Tracking Without an LMS

Based on an earlier post - Tools for On-Demand Information - An LMS?, I received a couple of questions around tracking.

Then today, I saw a post on TrDev about tracking without an LMS and thought I should maybe clarify what I often see as the choices around tracking:

a. Click tracking
b. Custom tracking
c. LMS tracking

Click Tracking

In Click Tracking, you rely on looking at logs of what pages have been clicked on and get reports via log file analysis (web analytics) tools such as WebTrends. These tools will tell you:

• How many users have visited each page (HTML page)
• When users are visiting
• How long users stay

This is very standard technology that likely your IT shop can provide for you. If they cannot, then you can do what I've done on this blog and embed SiteMeter onto all of your web pages and it will give you similar kinds of reports. In fact, if you go to the link at the bottom of my blog (you can't see this in the RSS feed), you can see what traffic I get.

What you don't get with Click Tracking (without using some tricks) is the ability to see what any individual user did on the system. Thus, you couldn't tell if John or Sue finished the course. So, you have to answer the question:

Do I need to know if people are completing the course?

If the answer is no, then the other aspect to this solution is to create your course in a way that is easily tracked. Remember that Click Tracking only tells you what page was clicked on. This means that you need separate pages for your course. If you create a single, big Captivate Flash file, you will have no clickstream data. Instead you need to break the Captivate movies up (which is good practice anyhow) and put separate Captivate movies on each page.

LMS Tracking

I'm skipping Custom for a second. LMS tracking relies on creating a SCORM or AICC course which then communicates with the LMS in order to provide details of score, sections completed, which user it is, etc.

There are two issues with LMS tracking. First, many people do not have an LMS available to them. Second, even if you have an LMS you may not want to require users to login before they access content. This is discussed in Tools for On-Demand Information - An LMS?

Custom Tracking

While it is becoming less common as prices for LMS products have gone down and there are more hosted LMS products available, there are still times when we build custom tracking solutions. If you have no IT support available to you (i.e., simple programming), then this option is not available. However, there are some very simple things you can do to quickly and easily track your courses. While there are many solutions and lots of possible permutations, the basic approaches that are used are either a Simple Database or Enhanced Click Stream.

In a Simple Database approach, users will be asked to enter their name (sometimes at the start and sometimes at the end) in a simple form that will be recorded in a database. A simple web page is created that dumps out these results. There are lots and lots of subtleties here, but this is very simple to pull together and will give you a record of what a specific individual did. This approach is good when you only need a simple report of who has completed the content and do not need details of how they got there.

In Enhanced Clickstream, we will continue to rely on a tool like WebTrends, but we will put in place a simple bit of code that will enhance the clickstream data (the web log file) with information about the particular user. Normally, we rely on asking the user up-front for who they are (and then embed a cookie for repeat visits). This way, we can encode each page hit in the log file with the user information. WebTrends and other such tools can look at these parameters and give details of what pages that user has gone to. If you have a single completion page, it is easy to get a report on who has "completed" the course. This approach is good when you want to get more details of what individuals are doing on the system.

Keywords: eLearning Resources

US, Europe, China Vie for Cultural Influence

For years, the global marketplace has been dominated by American advertising, media  and products.  However, the Herman Group forecasts increased competition from Europe and China on the world stage, and the different cultural influences that such presences would bring:

Watching trends, we look beyond China to other parts of the world under the influence of Western cultures. American and European marketers are deeply invested in extending their reach and penetration. They must now anticipate and prepare for competition from Chinese marketers. There is a new player in the global race for cultural influence, the tremendous consumerism impact, and the more subtle pursuit of political attachment.

The Herman Group also anticipates a surprising level of diversity from the Chinese marketplace, reflecting the array of cultural niches and preferences that marketers in the West are just beginning to understand.

Tags: marketing, China, Europe, US, business, culture, consumerism

Developer Creates a Prototype "Zero Energy Home"

So-called "zero energy homes" have been around for awhile in experimental form.  But now, an Oklahoma-based housing developer has created a prototype that could bring such high-efficiency, environmentally friendly homes into the mainstream housing market.

