The technology landscape is changing rapidly and it is ushering in organizational changes and shifts like we have never seen before.

Nowadays, leaders and their teams are increasingly required to complete more complex projects with smaller budgets and at a faster pace. What does this new reality mean for leaders? To better succeed, it’s time for them to adopt an agile mindset that will allow their organizations to thrive in the new digital age.

Over the past two decades, software development has been the wellspring for an agile approach to developing new technologies. The enormous success of this framework has transcended the software development world and agile techniques are being used by organizations across a variety of industries and organizations. Indeed, the Project Management Institute reports that “organizations that are highly agile and responsive to market dynamics complete more of their projects successfully than their slower-moving counterparts — 75 percent versus 56 percent.”

So, what do we mean by an agile mindset?

For many, the term agile is associated with a certification and a specific form of project management. However, the agile mindset is neither a certification nor a hard-nosed playbook. What we do know is that a leader with an agile mindset focuses less on the rigidity of project processes and more on communication, collaboration, rapid responsiveness, flexibility, customer feedback and satisfaction.

Specifically, for leaders, being agile means recognizing the need to move quickly and easily in a transparent manner. The words of business magnate Rupert Murdoch resonate: “The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow.” Adopting an agile mindset means becoming aware and responsive, adapting to achieve project progress, and ultimately prioritizing human interaction over documentation in order to move swiftly and collaboratively in an efficient way.

As a leader, being agile means harnessing change provided by constantly evolving information or new workplace technologies more broadly. For example, it is essential to helping employees feel trusted and expressive in how they creatively contribute in the workplace. Epitomizing an agile mindset at the top will help influence and cultivate an agile culture throughout teams and with employees.

Leaders can also create an agile culture by shaping how their team members value and engage with one another and with clients or members, while being aware of the networked environment in which their team exists. Creating an inclusive environment that fully embraces the expertise and ideas of all team members is an important first step. But leaders should also create an atmosphere that is inherently unafraid of failure and prioritizes open communication while still promoting constant communication.

Agile leaders should adopt innovative tech

As previously mentioned, advancements in technology continue to usher in rapid changes. Organizations run the risk of being left behind if leaders do not adopt an agile mindset. For example, instant messaging has evolved incredibly since the early days of AIM and MSN Messenger —  several workplaces now use new tools such as Slack to improve project communication, collaboration and progress. In modern-day agile adoption, organizations that are innovative tend to have higher rates of success. These organizations are able to adapt quickly to constant changes and at the same time track individual, team and organizational productivity while fostering strong collaborations with customers by using remote/virtual tools. Unexpectedly then, agile leaders should position themselves to adopt innovative tools that help them gain a broader understanding of all the moving pieces involved.

An agile mindset is a process; it is about continuous improvement and adapting to change. To succeed, leaders must promote continuous improvement and must be open to thinking differently in order to evolve rapidly.

Source

Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
https://www.pmi.org/certifications/types/agile-acp

The post Why Leaders Need an Agile Mindset appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

One of the primary challenges facing lawyers and other legal professions is how to remain competitive in the face of the ever-changing legal field. While continuing legal education (CLE) has been a necessity for lawyers for many years now, the traditional delivery methods for learning can be time-consuming and difficult to complete while still serving clients. This is because standard CLE often demands that lawyers complete a set number of hours in order to satisfy the annual learning requirements. While these requirements are not mandatory in every state, they are often used as a professional standard. But, not all lawyers are at the same level and not all lawyers learn within the same timeframes. There is room to improve CLE and, thankfully, the solution is already available.

The recent advancements in technology and the improvements in continuing education delivery have made it possible to give CLE a major facelift with minimal changes. The legal field is incredibly diverse, one that is filled with professionals of different educational backgrounds, experience levels, and aptitudes. That is why CLE that additionally prioritizes practical skills, prior knowledge, and individual learning abilities can be a huge asset for every legal association.

1. Competency-Based Education

Competency-based education provides exactly what is needed in today’s world: education progress tracked by competencies. That means, rather than measure student progress by the time spent in a course, the competency-based model measures student aptitude. Within the realm of CLE, competency maps are created for each specific area of law and practice. While many competency maps are already designed, many more are currently being created by legal education professionals, such as the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE). These maps act as training guidelines or a checklist of mandatory coverage areas. They can be used for basic training or for experienced refresher courses and everything in between.

