avatars.</li>
<li>Learning Management: Learners can select a specific learning path or create curated learning experiences through software application platforms, such as learning management systems (LMS) and learning experience platforms (LXPs).</li>
<li>Learning Analytics: Software applications integrated with LMSs, which prompt learners to go through content based on their proficiency level in a specific subject or domain.</li>
</ul>
Adaptive
<ul>
<li>Adaptive learning: Software applications that use machine learning to adapt to learner needs and competencies in a specific subject or domain.</li>
<li>Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Software applications that provide immediate and customized instruction or feedback to learners, usually without requiring intervention from a human teacher or facilitator.</li>
</ul>
 
<div class="notification other" style="background-color:#97d8df;border-color:#97d8df;">
<div class="notepad" style="color:#000000;border-color:{{bordercolor}};"> NOTE:
“Adaptive systems aim to functionally mirror and support the learning process, which is a flexible and changing, rather than fixed, process. Responsive systems are more limited, essentially offering an interface to predetermined content, like a hyper-linked menu or a series of digital buttons.”
SOURCE: <a href="https://datasociety.net/pubs/ecl/PersonalizedLearning_primer_2016.pdf">Personalized Learning: The Conversations We’re Not Having by Monica Bulger</a> </div></div>
 
<hr class="divider clear" />
 
<h4>Real-world applications of personalized learning</h4>
Select a tab to view the example. 
 
<div id="vibe-tabs-61" class="tabs tabbable dark"><ul class="nav nav-tabs clearfix"><li><a href="#tab-566643974-621">Example 1</a></li><li><a href="#tab-3404854789-621">Example 2</a></li><li><a href="#tab-624139579-621">Example 3</a></li><li><a href="#tab-3354363458-621">Example 4</a></li><li><a href="#tab-674098556-621">Example 5</a></li></ul><div class="tab-content"> <div id="tab-566643974-621" class="tab-pane">
<h5>Personalization through Gamification</h5>
Air Methods provides air transportation to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Air Methods personnel provide comprehensive pre-hospital and emergency and critical care to all types of patients during aero-medical evacuation or rescue operations aboard helicopter and propeller aircraft or jet aircraft. Air Methods with Sim X, a virtual reality firm, has developed a library of advanced clinical scenarios designed on a platform where multiple players work together to treat patients in the virtual environment. Air Methods has also developed an escape room* with a mix of clinical knowledge, pop-culture, and sleuthing to create an interactive learning experience. Each step of patient care, such as accessing medications or locating lab values, requires the team to solve the previous clues. Three groups are pitted against each other each day to see who can figure out the patient’s condition and provide the most appropriate care in the shortest amount of time.
<a data-rel="tooltip" class="tip" data-placement="top" data-original-title="An escape room is an organized form of problem-based learning that uses aspects of the curriculum within the context of an engaging scenario or theme. It has a series of puzzles that a group has to solve within a limited time period. So, the learning theme over here focuses on learner interest and is socially embedded, as a group will work on it together. It uses virtual reality to help learners learn the content better. The strategy also ensures learners have fun while learning, as gamification has been applied in the form of escape rooms. "> *Escape Room </a>
 
SOURCE: <a href="https://www.seriousgamemarket.com/2021/05/how-serious-games-are-changing-air.html">How Serious Games Are Changing Air Medical Education by Eliane Alhadeff</a>
</div> <div id="tab-3404854789-621" class="tab-pane">
<h5>Personalization through Mentoring</h5>
LaSalle Network is a national staffing, recruiting and culture firm with business units that specialize in accounting and finance, administrative, call center, healthcare revenue cycle, human resources, management resources, marketing, sales, supply chain, technology and executive search. Employees at this company participate in what is known as “grandfathering”. In this activity, managers mentor workers under their direct reports. They reinforce lessons by getting these employees to watch 3–4-minute videos at least 5 times, and by addressing their doubts and queries. Also, LaSalle’s 150 employees are regularly asked what weak spots they want to strengthen and what skills they want to acquire. These questions are not only asked by HR—everyone from managers and mentors to the training team and even the CEO pose the questions to employees at every level of the company. In one instance, when an employee mentioned to the company CEO that he wanted to eventually work in operations, the CEO coordinated with HR and made sure the employee works under the COO for a few weeks. This kind of mentoring, or grandfathering, is a commitment at the organization level. The learning themes that we can see in this case are learner needs, learner interests, learner ownership, and it is socially embedded. In this example, mentoring is used as a strategy to personalize learning.
SOURCE: <a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">A </a><a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">Personalized </a><a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">Approach to Corporate Learning by Kate Rockwood</a>
 
