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2018 Turkey Awards for E-Learning

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2018 Turkey Awards for E-Learning

I have the most important shirt of the past four decades.  The shirt that announced on that terrible day, the turkey drop of WKRP in Cincinnati.  Who can forget the live feed of Les describing the ill-fated promotion.   If you have forgotten, no worries – here it is

 

While Ben Franklin was turning over in his grave (he wanted the Turkey as our national bird), others were fleeing for their lives.

I get it.

Eating a turkey is one thing, watching its attempt to fly is another, but winning a turkey award is something entirely different. 

Award Insight

Winning a Turkey Award I think is right up there with winning an Oscar if said Oscar is for “what the heck.. or ” huh?”.   It should be a badge of honor, I mean not everyone is in the running here, and its just a select few per category.   I know some of you will disagree with the nominees, perhaps feeling that your company or vendor should be in there, and I totally respect that.

This is why, in the comments section, you can list your own nominees for Turkey Award of the People, then a vote will take place (not valid in Florida – I mean its been what 18 yrs and you still haven’t invested in new voting machines).  Please refrain from naming people’s names or folks you just despise.  In other words, don’t include me in your nominations. 

Categories

Web Conferencing  – There are some really good ones out there this year. They have to be paying services and not the free ones.   Otherwise Blue Button would win hands down. 

Learning Systems that need an update or several aka “Let’s not party like its 1999”.   Pretty self-explanatory, although I still can’t understand why that seems to be a challenge.  I mean if a turkey can wear tennis shoes, why can’t you update your system?

Functionality – Totally in learning systems here.  Some functionality are just turkeys.  Pardoning options do not apply.

Terms used in the industry –  I surmise that are turkey retiree places, where you know they are safe from consumption and live out there days, gobbling around, chilling with the weeds and doing whatever turkeys do when they are bored.   These terms should be retired. Feel free to hang out with Timmy, he likes to run at the sound of a dinner bell.

Award Icons

fleeturkey– Represents Nominees

 turkeywinner – Turkey Award Winner

Category 1

Web Conferencing

A sound crop (you thought I would say something else – admit it) of choices this fine year.  Finalists were based on the quality of call on average (based on the number of times I was on a call with this tool – used by various vendors showing me their products or having a briefing, etc.).   Extra points for freeze ups, lags and bring you in as “mute” so when you talk, no one knows, not even you. 

fleeturkey

GoToMeeting –  You have only been around for a long, long time and yet you still seem to be stuck in the “pre-mute you” approach.  I as only one voice, hate that.   I think others do as well, they just can’t tell you, because they are on mute.   UI/UX needs a serious overhaul.

join.me  – Recording should come as a standard with this tool.  I mean, there are freebies out there that can have more than five folks on, and record automatically (join.me at their Lite version – recording is not included).   Another needs a UI/UX update. 

Blackboard Collaborate –  I actually liked this when it first came out, but since then I have heard from folks who use it, that well, it isn’t as great as it could be, let alone good.  Shame really. 

Turkey drum roll please…

turkeywinner GoTo Meeting.  Funny story, years ago, I had a web conference call with the folks from GTM and during the call, the video froze and people got kicked off the call.  Not a good sign.  Anyway, it’s better now, but still the controls are not intuitive as much as they should be, and Zoom is far superior, even though they haven’t been in the market as long as GoToMeeting. 

Category 2

Let’s not party like its 1999

I understand that cost is building/adding/enhancing or downright removing is pricey.  This is why I looked at vendors who I know have the cash flow and deep pockets.  So there really isn’t any excuse.

fleeturkey

OLM –  I sometimes get folks who ask me about Oracle’s Enterprise LMS, better known as OLM.  After a brief chuckle (I’m kidding here),  I let them know that this system is not good – this is just an example of a system that needs a major revamp. 

Anyone remember those old Oracle CDs they gave you for training?  I think I used them for Frisbee practice.  You can buy so many systems that integrate well with Oracle, so why stay in-house with their own platform?  No, seriously, I’m asking why.

SuccessFactors  – Yes they have some very good functionality, but the system as a whole is a major letdown.  I mean Plateau was really garbage and then SF took it over and made it way better.   Then, the updates while they kept coming, seemed to be just “eh.”  I get that SAP sees SF as an HCM (the product was initially ideal for recruiting, as I recall), but it is pitched to large companies as this amazing offering which includes learning.   I should note that the SAP LMS (which as one exec years ago told me, is like a toss-in for folks who want to stick with SAP), is even worse.    

This is one reason why if I was SAP, I’d strip out some things with SF, place those extras as a mod for Litmos by SAP customers so that Litmos is your only LMS. 

SucessFactors has a good chance of being a repeated winner.  Turkey wings crossed.

Canvas by Instructure –  There is plenty to like in this LMS for HigherEd and K-12, and while they are strong of the functionality, they are weak IMO with the whole UX for educators who are the ones adding the content, courses, etc.   Students I can see how they would like it, but I wouldn’t buy this platform if I was in the K-6 crowd (Frog wins hands-down as the best LMS for K-6). 

For me, it needs better capabilities on the admin side and as with other HE platforms out there the authoring tool that comes with it focuses the whole synchronous angle – which you know, is not the way to build an effective SBL, let alone an engaging course.

turkeywinner – SuccessFactors.   I know I couldn’t believe it myself.  I mean after I got the envelope out of Cali’s mouth  (named after Baja California), and was able to see thru the chew marks, I just had to let folks know.   I will say it once more SAP, let Litmos be your primary system and not this, wait for it, turkey.

Category 3

Functionality

As a vendor in the learning system space, you need to constantly evolve. Offer new functionality and capabilities beyond the standards that exist (what I define as min. standard functionality).      That isn’t to say, you dump standards like a learning path – which is a must for any system,  but there are functions that should be tossed on the heap like COP (remember communities of practice in the mid-2000’s? I still try to forget).

fleeturkey

Chat Rooms –  I am excited to announce that same vendors in the space have put this one out to pasture. However, the majority have not.   Let’s see you offer a web conferencing integration or maybe you have one; so that should take care easily of a text-based chat room.  How old are text chat rooms?  I built a website in 1994 for teachers and uh, it had a text-based chat room, and a forum discussion board too.   I say no more.

Forum/Discussion board –  This is another feature that not even cranberry sauce should save.  Outdated.  If you are wanting features of the soon to be Gen Z and yes the millennials, then this is not one of them.  Go voice messaging or video boards or heck anything that is not an actual I read what you wrote, then I respond, then the teacher or instructor responds back thing.   Better yet, go with a robust coaching/ask an expert component (the best way to resolve this old-school method).

Are you seeing a trend here?  Hmm.. why..it is in social

Facebook like design with a wall for streams etc. –   I mean honestly, who wants to be Facebook right now (excluding the $$$$ coming in).  Privacy issues? Check. Subterfuge going on inside the company to deny, even when they knew the fake articles existed? Check.  Those same millennials leaving the system in droves? Check.  Yeah, let’s stay with this amazing approach to social.  I guess MySpace was unavailable?

turkeywinnerForum/Discussion boards.   Another retro classic from the mid 90’s, popular with higher education and education systems.  Mixed with corporate (i.e. some folks love it, others do not).  As they say, a turkey dressed up for Halloween is still a turkey with silly clothing and a pirate eye patch.  BTW, ever tried to use a forum/discussion board on a mobile device?  It’s not pretty.

Category 4

Terms in e-learning that Need to be Retired

fleeturkey

micro-learning –  Enough already.  Please realize that every system on the planet can have micro-learning courses.  You could have had a micro-learning course in 1998.  I had a few in 2000.  In other words, it has been around forever..  So, why do you ask is it such a hot term?  Marketing 101.  Vendors, who pitch they are a micro-learning platform, sometimes have courses/content longer than five minutes?  And as noted way back when, micro means nothing, since e-learning is based on the learner’s learning style and length it takes to comprehend, retain and synthesis.  What takes you three minutes to watch, may take someone else 30 minutes, because they are watching snippets and repeating.   In other words, micro isn’t micro for everyone. 

Social Learning – The term was originally devised based on two components, a – learning, b – social media.   Yep, that’s right, that is how social learning the term came about.  Now its morphed into what you see today (which overall isn’t that awesome), but it has some opportunities to change that.  A better term to use in the 21st century (2018 and beyond)? Social Engagement.   Let’s make the switch today and move social learning to the wonderful “Whatever happened to…” group.

Training Management Systems –  What exactly are these?  It is one thing to be a training operations system (which does exist and I can see how folks who seek one, would use one), but the TMS angle, is sort of a hodgepodge.   Some TMSs are really LMSs, but refuse to use the name, because you know, they are not an LMS.  Other TMSs pitch themselves either as ideal for B2B or for folks who want to manage training, which uh, is why an LMS was created in the first place and of which, you can do B2B/B2C as well (if the vendor offers e-commerce and multi-tenant).    I firmly believe we as an industry come up with way too many terms to describe essentially four different types of learning systems.  Thus, the consumer gets confused.  And so do many others too.

turkeywinner – Social Learning.   Yes, a stunner.  I know many of you were thinking, “micro, it’s going to be micro,” sorry to disappoint.   

Again, time to change to Social Engagement which is more apropos.

