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Thomas Brandt is VP of product market for eloomi. He has been an executive member of eloomi for eight years, leading its go-to-market strategies and value propositions.Brandt is an expert in people growth, engagement, and productivity, and he has been the champion of skills development within eloomi.

Thomas Brandt

Building a Skills Training Strategy for Organizational Growth

Sherri Thomas is a career strategist. As the founder/president of Career Coaching 360, Sherri teaches training professionals, managers, and executives how to change, reinvent, or advance their careers. She teaches others how to think differently and more proactively in their career. Her book, The Bounce Back –Personal Stories of Bouncing Back Higher and Faster After a Layoff, Re-Org or Career Setback  was named “2013 Best Career Book” by the Indie Book Awards. Her first book, C areer Smart – 5 Steps to a Powerful Personal Brand has been #3 on AMAZON’s TOP 10 LIST for personal branding books.

Sherri Thomas

“Just program it in HTML5.” “We are switching to HTML5.” “HTML5…HTML5…HTML5…”Sound familiar? What does this cry for HTML5 mean for e-learning developers?That Was ThenWhen e-learning was first gaining momentum (about 15 to 20 years ago), building courseware required some degree of programming capability: HTML and JavaScript to build a primary code base, ActionScript in Flash to create interactive objects and content, and a good knowledge of SCORM standards.I would present at conferences and proclaim that attendees needed some of these programming skills. People would smile, shake my hand, and agree to learn more programming skills—and then they would hire me to create their programs for them. Simply, many instructional designers and facilitators charged with building e-learning were not interested in computer programming.Fortunately, e-learning authoring tools came into prominence. Soon, everyone was an e-learning programmer. You simply opened PowerPoint, created a presentation, and clicked a button to have an interface wrap your PPT in a nice SCORM package.And for a long time, many e-learning authoring tools exported solely to a Flash format, and the .swf files they generated required the Flash player for learners to view the content in a browser. This was great because the Flash player was already built into every desktop browser, so everyone could view the Flash content.Voilà, your e-learning projects were complete! Check the box! Done!This Is NowIn 2015, however, the Flash player does not function on mobile devices, and is even falling into antiquity, in some experts’ opinions. Instead, industry leaders are rallying behind the HTML5 banner. Led by Apple, the cry has sounded: “Flash is DEAD!” Meanwhile, programmers like me are saying, “Long Live Flash!” Why? Because e-learning “programmers,” who solely use authoring tools to build their courseware, are not able to create compelling e-learning interactions with the support of Flash.Indeed, most companies are asking for HTML5 to become the standard, and traditional e-learning programmers are forced to comply. So, although the advent of authoring tools was a good way for companies to rapidly build e-learning libraries (because they made the “programming” piece of e-learning development as easy as creating PowerPoint slides), it’s not good when the standards start to change.Here’s the rub: HTML5 requires developers to go back to being programmers. In fact, the same designers rallying behind the HTML5 banner are taking a collective gasp, asking: What do you mean my authoring tool can’t export to HTML5? For developers like me, it’s an easy leap back into the world of hand coding, WYSIWYG programming, and browser testing. Developers who have only used authoring tools, though, are probably going to struggle in this new world.To be sure, several popular authoring tools now export to HTML5, but the consistency of the projects to work across browsers is still an issue. The authoring tools are getting better, but until a pure HTML5 authoring tool is available (they are coming!!!!), the best way to create HTML5 content is to code it specifically for the device used in your environment. Bottom line: The only way to properly create a solid HTML5 course is to hand code it yourself.Basically, this means that industry has come full circle—back to programming our own e-learning courseware, back to web standards, back to structured programming. So, if you ran away from programming and hand coding (and into the arms of your favorite e-learning authoring tool), but are now on the HTML 5 bandwagon, you are going to face a huge learning curve.For guidance on how to pair e-learning development tools with your own programming skills, check out Technology for Trainers, 2nd Edition. This updated ATD Press book guides technology-hungry trainers through e-learning development, with brand-new chapters on mobile devices, learning management systems, and e-learning development software.

