FEED Validator

for Atom and RSS and KML

Congratulations!

This is a valid RSS feed.

Recommendations

This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.

line 168, column 0: content:encoded should not contain aria-level attribute (16 occurrences) [help]
```
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;" ...
```
line 179, column 0: style attribute contains potentially dangerous content: max-height (16 occurrences) [help]
```
<h4><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/2705.png" al ...
```
line 313, column 0: content:encoded should not contain fetchpriority attribute [help]
```
<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-58 ...
```
line 313, column 0: content:encoded should not contain decoding attribute (5 occurrences) [help]
```
<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-58 ...
```
line 313, column 0: content:encoded should not contain sizes attribute (4 occurrences) [help]
```
<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-58 ...
```

line 344, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-rel attribute [help]

<p><a data-rel="tooltip" class="tip" data-placement="top" data-original-titl ...

line 344, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-placement attribute [help]
```
<a data-rel="tooltip" class="tip" data-placement="top" data-original-titl ...
```
line 344, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-original-title attribute [help]
```
<a data-rel="tooltip" class="tip" data-placement="top" data-original-titl ...
```
line 369, column 3: content:encoded should not contain relative URL references: #tab-566643974-621 (5 occurrences) [help]
```
]]></content:encoded>
   ^
```
line 524, column 0: content:encoded should not contain loading attribute (2 occurrences) [help]
```
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-46183" s ...
```

line 533, column 0: content:encoded should not contain style tag [help]

<style> #button9831{} #button9831:hover{}#button9831:hover{}</style><a targe ...