The builder, Ideal Homes, constructed the house in a suburb of Edmond, Oklahoma.  The house is designed to sell for about $200,000 in a market where an equivalent house using more traditional energy methods would sell for about $125,000.  Ideal Homes is positioning itself to be a leader in new housing construction, perhaps hoping to redefine it the way that William Levitt did in the 1950s

Despite its name, a zero energy house does use energy, and is connected to the power grid.  But through solar cells, ground-source heat pumps, tankless water heaters, sophisticated insulation and architecture that leverages sunlight, a zero energy house can actually generate more energy than it consumes. 

The higher cost of the house may outweigh the energy savings in the short term, but the savings will surely increase as the price of fossil fuels rises.  Plus, if zero energy design becomes the standard for housing construction, costs are certain to fall, making zero energy homes that much more attractive.

Source:  Futurismic

Tags: housing, architecture, zero energy, energy, environment

Collaborative Learning Using Web 2.0 Tools - A Summary

Background

Over the past six weeks, I’ve been leading a course:

Collaborative Learning Using Web 2.0 / eLearning 2.0 Approaches

Course Description: The purpose of this course is to give you an opportunity to learn about collaborative learning by participating in collaborative learning. This course is designed to teach how to design and build collaborative learning experiences using Web 2.0 / eLearning 2.0 approaches.

You can find out more about the course itself from the Wiki at: http://collaborativelearning.pbwiki.com/

The basic structure of the course was:

• Six weeks long, each week had a one-hour virtual classroom session
• First two weeks were introductions to the tools and to collaborative learning
• Middle three weeks were the design (as a team) of collaborative learning projects, facilitation/participation in projects.
• Final week was a summary discussion

The participants in the class were corporate learning professionals from a variety of medium to large organizations.

Summary

This has been a great learning experience for me. I thought it might be interesting to provide some of the feedback from course participants and some of the insights from having conducted this course. I’m going to likely have additional posts based on the outcomes of this course. (Note: all quotes below are from participants.)

• Nuvvo was initially going to be used for the course as a registration system, communications and some content presentation. However, I found little value over using separate tools such as Yahoo Groups and a PBWiki. Through Nuvvo I did receive several registration requests, so it at least offers free advertising.
  
• There is significant interest in the topic. I sent out about 10 emails to friends and colleagues and quickly found about 20 people wanting to take the course (I got back 2 or 3 people at several companies). However, the low barrier to entry (free course offered by a friend) created an opportunity for a disconnect between my expectations for participants and their “commitment.”

“In order for the class to be effective I would be charging up front. Make some accountability for the folks to ensure the committment is there.”

• An introductory survey, conduct using SurveyMonkey – , worked very well! I would highly recommend SurveyMonkey. Using the survey I was quickly able to determine interest areas, when people would be able to participate, level of understanding of different technologies (Survey Results). My only problem was that I didn’t really have a way to change the class design significantly based on the result and I should have. See the next topic. Interestingly, one of the projects within the class (created by the participants) used a survey as well (which was a surprise, but speaks to how easy surveys are to use these days).

“Use a more comprehensive survey to learn more about the participants and why
they are taking the course and how they plan on using the things they learn. This might provide more insight in developing various exercises or homework - pairing people with like needs.”

• When I originally conceived the course, I assumed that most attendees would know about Blogs, Wikis, etc. generally, but would not have experience using them. This turned out not to be the case. Because of this I could easily have used another two weeks to more gradually introduce the tools.

"introducing 3 new technologies (blogs, BlogLines, wikis) at the same time is a bit much"
“Specific introductory directions would have been helpful.”
"liked to have started the week with more background and knowledge on blogs and wikis ... so my focus could have been on richer information sharing"
“Have a pre-class experience for those unfamiliar with the tools to learn more about
them by having demonstrations or showing examples. Or dedicate the first 2 sessions to learning and applying the tools one at a time in our homework. In this way, those people who are already familiar with them could be given the choice of missing those sessions. "

• All professionals (including learning professionals) are extremely busy. Even though the attendees in this class were fairly dedicated, it still is hard to find time for 3-5 hours per week. Ideally the course would have required less research time on topics. It is hard to define “assignments” that take relatively short amounts of time yet are interesting and deep enough. Part of this is the natural reluctance to share partial thinking.

"Doing research on the web is time consuming"
"I find that I am hesitant to write anything unless I have really thought it through."