</div> <div id="tab-624139579-621" class="tab-pane">
<h5>Personalization through Feedback</h5>
Next College Student Athlete is a Chicago-based company that helps high schoolers win collegiate athletic scholarships. The Training team at this company uses a unique strategy for training – put the employee in the spotlight. The employees are video-recorded when they make a sales pitch. The videos are then analyzed to give specific feedback to the employees, and they are helped to identify areas that need refinement. The company has found this training technique rather effective. As the Head of HR says – “the employees tend to be fully engaged because they’re the stars of the sessions.” The learning theme out here is focusing on learner needs, learner ownership, and is socially embedded. This is an example of personalized learning where learners are not consumers but producers of content. This strategy also showcases mentoring at a different level. As you can see through this example, personalized learning is an ongoing process. It is NOT a one-time solution/intervention. Creating a plan, and working as per the plan is important.
SOURCE: <a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">A </a><a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">Personalized </a><a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">Approach to Corporate Learning by Kate Rockwood</a>
 
</div> <div id="tab-3354363458-621" class="tab-pane">
<h5>Personalization through adaptive learning</h5>
Duolingo, the language learning app, applies the concept of spaced repetition for language learning. The app adapts to each learner’s level of language proficiency by presenting content in different interactive ways. Learners get automated real-time feedback on these interactive speech and grammar exercises. The app users collectively complete millions of exercises on the platform every day and it tracks every word that the learner sees, uses and practices in varied contexts. This data is captured and analyzed using machine learning (ML) algorithms.
 
</div> <div id="tab-674098556-621" class="tab-pane">
<h5>Personalization through Intelligent Tutoring</h5>
Soar Training Expert for Virtual Environments or STEVE is an intelligent tutoring system developed by the University of South California (USC). It was originally applied to equipment operation and maintenance training on board a virtual ship. This system is designed to train and mentor learners to operate complicated machinery. Through virtual reality a three-dimensional, simulated mock-up of a work environment is created, where STEVE, the virtual facilitator guides learners to complete tasks by demonstrating procedures, responding to learner queries and monitoring learner performance. This solution is an integration of intelligent tutoring systems, computer graphics and agent architectures. This system can also train learners on completing team tasks, because the system is built to support multiple STEVE agents and multiple students.
SOURCE: <a href="https://www.isi.edu/isd/VET/vet.html">STEVE</a><a href="https://www.isi.edu/isd/VET/vet.html">– A Pedagogical Agent for Virtual Reality</a>
</div> </div></div>
 
 
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/personalized-learning/">Personalized Learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
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</item>
<item>
<title>An Instructional Design Checklist! Yes. Another One!</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/an-instructional-design-checklist-yes-another-one/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 05 May 2022 03:36:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Content Development Process]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Knowledge Sharing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[instructional design checklist]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=56850</guid>
<description><![CDATA[  Is your ID training addressing these Do’s and Don’ts? If yes, then how? Do you address it as an …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/an-instructional-design-checklist-yes-another-one/">An Instructional Design Checklist! Yes. Another One!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[ 
<blockquote>
Is your ID training addressing these Do’s and Don’ts? If yes, then how? Do you address it as an Instructional Design checklist (as attached below), or through practice and feedback? A checklist is the lowest form of a job-aid meant for tasks that are mostly mechanical & physical. Designing instruction is a cognitive task that requires higher-order thinking skills. The training for this must be designed to help you develop several skills and competencies, which is best addressed through a blend of self-paced online courses, facilitated sessions, and assignments that are reviewed by ID experts. However, even this is just a dip into shallow waters – to excel at instructional design you need to work on varied projects with unique demands for at least A YEAR UNDER A GOOD MENTOR.
</blockquote>
 
Download the checklist here; but also find a mentor:
<a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ID_Dos_Donts.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dos and Don’ts for instructional designers</a>
 
