Latest eFront news: On our cloud-offering & Community++

Introducing our cloud offering!

As many of our users already know, we’ve been working on eFront-4 for some time now. During this lengthy process we have come across two major discoveries:

1.  Firstly, we witnessed a strong movement towards cloud, lean and mobile solutions for eLearning. Cloud comes with several benefits for the client and allows one to offer a more integrated and smoother experience.   The lean movement offers simpler, focused solutions that emphasize practicality over completeness.
2.  Secondly, as we were making progress on eFront-4 it became obvious that the core changes were of such a magnitude that it would be impossible to offer compatibility with the current eFront offering. A transition would have offered little benefit for current customers since they would have to start their implementation from scratch.

So, we have shifted our eFront-4 effort to a cloud solution and we would like to announce a cloud-offering that will be part of the eFront LMS family by September 2012! This product will be implemented on top of eFront-4 architecture and launched under a new brand, namely TalentLMS.  TalentLMS will be a true Software-as-a-Service product, based on a “lean” LMS approach and a preference for conventions over configuration. We will be happy to send you invitations to give it a try as soon as a public beta is out by the end of May (look out for news on our blog and Facebook page!) .

Deciding to create an additional cloud-solution was not an easy one. However, we truly believe that it was the right one. We anticipate that, in due time, we will offer a deployed solution based on the eFront-4 core but this will take more time than initially planned. We would like to emphasize that eFront development will continue under the 3.6 version with an emphasis on ease-of-use, source-availability, completeness and the ability to have a deployed solution. 

We say goodbye to Community++

Two years ago we introduced Community++ as a solution for very small businesses that wanted additional functionality on-top of the open-source edition. However, it is clear now that this edition was not used the way we designed it to be used. At the same time it complicates our product mix by narrowing the gap between the open-source and commercial editions. So, we’ve decided to simplify our commercial offerings so that by the end of March 2012 Community++ will no longer be available.

We will still offer software updates and support for our current clients until the end of this year. Furthermore, for all Community++ clients we will run a special 50% discount in case they would like for to upgrade to an Educational or Enterprise eFront edition until 31/12/2012. Please get in touch with our sales team for more info!

Podcasting like a pro! (Part 1)

OK, so you’ve decided you’d like to create a podcast series. What next?

Once you’ve set up your blogging platform (I’m partial to Wordpress which has great plugins for podcasts!), you’re ready to start creating content…

 Let’s assume you are creating a podcast series for an organization – since a podcast series would logically be part of your company’s marketing strategy you must know exactly what you want to achieve by it. Your goal will be a deciding factor in driving the kind of content you will create. 

On joining the eFront community

After several years in social media / communications for new technologies, with a focus on the elearning industry (and of course, after having been an avid reader of the eFront blog myself!), I have now joined the eFront team. And I’m excited to be part of the eFront community!

I like blogging about social media, social learning, the future workplace, how culture affects learning, workplace collaboration, learning and talent management, innovation and disruptive technologies. I began my career in tertiary education, and then gravitated towards social media communications, blogging and community building. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to work with many innovative products in the eLearning industry, but eFront always stood out with its flourishing online community (and reasons listed below!).

A short history of nearly everything

Here is a book that I found an excellent source of inspiration on many fronts: 

 “A short history of nearly everything” by Bill Bryson

The book describes general sciences such as chemistry, paleontology, astronomy, and particle physics. In it, the author explores the time between the Big Bang to the discovery of quantum mechanics, via evolution and geology. Bryson tells the story of science through the stories of the people who made the discoveries, such as Edwin Hubble, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein.

Bill Bryson wrote this book because he was dissatisfied with his scientific knowledge. He writes that “science was a distant, unexplained subject at school”. Textbooks and teachers alike did not ignite the passion for knowledge in him, mainly because they never delved in the whys, hows, and whens.

