I always love seeing blog entries that contain great resource references. So, I thought I would start one! Here is the start of a list that I decided to start compiling of some really good blogs that contain a ton of resources, tips, tricks and more links. Feel like sharing yours and growing the list?
Corporate eLearning Strategies and Development
Custom Training and eLearning Blog
An ideal way to engage learners is through video. As an example of the popularity of video you only need look as far as the website YouTube, which currently has 15 hours of footage uploaded to it by users every minute. Digital technology whether it is mobile, video or computer games has fundamentally reshaped the way most of us connect with, make sense of and engage with society.
We need to understand that most of the younger generation will expect an entirely new type of relationship with the world around them that does not rely on accessing information but on creating new knowledge, resources and products. While core basic skills remain vital, new developments and the increasingly collaborative nature of learning will challenge our existing educational infrastructure.
e-Learning guru Lord Puttman stated that "only by engaging with these new and at times intimidating challenges for the process of teaching and learning - almost all of which are facilitated by digital technology - will we produce a generation of creative learners with a breadth and a depth of understanding capable of dealing with this new incredibly difficult century”. As part of his call for a rethink of traditional educational models Puttnam has made a film entitled We Are The People. It is available free from www.wearethepeoplemovie.com
eLearning plays an extremely important role in terms of sustainability. For those organizations looking to be more sustainable and save costs in the process, eLearning is the best way to improve and expand employee skill sets without having to incur additional travelling costs.
eLearning helps organizations expand training opportunities to more employees in more places. It’s available on-demand, providing instant learning at a moment’s notice. For organization’s looking to impart new security policies to their staff and educate them on new best practices, eLearning is the most efficient and cost-effective method of deployment.
Consistent updates will assist you in managing change throughout the yearly life cycle of your security awareness program. It is imperative that you update your program to ensure that training/ awareness/education deployments do not become stagnant and therefore irrelevant to real emerging issues faced by the organization. A planned and consistent update program will also allow you to address changes in security policy, directives and procedures driven from new threats, technologies or legislation. The following 5 steps we hope will assist you in managing program changes:
1. The awareness program should be continuously updated as new technology and associated security issues emerge. Typical program refresh time is every 12 months but changes in an organization’s policies or new emerging threats might dictate a shorter refresh cycle.
2. New training requirements will emerge as new skills and capabilities become necessary to respond to changes in technology and the overall security landscape. Look at implementing role-based e-learning – ie., manager training for new and existing managers, IT admin training, etc.
3. Changes to the organization’s objectives and/or mission can also affect how to best design training content and methods. Review resources and determine what mix of e-learning/seminar and/or outsourced training is required and balance training methods on both your current resources and budget.
4. Emerging trends and regulations/laws will also impact the type and extend of security awareness activities necessary to keep users educated about the latest threats and best practices.
5. New security directives will also drive the need to update and or explore additional training methods or components.
What can possibly go wrong? Find some applicable e-learning that meets the need to the organization, deploy and away you go…right? Wrong. There are multiple factors one must consider when choosing to deploy an e-learning program. There are the direct outcomes such as: learner retention, sustainability, ROI, and both business and learner impact. There are also adoption considerations, such as relevance, acceptance and completion. Also, you need to factor in alignment considerations, such as: approach, culture and problem definition. And finally, there are execution considerations, such as: cost, quality, technology and time to delivery. The good news….if you know what lies ahead, it is easier to plan. Before starting your e-learning program, make a list of all the variables and plan in advance. Elearnity, the inspiration for this blog, has a great free presentation that is definitely worth reviewing at http://www.elearnity.com/EKCLoad.htm?load=byKey/DWIN82RLKF. Enjoy and be prepared.
If you are considering instructor led vs. e-learning methodologies for your next security awareness training class, it might be interesting to note that it has been indicated that only 15 minutes of a one of a one-hour instructor-led class is relevant and therefore the class may be only 25 percent efficient because the learner had to sit through 45-minutes of unnecessary material. If an e-learner is able to skip 45-minutes of material, or pass a pre-assessment test, allowing them to focus exclusively on the 15-minutes of new material, the efficiency of the online class would equal 100 percent. It is this efficiency that gives e-learning the 2:1 time advantage it enjoys over instructor-led training, according to Brandon Hall.
e-Learning, can deliver enormous effectiveness gains to an organization. But how do you justify the initial investment and how do you ensure that learning is aligned with the company's business goals?
Almost everyone realizes that eLearning provides convenient 24/7 access to learning, tremendous cost savings, reduced time away from the job, centralized knowledge management and built-in ease of use in terms of student enrollment, course management and tracking.
However, telling managers about the benefits of e-learning is not enough. They need to understand that e-Learning can solve a distinct business problem(s). How can you tackle this?
1. Establish a baseline measure of current performance, and clearly indicate how performance will be tracked and reported. Management is looking for results. You need to show them the results.
2. What is management willing to accept as persuasive evidence that the program produced the agreed upon result? Establish these results guidelines with management prior to starting your e-learning program.
3. Establish a link between a particular skill deficiency and a particular business outcome. The process of tracking learning results starts before any learning takes place.
4. Determine what major skill gaps and learning deficiencies are potentially holding the company back.
5. Estimate the expected dollar value to be gained by eliminating the deficiency.
5. Get agreement on the expected outcomes, how they will be measured, and what constitutes good performance.
TerraNova Security Awareness © 2008
