Abhisam Software’s e-learning blog

June 17, 2010- Now you can get a free mini ebook on “E learning in the Process Industries” in DNL format from the Abhisam Software Free Download pages. It should be out in a couple of days at the most. This mini ebook was first released way back as a White Paper, but now it has grown into a small (mini) ebook. Also the DNL format makes it easy to read with all inside links intact (much better than a plain jane pdf).

The mini ebook makes a strong case for e-learning in the process industries (industries that operate large scale, continuous and batch processes mostly associated with chemicals, oil & gas, petroleum, fertilizers, cement, gas processing, power and so on). The technology that is at the heart of these industries has evolved into a very sophisticated animal, but the methods that are used to train employees have not changed much. This is seriously hampering the efforts of these industries to upgrade their workforce, though many managers do not realize it. The constant refrain is the high cost of training, the shortage of skilled hands and the high cost of replacing people who leave or retire. This ebook provides a solution that is not at all difficult to implement, does not cost a fortune and can lessen these problems, if not eliminate them completely.

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June 05, 2010 -Today is World Environmental Day.  So let’s see how we can contribute to the environment’s well being. There are of course many ways that every individual can contribute to the environment. Use less energy, conserve and preserve trees, don’t pollute the air and water. Saying all this is fine, but how does one realistically do this? Well, one of the ways is by using e-learning, rather than traditional classroom based learning. To attend classes that are away, you have to hop into an automobile, burn up fuel and drive to the class. Not only you, but every student and the teacher/professor does the same. How many gallons and liters? Then you take notes on paper that is produced by cutting up trees. Then the professor dishes out study material that is also paper based.

Is it really necessary? Certainly not! If you switch to elearning, you can study from the comfort of your home or office or the beach! No need to burn up fossil fuels, pollute the air (and perhaps the sea due to deepwater drilling that the oil companies need to do so that you can burn up the gasoline in your car!)

Study online and save the course on your computer. Interact with others like you on online forums. Do not print anything or write anything. So no need to cut trees and make paper.

Have a look at the video below.

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So what would e-learning be in the year 2020-exactly ten years from now? We, at Abhisam Software who are heavily into e-learning courses, believe that this will be the ONLY kind of learning that works in a few years time, but the point is that e-learning in those future years will be totally different than as we see it now. Here’s an interesting video that shows Captain Spock in his Starship Enterprise expounding on his e-learning (or simply “learning” as the e will then be superfluous).

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There has been talk of skills shortages at various levels and disciplines in the worldwide Oil & Gas industry.This is true, ask any of the Oil & Gas industry veterans and they will bemoan the same thing.  Many Oil & Gas training programs are mostly classroom based even today, which should really be changing now, with the advent of e-learning and m-learning. One example is Abhisam Software’s e-learning courses for the Oil & Gas sector on various topics such as Safety Instrumented Systems, Hazardous Area Instrumentation and Gas Monitors.

Partly, the present skill shortage is because many youngsters today, no longer find a career in Oil & Gas as appealing, as was say, a decade or two  ago. Now, it is just one of many options. Despite this, the bean counters at many of these places did not see it coming and went ahead with the “downsizing” schemes that sharply reduced the available pool of talent. Now that the sector is picking up again, it finds serious skills shortages. Instead of blaming anybody, what the industry insiders can do is to consider upgrading their workforce skills by using modern technology, namely e-learning, m-learning and other ways to quickly bring upgrade skill levels of the existing workforce.

The video below says a lot.

An easy way to upgrade the skills of your existing workforce is to use ready to deliver training courses for  oil & gas industry by clicking here.

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Jan1, 2010-Today, we released our newest course so far-an e-learning course on Safety Instrumented Systems. This topic may sounds esoteric to some, but in reality, it will only grow in importance as more and more automation systems get installed in plants on one hand and on the other hand, governments and other regulatory bodies make protection of the environment, people and assets mandatory, through the use of such systems. Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS for short)  are also known by other names like Emergency Shutdown Systems (ESD for short) and Safety Shutdown Systems. If you are working in any large process industry such as Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Chemical, Nuclear, Power Generation, Metals Processing or gas processing, then you must be aware that Safety Instrumented Systems are used in all these places to prevent harm to people, the environment and of course the plant itself. Upto now, however there was no easy way to study SIS in detail. You would either have to refer to books (that may not be too easy to understand) or depend on “free” white papers, etc on the internet that often cause more confusion that comfort. Merely making sense of the voluminous information online can make a time-starved engineer dizzy.

Of course, you could always ask your bosses to sponsor you for a classroom course. But though the courses are excellent and have the best instructors, it is a pain to travel halfway round the world to such an event, many of which are not held too frequently.Besides, it does make a dent in an otherwise shrinking training budget.

