Protector of social learning. Able to connect unlimited users in a single price. Offers free implementation and customer service to all.

But, strangely wears a broccoli super-suit when his other super-costume is in the wash.

Check out this fun video created by a fan of TOPYX:

Great video!  Keep them coming in.

To see the super features of TOPYX firsthand, fill out the form below and we will be happy to save the day.

Jeffrey A. Roth
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Jeffrey.Roth@Interactyx.com

Interactyx Limited
interactyx.com

RD Blog 1

Getting the results you need within your budgetary constraints is not an easy task. From live training to learning management systems to learning path certification to so much more, there are a lot of moving parts that need to come together for a successful training program.

So, how do you get the learning management features you need, without wasting time and money?  Here is what to look for:

1. Save money with online training: Live, in-person training is expensive, time consuming and usually left in the room when an employee walks out the door.  There are many great resources now available to maximize online learning to be more collaborative, available on-demand, and still support live instruction.  These options will not only save you money, but you will get more out of the effort as well.
2. Integrate an LMS: a learning management system (LMS) is the best way to manage a learners path and keep valuable training materials available when needed.  You can track performance, usage, progress of every level of employee and collect on online repository of your most valuable information.  Make sure that you review options that are designed to be easy to use, easy to administer, and available to employees online through just about any browser, including most mobile devices.  Too many older LMS systems offer more bells and whistles than you actually need – and you get stuck paying for them.  Find the right LMS for what you will actually be using it for.
3. Watch per user fees: With online training programs and LMSs, most of the industry still charges per license fees.  That means, for every person you add to the program, you get charged more. How is this helping you deploy an enterprise-wide application?  It is not.  It is just limiting your usage.  Look for providers of LMSs that offer flat fee subscriptions.  They exist and they will save you a fortune. Plus, with unlimited users, it is easier to get your entire work-force onboard, without worrying about blowing out your budget.
4. Storage, usage and hosting fees:  Do you like getting nickel and dimed? I didn’t think so.  Nobody does.  So, why do so many LMSs do it?  It would be easier to just get a flat fee you can properly account and budget for to satisfy your entire learning program, without having to scramble to pay more bills you didn’t expect (and probably were not communicated clearly).  Nickel and dimeing is a common practice, so watch out and know what you are getting into before you commit.

In a nutshell, it comes down to picking the right program that will work for your needs and making sure you do not get fleeced on all of the usage and hidden charges.  Look for solutions that are direct and upfront on their billing and are willing to support your growth by not limiting the amount of access your employees have to information.

Corporate learning management is evolving with the times and there are many excellent resources available.  Don’t lose sight of your goals by forgetting to focus on the bottom-line.

For more information, I would recommend checking out the social LMS TOPYX for your corporate learning needs. TOPYX is available as a flat fee with unlimited users and free implementation.  Request a free, personal demo of TOPYX at http://interactyx.com/request-a-demo/.

Jeffrey A. Roth
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Jeffrey.Roth@Interactyx.com

Interactyx Limited
interactyx.com

There is a lot of buzz and many powerful tools supporting the social networking revolution.  And, a revolution is exactly what it is.  People are choosing to connect and communicate and collaborate like never before.  What does this mean for businesses?

There are a number of articles written to help demonstrate the value of social learning for businesses, how to assess technological and collaborative learning trends and even, how Facebook can change corporate training.

These are good resources to get started.  The demand for change in the traditional work-place is there to advance the training and collaboration process.  The value to a business to do so has been proven out.

Now, let’s take a step by step account of how social networking activities can directly impact an enterprise.

In December 2011, an article from Eric Lundquist posted at The Brainyard shares some tips for CIOs looking to bring social capabilities into the enterprise in a successful fashion without totally jettisoning your existing IT infrastructure. He offers some practical tips for those organizations looking to make such a transformation.

These tips could assist CIOs and others as they examine how social learning can impact their enterprise as well…are there other tips you would add for social leaning?

Below is a quick list highlighting some of the social networking points that Eric discusses in more detail at http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/232200558/10-social-networking-tips-for-cios

1. You don’t have to create everything from scratch.

2. Find the expertise within your company.

3. You don’t have to invent a reason for a social network

4. Social networks require top-down buy-in.

 5. Think beyond the marketing department.

6. Understand the new development platforms.

7. Think beyond the PC.

8. Think beyond text.

 9. Don’t try to do it all at once.

10. No one has all the answers.

That concludes Social Networking 101 for CIOs.  If you are interested in learning more about how to easily incorporate secure, award-winning social learning tools into your enterprise, you should see what TOPYX can do.  You can get a free, personal  social learning management system demo to get your questions answered and see the power of social learning first-hand.  Or, just visit interactyx.com.