Source: https://purnima-valiathan.com/feed/

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
>
<channel>
<title>ID Mentors</title>
<atom:link href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/</link>
<description>By Teaching, We Learn</description>
<lastBuildDate>Fri, 16 May 2025 04:29:19 +0000</lastBuildDate>
<language>en-US</language>
<sy:updatePeriod>
hourly </sy:updatePeriod>
<sy:updateFrequency>
1 </sy:updateFrequency>
<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1</generator>
<item>
<title>Top 5 Skills You Need to Become an Instructional Designer</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/top-5-skills-you-need-to-become-an-instructional-designer/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/top-5-skills-you-need-to-become-an-instructional-designer/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 10 May 2025 04:26:23 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[High-Level Design]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=62931</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Instructional Designer’s Superpower? Versatility. Instructional design sits at the intersection of education, psychology, design, and technology. Whether you’re looking …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/top-5-skills-you-need-to-become-an-instructional-designer/">Top 5 Skills You Need to Become an Instructional Designer</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The Instructional Designer’s Superpower? Versatility.
Instructional design sits at the intersection of education, psychology, design, and technology. 
Whether you’re looking to become an ID in corporate L&D, higher ed, or the ed-tech space, these five skills will shape your success
<h2>1. Learning Design Thinking (Not Just Following Templates)</h2>
Good IDs don’t just follow models—they think like designers. That means: 
– Analyzing the learner’s real problem 
– Designing activities that match the learning need 
– Iterating based on feedback
<h2>2. Visual and Instructional Communication</h2>
IDs are storytellers at heart. You need to: 
– Break down complex concepts 
– Use layout, color, icons, and animations to guide attention 
– Create slides that teach, not just present
Learn it hands-on in platforms like ID Mentors, where you get feedback on your design logic.
<h2>3. Tech Comfort – Especially with Authoring Tools</h2>
Today’s IDs are expected to build: 
– Interactive eLearning (Articulate Storyline, Rise) 
– Video scripts and edits (Camtasia, Vyond) 
– PDFs, templates, quizzes, and micro-courses
Start with free trials or get guided practice in communities like ID Mentors.
<h2>4. Stakeholder Collaboration and Feedback Handling</h2>
Instructional designers often work with: 
– SMEs 
– Reviewers and approvers 
– Marketing or design teams
So, here are some qualities you need to succeed as an instruction designer: 
– Diplomacy 
– Clarity 
– Flexibility
Practice mock conversations and learn to manage expectations early.
<h2>5. A Growth Mindset and Curiosity</h2>
ID is an ever-evolving field. Stay curious: 
– Read books like “Design for How People Learn” by Julie Dirksen 
– Join ID groups and communities
<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>
These five skills—design thinking, communication, tech comfort, collaboration, and curiosity—form the core toolkit of an instructional designer. You can build them step-by-step—especially with support from a strong community and mentor.
Explore the ID Mentors Subscription Plan. It’s built to make you job-ready, not just course-complete.
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/top-5-skills-you-need-to-become-an-instructional-designer/">Top 5 Skills You Need to Become an Instructional Designer</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://purnima-valiathan.com/top-5-skills-you-need-to-become-an-instructional-designer/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>How to Kickstart a Career in Instructional Design After Graduation</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/kickstart-career-in-instructional-design-after-graduation/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/kickstart-career-in-instructional-design-after-graduation/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 10 May 2025 04:19:35 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Courses]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=62929</guid>
<description><![CDATA[So, You’ve Just Graduated… Now What? You’ve crossed the stage, diploma in hand. Maybe you majored in English, Psychology, Education, …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/kickstart-career-in-instructional-design-after-graduation/">How to Kickstart a Career in Instructional Design After Graduation</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[So, You’ve Just Graduated… Now What?
You’ve crossed the stage, diploma in hand. Maybe you majored in English, Psychology, Education, or even Communication. And now, you’ve heard about this exciting, fast-growing field: Instructional Design (ID). It blends creativity, technology, and education—and better yet, it offers remote flexibility and competitive salaries. 
But here’s the catch: instructional design isn’t usually part of a standard college curriculum. 
So how do you break in?
<h2>Step 1 – Understand What Instructional Designers Actually Do</h2>
Before jumping in, take time to understand the job.Instructional designers aren’t just content writers. They design learning experiences.
From corporate training modules and onboarding programs to digital simulations and academic eLearning, IDs create effective, learner-centered materials. Their work is a mix of:
– Applying learning science and learning frameworks (cognitive load theory, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gagné’s Events) 
– Writing for online learning and classroom training 
– Visualizing instructional material 
– Understanding learning technology (eLearning tools, LMS platforms) 
– Collaborating with subject matter experts (SMEs)
<h2>Step 2 – Choose a Solid Learning Path (Hint: Not All Courses Are Created Equal)</h2>
There are dozens of online courses that claim to teach instructional design, but many are outdated, overly theoretical, or leave you unprepared for real work. 
Look for a program that includes: 
– Hands-on projects (storyboards, design documents, approach notes, concept notes) 
– Mentorship or feedback 
– Interview and portfolio preparation 
– Access to community or job boards 
Highly recommended: ID Mentors by Purnima Valiathan. This program combines real-world scenarios, portfolio feedback, and continuous mentoring—a crucial difference from static online courses.
<h2>Step 3 – Start Building a Portfolio Early</h2>
Your portfolio is your golden ticket. Recruiters want to see what you can do. 
Include: 
– A storyboard sample 
– A microlearning module (use tools like Articulate Rise, Storyline, or Canva) 
– Case studies: show your problem-solving and design process 
Even if you haven’t worked for a company, create mock projects. Redesign a corporate policy into a microlearning lesson. Convert a lecture into an interactive module.
<h2>Step 4 – Learn the Tools of the Trade</h2>
Familiarity with these tools will set you apart:
– Articulate 360 (Storyline, Rise) 
– Camtasia or Vyond for video-based learning 
– Canva for visual design 
– Google Slides / PowerPoint (storyboarding) 
– LMS platforms like Moodle or TalentLMS
<h2>
Step 5 – Network Like Your Career Depends On It (Because It Does)</h2>
Join ID communities:
– LinkedIn groups for instructional designers 
– Slack groups like IDLance or ID Assembly 
– Attend webinars and free live sessions (many from ID Mentors)
<h2>Step 6 – Start Applying Smartly (And Realistically)</h2>
Don’t wait for the “perfect” job. Start with internships, freelance gigs, or contract-based roles. Look for: 
– eLearning developers 
– content developers 
– instructional design freshers 
– Learning consultants
Bonus: Learn to Receive Feedback Gracefully
Instructional design is iterative. You’ll work closely with SMEs, stakeholders, reviewers—each with their own opinion.
<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>
Breaking into instructional design after graduation might feel like you’re starting from scratch—but you’re not. You already bring communication, research, and empathy skills from your degree. Pair that with the right guidance, portfolio, and mindset—and you’re on your way to a fulfilling ID career.
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/kickstart-career-in-instructional-design-after-graduation/">How to Kickstart a Career in Instructional Design After Graduation</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://purnima-valiathan.com/kickstart-career-in-instructional-design-after-graduation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>Beyond the Certificate: What Budding Instructional Designers Really Need</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/beyond-the-certificate-what-budding-instructional-designers-really-need/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/beyond-the-certificate-what-budding-instructional-designers-really-need/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2025 16:54:39 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Courses]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=62822</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Harsh Truth No One Tells You After Your ID Course You’ve completed your Instructional Design course. Maybe even two. …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/beyond-the-certificate-what-budding-instructional-designers-really-need/">Beyond the Certificate: What Budding Instructional Designers Really Need</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>The Harsh Truth No One Tells You After Your ID Course</h2>
You’ve completed your Instructional Design course. Maybe even two. You’ve got the certificate. Your resume looks decent. But somehow, every job interview feels like a dead-end.
You’re asked:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Walk me through a learning solution you designed. 
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">How do you handle feedback from ID reviewers and stakeholders? </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">How do you work with a SME to make their tacit knowledge explicit?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">How will you avoid scope creep in a project?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">How do you think teaching or training is different from instructional design?</li>
</ul>
That’s when it hits you: You learned about instructional design. But you haven’t practiced it in real-world scenarios.
<h3>Introducing the ID Mentors Subscription – For the Real Journey Ahead</h3>
ID Mentors by Purnima Valiathan isn’t just another learning portal. It’s a continuous learning community — built for doers, not just learners.
The new ID Mentors Subscription Plan is designed to support you beyond the certificate, in three powerful ways:
<h4><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/2705.png" alt="✅" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> 1. Prepare for Job Interviews</h4>
You’ll get:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Real-world scenarios to build your portfolio</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Practice prompts and feedback on your responses</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Confidence in handling SME objections, learning strategy questions, and assessment logic</li>
</ul>
This isn’t theoretical. It’s mentorship for real interview readiness.
<h4><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/2705.png" alt="✅" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> 2. Upskill Yourself in the Flow of Work</h4>
Are you already in an ID role? Great — because this subscription becomes your backstage pass. Weekly sessions, feedback channels, and a thriving community help you stay sharp and innovate on the go.
<h4><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/2705.png" alt="✅" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> 3. Mentorship On-Demand</h4>
You don’t need to wait for another course. When you get stuck on a module or need advice on structuring your next project — the ID Mentors community is your go-to.
<h2>Who This Is Perfect For</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/1f393.png" alt="🎓" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Newcomers looking to land their first ID role</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/1f504.png" alt="🔄" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Career switchers unsure how to translate their skills</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/1f4bc.png" alt="💼" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Working professionals seeking feedback on actual work</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/1f469-200d-1f3eb.png" alt="👩‍🏫" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Team leads trying to mentor others but feeling the gap 

