E P I C   T H I N K I N G

Issue 18: May 2003

This month:

1. New white paper: Learning design for e-learning
2. White paper update: Accessibility and e-learning
3. Epic portfolio: Filling the leadership gap
4. Book review: Ahead of the class
5. Case study: B&Q: Sustainability and Diversity
6. News: Report from the BAOL conference 2003

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W H I T E  P A P E R

1. Ready, steady, learn!

Try cooking something challenging and impressive with a simple set of ingredients and no recipe, and your results are liable to be fairly hit and miss. You might get lucky and produce the perfect soufflé. Then again, you probably won't.

What separates the Nigellas, Delias and Jamies from the rest of us is their detailed knowledge of, and empathy with, their materials; together with a deep understanding of the processes and theories that underlie the combination of food ingredients to produce nutritious, tastebud-dazzling, chequebook-opening meals. (That and a team of researchers, 13-episode TV series, six-figure book advance, villa in the South of France...)

For food, substitute learning: for the chef, a qualified learning designer. The same essential principle holds true. Attempting to create learning programmes without a solid grounding in the theory and practice of learning design is almost bound to result in an indigestible, unedifying mess.

The sort of expertise and experience that a professional learning designer brings to the table is critical to the design of any sort of learning, from a three-day leadership workshop to a just-in-time performance support 'nudge'.

And it is particularly critical in e-learning - where the learner, not the trainer, is in the driving seat, the content itself has to engage, and you only have one shot at success...

So what is this mystical thing called learning design - and how can it help you create the perfect soufflé?

In this new white paper by Dr Matthew Fox, Director of Design at Epic Group plc, spills the beans. You will discover:
* How we define learning design
* Where learning design fits into the training development cycle
* The 5 principles of good learning
* The psychological theories that underpin most learning models
* Epic's recommendations for applying practical learning design models to create effective learning

White Paper: Learning design and e-learning

To get your free copy contact us

Give your views on the subject

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2. Accessibility: political correctness run wild?

Up to 20% of some populations, according to W3C estimates, might have disability issues: hardly an insignificant proportion. And if you take into account the fact that none of us immune from ageing, accessibility can be said to affect every one of us.

So making e-learning and websites accessible to the widest possible audience can hardly be characterised as merely a hobbyhorse of the terminally PC.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, government is leading the agenda here. Implicit in the government's modernising agendas is a requirement to increase the accessibility of online services. All areas of the public sector are coming under increasing pressure to conform to ever-firmer guidelines on accessibility. And the corporate sector is certainly not far behind. Many large corporates have issues around compliance and diversity that make accessibility a top-of-mind consideration.

However, if the big vision seems clear enough in most people's minds, the route-map is not. A huge amount of confusion exists, still, over what accessibility really is. Some cling to SCORM as the thing that will deliver instant accessibility for them, not in fact realising that SCORM concerns itself with something quite different; interoperability. An almost equal degree of confusion exists about 'Bobby' compliance.

This white paper, written and newly updated by Donald Clark, CEO of Epic Group, explodes some of the myths around accessibility and offers practical strategies that organisations can adopt. It includes a thorough survey of accessibility guidelines, legislation and assistive technologies - and gives numerous quick-tips and checklists for making your e-learning and web development more accessible.

White Paper: Accessibility and e-learning

To get your free copy contact us

Give your views on the subject

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E P I C P O R T F O L I O

Portfolios are an exciting new feature in Epic Thinking. Less theoretical than white papers, they draw on our experience in a specific sector or knowledge area. This week's paper, by Steve Rayson, Epic's Director of Government Services, takes a case-study-driven approach to highlighting key issues in Leadership.

3. Too many graduates: not enough plumbers

A recent review of UK competitiveness carried out by Harvard academic Professor Michael Porter, an expert in international competitiveness, points to significant improvements since the 1980s. Drawing on data from the Global Competitiveness Report of his Institute, he ranks the UK first in a comparative group of 23 nations that includes the US, France, Germany and Japan, for its further potential to increase GDP/capita.

