Ten ways to use computers in the corporate classroom

Technology is providing many useful alternatives to the corporate classroom, but it also has an increasingly important role to play when we do get together with a facilitator within the confines of good old bricks and mortar. Not only can it do the job of a whole raft of traditional devices � video and audio players, and slide projectors � it can do things that were simply not possible before the advent of computers. Here are ten suggestions for ways to spice up the corporate classroom:

Display slides: OK, I know, typical bullet point PowerPoint slides are not going to spice up anything, but remember that PowerPoint was originally developed to present visual aids (not verbal ones). So, how about a few more photos, diagrams, illustrations and charts?

Show video: Video is very much the learning medium of choice at the moment, particularly if you want to learn how to do something. So, make use of what�s on YouTube, make use of the excellent libraries of video clips from publishers such as Video Arts, or make your own. Just keep them short.

Play music: I haven�t heard much recently from the accelerated learning folk who advocate playing music in the classroom as part of an all-round, multi-sensory approach to learning, but nevertheless, I�m pretty sure that music can be useful, even if just during the breaks or when groups are doing exercises.

Show 3D models: If you�re a technical instructor working in engineering, anatomy, the trades or something similar, then you�ll know how useful 3D models can be to show how things work. Ideally you�ll have working models that you can manipulate rather than just renderings of 3D models on video.

Demonstrations: If you�re an IT trainer, or otherwise need to refer to websites and software applications as part of your sessions, then you�ll know how valuable it can be to project your demos onto a big screen.

Scenarios: OK, so now we�re getting on to the interactive stuff, which starts to make use of the fact that you�re all in one space together. Scenarios are usually aimed at individuals, but why not open them up to the group, making your decisions on the basis of the majority vote? If collective thinking proves to be less than successful, you can re-un the scenario trying some of the minority strategies.

Quizzes: There is a lot of quiz software out there, some of which will work with audience response systems (including those that use the learners� own smartphones and tablets as input devices). But if you don�t have all this stuff, simple PowerPoint slides will do. Quizzes can be fun; they can also reveal misunderstandings, which you can address then and there.

Real-time writing and sketching: Normally you�ll rush to the flip chart or a whiteboard if you want to record discussion points or sketch an impromptu diagram, but use tablet or laptop and you�ll have something you can then save and share electronically. If you have an interactive whiteboard then lucky you, but there are plenty of cheaper options.

Group exercises: Computers provide a great way for groups to work together on practical assignments, with a digital output that can be easily shared when back in the plenary session. They say that �making stuff� is the most enjoyable way to learn and I wouldn�t doubt it.

Empowering the individual learner: I know it can be off-putting when your group is glued to their screens rather than looking at you but we have to get used to it. Smartphones, tablets and laptops allow learners to take notes, conduct background research, converse with their peers and perhaps even study formal course materials. You don�t even have to be there � sometimes the classroom is the only quiet space available.

New employees will enter the workforce expecting all this stuff and they�ll be disappointed if they have to sit quietly and listen to you without access to the tools that they depend on every day and without the ability to interact freely. I�m with them.

None of this stuff is difficult to put in place but I do understand some teachers and trainers are nervous, principally because they know less about technology than their students do. Time to face up to this problem and invest in some in-service training.

Why e-learning should be in perpetual beta

When you run a workshop for the first time it can be a bit nerve-wracking. After all, you�ve never tested your ideas for content and activities against a real audience before. You can only guess at how long any session will actually take to complete. You don�t know for certain whether your design will work in meeting the underlying learning need.

So, you cross your fingers and toes and give your ideas their first airing. Inevitably, some things will have worked well and some less so. You probably got many things right but you had to make all sorts of on-the-fly adjustments to cope with over-runs and mismatches between what the demand was from your audience and what you had chosen to supply.

This is normal and not a cause for alarm. You set about designing version 2. This will work better but still not well enough. You keep on adjusting the design every time until eventually it flows well and achieves consistently good results. Not that you stop there because you will continue to have new ideas for improvements and the goalposts will keep on moving as the needs change. Yes, workshops are in perpetual beta.

Contrast that with typical self-study e-learning. The design and development of this content is seen like the build up to a product launch, not the unveiling of a new service. Project teams are established to get all the work done and a process put in place to �ensure� a right first time approach. Why �right first time�? Because the project team will be disbanded straight after launch and its members will disperse. It simply has to be perfect out of the box.

But it won�t be, for the reasons we established in my workshop example. Even if it is spot on the target at launch, it won�t be soon after as bit by bit the content becomes less relevant for the audience and the need.

I once asked the CEO of a major e-learning company how much of their work was maintenance of existing content, thinking that this would be a substantial revenue earner. I was surprised to find that hardly anyone maintains their content. They just wait four or five years for the content to become obsolete, then they start all over again.

A right first time approach works if you are building skyscrapers or making Hollywood movies. The safety considerations or the cost of re-work simply demand it. And if you are sending out physical product, like printed books, it is clearly uneconomic to keep printing and distributing new versions. But in an era in which software apps and web content are updated almost constantly and usually painlessly, there is simply no argument for treating e-learning content as if we were making $100m movies or printing books.

Agile development of learning content is a process of successive approximation � getting closer and closer to what is right for the user. It means that you launch with content that is technically correct and bug-free but simple and without all the bells and whistles. You then maintain a dialogue with your customers and make little enhancements as and when ideas and suggestions emerge. Perhaps a difficult concept requires further examples. Maybe more opportunities are needed for practising a skill. Could be that an animation would be helpful to illustrate a process. No problem, you can keep on making improvements just as long as the learning remains relevant.

It doesn�t help that most e-learning content is exported from an authoring tool as a zip file and then uploaded to an LMS. This is a clunky way to deliver content. It is how websites used to work 10 years ago, before the advent of content management systems. We really should be assembling and delivering e-learning content on-the-fly, just like modern websites. That way we could build in some intelligence and personalisation � again just like the best apps and websites.

Until the guys who make the tools get their act together, we can still operate a more agile design and development process. Ok, so we do have to do all that exporting and uploading from one tool to another, but that�s worth it if we want content that responds to user demands and continues to be relevant. Perpetual beta does not mean offering a product that is not yet fit for consumption. It means that we are always working to offer the best product we can.

Learning has composition too

I found this fantastic video on the subject of composition through the nofilmschool site, one of the blogs that I subscribe to to satisfy my current obsession with all things video. You'll find it useful for any visual work you do, whether that's graphics, video, presentation slides or e-learning design!

A lot of highly-skilled work has been put into the design of this tutorial. Don't be fooled by the informal tone - this video is highly professional and wasn't produced in a few hours. And I was glued to it - for about 5 minutes. After that it was more of an effort (I was determined to see it through) because what I really wanted to do was try the ideas out.

Which made me think that learning experiences require composition too; in other words, the right balance between contrasting elements. My learning experience, watching this video, included (1) theory, (2) examples and non-examples, and (3) demonstration. What it lacked was (4) practice and (5) reflection/discussion.

And that's why I'd break this video up into smaller chunks and blend them in with all sorts of other elements.