LMS is a fairly common and used (or over-used) phrase in eLearning parlance and means, primarily a software system that allows customers to do a few or many things when it comes to adopting eLearning as a part of the overall Learning strategy. For quite some time now I have been trying to understand – how does a customer look at the LMS? Are more customers looking it as a mere tool which automates tasks and increases the productivity and efficiency of training department or are they looking it as a ‘solution’ or maybe something much bigger than that as well – strategy?

I tend to look at mobile learning in two distinct contexts – first as a tool to meet a learning need, second as a learning content delivery platform. While these two contexts are implicitly linked, it helps to look at them separately to understand how mobile technology can actually benefit learning. This post looks first at the context of learning need.

Ambient Insight has last month released a report on how the global market for self-paced eLearning products and services will grow through till 2014. It estimates the market had reached US $ 27.1 billion in 2009. The demand is growing at a 5 year compound annual growth rate of 12.8% and will take the world market to US $ 49.6 billion by 2014.

Adobe recently announced AIR for Mobile devices. This is an outcome of the Adobe initiated Open Screen Project, which was started a couple of years back. The Open Screen Project was started to help create a singular experience on multiple devices (using Flash) be it Computers, Mobiles, TV or Game consoles. There are several futuristic videos about how it will work available at http://www.openscreenproject.org/.

1. Direct access to OpenGL ES 2.0 features On Android devices using Android Native Developer Kit (NDK) – The Android NDK can be used to target Android devices with 1.5 or higher, and includes a number of enhancements; however, what’s really exciting is that developers building apps for 2.0 or higher will get “direct access to OpenGL ES 2.0 features” like controlling the way graphics are rendered.

Everyone’s been talking about Social Learning Environments (SLEs), the internet offers a plethora of tools that could become a part of a SLE. While some of these tools cost money, the bulk of them are free. We can construct our very SLE using these free tools. Jane Hart wrote about ‘How to Create a Social Learning Environment’ in the November 09 issue of Inside Learning Technologies. She covered the major tools that can be used to create a Social Learning Environment for free or at a low cost.

Mobiles are fast becoming the platforms of choice for all we do in life – browsing, chatting, other social interactions, & even starting to be used for learning delivery as well. At Upside Learning we’ve been creating various learning applications for mobile devices including apps for iPhone, Blackberry, & Android; browser based courses; short movies/animations etc. While working on these we have identified creating graphics for mobile devices is quite a challenge – especially if you are new to it.

In a couple of years, microblogging tools have become very popular.  Twitter has become the number 1 tool for learning in just three years – voted by hundreds of learning professionals in this survey at Jane Hart’s site. Microblogging platforms are a great tool to keep you updated with latest trends & get real time support or answers to questions. You could even search for information on these tools themselves and get some good links to follow.

1. How to keep High Performers – Marshall Goldsmith in the Harvard Business Review Blog writes about steps that organizations can take to help them retain high-impact performers. He pointedly adds as the first point ‘show respect’ to your employees, it all starts there.

In my last post on eLearning Outsourcing, I mentioned the various advantages of eLearning outsourcing. Most people get the benefits part pretty easily however, identifying whom to outsource to is not as easy.  When meeting prospects, I often face this objection – “We have tried outsourcing in the past but have had a real bad experience and (hence) we are not willing to take the risk again“. What they fail to understand is that, in most of the cases, the problem lies much beneath – improper vendor selection.

It’s been a year since we started blogging (March 03, 2009) and we are raring to go another notch high. With 142 posts, over 75,500 page views, and  600+ subscriber base, it’s been an enjoyable journey so far.  A big thanks to all our loyal readers for taking the time to read and for leaving your valuable comments. We sincerely appreciate your continued patronage. We look forward to a great 2010!