That's the good news.

The not-so-good news is that he identifies a significant gap in management skills. The problem is not necessarily with senior management, who often hold elite qualifications from the UK's respected management schools, but at junior and middle management levels.

According to John Burgoyne, Professor of Management Learning at Lancaster University Management School (and a past contributor to Epic Think Tanks) 'It's the management equivalent of having too many graduates and not enough plumbers.'

Developing and maintaining the skills and abilities of organisational managers and leaders is a major challenge for UK organisations across the board. Potential reasons for the lack of management development at middle levels include:
* High costs of traditional training methods
* Difficulty of engaging busy managers
* Difficulty of providing flexible access and consistent delivery
* Difficulty of sustaining learning initiatives: classroom-based events tend to be short term in effectiveness

This paper details just some of the work Epic has done with organisations in meeting the leadership gap - and the role that has been played by online learning and blended learning. Examples given include Barclays University and the UK Cabinet Office.

Epic portfolio: Filling the leadership gap

To get your free copy contact us

Give your views on the subject

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R E V I E W

4. Ahead of the Class
John Murray, April 2003

Author: Marie Stubbs

Review by Donald Clark

Bookshops are full of books on leadership from the corporate perspective, yet few come out of organisations in the public sector such as schools, an area which in the main produces memoirs and diaries. This book is the exception: A tight story written by a tough Glaswegian, Mary Stubbs, who was plucked out of retirement and parachuted into a failing London school.

It is a story well worth telling. Other similar attempts have failed, most notably at the George Orwell School in Islington. Marie's school, St George's, was one with comparable problems - and, infamously, is the school where Philip Lawrence was stabbed to death in front of his own pupils. It should be added that this shocking act was not committed by a child at St George's. However, the incident sent an already struggling school into decline. With 52 languages other than English spoken by the pupils, low attendance and demotivated teachers, clearly the school had problems that needed an immediate solution.

The book is subtitled, 'How an inspiring headmistress gave children back their future', but recognising the need for a leading team rather than just a 'superhead', Marie Stubbs's first act is to bring in her own team of experienced teachers, Sean and Tracy. Together they quickly write an Action Plan focused on the OFSTED inspection and recommendations. Marie Stubbs has her run-ins with the LEA, diocese, governors and some of the teachers - but her support for the OFSTED system of inspection provides an interesting thread throughout the book. Notwithstanding that support, you really do get a sense of an overburdening bureaucracy that hangs over the schools system (what's the difference between an OFSTED inspector and a terrorist? you can negotiate with a terrorist).

Her approach is eminently business-like. A mission statement is hatched, posters printed, walls painted and lines put on the stairs for two-way traffic. From then on the changes are relentless. Photographs are taken of all the children, she shakes hands with each end every one; she allows the buildings to open during breaks, giving them all more space; gets football and basketball lines drawn in the playground, buys the balls, sets up protected areas in the playground, installs electronic signs for broadcasting birthdays and general news (throwing out the hated tannoy system, which had been used to call children for punishment)... And these are just a few of the hundreds of practical changes the team makes - in only a matter of weeks!

She's also clear about the children being the first priority. Hers is a Lord of the Flies view: 'they'll take you over if you don't get there first'. This means getting tough on attendance. You can't teach children who aren't there, so she has a blitz on truants. She firmly believes that children like an ordered environment and starts a prefect system, gets tough on uniforms and bans gum and baseball hats. Mobiles are confiscated. Late attendees are handed an alarm clock set to 7.30 am! You can't help but be impressed with her energy and the rate at which new ideas are implemented.

This is matched with a tough stance on staff, who she sees as a little sloppy, coming to school in flip-flops and being themselves often late for lessons. There are a few teachers who don't take to her methods, but she wins over most and recruits to replace those who leave. Teacher sickness was endemic and she's more than a little suspicious about some of the reasons. She also pushes them out into the corridors and playground, making them much more visible to the children. Some teachers also need basic subject and teaching guidance, including one who admits, 'I never did know how to use the apostrophe'.