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/an-instructional-design-checklist-yes-another-one/">An Instructional Design Checklist! Yes. Another One!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Needs Assessment – Part 3</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-3/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-3/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 06 Aug 2021 06:10:33 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Content Development Process]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Knowledge Sharing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[learning needs analysis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[needs assessment]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[training needs analysis]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=52229</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Needs assessment is role-wise assessment of skill gaps between the current state and the desired state, and identifying the learning …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-3/">Needs Assessment – Part 3</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3 class="heading " > OVERVIEW </h3>
Needs assessment is role-wise assessment of skill gaps between the current state and the desired state, and identifying the learning needs to close the gaps and ensure effective workplace performance. The outcome of needs assessment results in effective training solutions that impact the business growth of the customer in a positive way. While needs assessment is a highly iterative process, and you can never have enough of discussions to be sure that you and your stakeholder are on the same page with regard to the roles or tasks or responsibilities or competencies, and there can be many sub-processes that you may have to improvise, abroad level needs assessment process sequence can be charted out.
<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52270" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123.jpg" alt="" width="1104" height="736" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123.jpg 1104w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-460x307.jpg 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-150x100.jpg 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-768x512.jpg 768w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-300x200.jpg 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-120x80.jpg 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-310x207.jpg 310w" sizes="(max-width: 1104px) 100vw, 1104px" />
<h3 class="heading " > STEP 1 – IDENTIFYING CHALLENGES </h3>
Needs Assessment is a process by which we figure out the training needs of a group or groups, of a few roles in an organization, or all roles of an organization. The organization can be small, medium, or large. Therefore, the needs assessment process, though similar in all cases, have to be customized depending on the requirements of the customer – where the requirements can be explicit, implicit, or evolutionary in nature.
The initial questions or the “Day 1-2” questions that the needs assessor should ask is: What is your organization trying to accomplish? What are the business goals that your organization is trying to achieve?
The responses from stakeholders may be noticeably clear or partly clear and/or partly fuzzy. That’s absolutely fine. That is the nature of the assignment. The assessor needs to start a conversation with the customer stakeholders at this point. Many important points come out during a random conversation and assessors have to be very attentive. To make things easier, assessors can prepare a detailed questionnaire before traveling to the customer site.
The questionnaire can have generic questions, which can be customized after the initial introductory rounds and then distributed to the stakeholders to get their response or thoughts. Questions initially can be asked in any order. You can even, not ask any questions. Just listen to the leaders talking and make a mental note of their requirements, their pain points, or their business goals. At this stage you may not understand much of it. You will slowly – do not get thrown off your chosen track. You are there to stay for a while. Things will open up sooner or later. Don’t rush. There is no strict timeline to complete a “talk”. Never.
Here are some some sample questions to ask on the first meet with the customer:
<div class="notification " style="background-color:#97d8df;border-color:;">
<div class="notepad" style="color:#333;border-color:{{bordercolor}};">
<ol style="text-align: justify;">
<li>What is the need at this point for a training needs assessment? Is there a strong business compulsion?</li>
<li>Who are the stakeholders in this endeavour?</li>
<li>Can a meeting be organized with each of these stakeholders, as they lead different departments? If yes, by when?</li>
<li>Can a meeting be organized with a few key members of each department? If yes, by when?</li>
<li>What are the business goals of each of these departments? How do they map to the organizational goal?</li>
<li>What are the primary roles in each of the department? What are the responsibilities of each role?</li>
<li>In a particular role, what are the employees’ current level of proficiency and what is the desired level of proficiency?</li>
<li>What are their educational qualifications? Are they motivated to achieve the business goals? Will it clash in anyway with their growth aspirations? (Subjective questions are important as they give us a definite direction on the organizational goal)</li>
<li>What are the pain points of the organization, and of the employee group?</li>
<li>Dothe pain points map to a training need(s) or the pain points require a totally different kind of solution, besides training?</li>
<li>Is workplace performance at the current level of proficiency also a problem?</li>
</ol>
</div></div>
These and similar questions can be the base initial discussion that the assessor should have with the customer side stakeholders. The way analysis is done in a simple eLearning project, similarly these question-answer sessions help the assessor understand the business goals and analyse the employee performance problems. However, these discussions are not cast in stone. Bigger the organization, larger the requirement, and more the number of interactive and iterative sessions.
The assessor also needs to talk to the next level of leaders, who are on the floor, to get their point of view regarding the pain points, their proficiency level, and their aspirations. Understanding employee aspirations is also an important step towards ensuring that the right kind of needs are found and addressed. This happens with the knowledge of the supervisors and there is no organization-employee conflict out there.
Next, the questionnaire evaluation report is presented to the customer and the actual business challenges are documented by mutual agreement.
Some examples of business challenges can be:
<div class="notification " style="background-color:#97d8df;border-color:;">
<div class="notepad" style="color:#333;border-color:{{bordercolor}};">
<ol style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Ineffective implementation of safety and compliance procedures resulting in near-miss accidents or injury</li>
<li>Managing a huge customer project</li>
