The Company of Thought, a unique international think-tank, launches
An event held at Australia House, in The Strand, London, to mark the start of ‘London Learning Week’ saw – among other things – the official launch of an international think-tank dedicated to analyzing issues and trends in the corporate online learning technologies industry.
The think-tank, called The Company of Thought (TCoT), aims to address unsatisfied customer needs and build new business models around them. In particular, it aims to report and comment on trends within the corporate online learning technologies industry worldwide, independent of any vested interests.
Read more here.
Uber use a simulation to learn the most efficient ways to dispatch their drivers
Uber data scientist Bradley Voytek explains how Uber’s “science team” simulated a city and learned that taxi drivers can just stay parked between trips and make twice as much as those who drive around in search of passengers.
Uber created an artificial city called Uberg. It spans 100-by-100 blocks, existing in the artificial world of Python. Uber drops 250 passengers and 500 drivers in Uberg. Each passenger has a random destination in Uberg.
Read more here.
HT2 and Webanywhere partner to deliver xAPI and Moodle project with Jisc
HT2, the learning technology specialist, has appointed Webanywhere as its partner for the implementation of a new contract with Jisc.
Jisc has selected HT2’s Open Source Learning Record Store, Learning Locker, as the foundation of a massively scalable Open Learning Analytics service for the UK education sector.
Jisc is a registered charity that champions the use of digital technologies in UK education and research. The Open Learning Analytics project will bring a standardised and scalable service to UK education providers who are starting out their journeys with Learning Analytics. HT2 and Webanywhere will work closely with Jisc to ensure that the capabilities of experience API and Learning Locker are effectively embedded into the Open Learning Analytics eco-system.
Read more here.
Webanywhere to host xAPI conference in Chicago
The Tin Can API (also known as xAPI) is a brand new specification for learning technology that makes it possible to collect data about the wide range of experiences a person has online and offline.
Join Webanywhere at 1871 for a free learning breakfast, where they will be discussing its implementations and more.
If the global learning community choose to adopt the Experience API, it will be able to release learning content and activities from the confines of Learning Management System and track both their usage and their real-life impact.
The learning technology marketplace is about to change for ever, are you ready?
- 8.00am – 8.30am
- Registration and Refreshments
- 8.30am – 9.15am
- Presentation
- 9.15am – 10am
- Discussions, Q&A
For more information, contact workplace@webanywhere.us or call (312) 588-7284.
Training and Development most desired benefit
This week we stumbled upon a really interesting piece of research on 2015 Internet Trends by Mary Meeker.
What really interested us though is this slide: the benefit from an employer which millennials most value is Training and Development. And what better way to give your employees cost-effective, time saving, training and development than by elearning?
Learning Ecosystems and the Experience API
The xAPI is poised to transform workplace learning. This innovative, open-source specification (developed by an open-source group led by the Advanced Distributed Learning [ADL] Initiative) was almost unheard of a few years ago; fast forward to today, and you’ll find that products, thought leaders, and learning professionals are using, are intimate with, or have at least heard of the xAPI. So, why is the xAPI catching fire?
At its core, xAPI affords the ability to track not just learning, but to track performance in interoperable ways in the real world. It provides a simple and flexible way to track and store data about learning experiences across a variety of platforms (e.g., games, virtual worlds, mobile, simulations, social media, etc.) within a database known as a Learning Record Store (LRS). Now it’s starting to earn its spotlight in the education and training communities … and rightfully so.
Read more here.
BP shock CIPD show by using mobile learning…
In an approach that breaks with many L&D traditions, the team at energy giant BP chose videos, checklists and games to deliver engaging learning to employees’ own mobile devices.
The thinking behind this was to make learning accessible at the point of need, in terms of timeliness or location.
Nick Shackleton-Jones, the firm’s director for online and informal learning, said the starting point was to ask the staff ‘how can we help?’.
From this we could work out what learning people needed, and wanted, to do their jobs better, he said.
One learning gap uncovered by this process was that many staff didn’t understand how the different parts of the business fitted together, from refining to drilling and logistics.
BP’s answer to this was not a traditional tutor-led 40-minute introduction course. Instead it created a stunning 3D aerial schematic of the business, clearly showing how each part fits together. Learners can click different areas to find out more with the option of watching a five-minute video animation explaining what it does.
Read more here.
Learning Light publishes its top ten Innovation Index for 2014
Learning Light, the UK-based market analyst specialising in the online learning technologies and educational technology (edtech) sectors, has published an Innovation Index. This Index sets out a list of developments over the past 12 months that the Learning Light team has found ‘particularly interesting and exciting’.
According to Learning Light’s director, David Patterson: “This Innovation Index highlights the developments which we found particularly significant in the world of edtech and elearning in 2014. Innovation is a widely used and often abused term and so, in the context of innovation, we’re considering both smart technical developments and disruptive business models.
“We’re looking back in order to understand the present and to predict the future,” he added. “These themes and products are what we see as being on-trend for 2015.
“The Innovation Index isn’t ranked,” said David. “Instead, it’s organised by theme. And, since we’re looking back, the list is in reverse alphabetical order.”
