NexLearn Simpact April '09

April 2009 Edition

The MASIE Center recently published its first Learning Resources Barometer to determine how learning budgets, resources, and activities are being impacted by the current economic situation. While some respondents reported reductions in their learning budgets, many declared few or no changes in their training departments. As Wall Street performance slips and surges with every corporate announcement and White House press release, maintaining the status quo now is a good thing for training because it creates a strong foundation for growth in the near future.

The survey, which last month collected responses from more than 500 respondents representing various industries such as financial services and banking, education, healthcare, and manufacturing, offers some good news for those of us who create learning and training programs. Here are some interesting highlights:

51% reported no change in the size of their learning department, while another 13% declared moderate or substantial increases.
92% revealed that the volume of e-Learning modules offered either remained the same or increased.
86% reported either no change or moderate to substantial increases in the use of content authoring systems.
87% declared either no change or increases to the number of simulations used in training.
79% reported a decrease in employee travel for learning.
75% claimed that their learning departments are expected to do the same amount of work or more with fewer resources.

Training initiatives are often high on the list of cuts when organizations are forced to cut budgets. However, the results of the Learning Resources Barometer reveal that decision makers realize the value that learning and development programs provide, including a higher-skilled workforce, better staff morale, enhanced motivation, and improved culture.

Investing in employees is critical for the survival of any organization, and NexLearn is ready to help companies protect their investment. From basic immersive learning simulation consultation to complete custom course development and everything in between—including project-specific instructional design, graphic design, and audio/video services—contact us to learn how our team can lend a hand. If you are interested in creating your own robust simulations, ask about SimWriter—our simulation authoring tool that will cut simulation development time by more than 50 percent.

To view the Learning Resources Barometer, visit www.masie.com/barometer.

BlogBites
Check out these recent e-Learning blog posts:

Obama Touts ‘Highly Skilled Workforce’ as Critical to Economic Recovery
Training+Development highlights President Obama’s comments about the importance of creating a skilled workforce. The blog tells readers: “It is now more important than ever to communicate the value of learning to your organizations.”

Top 100 e-Learning Items
Tony Karrer lists, well, 100 e-Learning items.

Brain Rules
This interesting Web site examines how we learn among other things.

If you have a great blog (or know of one) that you want to share, send us the link. We just might include it in a future Simpact edition. Send the link to our Expert.

NexLearn in the News

Read the E-Learning Queen’s Innovators in E-Learning Series interview with NexLearn’s Patrick Mileham.
http://elearnqueen.blogspot.com

April Survey

Where do you typically get content for your e-Learning courses?

We use ready-made content from existing courses.

We conduct interviews with SMEs.

We repurpose content from company manuals.

Last Month’s Survey Results

How is your organization using e-Learning to combat economic challenges?

To fill the void left by classroom cutbacks.

To cross-train our staff on multiple tasks.

To meet compliance requirements quickly.

To offer busy employees anytime training.

Ask the Expert

Question:
I want to create a training simulation for our sales team, but we don’t have any material documenting the process. How do I get the content for the sim?

Answer:
Great question. And don’t worry, you’re not alone. Creating technical training or hard skill learning programs typically means developing a process outline for the task at hand. The employee first does Task A, then Task B, and so on. Recreating a real world social interaction can be quite different because you must consider what to say and when and how to say it, as well as include any physical or audible cues for the characters. Additionally, since social simulations are a form of storytelling, you must also develop a plausible storyline with strong characters. At NexLearn, our developers typically participate in a series of interviews with Subject Matter Experts—often referred to as Knowledge Engineering—to collect the information that becomes the simulation material. When the interviews are completed, we review and restructure the information to develop objectives, character narratives, feedback and instructional content, and scenarios with multiple branching options for good, mediocre, and even bad paths. Contact us if you’d like more information about developing immersive learning simulations.

For more information about SimWriter or NexLearn, feel free to contact us.

Have a question about e-Learning or Simulation-based Learning? Send it to our Expert.

NexLearn SimWriter Captures Brandon Hall Silver Award. Contact us today to experience the best simulation authoring tool available! Information at NexLearn

Export Simulation as a Template

SimWriter allows users to reuse a simulation project as a template for future use. This can save time when creating a series of simulations.

Contact NexLearn for more information about the most powerful simulation authoring tool available.