What are your thought about social networking and how it can revolutionize your work-place?

John Hillsman
Business Development Manager
John.hillsman@interactyx.com
interactyx.com

futurethink is a leading online training company focusing on innovation and foresight. Their experiential training programs enables companies to build innovation capabilities and drive meaningful engagement around innovation. futurethink‘s unique blended learning curriculum, supported by their library of client-tested tools and research, helps you apply science to the art of innovation and achieve measurable results from your efforts.

futurethink has chosen the award-winning social learning management system, TOPYX, as their eLearning platform for the last 3 years.  The TOPYX social LMS provides eCommerce capabilities as well as a full suite of learning management resources for a flat fee subscription allowing for unlimited users, unlimited bandwidth/storage, unlimited customer service and free implementation.

TrainingIndustry.com spotlights the latest news, articles, case studies, and best practices within the training industry. Their focus is on helping dedicated business and training professionals get the information, insight, and tools needed to more effectively manage the business of learning.

The items reviewed for consideration to be included in the Leadership Companies to Watch List are as follows:

• New and Innovative Service Offerings
• Unique approach to Leadership Development Solutions
• Commitment to Thought Leadership
• Quality of Initial Clients

The 2012 Leadership Training Companies Watch List is intended to help buyers of training services evaluate leadership training providers.

We are proud to continue to be able to provide our award-winning social learning platform, TOPYX, to futurethink to provide a collaborative, easy-to-use eLearning solution for their clients.

See how TOPYX may help you reach your training and collaboration goals with a free, personal social LMS demo.

Jeffrey A. Roth
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Jeffrey.Roth@Interactyx.com

Interactyx Limited
interactyx.com

There are a lot of choices and resources now available for companies to apply to their training programs to help get the results they are looking for.  How do you choose what is right approach for your company?

Have you read the CLO magazine article on Four Ways to Assess Learning Trends? Technology is changing very quickly and many of us are always looking at what’s new and what’s coming; so how do you wade through all of it and make decisions on what’s worth your time following up on for your organization?

Ed Francis and Brian Donovan have written a short article to assist us.  See some highlights from their article below:

“Trends come and go in learning and development. These days they’re often centered on social learning, mobile technologies and increased interactivity. And while it’s often tempting to get caught up in the possibilities introduced by every new technology, learning professionals must remain grounded in the basics of learning and performance. Too often, an innovative program using the latest technology is rolled out in a company with much fanfare, and then employees don’t adopt it or the desired business results aren’t achieved or even measured.

In a time of tightening budgets, learning departments must take a pragmatic approach to the trends in the marketplace. Before jumping on the bandwagon and developing a program based on a new innovation, take these four actions to mitigate the risk associated with early adoption:

1. Ask these three questions:

• Who is this program for?  A new learning offering should begin with thorough consideration of the end users’ needs.

• How well is it connected to an actual business need?  If trend adoption isn’t connected to improving a business metric, it risks wasting the company’s money.

• What are end users saying and doing? As with any high-quality training program, the end users’ voice must be part of the equation.

2. Know the difference between consumer and corporate - look for opportunities for end users to collaborate in natural work teams and solve a relevant problem.

3. Go small - There is an allure in being part of something big — but many times the excitement at the beginning of an initiative fizzles during development and implementation. Expectations aren’t met, investments are questioned, end users aren’t satisfied and another flash-in-the-pan comes to pass.

4. Wait and focus on the basics - Concepts like high standards, accountability, clear expectations and behavior modeling still apply.

It’s a mistake to view the latest trends as a replacement for the fundamentals of learning.  People have learned the same way for centuries. The key is to augment the way in which people naturally learn how to perform. Taking a measured approach to trends will help ensure success and support a healthy organization.”

To read the article in detail click here: http://clomedia.com/articles/view/four-ways-to-assess-the-latest-learning-trends/2

Following what Ed Francis and Brian Donovan have outlined can come in handy while reviewing which collaborative learning options are right for your company and even how to best review the application of such resources.

Every little bit helps when trying to get on top of the latest trends and best practices available.

Jodi Harrison
Vice President, Business Development
Jodi.harrison@interactyx.com
www.interactyx.com

Do you find that your employer is resistant to incorporating social learning tools to enhance the business?  Maybe, we just need to communicate the value better.

First of all, let’s get on the same page with what ‘social learning’ even means. Wikipedia defines social learning as:  learning that takes place at a wider scale than individual or group learning, up to a societal scale, through social interaction between peers.

To be considered social learning, a process must:

1. Demonstrate that a change in understanding has taken place in the individuals involved
2. Demonstrate that this change goes beyond the individual and becomes situated within wider social units or communities of practice
3. Occur through social interactions and processes between actors within a social network

That’s all very technical.  Maybe this definition of ‘social learning’ can resonate better:

• Knowledge acquired from a group of two or more people facilitated by defined processes and/or tools

So, that is a start.  How would you define ‘social learning’?