General Benefits of Competency-Based Learning

• Minimal time wasted on subjects that have already been mastered or are unnecessary for the learner
• Learning is more personalized, focused, and purposeful
• Learners progress at their own pace, no longer confined to standardized time markers
• Skill-based learning allows for quicker progress for more advanced learners
• Education is typically more affordable because learners pay only for what they require

Benefits for Continuing Legal Education: When competency-based education is combined with CLE, legal professionals stand to benefit substantially.

• Specified learning allows legal professionals to earn certifications or credentials in specific fields
• Focused learning enables quicker mastery as well as more current and applicable material
• Competencies in the legal profession are readily defined, which makes for easier course development
• Competency-specific modules double as refreshment courses and reminders for experienced lawyers
• Final outcome tests are powerful tools for measuring in-house applicant’s or trainee’s aptitude levels

2. Next Steps For Competency-Based CLE

Competency-based CLE will steadily improve. However, competency-based learning must ensure that it meets the following requirements:

• Learners must be able to absorb and apply learning
• Learning objectives must be identifiable and job-specific
• Learning must be engaging and immersive for modern learners
• Competency-based program must accurately measure prior learning and/or skills
• Learning must be current, relevant, and flexible

This is where interactive online video training comes in. Adult learners, especially those who work busy schedules like lawyers and other legal professionals, learn best when they control their learning schedule. For lawyers, some of the best learning comes at the exact time that they need it. Perhaps they are working with a new client or expanding their practice and need to develop new skills. Maybe they need to learn these new skills in the early morning while they prepare a document they are unfamiliar with, or maybe they wish to study in the evening when they come home from work. Interactive online training provides this flexibility.

Interactive Online Training

Despite being the fastest-growing form of continuing education today, interactive online video learning is still relatively new. That means that it’s still in the process of discovery. With online videos taking up about 1/3 of all internet activity, online educators are looking for the most effective ways of incorporating education into online videos. Optimal results in online video learning are found when the lessons are engaging, responsive, and, most importantly, interactive. Interactive online training often begins with a demonstration. The learner must then apply their learning into practical scenarios to demonstrate adequate understanding.

Interactive Online Training Benefits: The best way to improve the educational experience of online videos is to turn them from a passive experience into an active experience.

• Learn by practice and through the recollection of actual experience
• Learners are given real-world scenarios and situations to apply learning
• Keep learner’s engaged, attentive, and retentive, gauging comprehension levels on the go
• Multiple delivery methods, such as gamified, scenario-based, and/or story-based videos
• Intuitive videos enable learners to apply prior learning or to advance through completed sections

3. Competency-Based Online CLE and Interactive Video Training

Though interactive online CLE is still in its infancy, the relationship between these two sides is absolutely ideal. Over time, CLE programs have morphed from long on-demand videos into short modular segments that are more focused and visually enhanced. Furthermore, time waste is drastically reduced, and the study flexibility increases tenfold. Since the benefits for learners are so huge, it often reflects in higher course purchases and an increase in course attendance.

Benefits of Competency-Based Interactive Online CLE:

• Increase of course attendance and course revenue
• Realistic and challenging scenarios make learning engaging and useful
• Material learned from nano credits is gained quickly and instantly applicable
• Effective for self-assessment, training, and/or mastery of a topic
• Nano courses are quick and easy to create, allowing lawyers to earn credits in newly developed areas
• Easily created and updated videos allow for the most up-to-date and relevant information
• Enables lawyers to stay engaged while learning around very demanding schedules
• Situational-based learning and exercises helps for drafting documents, answering client questions, and many other scenarios

Interactive online video courses will eventually cover all legal areas. Right at this moment, lawyers can advance their skills in many of the areas they want, when they want, and in the order they want. With interactive online video, lawyers and legal professionals can achieve these skills in more engaging and practical ways while better retaining more applicable knowledge.

Vocalmeet’s legal education platform comes with a customizable interactive video player that creates an engaging learning experience for your members. Here are a few examples that can be used for all of the strategies outlined above:

a) Hotspots

b) Multiple Choice

c) Smart Chapters & Single Choice

d) Fill in the blanks & Slide Carousel

The post The Future of Continuing Legal Education appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

The recent advancements in technology and the improvements in online education delivery, have made it possible to give those programs a major facelift with minimal change. Online programs of universities are usually incredibly diverse, they are filled with students of different educational backgrounds, experience levels, and aptitudes. This is why we have helped many educational institutions to add programs that prioritize practical skills, prior knowledge, and individual learning abilities with competency-based online programs.

