Does Subscription Learning have legs?
It's too early to tell, but the eLearning Guild is buying Google Ads on "subscription learning."
Hello Learning-Solutions attendees!!
And congrats for getting here!
You can download the slides for my Featured Session here:
Download Thalheimer_Subscription_Learning_eLearningGuild_2014_Handouts
And if you got here and don’t know what session I’m talking about, read this:
Learning Solutions Featured Session F2
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And don’t forget to join me for a discussion of the Serious eLearning Manifesto, the most important thing happening in the elearning field this year!
Session 105 — Getting Serious about eLearning
We will hand out paper copies of the Manifesto at the session.
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And, if you can’t get enough of me (and you’re an early riser), join me with Michael Allen and Clark Quinn for a 7:15 AM Buzz session on Thursday.
MB31—The eLearning Manifesto and Good Instructional Design
My name wasn’t added to this (look for Clark or Michael’s name), but I’ll be there!!
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A subcription-learning program wins Apple's App of the Year contest!! Read more.
I'm telling you. The time for subscription learning is now!!! Indeed, if you attended my keynote address earlier this year on subscription learning, you would have learned all about Duolingo and other subscription-learning applications. Stay tuned for more. For example, I've been invited to give a Featured Session at the eLearning Guild's Learning Solutions conference coming up in March 2014.
My daughter and I use Duolingo to learn Spanish. It is super impressive. It nicely blends many of the most important learning factors (as outlined in the Decisive Dozen)–for example retrieval practice, repetition, spacing, context-alignment, and feedback–into a package that also includes what I might call gentle gamification and social-learning strategies. When my daughter's friend Emma passed me one day, Duolingo notified me. And let me tell you how motivating that was! I was NOT to be OUTDONE by a fifth grader; so I got immediately online and learned some more Spanish…
Anybody interested in elearning should check out Duolingo now…
This workshop is in hiatus until the publication of the book.
FORMAT: This is a workout-workplace workshop. It includes traditional presentations, but it also includes reinforcing decision-making practice, realistic exercises, and personal coaching on your final work product. This workshop is designed based on scientific research–to enable you to take what you’ve learned and put it into practice–successfully!
ECONOMY OPTION: While the workout aspects of the learning experience are highly recommended (because it is in iterative practice with feedback that we fully develop our skills), we realize that some people may not be fully able to commit to the more rigorous format offered. Therefore, we offer a presentation-only format at a lower cost.
TOPIC: You will learn why traditional smile sheets fail in predicting learning results. You’ll learn how scientific research makes this clear. You’ll also learn about Dr. Will Thalheimer’s new smile sheet design–based on years of research and development. Indeed, the Performance-Focused Smile Sheet is the first major upgrade on traditional smile sheets in generations.
GUARANTEE: 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.
TIME FRAME: Three online sessions will be offered one week apart in January
HOMEWORK: Darn right!! This is serious stuff…
AVAILABILITY: Only 12 seats available…
ONLINE MEETINGS: Monday, Wednesday, Friday during the same week
MEETING TECHNOLOGY: GoToWebinar (GoToMeeting)
CREATOR, WORKSHOP FACILITATOR, and YOUR PERSONAL COACH: Dr. Will Thalheimer.
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What you will learn in this workshop:
- How research shows that traditional smile sheets are ineffective.
- The three modes of learning measurement.
- Three biases to avoid in how we measure Level 2 learning.
- How Likert-like scales harm smile sheet results.
- How the Kirkpatrick model fails us.
- The missing link in most learning measurement: Remembering.
- Workplace learning’s three meta-methods.
- The two primary goals for smile-sheet design.
- The four pillars of training effectiveness.
- The world’s best smile sheet question.
- The criticality of delayed smile sheets.
- How smile sheets can send better stealth messages.
- How a simple form can end trainer blindness.
- How to get learners to take smile sheets seriously.
- How to get senior managers to care about smile-sheet results.
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What you’ll be able to do by successfully completing this workshop:
- You will have developed a performance-focused smile sheet for your organization.
- You will know how to deploy it so that learners complete it with full engagement.
- You will know how to provide delayed smile sheets to improve feedback.
- You will know how to send stealth messages to your organizational stakeholders.
- You will be able to sooth your conscience.*
*If you attend this workshop, you’ll never think about traditional smile sheets in the same way again. In fact, you’ll likely feel a terrible sense of guilt if you use them. Fortunately, this workshop will provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to create smile sheets that actually work.
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Why take this workout-workplace workshop from Dr. Will Thalheimer:
- He’s led the field in learning-measurement thought-leadership for years.
- He does some of the best research-to-practice work in the industry.
- He’s not a research ideologue. He believes deeply in practical wisdom.
- He’s charming, handsome, and he never jokes around.
- He’s never been abducted by aliens.
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What people have said about the classroom version of this workshop:
- “Loved the workshop. Enjoyed the interactions with my peers and hearing from you (Will Thalheimer) and your perspectives.”
- “Excellent! Very, very informative!”
