Assessments and Training Materials

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2007-05-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

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How to Deliver Training and Development that Delivers the Desired Business Outcomes

2007-05-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

By Leanne Hoagland-Smith

To be competitive and to remain a player in today’s 24/7 knowledge driven business world requires that your employees be thoroughly trained to deliver the best customer service both to your external and internal customers. The old 19th and 20th centuries’ paradigm of controlling the employee has transformed to one of freedom for today’s knowledge worker.

Yet, continued research suggests that the majority of training and development initiatives estimated at 80 to 90% whether they come from the human resource department to the executive management team fail to deliver a positive return on investment. Consequently, when training fails, the first department to experience budget cuts is human resource because of this failure.

Part of this reason that a positive return on investment is not achieved potentially begins with a failure to connect the learning with the desired results. For example using customer service, is the training about the correct procedures in processing the sale or is the training about creating a loyal customer during the sales process? A recent customer service survey indicated that the number one response customers do not want to hear is “That is not my department.” This response is probably a result of knowing the procedures, but those procedures do not necessarily create happy and more importantly loyal customers.

Another part of may reside in how the training is delivered. Most training goes against the best learning research that indicates repeated exposures to a learning event deliver significantly greater long-term memory when compared with one time exposure. From our earliest school days, we all know what 10x10 is, almost without thinking. However, to respond as quickly with the correct answer to 23x24 is far more challenging. Common sense tells us that if we can’t remember what we learn then we can’t apply what we have learned.

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Online Quiz Creation Guide

2007-04-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

Online quizzes can be great tools in helping students learn and check their comprehension of the information they have been taught. However, a quiz must be worded, ordered, and structured properly to ensure that students understand the appropriate material.

Like written quizzes, online quizzes are usually short in length and specifically test a student’s ability to comprehend information previously presented to him. For example, a student may read a lesson about the history of the automobile and then answer questions about who created the internal combustion engine, who created the Model T, and so forth.

One thing to keep into consideration, however, is that a quiz should test a student’s ability to recall pertinent details and make generalizations about the entire subject on which he is tested. Instructors commonly create questions that test irrelevant details or are too directly related to the material to be of value to the student. One instructor may ask for dates and names of famous battles in English history, and a particular student may do very well on this quiz. However, when he is assessed on his knowledge of English history and asked to write an assessment on the War of the Roses, he could very well come up short. The disparity stems from the low-level, pure comprehension nature of the questions in the quiz as compared to the higher-level thought process required to write an analysis of history.

Teachers also can make the mistake of creating questions that are overly general. One of the common complaints of students is that questions appear too abstract or ambiguous, and this is often true. An instructor may ask a question like: “What was the nature of early English-Native American interaction?” Such a question is perfectly innocuous, but when the answer choices are given as one-word characterizations like “timid,” “overbearing,” and “indifferent,” students are left to guess what a teacher “meant to ask” rather than ponder the material covered in the quiz.

A teacher must strike a balance between questions that are overly specific or overly general. While it is not always easy to tell what a “good” question entails, here are a few guidelines:

The question should reflect the student’s ability to comprehend and not simply recall information
The question should aid in a student’s analysis of the information presented
The question should be worded such that the student cannot determine the answer easily by process of elimination from the answer choices
Good questions require the judgment of the student so that the student does not just choose the “correct” answer, but the “best” answer

Consider the following two questions as illustrations of the points above. Both questions ask essentially the same thing, but one is a good question while the other is decidedly ineffective as a learning tool.

Is the NFL-AFL merger considered an example of monopoly? Why or why not?

Which features of a monopoly did the NFL-AFL merger exhibit? Which features allowed for an exemption from antitrust law?

While both of the above questions test a on a student’s knowledge of antitrust legislation and the NFL-AFL merger, the above question is ambiguous as to what the question really wants the student to respond with. The question below, while asking basically the same information, requires the student to cite specific examples of features of monopolies and antitrust while guiding the student in an effective analytical response. Clearly, the bottom question is superior.

Of course, it is difficult to judge every question as a “good” or “bad” question, but over time, educators can get a feel for the effectiveness of the quizzes by the responses they receive from their respective students. Effective quizzes will help students use knowledge in analytic responses and on lengthy assessments. Ineffective quizzes will encourage students to “brain dump,” or cram. If used correctly, quizzes are an indispensable tool to the educator and a great learning tool for the student.

