E P I C T H I N K I N G
Issue 10: August 2002
This month:
- White paper: Simulations & e-learning
- Show report: Maisie in Dublin
- Reviews: How do people learn?
- Case study: ICI Performance Management
- News: Epic rocks da House
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W H I T E P A P E R
1. Sim city!
The most valuable lessons are those we learn from experience.
However, this particular learning method can be long-winded,
expensive and dangerous (as anybody who has ever learned to
scuba dive can tell you). Simulations, on the other hand,
provide experiential learning that is quick, cheap and safe.
From prehistoric cave paintings (which appear to have been
used to instruct newbies in how to trap and kill animals)
to modern flight simulators, simulations have been used to
take the risk and potential waste of resources out of acquiring
essential skills.
Yet in e-learning, simulations are still all too rare.
This has only partly to do with the limitations of web-based
technology. The real restraints are our limited expectations
and imagination. Which is not to say that simulations should
be recommended for every learning problem, simply that they
need to be considered more often.
This stimulating new white paper from Donald Clark, Epic, details
the seven key types of simulation, explores the design implications
of producing simulations and gives metrics for their evaluation
- also detailing numerous case studies. Donald argues that if e-learning
is to mature and motivate, it must embrace simulations as a potent
and flexible tool for experiential learning.
White Paper: Simulations and e-learning
Mail us to get
your free copy.
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S H O W R E P O R T
2. E-Learning Festival, Dublin, July 2002
'Dublin is, in many ways, a good venue for a
European conference on e-learning. There is a strong base
of local companies specialising in the field, along with some
sizeable international organisations such as Citigroup, Intel
and Dell who are active in their pursuit of improved productivity
supported by e-learning.
'But of course everyone is really here for the Guinness
and the Craic...' Lars Hyland, Key Accounts Director with Epic,
gives an in-depth report from this key date in the e-learning calendar,
hosted by world famous e-learning guru, Elliot Maisie.
Among other trends, Lars notes a growing recognition
that the success of e-learning hinges less on the content
deployed or the software platforms through which that content
is delivered than on the context of its use: 'Organisations
are moving to a model driven by specific business objectives
and change initiatives...'
The piece includes detailed case histories from
three leading multinationals: Shell, BP and Unilever.
Read
the full report
Case study 1 - Shell
International
Case study 2 - BP
International
Case study 3 - Unilever
The Future View
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R E V I E W
3. How Do People Learn?
Research Report, Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development (CIPD)
Authors:
Dr Jake Reynolds
Dr Lynne Cary
Prof. Robin Mason
Review by Donald Clark - Epic
This was one of the first things Martyn Sloman
commissioned when he joined the CIPD - and more power to his
elbow.
The CIPD has 40,000 training professionals,
yet their contact with research in the psychology of learning
is rare. In my 20 years in the profession I can count on one
hand the serious in-depth discussions I've had on learning
theory. This report is a welcome move away from faddish and
non-empirical training theory, to an attempt to summarise
the huge amount of research that has been completed on learning.
In most professions you learn the basic theory
before you move on to advanced practice. Yet in whole areas
of education and training, people are thrown into the learning
game with little or no training themselves in learning theory.
In the US the American Society of Training Directors
(ASTD) and the American Psychological Association (ASA) have
long provided good source material and books on learning theory.
The ASTD short papers on topics such as 'evaluation' are superb.
In the UK we tend to get the '100 practical tips' type texts.
This report rectifies this situation, aiming
squarely at training professionals. I really can't praise
it enough. It's well written, free from academic pretension
and, at 70 pages, concise (always a virtue in learning).
It is well structured, moving from background
and context, through the theory of learning to learning in
practice, e-learning and some closing perspectives.
If I have any disagreements with the authors'
findings it is that they are a little uncritical of old theory.
In areas such as learning styles, many competing theories
have been put forward: they can't all be right!
However, this is a great start to the debate
on a subject that should have top billing at e-learning conferences.
As it is, you'll find it strangely absent from the lists of
speaker topics.
Donald Clark, 2002
Give your views on the subject: mailto:feedback@epic.co.uk
Readers who do not have them already will be
interested in two Epic white papers written by Donald Clark
which tackle the topics introduced in the CIPD report:
White Paper:
Motivation and e-learning White Paper
Psychology of learning and e-learning
To get your free copies contact: mailto:marketing@epic.co.uk
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C A S E S T U D Y
4. ICI Performance Management
ICI Paints, headquartered in Slough, employs
over 16,000 people with manufacturing bases in 26 countries.
When the need was identified for a cross-business project
to develop an e-learning programme focusing on performance
review management, Epic answered the call.
Read how Epic designed the programme to be relevant
to both appraisers and appraisees, reinforcing the company
principle that performance management process should be an
integral part of everyday working life.
Read more
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E P I C N E W S
5. Acclaim for Epic redesign of UK Parliament
website
Web experts, journalists and politicians alike have
praised the redesign of the website
of The United Kingdom Parliament carried out by Epic.
Patrick J White of the British Web Design &
Marketing Association, said, 'We compared this site with government
sites from other countries, and we think it represents the
best example of "open government" adoption of internet technologies
that we have seen.
Read
review in full
Matthew Tempest, political correspondent of Guardian
Unlimited described the 'glossy new site' as containing, 'a refined
search engine, live webcasting… as well as better navigation and
the chance to participate in the scrutiny of bills under debate'.
Read
review in full
Further Epic news stories this month…
US
'e-learning' magazine profiles Epic's work with The Royal Bank of
Scotland
Epic
results buck the downturn
Epic
further expands business development team
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F O R E T H O U G H T
Next month's edition of Epic Thinking will carry
the full report of our third Think Tank, on Collaborative
Learning.
Think Tank no 4, held on 18 September, will
focus on Corporate Universities.
Guests confirmed so far include top-level decision-makers
from both public and private sectors, but we are still open
to offers to attend from subscribers who have an informed
contribution to make.
The Think Tank meets at a restaurant in central
London. If you are vitally involved in this area and would
like to contribute to the debate, please email us at thinktank@epic.co.uk.
Attendance is free, but numbers are strictly limited, so don't
delay.
Alternatively, if you have any questions that
you would like to see our delegates address, or suggestions
for further sessions, mail
them now
Catch up on past think tanks…
Leadership and e-learning
Health and e-learning
R E T U R N O F P O S T
If you have:
- a question to put to the Epic Thinking user base
- a response to any of the points raised here
- a suggestion for a topic you'd like to see covered mail
us right now at: newsletter@epic.co.uk
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H O U S E K E E P I N G
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