<h3>A Real Learner’s Take</h3>
“After finishing a 3-month ID course, I still struggled with storyboarding and understanding how to translate a learning goal into a visual format. The ID Mentors subscription helped me break this down with real projects. I finally felt like I was doing instructional design, not just reading about it.” 
 — Ananya, aspiring ID from Bangalore
<h3>Final Thoughts</h3>
Courses are great to start. But to become an instructional designer — confident, credible, and in-demand — you need more.
That’s where the ID Mentors Subscription Plan comes in.
It’s not just what you learn — it’s when and how you use it.
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/beyond-the-certificate-what-budding-instructional-designers-really-need/">Beyond the Certificate: What Budding Instructional Designers Really Need</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://purnima-valiathan.com/beyond-the-certificate-what-budding-instructional-designers-really-need/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>Learning When You Need It: The Secret Weapon of Great Instructional Designers</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/secret-weapon-instructional-designers-learning-course/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/secret-weapon-instructional-designers-learning-course/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2025 16:29:39 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=62820</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Real Talk: Most Instructional Designers Learn on the Job Let’s be honest. You can sit through hours of instructional design …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/secret-weapon-instructional-designers-learning-course/">Learning When You Need It: The Secret Weapon of Great Instructional Designers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Real Talk: Most Instructional Designers Learn on the Job</h2>
Let’s be honest. You can sit through hours of instructional design theory — ADDIE, Bloom’s Taxonomy, SAM — and still panic when your client says:
“Can we make this more engaging?”
Or worse: 
 “This training didn’t work — what’s your backup plan?”
That’s because real-world instructional design doesn’t come with a perfect checklist. It’s messy. Collaborative. Fast-paced. And often… unpredictable.
<h2>Enter the Moment of Need</h2>
You don’t need to “go back to a course” every time you hit a wall.
You need help in that moment.
That’s exactly why <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/">Purnima Valiathan’s ID Mentors Subscription Plan</a> exists.
It’s your on-demand support system for those real-time ID challenges.
<h3>What Makes It Different</h3>
Unlike static courses or one-off workshops, the subscription model is designed to adapt to your project life cycle. Here’s how:
<h4><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/1f527.png" alt="🔧" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Just-in-Time Learning</h4>
Working on a project? Need help with a learning objective or prototype? Get real answers from experienced mentors who’ve been there.
<h4><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/1f9d1-200d-1f3eb.png" alt="🧑‍🏫" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Mentorship That Scales</h4>
Whether you’re a solo ID or managing a team, use the sessions and tools to upskill continuously. Mentorship shouldn’t stop after onboarding.
<h4><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/1f5c2.png" alt="🗂" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Templates, Toolkits, Feedback</h4>
Access a growing library of practical resources — storyboarding formats, needs analysis templates, quiz logic checklists, and more.
<h3>Real Moments, Real Help – Key Ingredient of Great Instructional Design Course</h3>
Imagine this:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">You’re building a compliance module and your stakeholder wants “gamification.” What does that even mean here?
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">You’ve created an assessment, but you’re unsure if it aligns with the objectives.
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">You’re mentoring a junior ID and they’ve hit a wall with branching logic.
</li>
</ul>
In each of these cases, the ID Mentors Subscription has you covered — with real-time answers, examples, and guidance.
<h3>Who Should Consider This?</h3>
If you’ve ever:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Googled “how to storyboard an eLearning module” mid-project
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Spent hours reworking assessments because they “don’t work”
</li>
</ul>
Struggled to answer interview questions about your design decisions 
 … then this subscription is built for you. 

<h3>Why Wait for a Crisis?</h3>
Great instructional designers don’t have all the answers — they just know where to look when they need them.
With ID Mentors Subscription, you don’t learn alone. You learn as you work, with a mentor by your side.
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/secret-weapon-instructional-designers-learning-course/">Learning When You Need It: The Secret Weapon of Great Instructional Designers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://purnima-valiathan.com/secret-weapon-instructional-designers-learning-course/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>Personalized Learning</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/personalized-learning/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/personalized-learning/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:14:09 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Knowledge Sharing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[adaptive learning]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[avatar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[intelligent tutoring]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[learning management system]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[personalization]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[personalized learning]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=58692</guid>
<description><![CDATA[What is personalized learning? Simply put, a school student taking private tuition outside of school is personalized learning. When parents …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/personalized-learning/">Personalized Learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h4>What is personalized learning?</h4>
Simply put, a school student taking private tuition outside of school is personalized learning. When parents sit with their children and help them learn a tough concept using a trick or tip they learnt in their childhood, such as an analogy or a mnemonic is also personalized learning. In addition, when an experienced surgeon performs a surgery and students observe how she wields a scalpel with precision, and the expertise with which she makes an incision is personalized learning too. Now to extrapolate that to the digital learning world, self-paced, responsive, and adaptive learning nuggets that address the unique needs of the target learner is also personalized learning.
 
 
 
 
 
<hr class="divider clear" />
<h4></h4>
<h4></h4>
<h4></h4>
<h4>What is the significance of personalized learning?</h4>
While we all go through systematic and established learning curriculum in schools and colleges, many of us may think, “wish this was explained to me in a better way”, or “how does everyone understand this, and I just can’t”? However, as is with structured education, it is not always possible for teachers to cater to the specific needs of each student in the class. Now, with advancement in technology and awareness of specific learning needs, things are changing fast to provide customized learning to whoever may want it. Personalized learning has been in vogue for decades now, though it has not been discussed as much until recently.
Benjamin Bloom’s Paper (The 2 Sigma Problem, 1984) compared lecture, lecture with feedback, and one-to-one tuition, and what he found was an 84% increase in mastery for the lecture with feedback approach and 98% increase in mastery for one-to-one tuition. From this simple yet effective data, you can understand how effective personalized learning is.
 
