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Monday, May 26, 2008

Interview with Veronica Inoue, Learning Review

Welcome to an interview with Veronica Inoue, managing editor and director of Learning Review, the first publication in Spanish dedicated to elearning. The interview appears here in both Spanish and English.

1. What is your name and what is your connection to e-learning?
Soy Verónica Inoue y me desempeño como Directora Editorial de Learning Review, una publicación que aborda los temas de capacitación y desarrollo con nuevas tecnologías, donde se incluye el e-Learning. Learning Review comenzó como una revista latinoamericana y ahora ya tiene una edición completamente exclusiva para España. Además, soy alumna de una Maestría por e-learning y realizo otras actividades a veces como tutora y otras como participante.

I am Verónica Inoue and I’m the Editorial Director of Learning Review, a publication that presents themes of training and development with new technologies, which incluyes e-learning. Learning Review began as a Latin American magazine, and now it has an edition that is completely exclusive for Spain (here). In addition, I have a master’s degree in elearning, and I am often involved in other activities; sometimes as instructor, and sometimes as participant.

2. How did you first become involved in the topic of e-learning?
Estudié Recursos Humanos en la Universidad y vimos este tema en la cátedra de Capacitación. Dado el interés que me causó este tema (allá por el año 2001), realicé mi tesis en este tema; investigué sobre las implementaciones que se estaban haciendo en distintos ámbitos en Argentina en ese momento.

I studied Human Resources at the university and we say this theme in the department of Training and Development. Given the interest that this topic inspired in me (back in 2001), I decided to do my thesis in this area. I investigated the way that elearning was being implemented in several different areas in Argentina at that moment in time.

3. What is the Learning Review LatinoAmerica, and how did it come into existence?
Learning Review Latinoamérica es una publicación sobre capacitación y desarrollo mediado por tecnologías (e-learning, m-learning, blended learning, educación en mundos virtuales 3D), así como sobre mejora del desempeño humano, gestión del conocimiento y capital intelectual. Produce una revista trimestral en papel para toda Latinoamérica, un newsletter mensual con noticias, eventos y adelantos de la edición en papel, y un sitio web que se actualiza diariamente. (

Learning Review Latin America is a publication that covers technology-mediated training and development (elearning, mobile learning, blended learning, and education in 3D virtual worlds), with the goal of improving human performance, the development of knowledge and intellectual capital.

Learning Review Latinoamérica nació para cubrir la necesidad de información y actualización que demandaban los profesionales de capacitación y desarrollo de las empresas de esta región. Es la primera revista sobre esta temática específicamente, en habla hispana.

4. What is the magazine's primary mission? Who is your target audience? Why?
Our primary mission is to be the partner enables training and development professionals to demonstrate the commercial value of their skills and specialties. We would like to establish a space where training and development professionals find, in a single place, all the information they need to keep current. We also aim to share experiences, trends, research, opinions and news in the training and development sector, that boost one’s knowledge in a continuous and accessible way.

Nuestra misión principal es ser el socio que permita a los profesionales de capacitación y desarrollo rentabilizar las prácticas de su área, así como generar impacto en el negocio.
Establecer un espacio donde los profesionales de capacitación y desarrollo encuentren, en un solo lugar, toda la información para mantenerse actualizados.
Difundir las experiencias, tendencias, investigaciones, opiniones y novedades del sector de capacitación y desarrollo de personas, que permitan crear conocimiento en forma continua y accesible.

Our target audience consists of the following:

Directors of human resources
Training and development managers
Directors of consulting groups that specialize in e-learning, corporate training, continuing education
Leaders of e-learning projects
Instructional designers and instructional technologists who work in e-learning projects
Chairs and others responsable for human resources careers and those affiliated with universities that offer e-learning

El target de nuestra audiencia conforma:
· Directores de recursos humanos.
· Gerentes de capacitación y desarrollo.
· Directores de consultoras de e-learning, capacitación corporativa, educación continua.
· Lideres de proyectos de e-learning.
· Diseñadores instruccionales y tecnólogos que trabajen en proyectos de e-learning.
· Responsables de carreras de RRHH y afines de universidades con oferta presencial y por e-learning.

5. What do you see as the most exciting new directions in elearning in Latin America today?
Creo que finalmente está insertándose en la mayoría de las empresas medianas y grandes. Latinoamérica siempre se encuentra uno o dos pasos atrás de las tendencias mundiales que suelen darse inicialmente, en Estados Unidos, Europa, Japón. Entonces, si bien en las grandes empresas el e-learning es un hecho y ya están yendo en busca de integrar el m-learning o los mundos virtuales, en las empresas medianas está iniciándose el proceso de incorporación y de integración a la modalidad presencial de capacitación. Desde muchos gobiernos de países latinoamericanos, se está comenzando a incentivar estas prácticas de e-learning, principalmente desde la incorporación de esta modalidad de aprendizaje a instituciones públicas. De hecho ya hay interesantes casos de e-learning gubernamental en Latinoamérica.

