Too many times, training struggles to show its impact on a business; the metrics used to measure training are unrelated to the bottom line results of a firm. Training departments often have difficulty showing their impact on sales and revenue goals. Thus training is viewed as a support function or engaged only when necessary.

In this session, you will explore the relationship of training to a business, and how blended learning solutions are used to achieve sales and revenue goals. You will learn how to align training to achieve sales and revenue goals that consist of four fundamental tenants: product market analysis, aligning training to specific industry and job personas, identifying and publishing relevant and timely training solutions, and marketing training product solutions. You will learn how to set training up as a strategic partner for business development and sales, and you will see the bottom line impact on a business.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to align training to industry segments and job personas
• Strategies for designing learning solutions tied to business results
• How to chunk training that works
• How to market to your target audience
• How to measure the impact of training on sales and revenue goals

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

From its inception, distance learning at Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) has covered three priority areas: creating distance learning and blended learning courses, providing post-training support for IDI alumni, and integrating education technology tools into face-to-face courses. However, IDI has faced the significant challenge of battling an environment where prospective trainees have little-to-no access to fast, reliable Internet. To deliver full-fledged, online courses, IDI has used the open-source software Poodle.

In this session, you will learn how Poodle is being used to provide an offline virtual learning environment through preloaded USB flash drives. You will see how healthcare workers in rural areas benefit through this innovative, low-tech solution. You will learn how during the delivery of distance-learning courses, trainees can use the ATIC toll-free line to receive assistance on course-related administration and coordination. You will also learn how IDI has successfully used an SMS system through which trainees are sent quiz questions to provide follow-up to training.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use Poodle for offline environments
• How to incorporate toll-free call centers to support distance-learning courses
• How to provide SMS-based follow-up of training
• How to understand the complexities of providing distance-learning opportunities in slow, unreliable Internet environments

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, developers, and project managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Poodle, ATIC call center, and SMS.

Designing training without an understanding of how the brain works is a lot like trying to get somewhere without a map. Even if you eventually arrive at your destination, you won’t know how you got there so that you can do it again. Once you understand how the brain works, you can use the attention, engagement, encoding, and retrieval processes of the brain to make training that is more effective, takes less time to produce, and delivers more lasting results.

In this session, you will learn how brain-aware design can be applied to any learning or performance support project. You’ll also learn how to apply a toolkit of templates and resources to help you make learning experiences that teach the brain the way the brain wants to learn. You’ll gain practical tips on how to apply this brain science in your work.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create learning materials that increase attention
• How to build learning experiences for maximum engagement by using the brain’s bias for social interaction and connection
• How to maximize retention and retrieval by teaching the brain how to categorize, file, and recall key points, skills, and concepts
• How to plan your next brain-aware project using the toolbox resources provided in the session

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

During design and development SMEs, stakeholders sometimes suggest ideas or practices that are antithetical to good instructional design. For example, a designer might have a stakeholder who believes it’s best to simply film a daylong stand-up training session and deliver it as one video. In this case, like so many others, it’s helpful for the designer to identify research findings to help them understand why learning should be designed differently.

In this session, you will learn the most current research regarding multimedia, visual design/usability, and assessment in eLearning. Framed as a story, this session will use scenarios in which research is used to make design decisions, and attendees will receive a list of places to look for current research to inform eLearning practices. You will receive a list of current research findings and assessments and be able to identify how and where research is best cited for a SME, and how to apply findings to your design and development process.

In this session, you will learn:

• To cite research in three areas: multimedia, visual design/usability, and assessment
• To successfully use research to make data-driven decisions for design and development
• To find sources of eLearning research
• To conduct a research-based discussion with SMEs

Audience:
Novice and intermediate developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

It’s a daunting challenge to transition from individual contributor to frontline leader; a challenge that requires new leaders to develop what can be a bewildering variety of new skills. To succeed, new leaders must practice those skills on the job, but few actually do. As a result, many leadership development programs focus on providing great training events only.

In this session, you will learn about a framework for developing frontline leaders that puts demonstrated proficiency first. You’ll learn how new leaders collaborate with their managers to work through journeys. You will learn how within each journey, a behavioral assessment is used to gauge their capability and about the move to training with a real focus on practice on the job. You will see how a series of short and structured moments of truth with managers are used to successfully review practices and progress. This session will provide you with an insightful overview of how to develop an engaging learner journey for proficiency in leadership development.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to identify the pressures that drive leadership development programs to be organized around events
• How to identify the shortcomings of an event-based model
• How to develop a journey-based model
• The roles and responsibilities required to execute a successful journey-based model
• How technology can enable organizations to manage the complexity of journeys

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

How did Samsung Australia prepare for a shift from live, in-person training and product launch services to sales teams at 24-plus wireless carriers and big box retailers across Australia and New Zealand? What is required to train more than 20,000 external retail staff on an end-to-end platform—spanning registration, content delivery, and tracking—and provide support for each carrier through a privately branded experience?

In this session, you will learn how Samsung Australia ensured a consistent learning experience via all popular mobile devices, including Samsung, non-Samsung Android, Apple iOS devices, and online web portals. You will learn the key steps in the project, from initial planning to situation analysis, technical architecture, global stakeholder buy-in, and sponsorship. You will learn about blended learning design strategies geared for effective transfer of learning, ongoing communication and change management, and overall program coordination.

In this session, you will learn:

• About conversations and actions required to transform organization-wide learning
• Design strategies for learning experiences
• Turning learning into action, ensuring an effective transfer of learning
• Supporting large-scale learning roll-outs

Audience:
Novice designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Learning management system, eLearning, videos, performance support tools, and reporting.

A complete software system overhaul is a challenge for any organization. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory completely re-engineered its 17-year-old system from the ground up, requiring training on the new systems and related processes for each of its employees. Creating a learning program, which includes 189 different processes for 4,300 employees across 21 role groups with a core team of two in less than eight months, makes for overwhelming odds against success.

In this session, you will learn about the process used to create training curriculum from an extensive list of business processes, how processes to roles were mapped, and how training was developed using both professional and non-professional course developers. You will also learn how online, physical classroom, and virtual classroom training was managed to reach employees throughout the organization. You will see how a small team of training professionals created a curriculum and library of 44 training courses, while achieving positive business and student feedback.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create role-based curricula from a list of business processes
• Methods to blend eLearning with web conferencing recording to rapidly develop courses
• A method to obtain additional resources to augment your development team
• Methods to communicate
• How to keep track of multiple course development and progress for management reporting
• How to create partnerships with employee teams to develop training courses

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced managers and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Storyline, ReadyTalk web conferencing, and Google apps.