LMS Pilot Launch is Official

Well it took forever to get my LMS launched and the pilot finally happened last Friday. Once I had an actual launch date I was completely consumed trying to get the system ready to show my pilot team.

I'll add this tip to my list of things of things to think about when implementing an LMS....pick a date any date and stick to it. It took a long time to get to the point that I felt 75% comfortable with the product I had, but once I was there I finally (got the nerve) chose a date and shared it with the vendor and pilot participants. This put great pressure on the vendor and myself to MAKE SURE that it was ready to go and was actually launched. There was no holding back and perhaps I should have done this step sooner to push the vendor and even myself into completion.

I've had great feedback so far from about half of the group, which is great. There are many issues that they are coming across which I knew about but weren't sure how they would play out live. There are also many that they are sharing back to me that I did know about but have no idea how to "fix". Then, there are the several interesting ideas about tracking and managing the learners through the system that I never even considered.

I'm quite excited to be at this stage to actually see if the system is actually going to launch live in the hospital. There is a chance it won't measure up to my educators' needs, but there's a chance as well that it will meet what we need for this point in time.

The pilot runs for the next 3 weeks and it will be interesting to see if the big issues to me are big issues to the pilot group or if perhaps I'm being to critical. I'll continue to post regarding this latest process of the LMS implementation.

Take a Test, Any Test...and PASS

Ready for tonight's rant..... (Are you sure? This is a good one...you'll laugh at my woes.)

I'm madly going through the LMS getting it ready for the pilot. Fixing and adding everything I can think of to launch the pilot tomorrow at 2:oo pm.

One of the tasks I had was to create a sample course and get it set up just right so that the pilot group could see the potential of the system and the courses we can develop. I could also can insight into how the system will report on staff taking the course. Sounds great right.....WRONG!!!!

First issue I came across was that I set the course up for 3 attempts at the quiz. So I took the quiz, failed, and exited the course. The course remained in my "active courses". This makes sense. I went back in and the system let me take the quiz 3 more times.....not 2 more. I failed 3 more times, exited the course. The course remained in my "active courses". I, essentially can go in as many times as I want and take the course.

So then....I took out the option of 3 attempts at the quiz. Still no change. I can take the test forever until I pass.

My next brainstorm was changing the tracking from PASS/INCOMPLETE to PASS/FAILED . Could it be that simple? That literal?

YES.

So then....I took the test. Failed. Low and behold the course moved from "active courses" to "completed courses".

NOW HERE IS THE KICKER.
When I looked at my course history it shows that I PASSED THE COURSE AND GOT WHOPPING 40%. Interesting since a pass is at least 80% - and that's being generous on this particular quiz.

Did I mention the pilot launches tomorrow afternoon? I now wonder if there is a high correlation between elearning and drinking. ARGGGG!

LMS Pilot is Launching Friday

All I can say right now is I'm losing my mind. See previous post.

Details to follow regarding this adventure very soon......

Laughing at my own memory lost - Use it or Lose it

Once a month I run two 3 hour computer sessions. They cover the general office productivity software you would expect. Each month I have a good little chuckle at the staff that are taking the course for the second and sometimes third time. They keep taking it, not because the course isn't well received, but because they can't remember what they learned.

The reviews of the course are excellent, but the staff walks away and then doesn't use what they learn right away. By the time they do get to learn the new skills taught in the course they've forgotten what they were in the first place.

Tonight I had to laugh at myself because I've done exactly the same thing. I participated in a workshop at the eLearning Guild Annual Gathering but haven't applied any of that knowledge until the last few days. Now I'm trying madly to remember what I had learned. Was it apply A, B and then C or A, C and then B....uggg. A bit of time has now passed since then and I'm struggling to find notes, demos, and handouts. I've found everything except the handouts and the examples that were shared.

Just one more thing to consider I suppose when creating lessons and workshops for your users. Do you allow them to re-take a course? How many times? Do you have provisions for addressing learners that have misplaced their material weeks, months later? What kind of additional support do you offer once the course has ended?

LMS has brought new stress; therefore new toys

(A few general ramblings below.)

My LMS is hopefully piloting on Tuesday of next week. I've got a couple of things I want tweaked before I send it out, but am getting very hopeful. Not to mention I can feel the fire of many dragons just at the nape of my neck to get it out.

All is very stressful when you have so many tasks before you to complete and your work computer is twice as slow as your home computer. That doesn't seem quite right, however, it may push me towards working in my pjs more often. I'm not sure that's a horrible idea. (It is hard not to picture anyone who says they work at home sitting in front of their computer in flannel pajamas, bunny slippers and coffee right?...mine aren't bunny shaped though).