I believe that elearning is finally being incorporated in the majority of mid-sized and large companies. Latin America always seems to find itself a step or two behind global trends that tend to be initiated in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Then, in large companies, if e-learning is a given and they're already looking for ways to integrate mobile learning or virtual worlds, then we'll start seeing medium-sized companies initiating the process of incorporating those modes of training. Quite a few governments of Latin American countries are starting to provide incentives to incorporate elearning, mainly in public institutions. In fact, there are already interesting cases of government elearning in Latin America.

6. What are some of the main barriers?
Lamentablemente, la conectividad sigue siendo una de las barreras más difíciles de quebrar en esta región. El problema nunca está en las capitales de los países o las grandes urbes, sino en las pequeñas poblaciones más alejadas de los centros urbanos.
También falta mucho más incentivo, capacitación, iniciativas por parte de los distintos ministerios o dependencias del gobierno (los ministerios de educación, de trabajo, deberían generar políticas y ponerlas en práctica para hacer de esto una cuestión de interés nacional).
Y por supuesto, no puedo dejar de mencionar la barrera cultural que en muchos países aún se torna como principal dificultad. En este sentido será fundamental el rol y la posición que tomen las universidades y los colegios; integrar el e-learning en la educación (en todas las etapas) es fundamental para ir rompiendo esta barrera cultural.

Sadly, connectivity continues to be one of the most difficult barriers to overcome in this region. The problem never occurs in the capitals of countries, or in the large cities, but in the small population centers more distant from the urban centers. Also lacking are incentives, training, and initiatives on the part of different ministries or branches of the government (ministries of education and of labor should generate policies and put them in practice in order to make this a question of national interest.)

Of course, I must not fail to mention a cultural barrier that in many countries still presents itself as the principle difficulty. In this sense, the role and the position that the universities and high schools take is absolutely fundamental. It is important to integrate elearning into education (at all stages) because it is vital in order to go forth breaking down cultural barriers.

7. How can more people have access to elearning?
Esta es una pregunta que es sencilla de responder; el problema es poder poner en práctica aquello que decimos (que es lo más difícil en Latinoamérica). El e-learning puede hacerse accesible a más gente si se pueden concretar iniciativas desde distintos frentes: gobierno, empresas privadas, instituciones académicas. Todos estos actores tienen una responsabilidad social; en este caso, hablando sobre e-learning, su responsabilidad es hacer del e-learning algo accesible. ¿Cómo? A través de capacitación online en cibercafés (que están muy difundidos en toda Latinoamérica); integrando esta modalidad en todas las cátedras de las universidades; promoviendo la capacitación online en centros comunitarios (ya sea tengan o no Internet); integrando el e-learning en la escuela (primaria y secundaria) y sobre todo capacitando a los maestros y profesores.

This is a question that's easy to answer, but the problem is having the power to put into practice what we're talking about (which is most difficult in Latin America). E-Learning can be made more accessible to more people if it's possible to firm up initiatives on different fronts: government, private industry, academic institutions. All the parties have a social responsibility; in this case, speaking of e-learning, the responsibility is to make elearning something that is accessible. How? Through online training in cybercafes (which are widely available throughout Latin America); integrating elearning in all university departments; promoting online training in community centers (whether or not they already have Internet); integrating elearning in primary and secondary schools, and above all, training teachers and professors.

8. What would you like to see happen in the future?
Me gustaría ver que en Latinoamérica se aprovechen todas las oportunidades y ventajas que tiene el e-learning y el blended learning, no solo en las grandes empresas sino en todos los sectores.

I'd like to see all the opportunities and advantages that e-learning and blended learning have to offer come to be taken advantage of in Latin America -- not just in large enterprises, but in all sectors.

Online Courses Directory:

News Blog for Human Resources

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I Found My Tutor In Second Life: New Ways to Get the Help You Need

One of the fastest-growing uses within the virtual world, Second Life, is in the area of one-on-one and small group education. This makes sense, given the opportunities for role-play as providing on-demand streaming video, media, and simulations. Language Labs, cervantes,, and other language instruction providers have group and individual training. Learning Tree is close to debuting their island which will provide technical training, primarily in computing and management. Other islands make it easy for teachers to schedule and rent a classroom and resources for lessons.


