Elearning blog: Learning re-imagined

SkillSoft: A Proud Supporter of the U.S. Army’s Commitment to Education

By Kevin Duffer, vice president, public sector for SkillSoft

Since 1996, we’ve been honored to be able to support the United States Army with quality e-learning solutions. In the past five years alone, Army users have completed more than 5.4 million courses supporting a wide range of professional development needs and resulting in significant cost avoidance. We’re excited to announce this morning that the Army has decided to renew their five-year contract with SkillSoft and our long term partner, MILVETS.  MILVETS has been SkillSoft’s partner in supporting the Army since 2006 and this relationship will continue with SkillSoft as a subcontractor to MILVETS in this new award that was set-aside for small businesses.

SkillSoft and MILVETS will continue to play a key role in supporting the Army’s learning initiatives, including providing courses and supporting reference material covering leadership development, performance management, Six Sigma and IT security certifications.  More than 400 courses are eligible for college credit through the American Council for Education.  These programs will continue to be offered through the Army e-Learning Program which provides soldiers with immediate access to more than 5,000 online courses, 23,000 Reference Books in four distinct collections, several KnowledgeCenters and much more. In addition, the Army will employ a range of SkillSoft solutions including the SkillPort platform, Well-BeingEssentials and Enhanced Support, with a dedicated Army Help Desk.    

Books24x7 Book Review: Provoke: Why the Global Culture of Disruption Is the Only Hope for Innovation

By Pam Boiros

In the novel Provoke, entrepreneur and “innovation provocateur” Linda Bernardi takes a frank and straight-forward approach to business and innovation in order to reveal some startling truths: 

• All organizations, no matter how seemingly enlightened, react to the idea of disruption with rage, fear, denial and rejection, and
• Access to big money and the drive to build start-ups for the purpose of being acquired is destroying innovation.

Most importantly, in Provoke Linda asserts that only by creating a collaborative, global “culture of disruption,” in which provocative questions and creative destruction are nurtured and encouraged at all levels of the chain of command, can organizations maintain the innovative fire that ultimately leads to excellence.  In other words, if you want to be successful, get ready to be uncomfortable.

KnowledgeBoosters: Critical Thinking Essentials - What Is Critical Thinking?

By Russ Howard

Several months ago, we introduced our series of KnowledgeBoosters.  These posts are skills development tips and techniques delivered in "quick hit" fashion – we know you’re busy so we want to keep them short but useful!  Each one also includes reference to a relevant course from our e-learning courseware collection, a book and an online article on the topic to allow you to learn more. 

This KnowledgeBooster is on critical thinking.

Defining critical thinking

Critical thinking is an intellectual, methodical, and disciplined method of interpreting and evaluating information about any subject, content, problem, or issue. It results in well-reasoned judgments and decisions about what to think, believe, or do. Users of this approach need to be willing to question information and beliefs, and to adapt their thoughts, positions, or beliefs based on what they discover. Conscious effort is made to ensure the reasoning process is free of unreasoned assumptions, biases, or prejudice. Emphasis is also placed on making sure information is reliable, relevant, clear, and accurate, and that the interpretation of that information is logical, objective, reasonable, and fair.

How Do You Design Effective Blended Learning Programs?

Analysts and industry leaders alike are all talking about blended learning and the benefits of using that approach to build a learning program. According to a study by Bersin & Associates, “more than half of all organizations now blend off-the-shelf content with custom content, and more than a third blend off-the-shelf content with live, online virtual classroom events.”

Blended learning is not just substituting in-person training with e-learning.  It’s about creating an integrated approach, leveraging several types of assets together to accommodate different learning styles and preferences. Beyond offering a variety of assets, blended learning needs to include support and guidance for each component.

Does putting together a blended learning program seem overwhelming? How do you know when to use instructor led training as opposed to an e-learning course? Where do books, mentoring, assessments and practice fit in? On December 14, join the SkillSoft webinar on Blended Learning: Critical Design Decisions, where Sally Hovis, Vice President of Learning Design at SkillSoft, will present key points to consider when developing a blended learning program.