Bottom Line

runturkey

Let’s recap the Turkey Award Winners for 2018

  • Web Conferencing – GoToMeeting 
  • Let’s not party like it’s 1999 – SuccessFactors
  • Functionality – Forum/Discussion Boards
  • Terms in e-learning that Need to be Retired – Social Learning.

Congrats to each of the nominees and of course to the winners.  Not everyone gets to be a turkey.  Some end up as a chicken or tofurkey.  I mean the options are endless.

Just ask Honey Ham.

(Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!)

E-Learning 24/7

There will be no blog post next week.   However, I am conducting a survey on the learning system space, content and mobile too.   Results to be published in the blog in Dec. You will make an important role, so please take a few minutes (avg time is just under three minutes) to complete this quick survey. 

 

 

 

 

 

Scenario Based Learning, The Time is NOW

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Scenario Based Learning, The Time is NOW

It’s An Amazing Course..it is an awful course

Right now, someone is looking at the same course as you on Coursera or Udemy.  They are either thinking this is great or this is garbage.  And guess, what you are thinking the same thing.   Wow! This is great.   OR Wow, this is awful and I bought this?

Data backs up that folks either like online learning or do not like it.  There isn’t really a mid ground towards it, especially so in higher education.  

Higher Education Can Change the Narrative

I’d love to believe that if any content could be developed effectively, educationally sound and utilizing various design methods it would be in the higher ed space.

Sadly, as a whole it is not even there.   While there is a movement in edtech to change the narrative of online courses to that of skills focused, rather than theory; what hasn’t be touched is the method and mechanism, which I argue is where the focus first must go.

One of the key reasons folks in this new narrative of having higher ed go with skills based learning and not what they are doing today (and have since the 17th century) of theory and practical or just theory; is that in the world that exists now, businesses need individuals with skills in-hand ready to go.

But, when you look at academia you will see overwhelmingly the courses are synchronous based – but in corporate asynchronous based appears 90% plus.  Thus, it would make more sense to first, change the course design to asynch to align more with corporate.  I mean, sorry, but learning a skill with synchronous based design just is a big fail. 

The  hands-on approach just won’t work with Synchronous based.  So, I am calling for a new approach. 

And no it is not micro-learning.

Scenario Based Learning for HigherEd 

I have used SBL for decades and can tell you that it works in education, higher education and corporate.

Here are the steps to creating a scenario based learning course.  It should be asynchronous based – because we are creating a scenario here, and you can do this with any authoring tool on the market.

Couple of Key Points of SBL

First it can be in micro-format.   I had one built with four mini modules, each 10 min in length if someone was to go linear. They could jump around to each mod if they so choose to do so.  Could someone zing thru each mod in five minutes, sure, but as with anything it depends on their learning style (of of the reasons I am not a fan of duration mentions with courses, it totally depends on the person’s learning style, plus it ONLINE).

Second, it will take a bit more time to create the first one.   I say this because it requires you or whomever is building the course to identify the variables that need to be in each scenario. This isn’t a “let’s just put some text on this screen, with a graphic or video OR in this is a video here and …”  –  That is the old way of building courses and let me tell you on behalf of all learners – it is boring, and trust me when I say this, its a factor on why people do the click-click-click approach to taking your course.

Once you get the hang of developing and building SBLs you will start to ask yourself, “why didn’t I do this before?”

The cool part of an SBL course is it takes that information that you wan folks to takeaway and says okay, I am going to offer a set of knowledge and skill development in a fun, engaging and interactive way.  I am going to do away with “theory” only.  I am going to do away with “subjective assessment,” and I am going to do away with ILT modality via online delivery.

Higher Ed Approach for SBL

  1. Identify the real world situation you wish to place the student in (For example, let’s use MassComm)
  2. Identify all the variables that will produce a series of outcomes with that situation.

For example, let’s say the topic was covering cable and tv programming and the scenario was that folks would need to create a weekly schedule for their tv channel. 

Thus, a group of “fictitious series” were created – title, brief description, along with audience data.    Series were all types, dramas, comedies reality tv, thrillers, etc.  Each student’s tv station is provided with a “budget” and information about that station – perhaps it was an independent station, thus it could buy up syndicated programming whereas a network affiliate had to include network programming as part of their channel.   

3.  One section in that module or even it as a course itself, is the information data points you want folks to learn and retain.   Then the next chapter or page is the scenario.  In one scenario, they have an option to buy programming that are sitcoms.  The best ones are really expensive, syndicated top titles are very pricey, and then there are newbies that run the gamut.  The student clicks on each of the “programming titles” which could even show a snippet of video if you so choose, clicks an either yes or no or “buy or “decline” and the program appears in their box or area or cart.    

Another scenario is a programming lineup.  So the student, using their mouse selects the show and moves it to the time period.  They will have been provided in a previous page or pages, the info on the pros/cons of time periods and with the info they learned on the ratings and other metrics, now will be able to incorporate that info into this one scenario.

Are we talking skills?

You bet we are.  This is skill development, building, growing and expanding in a fun way.  And it is way better than an assessment which tells you only that a person memorizes or guesses well. 

I can’t think of one student who enjoys reading text in a textbook.   Or listening to a monotone professor espouse their regurgitation of information that has zero baring on real life (past or present).   Tell me about the “New World” with European settlers, and have my scenario be a boat whereas I have to decide where to land and then what do I need to do to survive, and in return I will get a sense of what it was like for those coming to this “New World”.

Explain using various pages or a page of two on the 100 Years War, then create a scenario where I choose to be a Lancaster or York.  Follow it up with a situation that as a Lancaster I have to face, in comparison to a York.  Is there common ground for us?  And if yes, what are the issues we can agree on?  If not, there is continuation of war.   For an added twist, Richard shows up, and offers one of the Lancasters (the student) to switch sides.   Does it work? 

Here I am extracting information about the past, and bringing it into the present via skill building, but still using the past as the scenario.    

If you are teaching about Cubism, then provide the key takeaways or knowledge points for people to learn about.  Next, have a screen where folks get to use their mouse and select various designs to start their canvas.   On another scenario, they meet various Cubist artists – ask them questions and the artist responds.  Maybe add the ability to web cam or record the question and the artist is another student or you (the teacher) playing that character already recorded into the course.

Corporate SBL

I have had enormous success with Scenario Based Learning.  It can be used with any subject that exists in the corporate market.  You say it can’t be done with non-profit?  I say it can (and has).  You say it can’t be done in Finance?  Yep, it can.   You say, no way for Shipping?  Yep, it can.   You say impossible for retail, I say not only yes, but YES.

You say it can’t be achieved for compliance.  I say, it can and it can be 10000 times better than anything that is out there, if you take the time to build it or have someone else build it.  

Whenever I hear about skill building, I expect to see content (online learning courses) to be utilizing scenario based learning.  And each time, I walk away disappointed.  If you have a new employee who needs to learn about various folks in the department or where to go to get this or that.   Provide the info in knowledge points and then follow it with a scenario.  

They are placed into real world, as in let’s say two weeks from their start date.  They use their mouse to select a person and ask them a series of questions – to which that person responds.  You could record the audio of that person and add it to the course.  If you are going pure video – you can do SBL.

And you do not need a production studio to do it.  Take out your smartphone, and record various situations around the office.  Role play if you need – after all you are running Training or L&D.  Then add the info for the knowledge points – it can appear as an overlay on the video or at certain point.  The learner clicks on this or that, and now they enter a scenario based on that certain point.

Guess what?  Skill building.

Oh and higher retention.

Here is what you need

Elmer’s glue – the kind you tasted as a kid to see if had a flavor.   No, no I’m kidding on the glue, unless that is something you still do. 

1. Creativity –  We all have it.   I know it is in you.  Maybe a chocolate bar helps.

2. Topic –  What are you going to cover?  Each SBL is based on only one topic and then

3. Knowledge Points  – These are the big takeaways from this topic.  I never go more than five.  If you cannot extract five “big ticket items” as we say, then go back and cull it down.   Frankly, four is ideal.  Three will work.  Anything less, tells me to dump that topic.

4. Scenarios – What will they be?  Can you incorporate all the knowledge points into one giant scenario, whereas the person will go into it, needing to have at least a baseline of some information on each knowledge point?  When you create an SBL, you want to have at least one “everything is in” scenario – this is the best way to enable folks to learn what they are learning and applying it.   But, you still include one scenario per section. 

I am learning how to deal with customers.  I am given an option of types of customers – happy, somewhat happy or angry.  Surprise, I get angry (everyone does because the scenario is about dealing with an angry customer).  In this section or mod or whatever you wish to call it, the topic is on how to diffuse a situation with a return  (notice how specific I got here?  You need to as well).  

I provide the leaner with a knowledge point – one point in this case – let’s say communication  The scenario afterwards has me using my mouse and my character changes clicks on various questions and then the customer responds.  I wish to expand that, so maybe my “employee” can select options for eye contact and the customer responds accordingly.  

Then the cycle is repeated with a new knowledge point.