Online tutoring has been around for a long time. In the past, long-distance help ranged from having tutors review your papers and homework via email, to text-based chat. Later it evolved into web conferencing / video conferencing. WebEx, Adobe Connect, and Elluminate are some of the programs that have been used to do video conferencing. The future is changing, though, as virtual worlds and multiplayer role playing move from entertainment, training, and information to an actual live avatar-assisted learning encounter.

While universities have been offering guides and help in their virtual worlds, often in the form of guidance counselors, admissions officers, librarians, and virtual campus tour guides, new services in Second Life are springing up to help students who need tutoring services and feel comfortable in a virtual world.

Some are still affiliated with colleges and universities and may be a part of their tutoring services. Others may be part of tutoring services, such as Still others may be offered as a part of student organization (Clover College’s Spanish Club) or an honor society.

* Language Tutors - Language Lab ( )
Great way to get started in SL -- has a very nice orientation, plus a friendly greeter. All are English courses, which is a bit of a disappointment for the English language speaker. Language learning environment.

* Language Acquisition: Group Conversations and Interactions
Online language courses for Spanish.

Cervantes in SL:
If you're studying to be a teacher of Spanish or just want to review:

* Tutors in Second Life
Ad / video clips in YouTube:

Contact information includes the name of the tutors (SL name) and the location of the island (Vorlheim coordinates)

* Places to Practice Language /
Speaking a Foreign Language in Second Life (for free)

Video clip tells you how:

Learning languages in more systematic way:

* Learning English / Interactive

*Place to go to find a tutor for your language course:

English Village in Second Life --

Canadian living in Korea created the concept around 2 years ago. Since that time more than 2000 tutors and students have used the virtual classrooms
English Village:

* Security / Criminal Justice
Border Security - Second Life Loyalist College Canadian Border Simulation

* Architecture Lessons / Architectural History

Bauhaus School of Design

* Occupational Therapy in Second Life
Jefferson Occupational Design

* Fashion Design
MODA Modeling and Fashion School in SL

* Individual Professor / Bromley College
Shimmer Island -- multi-use classroom for learning resource
Software design

* Drama / Theatre: The Higher Education Academy (England)
Theatron 3: Building SL islands for the performing arts

Understanding Renaissance Drama using Second Life
St. John University

Example: Outside the Theatre of Pompey -

Is there anyone who can help you?
Going to King's Visualization Lab
at King's College (UK) can give you a sense of the potential for projects. While you may not wish to spend too much time visiting this area, knowing about what is being done to make theatre, literary studies, and the dramatic arts come alive may help you in research papers for your drama and literature courses.

Many of the projects to determine just how and where Second Life is effective in online education have been funded by Eduserv (UK)

Sunday, May 18, 2008




Kriegspiel (





Play the News (



PeaceMaker (

Hillary vs. Obama (

Thursday, May 15, 2008










4. What are a few of your favorite sites?





6. Do you have a philosophy of creativity?


Sunday, May 11, 2008

Creating Online Courses from Recorded Webinars

An increasing number of webinars are archived and made available to individuals who could not attend the live event. The recorded and archived webinars can have very high value as instructional material for asynchronous courses, and with good instructional design, can lead to a very effective online course.

A poorly planned and executed webinar can be pretty tedious. On the other hand, well-designed and executed webinars can create an outstanding library of useful information. In some cases, it could even constitute the core content of an online or hybrid course.

Elements of Effective Archived Webinars:

1. The objectives of the webinar are clearly stated;

2. The content is organized in a clear sequence, with a logical flow;


4. Audio should be spontaneous, conversational, and related to the content. Avoid reading the powerpoints;

5. Use high-impact images that reinforce the objectives of the webinar;


7. Content is of high quality and relevant to the objectives of the webinar;

8. Content is aligned with the level and needs of the participants;

9. Quizzes, questionnaires, and other interactive elements are included;


Screen shot from an Elluminate webinar

A number of webinar providers have targeted the education market and have made their products effective for classroom learning. Perhaps Adobe Connect, Elluminate, and Webex are the most widely used.

Attributes of the most effective webinar programs include:

1. Interactivity with multiple participants;



4. Participants can chat with the group;

5. Participants can send messages to other partipants;

6. The interface supports audio and video demos;




10. A moderator / administrator can archive the webinar.


Friday, May 09, 2008






Flying up to face the speaker eye-to-eye.


Sharing thoughts after the event.





The introduction to John Hofmeister.



