E P I C T H I N K I N G
Issue 35: October 2004
This month:
1. New white paper -
Accessibility and e-learning - updated
2a. Book review: Designing educational technologies
with users
2b. Book review: The Psychology of Everyday
Things
3a. Article: Will libraries disappear under
digital onslaught?
3b. Article: What’s new: Workflow
learning
4. E-learning interview: John Brown
of Ufi
5a. News: Joint
product launch with AchieveGlobal
5b. News: Catch Epic at CIPD and World of Learning
6. Jobs: Check out the latest vacancies
ACCESSIBILITY
AND E-LEARNING - UPDATED
1. Introduction
In the UK an estimated 8.54 million are registered as having a
disability, and in the US, an estimated 52 million have cognitive,
visual, hearing and physical disabilities, and the numbers are growing
as people live longer. This is a majority, not a minority issue.
If you're in e-learning you are also bound by law to think of solutions
to this demographic issue.
E-learning, in the UK, is seen as a service and therefore covered
by the Disability Discrimination Act (1995). Education was originally
excluded from this Act, but two additions, aimed at education are
now relevant:
the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) (now
seen as Part 4 of the DDA)
a code of practice by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)
This paper covers the laws and standards, definitions of disabilities
& assistive technologies, accessibility and e-learning along
with useful checklists and links to a wealth of useful resources.
"Extremely well written. It's nice to see a company looking
deeply at the issues" Peter Rainger, Researcher in Assistive
Technology and Accessibility, University of Sussex
Read
more
To get your free copy
contact us
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BOOK REVIEW
2a. Designing educational technologies with
users
A handbook from NESTA Futurelab
Authors: Keri Facer and Ben Williamson
Review by John Harris, Director of Education, Epic.
This interesting handbook takes as its starting point the concern
that developers of digital educational resources leave end users
(i.e. children) out of the design and develop process. This was
noted in last year’s DfES E-Learning Strategy Consultation
which stated that “The lack of a direct relationship between
the users and suppliers means that the products developed are less
likely to meet learners’ and teachers’ real needs.”
Read
the rest of the review
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BOOK REVIEW
2b. The Psychology of Everyday Things
Author: Donald A Norman
Review by Donald Clark, Epic.
This classic book is as relevant now as it was when it was published,
over 16 years ago. Norman takes a wry look at product design in
everyday objects such as VCRs, computers, telephones, car windows,
dashboards, doors etc. to show good and bad practice. It’s
full of great examples explaining why people push when they should
pull, click the wrong buttons and generally fail to complete the
simplest of everyday tasks.
Read
the rest of the review
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ARTICLE
3a. Will libraries disappear under digital
onslaught?
Marc Prensky coined the phrase ‘digital natives’ to
capture the idea that the next generation are soaked in computer
and internet culture. He notes that ‘digital natives’
never complain about information overload, that’s a ‘digital
immigrants’ complaint, ‘digital natives’ crave
for more and more information. His claim is now being backed up
with some pretty convincing evidence. A digital native, before finishing
college or university will have experienced:
- 10,000 hours playing video games
- 200,000 emails
- 10,000 hours of talking, playing games, using mobile phones
- 20,000 hours watching TV
- 5000,000 commercials seen
- 5,000 book reading
Note this last statistic; book reading is way down the list.
Now consider a shocking statistic in the UK. Libraries have LOST
A THIRD of their readers in the last eight years, despite increased
government funding. What’s more, an increasing number of the
remainder are popping in to use the internet and computer facilities.
The era of digital abundance is now upon us. I haven’t been
in a library for years, neither have my kids. Yet books are everywhere.
They’re easier to buy and the choice is huge; Amazon, Waterstone,
Books etc. That’s the joy of books. They’re portable.
You shouldn’t have to go somewhere to get them and return
them. Buy them online or pick them up on your way through a railway
station or airport. They’ve freed themselves from the tyranny
of location.
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ARTICLE
3b. What’s new: Workflow
learning
I hate the phrase ‘workflow learning’
but this is a lovely little image from Jay Cross’s blog.
The idea is to integrate learning into job functions in such a
way that they become work itself and almost invisible as learning.
An interesting observation on the same blog is the fact that most
senior managers do not see employees as ‘learners’
at all. You wouldn’t walk into an organisation an ask, ‘How
many learners do you have?’ You’d refer to them as
people, employees, staff, managers, nurses etc. It’s the
old addage about ‘Give someone a hammer and everything starts
to look like a nail’. Call everyone a learner and every
solution looks like a training course.
Could it be the case that the very language of learning
and training is holding learning back?