Her sensitivity to parents is based on a belief that many have bad memories of their own schooling. She makes sure they are welcomed to the school and gets them involved with their children and school activities. She takes a US idea of school ushers, picked up from a conference, and gets them into the school. Links are also made with the local police and shopkeepers, where pilfering and abuse are common.

She brings in an impressive string of 'role models' such Frank Bruno, Kevin Keegan, the actor Ralph Fiennes and Cherie Booth among others. A May ball is a huge success, despite teacher resistance and non-attendance. She also musters support from business and even Harrow, who agree to let her use their playing fields.

The denouement is the OFSTED inspection, which decides whether they come off Special Measures. The pressure is on and made worse when Marie is mugged on her way home after a late night at the school, but they pass - and celebrate as a team; teachers, children, parents and the community. As the report states; attendance is normal, teaching strong, pupil behaviour is good and the school is truly part of the community. A fine school with lots of problems that they have constantly to overcome.

The only sour note at the end was the Governors' antagonism towards her obvious choice for successor - Sean. They resent her guidance and choose an outsider. However, she's pleased that he's passed the new National Professional Qualification for Headteachers, and he gets a Headteacher job elsewhere.

You may disagree with her methods, but if you want a real case study about a real school achieving real success - this is the real thing.

Give your views on the subject

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C A S E S T U D Y

5. B&Q: Sustainability and Diversity

B&Q needed to make employees aware of the award-winning work that the company does in the area of sustainability, and of their policy on diversity. Particular factors argued for the use of e-learning for this project:

* With the diversity material, it was particularly important to track completions because of compliance issues
* With sustainability, a highly creative treatment was needed in order fully to engage the users with the slightly dry subject matter

Read how Epic tackled these challenges successfully, leading to a successfully implementation in the workplace.

Case study: B&Q: Sustainability and Diversity

Read more...

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6. News

Donald Clark reports from this year's BAOL Conference: 'The British Association for Open Learning's aim is "to connect people, methods and new ideas for learning". Their annual conference worked on all three fronts…'

Read this lively report from one of UK e-learning' s premier events.

Selected highlights include:

Unblocking arteries with LSC
'Keith Duckitt explained SARS (meaning, in this case, the national and local strategic area reviews)... one idea in particular caught my eye, the "development of an e-learning planning tool". I couldn't agree more. The duplication of effort and lack of reason in choosing strategic choices in learning has led to a system that is sclerotic...'

Learning as punishment
'One innovation was to strike a deal with NETg to allow the families of employees to use their courses at home. Paul claims 100% positive feedback on this. The idea of 300 Scottish families crowded round the PC at night doing NETg courses takes some believing, but access at home and to the families of employees is one way of getting the stuff used...'

De lange stares into the abyss
'A future of unstructured learning, learning agents and a generation who know how to find things out for themselves… He sees knowledge as essentially unstructured and anarchic, requiring a looser and less structured approach to its dissemination...'

Going up around the blend
'Blended learning is the new rock and roll. If only we knew what it meant…'

Questions - and even some answers
'As usual, the best discussions were in the bar…'

Epic news stories this month…

Epic takes the stress out of project management for Cable & Wireless

Epic prototypes Access 2 Learning for RBS

F O R E T H O U G H T

In next month's edition of Epic Thinking:
* New white paper on standards
* Show reports
* Reviews
* News

If you have any questions that you would like to see our delegates address at future Epic Think Tanks, or suggestions for further sessions, mail them now to:
thinktank@epic.co.uk

Catch up on past think tanks…

The learner's experience: moving from push to pull
Blended learning and knowledge management
Leading Change and e-learning
Blended - or Blanded?
Leadership and e-learning
Health and e-learning
Collaboration and e-learning
Corporate universities and e-learning

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R E T U R N  O F  P O S T

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• 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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