Posted 7:53 PM by George Siemens
I attended a presentation on learner success this week. The speaker presented a variety of interesting perspectives...while intended for classrooms, they transfer nicely to elearning. Some thoughts expressed:

• Student success means different things to different stakeholders (i.e. for employers, success=knowledge and skills, for learners success=achieving life goals)
  
• Most learners dropouts occur at the beginning of a program...efforts should be targeted here
  
• At risk learners need to be identified and intervention strategies employed
  
• Support services should follow the medical model: diagnos and prescribe...personalize
  
• Many organizations offer excellent support services, but learners aren't aware of them (need vs. use mismatch)
  
• Organizations need to be intrusive in delivering learner services (not sure about that one...within reason (whatever that is) I guess it could be ok...)
  
• Student's interaction with colleges/universities has evolved...learners want to partner/collaborate with education facilities...they don't want to be treated like containers to be filled with "education"
  
• Organizations need to provide a match between learner's needs and the environment/provision (i.e. ask them what they need!)
  
• 16% of learners are only successful with much help, 16% are successful without any help, 68% of learners are successful because of what the organization does (I think the stats came from the speaker's personal research...)
  

Posted 7:26 PM by George Siemens
Open Journal System
Quote: "Open Journal Systems (OJS) is a journal management and publishing system that has been developed by the Public Knowledge Project through its federally funded efforts to expand and improve access to research."
Comment: Rather than simply complaining about the "closing up" of knowledge, some people actually do something about it...

Posted 12:23 PM by George Siemens
Computer Literacy
Quote: "How much computing knowledge should we include in courses to help our students in the workplace? What do they need to know? What is desirable?"
Comment: Understatement: Computer literacy is important...but it seems gaps continue to grow as technology advances...and tomorrow's innovations are built on today's...things are becoming more complex. Yet the expectation that everyone is proficient with a computer is perhaps the wrong perspective...I think we need programs that allow users to do what they want to do without learning "technology as a second language". Think of the value of basic HTML authoring tools - once the technology was taken out of the tool (via programs like Dreamweaver and FrontPage), a larger audience began to use them.

Posted 12:01 PM by George Siemens
12 Kinds of Knowledge Workers
Comment: Takes a neat approach to defining KM workers from various perspectives...KM is a HUGE field with conflicting views ("KM is everything" to "KM sucks"). An article like this portrays the various components of KM, without trying to force it into a tidy box.

Posted 11:50 AM by George Siemens
Simplicity vs. Innovation
Quote: "How do web designers avoid dullness while maintaining simplicity? How do they strike a balance that will satisfy both innovative web developers and conservative end users?"
Comment: Web designers and instructional designers have a similar challenge: how to communicate intended messages most effectively. Graphics, audio, Flash, etc. may look nice, but they don't improve learner effectiveness if they are poorly selected. The task should drive tool selection. For this reason, the needs and wants of the user should always take a central role. The best way to ensure user value in a site/course is to give him/her the information they came for...