About the Author:
ProProfs Quiz School is a free web based tool that enables educators to create online quizzes and practice tests for their students. It also offers a large collection of free quizzes. To create a free quiz visit: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/

Read more articles by: ProProfs Quiz School

Online Anatomy & Physiology

2007-03-23T06:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time coming but finally there's a comprehensive online Anatomy & Physiology course available.

The course is self-paced and introduces learners to anatomy & physiology concepts through 18 modules. The course material is presented by body system, and demonstrates how the body works together. This course boasts full-color art, animations, and audio to help students grasp anatomy & physiology concepts. Perfect for non-medical pros who need anatomy and physiology to work in the healthcare industry or for college students who need it as a pre-requisite.

More about Fundamentals of Anatomy & Physiology

Course Offered by: Corexcel

Course Price: $245 for online course only - textbooks optional but cost more

Accreditation: 7.5 CEUs - College credit should be available soon for an extra fee

Using Instructional Media in the Classroom

2007-03-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

By Suki Reed

To follow up on our recent newsletters, our third method of losing control in a training session happens when we expect our instructional media to do the training. There is a tendency to allow the movie/slideshow/PowerPoint to do the teaching for us.

A common student complaint is that they do not feel like they get anything out of the material. Reasons for this could be because there was no explanation of what they should be looking for, no understanding of the subject matter, or that the material was simply boring. It is important for you to assess the students learning, and for the students to understand how they can apply the material to their learning.

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Obstacles to Talent Management Strategies

2007-02-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

The fine art of retaining winning talent has an effect on your ability to deliver business value. A recent survey by McKinsey & Company asked senior executives of global companies to rank obstacles that prevent them from having talent management strategies. Among the most critical as defined by executives:

54% - Senior managers don’t spend enough time on talent management

52% - Line managers not sufficiently committed to people development

51% - Silos discourage collaboration, resource sharing

50% - Line managers unwilling to differentiate high, low performance

47% - Senior leaders do not align talent management and business strategies

Read A Tightly Woven Process: Retaining Talent to learn more

Training Trends

2007-02-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

Training Trends

From Susan M. Heathfield
Your Guide to Human Resources
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Training conferences provide insights into what is happening in the field of training and development. Attending the annual American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) conference or Training or another of the specialty training conferences now available, is educational. These are several of the trends I am hearing a lot about.

Multimedia and Online Training

“If you’re not in multimedia or online training, you’d better be thinking about it,” said one trainer to another at a recent Training conference. Both the Exposition and the Conference sessions echoed this sentiment. A recent ASTD conference featured less multimedia, but online providers of educational sessions proliferated. Even though the current move in organizations has been to offer training on CDs, Web-based training (WBT) is not far behind.

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Legendary Coaching Helps Everyone Reach the Net

2007-02-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

I read an article the other day that was an interview with legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden. It discussed how coaching for sports is similar to coaching people. Wooden said, “Every one of us is different. We are similar in so many respects, but we are not identical. The person in leadership must carefully analyze everyone under his supervision to the best of his ability.”

Traditionally most managers have not been looking at each of their employees carefully and coaching each one appropriately. Without motivation, support and coaching from managers that will help an individual to develop and grow, performance suffers. Yet, this is one area that new managers and even seasoned managers have had very little training on - how to effectively coach team members.

Read how Coaching Helps Jumpstart Performance

Zeroing Upon An LMS

2007-02-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

IntroductionThe clichéd adage ‘there are no short cuts to success’ can be safely distorted to ‘there are no short cuts to choosing the right LMS’ in the context of this write up. With an over abundance of LMS softwares in the market – all promising to deliver multitude yet diverse solutions, the training professional in charge of the task of choosing a proper one for a particular organization, falls nothing short of an object of pity.

That a typical LMS software cannot survive for more than two years is conceded by almost all LMS experts and analysts. This fact makes the concept of ROI all the more important. Switching from one LMS to the other, every two years, often involves a lot of money, not to mention the rigmarole of going through the selection process, custom programming, installation and implementation all over again. This curtails organizations from switching to other LMSs, despite their performance glitches. Considering this, the first attempt at selecting the right LMS needs to be given extra thought, which, in turn, mounts up the pressure of getting the process right for a first-timer.

Choosing the Right LMS
The mere comprehension of the significance of the job at hand is half the battle won. If this is achieved, the decision maker will meticulously plan all his moves lest something goes wrong. Though there are no set rules to go about the selection process, a generalized guideline might prove to be of some help. Look out for the following in your LMS software.

Interoperability
Interoperability is the ability of the LMS software to support other database driven software, third party content and authoring tools. An LMS having a high interoperability is the obvious choice. Find out if the LMS supports ERP systems, or other synchronous e-learning systems. Also check if the data generated and saved by this LMS software becomes redundant if the organization decides to switch to another LMS or successive LMS software from the same vendor.

