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Change Your Pace and Expand Your Knowledge With a Training and Development Conference

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Elizabeth | Leave a comment | Conferences

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By Guest Blogger, Elizabeth Flynn, Social Media Manager, Compliance Cartoons

So, how are you doing with those New Year’s resolutions? (Hint: the ones about your compliance training strategy?) Ready for some inspiration? A training and development conference may be just the ticket. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know!

For me, attending the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) conference in San Jose, California, February 2-4 was exactly the inspiration I needed.

As a new member of the Compliance Cartoons team, I wanted to better understand the role of the learning professional: What do they do? How do they do it? I was eager to enter into their world and get a look at the latest and coolest eLearning techniques and technologies.

And I found what I was looking for: Keynote speakers sharing their expertise and excitement, and conference sessions delivering all the details (session summaries at Cammy Bean’s Learning Visions.)

At the conference expo, I spoke with staff from Articulate and Captivate. They showed me their eLearning development tools and revealed some of the techniques top designers use to create state-of-the-art training interactions. I was impressed.

Making connections with other social media specialists like Terrence Wing and Michelle Lentz proved invaluable, especially when I got home and checked out their blogs and followed their tweets. (I’ll get more of the same when I join eLearnChat on Tuesdays at 10 PST and meet industry leaders in the fields of eLearning, mobile learning, authoring tools, learning and content management, and more.)

Evenings gave me a chance to relax and collaborate with my colleagues. And since we all work remotely, we especially welcomed the opportunity to brainstorm face-to-face over meals at some memorable San Jose restaurants.

The conference bookstore offered a wide selection of current literature, and I came home with some good reads.

Need I say it? In today’s fast-paced, virtual workplace, it’s worth the time and effort to get yourself recharged from time to time by immersing yourself in the best new ideas, resources, and best practices.

Have I piqued your interest? Good! Then you may want to view David Kelly’s backchannel from ASTD Techknowledge 2011. Better yet, find a conference you can attend. And don’t forget to send me a postcard! (or post a comment.)

It’s a New Year – Resolve to Improve Your Compliance Training!

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Diane | Leave a comment | Compliance Training Strategy, Uncategorized

by Diane Stricklan, Compliance Cartoons
Ah, the start of a new year—a time for reflection and resolutions. So, I’m sure you’ve probably made your compliance training resolutions, right? No? It’s not too late! Resolving to transform your compliance training program to be more engaging, interesting and effective may be one of the more realistic and achievable goals you can make this year.

So, first things first—reflection. Is your compliance training program getting you results? Or is your approach maybe a bit more reactive?

Reactive Proactive
  • Meet bare minimum requirements
    		•
  • Establish a comprehensive strategy
    		•
  • Wait until there’s an actual violation
    		•
  • Deliver compliance messages using all available channels
    		•
  • Agenda item during staff meetings
    		•
  • Integrate compliance into other training
    		•
  • Quick sign-offs
    		•
  • Provide training that is effective
    		•

    One or the other, or maybe a little bit of both?

    If you’re not getting results—or maybe they could be better—the best place to start is with a strategy. Compliance training programs are typically intended to help avoid/detect violations that could lead to legal liability; create a respectful workplace, and lay the groundwork for a defense in the event a violation occurs. For this to happen, your message needs to reach employees and be retained.

    And that requires a plan. (Hint: We’re moving into the “resolution” segment of our program.) So, if you don’t have a strategy, there’s no time like the present. If you do have one, it’s always good to revisit it at least once a year to make sure it’s doing what you need it to do. Here are some things you might consider:

    • What do you need to accomplish with your compliance training program? (i.e., where are your organization’s opportunities, weaknesses and threats)? A good rule of thumb when developing a strategy is to start with the end. A host of authors, including Steven Covey, agree. In his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he says that highly effective people “start with the end in mind.”
    • What “channels” are available? (e.g., Learning Management System, learning portals, Intranet, email newsletter, handheld devices)? Getting the message out doesn’t need to be limited to just one method. And, once you commit to a channel, don’t necessarily abandon it after the first try. Some approaches need a little time to gain traction.
    • What internal resources are available to help you? (e.g., training department, IT resources)? Consider inviting these folks into the conversation as you develop your strategy.
    • Do you have a budget? If you have some money to spend, you’ll want to get the most from your budget dollars. The best advice I can give is to assess your internal resources, determine where you need to supplement externally, and then prioritize based on your budget. Keep in mind that creating a more engaging, interesting and effective program doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. In future blogs, I’ll highlight tips and tools that can help.