<li>Training new hires globally with language, culture, and other demographic barriers</li>
<li>Aging workforce, ready to retire, and adequate transfer of knowledge</li>
<li>Current level of competencies has gaps; performance is an issue</li>
<li>Key responsibility areas are not well defined, overlapping responsibilities</li>
</ol>
</div></div>
<h3 class="heading " > STEP 2, 3 and 4 – ANALYSIS OF CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS; AN ITERATIVE PROCESS </h3>
After the assessor understands the business performance goal and pain points, the assessor needs to understand the roles that will have to be considered on priority to meet the challenge through appropriate training intervention. In this step, the assessor also needs to understand the current jobs/tasks of the role or roles, the future roles and responsibilities, and the competency gap that has to be closed for them to perform at the desired level. There are a number of tools that the assessor can use to understand the current situation and how far the employees are from the desired situation.
Some of the tools are:
<ol style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Individual interviews</li>
<li>Focus groups</li>
<li>Observations</li>
<li>Reports</li>
<li>Surveys</li>
</ol>
Based on the findings, the assessor will arrive at the actual desired situation. The gap between the actual and desired will provide the learning requirement.
Here is an example:
<div class="notification " style="background-color:#97d8df;border-color:;">
<div class="notepad" style="color:#333;border-color:{{bordercolor}};">
A leading oil and gas organization was unable to improve the performance effectiveness of its refinery operators despite conducting intensive training. They also did not have any methodology to capture the knowledge of it aging workforce who were due for retirement. The assessor assessed the current situation and discovered that training was mostly conducted in classroom using presentations and very text intensive training tools. Learning was mostly on-the-job with a mentor shadowing a few hundred employees. Training was therefore not consistent, and rarely measured. The material was outdated, and new hires were dependent on-the-job mentoring by experienced workforce for upgrading their skills. The desired situation was to have a formal training in place that will be able to measure employee performance.
</div></div>
<h3 class="heading " > STEP 5 – CREATE COMPETENCY MAP ROLE-WISE, AND NEW ROLE-WISE TRAINING REQUIREMENTS </h3>
To carry forward the case of the oil and gas organization, let’s look at an example to understand more about competencies.
For example, equipment knowledge could be a skill. In some customer engagements that the organization may have, this knowledge could be a challenge as the skill is usually not documented. The assessor in such a situation will need to discuss with all relevant roles and understand the competency level that they currently have, and the new level of competency they desire to have. Based on this information, the assessor will be able to create a new competency map role-wise and detail out the new role-wise training requirements so far as equipment knowledge is concerned.
The purpose of identifying competencies is to have a clear criterion to measure the skill and performance effectiveness of the target audience. Competency map is the formal documentation of skills and knowledge required for a particular role.
Each competency can have different levels of proficiency depending on the skill level required for a role who is assigned a particular job. For example, a junior instructional designer needs to have only storyboarding capabilities after understanding the design document, but a senior designer will need to be able to create the design document. However, both the instructional designer role will require common competencies of writing and comprehension. Pretty colourful, isn’t it?<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f60a.png" alt="😊" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />Well yes, when you map the different roles to different tasks to different competencies and different training requirements, it is best to colour code the excel worksheet. Makes it easier for the assessor and the approver.
<h3 class="heading " > STEP 6 – CURRICULUM DESIGN, TRAINING STRATEGY ROLE-WISE OR A CUSTOMIZED LEARNING PATH </h3>
Now that the assessor is aware of the target audience, the competencies and the learning methodology needed to achieve the learning objective, the assessor needs to identify training topics and create a curriculum design. This might require consultation with a subject matter expert if it is a technical content. An essential aspect of needs assessment is identifying the appropriate learning methodology to train the target audience. Somewhere in steps 1 through 4, the assessor also needs to understand the demographic, education, working and social background of the target audience. That will help the assessor create a curriculum design or a customized learning path using appropriate learning strategies to get effective training outcome.
As instructional designers turned assessors, you need to be aware of the different learning methodologies that can be adopted and map them to the requirements. Some common learning methodologies include:
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Coaching and mentoring</li>
<li>Curated content</li>
<li>Blended learning</li>
<li>Web- based learning</li>
<li>Classroom-based learning</li>
<li>Mobile or micro learning</li>
<li>Collaborative platform</li>
<li>Game-based learning</li>
</ul>
Curriculum design provides clarity on the course names, course objectives, topics covered, duration, and the mode of delivery. Needs assessment is considered complete when the assessor prepares the training strategy for the entire requirement. In this document, the training goal, and the training process with the details of curriculum is documented. This document also guides the customers on how they should conduct the training as it includes the schedule of courses. It provides clarity on the training approach and broad level instructional strategies that can be used for developing the curriculum.
Once this is approved, the assessor, who is bored with Earl Greys and subways, can start dreaming of Lipton Darjeeling and a sumptuous meal back home. However, the work has just begun. Now the vendor organization needs to ramp up for creating the huge training content.
<h3 class="heading " > CONCLUSION </h3>
Needs assessment is a scientific and organized approach to analysing customer requirements from a competency-based learning perspective. Creating a competency map that elaborates on roles, responsibilities, tasks, and the skills required to complete those tasks, is the ultimate step to achieving training excellence for the customer organization. It is an ideal way of providing thought leadership to the customer. A successful needs assessment phase is not limited to just the deliverables from that phase. It creates a lasting impression in the mind of the customer that they have invested in the right place. Finally, as a learning consultant, assessors should be able to provide a real-time, implementable, and useful training solution that provides a win-win situation for both the vendor and the customer.