<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-58698" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma.png" alt="" width="487" height="340" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma.png 914w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-460x321.png 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-150x105.png 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-768x536.png 768w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-300x209.png 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-120x84.png 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bloom_six-sigma-310x216.png 310w" sizes="(max-width: 487px) 100vw, 487px" />
 
<hr class="divider clear" />
<h4>How is personalized learning rendered?</h4>
Personalized learning can take many forms such as, using examples that go well with the assigned learner group and helps them understand the content better, or using specific formats to target a specific group of learners to aid assimilation of learning, or using learning strategies or technology that resonates well with the target audience. Personalization can range from simple to complex as can be seen in the figure below.
<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-58699 size-full" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PL_Continuum-e1697606658404.png" alt="" width="668" height="546" />
Responsive
<ul>
<li>Interface: Learners customize learning experience by choosing colors and/or avatars.</li>
<li>Learning Management: Learners can select a specific learning path or create curated learning experiences through software application platforms, such as learning management systems (LMS) and learning experience platforms (LXPs).</li>
<li>Learning Analytics: Software applications integrated with LMSs, which prompt learners to go through content based on their proficiency level in a specific subject or domain.</li>
</ul>
Adaptive
<ul>
<li>Adaptive learning: Software applications that use machine learning to adapt to learner needs and competencies in a specific subject or domain.</li>
<li>Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Software applications that provide immediate and customized instruction or feedback to learners, usually without requiring intervention from a human teacher or facilitator.</li>
</ul>
 
<div class="notification other" style="background-color:#97d8df;border-color:#97d8df;">
<div class="notepad" style="color:#000000;border-color:{{bordercolor}};"> NOTE:
“Adaptive systems aim to functionally mirror and support the learning process, which is a flexible and changing, rather than fixed, process. Responsive systems are more limited, essentially offering an interface to predetermined content, like a hyper-linked menu or a series of digital buttons.”
SOURCE: <a href="https://datasociety.net/pubs/ecl/PersonalizedLearning_primer_2016.pdf">Personalized Learning: The Conversations We’re Not Having by Monica Bulger</a> </div></div>
 
<hr class="divider clear" />
 
<h4>Real-world applications of personalized learning</h4>
Select a tab to view the example. 
 
<div id="vibe-tabs-7" class="tabs tabbable dark"><ul class="nav nav-tabs clearfix"><li><a href="#tab-566643974-621">Example 1</a></li><li><a href="#tab-3404854789-621">Example 2</a></li><li><a href="#tab-624139579-621">Example 3</a></li><li><a href="#tab-3354363458-621">Example 4</a></li><li><a href="#tab-674098556-621">Example 5</a></li></ul><div class="tab-content"> <div id="tab-566643974-621" class="tab-pane">
<h5>Personalization through Gamification</h5>
Air Methods provides air transportation to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Air Methods personnel provide comprehensive pre-hospital and emergency and critical care to all types of patients during aero-medical evacuation or rescue operations aboard helicopter and propeller aircraft or jet aircraft. Air Methods with Sim X, a virtual reality firm, has developed a library of advanced clinical scenarios designed on a platform where multiple players work together to treat patients in the virtual environment. Air Methods has also developed an escape room* with a mix of clinical knowledge, pop-culture, and sleuthing to create an interactive learning experience. Each step of patient care, such as accessing medications or locating lab values, requires the team to solve the previous clues. Three groups are pitted against each other each day to see who can figure out the patient’s condition and provide the most appropriate care in the shortest amount of time.
<a data-rel="tooltip" class="tip" data-placement="top" data-original-title="An escape room is an organized form of problem-based learning that uses aspects of the curriculum within the context of an engaging scenario or theme. It has a series of puzzles that a group has to solve within a limited time period. So, the learning theme over here focuses on learner interest and is socially embedded, as a group will work on it together. It uses virtual reality to help learners learn the content better. The strategy also ensures learners have fun while learning, as gamification has been applied in the form of escape rooms. "> *Escape Room </a>
 
SOURCE: <a href="https://www.seriousgamemarket.com/2021/05/how-serious-games-are-changing-air.html">How Serious Games Are Changing Air Medical Education by Eliane Alhadeff</a>
</div> <div id="tab-3404854789-621" class="tab-pane">
<h5>Personalization through Mentoring</h5>
LaSalle Network is a national staffing, recruiting and culture firm with business units that specialize in accounting and finance, administrative, call center, healthcare revenue cycle, human resources, management resources, marketing, sales, supply chain, technology and executive search. Employees at this company participate in what is known as “grandfathering”. In this activity, managers mentor workers under their direct reports. They reinforce lessons by getting these employees to watch 3–4-minute videos at least 5 times, and by addressing their doubts and queries. Also, LaSalle’s 150 employees are regularly asked what weak spots they want to strengthen and what skills they want to acquire. These questions are not only asked by HR—everyone from managers and mentors to the training team and even the CEO pose the questions to employees at every level of the company. In one instance, when an employee mentioned to the company CEO that he wanted to eventually work in operations, the CEO coordinated with HR and made sure the employee works under the COO for a few weeks. This kind of mentoring, or grandfathering, is a commitment at the organization level. The learning themes that we can see in this case are learner needs, learner interests, learner ownership, and it is socially embedded. In this example, mentoring is used as a strategy to personalize learning.
SOURCE: <a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">A </a><a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">Personalized </a><a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">Approach to Corporate Learning by Kate Rockwood</a>
 
</div> <div id="tab-624139579-621" class="tab-pane">
<h5>Personalization through Feedback</h5>
Next College Student Athlete is a Chicago-based company that helps high schoolers win collegiate athletic scholarships. The Training team at this company uses a unique strategy for training – put the employee in the spotlight. The employees are video-recorded when they make a sales pitch. The videos are then analyzed to give specific feedback to the employees, and they are helped to identify areas that need refinement. The company has found this training technique rather effective. As the Head of HR says – “the employees tend to be fully engaged because they’re the stars of the sessions.” The learning theme out here is focusing on learner needs, learner ownership, and is socially embedded. This is an example of personalized learning where learners are not consumers but producers of content. This strategy also showcases mentoring at a different level. As you can see through this example, personalized learning is an ongoing process. It is NOT a one-time solution/intervention. Creating a plan, and working as per the plan is important.
SOURCE: <a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">A </a><a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">Personalized </a><a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0517/pages/a-personalized-approach-to-corporate-learning.aspx">Approach to Corporate Learning by Kate Rockwood</a>
 
</div> <div id="tab-3354363458-621" class="tab-pane">
<h5>Personalization through adaptive learning</h5>
Duolingo, the language learning app, applies the concept of spaced repetition for language learning. The app adapts to each learner’s level of language proficiency by presenting content in different interactive ways. Learners get automated real-time feedback on these interactive speech and grammar exercises. The app users collectively complete millions of exercises on the platform every day and it tracks every word that the learner sees, uses and practices in varied contexts. This data is captured and analyzed using machine learning (ML) algorithms.
 