- “Very informative and eye-opening topic. I will use the information specifically.”
- “All great content.”
- “Great course. I am inspired to learn more and contribute to the evolution of the ‘smart smile sheet.'”
- “It was all valuable.”
- “Thank you! I enjoyed the session and hope to be able to apply some of this.”
- “Thank you for doing what you do! It is nice to know there is someone reviewing the research and making it so I can learn and understand.”
This Sign-Up is specifically for those interested in Subscription Learning.
I promise NEVER to share your information.
= Will Thalheimer
Below are the slides I promised.
Here is my mailing list sign up:
Slides:
Click here to download the slides from the October 15th session.
Thank you for your interest in my work!
= Will Thalheimer
Hello. This is Will Thalheimer! Here to advocate for and explore the idea of SUBSCRIPTION LEARNING.
What is Subscription Learning?
Subscription learning, as its name implies, provides an intermittent stream of learning-related interactions to those who are subscribed. These learning-related interactions–called “nuggets”–can involve a great variety of learning-related events, including content presentation, diagnostics, scenario-based questions, job aids, reflection questions, assignments, discussions, etc. Nuggets are short, usually presented in less than five minutes. Nuggets are intentionally scheduled over time to support learning, often utilizing research-based findings related to the spacing effect. Learners subscribe (or are subscribed) to one or more series of learning nuggets, called “threads.” Learning threads can be predesigned, selecting nuggets based on anticipated learner needs or they can be dynamically created based on learner performance.
Why is This Important?
When most of us think about learning or elearning we think in terms of providing learners with courses–large learning blocks that require learners to sit for an hour or two at a time. While courses have a long history and certainly provide benefits, we shouldn’t be hogtied by the traditional view. Indeed, the science of learning suggests that short learning events provided over time are likely to be an even more potent method. And, in today’s accelerated world, many of our learners don’t have time to devote to long periods of learning.
What this Website Will Attempt to Do
My hope is to generate converts to the subscription-learning approach, provide vetted information of value to learning professionals, and help everyone learn from our collective successes and mistakes. I’m also open to suggestions, so feel free to email me at will {dot} thalheimer {at} work-learning.com.
Wow. What a firestorm! You'd think the U.S. Government was going to go into default or something. Popular Science decides to get rid of its comments–fearing that good science was being misperceived because of online comments.
Here are just a few of the many articles/blogs on the controversy:
- NPR Radio Story (Audio)
- NPR Online Story
- The Guardian article on how some are trying to fix comments
- Washington Post article damning comments (read the comments at the end)
- The Hindu article praising comments
- Slate article on the side of comments
I few quick comments (before I've read the actual science that Popular Science cites and other related research, which, I must add, I find a fascintating topic):
1.
If Popular Science is using only one or two studies to draw conclusions, they don't understand social science. Specifically, they don't understand that social science research generally requires–at a minimum–dozens of studies to draw firm conclusions, fence of boundaries, and discover contingencies. Not always, but usually.
2.
I agree that society today is getting more and more anti-science, anti-evidence, and anti-wisdom.
3.
I agree that there is justification for worrying about the effect of social-media pollution. As a guy who reads over 200 articles from scientific refereed journals on learning, memory, and instruction each year–and thus who probably knows more than the average bear in my field–I've seen lots of categorically-wrong information floated in social-media comments in our field. Of course, I am not infallible, all-knowing, nor omnicient. Anyone who reads the research knows how little of the whole he/she can possibly know. But still, I do know enough to know when some notions of learning are fundamentally flawed. AND in the workplace learning-and-performance field, there is much that is foolhardy, misinformed, and harmful–and social media has not stopped this from happening.
4.
There are some victories, however, even if they are not complete. For example, social-media and the internet have made it less likely that people in our field are spouting off about people learning 10% of what they see, etc. Maybe I have made a difference.
5.
I know that comments have been helpful to me personally in other contexts. For example, the New York Times comments have been very helpful to me in seeing the strengths and weaknesses of the original article.
6.
I got rid of unmoderated comments on my blog purely due to the large amount of spam that was being posted. Most commenters here have helpful things to say.
6.
Popular Science argued specifically that people in general are misinformed about science, lending credence to the idea that comments on vetted scientific articles for a popular audience may be a special case.
7.
Popular Science also argued (see the NPR interview) that they made the decision because they would rather put their resources into creating good articles in the first place rather than moderating their comment sections.
8.
I wish someone who studies this issue intensively would create a rubric, helping us understand when and how comments can be valuable–and when they cause more harm then good. It can't be black and white–comments are good, comments are bad. Most things in human nature don't work like that.
9.
For the workplace learning-and-performance field, my recommendation to you is: Don't assume that comments are good or comments are bad. Do assume however, that you may need a way to regulate, monitor, or control comments to make them helpful. I'll never forget the time that I was arguing with a social-media evangelist who was claiming that social media was always corrective in time. A member of the audience interrupted with the story of how social media killed a couple of soldiers when they used information from social-media to attempt to deal with an improvised explosive device.
Some previous posts on social media: