I mentioned last week that due to the continued growth at Pathways Training & eLearning, we have posted for multiple positions, including a posting for a programmer. Well you can now add instructional designers to that list, which means shortly we will be interviewing potential candidates to fill these exciting roles. As I also mentioned last week, while “excellence in communication” is usually a hi-lite of more resumes we see, we do not always share the same understanding

Last week I continued a discussion with part II on the importance of protecting your business’s privacy, with a focus on best practices for employees when using Email. This week I would like to conclude the discussion by offering some important tips around the use of common hardware seen in the workplace, and that is personal devices including a smartphone, tablet or laptop. As I mentioned last week, we take the protection of our customer’s privacy very seriously, so much s

Last week I started a discussion on the importance of protecting your business’s privacy, so this week I would like to offer a few tips that apply both to the organization and the individual employee. As I mentioned last week, we take the protection of our customer’s privacy very seriously, so much so that we have developed programs, both eLearning and instructor led, that cover all aspects of safeguarding customer privacy. So let’s get started by asking the question, what

Last week I discussed one of the great instructor led programs we offer here at Pathways Training & eLearning, and this week I was intending to provide few details of some of the popular eLearning courses we offer. However, first I thought perhaps I could provide a more detailed explanation or definition for eLearning to ensure we all share the same understanding. Often when completing a needs analysis for a development project I am asked to include elements of eLearning. W

One of the most common topics we are asked to address in training is Social Media awareness, which on the service seems reasonably straight forward, however as many of our clients have discovered…not all of their employees share this same understanding. By that I mean that while most of us are aware of the plentiful social media channels available to us to share our opinions, thoughts and life experiences, many still do not realize the impact, both good and bad, Social Media

This week I am in Vancouver working with one of our valued luxury automotive clients, facilitating a popular course offered by Pathways Training and eLearning that focuses on managing the business and people. One of the more popular topics that is covered over the 3-day program revolves around decision making, more specifically, when to utilize a team effort versus deciding on your own. As I am sure you can imagine this can be a lively topic of conversation as some managers

This week I have been speaking at a conference that Pathways Training and eLearning was asked to be a part of and was asked an interesting question… ” How do you make the decision to use eLearning or instructor led training when you can develop only one of those choices"? Making the determination between using eLearning or instructor led training is simple, and often done for you before development starts. For example, consider geographic location of the intended audience.

In the upcoming weeks, the Pathways Training and eLearning team will be starting a large project that will require a significant amount of “live action” filming, and by that, I mean filming actual people as opposed to creating an animated video. These types of “shoots” typically involve volunteers who are not used to being in front of the camera and are not always aware of the need to follow a tight schedule or the ramifications of not showing up at all.,. Considering these

In the next few weeks a few members of the Pathways Training and eLearning team will be speaking at a conference hosted by the Ontario Professional Planners Institute. At the conference, we will be facilitating engaging sessions on a variety of topics which I have listed below, along with a brief summary. While the focus of the Pathways Training and eLearning team tends to be more on the eLearning side of the training business, this conference is an excellent reminder of wha

This past week I spent some time facilitating management and brand courses for one of our valued Luxury automotive clients, and as we are like to do at times when we have a few extra minutes in the agenda, I asked the students what they would like to discuss. One of the more interesting suggestions came from a young Manager who wanted my opinion on the effectiveness of using social media programs such as LinkedIn, to find truly effective coaching and mentoring tips within th

For the past few weeks we have been discussing the importance of interpersonal skills, with the most recent discussion on the filters we use to interpret a message. As previously mentioned, the first thing to recognize is that messages are not sent directly from your brain to the receiver’s brain. As you deliver your message, it goes through a set of filters that can impact its meaning. These filters are Words, Tone and Body Language. This week, we will focus on Tone. Look

Last week we started a discussion on the importance of interpersonal skills. This week we will continue along that theme, discussing the filters we use to interpret a message. The first thing to recognize is that messages are not sent directly from your brain to the receiver’s brain. As you deliver your message, it goes through a set of filters that can impact its meaning. These filters are Words, Tone and Body Language. This week, we will focus on Words. Our choice of w

Recently I was working with a client on developing process documentation and technical instructions regarding the launch of a new system they were going to be using. Specifically, we were working on creating written instructions on how to create a login ID and set up a user profile as the process was varied depending on which group was accessing this new system. Considering there were 4 different groups, all needing to take a slightly different path as part of the process, I

Over the course of a year I can visit up to 20 – 30 different offices, each with their own unique components such as location, configuration, number of employees, office type, nature of business…. etc.…One thing however that remains consistent for almost all of the offices I visit is each business, regardless of type, seems to have some type of training around respect in the workplace on an annual or in some cases, twice a year rotation. What I have found is not consistent

Recently the Pathways team took part in an exciting project in creating one of Canada’s first 360 video eLearning modules. For the past two weeks I have written about this experience, including a discussion on the lessons learned related to camera movement and lighting and on our discoveries around the camera hardware, sound and available post production software. To conclude the discussion, this week I will talk about the outlook for 360 video technology as it relates to

Recently the Pathways team took part in an exciting project in creating one of Canada’s first 360 video eLearning modules. Last week I wrote about this experience, talking about the lessons learned, specifically related to camera movement and lighting. This week I would like to continue the discussion, focusing on our discoveries around the camera hardware, sound and available post production software. With regards to the camera hardware, our device, like many 360 cameras

Recently the Pathways team took part in an exciting project in creating one of Canada’s first 360 video eLearning modules. While it was overall a very rewarding experience, given this was our first “official” endeavor using this medium I thought I would provide a few thoughts on the experience, both what worked well and what challenges were presented. Most of our “lessons learned” related to using the camera itself as this is still a new technology for us. Specifically, m

Infographics are a great source of microlearning, as you can include a lot of useful, condensed content in a 1 or 2 page image on your website, learning portal, or publication! Contact us today to discuss how to create an infographic for the information you need to get across! #microlearning #trainingvideocompany #PathwaysTrainingandeLearningvendor #whiteboardanimation #TorontoeLearningvendor #Canadiantrainingcompany #infographics

While most authoring tools do have some options for premade interactive buttons, often a particular module job or client will call for something with a bit more care and uniqueness when developing an eLearning module. I would like to share a simple walk-through which I use to create unique reusable buttons for use in any eLearning authoring tool. STEP 1 – DESIGN I begin in Adobe Photoshop. Create a canvas with a transparent background, that snugly fits the desired shape. Be s

In modern age we live in, the general population is very much aware of the negative results of a sedentary lifestyle. In response to this there has been a growing trend in the computer using office dwelling community. What I discovered was people utilizing standing computer desks, which is a logical choice for people trying to get away from being seated for 8 hours a day. But there is one glaring flaw with a desk that is made for standing, and it is the most obvious flaw. You