The 2014 Learning Light Innovation Index is:
- XML and learning content creation and management from Nimble author
- Vocational Open Online Courses (VOOCs) from Virtual College
- Video – the next generation from thePeleton and ThinkZoom
- Serious games from Totem learning and elearning studios
- Learning record stores (LRS) from Learning Locker
- Disruptive LMSs from LearnUpon and aNewspring
- Corporate MOOCs, learning beyond the LMS from Webanywhere
- Badging, Micro-credentials and next generation certification from Accredible, as well as Mozilla Open Badges
- Authoring Tools from Jackdaw
- Adaptive learning from Tugaru
You view the full Innovation Index, with summaries of all the entries, here
Learning Light publish two more articles about elearning in the Middle East
On our blog we have published the articles ‘Elearning and equal participation in Muslim communities’ and ‘The Middle-East, Innovation and Elearning ‘.
These are original and thought-provoking articles which discuss how elearning can promote equality and redress poverty in Muslim communities, and how elearning can promote innovation in the Middle East.
They are the final two articles in a series of three which focuses on issues surrounding Elearning and the Middle East.
I have never seen any articles which deal with this intriguing and pertinent subject matter, and they promise to shed light on the previously unexplored benefits of elearning .
We are extremely excited to publish these articles written by Saeeda Ahmed and Dr Georgios Vournas which set side-by-side detailed and intricate topics.
You can also view the ‘Elearning and equal participation in Muslim communities’ article here and the ‘The Middle-East, Innovation and Elearning ‘ articlehere.
Learning Light publish Elearning , Women and Islam Article
On our blog we have published the article ‘Elearning , Women and Islam’
This is an original and thought-provoking article which discusses how elearning can help women overcome the traditional barriers to education which they face in Muslim communities.
It is the first article in a series of three which focuses on issues surrounding Elearning and the Middle East.
I have never seen any articles which deal with this intriguing and pertinent subject matter, and they promise to shed light on the previously unexplored benefits of elearning .
We are extremely excited to publish these articles written by Saeeda Ahmed and Dr Georgios Vournas which set side-by-side detailed and intricate topics.
We will publish the next two articles in this series in the coming week so be sure to bookmark this page.
You can also view the article here
Heart of Worcestershire College wins elearning Award.
The Heart of Worcestershire College has won the Associate of Colleges Beacon Award for the ‘Effective Use of Technology in FE’.
The college has introduced a blended learning model across its whole curriculum meaning that some of the teaching on all of its courses is done online. The result of this is that online learning has become the norm and expected; students and staff feel familiar with elearning and have developed associated elearning skills.
This blended learning model has proved extremely beneficial to the college: students work and progress can be monitored effectively and efficiently, and the work can be completed and assessed online. Blended learning also enables students to receive help and feedback quickly and when they need it.
We realise that the cost of assessment is one of the largest costs for colleges when putting on courses, so enabling online assessment and automated assessment must be a great money-saver for the college.
With the recent FELTAG report stating that 10% of all FE and HE learning must become elearning , the Heart of Worcestershire College’s blended learning success story is an example that many educational institutions should want to follow.
You can read more about the college’s success here.
Learning Light has added a further 75 courses to its portfolio of elearning materials.
These new courses, which cover health and safety issues, along with business development topics, have been developed by Safety Media. They are available, online, from the Course Wall on Learning Light’s E-Learning Centre website which can be viewed here.
David Patterson, a Director of Learning Light, commented: “Since 60 to 70 per cent of all elearning materials in the world relate to health and safety and/or compliance, these courses from Safety Media offer an excellent start to those wanting to establish – or augment – a corporate elearning resources repository.
“In line with Learning Light’s ethos and operating policy, all these new courses meet the quality criteria encapsulated in the elearning content evaluation tool (ELCET), developed at the end of last year by Learning Light in association with The Virtual College,” he added.
“In our experience, many organisations have difficulty in specifying and procuring effective generic elearning materials – hence the need for ELCET. And, since E-LCET makes assessing potential learning materials for Learning Light’s Elearning Centre website much easier, it should also help anyone who has to evaluate elearning materials for use in their organisation,” he continued.
All of the Safety Media courses are certified as meeting continuing professional development (CPD) criteria. Most of the courses are also approved by Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA).
The Course Wall courses are provided in three formats: interactive courses; videos, and short videos. They can be completed in any internet-enabled location, using a laptop, mobile phone or tablet.
Online Educa Berlin 2014
On the 3-5 of December the 20th edition of the Online Educa Conference will take place in Berlin.
Online Educa is the largest global conference on technology supported learning and training for the corporate, education and public service sectors.
Here at Learning Light we’re really excited about Online Educa 2014: With over 2000 people attending from over 100 countries, it promises to be a melting pot of new thinking, innovative solutions and bright ideas on new approaches to learning.
To celebrate the conference, we’re giving attendees discounts on our elearning reports. Attendees will receive a £400 discount on our Review of the elearning markets of the UK, EU and China, and 20% off all our other reports. You can find out reports here.
You can read more about Online Educa 2014 here.
Why Is eLearning Only 10% of the French Training Budget?