</div> <div id="tab-674098556-621" class="tab-pane">
<h5>Personalization through Intelligent Tutoring</h5>
Soar Training Expert for Virtual Environments or STEVE is an intelligent tutoring system developed by the University of South California (USC). It was originally applied to equipment operation and maintenance training on board a virtual ship. This system is designed to train and mentor learners to operate complicated machinery. Through virtual reality a three-dimensional, simulated mock-up of a work environment is created, where STEVE, the virtual facilitator guides learners to complete tasks by demonstrating procedures, responding to learner queries and monitoring learner performance. This solution is an integration of intelligent tutoring systems, computer graphics and agent architectures. This system can also train learners on completing team tasks, because the system is built to support multiple STEVE agents and multiple students.
SOURCE: <a href="https://www.isi.edu/isd/VET/vet.html">STEVE</a><a href="https://www.isi.edu/isd/VET/vet.html">– A Pedagogical Agent for Virtual Reality</a>
</div> </div></div>
 
 
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/personalized-learning/">Personalized Learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://purnima-valiathan.com/personalized-learning/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>An Instructional Design Checklist! Yes. Another One!</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/an-instructional-design-checklist-yes-another-one/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 05 May 2022 03:36:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Content Development Process]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Knowledge Sharing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[instructional design checklist]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=56850</guid>
<description><![CDATA[  Is your ID training addressing these Do’s and Don’ts? If yes, then how? Do you address it as an …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/an-instructional-design-checklist-yes-another-one/">An Instructional Design Checklist! Yes. Another One!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[ 
<blockquote>
Is your ID training addressing these Do’s and Don’ts? If yes, then how? Do you address it as an Instructional Design checklist (as attached below), or through practice and feedback? A checklist is the lowest form of a job-aid meant for tasks that are mostly mechanical & physical. Designing instruction is a cognitive task that requires higher-order thinking skills. The training for this must be designed to help you develop several skills and competencies, which is best addressed through a blend of self-paced online courses, facilitated sessions, and assignments that are reviewed by ID experts. However, even this is just a dip into shallow waters – to excel at instructional design you need to work on varied projects with unique demands for at least A YEAR UNDER A GOOD MENTOR.
</blockquote>
 
Download the checklist here; but also find a mentor:
<a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ID_Dos_Donts.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dos and Don’ts for instructional designers</a>
 