The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-3/">Needs Assessment – Part 3</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
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<item>
<title>Needs Assessment – Part 2</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-2/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-2/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jul 2021 08:16:18 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Content Development Process]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[learning needs analysis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[needs assessment]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=44702</guid>
<description><![CDATA[  An organization wanted to train its entire sales team (junior, mid-level- and senior roles) on a new range of …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-2/">Needs Assessment – Part 2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote> </blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-46183" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels.jpg" alt="" width="377" height="312" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels.jpg 600w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels-460x381.jpg 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels-150x124.jpg 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels-300x249.jpg 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels-120x99.jpg 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels-310x257.jpg 310w" sizes="(max-width: 377px) 100vw, 377px" />
<blockquote>An organization wanted to train its entire sales team (junior, mid-level- and senior roles) on a new range of engineering products. The company approached the in-house training manager and provided basic details about the products. The training manager created handouts, ready reference material, and presentations, and delivered the training on schedule. The sales team got the basic knowledge. However, post training, it was observed that the sales team was not able to meet the expected target.</blockquote>
 
<h3 class="heading " > What went wrong? </h3>
What went wrong? Process lapses! But that isn’t typically due to lack of knowledge. Training managers are given very short time to come up with a training program. Nor is the training manager fully equipped to create content the way instructional designers are trained to do. Hence, there can be lapses both in the process, as well as the end result.
In this example, first, the trainer should have analysed the business challenges that the company could have faced if the sales team was not adequately trained on the new products. Then, the trainer should have had meetings with the sales team to understand their current roles and responsibilities, the trainings they have already attended, their selling methodology, their prior work experience, their qualification, and what sort of content engages them. Based on this information, the trainer should have arrived at the role-wise core skills/competency that the sales team had, the skills/competency they needed to acquire, recognized the gaps, and then worked on closing the gaps.
Post gap analysis and based on the desired level of competency that the employees had to achieve as mandated by business needs, the trainer should have designed the role-wise curriculum for training. So senior sales managers should have been trained on how to focus on the saleability of the product and the sales strategies, and the juniors should have learnt the product features and functions to the last level of detail. Based on the proposed and approved curriculum, learning objectives should have been designed. Based on learners’ learning preferences, relevant training methodology and strategies should have been used so that the learning outcome was effective. The training should have been followed up with an appropriate post assessment and on-the-job shadowing by an expert.
Seems black and white now, however, at real-time things can get blurred. And that is the essence of true needs assessment assignment. It gives the assessor the challenge to be focused, to be empathetic, and to use all skills she has gathered over the years to do a great job.
 
<style> #button3792{} #button3792:hover{}#button3792:hover{}</style><a target="_blank" id="button3792" class="button " href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Example.xlsx"> Needs Assessment_Example </a>
<blockquote> 
Hope that this example helped you gain a macro view of the needs assessment process. In Part 3 of this series, I will address the process in detail.</blockquote>
 
AUTHOR:
Sarbani Bose – Consultant, Instructional Design
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-2/">Needs Assessment – Part 2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
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<item>
<title>Needs Assessment – Part 1</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-1/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jul 2021 13:02:25 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Content Development Process]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[needs assessment]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=43998</guid>
<description><![CDATA[  Traveling abroad at a short notice was mundane for me as an instructional designer. Most of the time it …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-1/">Needs Assessment – Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-44006" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1.jpg" alt="" width="497" height="339" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1.jpg 688w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1-460x314.jpg 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1-150x102.jpg 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1-300x205.jpg 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1-120x82.jpg 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1-310x211.jpg 310w" sizes="(max-width: 497px) 100vw, 497px" />
 
Traveling abroad at a short notice was mundane for me as an instructional designer. Most of the time it was a short, single project, or may be a few projects on the same subject matter, or a weeklong Beta class or a 3-days conference. Jetlag notwithstanding, the very next day on landing, we were to reach the customer site and start work. Numerous cups of Earl Grey, a cookie here or a sandwich there, and things would just fall in place. Work done, appreciation received, mails exchanged along with a pat-on-the-back, or a “why did you commit this to the customer?”, without listening to the story behind the commitment, the return flight would commence!</blockquote>
Back home, back to the traffic, and from Earl Grey to Lipton Darjeeling.
However, when the assignment stated Needs Assessment, the warning bells would begin to ring for me. Not because the work wasn’t interesting or not doable for an instructional designer with many years of experience behind her, in fact it was just the opposite, but because needs assessment meant uncertainty of duration. A month-long itinerary could easily become three if the customer’s thought process evolved, and which it invariably did, over muffins and coffees and subways.
Grey? May be – or may be hues of different colours. But never black and white.
At this point you may have some questions. Some thoughts.
<div class="notification " style="background-color:#97d8df;border-color:;">
<div class="notepad" style="color:#333;border-color:{{bordercolor}};">
<ol>
<li>Why should an instructional designer perform a needs assessment for a customer? Doesn’t the customer know better what training it wants for its employees?</li>
<li>What about its own training team? Isn’t it equipped enough to figure out what the requirement is? </li>
<li>What about the HR managers? Aren’t they more fit for the job? </li>
<li>Shouldn’t the vendor organization just focus on creating the training program with its ace instructional designers at the job? </li>
</ol>
</div></div>
<h3 class="heading " > Why should an instructional designer play with the greys? </h3>
Without debating on the fact that an organization should know about its exact training requirements, and its training manager or the HR manager can also do the job, the efficacy sometimes is not as expected. This is because end-to-end training solutioning for any organization is as simple as – an instructional designer’s forte.
 