It's also hard to keep motivated to come into work when the weather has taken a turn for the better. It's been a long, long, cold winter....this proves I'm getting old; I never use to complain about the snow. Seeing the sun com back was invigorating. The weather also then got warmer and many of us Ontario folks have been in shorts this week. This makes it all very hard to want to stay behind the computer instead of getting up and going.

I have for some bizarre reason decided to really get moving and have taken up running (I don't advise this....every time I go out I wonder what the heck I was thinking). I've also started walking every day there has been sun. So far that's been for a few weeks. I'm guessing on of my new toys to purchase is going to be a new umbrella and rubber boots for the rainy days.

Another sign I've been stressed is I went out and got an iPod Touch instead of buying things that I really need (like bunny slippers to work in). Hense the NikeWomen widget at the side of my blog. I'll leave it there for a bit - I know it stretches the blog and I apologize for that to those that need to scroll left/right now. Seems like a neat little workout tool, tracker, etc. gadget to add to my Touch and I'm happy to find/join anyone else who wants a "buddy" using this app. It looks like you can utilize this directly through your computer as well. Give me a shout through twitter and I'd be happy to link up with you and get moving together. Oh an it says NikeWomen, but you can make your avatar look boyish too.

This has been a strange rambling post, but to summarize I'm looking forward to (in no particular order):

• more sun
• more warm weather
• camping
• biking in the woods
• swimming
• campfires
• holidays
• LMS finally working so I can move on to something else

Too Busy To Keep In Touch

I haven't posted much lately because I've been swamped with so many tasks at my office. The entire department seems very overwhelmed lately. For those curious, I am madly working away at my pilot launch. I'm convinced that it will be a go for next Monday. Whether it is at 100% ready to go or not. Those items not working should be noted by my pilot group and their extra input should hopefully reinforce the necessity of these items to work before the go live date to the organization.

I sent a list into the vendor of what needed to be "corrected" and that contained well over 30 items. I've yet to see many of them fixed yet. Again, I'm going into a slight panic mode. I'm very unsure of why they say "Sure, Yes, We'll concentrate on you and get this going in a few weeks." What actually happens is you don't hear from them for a few weeks wondering all the while what is going on and where your project stands.

It's sad that I'm already wishing for the next LMS before this one has even launched. (Dan: you'll be the first one I call as soon as I ever get a budget... :)

We'll this all being said has left me with the urge to write a nasty email to the vendor...again. I get to wishy-washy on the phone and less demanding as I need to be with them.

Wish me luck!

A New Blog is Born

I've mentioned before that I presented at the eLearning Guild's 2009 Annual Gathering on how to create and start your own blog.

Well I'm happy to announce that since that presentation I have been notified of a great new blog that has (so to speak) just "hit the stands".

Please feel free to take a visit by Treehouse Views and read/comment on Michele Stouffer's brand new blog. Michele is an elearning instructional designer at Ford Motor Company and I'm sure we'll all gain much knowledge from her and her experiences in elearning as she moves forward with her blog postings.

If you've started a new blog since the Annual Gathering, drop me a line and I'll be happy to list yours here as well.

Earth Hour 2009 Before and After Pictures

The National Geographic News website has some great pictures of city scapes before and after (or during) Earth Hour. I'm happy to see the Toronto skyline is captured in the pictures.












Photograph by Dick Hemingway via WWF-Canada, retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/photogalleries/earth-hour-before-after/photo4.html, 04/01/09

My Slideshare Presentations Hit 10,000 Views (April fools on me)

(UPDATED: 04/01/09 11:40am... to good to be true.....http://blog.slideshare.net/2009/04/01/happy-april-fools-day/)

I was pleasantly surprised today to get an email from Slideshare notifying me that one of my presentations has had a dramatic increase in views in the last 24 hours. So I went to look and wow, I've had just over 10,000 views of each of the 2 presentations I have up.

One is my slides used during my presentation at the eLearning Annual Gathering this past March. It's topic was Learning From Blogging: Creating your own and Learning from Others'. The other one I have posted was for the GTA Training & Organization Development Network and it's purpose was to introduce the members to some of the new web 2.0 tools being used. Although they don't seem so new a year later.

Such an overwhelming response has piqued me to go back an see if I have others to share. There is at least one that I know I will add: eCollaboration Tools.

Something I face every day with my supervisors is there lack of understanding and slight intimidation of the tools I use daily. They are trying very hard to keep up with my thirst for technology, social networking and everything else 2.0ish. They also appreciate my enthusiasm for using and seeking out new tools, but at the same time are intimidated by anything not on paper. I'm extremely happy that people are looking at these presentations and truly hope that they help others understand some of the web 2.0 tools a little more, but more importantly make them seem less intimidating.