Dear Udutu Account Holder,

I trust this newsletter finds you in good health, having survived yet another hectic festive season.

Udutu has great things in store this year, and I am thankful for the opportunity to pass them along to you every month. You will continue to receive useful articles, tips, ideas and information through this newsletter as well as training through Udutu's regular webinars. There are also some exciting new features coming in myUdutu that you will definitely want to hear about.

Ensure you continue receiving this valuable resource by adding the email address "training@udutu.com" to your email white-list. Subscription details can be modified or cancelled at any time - just look for the link at the bottom of each Newsletter or webinar notification you receive from us.

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IN THIS ISSUE

Author's Note:
Ready or Not!

Experts Corner:
How to set up myUdutu's Admin Section

Tips, Techniques & Ideas:
1 - Some Thoughts on Assessments
2 - Tips for Design and Development Teams

Article:
Immersive Learning - What is it and How can You use it?

Webinar Schedule:
2008 Webinars

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Ready or Not

Well here we are! Ready or not, 2008 is upon us. It is amazing how one day - January 1st - can invoke so much emotion. We may feel happy and inspired, resolving to do better in the year ahead, or we may feel a sense of uncertainty about the future. Either way, it is a time to ponder our lot, review the past and plan for the future.

It is probably safe to assume that by now most New Year's Resolutions have already come to a miserable but predictable end. That new diet you were determined to follow has already been put on the back-burner; you went to the store to replace the cigarettes you threw into the garbage on December 31st and you've already yelled at the kids and kicked the dog! The good news is that it's not over, success has only just begun. "This is the first day of the rest of your life!" Why not view each day as the first day of a new year?

I was amused to hear a story on the radio in December, about a man who was known as "Mr. Christmas". This gentleman absolutely loved Christmas and decided that he would make every day Christmas! Before going to work, he would sit down to a substantial breakfast while Christmas carols played in the background. He would then open a gift which he retrieved from under the Christmas tree (gifts that he himself had purchased). He would start each day with this little ritual, living in the excitement and anticipation of each 'Christmas morning'. Upon returning from work, he would pour himself a festive drink and cook a sumptuous dinner complete with a special desert such as Christmas pudding. Then, before bedtime, he would prepare for the next Christmas morning and then go to bed in anticipation of another exciting day ahead. Now to my mind (and probably yours) the guy should be seeking psychiatric treatment, but I had to smile at his enthusiasm. It sure beats dragging yourself out of bed in the morning with a dark cloud over your head!

Every day is a new opportunity to do better, to try again and succeed, to get inspired, find new friends and try new things. We often get caught in the trap of thinking we will never change, but are surprised when we look back over the past year and see just how much we have grown and changed for the better since January 1st the previous year. I am reminded of the old saying; "The road to success is always under construction". Success is cumulative. Not only does this apply to your personal life, but also to your training programs. Making positive changes every day will result in massive success sooner than you think.

I encourage you pursue your goals with enthusiasm. Plan for the future, but live for today. After all, your power is not in the past or even the future, it is in the present. Live each day with passion! (But please forego the Christmas pudding!)

I wish you success and happiness in 2008.

Laureen Barry
About The Author

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EXPERTS CORNER
How to set up myUdutu's Admin Section

Do you need to give colleagues access to your course through the development process? You can do so easily without having to give them your secure login information. All you have to do is create an account for them in the Administration section of myUdutu.

CLICK HERE to view a recording from a recent webinar covering this topic.

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TIPS, TECHNIQUES AND IDEAS
1 - Some Thoughts on Assessments

Many online learners stall when it comes to taking assessments. It is important to remember that the online courses will free the learner and the author from some of the constraints of face-to-face learning. So don't make the mistake of placing scored and recorded assessments in the middle of content where you want the learner to remain engaged and committed. By allowing unrecorded self-assessments, so that learners can fail and retry without fear or embarrassment, you'll get better results on the scored and reported assessments, which you should preferably keep separated from the learning exercises. If your learner can practice until he or she is perfect, then the only challenge to achieving perfect assessment scores will be keeping them motivated and engaged. Remember to construct your course like a story, so the learner has a reason to continue and a need to know the ending. A separated assessment will also give you greater flexibility to impose restrictions, such as time limits, number of tries, deadline dates, etc. An ideal assessment might be an applied learning exercise such as a scenario or case study, rather than a memory test.

Roger Mundell, CEO, Udutu.com
Excerpt from "162 Tips and Tricks for Working with e-Learning Tools" ebook
Published by the ELearning Guild

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2 - Tips for Design and Development Teams

1. Learning can be enjoyable. Don’t be afraid to have some fun
2. Keep it simple
3. Don’t overestimate your student’s e-skills. Take small steps
4. Write in a conversational tone. Keep in touch with learners to prevent any feeling of Isolation
5. Use interactivity (not page turning) on every frame / page. Avoid lecture pages
6. Make it fun, and interesting. Online is different from other forms of teaching. Don’t put a “book” online and expect it to teach
   

Apply these design tips

• Build a solid instructional design. Pay attention to detail during the development phase
• Alpha & Beta test BEFORE release!
• Relying too heavily on assigned readings and book-based tutorials can leave students wishing they had saved their money by simply reading the required texts on their own. Give your e-Learning added value with resources that go beyond the book, such as: interactive media and educational games, relevant and hard-to-find essays or articles, abridged study guides, printable quick-reference guides, and organized lists with vital tips. Leverage the technology available to you to create unique assignments and promote collaboration
• List procedures numerically, breaking up lengthy ones into different segments
• Consider your audience!
• Blended is the magic word
• Re purposing a classroom-based course for online delivery doesn’t work unless it’s redesigned for e-Learning
• Be mindful of the diverse groups of learners and their learning needs
• Be organized
• Make sure your content is accurate
  
  Read additional Design Tips ...