    For now, this is a great place to start!

    Coming up next month: Required vs. effective—it’s all about retention!

    eLearning Horror Stories

    Posted on October 23, 2010 by admin | Leave a comment | Compliance can be fun!, Conferences

    by Diane Stricklan, Compliance Cartoons

    It’s that time of year for ghosts, goblins and faux people climbing out of my neighbor’s yard.  So it must be Halloween—the time of year for all things scary!

    When it comes to eLearning, who doesn’t have a scary story (or two) to tell? I know I do. I’ll share my tale of woe, but first dim the lights and imagine I’m shining a flashlight under my chin. (Just go with it.)

    It was a dark and stormy… No, wait. Nothing that dramatic. It was actually the end of the work day. I entered her office and she looked, well, sick. Red, puffy eyes, a strange pallor to her skin, hunched posture. Was it a cold? Maybe the flu, I asked? Um, nope. She had just finished piloting an eLearning course I created. It was seven hours long covering a bazillion products, and she finished it in one seating. Her gaze said it all. She was the victim, and I was her tormentor. Bwahahahahahahaha. The evil instructional designer strikes again…

    Yes, I created a seven hour eLearning course. I could use the excuse that the subject-matter experts made me do it (which they did), but in reality, I knew better. Hey, in my defense, I did recommend that employees only take the course in 30-45 min. increments. But even then, it stunk—it was not interactive or engaging at all. My victim/coworker summed it up, “I wanted to stick an ice pick in my eye.” Now there’s a rave review.

    What makes this a true horror story is I hear the company is still using this eLearning course. Really.

    Why did this happen? I think my lack of experience. And knowledge. And confidence. I also didn’t set any limits (see Cathy Moore’s blog, “Why you need to set limits”). I didn’t know I could. This was a real call to action, and I vowed never to let it happen again. So knowing what I know now (and wish I knew then), here are a few tips:

    • Trust your instincts! If it doesn’t feel right, there’s usually a reason. A great test is to put yourself in the learner’s seat and ask, “how would this work for me?”
    • Set limits. Others may think including the kitchen sink is good, but… (see last bullet).
    • Know your stuff. If you only know enough to be dangerous, then you might well be. Having people go through training and not learn anything is a waste of time and money. So if you’re feeling at a disadvantage, consider going back to school, reading, joining professional organizations, networking, and attending conferences. A few of my favorite conferences: ASTD’s TechKnowledge (we’ll be there in February, so look us up!), Elliott Masie’s Learning conferences, eLearning Guild’s Learning Solutions, and SCCE’s Compliance & Ethics Institute (for compliance-specific knowledge).
    • And when you don’t know, ask. Or consider hiring professionals (like your friends at Compliance Cartoons) who do!

    So what’s your eLearning horror story? Have you been on the giving or receiving end of something truly scary?

    Using Humor in eLearning—Dive in, the water’s fine! (Part 2)

    Posted on September 20, 2010 by admin | 2 Comments | Compliance can be fun!

    by Diane Stricklan, Compliance Cartoons

    OK, to continue! You know, I’m not advocating humor is the cure-all for eLearning. I don’t think eLearning is even sick (OK, maybe a little pukey sometimes). But, I think it does have its place when used appropriately. It’s a great tool to gain attention to otherwise dry material. Other options to spice things up can include telling an engaging story, simulating real-life context, and effectively using media. And it doesn’t need to be expensive. As an example, video is a great way to tell a story. But cost, technical expertise and bandwidth limitations may make it prohibitive. So tell your story using a YouTube-like design and embed stock photography images. Yes, it works; it’s effective and can run you less than $100.