Build It

Your SBL will have

a. Table of Contents  – Even if your “duration” is five minutes – you will still have a TOC. I’ve had it done with my mini mods before using SBL and it works just fine

b.  People can move around as much and often as they want.  Someone wants to jump right to the scenario, let them.  They are likely not going to go far.  

c. Go Topic-Page (Knowledge Point) – Scenario – Page – Scenario 

d.  Each page should have some level of engagement – even if it is just a mentor character popping up and helping out. 

e.  Each Scenario has to have the variables that are tied to the knowledge point.  Scenarios should be real life, real world.   For example, you can create an SBL just for managers dealing with lazy employees.    Who are your SMEs to help?  Why.. the managers!  Ignore what you can read on the net, and ask folks what are the challenges you face with laziness.

f.  Ask folks who are similar in the course.  This means, if your SBL is about new employees and clocking in; you talk to some new employees, asking them what challenges they faced or concerns, and so forth.  Ask folks that have been then no more than two months  (four weeks is better, of course), not Steve who has been then six years.    Find out the correct procedure for clocking in, now create an SBL form that.

You are changing the dynamics of the SME.  They become much more of the course or content, whereas we would usually use them for the information and then takeaway pieces from it, now you are adding their actual “experience” in that real life situation as part of the whole new way of this type of content.

Because every experience is different or can be, you incorporate that into your SBL.

Bottom Line

Scenario Based Learning is more than ever needed.   Just think what an SBL on Civility would look like.  Or one of acceptance of different ideas or opinions. 

OR one on handling criticism.

OR learning Excel or Sales or Pick/Pack in a warehouse and so forth.

The vendors who build 3rd party content can help here.  They can actually follow this SBL approach, and stop with the text driven, static or semi-static experience. 

Knowledge Reinforcement can move from just text or a video to an interactive role whereas everyone plays a part.  

Short. Right to the Point.

And Real

World.

E-Learning 24/7

Speaking of real world – I am presenting at the Litmos Corporate Virtual Summit (7/8th of Nov) (Register here for FREE) Craig_FB

 

 

 

 

 

Can you recommend an LMS?

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onlinefreecourse
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Can you recommend an LMS?

Perhaps you have to someone you know.  Or maybe you have posted this same question on various social media platforms such as Linkedin.

Or you have seen it posted someone on the internet.  I know I have.  Seen it that is.  In the past couple of months, this question is making the rounds on Linkedin with the usual responses that follow.

a. Vendors saying “have you looked at XYZ” (which is their system)

b.  Consumers saying “We like ZYX” (and some of the consumers are resellers, so again it is more of pointing towards..

The problem with asking random folks to recommend an LMS is that they have no idea on what specific functionality you need, nor your budget, nor your challenges or issues you are facing, nor your requirements, nor your training approach or L&D approach, nor your experience with e-learning.

And therein lies the problem.  Just asking to recommend an LMS without the audience knowing exactly what you want is like following the mantra of saying can you recommend me a movie to go see, without telling people you hate dramas, comedies and documentaries.  The responses could include all of those options.

I often receive inquiries from folks asking what LMS do I recommend, with the same approach they post on Linkedin.  In other words, it is just the question with no particulars of what is taking place.

I often bring up FindAnLMS, my search and comparison platform for finding learning systems, including LMSs, simply because I have been told by many people looking for or researching LMSs that they like it and use it. 

In the amount of time you read this line, you could be registered and using the system.   So, before you go ahead and post, can you recommend an LMS, I’d say go to FindAnLMS.com, register, activate and then log-in to conduct your search.

But this post isn’t about FindAnLMS, it is about the question can you recommend an LMS.  And the answer is yes, yes I can.

Recommendations

While I am still working on my Top 50 learning systems for 2019 (published in Jan., plus all the vendors will be found in FindAnLMS),  I do have systems I can recommend based on various criteria.   As with the report (yes, there will be on in 2019), my criteria may not align to what you are specifically seeking. 

Thus, I will try my best to differentiate when it comes to various factors.  I also weigh support as an important piece of the puzzle, and it is because the number one reason people leave systems is due to support issues.  Yet, as I have often noted, it is rarely pushed upon in an RFP, let alone a demo.   Folks seem fine with the vendor noting how awesome their support is, without extracting any metrics or verifiable data.  

But I do.  And I ask it often when talking to vendors.  I’ve seen many a metric and viewed details that you the consumer would not have access to.  I always appreciate vendors exposing this, because it puts them on the hot seat, but, for those who really care about you, doing it actually helps in the end.

I have asked vendors to complete a Support Card, and many have.  But plenty still have not, which makes me ask why.  You the consumer can use the support card as part of your RFP process, which I strongly recommend.  

I’ve provided you with the questions you want to ask, now, you have the vendor respond.   Anyone who tells you it is a secret, should go from your list of potentials.    Anyone who says they do not have the metrics – trust me – there is someone there who does OR they can compile based on what is needed.

Who is impressing in Support

I know SumTotal Learning Management gets tagged regularly when it comes to support.  And I know folks who leave them are usually unhappy for various reasons, but I can tell you that I have had two in-depth meetings with SumTotal including one with the VP of Customer Service/Support and have seen the metrics.  I appreciated their honesty in saying they still have challenges, but they are trying to correct the ship.   I like that.

They have by far the best mobile app for Support, i.e. a support mobile app that clients can download and use (if they have SumTotal).

What is provided to the client are right to the point metrics, status updates, follow-ups and more.  While the jargon will confuse some folks (I recommended some changes) and there are some items I do not see of value to the client (and noted that to them), the support app is of itself, as a whole, well done. 

So I want to give a shout-out to SumTotal for not only recognizing the challenges they face, but doing something about it and backing that up with data, not just words.

Who Else?

Unicorn LMS, ideal for the financial services space and even anyone looking for an LMS targeting compliance and regulatory, provided their Support Card.  They have terrific support and yep, a training department (rare in our industry).  

eLogic Learning, a top notch LMS, has fantastic support  (also sent a Support Card).  I’d say, in the top three of the entire industry.  It is that good, and they also have a training department. 

Other top support card respondents included ePath Learning, Upside LMS, Digits Glo, MATRIX, and G-Cube.

Who Didn’t

I admit I was surprised that Cornerstone Learning Suite, Saba, Blackboard, Bridge, SuccessFactors, Linkedin Learning and even Docebo did not.  The first two often pitch how their support is outstanding, even though I have heard quite a different story (from consumers and from within). 

Extracting information from SuccessFactors is like trying to extract moon rocks from the moon in a spaceship made out of clay.

Cornerstone has in the past provided me support info for my reports, and that is appreciated, but the support card is a call to arms, of saying we want metrics!

Docebo, a system I do like, has a mixed track record when it comes to support. Saba the same thing.  In fact, I’d say that most vendors in the learning system space would be rated average in their support.  That should be a concern and a wake-up call. 

Functionality

If you are looking for an LMS that has NexGen functionality, well, my previous post on the NexGen Grid, should be the place for you to check out.

But let’s say you wanted a top system because you plan to do a lot of instructor led training and add some webinars to the mix.

In the industry the functionality you are seeking is called classroom management (only for ILT) and event management (for webinars, seminars, etc.).  

One feature that I believe is important is the ability for folks who sign-up/register for an event, and it appears in their own G-Mail, Outlook, or whatever service their e-mail is hosted on.  The way this is done is via iCal (you do not see this). 

You would think everyone has this capability, but you would be wrong.   Cornerstone for example, does not, even though it is a robust LMS.

But when you look at administration, especially with “Allow administrators to set multiple levels of approval (e.g., no approval needed, supervisor approval, instructor approval, etc.)”, Cornerstone does, and the majority of vendors do as well.  But again here is the kicker, not everyone. 

Recommending yet?

I was debating with myself (totally one-sided conversation), how to go about it.  Do I provide based on vertical(s) or the total package or NexGen (see the Grid), or social or gamification or….

Overall Yummy

Without showing my hand (you can’t see it anyway, unless you have telepathic capabilities or are looking at me via a hack with my web cam), for top rankings in 2019, I can list a group that I would say to anyone who asks the randomness without providing specifics, a group of folks.  

If you are a vendor who is not on this list, it does not mean that you are a)not in my rankings for 2019.  Please be aware this is a list only for LMSs, but my 2019 rankings are based on all types of learning systems, so you can expect to see LEP/LXP, Sales Enablement, etc. in there.

The way I went about this, is honestly, just thinking it thru, on the whole banana. There is no perfect system – I want to stress this.  But many people will say to me, “We can’t find a vendor who does this…  Or we looked and no one can do this…”, to which I often respond, there are X who can.

No Particular Order (For those who do not want to say “yummy” in their twitter feeds, feel free to say “Recommends”).  If the vendor is in FindAnLMS, I will indicate as (Yes).  Please note this is only for LMSs and not any other learning system. 

For vendors in FindAnLMS, please register for FindAnLMS, then go in and check out their functionality, etc.  Let them know you found them via FindAnLMS. Many have videos and PDFs you can view and download. And many you can schedule a demo, send RFP, etc.

A couple more that I like, but are missing items such as e-commerce (i.e. they target internal – employees) or UI needs an update.

  • Kokm  (Yes) – Internal targeted.
  • Roundtable Learning (Yes), needs a couple of tweaks, but still someone to explore
  • OnPoint Digital (Yes) – Robust is an understatement, UI could be better.