Programming Is Back: The Rise of HTML5 for E Learning

“What is e-learning?” “It’s a PowerPoint deck with a quiz at the end of it.” Does this exchange sound familiar? In March of 2010, I started to experience a dilemma regarding the use of e-learning authoring tools. Clients were beginning to ask that I use a specific tool to build their e-learning projects. Until that point, they didn't seem to care; the final, SCORM-wrapped package was all that mattered. Program it in HTML? Flash? C++? As long as the final solution or offering worked in their LMS, the client was satisfied. Here was my dilemma: Do I advertise the specific authoring tools that I used—in an effort get more customer interest? Should I tell potential customers that I was capable of programming their content in Captivate or Lectora? Does it make me more marketable because I use these tools? Does it make me less of an e-learning programmer because I use authoring tools? Read that last sentence again: Does it make me less of an e-learning programmer because I use authoring tools? Fast-forward to 2015. Everyone seems to have their favorite authoring tool. What’s more, vendors are stepping up to deliver even more. In fact, I have consulted with organizations that are building the “Next Best E-Learning Authoring Tool” on the market—so I know what cool things are coming down the pike. And e-learning and training conferences host a multitude of hands-on sessions regarding these tools, and talk frequently about their benefits, features, and best practices. Fortunately, I jumped on the authoring tool bandwagon in a big way in 2012—or my business would have been negatively affected. But then, in addition to my original dilemma, I became concerned that with everyone using authoring tools, the profession would start turning out cookie-cutter solutions and simple interactions. Would instructional designers start to dumb down their storyboards to suit documented functionality of a chosen tool? Would companies simply import training PowerPoint decks and add quick voice-over explanations and a quiz and calling it e-learning?Would course developers embrace the limitations of a specific tool rather than create e-learning programs that best supported learning goals—and potentially break the rules of what the tool could do? I imagine that many of you have experienced a similar dilemma. This begs the question: Do you “program” e-learning courseware using an authoring tool, and do you find that you’re locked into the primary functions and capabilities of the tool—failing to bring in engaging, interactive elements? All of this is to say: Is lousy e-learning simply the result of L&D professionals using authoring tools, or is it the outcome of developers failing to pair the full potential of these tools with all of the other programming expertise and learning tools at their disposal? What about video? What about original or adapted game elements? What about Flash or HTML 5 animations that can be built externally?        “What is e-learning?”        “It’s a PowerPoint deck with a quiz at the end of it.” Is that how you want your e-learning projects described? Not likely. Instead, let’s commit to going beyond the limits of our authoring tools and incorporating additional elements that make our e-learning solutions extraordinary! To learn how to use all the e-learning development weapons in your arsenal, check out Technology for Trainers, 2nd Edition. This updated ATD Press book guides technology-hungry trainers through e-learning development—without the jargon. With brand-new chapters on mobile devices, learning management systems, and e-learning development software, Technology for Trainers illuminates the techniques and processes needed to build any technology-based learning solution.

Breaking the Limits of Authoring Tools

Several recent trends affecting business have led many organizations to restructure the training and development function or department. Some have also re-organized the roles and responsibilities of staff involved in training-related initiatives.Examples of “new branding” include:Training Project Management OfficeProject Management OfficeProject OfficeLearning and DevelopmentLearning and Performance ImprovementTraining and DevelopmentTalent DevelopmentPerformance Consulting.Has your organization restructured its training department recently—say, in the last 5 years? Share your story, and the top winning submissions will each receive a free copy of my new book Templates for Managing Training Projects. We have two questions we would like to ask.Did you restructure the training function to take on projects outside of “traditional training programs? For example, did the training department take on such initiatives as change management, process improvement, or talent development? If yes (you did take on different training-related initiatives), can you briefly describe them?Are there any job titles used by your training department not included in the list below? What are the roles and responsibilities? AnimatorCareer CoachChief Learning OfficerCourse DeveloperCurriculum DeveloperEducation CoordinatorE-learning DeveloperEvent and Meeting PlannerFacilitatorGraphic ArtistHR Business PartnerInstructional DesignerLearning CoachLearning Management System AdministratorLearning StrategistOrganizational DevelopmentOrganizational EffectivenessPerformance ConsultantPresentation SpecialistSuccession PlannerTalent Development SpecialistTechnical WriterTrainerTraining Administrator—Data EntryTraining AnalystTraining ConsultantTraining CoordinatorTraining DirectorTraining Event CoordinatorTraining ManagerTraining OfficerTraining SpecialistVideo ProducerVoice Talent—Narrator.Please submit your responses to me at [willishthomas@gmail.com](mailto:willishthomas@gmail.com?subject=What's With the New Name) by May 17. I will announce the winner of Templates for Managing Training Projects with an update to this blog. Also, please join me at ATD 2015 International Conference & Expo May 17-20 in Orlando, Florida. I will facilitating the session “W118 - The Training Project Management Office,” which will focus on how to align the learning and development department of a training organization to support projects more effectively and efficiently.

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