Enspire Learning Blog

Everybody has questions about the recent recession. Whose fault is it? Who has suffered the most? How long will it last? How could we have prevented it? And, most importantly, what do we need to do to make sure it doesn't happen again?

Amit Mukherjee wrestles with this last question in an article recently published in Chief Learning Officer Magazine, "Lessons from the Early Days of Lean. He contends that modern corporations have, for better or for worse, been drawn into an increasingly complex series of global networks. These networks made sure that the effects of the recession spread rapidly. Corporate failure to adapt managerial practices to this system has made it difficult for many organizations to recover.

These organizations will need to fundamentally rethink how they perceive and implement management training if they are to stand a chance of surviving this recession. Managers have traditionally been responsible for planning and execution, but the growth of global networks and remote employees have made it highly difficult for them to assess and respond to problems. Management training should encompass not only planning and execution strategies, but also sensing, responding, and learning capabilities.

A recent study released by SRI International for the US Department of Education and recently featured in the New York Times indicates that students receiving all or part of their instruction online perform better in standardized testing than students receiving traditional classroom instruction. Over 12 years, the difference in average scores was a whole 9 percentile points.

Surprised? If you're an e-learning professional, then probably not. We know the myriad benefits provided by e-learning like the back of our collective hand. For those new to the world of e-learning, consider these differences:

Pace. Online education can be tailored to an individual's learning pace, while classroom instruction can leave some students in the dust.
Experience. The interactive nature of online education offers students access to experiential learning, or "learning by doing," not readily available in the classroom.
Comfort. While not called out specifically in this report, computers and the Internet are pervasive in the lives of young people. The younger generation often feels more comfortable on the computer than sitting in a classroom, providing a learning environment more susceptible to knowledge retention.

E-learning vendors can often seem like magicians to their clients. We might as well be putting subject matter in a top hat, waving our Wand of Instructional Design, and saying "Presto!" before pulling out a cute little online training bunny.

Yes, this example is a little exaggerated, but I'm trying to make a point. Many people who turn to vendors for e-learning solutions are not aware of what goes into making a technically and instructionally sound piece of e-learning. And sometimes this perception of e-learning vendors as magicians can lead to those same people setting unrealistic expectations for new projects. While we do work magic, there are certain limitations.

That's why TrainingMag.com recently published an article by Ed Garner, Enspire's VP of Custom Studios, called "5 Things Your Vendors Wish You Knew". Briefly, here are those nuggets of wisdom everyone should bring to the table when dealing with an e-learning client. Read the full article if you'd like some more detailed descriptions of each piece of advice:

We can manage a process, but not your team. Our industry experience allows us to provide a process that gets us from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible, but it's the client's responsibility to manage their own team.

With the current recession, it is growing increasingly important for our elected officials to understand business finance. We need and deserve Congresspeople who can make informed decisions to help get the economy back on track. To assist in this effort, Enspire is sponsoring the Finance for Congress initiative.

Finance for Congress offers free business finance education for our elected officials by providing senators and representatives access to Enspire's Fluent in Finance online curriculum.

You can be a part of the Finance for Congress initiative by visiting www.financeforcongress.com to sign a petition showing your support or to send the information along to your friends.

Enspire was recently featured on CNBC's Street Signs. Click on the video above to watch the segment.

The January issue of T + D explores emerging trends in serious games in Immersive Learning Seeks a Foothold . The article addresses the state of the serious game industry and looks at the future of games for learning. Three Enspire-created games are noted in the article. With Doorways to Dreams Fund, Enspire created Celebrity Calamity, a video game that teaches low- to middle-income Americans how to use credit and debit cards wisely. For Sun Microsystems, Enspire created Rise of the Shadow Specters, an onboarding game. Additionally, Enspire partnered with game developer Aspyr Media to create future, a Kaplan SAT test prep game for Nintendo DS.

Read the full article on the ASTD website.

Our team of geniuses who created Fluent in Finance just released a video that talks about the Mortgage Banking crisis which helped lead to the current Financial Crisis:

On October 27, Insurance & Technology magazine published an article titled "In Depth: CIGNA’s e-Learning Initiative" which discusses CIGNA's efforts to teach the basics of the healthcare system directly to consumers. We're happy to say that Enspire Learning played a role in the creation of this learning experience.

Karen Kocher, CIGNA's chief learning officer, commented on the modules, "They are easy to use for people who may not be accustomed to technology but, for those people who are accustomed to it, [the modules] are also very exciting and game oriented. It all comes together to form a highly effective learning experience."

Click here to read the full text of the article.

We have the privilege of working with some of the top banks in the world. One of these relationships with with PNC Financial, for whom we've built customer service simulations, to help their employees better serve the needs of their customers.

The result? Better customer service: "In the quarter following implementation, customer satisfaction surveys showed a 6.25 percent increase on the item 'was helpful in solving problems'"

This simulation was recently mentioned in an article in Training Magazine. To read the article, click here.

The Enspire Learning Network presents a visual representation of the current financial crisis.

To learn more about the fundamentals of finance, click here:

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