You would rather want to be on the Titanic

Simply speaking, these three have landed on the “DO NOT RECOMMEND” list

  • Grovo – over-rated – yeah it is more of a micro-learning platform, but it is my post, so I’m adding them here. 
  • SuccessFactors –  Part of me thinks they are so driven to be an HCM, they forgot about keeping the learning strong; the other part thinks that the system is not only over-rated but just poor.  In other words, you can do better.
  • ExpertusOne – Once a darling of mine, but now, not sure of the direction of the company nor the product.  A shame, really. 

Bottom Line

The next time someone asks “Can you recommend an LMS”, you can retort with a firm YES and start to name a few. Send them over to FindAnLMS or to this post or just give them the names and let them search and discover.

The key though is discovery.

The rest

is a

Cool journey.

E-Learning 24/7

Bonus note –  A doggie named Ariel was shot and left for dead.  She needs on-going medical care.  She is now at an animal shelter we volunteer at, so if you can make a donation of even $10, it will make a huge difference.  She lost her leg in the process but is a tough and sweet cookie.  Here is the link to the page. gofundme.  I am hoping that the training, L&D, HR and e-learning communities can make it happen for her.  We are on our way, with close to $500 raised. 

 

 

NexGen Learning System Grid 2018-19

By
onlinefreecourse
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NexGen Learning System Grid 2018-19

Welcome. Welcome. 

To the 2018-19 Learning System Grid, identifying the Leaders, Risers, Steady and Slow vendors for NexGen functionality. 

For this year’s grid, an additional vendor was added per group (last year it was five per grid).

This was not an easy process, in that there has been a huge uptick in next-generation functionality this year, which is great, but saying NexGen doesn’t mean you really have it,  nor does having NexGen functions mean you have the latest features or enough of the functionality to be truly defined as such.

When deciding on the NexGen Grid, I focused on several items, which included

a. NexGen Functionality Tier 2   (Not every vendor has all of these items, just a FYI)

b. NexGen Functionality Tier 1  (Should have at least 80% of it now, or I know it is on your roadmap to hit the 100% mark)

c. My LMS and LXP Templates, respectively.   So for LMS and learning platforms, I compared based on the template (which is quite extensive) and the same for those in the LEP/LXP space (Sorry, I still think they should be LEP, so going back to LEP/LXP). 

Notes

When looking at the systems, I focused on NexGen components and not the price of the system, nor the entire perspective of the system (with 15 point criteria – that is for the Top 50).  Thus there are vendors who I would buy on the grid, just as there are those I wouldn’t buy, for a variety of reasons, that are not tied to NexGen functionality.

For example, I like Thought Industries as a customer training LMS, but the platform is missing items for NexGen, which is surprising because it has the modern UI, which folks would thus assume, oh, it must be NexGen. 

On the flip side, Grovo is by far one of the most overrated systems on the market, especially with the assumption that it must be “forward thinking” and thus have NexGen robustness.  I used to be a fan of the platform, but their “micro-learning” platform isn’t such a big deal, any learning system can accept micro-learning, and well, I just do not see the whole, “wow” factor for them. 

I held off listing links to each of the vendors because you can find all the leaders and risers in my FindAnLMS platform, thus you can compare them, see their functionality, visit their sites, contact them, schedule demos and more.    Most of the Steady Grid is in FindAnLMS, and yep, even one in slow Grid. And yes, it is 100% free to search, compare and use. 

But I am NexGen – aren’t I?

As a vendor you may say to yourselves, “Hey we have 100% of NexGen Tier 1 and 40% tier 2, how come we are not here?”  My retort, because those on the grid have a higher Tier 2 percentile, are more agile and forward thinking (based on observations over the current year).  

How many did you look at?

500 for the 2018-19 Grid.  As in 500 Learning Systems.  Could I have gone 1,000 or 1,200 or 1,300? Sure.  But I cut off at 500, looking at systems known and not so well-known.  I included LEP/LXPs as well, as they are adding more NexGen functionality. 

NexGen Tier 2

A couple of points here.  I didn’t weight PWA as equal to many of the other features.  While PWA is a very good alternative to having native on/off mobile apps, I understand that it is something that just a lot of vendors will not do, and I get that.

Nor was digital badging at a high weight either.  I still see it as a NexGen Tier 2 function, but one that is more likely by 2020. 

Machine Learning aka AI (albeit they are not really the same thing, but folks tend to think so)

I did score higher for vendors who have an open algorithm, which means that the admin can change the weights for the algorithm, and thus folks do not have to complete a piece of content.  They do not get access to the code, mind you, just the algorithm provides the flexibility, otherwise, the vendor is telling you, they know more about your training or L&D then you – I really dislike that philosophy.

Everyone is a Winner

That is something to say when you provide training or L&D to your employees and customers. It is something you tell the kids after they get destroyed in a baseball game or soccer match.

But, in business, well, at least for this grid, not everyone is a winner.  I mean, I think three out of the four grids identify wins in so many ways.  The Slow Grid, uh, not so much – unless that is your goal,  “NexGen Technology? What’s that?” – And then post a photo of Sputnik as your logo.  

Now The GRID for 2018-19

gridpage

Leader Grid

theladers

Cornerstone Learning Suite, Fuse, Litmos by SAP, eLogic Learning, SumTotal Learning Management, Growth Engineering

I will say that this year, Cornerstone, Fuse and Litmos were separated by mere points, very close. Not check the stubs close (sorry Florida), but close.

Leader Rankings – top three

  1. Litmos by SAP
  2. Fuse
  3. Cornerstone Learning Suite

Again, super close. 

Cornerstone made a huge jump as well and regardless what some folks might think of the system, and I admit, I still think they are an HCM overall, they have hit a homer with NexGen functionality.   They still have challenges with that admin side though (but that is on my report for learning systems – not yet out – until 2019).

Litmos was second in last year’s NexGen Grid on the Leader side.  Lots to like here.  They are strong in Tier 2 NexGen. Best Learning Ecosystem on the market, total Tier 2 power component.  Has added LearningTech to the ecosystem too. Video management is tight. Has machine learning, with AI components.

Fuse is a new entry.  I really came away impressed overall with their NexGen functionality, although I equally believe that as whole the system still needs a few of this and that.  But again, this is about NexGen. 

eLogic continues to be in the leader grid – the second year in a row, and the same for Growth Engineering.  

eLogic is 100% on Tier 1, and at 70% with Tier 2.  They allow each learner to have their own theme (first vendor to do so). Video management is great. Coaching is in the works. Mobile is great, with on/ off synch, native apps.  They are on pace to deliver in Q1 2019 a new skills component, but as of right now, they have a very solid competency piece (just a side note).

Growth Engineering is still a very good system, lots of NexGen functionality. A big minus though is the lack of Tier 2 – Ecosystem in terms of a content marketplace, although that is in the works for them.  I love the mobile Knowledge Arcade which is very cool and tied to the LMS, but not a fan that to use it – in terms of adding content to it, you need Genie their authoring tool.  If they can find a way to change that, huge win.  Still, if you want NexGen, this system delivers as a whole.

SumTotal Learning Management (Formally known as SumTotal Learn) jumps over from Steady to Leader in just one year.  A major accomplishment, and while I have zero proof here, to me, Skillsoft is a key factor in this IMO.

 I have known SumTotal for a long time, and I can say, that this latest version of the product is by far the best version. Please be aware that I did not compare folks success/failure based on consumer feedback on whatever, but will say, that my support mobile app that SumTotal now offers is quite good and should be used by every administrator with the SumTotal Learning Management system (it is also available with their other mods too).

One big miss though is the lack of auto-detect Frames Per Second, and deep learning (but it is on their roadmap by the end of the year, and in watching them over the past year, they are hitting their roadmap, so I am confident they will deliver.

Risers Grid

risers 

CrossKnowledge Learning Suite, coorpacademy, EdCast LXP, Spoke, Eurekos, Docebo

In last year’s Grid, Docebo was in Steady, so going from there to Risers is a win in my book.

CrossKnowledge Learning Suite scored quite well. The big minus though is they charge for their mobile app (they are not the only one who does this BTW), but still you can’t be NexGen megastar by charging for a mobile app.  Especially when your app has on/off synch, knowledge reinforcement capabilities, native apps in iTunes and Google Play and can do a lot.

Rocked in Tier 1 and Tier 2 – scored high with learning ecosystem, outstanding Admin analytical data capabilities, auto-detect frames per second (big). In fact, they scored 100% with video management. Has machine learning, content curation, coaching. 

EdCast LXP delivers a lot here, especially with machine learning, content curation, and coaching. I loved their mobile apps with on/off synch and knowledge reinforcement tool. Has an LRS too, which is Tier1, and a nice win.  The ecosystem is a work in progress. 

coorpacademy LEP equally does quite well across the board with NexGen.  They scored 100% in video management (auto-detect frames per second, add the assessment to a video/within a video, video streaming – all LEP/LXP does this as a whole).  With Tier 1, they scored 95% (missing the notepad angle, which in hindsight in NexGen Tier 2).  Tier 2 around 50%. Big wins with Coaching, Content Curation and Deep Learning (the term that will replace machine learning eventually).