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/an-instructional-design-checklist-yes-another-one/">An Instructional Design Checklist! Yes. Another One!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Needs Assessment – Part 3</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-3/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-3/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 06 Aug 2021 06:10:33 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Content Development Process]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Knowledge Sharing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[learning needs analysis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[needs assessment]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[training needs analysis]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=52229</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Needs assessment is role-wise assessment of skill gaps between the current state and the desired state, and identifying the learning …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-3/">Needs Assessment – Part 3</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3 class="heading " > OVERVIEW </h3>
Needs assessment is role-wise assessment of skill gaps between the current state and the desired state, and identifying the learning needs to close the gaps and ensure effective workplace performance. The outcome of needs assessment results in effective training solutions that impact the business growth of the customer in a positive way. While needs assessment is a highly iterative process, and you can never have enough of discussions to be sure that you and your stakeholder are on the same page with regard to the roles or tasks or responsibilities or competencies, and there can be many sub-processes that you may have to improvise, abroad level needs assessment process sequence can be charted out.
<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52270" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123.jpg" alt="" width="1104" height="736" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123.jpg 1104w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-460x307.jpg 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-150x100.jpg 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-768x512.jpg 768w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-300x200.jpg 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-120x80.jpg 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Needs_Assessment_Process-123-310x207.jpg 310w" sizes="(max-width: 1104px) 100vw, 1104px" />
<h3 class="heading " > STEP 1 – IDENTIFYING CHALLENGES </h3>
Needs Assessment is a process by which we figure out the training needs of a group or groups, of a few roles in an organization, or all roles of an organization. The organization can be small, medium, or large. Therefore, the needs assessment process, though similar in all cases, have to be customized depending on the requirements of the customer – where the requirements can be explicit, implicit, or evolutionary in nature.
The initial questions or the “Day 1-2” questions that the needs assessor should ask is: What is your organization trying to accomplish? What are the business goals that your organization is trying to achieve?
The responses from stakeholders may be noticeably clear or partly clear and/or partly fuzzy. That’s absolutely fine. That is the nature of the assignment. The assessor needs to start a conversation with the customer stakeholders at this point. Many important points come out during a random conversation and assessors have to be very attentive. To make things easier, assessors can prepare a detailed questionnaire before traveling to the customer site.
The questionnaire can have generic questions, which can be customized after the initial introductory rounds and then distributed to the stakeholders to get their response or thoughts. Questions initially can be asked in any order. You can even, not ask any questions. Just listen to the leaders talking and make a mental note of their requirements, their pain points, or their business goals. At this stage you may not understand much of it. You will slowly – do not get thrown off your chosen track. You are there to stay for a while. Things will open up sooner or later. Don’t rush. There is no strict timeline to complete a “talk”. Never.
Here are some some sample questions to ask on the first meet with the customer:
<div class="notification " style="background-color:#97d8df;border-color:;">
<div class="notepad" style="color:#333;border-color:{{bordercolor}};">
<ol style="text-align: justify;">
<li>What is the need at this point for a training needs assessment? Is there a strong business compulsion?</li>
<li>Who are the stakeholders in this endeavour?</li>
<li>Can a meeting be organized with each of these stakeholders, as they lead different departments? If yes, by when?</li>
<li>Can a meeting be organized with a few key members of each department? If yes, by when?</li>
<li>What are the business goals of each of these departments? How do they map to the organizational goal?</li>
<li>What are the primary roles in each of the department? What are the responsibilities of each role?</li>
<li>In a particular role, what are the employees’ current level of proficiency and what is the desired level of proficiency?</li>
<li>What are their educational qualifications? Are they motivated to achieve the business goals? Will it clash in anyway with their growth aspirations? (Subjective questions are important as they give us a definite direction on the organizational goal)</li>
<li>What are the pain points of the organization, and of the employee group?</li>
<li>Dothe pain points map to a training need(s) or the pain points require a totally different kind of solution, besides training?</li>
<li>Is workplace performance at the current level of proficiency also a problem?</li>
</ol>
</div></div>
These and similar questions can be the base initial discussion that the assessor should have with the customer side stakeholders. The way analysis is done in a simple eLearning project, similarly these question-answer sessions help the assessor understand the business goals and analyse the employee performance problems. However, these discussions are not cast in stone. Bigger the organization, larger the requirement, and more the number of interactive and iterative sessions.
The assessor also needs to talk to the next level of leaders, who are on the floor, to get their point of view regarding the pain points, their proficiency level, and their aspirations. Understanding employee aspirations is also an important step towards ensuring that the right kind of needs are found and addressed. This happens with the knowledge of the supervisors and there is no organization-employee conflict out there.
Next, the questionnaire evaluation report is presented to the customer and the actual business challenges are documented by mutual agreement.
Some examples of business challenges can be:
<div class="notification " style="background-color:#97d8df;border-color:;">
<div class="notepad" style="color:#333;border-color:{{bordercolor}};">
<ol style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Ineffective implementation of safety and compliance procedures resulting in near-miss accidents or injury</li>
<li>Managing a huge customer project</li>
<li>Training new hires globally with language, culture, and other demographic barriers</li>
<li>Aging workforce, ready to retire, and adequate transfer of knowledge</li>
<li>Current level of competencies has gaps; performance is an issue</li>
<li>Key responsibility areas are not well defined, overlapping responsibilities</li>
</ol>
</div></div>
<h3 class="heading " > STEP 2, 3 and 4 – ANALYSIS OF CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS; AN ITERATIVE PROCESS </h3>
After the assessor understands the business performance goal and pain points, the assessor needs to understand the roles that will have to be considered on priority to meet the challenge through appropriate training intervention. In this step, the assessor also needs to understand the current jobs/tasks of the role or roles, the future roles and responsibilities, and the competency gap that has to be closed for them to perform at the desired level. There are a number of tools that the assessor can use to understand the current situation and how far the employees are from the desired situation.
Some of the tools are:
<ol style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Individual interviews</li>
<li>Focus groups</li>
<li>Observations</li>
<li>Reports</li>
<li>Surveys</li>
</ol>
Based on the findings, the assessor will arrive at the actual desired situation. The gap between the actual and desired will provide the learning requirement.
Here is an example:
<div class="notification " style="background-color:#97d8df;border-color:;">
<div class="notepad" style="color:#333;border-color:{{bordercolor}};">
A leading oil and gas organization was unable to improve the performance effectiveness of its refinery operators despite conducting intensive training. They also did not have any methodology to capture the knowledge of it aging workforce who were due for retirement. The assessor assessed the current situation and discovered that training was mostly conducted in classroom using presentations and very text intensive training tools. Learning was mostly on-the-job with a mentor shadowing a few hundred employees. Training was therefore not consistent, and rarely measured. The material was outdated, and new hires were dependent on-the-job mentoring by experienced workforce for upgrading their skills. The desired situation was to have a formal training in place that will be able to measure employee performance.
</div></div>
<h3 class="heading " > STEP 5 – CREATE COMPETENCY MAP ROLE-WISE, AND NEW ROLE-WISE TRAINING REQUIREMENTS </h3>
To carry forward the case of the oil and gas organization, let’s look at an example to understand more about competencies.
For example, equipment knowledge could be a skill. In some customer engagements that the organization may have, this knowledge could be a challenge as the skill is usually not documented. The assessor in such a situation will need to discuss with all relevant roles and understand the competency level that they currently have, and the new level of competency they desire to have. Based on this information, the assessor will be able to create a new competency map role-wise and detail out the new role-wise training requirements so far as equipment knowledge is concerned.
The purpose of identifying competencies is to have a clear criterion to measure the skill and performance effectiveness of the target audience. Competency map is the formal documentation of skills and knowledge required for a particular role.
Each competency can have different levels of proficiency depending on the skill level required for a role who is assigned a particular job. For example, a junior instructional designer needs to have only storyboarding capabilities after understanding the design document, but a senior designer will need to be able to create the design document. However, both the instructional designer role will require common competencies of writing and comprehension. Pretty colourful, isn’t it?<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/1f60a.png" alt="😊" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />Well yes, when you map the different roles to different tasks to different competencies and different training requirements, it is best to colour code the excel worksheet. Makes it easier for the assessor and the approver.
<h3 class="heading " > STEP 6 – CURRICULUM DESIGN, TRAINING STRATEGY ROLE-WISE OR A CUSTOMIZED LEARNING PATH </h3>
Now that the assessor is aware of the target audience, the competencies and the learning methodology needed to achieve the learning objective, the assessor needs to identify training topics and create a curriculum design. This might require consultation with a subject matter expert if it is a technical content. An essential aspect of needs assessment is identifying the appropriate learning methodology to train the target audience. Somewhere in steps 1 through 4, the assessor also needs to understand the demographic, education, working and social background of the target audience. That will help the assessor create a curriculum design or a customized learning path using appropriate learning strategies to get effective training outcome.
As instructional designers turned assessors, you need to be aware of the different learning methodologies that can be adopted and map them to the requirements. Some common learning methodologies include:
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Coaching and mentoring</li>
<li>Curated content</li>
<li>Blended learning</li>
<li>Web- based learning</li>
<li>Classroom-based learning</li>
<li>Mobile or micro learning</li>
<li>Collaborative platform</li>
<li>Game-based learning</li>
</ul>
Curriculum design provides clarity on the course names, course objectives, topics covered, duration, and the mode of delivery. Needs assessment is considered complete when the assessor prepares the training strategy for the entire requirement. In this document, the training goal, and the training process with the details of curriculum is documented. This document also guides the customers on how they should conduct the training as it includes the schedule of courses. It provides clarity on the training approach and broad level instructional strategies that can be used for developing the curriculum.
Once this is approved, the assessor, who is bored with Earl Greys and subways, can start dreaming of Lipton Darjeeling and a sumptuous meal back home. However, the work has just begun. Now the vendor organization needs to ramp up for creating the huge training content.
<h3 class="heading " > CONCLUSION </h3>
Needs assessment is a scientific and organized approach to analysing customer requirements from a competency-based learning perspective. Creating a competency map that elaborates on roles, responsibilities, tasks, and the skills required to complete those tasks, is the ultimate step to achieving training excellence for the customer organization. It is an ideal way of providing thought leadership to the customer. A successful needs assessment phase is not limited to just the deliverables from that phase. It creates a lasting impression in the mind of the customer that they have invested in the right place. Finally, as a learning consultant, assessors should be able to provide a real-time, implementable, and useful training solution that provides a win-win situation for both the vendor and the customer.

