As we design increasingly complex systems, we run up against fundamental limitations of human imagination. To support practice, it becomes essential to use authentic data and algorithms as design materials to augment designers' intuitions. Recent work has explored some dimensions of using data as a design material, suggesting the contours of a new…

Human performance technology (HPT), like other concepts, models, and frameworks that we use to describe the world in which we live and the way we organize ourselves to accomplish valuable activities, is built from paradigms that were fresh and relevant at the time it was conceived and from the fields of study from which it grew. However, when the…

Disclaimer: I have been an active "free" user of LinkedIn for 5.463 years with more than 3000 (1st degree) connections from all over the world. I have no vested interest in LinkedIn other than as a user of the services it provides. Despite the fact that LinkedIn was originally designed as a network for business professionals, not…

The current debate over whether to choose just one universal human performance technology (HPT) model, in particular Langdon's language of work (LOW) model, promises a shared understanding among HPT professionals, credibility for the HPT profession, and a return on investment of time and effort in developing performance models over more than 70…

The process of improving organizational performance through designing systemic interventions has remarkable similarities to designing instruction for improving learners' performance. Both processes deal with subjects (learners and organizations correspondingly) with certain capabilities that are exposed to novel information designed for producing…

Colleges and universities have got a big problem: how to bake a wireless network as good as Mom's. The problem is that enterprise wireless networks "tend to be a little more finicky" than the home ones. While the home devices are plug-and-play, enterprise networks force IT departments to manage client issues such as drivers and settings. It's a…

Half of servers in higher ed are virtualized. But that number's not high enough for Link Alander, interim vice chancellor and CIO at the Lone Star College System (Texas). He aspires to see 100 percent of the system's infrastructure requirements delivered as IT services from its own virtualized data centers or other cloud-based operators. Back in…

Web usability focuses on design elements and processes that make web pages easy to use. A website for college students was evaluated for underutilization. One-on-one testing, focus groups, web analytics, peer university review and marketing focus group and demographic data were utilized to conduct usability evaluation. The results indicated that…

In early 2011, the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) invited three universities--University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Purdue University; and Wayne State University--to participate in the third annual University Human Performance Technology (HPT) Case Study Competition. Each university put together a team of three or four…

This paper presents a practitioner's view on student system implementations in the Australian university sector. A student information system is a core system of any university and integral to its operations and services to students. These systems are constantly on the list of major projects and at any point in time, a university is either…

Most executives have not heard of human performance technology (HPT), but a recent Google search showed 25 times more Google hits for "lean six sigma" than for "human performance technology." This article describes five factors that make HPT a hard sell: (1) HPT is not part of standard business jargon, (2) organizational executives associate…

First offered to public libraries in 2004, downloadable audiobooks have grown by leaps and bounds. According to the Audio Publishers Association, their sales today account for 21% of the spoken-word audio market. It hasn't been easy, however. WMA. DRM. MP3. AAC. File extensions small on letters but very big on consequences for librarians,…

Historically, the assistive technology (AT) industry is made up of small to medium size companies serving relatively small markets with products characterized as "niche" or "orphan" products. Presenting opportunities to AT companies that are created by outside sources is difficult. Presenting such opportunities to companies serving larger markets…

Approved in 1999 by the Swiss Parliament, the Swiss Virtual Campus (SVC) project debuted in 2000 with the goal of promoting an information society in Switzerland. The University of Geneva has been actively involved with building the SVC and the European virtual campus e-LERU, a two-year project in which eight European countries partnered to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the value and constraints of varied online communication tools from web 2.0 to e-mail in a higher education (HE) teaching and learning context, where these tools are used to support or be the main focus of learning. Design/methodology/approach: A structured reflection is produced with the aid of…