Docebo, hit is strong with the social playlists – which a lot of vendors do not have, and it is a Tier 2.  The challenge for Docebo and many others is that innovation is still not fully there (I’m not blaming them here, it is a challenge in the entire industry as a whole). While they were the first vendors to have one-click for a course marketplace, I am waiting for more. 

Nevertheless, they are a worthy NexGen system that folks should explore. 

Spoke is a definite riser. They are missing machine learning, but that is in the works I’ve been told.  Video management includes auto detect frame per seconds and video streaming. They have content curation, coaching, LRS too. Watching them over the past few years, I’ve seen a lot of great capabilities.  Minus is the lack of mobile apps, including on/off synch.  Still, they are someone to watch in the coming year.

Eurekos isn’t someone you may have heard of, but perhaps you should.  Video management scores 100% (yes, the video in a quiz, and auto-detect is part of it). Coaching, content curation, Tier 2 ecosystem is all there.  But they are another vendor who has yet to adopt the mobile on/off synch and native apps aspect (And to my surprise, there are a lot of vendors in the space who haven’t either).   Still NexGen worthy – robust.

Steady Grid

Steady

Unicorn LMS, Workday Learning, Degreed, Saba, Torch LMS, Learn Amp

Unicorn provides a lot of nice functionality, and Minds-I (now included as part of the platform – is itself the best Knowledge Reinforcement Tool on the market – great product), but as a whole Unicorn is in the steady section.   Oh, 100% on video management for those wondering. 

Workday Learning does a few nice things, but still is missing the whole package. I mean yes, they have a cool UI with the “Netflix angle”, however, they are missing a chunk of the learning ecosystem that exists in Tier 2, which really is baffling to me.  The miss of having 3rd party content marketplace is a surprise.  Has machine learning though.  They are my 2018 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde winner.  

Degreed scores well in so many categories and their skill ratings is really nice, and definitely Tier 2. Video management though is mixed, they have it, but lack auto-detect and quiz/video contained within.  Admin analytical data is nice, could be stronger IMO, but still, NexGen exists.  Mobile is there, but again, they lack on/off synch.   Oh, and they still have a closed algorithm. 

Saba’s machine learning is fantastic, but they haven’t really pushed the envelope beyond that powerhouse of a component.  I sit on the fence with them. They do some nice NexGen things, but others ehhh.   Yeah, they were close to the Jekyll and Hyde thing, a close second. So, runner-up there!

Learn Amp, ranked #1 LEP/LXP for 2019, is on their way with NexGen.  Lots to enjoy here, especially content curation, content marketplace, learning ecosystem.  Machine learning is yet to exist, but on its way, along with some very innovative skill rating mechanisms.  Mobile is a miss.

Torch LMS is a very solid NexGen LMS, but a minus to me is the lack of mobile apps, let alone seeing the value of having mobile apps period.  I understand their perspective, but it is just a bummer.  Anyway, solid and steady.

Slow Grid

weak

Mind Tickle, Panopto – Video Learning Platform, Thought Industries, Linkedin Learning, Grovo and SuccessFactors.

SucessFactors is a two-time winner, err, I mean at the bottom of the grid. Which I am still trying to figure out why they haven’t fully embraced NexGen across the board.  I am looking only at learning here, and not HCM, but even then to be honest, it still struggles in terms of wow factor, but I digress.

Mind Tickle! – had some very nice NexGen last year, but has slipped. 

Linkedin Learning, an overrated system in my book, that is sort of a hybrid LMS with LEP/LXP components, really is not a full NexGen system. 

Grovo already noted.

Ditto on Thought Industries.

Panopto – very forward thinking – years ago.  Not sure what happened, especially for a video learning platform. 

Honestly, there could be a lot of vendors in the slow grid, so if you say, “hey my system should be here, cause they are slow to new learning tech”, I hear you.  I could only have six, but there is always next year!

Bottom Line

This year’s Grid was quite tight in terms of those who landed on it versus those who did not.  Again, if I expanded to 10 in each grid, then who knows – maybe you would be on that grid (if you are not).

You can download the Grid HERE. 

The big takeaway for me though is that NexGen has come along way.  And I anticipate a lot more forward-thinking functionality in 2019. 

Especially in the areas of skill capabilities, video authoring and marketplaces with learningtech.

Grid up for a wild

Ride.

E-Learning 24/7

Bonus – A list of all the vendors in FindAnLMS, always 100% free to use.

 

 

 

 

This is Your Child’s Brain on Video Games

By
onlinefreecourse
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0
This is Your Child’s Brain on Video Games

he following is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how gaming impacts a child’s nervous system.  

Romolo Tavani/Fotolia

Source: Romolo Tavani/Fotolia

On the eve of his big sister Liz’s high school graduation, nine-year-old Aiden sits with his parents and relatives at a celebration dinner, bored by their “adult” conversation and irritated at all the attention showered upon Liz. He can’t wait to get back to his video game! Before dinner, Mom had (annoyingly) called him away to join the family, and then she got mad when he spent a few minutes getting to the next level and saving his game. So many people in the house make him restless; he squirms uncomfortably and drums his fingers on the table, waiting to be excused.

Finally, he is allowed to escape the dinner table, and he settles into a corner of the living room couch to play his Nintendo DS. For the next hour or so, he is completely oblivious to the company in the house. Although he’s already played much longer than his mother likes, she lets him continue, knowing these family situations are a little overwhelming for him. And besides, the game keeps him occupied. What’s the harm? she thinks. It’s just for today.

However, in the meantime, a perfect storm is brewing. As the play continues, Aiden’s brain and psyche become overstimulated and excited — on fire! His nervous system shifts into high gear and settles there while he attempts to master different situations, strategizing, surviving, accumulating weapons, and defending his turf. His heart rate increases from 80 to over 100 beats per minute, and his blood pressure rises from a normal 90/60 to 140/90 — he’s ready to do battle, except that he’s just sitting on the couch, not moving much more than his eyes and thumbs. The DS screen virtually locks his eyes into position and sends signal after signal: “It’s bright daylight out, nowhere near time for bed!” Levels of the feel-good chemical dopamine rise in his brain, sustaining his interest, keeping him focused on the task at hand, and elevating his mood. The intense visual stimulation and activity flood his brain, which adapts to the heightened level of stimulation by shutting off other parts it considers nonessential.

The visual-motor areas of his brain light up. Blood flows away from his gut, kidneys, liver, and bladder and toward his limbs and heart — he’s ready to fight or escape! The reward pathways in his brain also light up and are reinforced by the flood of dopamine. He is so absorbed in the game, he doesn’t notice when his little sister, Arianna, comes over until she puts her chubby hand on the screen, trying to get his attention.

“DooOOON’T!!” he shouts and roughly shoves her out of the way. Arianna falls backward, bursts into tears, and runs to their mother, who silently curses herself for letting Aiden play this long.

“All right, that’s it. Time to start getting ready for bed. Get your pajamas on and you can have a snack before you go to bed,” she says, pulling the DS out of Aiden’s hands and turning it off in one fell swoop. Aiden looks at his mother with rage. How dare she ruin his game because of his stupid sister!

“Fine!” he shouts, runs up the stairs, and slams his bedroom door. His primitive brain is fully engaged now, turning him into an enraged animal ready to fight off all challengers. He rips all the sheets off his bed and then throws his lamp on the floor, providing a satisfactory crash and shatter. Thinking about how wronged he’s been and filled with visions of revenge, he kicks the wall a few times and then pounds on his bedroom door, putting a big hole in it.

Downstairs, his relatives sit in quiet shock and murmur to each other how they’ve never seen him act like this. Dad runs up the stairs to contain his son. Calmly, his dad holds him in a bear hug from behind, waiting for the rage to subside.

As the dopamine in his brain and the adrenaline in his body begin to ebb, his rage loses its focus. Now, the pent-up energy takes on a disorganized, amorphous form. Aiden feels like he can’t think straight or get himself together. While he spaces out, his dad helps him put his pajamas on and they go back downstairs. Stress hormones remain high, however, making it difficult for him to relax or think clearly. He seems a little confused, actually. His relatives look at him with a mixture of concern and love, but they also wonder why his parents let him “get away with” this kind of behavior. His mother intuitively knows that direct eye contact will overstimulate him again, so she approaches him slowly from the side, and rubs his back gently.

When his favorite aunt looks him in the face sympathetically, he immediately distrusts her intentions. Eye-to-eye interaction is interpreted by his primitive-mode brain as a challenge, and he starts getting revved up again. His mother intervenes, and takes him up to his room. She lowers the light, settles him into bed, and starts to read him a soothing story. His nervous system attempts to regulate itself back to normal, but it seems to still be held hostage by his hyped-up emotions. That night, after he does finally fall to sleep, Aiden awakens repeatedly with panic attacks — his heart races and blood pounds in his ears. He’s scared of the dark, and worried that his angry outburst has upset and alienated his parents. His mother, meanwhile, confiscates the DS and decides to take it with her to work on Monday. (She really wants to throw it in the trash, but it was expensive!)

The following morning, the fight in Aiden has subsided, but the aftermath leaves him in a fog, listless, weepy, and exhausted. He experiences an increased craving for sweets while cortisol, the stress hormone, drives his blood sugar up and down erratically.  It will take weeks before his body, brain, and mind return to some sense of balance.

Meanwhile, his mother reaffirms her commitment “to get rid of those damn video games.”