Excerpt from "834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction" ebook - submitted by industry experts.
Published by the ELearning Guild

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ARTICLE
Immersive Learning - What is it and How can You use it?

You've probably heard the terms "Immersive Learning" or "ILS" before, but what exactly is Immersive Learning Simulations? Wikipedia defines it this way:

"The impression that someone has of being somewhere while, in reality, he is physically in another place".

True immersive learning can be experienced through numerous avenues; online multimedia games, books, theme parks (such as Disney World) and even text based interactive games. Whatever transports the learner into another 'world' or 'reality' can be considered immersive.

This is a powerful tool to add to your course development toolbox. It is probably the most effective way of capturing and keeping a learner's attention as can be borne out by most fanatical online gamers. Games such as World of War Craft are engaging, even addictive. When last was a learner 'addicted' to your training course?

Immersive Learning Simulations utilize the concepts implemented in the gaming industry and put the power and control into the learner's hands. They must make decisions constantly and learn by failing. Think about the toddler who constantly falls down but keeps getting up again until she masters the skill of walking. And what about training animals? They often make wrong choices, but quickly figure out the right answers because they receive immediate feedback. Immersive learning is no different. Make a decision - receive feedback - try again. It is a learning cycle.

This immersive style of learning flies in the face of traditional training styles which passively transfer information to the learner and then require them to mentally assimilate all that information and regurgitate the correct answer immediately. Immersive learning removes the tedium of learning by rote and puts the learner in a position to experience the situation instead of just reading or hearing about it. They now have to use critical thinking skills.

So just how difficult is it to create this type of learning simulation? There is no denying the fact that your production team must have some knowledge and experience in the area of course script development as well as simulation creation, but essentially, you need creativity! If you are designing your own course and want to include effective simulations, then you'd do well to think like an online 'gamer' or a mystery novel writer. Create a captivating story or set of situations that will cause the learner to be sucked into the plot through curiosity. You can even utilize emotions such as fear or anger - anything that will cause them to get involved. What online gamer hasn't experienced sweaty palms, pounding heart or an adrenaline rush? It's a fair assumption that they are totally involved in the situation!

An interesting example of this, is a course the Udutu Development Team created for a company who wanted to train their convenience store staff how to protect themselves and practice good security procedures. These staff members were often alone in the stores throughout the night and sometimes experienced robberies. Others had even been shot at. These people could face real danger in their jobs and the Udutu Team tried to convey that sense of urgency through the security course they developed. Included in the course was an elaborate simulation that the learner would go through, receiving immediate feedback after making decisions. If the learner continually made unsafe choices, they would eventually be faced with a final, unsettling feedback screen. What was it? A picture of a hand gun pointing straight at them accompanied by a loud 'BANG!' Now that may be a little over the top for most courses, but given the very real dangers association with the job, it fit the security course very well. The gunshot definitely got the learner's attention albeit through the element of surprise and fear. Do you think they will be sitting on the edge of their seat next time they go through the course? I'd like to bet they will!

Not every course easily lends itself to this type of immersive training, however any accommodations you can make to include some of the elements listed below into your course, will go a long way to holding the interest of your learners and getting the message across effectively.

1. Define the role the learner will be taking. Will they participate in the first person or merely observe? Using the security course example above, you could create the same course for a security patrol officer and a store clerk - both would view the situation from different perspectives.
   
   
2. What are the goals you are trying to achieve? Once again, this is fundamental to course production. Learning outcomes are key to building a pedagogically sound course.
   
   
3. What virtual setting will you use? Can you utilize video, audio, images or 3D? Perhaps you can use a combination of all these elements. Think of visual ways you can convey a message so that even a non-English speaking person will understand the implications.
   
   
4. What resources can you manipulate to influence the training environment? Some possibilities are; money, time, personnel, authority, persuasion, other characters. Build these resources into your simulations to create unexpected elements.
   
   
5. Are there any factors that could pressure the learner into making a bad decision? Using the example of the convenience store again, you could have the store clerk's boyfriend break up with her just before her shift. What state of mind will that put her in? How will it affect her decision making?
   
   
6. Determine how you will provide feedback. What will the rewards be for success and consequences for failure?
   
   
7. Will the learner have to go outside of the course to find additional information or resources? If you are building your simulation in myUdutu, you have the ability to build in 'blind resources', meaning they are not visible or accessible until the learner needs them. These resources are completely separate and are not tracked through SCORM. Of course you can also take the learner out of the training interface completely and into the world wide web through the use of hyperlinks.

It takes practice, together with trial and error to change the way we have always delivered training, but with commitment, perseverance and sometimes outside help, it is possible to create powerful and effective courses that learners will be eager to take.

View a past webinar on how to create a simple scenario in myUdutu.

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WEBINAR SCHEDULE

Welcome to another year of customer focused webinars. We will be changing our format slightly this year to accommodate our customers outside of the North American time zones. Click here to find out more.

Here is what one customer has to say about our webinars:

"I found the information in the webinars to be extremely helpful. It was very easy to follow the directions and create a workable course for my online students. The length of the webinar made it easy to attend the sessions- and no traveling. Thank you Udutu!"

Catherine Walton