    Let’s say you’re on board, but others have yet to dive in. What can you do? Here are some common concerns I’ve heard and some suggestions:

    • Using humor will make the topic less serious. Using humor doesn’t mean making fun of a topic. It means making the experience of learning about it more enjoyable.
    • Our experts require certain language be used. Writing using textbook style language (or to a specific grade level) can actually make learning online harder. Who among us hasn’t drifted off trying to read a book on a complex subject because of the language? An eLearning course that’s conversational makes it easier to read and remember. You can always link to the “required language” or put it in a handout.
    • I can’t picture how this would work. Show them! Demo examples that are already available. (Again, thank you Cathy Moore, for these examples: http://blog.cathy-moore.com/elearning-samples/). Also, your friends at Compliance Cartoons are always happy to schedule a product demo (http://www.compliancecartoons.com).
    • It’ll cost a lot of money. It doesn’t have to. Be creative. Use stock photography—or better yet, take the photos yourself! (Just be sure to get a release from anyone you plan to use in your course.) And check out some of the off-the-shelf or customizable products. You may find they’re more reasonable than you thought.

    Is your company (or companies you work with) becoming more receptive to fun and humor in eLearning? Do you have any examples of what has worked (or hasn’t)?

    Using Humor in eLearning—Dive in, the water’s fine! (Part 1)

    Posted on August 31, 2010 by admin | Leave a comment | Compliance can be fun!

    by Diane Stricklan, Compliance Cartoons

    I started out wanting to write this really insightful blog about using humor in eLearning. Because, well, that’s kind of the appeal of the products we sell. But as I was doing my initial research, I found that Cathy Moore already did a great job a few years back in her blog “Laugh and your learners laugh with you. Maybe” (http://blog.cathy-moore.com/2007/09/laugh-and-your-learners-laugh-with-you-maybe/). So why reinvent the wheel, I say.

    Many of the points she makes about the benefits of using humor are relevant today. Yes, fun material can be of better quality, can definitely be memorable, and can undoubtedly lead to conversation. So what to add?

    Well, let’s see. A few things have changed since 2007. We have wireless reading devices (e.g. Kindle), smart phones are the norm rather than the exception, and social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) has exploded. What else? New generation gaming consoles are, well, awesome (I dominate at Wii tennis). And, of course, there’s that whole economy thing. So what impact, if any, might these have on eLearning and more specifically, use of humor?

    What comes to mind for me is expectations. Learners practically have the world at their fingertips and very little time to spare (since many are now doing the work of several people). Attention spans are being replaced with the need for speed. Add to that the high quality graphics and engaging animations in today’s gaming world, is there any surprise that long, textbookish eLearning courses are so coolly received and easily forgotten? Shouldn’t eLearning be evolving into something quick, accessible and memorable?

    Instructional devotees may recall that gaining the attention of the learner is the first element to consider in any learning experience (see Robert Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction, http://www.e-learningguru.com/articles/art3_3.htm). While this model may have been originally developed for the classroom experience, it really applies across the board.

    And actually if you think about it, the classroom experience may have something to teach their online counterparts. Think about the most memorable classroom trainers and teachers you’ve had—and I mean the really good ones. What comes to mind? Did they just read a textbook to you and expect you to pass the test…anyone, anyone? Or did they grab your attention and inspire you in some way? What about the ones who effectively used humor? A respected colleague asked that very question and compiled responses into a free downloadable e-book: http://www.masie.com/Research-Articles/free-digital-books.htm. It’s interesting what people have to say (OK, I’m one of the contributors—but there’s lots of other great comments in there, too). As you’ll see, “unconventional/creative” ranked as the top characteristic. So maybe it’s time to try something a little different to get our eLearners more inspired. I’m just saying…

    What do you think? Would your employees welcome something different (as long as the course isn’t made longer just to accommodate it)?

    More to come in Part 2!

    Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Institute 2010

    Posted on August 31, 2010 by admin | 2 Comments | Conferences

    2010 Compliance and Ethics Institute

    September 12-15, 2010, Chicago IL
    Visit us at Booth 107

    Schedule a Meeting: If you plan to attend the conference and would like to set up a time to meet, please contact Diane Stricklan: dstricklan@compliancecartoons.com.