I spent many years having the same questions that the author had. We know for example that earth is round but little is offered from science books on how we discover it. The natural curiosity process should be based not on simple facts but on the context of each discovery. It needs background information otherwise it is not very effective.

As Bryson put it: "It was as if [the textbook writer] wanted to keep the good stuff secret by making all of it soberly unfathomable."

Bryson tries to put science in context by going step-by-step throughout the discovery process and not by simple giving facts. And it does so through the personal stories of the men behind the discoveries. This humanization of science works in a very effective way. Bryson builds on the curiosity process and provides information in a context that just makes sense.

If you are even distantly interested in science, do yourself a favor. Read it.

Learning through Curiosity

I learn each and every day. It may be something subtle; but it always happens. Sometimes I find it hard to formalize my new knowledge in words. Not all things can be expressed in the severely lacked form of communication that we call language. But I can feel it growing inside me.

Interestingly enough each new piece of information can create an enormous wave of side-effects. Things that were lacking consistency inside my brain start to make sense. My neurons make the needed synapses to formulate something new, which on their turn formulates a new understanding or, more importantly, a new idea. The snowball effect can turn one piece of information to a catalyst of self-improvement.

Even if the new information has not such dramatic sequences it can lead to an evenly important side-effect; a tricky little thing called curiosity. My curiosity is less about people personal affairs and more about understanding the grant scheme behind everything. Information is less effective when it happens out-of-the blue, like for example when I read a Wikipedia article in random. Curiosity gives me the proper excuse to join something with immediate practical value with new information and an extended perspective.

I can see this thing working amazingly in practice. Every time I watch a documentary on History channel about a person or a battle, I find myself checking on Wikipedia the related article. Every time I have a conversation that brings up a new and interesting word or concept – even common words like marketing and leadership that I do not 100% grasp – I do the same. Googling and reading has become the natural extension of my everyday learning.

I’ve got a theory[1] that traditional learning is not so efficient because it is separated from real-world context. We enforce people to learn something that does not inspire them; something that has not grown naturally inside them. This may work in theory but in practice is an enormous waste of resources.

Alternatively, I strongly believe that learning institutes (and companies alike) need to create a curiosity-friendly environment. They need to inspire people by, for example, making the right questions that ignite the curiosity process. Nurturing the learning need can make people happier from their training and multiply the outcome beyond our imagination.

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[1] This idea has only recently grown inside me through the above-mentioned snowball effect.  I was in Educa-Berlin 2011 where one of the speakers mentioned the need to “pull and not push knowledge”. A sentence  is enough to ignite a complex brain process.

LearnTec and a few more awards for eFront

In the context of Learntec trade fair our Austrian VAR (Click-and-learn) has been awarded with two “gold medals” (in the category “LMS” – with eFront ; and in the category “development of individual learning content”). Customers voted our Austrian VAR on first place within the “eLearningCHECK” which is the greatest customer-award for eLearning in the German speaking market.

eLearningCHECK is an independend customer satisfaction survey for the german speaking eLearning market.  It is organized by Checkpoint eLearning (www.checkpoint-eLearning.com), Sales Potential (www.salespotential.de) and Goethe-University Frankfurt.

Our own G.Kalfas, took part on this event on behalf of eFront and provide us with several pictures from the event.

It is good to love. But even better when people love you back!

Top 10 Free and Open Source eLearning Projects to Watch for 2012

Nowadays small and medium size organizations (SMEs), educational institutions, and independent consultants struggle to adopt an expensive eLearning solution. This is why I created the following list with the Top 10 Free and Open Source eLearning projects for 2012 that will help you implement a low cost eLearning solutions
 => Please leave a comment if you would like me to include another Free or Open Source eLearning project that needs to be mentioned!

Enjoy! 

eLearning Conferences 2012

Educational Technology and Related Education Conferences for January to June 2012

Clayton R. Wright has done his 26th version of his amazing list of conferences again this year. You can contact him at: crwr77 [@] gmail.com

This 26th version of the conference list covers selected events from four continents. The list focuses primarily on the use of technology in educational settings and on teaching, learning, and educational administration. Only listings until June 30, 2012 are complete as dates, locations, or Internet addresses (URLs) were not available for a number of events held after this date. 