Let’s understand it in detail. 
Smaller organizations typically do not have a robust learning unit. However, big organizations do. They also have department-wise training managers, or experts in a particular area/task, who also double up as mentors/trainers on-the-job. These in-house trainers are provided with the basic training requirements by the business leaders or team leaders. And the trainers are asked to create focused training material, schedule sessions, and deliver the training. However, the requirements are typically a “knee-jerk” reaction from leaders to cater to sudden business needs. There is no clear focus on a holistic updated curriculum or role-wise or responsibility-wise training. Moreover, a different but very pertinent problem arises when these experts or trainers relocate to a different location around the globe, or they retire from active service. Even if their knowledge is somehow documented, the tacit knowledge is never captured for the future generation of employees.
<blockquote>Hope that I have made a convincing argument why instructional designers must conduct a needs assessment. In Part 2 of this series, I will elaborate on this activity using an example.</blockquote>
 
AUTHOR:
Sarbani Bose – Consultant, Instructional Design
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-1/">Needs Assessment – Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
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<item>
<title>What’s cooking? Training ROI through the cooking glass</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/whats-cooking-training-roi-through-the-cooking-glass/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/whats-cooking-training-roi-through-the-cooking-glass/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:39:52 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=43626</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I think Indian cooking is a conspiracy. Hatched by whom, I don’t know. There are days when I wish I …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/whats-cooking-training-roi-through-the-cooking-glass/">What’s cooking? Training ROI through the cooking glass</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[I think Indian cooking is a conspiracy. Hatched by whom, I don’t know. There are days when I wish I didn’t have to cook; and there are days when cooking has helped me ideate. Yesterday happened to be one such day when I had this Eureka moment. What if we had to determine the ROI for Indian cooking? It would be quite an uphill task – very similar to determining Training ROI. Let me explain.
<blockquote> </blockquote>
<h3 class="heading " > Isolation Factor </h3>
A typical Indian dish (more so, South Indian because I am one) takes “form and taste” after a lot of hard work. The planning, measuring, pounding, grinding, steaming, chopping, and seasoning with half a dozen spices is no mean feat. Now if someone asks, which of these is responsible for the heavenly taste, it’s hard to say. How does one identify whether it is one of the processes, a certain spice or the way vegetables have been chopped that’s the cause for the taste? How do you isolate that one factor?
Determining Training ROI in organizations is no different. Organizations are rarely static. There’s always something happening. – a new boss, changes in team configurations, change in processes, and introduction of new software to name a few. It is very difficult to isolate the training factor – in other words, how much the training contributed to a business result (such as reduction in rework, increase in productivity or customer satisfaction).
 
<h3 class="heading " > Budget Considerations </h3>
Now suppose you do decide to identify that one factor which makes a dish taste either good or bad. You will have to make the dish umpteen times – each time, removing one of the ingredients, or a certain process. Imagine the quantity of ingredients you will have to purchase, and what this will do to your budget. Similarly, determining ROI involves effort, and most times the effort is spread over a long period and involves more than one department (HR, L&D, Administration, Operations and Senior Management). This will cost the organization money. Consider this – training happens and Level 1 feedback is taken; then an assessment determines training effectiveness at Level 2; learning transfer will happen over a period of time with support from managers, which is also measured to collate data at Level 3. All this will require budget allocation, and it will have to be taken from the training budget.
 
<h3 class="heading " > Intangibles </h3>
Finally, suppose you are cooking a dish for your child. All the love and affection with which you do this cannot be quantified. The special attention that you pay to make the dish nutritious and tasty – well that cannot be measured either. Training too results in benefits that cannot be measured easily. For example, training can result in improving employee morale, better teamwork and lesser conflicts, increased commitment to the organization and reduced complaints. This is soft data, which cannot be assigned a monetary value. These are called Intangibles.
 
<h3 class="heading " > Easier said than done </h3>
So, you see, determining Training ROI is good practice, but a rather complicated affair. It’s great to mouth platitudes about it, but it is easier said than done. To use 21st century parlance, this is one aspect where you cannot say KISS (Keep It Simple, Silly)!
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/whats-cooking-training-roi-through-the-cooking-glass/">What’s cooking? Training ROI through the cooking glass</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
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</item>
<item>
<title>Gamifying Learning</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/gamifying-learning/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/gamifying-learning/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2021 05:04:14 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Gamification]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[badges]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[gamifying learning]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[reward]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=42032</guid>
<description><![CDATA[  This trip to Germany, my third abroad, was to be a first in a different sort of way. It …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/gamifying-learning/">Gamifying Learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-42035 aligncenter" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Add-a-little-bit-of-body-text.png" alt="" width="438" height="438" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Add-a-little-bit-of-body-text.png 1200w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Add-a-little-bit-of-body-text-460x460.png 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Add-a-little-bit-of-body-text-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Add-a-little-bit-of-body-text-150x150.png 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Add-a-little-bit-of-body-text-768x768.png 768w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Add-a-little-bit-of-body-text-300x300.png 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Add-a-little-bit-of-body-text-100x100.png 100w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Add-a-little-bit-of-body-text-120x120.png 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Add-a-little-bit-of-body-text-310x310.png 310w" sizes="(max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px" />
 