Podcast of previous Global Agenda speakers


Notes from and a partial transcript of John Hofmeister's speech:


paralysis of partisanship
huge problem

how are we doing as a nation in energy security?
are we operating in a bipartisan fashion ?
ANWAR -- president opens idea -- democrats block

that is the paralysis of partisanship


I will now make a series of outrageous statements:






Shell's 12-point plan











11. Need Energy Education -- need to learn about energy


2 perspectives -- its two scenarios






** End of Notes / Transcription ***

posted by susan

Monday, May 05, 2008

Practical Data Analysis and Reporting with BIRT

Although BIRT is not well known, it is worth getting acquainted with. BIRT is a collection of open-source tools for developing tools and technologies for business applications. Perhaps most helpful for Java and J2EE programmers, the book provides shortcuts for finding elegant solutions for developing reports for business.

Practical Data Analysis and Reporting with BIRT
by John Ward provides information in the following topic areas:

*Install the tools
*Create the report structures
*Add format / uniform
*Using data filters to narrow data
*Share new templates and applications in libraries
*Styles sheets / themes, unique, customized report styles
*Charts / presentation

The book has very helpful screenshots and good step-by-step instructions. Although the instructions are helpful, the applications are pretty unimaginative. In reality, there are in fact, massive possibilities with respect to generating business reports applicable to LEAN production, inventories, sales, transportation, warehousing, marketing reports, and event scheduling. Further applications could be used in the area of maintenance scheduling, etc.

The book does, however, provide an overview of BIRT and the potential. A follow-up book that includes a wider index of types of reports as well as templates that can be used for the most common applications would be ideal.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Interview with Ayse Kok (New Series - Life in the E-Learning Organization)

Welcome to an interview with Ayse Kok, an e-learning and management information systems specialist who has worked with programs across Europe, including Turkey and England. Her view of distance education in Turkey and in other parts of the world is quite insightful, and her work with Camp Rumi, an organization dedicated to helping provide digital learning for primary and secondary schools is very inspiring.


My name is Ayse (actually read as Ayshe since there is a special Turkish letter missing on the keyboard). I received my MSc degree in E-learning, hence my connection to this field.

During my undergraduate studies in Management Information Systems (MIS) I also had the opportunity to have an elective course in e-learning since MIS is an interdisciplinary study. Now, I work as an e-learning consultant and researcher for various educational institutions in my home country Turkey. I am also the founder of the grassroots non-profit organisation “Camp Rumi Technology Literacy Group” ( that provides digital learning services for primary and secondary schools. By the way, e-learning may mean different things for different people. I use it here for technology enhanced learning.

Aysa Kok, E-Learning and MIS Specialist

2. How did you first become involved in online learning?

Right after my undergrad studies I began to work as junior consultant in one of the Big 4 (one of the international audit and consulting firms)’s business advisory services department. We had to complete mandatory employee online trainings. Although the mandatory trainings for entry-levels were not very attractive- since they were related mostly to internal procedures- I tried to make as much time as possible for other online trainings that were of interest for me. We were lucky in terms of the company’s online courses since they ranged from business specific trainings to the development of soft skills such as interpersonal communication. Due to the fast-paced environment, there was an opportunity for me to participate in numerous projects for which I had to gain knowledge about several business applications (such as SAP) in advance. So, I realized at that point that e-learning offers unprecedented opportunities to develop working skills and competencies to meet demands of high-velocity business changes. This was my first experience as an online learner.

In terms of my first work experience in the field of e-learning, right after my MSc degree I worked as a short term consultant for the United Nations Systems and Staff College (UNSSC) located in Turin, Italy. I was involved in a project where we had to prepare in alignment with specific standards such as SCORM, the design templates for online courses aimed at the UN and its several agencies’ personnel in general.

3. Where have you studied?

I completed my undergrad studies in Management Information Systems in Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey. After a two years work experience, I decided to get specialized in an area that I was passionate about, namely e-learning. Actually, I have always been passionate about teaching and learning. I realized that I would rather utilize my educational background in technology in an area that I am passionate about. So, I completed my Masters degree in University of Oxford, UK. Now, I look forward to continuing my PhD in the same field and university.

4. What do you see as the most significant differences between elearning in the different countries in Europe?

In my opinion, there are huge disparities with regard to general computer integration issues such as too few computers, slow Internet connections, insufficient software in the native language, and a lack of peripheral equipment at schools. To exemplify, one of the major private schools that I am working for could still not embed the latest Web 2.0 services within its teaching process due to connectivity issues within the classrooms. Besides, principals’ lack of technical knowledge, their interpretations of regulations according to his/her own will, lack of appropriate software programs for different grade levels can also be cited as other significant issues. There is resistance to change from traditional pedagogical methods to more innovative, technology-based teaching and learning methods. But, I think this issue is the same across all countries over the world.