____________________________________________________________________

Perceived Threat and the Fight-or-Flight Response

Does Aiden’s story sound familiar? Why would a seemingly normal, loving child become so enraged and difficult after playing video games? Though his response may seem extreme, there’s actually a completely natural explanation for Aiden’s behavior.

Playing video games mimics the kinds of sensory assaults humans are programmed to associate with danger. When the brain senses danger, primitive survival mechanisms swiftly kick in to provide protection from harm. This response is instantaneous; it is hardwired in our genes and necessary for survival. Keep in mind that the threat does not have to be real — it only needs to be a perceived danger for the brain and body to react.

When this instinct gets triggered, our nervous system and hormones influence our state of arousal, jumping instantly to a state of hyperarousal — the fight-or-flight response. These feelings can be hard to shake off even after the provoking incident is over and the threat — real or perceived — is gone.

In medical school, our instructors referred to this state as “running from the tiger,” since during ancient times humans protected themselves from predators by literally fighting or fleeing. Today, we still need this rapid stress response for emergency situations, and on a day-to-day basis mild stress reactions help us get things done. But for the most part, repeatedly enduring fight-or-flight responses when survival is not an issue does more harm than good.

When the fight-or-flight state occurs too often, or too intensely, the brain and body have trouble regulating themselves back to a calm state, leading to a state of chronic stress. Chronic stress is also produced when there is a “mismatch” between fight-or-flight reactions and energy expenditure, as occurs with screen-time. Indeed, the build-up of energy is meant to be physically discharged to allow the nervous system to re-regulate. However, research suggests screen-time induces stress reactions even in children who exercise regularly.

Once chronic stress sets in, blood flow is directed away from the higher thinking part of the brain (the frontal lobe) and toward the more primitive, deeper areas necessary for survival, causing impairment in functioning. With children, whose nervous systems are still developing, this sequence of events occurs much faster than it does for adults, and the chronically stressed child soon starts to struggle.

It’s easy to imagine how an exciting video game can cause hyperarousal. But in fact, numerous mechanisms act synergistically to raise arousal levels with all types of interactive screen-time. And contrary to popular belief, many of them occur irrespective of content. The figure below outlines some of these factors:

Victoria Dunckley

Source: Victoria Dunckley

 

Because chronic stress effectively “short circuits” the frontal lobe, a hyperaroused and mentally depleted child will have trouble paying attention, managing emotions, suppressing impulses, following directions, tolerating frustration, accessing creativity and compassion, and executing tasks. All of these effects are compounded by screen-time disrupting the body clock and hindering deep sleep. In fact, the effects on sleep alone can explain many of the mood, cognitive and behavior issues associated with screens, and also explain how screen effects can build over time, making them easy to miss.

When people say my strict screen-time recommendations—which are based not just on clinical experience and research but also on how the brain works—are “not realistic,” and that children “must learn to manage technology,” my response is this:

It’s not realistic to expect the brain to adapt to intense and artificial stimulation it was never meant to handle.  It’s also not realistic to expect a child with still-developing frontal lobe to control their screen-time, whether that means managing how long they play a game, how they use or misuse social media, or how they behave afterward.

Parents need to learn the science behind how screen-time overstimulates the nervous system, how this manifests as an array of symptoms and dysfunction, and what that looks like in their own child.  Learning this information can literally change the course of child’s life; it helps parents to make informed and mindful screen management decisions, and steadies them from being swayed by cultural trends and misleading headlines.  It puts parents in the driver’s seat.

While the world may have changed, how the brain responds to stress and what it needs to thrive has not.

Now. Any questions? 😉

Adapted from Reset Your Child’s Brain:  A Four Week Plan to End Meltdowns, Raise Grades, and Boost Social Skills by Reversing the Effects of Electronic Screen Time

© Copyright 2015 by Victoria L Dunckley. Reprinted with permission from New World Library.

Sources (abridged): 
Arnsten, Amy F T. “Stress Signalling Pathways That Impair Prefrontal Cortex Structure and Function.” Nature Reviews. Neuroscience 10, no. 6 (June 2009): 410–22. doi:10.1038/nrn2648.

Barlett, Christopher P, Richard J Harris, and Ross Baldassaro. “Longer You Play, the More Hostile You Feel: Examination of First Person Shooter Video Games and Aggression during Video Game Play.” Aggressive Behavior 33, no. 6 (December 2007): 486–97. doi:10.1002/ab.20227.

Blank, Martin, and Reba Goodman. “Electromagnetic Fields Stress Living Cells.” Pathophysiology: The Official Journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology / ISP 16, no. 2–3 (August 2009): 71–78. doi:10.1016/j.pathophys.2009.01.006.

Borusiak, Peter, Anastasios Bouikidis, Rüdiger Liersch, and Jarrod B Russell. “Cardiovascular Effects in Adolescents While They Are Playing Video Games: A Potential Health Risk Factor?” Psychophysiology 45, no. 2 (March 2008): 327–32. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2007.00622.x.

Cajochen, Christian, Sylvia Frey, Doreen Anders, Jakub Späti, Matthias Bues, Achim Pross, Ralph Mager, Anna Wirz-Justice, and Oliver Stefani. “Evening Exposure to a Light-Emitting Diodes (Led)-Backlit Computer Screen Affects Circadian Physiology and Cognitive Performance.” Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md.: 1985) 110, no. 5 (May 2011): 1432–38. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00165.2011.

Dworak, Markus, Thomas Schierl, Thomas Bruns, and Heiko Klaus Strüder. “Impact of Singular Excessive Computer Game and Television Exposure on Sleep Patterns and Memory Performance of School-Aged Children.” Pediatrics 120, no. 5 (November 2007): 978–85. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-0476.

Fortin, David R., and Ruby Roy Dholakia. “Interactivity and Vividness Effects on Social Presence and Involvement with a Web-Based Advertisement.” Journal of Business Research 58, no. 3 (March 2005): 387–96. doi:10.1016/S0148-2963(03)00106-1.

Frölich, Jan, Gerd Lehmkuhl, and Manfred Döpfner. “[Computer games in childhood and adolescence: relations to addictive behavior, ADHD, and aggression].” Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie 37, no. 5 (September 2009): 393-402-404. doi:10.1024/1422-4917.37.5.393.

Goldfield, Gary S., Glen P. Kenny, Stasia Hadjiyannakis, Penny Phillips, Angela S. Alberga, Travis J. Saunders, Mark S. Tremblay, et al. “Video Game Playing Is Independently Associated with Blood Pressure and Lipids in Overweight and Obese Adolescents.” Edited by Philippe Rouet. PLoS ONE 6, no. 11 (November 1, 2011): e26643. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026643.

Gopinath, B., L. A. Baur, J. J. Wang, L. L. Hardy, E. Teber, A. Kifley, T. Y. Wong, and P. Mitchell. “Influence of Physical Activity and Screen Time on the Retinal Microvasculature in Young Children.” Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 31, no. 5 (April 20, 2011): 1233–39. doi:10.1161/ATVBAHA.110.219451.

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Kim, Eun Joo, Kee Namkoong, Taeyun Ku, and Se Joo Kim. “The Relationship Between Online Game Addiction and Aggression, Self-Controland Narcissistic Personality Traits.” European Psychiatry: The Journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists 23, no. 3 (April 2008): 212–18. doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2007.10.010.

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Lifting the Poor Beyond Microfinancing

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Lifting the Poor Beyond Microfinancing

Consider Mary, who wants to open a nursery for plants. She has a beautiful garden and loves caring for plants. Now that her community is developing, she senses an opportunity to turn her hobby into a business, catering to both the desire for decorative plants and the need for herbs and vegetables.

She has the basic skills, the demand is there, and she could probably obtain a micro-loan.

But the probability of Mary turning her small plot into a real business capable of sustaining multiple families is slim.

In 2006, the banker Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Prize for inventing microcredit and microfinance, providing women with modest aspirations like Mary with small amounts of initial capital. His dream was to enable large numbers of people to rise above poverty through tiny loans to would-be entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for regular bank loans.

A decade on, it is becoming clear that his concept was revolutionary, but while it could lift some individuals out of individual dire poverty, it wasn’t helpful at the level of the community. Also, even those who were helped, weren’t helped to go far.

It seems safer to start small and grow. But the thing about starting small is that usually, it also keeps you small.

Staying alive, barely

If the business opportunity is good, someone bolder will make the move and seize the chance to scale it up. Even if they don’t, scaling up in the future is not necessarily easier than doing it in the present. And the fact is, the smaller the business, the greater its chances of failure.

 

The statistics on the survival rate of small business are known – they’re awful. Yet people remain sure that playing it safe requires slow growth.

Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir gave us a glimpse into what makes small business so risky and why scaling up is so difficult in their book titled “Scarcity: The New Science of Having Less and How It Defines Our Lives“.

A key insight is that when experiencing scarcity, Now always outweighs Later. An intuitive example would be that if you need to care for a child with influenza, you don’t go out to irrigate your plants and leave the child unattended for hours on end. If you need money for the doctor, you don’t spend it on fertilizers.

 

The very poor simply don’t have options. The better-off don’t need to choose as painfully between simple choices. We can hire a babysitter and irrigate and have enough left over to buy medicine and fertilizer. The hurdles it takes to make us fail are higher.