This is becoming an important debate in learning
and e-learning as we strive to integrate learning, e-learning
and technology into the workplace. Like any other medium, it only
works when the medium becomes invisible and people are at one
with the content. Good movies, TV, books, journalism, radio and
computer games work because the technology is no longer new, visible,
intrusive or difficult to use. The same is happening with email,
web access and other internet phenomena. We use them without much
thought as to how it works or where it comes from. Worklow learning
attempts to merge work and learning in such a way that the technology
and mechanics of 'learning' become invisible.
If you're interested in some of the theoretical
underpinnings of this concept look at Mihaly Csikentmihalyi's
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Jay
Cross's blog also has some interesting updates from conferences
and the like.
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INTERVIEW
4. Given the chance, Epic
loves to hear the opinions and experiences of influential figures
within the learning industry. You may remember we ran an interview
with Martyn Sloman back in the Summer. This month, John Brown,
Executive Director of Learning and Technology of Ufi Ltd, has
generously answered our e-learning questionnaire. The questionnaire
aims to get personal views, rather than general thoughts on the
state of the market and the questions have been designed acccordingly.
Q What's your INTEREST in learning/online
learning?
It’s my day job! I’ve been associated
with flexible, resource-based approaches to learning since the
70s when I started a second career as a teacher (prior to that
I’d worked mainly in market research). At learndirect I
oversee developments in both learning content & delivery technology.
It’s a pretty big operation – with more than a million
learners since April 2000.
Q What interactive technology do you use
and have at HOME?
Can I count the Observer crossword? I’m an
internet addict, and as far as I’m concerned that’s
an extremely interactive technology. When it comes to other electronic
gizmos I’m pretty boring. My home has been filled with computers
of one kind or another (plus the occasional soldering iron) ever
since the advent of the ZX81, but I get much more pleasure from
cutting code and using spreadsheets that I have ever got from
playing computer games & video discs. My youngest son (now
25) was always a big games fan, though.
Q What stands out as your MOST EFFECTIVE
learning experience?
Total immersion language training – usually
accompanied by sunshine & copious quantities of red wine.
As a result my conversational French always feels to me far more
impressive than it probably is, but my wife is very supportive
(i.e. supplies the missing words). And of course French is awash
with Franglais and useful words like ‘truc’ and ‘fiche’
that can get you out of almost any tight corner.
Read the rest
of the interview
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NEWS: EPIC AND
ACHIEVEGLOBAL JOINT PRODUCT LAUNCH - NOVEMBER 4TH
5a. Joint product launch
You want a productive, high-calibre and customer-focused
sales force. You know this will mean providing training in
professional sales techniques.
BUT
-
It costs
-
It’s time off the road
-
Will they really learn and will it really
be best practice?
-
Will results really improve when they are
back in the field?
-
Will the training focus on your business and
products?
If only these weren’t issues.
Now they needn’t be.
AchieveGlobal in conjunction with Epic (the
leading e-learning software designer) is launching a blended
approach to sales development supported by a new e-learning
capability.
We are officially launching this new development
on Thursday 4th November and we invite you to attend an event
that will give you the opportunity to see for yourself the
world’s most successful sales training programme, Professional
Selling Skills as it is offered to the market online for the
first time anywhere in the world.
The event will also be a forum to hear from
industry experts on new developments in the technology to
support adult learning. As well as hearing from a large pharmaceutical
organisation on how they have developed Professional Selling
Skills online for their own salesforce.
There is still time to register for this event.
REGISTER TODAY!
Cost: Free
Where: The Oxford Belfry, Oxfordshire
When: Thursday 4th November 2004
The day will begin at 10am with a buffet lunch
at 12.30
Contact us at marketing@epic.co.uk
to book your place
NEWS
5b. Catch Epic at
CIPD and World of Learning
Conference season is upon us and as the
cold Winter nights draw in, learning companies up and
down the country are preparing for sojourns to far-flung
destinations such as Birmingham NEC and Olympia. Epic
will exhibit at 4 such conferences over the next few months
starting with an appearance at CIPD in Harrogate, North
Yorkshire from 27th to 29th October.
If you would like to discuss blended and
e-learning options with our expert staff or merely come
along and say hi to the team we would love to see you
there on stand A66 at Harrogate. At the World of Learning
show at the NEC on 17th and 18th November we will be on
stand C160. We may even pick up an award for our work
as we have been shortlisted for Blended Solution of the
year by WOLCE.
If you would like further details or pre-registration
forms then please
contact us.
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JOBS!
6. Job vacancies
Epic is currently looking for e-learning designers.
Apply
through our web site
BLENDED LEARNING COURSE
- BOOK NOW
Develop an Effective Blended
Learning Programme. This unique course from Epic, centred around
a practical, hands-on workshop, gives a step-by step methodology
for designing effective blended programmes, and tools to help
with the decision-making process.
Click
here for full course content and booking
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RETURN OF POST
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
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