Application Service Provider (ASP) form
This is a new approach to managing the LMS software, wherein either the vendor, or any other party takes up the management of the IT and infrastructure. It also allows the client to choose between buying and renting an LMS. This is definitely an expensive option, but a good one nonetheless, particularly when the organization is in haste or is not predominantly technology competent. Moreover, it buys time for the organization to review upcoming trends in the LMS software by allowing it to put off the decision of buying it rightaway.

Estimation of Costs
Comparing prices of different LMSs is a Herculean task, but definitely not a redundant one. With vague price structures reining the market, vendors come up with varied arrangements of per-seat, per-use, or per-employee pricing, etc. But a thorough analysis of varied pricing policies will assist you in comparing the prices offered by vendors in regard of the features and compatibility of the software with your organization’s IT infrastructure.

Elimination of Vendors
Elimination of vendors offering widely off-the-mark products is a good way of boiling down to a selected few, who offer choices that suit your organization the best. This makes it easy for sifting through your list, comparing products and prices. A consolidation process already in progress in the LMS market is expected to take care of the elimination needs within a few years.

IT Compatibility
The integration of the LMS software with the existing IT infrastructure of your company can be daunting. Incorporating the software with the systems of different departments is the not everybody’s cup of tea. IT experts, therefore, need to actively participate in the process of evaluation of the LMS software to see if it can be adapted to the existing infrastructure. It takes high end custom programming to seamlessly blend the LMS software within the system.

Gauging the ROI
The purchase of an LMS calls for a great investment both in terms of time and money. Moreover, the software is most likely to die a natural death after completing its pre decided life span. This makes it important to track and assess the Return on Investment (ROI) for the program. Clearly define the expected ROI of the initiative and approximately assess the value of the software in terms of ROI. Also find out when will the process of ROI set into motion? Will it be within the lifetime of the LMS or after that?

Wrap-up
There can be many more considerations that need to be taken into account for selecting an LMS for your company, with the above ones amounting only for the broad factors that govern the decision. Nonetheless, they will take you a long way in zeroing upon the best one for your organization.

Viswanath Shankar has been managing and maintaining various e-learning softwares for the past decade and a half. A storehouse of knowledge about LMS (Learning Management Systems), He has been working in close co-ordination with web development experts to develop user friendly distance learning programs. It takes a professional like him to declare the big time arrival of e learning as a worthy substitute to conventional learning techniques.

Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Zeroing-Upon-An-LMS&id=434973

Introducing a New Way of Training: idXready

2007-02-01T14:16:00.000-08:00

Talks about a new type of off-the-shelf course that reduces or eliminates trainer development time. Topics include team building, sales, reducing conflict and listening skills. They've synchronized online assessments to personalize workbooks to people's behavior styles. Sounds like the workbooks are numbered to correspond to the PPT slides.

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Don’t Get Caught Flying Blind

2007-01-26T06:53:00.000-08:00

Leadership Matters

Leadership Matters is a bi-weekly publication designed to explore the workplace issues today's managers and supervisors face. Vital Learning Corporation publishes Leadership Matters.

When was the last time you received truly memorable customer service?

If you’re like most people it’s hard to think of a time that stands out. You’re probably wondering why that is. Well, so did I.

It seemed like with most of the places I patronized, the situation was the same. Take, for instance, the bank that I used to go to. I realized that I had been banking in the same place for three years, yet no one seemed to recognize me. And, if they did, they never let me know. In addition, I rarely got a “Thank you.” or “Is there anything else I can do for you?” I felt taken for granted. Not that this should have been like a love affair, but shouldn’t I have felt like I had some kind of a relationship with these people? Shouldn’t they have told me that they wanted me to come back again? The answer is yes. The experience wasn’t horrible for me, but after three years, I just wanted a better one. So, I shopped for another bank.

Developing a Customer-Driven Business

So why aren’t more businesses creating lots of positive memorable experiences? Perhaps it’s because most customer service representatives are not trained appropriately, if they are trained at all.

Customer service personnel, in fact all employees in an organization who interface with customers, need to be trained on how to create and reaffirm solid relationships with customers. When this is done well customers stay, they buy more, and they refer more. Taking service to this level involves empathy and a significant array of communication skills. But your people can and will provide service like that if you train them, and they clearly know that your goal as an organization is to consistently create positive memorable customer experiences.
Treating Customer Services as a Business Opportunity
Organizations that train their employees how to deliver memorable service at all touch points with their customers, know that service is a serious business opportunity when it:

Increases your retention of customers which increases profitability,
Expands business with current customers which grows revenue, and
Inspires current customers to refer you to new prospects, which grows your business

All of the above equal a stronger bottom line. It justifies the kind of training that enables individuals and teams to deliver memorable, customer-centric service.