5. When and how can elearning accommodate cultural difference?

Despite the fact that e-learning provides the opportunity to interact with people from different cultures, it also brings the issue of the cultural diversity of online content. Since English is the dominant language on the Internet, that e-learners will invariably find themselves reading mostly American materials, positioning their culture as the norm.

Smaller nations may even be more vulnerable since their educational systems in different countries and their teaching and learning styles are very different. When introducing a new phenomenon one should give careful consideration to the context they originally emerged in or are currently being used. Once thought carefully, I believe that e-learning can offer the opportunity to reduce the unit cost of education to such an extent that equal access to learning opportunities for all members of the society can be provided throughout their lives.

6. How is elearning approached in Turkey today? What are the main influences in Turkey with respect to elearning?

Since 1980s, there have been attempts to integrate the ICTs (Information Communication Technologies) within the primary and secondary education system. A more recent project is the Basic education programme carried out by a joint venture with the World Bank. On the other hand, Youtube or Wordpress were blocked until recently. So, we can’t speak of any Internet freedom within this country.

Turkey faces great educational challenges with great number of people to educate, a very large educational system, poor economic situation, inadequate technologies and mass number of students and teachers. For instance, not long ago- until 2005-, the pedagogy, curriculum, and textbooks within Turkey’s educational system were emphasizing the memorization of subject matter facts and principles. Similarly, student examinations were also based on memorization. Besides, there are high-stakes tests that determine the educational (and consequently, the economic) future of the young people in Turkey. So, the use of ICTs in schools was reinforcing the curricular and pedagogical emphasis on rote learning. Those readers interested more in this topic may read my article “Computerising Turkey’s Schools” published in one of the Oxford Symposium books. Link is .

ICT is still merely attached to the existing teaching and learning activities without any change in the traditional curriculum or learning objectives. There is so much truth to the phase “doing old things in new ways” in our context. The learning paradigm associated with the transmission of knowledge remains the same whether the concept is taught from a text book, software or via the Internet. The paradigm shift associated with one-to-one instruction and student-centered learning are not in place yet and it seems that the students are still learning for the grade’s sake.
Apart from this material and usage access, Turkey faces a “mental access”- a term firstly used by van Dijk. It basically refers to a lack of interest, computer anxiety, and unattractiveness of the new technology.

I must admit that even in Sri Lanka- a less developed country- where I did my voluntary work as an ICT teacher last summer- both teachers and children were at least able to prepare a presentation or a newsletter about themselves in English via use of related applications. Although ICT should not be seen as a panacea for every educational issue, I believe that these less developed countries will leapfrog certain stages of development via their use of technology. Of course, one should not make a generalization based on a few cases, yet there is long way to go in e-learning in Turkey.

From the local e-learning companies’ perspective, I could not give a “rosy” picture either. I don’t want to blame any specific institution, yet the key players within the field are thinking in terms of cost reduction and there is no place for an underpinning pedagogy. They are basically providing some Powerpoint slides with animations. It is my opinion that while a few key players are trying to do their best, their offerings are not worth the huge sums of money they demand from consumers.

Moreover, within the context of workplace learning, few organisations have the capability and the insight to leverage the power of e-learning and gain competitive advantage. The upper management usually don’t believe in e-learning as a key solution for rapid and effective change. Being an EU candidate Turkey did unfortunately not realize yet that unless critical skills such as learning to learn and knowledge construction are conveyed to citizens we will be far behind within the next decade. We just can’t afford to miss the knowledge revolution!

In a nutshell, the economical conditions, technological infrastructure and the traditional mindset of teaching and learning are the major influences with respect to e-learning in Turkey.

7. Do you see any dangers or pitfalls in using virtual worlds across cultures? Where can virtual worlds be most effective?

I personally don’t see any dangers in using virtual worlds across cultures as long as the “netizens” –citizens of these virtual worlds- are equipped with the necessary critical thinking and information literacy skills. Instead of reading about other cultures and seeing pictures and movies about other countries’ cultures, virtual worlds can be used to talk and interact with people from these countries. Avatar placement within the world also enables one to get informed about the mannerisms conveyed within other cultures. Most virtual worlds are graphics based, and allow other users to observe other cultures. So, I believe that technology can be a good means for the transmisson of culture.

In general, I’d like also to mention that the promise of ICTs to enhance the basic education is a tremendously challenging area of development work today, in both poor and wealthy nations and I wish that we as professionals would find a universal truth when it comes to applying ICTs in education.

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