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get into how to show the value of social learning to those not yet on the bandwagon.

In November 2011 commentary from Rachel Happe posted at The Brainyard shares some strategies to consider when explaining social tools to people in the workforce without drowning them in social speak or meaningless jargon. She offers some practical tips for those who need to internally “sell” the concept of social to their business counterparts.

Can we also use these strategies to help “sell” our businesses on the need for social learning as well?

The charts below are directly from Rachel Happe’s post at http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/strategy/231902518/11-ways-to-explain-social-business-benefits?itc=edit_in_body_cross

Great charts! Thank you, Rachel, for a job well done. These charts can be used to easily overcome any misunderstanding of just how important and valuable social learning can be to any business or organization.

If you would like to see how social learning tools can easily and affordably be incorporated into your workplace, you can request a free demo of award-winning social learning management system (Social LMS), TOPYX at http://interactyx.com/request-a-demo/.

John Hillsman
Business Development Manager
John.hillsman@interactyx.com
www.interactyx.com

Facebook had 845 million monthly active users at the end of December 2011.  Facebook has established itself across the world as a part of our everyday lives.

How can we learn from this to enhance corporate training programs and workplace interaction?

A blog recently posted (Workplace Social Media Use Surges in 2011)reviewing an article from Media Post’s Eric Sass states that social media use on workplace computers increased a remarkable 300% between mid-2010 and mid- 2011.

So, we can reasonably assume that employees in offices around the world are acclimated to interacts and involvement associated with social networking. Why are we not using training and collaboration tools to build off of the popularity of Facebook and other social networking sites, without risking security and other potential downfalls?

The article further states that “The stats are pretty impressive. Social networking’s overall bandwidth consumption — including Facebook Apps, Social Plugins, and posting — jumped from 5% of total bandwidth in October 2010 to 25% in December 2011. Twitter alone saw at-work browsing increase 700%. In technical parlance, this is ‘a lot.’”

Wouldn’t it be great to be able incorporate social LMS software into training programs that increases engagement and collaboration?  It is possible and the tools already exists, but are businesses ready?

In a recent blog, 5 Reasons Why Businesses Should Choose Social LMSs, the main ideas are summarized as the following:

5. The right tool for the job: Not all training software is the same – be warned

4. Collaboration: Get people working together

3. Knowledge Management: Store, track and organize your valuable content better

2. Security: Stay in control of your information

1. Cost: Look for unlimited users, unlimited storage/bandwidth, Free implementation and no hidden fees

See the full article for a more in depth view into the reasons why business really need to start reviewing why social learning management systems may be just what they are looking for as hiring picks up and training programs  are rebuilt to deliver ROI.

A social LMS, in case you are not familiar with the term, is a traditional learning management system that has infused social learning tools to create and easy-to-use, collaborative leaning environment that can be accessed on demand, wherever the learner may be in the world.  Social learning tools usually include, but not limited to:

• Calendaring
• Chat
• Announcements
•  Events
• Articles
• Polls
• Blogs
• Shoutbox
• Pictures
• Documents
• Forums

These tools are directly accessible to support even the smallest learning object – even a lonely PDF on the system can now rally a group around it to discuss its information.  On the other hand, complex SCORM objects can also get a class or department or whomever involved in a group-wide discussion with the tools available to help everyone better share their ideas.

My suggestion, if you are looking for more information, check out the award-winning social LMS TOPYX.  See just how social learning can help you reach training and on-boarding goals.

We know social media is here to stay.  Facebook has changed the world.  Tools exist to bring the best practices of social networking into the workplace in a controlled, secure and branded method that can enhance any business or association.

It was just a matter of time, and that time has come.  Are you seeing these practices in your workplace? What is the biggest change social learning can bring to your office?

I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter – tweet us @interactyx.

Jeffrey A. Roth
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Jeffrey.Roth@Interactyx.com

Interactyx Limited
www.interactyx.com

TOPYX is the easy-to-use, fully hosted eLearning software solution that has infused social learning tools into the traditional LMS to create an engaging and collaborative environment for learners.  Due to the award-winning features, unlimited users, unlimited bandwidth/storage, multi-language capabilities, and free implementation, TOPYX is regarded as an ideal solution for businesses, associations, academic departments and eCommerce needs of any size.

Interactyx Limited offers a free, personal demonstration of TOPYX by completing the form at http://interactyx.com/request-a-demo/ or contacting information@interactyx.com directly.

