WillowDNA June Newsletter

Each month we take a look at some of the most interesting research and articles on online learning, social learning and technology.  

E-learning in healthcare: benefits, challenges and limitations – a panel debate

The Guardian hosted a discussion last month on the current and future state of e-learning in health. The panel discussed a range of issues, from benefits to health trusts and staff to some of the challenges involved in implementation, rollout and investment.

We’d love to hear what you think, as the panel limit their view to e-learning content, when a whole range of online learning techniques can be hugely effective in developing critical skills.

The next age of the MOOC – the bridge between further and higher ed

BBC Education recently reported on a new MOOC from FutureLearn designed to support students in the transition from sixth form to university. Sheffield University has also developed a similar offering to support the transition from education to employment.  

Using MOOCs to support learners through key transition periods has real application for corporate learning challenges, such as graduate on-boarding, first time managers and during major change programmes.  For professional bodies, they can also support key career transitions through an industry.

We were also intrigued to see the debate generated from this year’s Collective Intelligence Conference, Santa Clara CA on the emergence of MOOR – Massive Open Online Research.  For learning challenges where knowledge is emergent or dispersed, this creation/curation approach is very attractive.  In organisations, it’s the space communities can fill – a topic WillowDNA will be exploring in more detail at this year’s DevLearn conference at MGM Grand, Las Vegas 30 Sept – 2 Oct.

Towards Maturity launch the 2015 L&D Benchmarking Survey

Following on from the Spring publication of the CIPD’s annual L&D survey, Towards Maturity has launched a call to members to take part in their annual benchmarking study.  Now in its 12th year, it attracts over 3500 organisations to participate, with their results culminating in an analysis of performance against 12 KPIs regarded as crucial in developing engagement with the business and alignment of learning to business outcomes.

To take part, visit the benchmarking section of the Towards Maturity website.

This month, we shine the spotlight on one of our core products – the L&D skills academy  

Our complete L&D academy will help your team understand how to unlock the subject matter expertise in your organisation and take it online.

Our subject areas include:

• Community facilitation workshop and toolset
• Online learning design  – creating effective blended learning
• Articulate Storyline
• Designing and commissioning online learning academies
• Evaluation and measurement

Contact us to explore how we can support your L&D team through our L&D skills academy