<h3 class="heading " > OMG, I am OMO!! </h3>
This trip to Germany, my third abroad, was to be a first in a different sort of way. It was the first time I was OMO (on my own) – there would be no colleague in tow. Since I was here to present a paper at the International Conference on Distance Education and not meet any client, I would need to navigate the German shores all by myself. And when I look back now, I think it was a gamified learning experience! Here is why……
<h3 class="heading " > Hits and misses </h3>
As soon as I deplaned at the Dusseldorf airport, I went to the information kiosk to find my way to the conference venue. The folks there explained the “rules” of the game, which was that I had to take the metro and the bus to get to my destination. The rest, I was to figure out by myself.
Level 1 —- Figure out the train route. My attempt at eliciting this by asking the locals was met with a quizzical expression and a polite nod in the direction of signage and route maps. Of course I saw these, but I was the quintessential Indian traveler for whom “asking directions” is the default mode. We are hard-wired to do this and it would take about a dozen solo visits to erase this “deeply-embedded-verbal-direction-seeking behavior” with exploratory learning.
Level 2 — Interface with the ticket machine. I read and re-read the instructions on the machine but still felt unsure. German precision was of little help. Yes, the Indian gene again – our mental schema is so programmed to decode only complex stuff that simple instructions seem strange (is it a trap?). Here is a confession – I managed to clear this level only because the task was not timed, and because a fellow Indian who saw me struggling, volunteered to help! That’s how I finally took the S-Bahn (German nomenclature for suburban trains) and reached my hotel.
The hotel was in a busy station building – and I recall that it had one entrance through a small door from within the station itself. It eerily felt like the magical door to the invisible train compartment in Harry Potter!
Level 3 — Take a bus to reach the conference venue. Seemed simple. Bust Stop – Check. Bus Route – Check. Feeling mighty pleased I readied myself to charge ahead while my eyes followed the trajectory of the fast-approaching bus. The strategy had all been worked out – running ahead of the others, elbowing my way through the crowd, and making it into the bus first! After all, this was my strength – all the Delhi bus trips had made me a pro at this. The bus halted. I executed my strategy only to hear someone shout, “Nicht hier” (not here)! I didn’t understand what it meant then, but the tone and tenor indicated that I had goofed up. You see, in Germany one always gets in from the front (“Einstieg”) and exits from the back (“Ausstieg”)!
Was this a gamified learning experience? What are your thoughts?
<h3 class="heading " > MY VIEWS </h3>
Here is what I think. This was definitely a gamified learning experience. I learned how to travel in a foreign country – by taking the underground metro (at a time when we didn’t have the metro in India), and the bus. It wasn’t “fun”, but it was definitely “challenging”. And while there weren’t any rewards in the form of badges or smileys, the confidence I gained was the reward!
So, the next time you think of gamifying learning, remember that they are much more than just “fun” and “badges”.
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/gamifying-learning/">Gamifying Learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
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</item>
<item>
<title>Instructional Writing</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/instructional-writing/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/instructional-writing/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2020 06:04:45 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Knowledge Sharing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[content development]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[instructional writing]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=41568</guid>
<description><![CDATA[    “I mean, how can she? My reviewer tells me I need to improve my writing skills. I was …
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]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[ 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41571" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Instructional-Writing_Components.png" alt="" width="1920" height="1080" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Instructional-Writing_Components.png 1920w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Instructional-Writing_Components-460x259.png 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Instructional-Writing_Components-1024x576.png 1024w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Instructional-Writing_Components-150x84.png 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Instructional-Writing_Components-768x432.png 768w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Instructional-Writing_Components-1536x864.png 1536w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Instructional-Writing_Components-300x169.png 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Instructional-Writing_Components-120x68.png 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Instructional-Writing_Components-310x174.png 310w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" />
<blockquote> 
“I mean, how can she? My reviewer tells me I need to improve my writing skills. I was a topper in the university when I graduated with English Hons. My blogs have comments that say there cannot be any better writer than me! And yet, I receive my storyboard with multiple comments, corrections in track change mode, and over and above a stern instruction that asks me to attend the instructional design writing session again! I think they have lost it. This job doesn’t deserve me.”</blockquote>
 
This is a common tale of woe that you may hear near the coffee vending machine when you join an eLearning company.
Most employees, who are adept in the language, feel disappointed when their work is scrutinized and torn apart. They feel reviewers give comments or make changes just on their whims. I wouldn’t say, that is entirely false; some reviewers do make unnecessary changes. However mostly the changes are required. Why these are required I will elaborate now.
 
It is important to remember two things:
<ol>
<li>Language is for communication. So, we can have great instructional content in Hindi or Japanese or Cantonese. Except that, we will not get a global target audience as we would if we create learning content in English.</li>
<li>Instructional writing is not for the creative satisfaction of the author or for the entertainment of the learner. It is for those who seriously want to “learn” something. The word in focus here is: LEARN! It is not for those who will feel happy after READING a great piece of content writing, like they do upon reading a good novel. They will feel happy if they LEARN what they WANTED TO LEARN.</li>
</ol>
 
What you need to focus on while writing instructional content:
<ol>
<li>Instructions to the learner must be clear, concise, and self-explanatory. For any content. Technical and non-technical. From manufacturing processes, to aircraft features, to C++ coding, to Artificial Intelligence, to multiple intelligences, to oceaneering, to leadership, to smartphone features, to how to make farmers in tribal areas learn about rain harvesting.</li>
<li>Narrative should be focused, whether it is the introduction, or the scenarios, or the questions or the summary – what you “convey” to the learner, should be focused on “just what the learner needs to learn”.</li>
</ol>
 