Despite numerous surveys, reports, analyses, and press articles claiming great progress in French eLearning, a closer examination of the facts reveals a worrying absence of eLearning in a vast majority of French companies. The education sector is also lagging a long way behind the USA and the other G8 members (2% educational eLearning in France compared to 30% in USA). While the French eLearning market grew by 25% between 2012 and 2013 to 200 million euros, eLearning only represents 10% of the total corporate training budget in France. This article looks at the data and the possible reasons for the French “eLearning lag”. (Sally Anne Moore)
The figures behind this news indicate that the French government is not adequately supporting the growth of elearning .
See our research reports on the EU, UK and Chinese elearning markets here.
View the full article here.
German elearning revenue rises 13% in 2013
Demand for online education continues to grow, according to German IT association Bitkom. It said eLearning revenue rose by 13 percent to EUR 582 million last year and the sector employs 8,850 people, up 700 from 2012. Bitkom was citing an annual survey by MMB Institute. There are about 250 eLearning providers in Germany. The number of freelance workers went up by about 16 percent to 2,600, with permanent staff up 6 percent to 6,250. About 17.5 percent of workers are involved in software development.
These figures demonstrate a surge of interest in the elearning market in Germany!
See our research reports on the EU, UK and Chinese elearning markets here.
China to become the top-buying country for elearning in Asia
China will be the top buying country for Self-paced eLearning in Asia throughout the forecast period, according to a new report by Ambient Insight called “2013-2018 China Self-paced eLearning Market.” The five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 12.2%. Revenues reached $3.3 billion in 2013 and will spike to $5.9 billion by 2018.
“In terms of sheer numbers, the eLearning user base in China is massive. As of October 2014, there were over 100 million eLearning users in China,” comments Chief Research Officer, Sam S. Adkins. “As impressive as this looks at first glance, there were 1.367 billion people in China as of October 2014. That means that only 8% of the Chinese population have access to eLearning, so far. This is changing fast and the demand is quite high in all the buying segments; this points to breathtaking revenue opportunities for eLearning suppliers.”
Here is a review of the elearning market in China in 2014 by Learning Light.
View the full article here.
Report by LPI confirms Rise of Online Learning
The annual Learn Survery 2014 report commissioned by The Learning and Performance Institute (LPI) has confirmed that, although the traditional classroom remains a viable channel for workplace trainers, it is coming under increasing pressure from live online learning, self-paced elearning and webinars.
The report shows that, while it is still true that face-to-face contact with experts can provide both reassurance and inspiration, delivering activities in a classroom is increasingly costly and time-consuming. So although it continues to be the place where the Learning and Development function does most of its work, more effort is being focused on other ways delivering training content and making it possible for individuals to learn for themselves.
Take a look at our range of elearning courses here.
View the full survey via this article here.
Interview with David Patterson by aNewspring
Hot off the press! aNewSpring, a Dutch company who have created what they call a “learning platform for training providers”, and what we call a brilliant LMS, have recently interviewed our very own David Patterson.
Here’s the interview direct to you.
The FELTAG challenge
In our most recent publication “A review of the elearning markets in the UK, EU and China” we highlighted the significance of the UK Governments department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) response to the FELTAG recommendations.
The Further Education Learning Technology Action Group to give it the full name has certainly created some action from the UK government that must be warmly welcomed by the elearning and learning technologies industries.
The BIS response is very significant indeed in adapting the Individual Learner Record to include on-line learning provision and mandating that a minimum mix of 10% of on-line learning is required rolling out from September 2014.
You can read a list of what we beleive are the most suitable Learning Mangement Systems for organisations seeking to address the FELTAG challenge.
Learning Light Supports PresentationTube.
Learning Light is delighted to announce it is supporting PresentationTube which is a wonderful resource for learners all over the world, providing free elearning video based courses created by teachers and education enthusiasts for open usage.
PresentationTube also comes with a Recording Tool that allows you to record, upload and share effective elearning video presentations.
“It offers a free desktop presentation recorder to narrate and annotate PowerPoint slides and synchronize a variety of essential visual aids, including webcam, whiteboard, drawing board, and web browser. PresentationTube platform integrates the recorded video and scrollable slide thumbnails, allowing the audience to move to the respective video content and control both the time and progress of video presentation.”
The Recording Tool is really very good, and avaialble as a free tool, but we would strongly advise you spent $50.00 (US) on the premium version, you will get a better expericence in elearning Course Creation and you will be helping a very worthy cause.
There is an extensive range of elearning content you can use and choose from.
Learning Light in Le Mag!
Learning Light were interviewed for the first edition of the intercultural magazine Le Mag, a French publication designed to share intercultural experiences between France and the UK.
David and Gill at Learning Light shared their views as to why elearning is becoming indispensible to organisations.
We featured along with Cap Gemini, and an article why “Assessing the effectiveness of training is becoming a major issue for companies.
You can read the English edition of Le Mag or the version Francais…..enjoy.
Learning Light attends edtech Europe
The edtech Europe event was held in London on Friday 14th June, and was very well attended, by the elearning industry, the investors and the education publishers.
You can read our thoughts on our blog at e-Learning Centre.