1. Competency-Based Education

Competency-based education provides exactly what it suggests: education progress tracked by competencies. That means, rather than measure student progress by the time spent in a course, the competency-based model measures student aptitude.
 
General Benefits of Competency-Based Learning

• Minimal time wasted on subjects that have already been mastered or are unnecessary for the learner
• Learning is more personalized, focused, and purposeful
• Learners progress at their own pace, no longer confined to standardized time markers
• Skill-based learning allows for quicker progress for more advanced learners
• Education typically helps generate more revenue because enrollment rates are much higher due to the fact that learners get exactly what they are looking for

Benefits for online programs
When competency-based education is utilized in online programs, both universities and students stand to benefit substantially.

• Specified learning allows students to earn certifications or credentials in specific fields
• Focused learning enables quicker mastery as well as more current and applicable material
• Competencies in most professions are readily defined, which makes for easier course development
• Competency-specific modules double as refreshment courses and reminders for experienced practitioners
• Final outcome tests are powerful tools for measuring in-house applicant’s or trainee’s aptitude levels

Next Steps For Competency-Based Online Programs
As universities continue to define and build competency maps, competency-based online programs will steadily improve. However, online programs must ensure that it meets the following requirements:

• Learners must be able to absorb and apply learning
• Learning objectives must be identifiable and job-specific
• Learning must be engaging and immersive for modern learners
• Competency-based program must accurately measure prior learning and/or skills
• Learning must be current, relevant, and flexible

This is where interactive online video comes in.
 

2. Interactive Online Video Learning

Despite being the fastest-growing form of continuing education today, interactive online learning is still relatively new. That means that it’s still in the process of discovery. With online videos taking up about 1/3 of all internet activity, online educators are looking for the most effective ways of incorporating education into online videos. Optimal results in online video learning are found when the lessons are engaging, responsive, and, most importantly, interactive. Interactive online training often begins with a demonstration. The learner must then apply their learning into practical scenarios to demonstrate adequate understanding – all within the video content itself.

Benefits of Interactive Online Video Learning
The best way to improve the educational experience of online videos is to turn them from a passive experience into an active experience.

• Learn by practice and through the recollection of actual experience
• Learners are given real-world scenarios and situations to apply learning
• Keep learners engaged, attentive, and retentive, gauging comprehension levels on the go
• Multiple delivery methods, such as gamified, scenario-based, and/or story-based videos
• Intuitive videos enable learners to apply prior learning or to advance through completed sections

3. Competency-Based Interactive Online Learning for Universities

Though interactive online video learning for higher education is still new, the relationship between these two sides is absolutely ideal. Over time, online programs have morphed from long on-demand videos into short modular segments that are more focused and visually enhanced. These micro-lessons are often called nano courses or nano credits. With interactive online video added to these nano credits, students are able to earn credit for learning quicker and through the application of practical skills. Furthermore, time waste is drastically reduced, and the study flexibility increases tenfold.

Overall Benefits

• Education typically helps generate more revenue because enrollment rates a much higher due to the fact that learners get exactly what they are looking for
• Realistic and challenging scenarios make learning engaging and useful
• Material learned from nano credits is gained quickly and instantly applicable
• Effective for self-assessment, training, and/or mastery of a topic
• Nano courses are quick and easy to create, allowing lawyers to earn credits in newly developed areas
• Easily created and updated videos allow for the most up-to-date and relevant information
• Enables students to stay engaged while learning around very demanding schedules
• Situational-based learning and exercises helps for drafting documents, responding to real life questions, and many other scenarios

Adding interactive online training courses helps universities to drastically improve their reach online. Right at this moment, potential students can advance their skills in the areas they want, where they want, and in the order they want. With interactive online video, universities remain competitive while helping potential learners to achieve these skills in more engaging and practical ways while better retaining more applicable knowledge.
 
Vocalmeet’s higher education platform comes with a customizable interactive video player that creates an engaging learning experience for your members. Here are a few examples that can be used for all of the strategies outlined above:

a) Hotspots

b) Multiple Choice

c) Smart Chapters & Single Choice

d) Fill in the blanks & Slide Carousel

The post Improving University Programs Online appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.