The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-3/">Needs Assessment – Part 3</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-3/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>Needs Assessment – Part 2</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-2/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-2/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jul 2021 08:16:18 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Content Development Process]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[learning needs analysis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[needs assessment]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=44702</guid>
<description><![CDATA[  An organization wanted to train its entire sales team (junior, mid-level- and senior roles) on a new range of …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-2/">Needs Assessment – Part 2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote> </blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-46183" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels.jpg" alt="" width="377" height="312" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels.jpg 600w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels-460x381.jpg 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels-150x124.jpg 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels-300x249.jpg 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels-120x99.jpg 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Levels-310x257.jpg 310w" sizes="(max-width: 377px) 100vw, 377px" />
<blockquote>An organization wanted to train its entire sales team (junior, mid-level- and senior roles) on a new range of engineering products. The company approached the in-house training manager and provided basic details about the products. The training manager created handouts, ready reference material, and presentations, and delivered the training on schedule. The sales team got the basic knowledge. However, post training, it was observed that the sales team was not able to meet the expected target.</blockquote>
 
<h3 class="heading " > What went wrong? </h3>
What went wrong? Process lapses! But that isn’t typically due to lack of knowledge. Training managers are given very short time to come up with a training program. Nor is the training manager fully equipped to create content the way instructional designers are trained to do. Hence, there can be lapses both in the process, as well as the end result.
In this example, first, the trainer should have analysed the business challenges that the company could have faced if the sales team was not adequately trained on the new products. Then, the trainer should have had meetings with the sales team to understand their current roles and responsibilities, the trainings they have already attended, their selling methodology, their prior work experience, their qualification, and what sort of content engages them. Based on this information, the trainer should have arrived at the role-wise core skills/competency that the sales team had, the skills/competency they needed to acquire, recognized the gaps, and then worked on closing the gaps.
Post gap analysis and based on the desired level of competency that the employees had to achieve as mandated by business needs, the trainer should have designed the role-wise curriculum for training. So senior sales managers should have been trained on how to focus on the saleability of the product and the sales strategies, and the juniors should have learnt the product features and functions to the last level of detail. Based on the proposed and approved curriculum, learning objectives should have been designed. Based on learners’ learning preferences, relevant training methodology and strategies should have been used so that the learning outcome was effective. The training should have been followed up with an appropriate post assessment and on-the-job shadowing by an expert.
Seems black and white now, however, at real-time things can get blurred. And that is the essence of true needs assessment assignment. It gives the assessor the challenge to be focused, to be empathetic, and to use all skills she has gathered over the years to do a great job.
 
<style> #button9831{} #button9831:hover{}#button9831:hover{}</style><a target="_blank" id="button9831" class="button " href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs-Analysis_Example.xlsx"> Needs Assessment_Example </a>
<blockquote> 
Hope that this example helped you gain a macro view of the needs assessment process. In Part 3 of this series, I will address the process in detail.</blockquote>
 
AUTHOR:
Sarbani Bose – Consultant, Instructional Design
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-2/">Needs Assessment – Part 2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>Needs Assessment – Part 1</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-1/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jul 2021 13:02:25 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Content Development Process]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[needs assessment]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=43998</guid>
<description><![CDATA[  Traveling abroad at a short notice was mundane for me as an instructional designer. Most of the time it …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-1/">Needs Assessment – Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-44006" src="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1.jpg" alt="" width="497" height="339" srcset="https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1.jpg 688w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1-460x314.jpg 460w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1-150x102.jpg 150w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1-300x205.jpg 300w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1-120x82.jpg 120w, https://purnima-valiathan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postimage1-310x211.jpg 310w" sizes="(max-width: 497px) 100vw, 497px" />
 
