Tag Archive for: subscription

A Subscription-Learning App Wins Apple’s App of the Year!!

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…

 

 

Welcome!

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.