The Voices of Leadership

By Russ Howard

As the saying goes, “Leaders are not born, they are made” and to help organizations develop more effective leaders we are introducing our latest courseware series, The Voice of Leadership  designed to help professionals develop the necessary skills to become effective leaders. 

Offered through our award-winning Business Skills Course Library, the Voice of Leadership courseware helps managers, team leaders and professionals increase their understanding of the importance for developing key leadership attributes.  Comprised of four courses, the Voices of Leadership series examines self-assessment, motivation, messaging, effective communication and inspiration.  

The Kindle Fire

By Jim Zimmermann

Recently, Amazon jumped into the tablet wars with its new Kindle Fire. This announcement coincided with dramatic price reductions on the rest of the Kindle product line as well as news of some new tools and services.

The first question that everyone asks is “How does the Kindle Fire compare to the iPad”? The answer is trickier than it might first appear….

While there is no denying that both devices are “tablets”, they have vastly different approaches.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, stated “We don’t think of the Kindle Fire as a tablet. We think of it as a service.” Although the Kindle Fire is an Android-based tablet, it was designed from the ground-up to work with “the cloud”. This means that the Fire uses the cloud for what the cloud does best:

SkillSoft Maps Out the Road Ahead

By Jeff Bond, Vice President, Product Marketing, SkillSoft

SkillSoft recently released our most recent Product Strategy Roadmap, an update that lists many of our accomplishments during the past few quarters and outlines our development plans for the next 12 months. The roadmap provides a clear look at our development direction so customers and prospects can make appropriate decisions for their business going forward. The Roadmap also serves as a public record of SkillSoft’s ability to set direction, define projects and deliver those efforts to completion. We believe making this track record visible earns our customers’ trust, respect and boosts their confidence in SkillSoft.

SkillSoft Announces Complimentary Live Learning Sample Class on CCNA Exam

By Dan Young, Live Learning Director, SkillSoft

On Friday, December 2, SkillSoft is offering a complimentary Live Learning sample class on the CCNA exam led by myself and fellow Cisco Certified System Instructor Raymond Lacoste, CCNP. The sample class, “Understand the Most Difficult CCNA Exam Concepts,” will take place on Friday, December 2 at 11 a.m. EDT. We are offering this sample class to demonstrate how effective Live Learning can be for both employees and employers.

Technology is constantly evolving. While this is good in most cases, continual change can make it difficult for IT professionals to stay up-to-date with the various certifications they need for their jobs. Even finding the time to achieve these certifications is a difficult feat, let alone trying to find a quality course that’s focused on your specific training needs.

TELUS Discusses the Benefits of Attending Perspectives

Networking opportunities, cross-industry collaboration and relevant session topics are just a few reasons why TELUS enjoyed Perspectives last year. Click on the video below to hear more! Perspective 2012 will take place April 30 – May 3, 2012 in Orlando, Florida. Registration will be open soon. Visit http://perspectives.skillsoft.com/2012/ for more details.

 

New Accessibility Standards for Ontario Employers Take Effect January 1, 2012

By Charlie Voelker, Esq. SkillSoft Legal Compliance Solution

The government of Ontario estimates that one in seven people in the province has a disability.  In 2005, the Ontario Legislative Assembly passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (“AODA”) with the goal of achieving better accessibility for all individuals with disabilities by 2025.  The AODA includes several standards intended to remove barriers in the areas of transportation, employment, and communications.  The Customer Service Standard applies to all organizations with 20 or more employees that offer goods or services to the public.  It requires employers to meet four general obligations on or before January 1, 2012:

• create a plan for providing accessible customer service, including the accommodation of service animals
• train all customer-facing employees—including contractors and volunteers—on the plan, and document their completion
• make the accessibility plan available to customers upon request; and
• report ongoing progress to the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services.