Therefore, while your writing must be grammatically correct, verbosity and pompousness won’t make you a good instructional designer. Use of jargon, complex sentences, passive voice, or assumptions about your learner’s language understanding capability will not help you write good learning content.
<div class="notification " style="background-color:;border-color:;">
<div class="notepad" style="color:;border-color:{{bordercolor}};"> The point is simple: you should write instructional content in a simple and accurate way to effectively guide virtual learners across the globe and help them understand any content easily. Being language “sensitive” is the key to being a good instructional designer/writer. </div></div>
 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-41580" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IW_Examples-1.png" alt="" width="528" height="297" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IW_Examples-1.png 2560w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IW_Examples-1-460x259.png 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IW_Examples-1-1024x576.png 1024w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IW_Examples-1-150x84.png 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IW_Examples-1-768x432.png 768w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IW_Examples-1-1536x864.png 1536w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IW_Examples-1-2048x1152.png 2048w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IW_Examples-1-300x169.png 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IW_Examples-1-120x68.png 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IW_Examples-1-310x174.png 310w" sizes="(max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px" />
 
 
And not just this. You need to know the difference between Indian, American, or British English, you need to know why learners may have difficulty understanding or visualizing run-on sentences, why simple sentences can convey technical meanings better, or why you should avoid using colloquial phrases or culture-specific language.
 
Instructional writing is not just about being simple and focused. It’s also about the correct FLOW. Just like readers of novels, learners of technical or non-technical content are also moving with a mental flow of thought or sequence. They have learnt “A” – they are now learning “B” – and they will next learn “C”. If this sequence is not taken care of and extraneous or unnecessary information creeps in where it is not needed, the flow of learning (and subsequently, assimilation of learning) gets totally disrupted.
 
Therefore, when you become an instructional designer, write with EMPATHY – empathise with your learners who may be from different parts of the globe, who do not know you, who are busy professionals and have limited time, who are just taking the course to learn something that can help them perform better at their workplace. The way you organize your thoughts, the way you focus on the content, and the way you use the right words to drive home the learning is all what matters to that invisible learner who has chosen you as her virtual trainer.
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/instructional-writing/">Instructional Writing</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
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<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>Feedback Styles in Online Courses</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/feedback-styles-in-online-courses/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/feedback-styles-in-online-courses/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2020 07:28:12 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Questions and Assessment]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=40991</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Here is a framework that you can use to design feedback for your online courses.  
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/feedback-styles-in-online-courses/">Feedback Styles in Online Courses</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Here is a framework that you can use to design feedback for your online courses.
 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-40992 aligncenter" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Feedback_Design.png" alt="" width="488" height="691" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Feedback_Design.png 1414w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Feedback_Design-460x651.png 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Feedback_Design-724x1024.png 724w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Feedback_Design-106x150.png 106w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Feedback_Design-768x1086.png 768w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Feedback_Design-1086x1536.png 1086w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Feedback_Design-300x424.png 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Feedback_Design-85x120.png 85w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Feedback_Design-310x438.png 310w" sizes="(max-width: 488px) 100vw, 488px" />
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/feedback-styles-in-online-courses/">Feedback Styles in Online Courses</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
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</item>
<item>
<title>Virtual Instructor-led Training (VILT): A Framework</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/virtual-instructor-led-training-vilt-a-framework/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/virtual-instructor-led-training-vilt-a-framework/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2020 07:19:36 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Learning Trends]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=40986</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Teaching and learning virtually in the synchronous mode places a higher cognitive load on the teacher and student as both …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/virtual-instructor-led-training-vilt-a-framework/">Virtual Instructor-led Training (VILT): A Framework</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Teaching and learning virtually in the synchronous mode places a higher cognitive load on the teacher and student as both have to handle software and other IT issues along with teaching/learning.
Therefore, one shouldn’t try to replicate classroom teaching.
This framework (image below) shows how the cognitive load increases based on the online teaching-learning activity. It also depicts the various tools that you can use to conduct these activities.
 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-40987 aligncenter" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VILT_Framework.png" alt="" width="543" height="543" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VILT_Framework.png 1200w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VILT_Framework-460x460.png 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VILT_Framework-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VILT_Framework-150x150.png 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VILT_Framework-768x768.png 768w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VILT_Framework-300x300.png 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VILT_Framework-100x100.png 100w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VILT_Framework-120x120.png 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VILT_Framework-310x310.png 310w" sizes="(max-width: 543px) 100vw, 543px" />
 
 
Here are some tips for teaching virtually.
<ol>
<li>Address some part through the asynchronous mode – self-paced learning or flipped classroom</li>
<li>Plan for disruptions due to technical issues</li>
<li>Give breaks to being online – assign tasks that can be completed offline before meeting online again</li>
</ol>
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/virtual-instructor-led-training-vilt-a-framework/">Virtual Instructor-led Training (VILT): A Framework</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
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