=> Please leave a comment if you would like me to include another eLearning Conference!

eFront the 1st open source eLearning solution that join OW2

eFront, the award winning, open source, and SCORM certified learning system, join the OW2 consortium - The open source community for infrastructure software. Some of the organizations that also joined the OW2 consortium include SugarCRM, France Telecom Group, XWiki SAS, in a total of 58 corporate members. It is true to say that OW2 if it isn't the only one, it is the only substantial open-source foundation based in Europe.

What is OW2?

Professional Support at an Open Source LMS: Interview with Athanasios Papagelis Co-founder & Technical Director at Epignosis Ltd

C.P.: What is one of the reasons that SMEs choose eFront as an eLearning solution?

Athanasios Papagelis - Co-founder & Technical Director at Epignosis Ltd:
One of the reasons that eFront is an extremely successful eLearning solution especially for medium organizations is the fact that is well supported. By saying well supported, I mean that eFront is professionally supported and although designed to last, our clients can always rely that someone is on hand if something does go wrong.

=> I will very much appreciate if you share your thoughts concerning the following question "Is Professional Support  IMPORTANT for an Open Source LMS?"

How would you go about converting a face to face course to an eLearning format?

Joan T. Cook raised an interesting question at the Instructional Design and eLearning Professionals' Group "How would you go about converting a face to face course to an eLearning format?" Several professionals in the Learning industry want to convert their f2f courses into an eLearning format. However, several of them do the same mistake again and again. They believe that by simply moving their content such as PowerPoint presentations, videos, audios, and documents to a Learning Management System that they have converted their face to face courses to an eLearning format. In my opinion, they have convert their traditional courses to an electronic format.

In this post I will present you the TOP 5 tips to Convert your Traditional Course into an eLearning format.

How to Reduce eLearning Costs?

Would you like to reduce eLearning costs? In this complimentary eBook, eLearning Guild members reveal imaginative ways to cut eLearning costs, and share insights on how to optimize your resources to get the job done more efficiently and effectively, without sacrificing quality. See how others are doing amazing things with limited budgets, and how innovative cost-saving ideas can help you do more with less.

With this book you will be able to discover cost-saving tips in the following eight areas: (1) eLearning Courses, (2) Design & Development
(3) Project Management, (4) Learning Management Systems, (5) Staffing / Vendors, (6) Offshoring, (7) Professional Development, and (8) Tools.

You can Download for Free the 75 Tips to Reduce eLearning Costs by clicking

eFront was presented at the Enterprise Learning! Conference & Expo 2011

Georgios Kalfas, eFront Sales Manager was present at the Enterprise Learning! Conference & Expo on September 28th, 2011.

Elearning! Media Group, the industry voice of the enterprise learning and workforce technology market, announced the Best of Elearning! 2011 award-winners.

eFront won the following two Awards of Excellence:

eFront Best Open Source Solution Announced as Honoree for Best of ELearning! 2011

ELearning! Media Group announces eFront as a finalist for the Best of ELearning! 2011 Awards. Nominated as Best Open Source Solution, eFront was selected by worldwide readers and professionals from both the private and public sector involved in the eLearning industry.

What is the best Instructional Design textbook you know?

There are several textbooks that are best for Instructional Design. The members of the Instructional Design & E-Learning Professionals' Group created the following list and I am extremely interested to read your comments concerning the list.

► If you would like to suggest your favorite Instructional Design textbook please write a comment. I will post the book at the top of the list! Lets Share the Knowledge!

eFront Sites for Inspiration

Several eLearning professionals that use eFront asked me to create an eFront list with sites for inspiration. If you are using eFront as a learning management system, content management system or virtual learning management system please leave a comment to add your site at the top of the following list.