CorpU

JetBlue on Knowledge Transfer: "Knowledge Doesn't Line up with Organizational Charts"

It would certainly make life easier for learning leaders if the knowledge found within a company lined up neatly with the organizational chart. As Murry Christensen, Director of Learning Technologies at jetBlue points out so astutely in the video clip below, the reality is that it does not, and that forces learning leaders to be more creative in how to access knowledge for the benefit of the company. Technology in the form of collaboration platforms now offers one solution, helping the workforce find the information and experts necessary to achieve performance goals. Exercising the ability to identify expertise within the ... Watch Video »

13 Apr 2011

Pearson on Mobile Learning: Don't Forget the Phone

THE PROBLEM In the wake of the tragic events of September 11th, Pearson’s extensive, global and time-honed classroom training program came to a halt because of restrictions on unnecessary travel. The Pearson People Development team knew they needed to ensure that the company’s 35,000 employees had the knowledge and skills for the company to succeed, but they couldn’t get together for training as they had been accustomed to doing for over a century. The Pearson People Development team, led by Krys Moskal, Vice President, had to suddenly and unexpectedly change Pearson’s delivery plans for training ... Watch Video »

12 Apr 2011

CA on Informal Learning: Providing a Sandbox Where People Can Learn

Informal learning — learning that takes place outside of the formally designed classes and e-learning curriculum that traditionally makes up formal learning methods — no longer needs to exist outside of the influence of learning & development. With today's technology, particularly those with Web 2.0 features, it is possible for learning professionals to create an environment in which people can move their informal learning from the break room to the chat room. And, in so doing, the learning organization can observe, track, and measure informal learning activities as never before. Having received industry recognition for creating such an environment, CA Technologies ... Watch Video »

4 Apr 2011

Farmers Insurance "Learn How" - A Revolution in Education

Social media and other new technology is ever expanding our access to information. What do we do today when we want to know something? We google it first, and then possibly post questions in online communities to augment what we've learned in our online search. Humans generated more data in 2009 than in the previous 5000 years. Contemplating this amount of information may seem unfathomable. It has become truly unthinkable for most knowledge workers to drink from this deluge of data in order to find patterns and synthesize it into information, knowledge, and wisdom, helping workers remain productive and ... Watch Video »

4 Apr 2011

MillerCoors on Social Learning: "This is a Brand New Ballgame"

The Problem When MillerCoors decided it was time to replace a legacy software application used to track sales volume among distributors, a three person learning design team in MillerCoors University was faced with reaching and teaching more than 1,200 members of the sales group on the chosen replacement application as quickly as possible. The team knew that teaching new software in a classroom is often expensive and yields less than desirable results, particularly with software training. They also knew the range of ages in the sales force meant they would need to address a variety of learning styles as ... Watch Video »

24 Mar 2011

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Partnerships: March 2011 Update

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Partnerships: March 2011 Update In this installation, CorpU analysts and researchers have identified five mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships worthy of comment from the news, including General Physics' acquisition of RWD Technologies, Interoute's acquisition of Visual Conference Group, Berlitz's acquisition of Second Language Testing, Inmedius's acquisition of Knowledge Xtensions (to extend its Gen21 LMS), Skillsoft's acquisition of 50Lessons assets to fold into its Leadership Development Channel, and Xyleme's partnership with Comtech. Contents: General Physics Extends Market Reach Interoute Adds Video Conferencing and Telepresence Services Berlitz to Offer Customized Language Test Inmedius Extends eLearning ... Read More »

11 Mar 2011

What Motivates People to Engage in Online Communities?

Anyone who has initiated and/or managed an online community knows that you can't just build it and expect people to come; an individual must find his/her motivation before he/she decides to participate. For those who are experimenting with informal social learning, the same holds true. Sure, an instructor can set the expectation that students will share ideas in an online discussion forum or create a document in a wiki. The desire to receive a high mark (or the threat of receiving a low mark) in a class motivates many people, so participation is likely. Many online ... Read More »

8 Mar 2011

Update from the Field: The Flash vs HTML5 War

Noting that the stakes are significant for learning and development professionals, CorpU researchers have been monitoring the battle between Flash and HTML5 over the course of the past year. Why? In our analysis, more than 90% of video content in corporate universities have been rendered as Flash video (or, more precisely, are video files that have been transcoded using the H.264 codec and placed inside a Flash Shockwave, *.swf, file). Because Apple's iPad and new iPhone devices cannot play Flash files, and because most corporate videos are set to be played back in Flash, many L&D professionals ... Read More »

1 Mar 2011

CorpU Research Brief: How Western Companies Adjust to Deliver Effective Learning in Eastern Countries

Over the past two decades, corporations have been expanding operations in emerging markets in Asia. This expansion brings with it the need to train and develop local staff according to the corporate culture, invariably resulting in culture clash. Although managers strive to maintain a consistent corporate culture across all geographic locations, they inevitably face the reality that the ties employees have to local culture are stronger than those to corporate culture, and so they must approach the introduction of skills or behaviors that are new to the local population with respect and finesse so as not to completely alienate them ... Read More »

25 Feb 2011

Colleges and Companies Should Work Together for a Better Tomorrow

Are colleges doing what they need to prepare students for the jobs of the 21st century? Are new hires, especially those just finishing their first college degrees, ready to be productive contributors? If the answers to the first two questions are negative, what can learning leaders do to optimize their company's investment in new talent? This article presents the challenges of today's college preparation of the 21st century workforce, and strategies that learning leaders can take to ensure that the incoming, college educated talent pool can meet the strategic needs of their companies. What Is Missing in Today ... Read More »

4 Feb 2011

Employee Development: Are you Connecting all the Dots?

Today's global corporations must find the optimal organizing structure and set of processes for each business function in order to maximize their competitive advantage. These factors include such things as labor costs, supply chain management, distribution, offshore capabilities, globalization, and market dynamics. Decisions regarding the above can often be the difference between world-class performance and business mediocrity, with the difference manifesting itself in shareholder value. The development of people is no different. In order to sustain business performance, learning organizations must create an enterprise-wide learning and development strategy, structure, and processes to ensure that it develops talent in the ... Read More »

31 Jan 2011

Where Learning Offsite Works

The always-on, always-connected approach to work has created a few unfortunate conditions: information overload, short attention spans, and distracted driving. Ironically, as most professionals in learning and development have experienced, someone suggesting a face-to-face learning experience be delivered off-site is often met with a series of reasons why it cannot be done or it would be a bad idea. Off-site training is not the panacea that eliminates "distracted learning" in the workplace; yet, when used appropriately and infrequently, off-site learning sessions — like off-site meetings, as Michael Watkins has noted — can often be powerful and formative. Why Face-to-Face? And Why Off-site ... Read More »

28 Jan 2011

Execute