For the poor to succeed, they need space for error, space to overcome the small predictable needs of day-to-day life.

Giving them that space to overcome means first and foremost, recognizing that they need it. They the necessary buffers and “support wheels” need to be added to the various programs.

Say for instance a given vocational training program suffers from a high rate of dropouts. One reason could be that if a class or two are missed, catching up becomes impossible. Allowing people to retake the course, or simply having a backup teacher to help them make up missed classes, could easily resolve the problem.

Other helpful assistance could include a little bit more leverage on missed payments without downgrading one’s credit score, genuine solutions for child care, and monitoring applications that could serve as personal guides and help keep us on track to achieve our goals.

Know what you don’t know

Let’s assume Mary has access to a bit of land she could cultivate. But creating a business requires not only capital but skills: how to grow plants efficiently for the commercial market, how to market, how to sell, and finally, access to supply and delivery chains and financial management.

Few people anywhere have all these at hand, but people inexperienced in how business works, whether living in a remote village or an impoverished area of a big city, wouldn’t have any of it.

Not knowing what you don’t know makes acquiring knowledge all the more challenging. And for the extremely poor, hiring expert help – even if the need is recognized – is not an option.

A micro-loan may lift one family from abject poverty, but truly impacting poverty necessarily means scaling up.

Two points need recognizing. One is that to have impact at the level of the community, not the individual household, the aspiration needs to be to help build large businesses, not small ones. Two: eradicating poverty will take a lot more than mere access to capital.

reating sustainable change at the level of the community requires encouraging talent in multiple vocations, and creating access to high-level professionals as mentors. Bridging the gap of knowledge can enable small, poor and flimsy businesses to become solid and sustainable.

Building larger business attracts both capital and talent. This is no doubt part of the reason larger business are more sustainable than smaller ones.

A different model for bringing talent into smaller companies, for the sake of the greater good, is via combined human resources. One example is that a top-level retired CFO or human-resources manager could give such services to five or 10 smaller companies. As long as they are not competitors, their help would bring obvious added value, helping to create the kind of bigger businesses that help whole communities flourish.

From poverty to possibility: Microfinance in Africa

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How can one cow transform a family’s life, health and financial condition? An organization founded by a U.S. sister started answering this question more than 10 years ago. Its slogan is “a hand up from poverty to possibility.” And that is exactly what is happening for many people in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and the Republic of the Congo. The MicroFinancing Partners in Africa mission statement describes its goal as an effort “to empower those living in extreme poverty.”

That may sound like an overly ambitious mission. Actually, it is simpler than you might think. M.P.A. founder Sister Toni Temporiti, C.P.P.S., described what she calls a “life-changing experience” that led to the creation of the project. In 2003, after decades of counseling individuals and families in the St. Louis area, she was granted a sabbatical and decided to go to Africa, where some of the members of her order had worked.

She joined a group of 21 young people called “the overland group” and drove from Egypt to South Africa, visiting 18 countries over seven months. The group camped out every night and after dinner would sit around the campfire and review the day. Women from nearby villages would join them. Almost every night, the women asked these visitors questions like “How far in a day do you have to walk for water?” Or “How do you decide every day what child to feed?”

Questions like these haunted Sister Temporiti. After returning to St. Louis, she found herself eating a hamburger at lunch and it dawned on her that the price of that hamburger could help an African family start a business. And the money to do this could be given to them as a loan, not as a charitable gift. The seed was planted for the M.P.A.

The price of that hamburger could help an African family start a business. And the money to do this could be given to them as a loan, not as a charitable gift.

Two years later she attended a conference of like-minded people in Nova Scotia, where she met Muhammad Yunuz, the founder of the Grameen Bank model of micro-lending. After earning a doctorate in economics in the United States, he had returned to his home in Bangladesh. One day, while he was teaching at Chittagong University, 41 women from the school’s neighborhood approached him asking for money. He gave a little to each woman, for a total of $27.

He advised them to buy a potato or two and sell them for more than they paid for. They repeated the process day after day and soon ended up with more and more money. And, Sister Temporiti emphasized, at the end of a few weeks, every one of the women paid back the original loan. Thus microfinancing was born.

After 30 years pioneering this model, Mr. Yunuz was awarded the Nobel Prize—not in economics, but for peace—acknowledging his own conviction that if people can work together and raise their standard of living, there would be no need for war.

At the same conference, she met Ingrid Munro, a retired U.N. delegate from Sweden. Ms. Munro had set up microfinancing programs in Kenya and became Sister Temporiti’s mentor.

Sister Temporiti eventually worked with Bishop John-Baptist Kaggawa of Masaka, Uganda, who had started the Cow Project. It works like this: A cow is lent to a farmer, usually a woman. The cow provides milk to feed her family and also some to sell to a dairy. Proceeds from the dairy sales are used for school fees and additional farm improvements. When the cow gives birth to a female calf, the family raises the calf for about a year, then it “pays forward” the young cow to the next qualified farmer and retires their “living loan.” The project became one of the first supported by M.P.A.

The increased family income enables children to attend school.

Many more such projects have been created since, including farming and produce and vegetable sales, grocery and dry good stores and bakeries—which sell their wares at affordable prices—and projects supporting other businesses serving people in poverty-stricken villages. The farms supported by the program also raise chickens, pigs and other animals, as well as grow soybeans, which can be turned into flour and milk—something of a cornucopia of food that was not available before in many of these African communities because of the cost of irrigation or fertilizer. A woodworking project has also emerged.

As Bishop Kaggwa puts it: “Miracles are happening here.”

With the money that accrues, the farmers not only provide for their families but become active as leaders of their community. They can strategize with their neighbors about improving their schools and community water sources, as well as other infrastructure issues.

Another benefit of the Cow Project has been the use of the cow manure, which serves to fertilize the barren land and to grow fruit and vegetables, some of which can also be sold. The manure is also the basis of a biofuel system that provides power for lighting and for hot plates used in cooking in the homes of participating families.

And it means that firewood will not be the only source of heat and some light. That not only helps the environment, it eliminates the time village women used to spend gathering firewood. Having light at night for working and studying is revolutionary for many families.

The increased family income enables children to attend school. Their required uniforms are made and sold by the village women, the children’s lives are transformed, and their families are offered a future they never dreamed of before.Microfinancing has brought much more stability to families.

Previously, some men, unable to get jobs in their villages and filled with shame, would desert their families to find work in the cities. When they found no employment there they became angry and desperate, many of the men resorting to alcohol to deal with their feelings.

Because of the microfinancing program, many of these men who had been forced to migrate have been able to return. Now each family member has a job: The fathers cut and chop the grass to feed the cows, dig drainage ditches and deep holes for the biofuel system, and, along with the mother and children, deliver milk to the dairy and manage the crops. The children also obtain water, and the mother cooks for the family and cares for their cow.

Eventually, the family creates a banking account, and any money matters must be decided upon by the whole family, no longer by just the father. The farmers not only provide for their families but become active leaders in their communities. Bishop Kaggwa reports, “The dream has worked.”

In addition to the Cow Project, M.P.A.’s partners in Uganda have developed two programs to support women. The Piglet Project is a living loan program specifically benefiting women who, either because of the youth of the mother at the time of her baby’s delivery or insufficient nourishment, have suffered an obstetric fistula injury during childbirth. The Safe Birth Project trains midwives and uses ultrasound and motorcycle-ambulances to improve access to prenatal care and hospital-level birthing services.

The M.P.A. also partners with a network of similar microfinancing operations with names like Jamii Bora, Caritas Maddo and Buwea (Bukoba Women’s Empowerment Association) throughout East Africa. The women of Buwea, for example, operate a soy farm, hiring their own members to plant, weed and harvest. They manufacture and sell soy flour and soy milk, which is an excellent source of protein and nutrition.

The proceeds from this project support the women’s revolving loan program, which offers small individual loans to women for home income projects such as raising and selling rabbits or tailoring. Buwea has grown from 127 members when M.P.A. first partnered with them in 2010 to over 800 members in 2017. They boast a 100 percent repayment rate on their loans.

Members of these various groups come from any religion or tribe. The motto of one of the groups is: “It doesn’t matter where you come from. . . . what matters is where you are going.” Meanwhile, other churches and dioceses other than Masaka offer significant support and involvement.

Much of the M.P.A. story so far is presented in two children’s books, written by Sister Temporiti with charming illustrations by a St. Louis artist and arts educator, Maria Allen-Koerner, with the stories told from the point of view of village children. One book is called (appropriately) Holy Cow: A Living Loan. The other one is One Potato Two: Small Loans, Big Change.

In 2016 the Partnership for Global Justice, a nongovernment organization at the United Nations, recognized Sister Temporiti with their Peace and Justice Award. She has also received distinguished alumna awards from both Washington University and Saint Louis University.

But perhaps her favorite tribute has come from the African families. As one of them phrased it: “Thank you. You have restored our dignity.”

Microfinance institutions are struggling for survival. Here’s why

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Microfinance institutions are struggling for survival. Here’s why
Though the gap still exists, the likes of Axis Bank, HDFC Bank or RBL Bank are developing their own ecosystem to reach out directly to the poor for higher returns. There are pockets of oversupply squeezing growth potential for the pure-play micro lenders.