Getting STAR Service

The STAR Service experience is effective, memorable, and only a half-day. It helps your people deliver positive and memorable service each and every time. If you need a longer more comprehensive customer service program check out Winning Through Customer Service.

DiSC Certification: Questions to Ask Yourself

2006-12-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

Customers often call and would like to know if they need a certification course to use the DiSC Profile, the Team Dimensions Profile or other Inscape Publishing materials. The answer is "it depends." Most of the courses do not require trainer certification, but that doesn't mean certification won't be beneficial.

To decide whether you should be certified, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I need the insight that a DiSC Certification program provides? Instructors prepare differently when teaching DiSC to new employees than for a retreat with management executives. Certification courses provide more insight and a thorough understanding DiSC and its relevance with different participants.

2. Will the additional creditability that certification offers enhance the course? Some organizations and industries rely heavily on 3rd party credentials while some would rather see personal and industry-specific experience. Look at your customers. You can get a feel for their preference by looking at their current curriculum.

3. Will I show more confidence when presenting the course? - You may be confident in your training ability but not all that comfortable with presenting DiSC training. Certification will certainly enhance your knowledge and provide you with new skills.

4. Do I like courses presented in a classroom format? – Everything DiSC Trainer Certification courses are instructor-led and presented by Inscape Publishing experts. If you prefer classroom-based courses, The Everything DiSC Trainer Certification course might be a good fit for you.

5. Do I need to refresh my knowledge of the DiSC Profile and the training that goes with it? - If you haven't used DiSC in over 5 years ago then you probably need to refresh your knowledge. This doesn't mean you have to get certified, but you will need to spend time to studying the new DiSC materials to be current with the changes.

6. Are you interested in networking with other trainers? - A benefit of Inscape Publishing certification courses is that the trainers come from around the world. This means you'll discover a new network of people you can connect with for questions, advice and maybe even training opportunities

7. Is the certification course portable? - Most people don't stay in the same career with the same organization forever. The certification is yours, not the organization you work for. Take it with you.

If you answered "yes" to 3 or less of these questions you probably don't need to take the Everything DiSC Trainer Certification. If you answered "yes" to 4 questions, then you may want investigate more.

Cutting Edge Approach to Training and Assessments: idXready

2006-11-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

A common approach to training is to engage participants through assessments prior to training activities. Several of our clients use DiSC, Team Dimensions or the Personal Listening Profile to assess their employees and then relate those assessments to a presentation. Organizations typically use in-house trainers and a pre-developed facilitator kit to give these presentations. Assessments are available online and in paper format although most prefer the online version for it's conveience. Inscape Publishing has developed 7 new courses and a revolutionary approach to training through assessment. The new series of courses is called idXready.

What is idXready?

idXready programs are the first training and development programs designed to integrate and synchronize all aspects of the learning experience, from participant pre-work to individualized workbooks; from rich video assets imbedded into professional PowerPoint to proven processing activities. By incorporating research-based assessments into participant workbooks, idXready programs allow organizations to deliver training at an individual level. These programs help make business and people skills training a part of your organization’s learning strategy.

Course Titles

Organizations receive an online management account to distribute assessment access codes and to generate individualized participant workbooks. They also get the PowerPoint presentation and facilitator notes on CD with a flash drive that contains the video segments integrated with the presentation. The PowerPoint presentation slides are numbered to correspond with the page numbers in the participant workbooks. An initial course package will give your organization the ability to train 15 people. Additional participant codes can be added for a reasonable price. Visit the Corexcel web site or click on a course link incuded in the listings above for more information.

Investing in Your Future with Medical Terminology

2006-11-17T06:39:00.000-08:00

Describes who takes medical terminology, why they take it and considerations for picking an online medical terminology course or an instructor-led version.

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Putting Together an Effective Team

2006-11-10T07:41:00.000-08:00

In order for a company to be successful, it needs to maximize the productivity of each employee. Most of today’s companies are realizing that teams are the key to helping each employee achieve their potential. There are certain work roles in which people tend to be naturally comfortable.

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Using DiSC Profiles

2006-11-01T20:12:00.000-08:00

Using DiSC Profiles - Blog on Using the DiSC Profile and various other topics related to DiSC