Traveling abroad at a short notice was mundane for me as an instructional designer. Most of the time it was a short, single project, or may be a few projects on the same subject matter, or a weeklong Beta class or a 3-days conference. Jetlag notwithstanding, the very next day on landing, we were to reach the customer site and start work. Numerous cups of Earl Grey, a cookie here or a sandwich there, and things would just fall in place. Work done, appreciation received, mails exchanged along with a pat-on-the-back, or a “why did you commit this to the customer?”, without listening to the story behind the commitment, the return flight would commence!</blockquote>
Back home, back to the traffic, and from Earl Grey to Lipton Darjeeling.
However, when the assignment stated Needs Assessment, the warning bells would begin to ring for me. Not because the work wasn’t interesting or not doable for an instructional designer with many years of experience behind her, in fact it was just the opposite, but because needs assessment meant uncertainty of duration. A month-long itinerary could easily become three if the customer’s thought process evolved, and which it invariably did, over muffins and coffees and subways.
Grey? May be – or may be hues of different colours. But never black and white.
At this point you may have some questions. Some thoughts.
<div class="notification " style="background-color:#97d8df;border-color:;">
<div class="notepad" style="color:#333;border-color:{{bordercolor}};">
<ol>
<li>Why should an instructional designer perform a needs assessment for a customer? Doesn’t the customer know better what training it wants for its employees?</li>
<li>What about its own training team? Isn’t it equipped enough to figure out what the requirement is? </li>
<li>What about the HR managers? Aren’t they more fit for the job? </li>
<li>Shouldn’t the vendor organization just focus on creating the training program with its ace instructional designers at the job? </li>
</ol>
</div></div>
<h3 class="heading " > Why should an instructional designer play with the greys? </h3>
Without debating on the fact that an organization should know about its exact training requirements, and its training manager or the HR manager can also do the job, the efficacy sometimes is not as expected. This is because end-to-end training solutioning for any organization is as simple as – an instructional designer’s forte.
 
Let’s understand it in detail. 
Smaller organizations typically do not have a robust learning unit. However, big organizations do. They also have department-wise training managers, or experts in a particular area/task, who also double up as mentors/trainers on-the-job. These in-house trainers are provided with the basic training requirements by the business leaders or team leaders. And the trainers are asked to create focused training material, schedule sessions, and deliver the training. However, the requirements are typically a “knee-jerk” reaction from leaders to cater to sudden business needs. There is no clear focus on a holistic updated curriculum or role-wise or responsibility-wise training. Moreover, a different but very pertinent problem arises when these experts or trainers relocate to a different location around the globe, or they retire from active service. Even if their knowledge is somehow documented, the tacit knowledge is never captured for the future generation of employees.
<blockquote>Hope that I have made a convincing argument why instructional designers must conduct a needs assessment. In Part 2 of this series, I will elaborate on this activity using an example.</blockquote>
 
AUTHOR:
Sarbani Bose – Consultant, Instructional Design
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/needs-assessment-part-1/">Needs Assessment – Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>What’s cooking? Training ROI through the cooking glass</title>
<link>https://purnima-valiathan.com/whats-cooking-training-roi-through-the-cooking-glass/</link>
<comments>https://purnima-valiathan.com/whats-cooking-training-roi-through-the-cooking-glass/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Purnima Valiathan]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:39:52 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://purnima-valiathan.com/?p=43626</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I think Indian cooking is a conspiracy. Hatched by whom, I don’t know. There are days when I wish I …
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/whats-cooking-training-roi-through-the-cooking-glass/">What’s cooking? Training ROI through the cooking glass</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[I think Indian cooking is a conspiracy. Hatched by whom, I don’t know. There are days when I wish I didn’t have to cook; and there are days when cooking has helped me ideate. Yesterday happened to be one such day when I had this Eureka moment. What if we had to determine the ROI for Indian cooking? It would be quite an uphill task – very similar to determining Training ROI. Let me explain.
<blockquote> </blockquote>
<h3 class="heading " > Isolation Factor </h3>
A typical Indian dish (more so, South Indian because I am one) takes “form and taste” after a lot of hard work. The planning, measuring, pounding, grinding, steaming, chopping, and seasoning with half a dozen spices is no mean feat. Now if someone asks, which of these is responsible for the heavenly taste, it’s hard to say. How does one identify whether it is one of the processes, a certain spice or the way vegetables have been chopped that’s the cause for the taste? How do you isolate that one factor?
Determining Training ROI in organizations is no different. Organizations are rarely static. There’s always something happening. – a new boss, changes in team configurations, change in processes, and introduction of new software to name a few. It is very difficult to isolate the training factor – in other words, how much the training contributed to a business result (such as reduction in rework, increase in productivity or customer satisfaction).
 
<h3 class="heading " > Budget Considerations </h3>
Now suppose you do decide to identify that one factor which makes a dish taste either good or bad. You will have to make the dish umpteen times – each time, removing one of the ingredients, or a certain process. Imagine the quantity of ingredients you will have to purchase, and what this will do to your budget. Similarly, determining ROI involves effort, and most times the effort is spread over a long period and involves more than one department (HR, L&D, Administration, Operations and Senior Management). This will cost the organization money. Consider this – training happens and Level 1 feedback is taken; then an assessment determines training effectiveness at Level 2; learning transfer will happen over a period of time with support from managers, which is also measured to collate data at Level 3. All this will require budget allocation, and it will have to be taken from the training budget.
 
<h3 class="heading " > Intangibles </h3>
Finally, suppose you are cooking a dish for your child. All the love and affection with which you do this cannot be quantified. The special attention that you pay to make the dish nutritious and tasty – well that cannot be measured either. Training too results in benefits that cannot be measured easily. For example, training can result in improving employee morale, better teamwork and lesser conflicts, increased commitment to the organization and reduced complaints. This is soft data, which cannot be assigned a monetary value. These are called Intangibles.
 
<h3 class="heading " > Easier said than done </h3>
So, you see, determining Training ROI is good practice, but a rather complicated affair. It’s great to mouth platitudes about it, but it is easier said than done. To use 21st century parlance, this is one aspect where you cannot say KISS (Keep It Simple, Silly)!
The post <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com/whats-cooking-training-roi-through-the-cooking-glass/">What’s cooking? Training ROI through the cooking glass</a> appeared first on <a href="https://purnima-valiathan.com">ID Mentors</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://purnima-valiathan.com/whats-cooking-training-roi-through-the-cooking-glass/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>

If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:

Download the "valid RSS" banner.
Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)
Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):

<a href="http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//purnima-valiathan.com/feed/"><img src="valid-rss-rogers.png" alt="[Valid RSS]" title="Validate my RSS feed" /></a>

If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//purnima-valiathan.com/feed/

Home · About · News · Docs · Terms