Said Mike Cooke, CEO of Brandon Hall Group, “2011 provided us with a unique viewpoint of how organizations are driving business results and performance improvement through technology. This was the year in which technology providers and their clients have been able to transform the power of mobile, social, talent, learning, sales and marketing technologies, with proven, validated results.  Most impressive to our judges was an underlying theme around collaborative relationships, a deep understanding of client needs and how technology can be leveraged to create opportunities and operating efficiencies for organizations of all sizes.  I am proud to announce these first-rate solution providers as award winners in the most competitive year yet.”

A panel of veteran, independent senior judges evaluated the entries along with Brandon Hall Group’s industry expert analysts and leadership.

About Brandon Hall Group
Having worked with more than 10,000 clients globally and after 20 years of delivering world-class solutions, Brandon Hall Group is the preeminent research and analyst organization focused on developing research-driven solutions to drive organizational performance for emerging and large organizations.  Brandon Hall Group has an extensive repository of thought leadership, research, data and expertise in Learning and Development, Talent Management, Sales Effectiveness, Marketing Impact, and Executive Management. (www.brandonhall.com)

About Interactyx Limited
Interactyx Limited is a global eLearning software company providing engaging and interactive learning experiences to learners, businesses, academic departments, associations and nonprofit organizations of any size.

Since 1995, Interactyx has worked with educational programs to develop engaging learning solutions. Interactyx, the developer of TOPYX, is at the forefront of developing eLearning and social LMS solutions that engage learners and enhance collaborative learning environments. TOPYX has gained acceptance as an innovative, affordable solution to deliver a complete eLearning software solution meeting the needs of today’s learner that is the best value in social learning software. (www.interactyx.com)

Social technologies—everything from 140-character “micro-sharing” messages to media-rich online communities to complete virtual environments and more—enable people to connect, collaborate, and innovate on levels never before dreamed of. They make learning dramatically more dynamic, stimulating, enjoyable, and effective.  Whether you work in a traditional or virtual classroom, social media can broaden your reach and increase the impact of training.

If you are looking for “how-to” resources for incorporating “social” into training and your organization I would like to recommend two books -

The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media by Tony Bingham:

• Tony Bingham explains why social media is the ideal solution to some of the most pressing educational challenges organizations face today, such as a widely dispersed workforce and striking differences in learning styles, particularly across generations.

Social Media for Trainers: Techniques for Enhancing and Extending Learning (Essential Tools Resource) by Jane Bozarth:

• Jane Bozarth provides an overview of popular tools, including blogs, wikis, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, SlideShare, Flickr, and others. You’ll learn to leverage each medium’s unique features and applications to deliver training, facilitate discussions, and extend learning beyond the confines of a training event.

These resources offer a new set of powerful tools for augmenting and enhancing the value of your training.  Both are usually recommended together on popular book-seller sites, but if you would like a free chapter to The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media – click here.

TOPYX is a the place where you can incorporate all of these great ideas and more – TOPYX is all about social learning!

TOPYX is an award-winning learning management system (LMS) that infuses the best social learning tools into the traditional LMS to provide an engaging and collaborative environment for your learners.  See how TOPYX can easily be incorporated into your organization to help you reach your training goals, without stressing your budget. Get a free, personal LMS demonstration today!

Jodi Harrison
Vice President, Business Development
Jodi.harrison@interactyx.com
www.interactyx.com

We also welcome many new customers to the Interactyx family who are enjoying the additional functionality, enhancements and languages added to TOPYX®. Contact us if you want to learn more about our new features.

We appreciate your interest in TOPYX and social learning. If we can help answer any of your questions, feel free to reach out to us for any reason at information@interactyx.com.

Enjoy this month’s edition of TOPYX Topics, the social learning newsletter!

Registration: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/314545200

Space is limited

In this webinar, we will show the award-winning social learning features of TOPYX and answer your questions.

1. Social Learning – Get people connected and leverage informal knowledge better than ever before.
2. Social Networking Techniques – Use tools for training that people are already using.
3. Gamification – Games to learn at work? Why didn’t we think of this sooner?

Read the full article

BONITA SPRINGS, FL – January 25, 2012 – Interactyx Limited is pleased to announce that GLOBTOURNET Plc (a subsidiary of RADER Group Plc) has chosen the multi-language social learning management system (LMS) software, TOPYX®, as its eLearning platform.

“We were looking for the right learning platform that was easy-to-use and can be made available in English and French,” stated Aoudou Perem, Chief Executive Officer of GLOBTOURNET. “We found everything we were looking for and more, at a price-point that was significantly less than other options. The dedicated team at Interactyx was available to answer all of our questions and helped us every step of the way. We are looking forward to a positive long-term relationship with the good people at Interactyx Limited.

Read the full article

• Digital Learning Day – February 1, 2012
• Workplace Social Media Use Surges in 2011
• Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge!
  
• SCORM Certified LMS?