Your Complete Guide to the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model
Analyzing the results of training programs is extremely difficult. L&D teams are challenged to demonstrate the value that programs deliver to both individual employees and the organization as a whole. Unfortunately, few learning leaders are able to do this. “92% of senior leaders and stakeholders want to see quantifiable results from their training functions. Yet […]
How to Hand Pick the Best Subject Matter Experts for Your Training Project
Love ’em, hate ’em, the importance of subject matter experts (SMEs) and working with them cannot be overstated. Certainly, creating project timelines is important to maximize the SME’s time, but how do you go about sourcing the right-fit SME for a learning project in the first place? Some learning teams “inherit” experts. In some cases, the same […]
How to Optimize Capacity Planning for Stronger Learning Outcomes
We’ve written previously about capacity planning as it relates to L&D. From strategic planning to cost reduction to skills management, benefits abound. However, capacity planning is certainly not without its challenges. Many L&D teams have become overwhelmed recently with sudden business disruptions and shifting business priorities. Below are a few suggestions to help learning leaders […]
Herding Cats: How to Improve Relations with SMEs on Learning Projects
Should you give your Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) a deadline? Of course—she is a team member like everyone else. Should you create a unique user ID for your SME so that she can access your authoring tool? Hmmm—that’s a tough one, as this might incur additional expenses. Questions about working with SMEs arise from time […]
6 Things You Need to Know About Working with SMEs on a Training Project
We write about working with subject matter experts (SMEs) from time to time, in order to share experiences and new insights. SMEs may not be instructional designers but without their expertise, courses cannot be built. With the explosion in the need for learning experiences, the ability to work successfully with SMEs has become of the […]
The Specific Is Terrific: How To Maximize the Value of Corporate Training
When it comes to eLearning, the Web certainly has no shortage of on-demand courses, videos, tutorials, eBooks, and other materials. Nowadays, most of it is available for free, or for a very low cost or monthly subscription, so how can L&D prove the value of corporate training? The average employee is well aware of this […]
You Don’t Need Dragon Glass to Slay an L&D Project – Just Watch Game of Thrones
The much anticipated Season 8 of pop-culture favorite Game of Thrones is (finally!) here. They say life imitates art, but in this case, we think art imitates an L&D department pretty well! We’re such big fans of the show here at Cognota that we couldn’t help drawing comparisons between some of our favorite characters and […]
Why You Need to Use Rapid Prototyping in Instructional Design
Though instructional designers follow tried-and-true models and processes to build courses, the complexities of today’s work environment often wreak havoc on the most disciplined approaches. As such, to ensure that all stakeholders get a good idea of how the learning course will turn out right at the outset, instructional designers should consider rapid prototyping. Rapid […]
Is Instructional Design Dead?
Hardly. Instead, instructional design now encompasses more than simply building courses. Organizations struggle to deliver learning. Due to the scale and speed that are needed to skill up their current employees, companies often take the easy way out, usually with informal learning or pre-packaged courses. These practices challenge the implementation of disciplined, academic-based, and proven processes […]
5 Ways to Leverage Stakeholders in the Instructional Design Process
When it comes to stakeholders in the instructional design process, many learning professionals consider the needs of only two groups: subject matter experts and themselves. There are many others involved in the learning project development process whose input is equally vital. Clearly it makes sense to focus intensely on the subject matter experts (SMEs) since these individuals […]
