March 13th - EVENT REMINDER

Cracker Barrel: ISPI International's ProComms

A Cracker Barrel is made up of several tables, hosted by chapter members or local experts. Each host facilitates a 20-minute session, with 8-10 participants at the table.

Participants will have the opportunity to take in three different sessions. Between sessions, attendees enjoy a 10-minute break and networking before selecting their next topic.

This month’s Cracker Barrel theme is “ISPI International’s ProComms: Communities of Practice SHARE Best Practices.” The goal of these sessions is to familiarize ourselves and each other with ISPI’s ProComms (Professional Communities).

For more information, or to register for this event click here

May 8th - SPECIAL EVENT

Dr. Carl Binder: The Six Boxes Model: A Simple, Powerful Way to Accelerate Human Performance

The Six Boxes™ Model enables organizations to create a shared language for understanding, communicating about, and optimizing all the variables that influence individual and group performance. It provides a comprehensive framework for systematic performance management and continuous performance improvement.

Register before March 31^st to take advantage of an early registration incentive.

For more information, or to register for this event click here

Membership Survey Says!

Here is a summary of the results:

• Value of membership: 72%/High, 20%/Middle = 92% who value their membership
• Speaker lineup: 50%/High, 48%/Middle. The comments you provided tell us that you most often find the speaker and topic of good quality, but sometimes have a hard time applying the knowledge at work (Apply: 31%/High, 59%/Middle).
• Respondents were generally satisfied with the both the venue (69%/High, 21%/Middle) and the catering (62%/High, 31%/Middle). The comments revealed a stated preference for consistency of locale.
• Website content: 30%/High, 60%/Middle. 38% visit the website regularly. 62% do not. 85% read eSpectrum when it is published.
• The top three factors you consider when deciding to attend a special event are: topic/relevance, speaker credibility, and cost.
• At the end of the day, 97% of you would recommend ISPI to a colleague.

What will we do with this information? The Executive is meeting on March 10th to discuss the survey results. Watch for the next eSpectrum for details of the meeting.

Winner of the Draw!

Congratulations to Ian Beardsell, who won the draw for one free registration for the upcoming 2007 ISPI Conference, which will be held in San Francisco. Ian is an Instructional Designer at Kodak Graphic Communications Group.

Members who renewed their memberships by October 20, and those who attended an ISPI-Vancouver event were entered into a draw for the free registration. Ballots were sent to the ISPI International organizers and a draw was held in February 2007.

Post-Event Resources for Ramona Materi and Cheryl Kitchner's Who'd Have Thought Light Bulbs Affected Audio Quality?-A Case Study of Implementing Virtual Classroom Training

A spirited group of people braved the Cambie Street construction corridor in January to find out what light bulbs have to do with training. Ramona and Cheryl led us through the rationale behind employing an elearning strategy and showed us what the end result looks like.

Who'd Have Thought Light Bulbs Affected Audio Quality: A Case Study of Implementing Virtual Classroom Training(.pdf)- click here.

In order to collect participants' immediate feedback about our sessions, in January we began asking you to complete a short evaluation form at the end of each workshop. The purpose: to use the feedback to determine what works, what could be improved, and to provide members' preferences to future presenters. Also, we can use it to learn about topic preferences and preferred presenters.

Thank you to the twenty-six members and guests (63%) who took the time to provide feedback following January's meeting! Many of you commented that you found the hands-on demos engaging. Several people would like to see the PPT posted on our website (see link in Post-Event Resources).

We repeated the process again in February. Thank you to the more than 40 ISPI members and guests (71%) who took the time to complete the evaluation form at the end of the meeting. Many of you commended the speakers for overcoming their technology hurdle - we all know what it is like to experience such a glitch! Several people observed that we are 'outgrowing' the room that we were in. It is exciting to see so many people attending our events, and it is very important that everyone register (online!) so that we can accommodate everyone comfortably and provide enough food!

A summary of findings will be posted on the front page of the website following each meeting. Your feedback is important - thank you again to everyone for sharing your thoughts!

Have something you'd like to contribute? We'd like to hear from you!

We are always seeking articles, book reviews, website reviews and other good stuff of interest to our members.

Send your submissions to info@ispi-van.org, subject: ISPI e-Spectrum Content.

One solution is to use a swimlane diagram to help facilitate discussions between stakeholders.

Ready to learn more. Be sure to read What Do Swimlanes Have To Do With Instructional Design?, written by member Elizabeth Wilson-Tagoe. Click here for the full text of the article.

How often do we give video media a thought when developing training? In all other aspects of our lives, we give video media a thought everyday. Video surrounds us. It defines our culture, structures our lifestyle, and promotes communication in ways we would have never imagined.  

So how can you tap into this dominant medium? How can your training program take advantage of this powerful tool?

Be sure to read Video: Your New Best Friend, written by member Danielle Turner. Click here for the full text of the article.

2007 International Performance Improvement Conference

The international conference is being held in San Francisco, California from April 30-May 3, 2007.

The 2007 Annual Conference - Performance Beyond Borders - will span all performance parameters: geographical, cultural, organizational, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Our globalized world is challenging us to find common ground for greater success by reaching out across national boundaries, diverse cultures, and different languages, as well as prior mindsets and past practices. As organizational boundaries become more porous, previous perceptions are increasingly being questioned and expanded.

For more information, click here.

Performance
Xpress

The March 2007 issue of PerformanceXpress is now available online. PerformanceXpress is a newsletter published by the International ISPI and it contains a variety of articles of interest to ISPI members worldwide.

Click here to review this issue, including: A Seven-Step Process for Evaluating the Impact of Performance Improvement Interventions, which discusses the need for relevant, reliable, and valid data in order to make sound decisions that lead to improved efficiency. It is written by Ingrid Guerra-Lopez, PhD.