India has some 223 MFIs, including societies and NGO-run entities, and 168 of them are registered with Sa-Dhan, the association of community development finance institutions. There are 47 non-bank finance company-micro finance institutions (NBFC-MFIs) registered with Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), an industry body, covering 90% of the portfolio While the top 10 find it easier to get equity or bank loan, the smaller ones are always at a disadvantage.

graph-1

INVESTOR BACKING
At a pan-India level, micro credit reaches to not more than 20% of the total households through a variety of channels, including banks and NBFC-MFIs. They have catered to some four crore households by way of 6.3 crore microcredit loans in a country of over 130 crore people, while World Bank estimate suggests that about 24%, or 28 crore, live below $1.25 per day on purchasing power parity.

Given the extent of financial exclusion, MFIs may have a few more years of opportunity left, but the fancy 50-80% growth rate may well be history. The key to even survive independently would be to get backing from the investors, which may be hard to come by.

“Selection of investors is critical for survival of MFIs. If you allow investors with a mere aim of achieving high returns to come in, you are in for trouble. History has taught this many a time,” says Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, managing director of Bandhan Bank, which was at the top in its earlier avatar as MFI and was backed by World Bank’s private investment arm, International Finance Corporation, since 2011.

Micro lenders also face policy barriers with their margin capped at 10%, while Equitas Holdings or Ujjivan Financial, which converted into small finance banks shedding their micro lender status, theoretically can lend at higher rates by virtue of being a bank. MFIs don’t have access to deposits which are low cost, putting them at a disadvantage to bank converts.

“It is obvious now that the regulator wants microfinance through banking channel,” says Vishal Mehta, co-founder of Lok Capital, a venture capital fund started in 2004 with a focus to invest in financial inclusion. “They have allowed NBFC-MFIs work as business correspondents and has awarded eight small finance bank licences to them. These are signals that the regulator, while valued MFIs’ work in providing the last mile connect, is more comfortable in dealing with banks.”

BANKS GAIN
As of June, banks are the largest provider of micro credit with a loan outstanding of Rs 38,486 crore, taking their share in micro-credit business to 36%, according to MFIN. Bandhan, the MFI-turned bank, with its Rs 21,400-crore loan portfolio, is a major contributor to this. The bank-led micro loan includes Rs 10,131 crore of indirect lending through business correspondent partnerships in FY17.

“This (working as business correspondent) is the best way to optimise capital and the only option for smaller ones that lacked it,” says HP Singh, chairman, Satin Creditcare Network. “When raising capital turns difficult, it’s better to grow your off-balance sheet exposure through banking partnership and survive.”

graph-2

NBFC-MFIs as a group is the second largest provider of microcredit with a loan outstanding of Rs 32,820 core, accounting for 31% of the total industry portfolio, followed by small finance banks with Rs 28,634 crore and a share of 27%. NBFCs account for another 5% and non-profit MFIs for 1%.

The microfinance industry shrank 0.3% in the June quarter to Rs 1.06 lakh crore from the previous quarter. It is estimated that this loan roughly represents over 90% of the total industry portfolio, excluding self-help group-linked bank loans.

RAY OF HOPE
All is not lost for the micro lenders as there are still investors keen to fund them with both business interest as well as with charitable outlook. The micro lenders as there are still investors keen to fund them with both business interest as well as with charitable outlook. The NBFC-MFI industry has attracted equity worth over Rs 1,300 crore in the last few months despite demonetisation shaving off their business. That reinforces the importance as well as the attractiveness of the model.

“Things are not as bad as people think. MFIs deserve their place in the sun,” says Ratna Vishwanathan, chief executive of MFIN. “Mainstream banks only have limited appetite for microfinance. They are there when the going is good. We have seen in the past that in bad times banks just withdraw themselves.”

But the sector needs an equally demanding fresh equity of Rs 1,500 crore and debt funding of Rs 20,000 crore, going by a conservative growth estimate of 25% for FY18. Investors typically look for stable entities with strong growth potential, robust risk mitigating systems and procedures in place.

“The number of such NBFCMFIs is very limited now,” says Manoj Nambiar, managing director of Arohan Financial Services, which plans to list at stock exchange next year. “So, interest from investors is pretty high for this limited lot.”

Investor interest can cut both ways – help build business but at the same time overstretch to show growth that backfires. “The market today is not entirely empty like yesteryears,” says Bandhan’s Ghosh. “If MFIs want to survive in this new set of circumstances, they need to find new pockets of unbanked customers. Most importantly, MFIs need to invest in capacity building even if they aim to achieve a relatively modest 20-30% growth. Trying to grow beyond one’s means always proves disastrous.”

Vikram Akula, founder of SKS Micro (now Bharat Fin), on the developments in microfinance industry

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ON BHARAT FIN’s PLANNED MERGER WITH INDUSIND BANK
Microfinance Institutions emerged to fill a gap. Banks were not lending to the poor. My larger goal was to bring the poor into the purview of the mainstream, as credit-worthy customers for the banking sector. MFIs did that first by borrowing from banks, then securitising loans to banks, then serving as business correspondents for banks. The logical next step was to become a bank or merge with a bank.

The RBI took a bold step by not only creating small finance banks (SFBs) but also payments banks. Such a network of differentiated banks have, and will continue to accelerate financial inclusion. Having said that, there is still a long way to go, and as such, there is still an important role for NBFC MFIs.

ON MFIs FUTURE AS A STANDALONE ENTITY
Certainly, in the long term, it appears that MFIs should either have a plan to merge with a bank or become an SFB. However, at present and probably in the medium term, there is still a gap in financial inclusion. NBFC-MFIs can help bridge this gap. Eventually, it would be good to see the RBI accelerate the next round of SFB licences so that all stand-alone MFINBFCs move under the umbrella of a bank either by becoming SFBs or merging with a bank.

Personas temen a la pérdida de empleo por la automatización

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La población, en general, teme que la automatización conduzca a una significativa pérdida de empleos, mientras que mucha gente es escéptica de que las tecnologías impulsen la eficiencia económica, según una encuesta realizada en 10 países.

El estudio, realizado por Pew Research Center, reveló algunas variaciones entre los países encuestados, siendo Grecia, Sudáfrica y Argentina los que expresaron el más alto grado de certeza de que la tecnología desplazará la mano de obra humana.

Pero las mayorías en los 10 países estuvieron de acuerdo en que la automatización conduciría a una “definitiva” o “probable” gran pérdida de empleos. El porcentaje más bajo se registró en Estados Unidos con 65%, indicó el reporte. 

La mayoría también coincidió en los 10 países en que será más difícil encontrar trabajo y que la desigualdad aumentará debido a la automatización y la inteligencia artificial.

(Lea: Automatización destruira miles de empleos)

Una pregunta con un gran rango de diferencias fue si la automatización resultaría en una economía más eficiente. En siete países la mayoría fue escéptica ante esta situación. En Italia sólo el 33% mostró ese punto de vista. Sin embargo, hubo tres países en los que la mayoría de los encuestados aceptó ese argumento: Japón (74%), Polonia (61%) y Hungría (52%).

Otra área en la que hubo variación es en la relacionada con el rol que juegan los gobiernos en la preparación de la fuerza de trabajo para el futuro. En Argentina, Brasil e Italia más de 70% dijeron que el sector público debería asumir ese esa responsabilidad, una visión que solo comparte el 35% de los estadounidenses encuestados.

“La gente está mucho más preocupada por el impacto que esto tendrá en los empleos que en la mayor eficiencia de la economía o en la creación de nuevas oportunidades de empleo”, dijo Bruce Stokes, director de actitudes en la economía global de Pew.

“El argumento positivo hacia esta gran tendencia económica no está teniendo resonancia, al menos en la gente que encuestamos”, dijo. “La gente no lo está aceptando sólo con que se le diga ‘no te preocupes. Será bueno para ti”.

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OUA Explained: Design your study path

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OUA Explained: Design your study path

One of the best things about studying online, is greater flexibility, which means greater ability to customise. Through Open Universities Australia (OUA), your study path is in your hands.

OUA brings degrees and subjects from universities across Australia into one spot, which means that you’re able to mix up your subject selection in unique ways. Pick subjects from multiple study areas, across multiple unis, to tailor to your goals and interests. This is easy done if you’re studying single subjects only, but even if you’re studying a full degree, there’s still room to customise.

Customising your degree

Depending on the structure of the degree you choose, in most cases, you can choose elective subjects from different study areas and universities. Your core subjects will come from the university that provides your degree (and your certificate at graduation) but a number of your electives can come from other unis that OUA partners with. It’s perfect if you’re struggling to decide on a degree based on subjects – you may be able to have the best of all worlds.

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Find out more

To find out about how you can customise a degree, check out the degree structure section of your desired degree’s webpage, which will outline what’s possible within that program. But if single subject study is what you’re after, go explore our catalogue – any pre-requisites (requirements for entry) will be noted on each subject’s webpage.

To learn more about the online study experience, watch our ‘OUA explained’ video series. We’ll take you through aspects like the time-span of your studies, study loans, and the online study environment, to name a few.

Need to chat to a real human? Fill out the form on this page and a friendly student advisor will get in touch soon.

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