• Firewalls and restrictive corporate environments caused us considerable grief: Yahoo Groups were restricted in some corporate environments, Elluminate did not work through several firewalls, we had to switch to WebEx and that really goofed up the start of the course; Yahoo Toolbar (for MyWeb) couldn’t be installed on locked desktops.
• Software as a Service (SaaS) is only way this could have worked. While I came into this believing in SaaS, I’m leaving it believing even more.


• Limit class size … teams of 4 worked well … 22 individuals acting individually in the early part of the course did not.


• I think that we achieved a different kind of understanding around Blogs, Wikis, Discussion Groups, etc. by actively using them as part of the class. Most of the participants gained real value from actively working with the tools as part of a learning experience, BUT, there is definite frustration as well given having to simultaneously get up to speed on the tools and learn about using them. Given the widely different levels of experience and propensity for using the tools, it was very difficult to balance learning about the tools and using them as part of learning. In the future, I will separate the two entirely.

"Let’s hear it for failure based learning"

• Students were given a first-hand experience relative to "control" in collaborative learning both as participants and as leaders. As participants, they were given a lot of autonomy which sometimes worked well and many times did not. As leaders of their individual projects, they had mixed results with the participants actively engaging on the project. Also, I was fairly open on many issues such as assigning roles in teams, establishing norms – but some teams suffer because of this:

"Team collaboration might have been better if we had assigned roles soon after Tuesday's meeting"
"I found that in our collaborative environment, it was much easier to get busy and not participate as much as I would have when forced to face my facilitator or team members in an actual conference call or live meeting encounter. It became apparent that deadlines would need to be set and enforced in a corporate collaborative environment to ensure things kept progressing."

• You still need to enforce timelines, norms, etc. While it’s nice to try to leave things open, it may be more effective to be somewhat dictatorial.

“Meetings are great to keep things moving because they are a deadline”

• Each week, students would reflect on what they learned and how the class was working for them through a Plus/Delta assignment. This worked very well and sparked interesting discussions each week. But you need a thick skin. Most of the quotes here comes from the Plus/Deltas. However, there was some question of the format:

"I am not sold on the value of a plus / delta post. I prefer a more free form comment on the learning of the week. The important element of the post from a learning perspective is learner reflection. I think general comments on the week
allows this reflection to be more meaningful, at least to me it is."

• The tools generally work pretty well for collaboration

"Our new collaboration tools were essential as our team had challenges with time schedules and difficulties coming together."
"signing up on Yahoo 360 and Yahoo My Web went well"
"sharing links with My Web is a lot easier than e-mailing them"
"Yahoo Bookmarks allows you to see your bookmarks from home or office"
"Yahoo groups worked well for exchanging information with team members"
"Signing up for Yahoo 360 and My Web were very quick and easy"
"I was surprised at how easy add-ins were to incorporate"

• The projects in the course (designed by participants) was a great learning experience. If anything, more of this kind of learning would have been better.


• Timing is a real challenge. Ideally you would get work into pairs or teams quickly, but with this kind of class you expect to have some level of non-participation and you don’t want people teamed with folks who will drop. So, you start individually, but then move to more team-based. However, most of the participants felt that pairs/teams were more effective.


• Our teams had mixed results in really collaborating virtually. This was primarily a function of timing. If you could do several cycles in a short amount of time, then you could get good collaboration.

Keywords: eLearning 2.0, Web 2.0, Collaborative Learning

Will 2006 be a Season of "Niche Blockbuster" Movies?

Those observing the film industry made note of the overall decline in box office sales in 2005.  This year, despite a rise in business, analysts are noting that this summer's slate of major releases does not appear to be generating much excitement among those in the prime movie-going age bracket (18-30 year olds). 

An online survey of young people by the consumer trend forecasting firm Zandl Group concerning the 2006 summer movies found that only three releases (The Da Vinci Code, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and X-Men: The Last Stand) generated interest from more than 50% of those surveyed.  Additionally, much has been made of the less-than-spectacular numbers earned thus far by the season's first big release, Mission Impossible III, and the anemic first-weekend earnings of Poseidon, the $160 million remake of the classic 1972 disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure.

