Patti Shank
President, Learning Peaks
Patti Shank, the president of Learning Peaks, is an internationally known learning expert, researcher, author, and writer who has been named one of the 10 most influential people in eLearning internationally. She is the author, co-author, or editor of numerous books. Patti was the research director for The eLearning Guild and an award-winning contributing editor for Online Learning Magazine, and her articles are found in the ATD Science of Learning and Senior Leaders Blogs and elsewhere.
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eLearning Guild Research: What’s Research Good For, Anyway?
Read any good research lately? The eLearning Guild is committed to providing regular research reports on a variety of topics to the eLearning Community of Practice. Far from being “pie-in-the-sky,” research exists to help you improve what you deliver. Here are the thoughts of the Guild’s research director on what you can expect in coming months.
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Beginning Instructional Authoring: Readability Statistics Help You Sound Human
Does your content read like a history textbook or a government document? It doesn’t have to be dry as dust. Here’s how to use tools you probably already have to put some life into learning!
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Beginning Instructional Authoring: Getting Good Scenario Content from SMEs
Do you have trouble getting “the right content” from subject matter experts? This is a typical problem that many instructional designers have. Fortunately, it is pretty easy to fix. Here’s how!
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Beginning Instructional Authoring: Getting the Content You Need from SMEs, Part 1
Getting content from your subject matter experts (SMEs) can be a bit of a nightmare. This situation is a common one and it’s a problem that does have a solution, although not a solution that is used as often as it could be. Here’s Part One of a short series on dealing with reluctant SMEs.
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Degrees for eLearning Professionals: What’s Needed?
In this report, author Patti Shank expands on her 2011 analysis of which degrees and credentials are of most value for eLearning professionals. Through interviews of academic faculty, corporate managers, and practitioners, Patti examines job forecasts and needs, the value of degrees to hiring managers, ratings for different Master’s programs, and what you can expect in terms of skill outcomes.
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Beginning Instructional Authoring: Are You Looking Out for Your Skills? Part Two
Don’t leave your skills development to chance! Consider where your skills will need to be at the end of 2012, and start planning now to create a path to that level. Patti shows you some guideposts that will help you get there!
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Beginning Instructional Authoring: Are You Looking Out for YOUR Skills? Pep Talk, Part One
Professional development is vital in any career, and especially so in those careers that move as fast as ours in eLearning does. But the task can seem overwhelming: what should be in your professional development plan, and where do you start? It’s not all technical skills. Here is some excellent advice on creating your own plan for 2012 – and for starting on it today!
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Beginning Instructional Authoring: Selecting Self-Paced Authoring Tools (Part 2)
Last month, Patti offered tips to help you get started choosing the right tools for your authoring needs. This month, she gives you the final secrets to making an excellent selection!
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eLearning Degrees and Credentials: Needs of the eLearning Professional
In this report, author Patti Shank analyzes eLearning Guild research data on members’ needs for and experiences with eLearning degree and credential programs. Patti examines the program levels, types and focus areas, as well as respondent goals. She then looks at how respondents chose their programs, before closing with a discussion of how respondents assessed the value of these programs.
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Beginning Instructional Authoring: Why C.R.A.P. Is Exactly What’s Needed (Part 2)
The quality of visual design in your eLearning product can contribute to or detract from its effectiveness — and its credibility! Concluding the discussion started last month, Patti shows you how to use alignment and proximity to solidify your visual design, and how to use all four principles of visual design together.