The long tail effect, combined with greater online offerings, is creating the phenomenon of the "niche blockbuster."  Unlike the classic Hollywood blockbuster that "everyone" went to see, niche blockbusters can still earn respectable profits, but will appeal to specific audiences.  The 2006 menu of summer movies may well be one that appeals to just such niches.

Sources:  VisibilityPR, Box Office Mojo

Tags: movies, long tail

Content Reclaiming the Throne

"Content is king!" went the battle cry from the early days of the Web.  A decade later, with the dotcom bust a distant bad memory and Web 2.0 reinvigorating the online world, content is once again the focus of attention.  The attention of some very big and surprising players, it should be noted.

User-generated video has, of course, the hottest buzz at the moment.  This buzz has caught the eye of advertisers, eager to find new ways to attract viewers who ignore TV commercials and popup ads.  An Atlanta-based ad agency called ViTrue is developing a model for selling customer-created ads, to "enable major brands to leverage customer creativity to produce more relevant and engaging ads, at lower production and distribution costs." To do this, ViTrue has acquired a controlling interest in the video sharing site Sharkle.

The way ViTrue sees it, everyone wins:  the client gets a low-cost ad that raises its visibility in in a hard-to-reach demographic, consumers see something that's both informative and entertaining, and would-be video producers get their work showcased.  The strategy has its risks -- the viral video craze could die down, or viewers could get jaded quickly -- but with the market for online video advertising expected to reach $640 million in the US alone by 2007, it's a risk advertisers have to take.

Companies like ViTrue aren't the only ones embracing content these days.  No less a player than Microsoft has announced its entry into the content creation space.  While hardly a stranger in this area -- Microsoft launched Slate and MSNBC back in the Web 1.0 days, and Bill Gates said in early 1996, "Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet" -- Microsoft appears to be once again making content development and advertising key priorities.  Said CEO Steve Ballmer in a May 4 meeting with advertisers, "We think the desire for people to read online and the desire you have to communicate online actually exceeds the good inventory that's available out there today." 

Microsoft's approach appears to center around beefing up its MSN network by, among other things, acquiring UK-based game developer Lionhead Studios and online advertising firm Massive Inc.  Some speculate that Microsoft may also purchase a stake in some of the Internet TV startups, or even in an established media powerhouse like Time Warner.

Sources:  Lost Remote, Springwise, Business Week

Tags: viral video, advertising, online advertising, Microsoft, Internet TV

The Changing Face of Grocery Shopping

Evolving consumer tastes and business trends are changing the way we shop for groceries.  Once a dull, utilitarian task that stressed low prices over style, grocery shopping is taking on new and even exciting facets.

In the US, perhaps the most notable trend is that toward upscale stores such as Wegman's, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.  In addition to providing the customer with innovative and exotic products -- many of which are organic and ecologically sensitive -- these stores strive to create a shopping experience, offering cooking classes and other attractions to make the stores special destinations.  Many of these stores also have cafes and eat-in facilities, allowing shoppers to dine where they shop (serving a dual purpose of offering a time-saving service while showcasing the store's foods).  Such moves appear to be paying off, as shoppers often travel out of their way to shop at these stores.

In these stores, enhancements to the customer experience is more than just window dressing.  These stores consider themselves to be on a mission... and the result is that their employees are energized, and pass that sense of purpose on to their customers.  Attention to detail, then, is an outgrowth of employee passion.

The trend toward upgrading supermarkets is being noticed in Europe, as the Austrian chain MPreis is incorporating stunning and progressive architecture in its store construction.  With each store featuring its own eye-catching design, MPreis stores are as far away as one can get from bland "big box" retail construction. 

One notable aspect of this trend is that, with all this attention to style and mission, prices in these stores are only slightly higher than that of their discount competitors -- who are taking notice of these stores' success. 

The most notable of these, Wal-Mart, is preparing to launch a line of organic foods.  Organic advocates generally applaud this move, as Wal-Mart's power in the retail space can only raise organic products' profile in the mainstream, though some critics dismiss the move as "greenwashing," or using organics as a mere marketing ploy while changing little about their retail operations.

Upscale grocers are thriving because informed consumers are voting with their wallets, choosing style, service, quality and sustainability over low prices in their grocery shopping, even if that means paying slightly more. 

Sources:  Springwise, WorldChanging

Tags: organic, Wal-Mart, grocery, supermarkets, retail, upscale