So we thought about having an e-learning course on this important topic, so that any engineer or other technical professional, at any level in any company, could simply download and install this training course on his/her PC or laptop and have all the information needed to make an informed decision on SIS, whether it is to design and buy a new system, or to upgrade one, or merely to keep the existing one in good shape. However, this is not just a rehashed power point presentation that some other vendors out there hawk as an “e-learning course”. This one’s the real McCoy, my friend. It is full of explanatory Flash animations, interactive simulations, graphics, easy to understand text written in a way that anybody can relate to and worked examples from everyday industries. A Self-Assessment test at the end will gauge how much you have understood the subject.

Once installed on your PC/laptop it stays there forever (at least until your laptop works). Once you pay the on time ridiculously low price , you don’t pay a dime more in “licensing fees” nor do you have to be online to refer to it. It’s there always with you whenever you need it. No need to pay anything more for “refresher” courses. So go out and get it, before your peers do and boast that they now “get” what is SIL 3 and SIL 4 and IEC 61508 and all that!

Download it from here instantly.

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It’s sad but true. Many people, even now, have never seen what a real e-learning course looks like. They think that e-learning is just a power point slide show that is shown on a user’s PC. The same dry text and the same dry bullet points. Only instead of a teacher and a whiteboard or blackboard, one has the slide show.

Nothing can be further from the truth, though. A good e-learning course will have plenty of graphics, simulated exercises, animation videos (that make it ultra-easy to understand the concepts) and self assessment tests, that enable you to know exactly if you have understood anything at all. Of course, it will have text but the main factor that produces a “force-multiplier” effect are the animations. Just one look at our courses, even the free ones and you will understand what we mean.  For example, even our RFID training course, the free version has got some very good animations, that help one understand the concept immediately. This is of course not surprising, as “a picture is worth a thousand words”. We extend this old saying to “an animation is worth a thousand pictures”. Hence, rather than going through some dull dry textbook on a subject, why don’t you give our free courses a try.  Our free RFID learning course will enable you to grasp key concepts almsot immediately (and may I add, effortlessly). Come on give it a try. Download it here. Don’t worry-nothing to buy.

See the power of animation for yourself.

Why use eighteenth century technology to learn about twenty first century technology?

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To all of you there who regularly read this blog, subscribe via RSS and drop meaningful comments, here’s a very Happy New Year 2009!

The year 2009 would be an important milestone in the learning industry, as we expect a lot of initiatives from governments across the world, for better and more effective training programs. We strongly feel that to have a secure future, one must have a variety of skills that have value in the marketplace and that there is no full stop to learning. Existing skills too, must be polished, honed and developed so that they become an “expert” level skill. And of course, the best way to do this is by utilizing technology that can train thousands if not millions effortlessly- by e-learning, m-learning and other 21st century methods. This is because there won’t be enough teachers and professors and classrooms to engage everybody and train the thousands of people that need to be trained. The only answer is to go beyond the classroom, to e-learning, m-learning and more.

This week the Economist has carried an article, The People Puzzle, on retraining of laid off workers and the difficulties it places on everybody, including the learners, implementers of the program and the government. Needless to say if the re-training really succeeds, it will give laid off workers a second chance, improve the quality of life and also the economy (due to the newer disposable income of these new employees) and reduce burdens on social security systems. E-learning can be a big part of this plan.  Those of you who are reading this could possibly suggest this to the “people who matter”?

Finally we hope that the new year 2009 brings hope and cheer and some ne wthings to learn to all of you!

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The dreaded R-word is finally here. Everybody was fearful about the R-word and few dared to even utter it a year back. After that hesitation, today we find we’re in the midst of it. I am talking about Recession, the economic one. So now that we’re so as to speak, deep in the economic soup, what can we do about it?
Well, for starters its not as if everything has collapsed and nobody’s buying anything.  Of course, the economy is still running, but the euphoria has ebbed.  The mad frenzy of rising stock, home, gas and other commodity prices has ended. But economic booms and busts are always a natural part of the business cycle. A bust is a chance for the economy to shake off its fat, become lean and mean, ready and fit for the next boom, which is sure to come, just as the sun will rise at dawn after the night is over.

This is a chance to take a look back and think about everything.  What have you learned in the past few years? Have you updated your skills or acquired new ones? Shouldn’t it now be the best time to sharpen the saw, as it were. The recession will blow away sooner than you think and the economy will once again pick up.  But now, in this slower pace is the chance to work less, learn more and prepare oneself for the next boom.

So go forth and learn some new skills. Could be anything useful. And I might add that now is a good time to enroll in some low cost e-learning courses, preferably with certification, that will come in mighty handy in the next upswing. Especially that now, most of these are available at discounted prices. There is no sense in letting this opportunity go, no sense in just lolling about and doing nothing.  So buck up and learn something new.

You won’t regret it, I am very sure! As usual comments on this topic are most welcome.

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This was a concept that we pioneered about five years ago.  We were the first company to make extensive use of animations in various training programs made for the process industry. A classic example is the training course on Hazardous Area Instrumentation, which makes extensive use of animations to explain concepts effectively. Similarly our training course on Safety Instrumented Systems and Gas Detectors use animation extensively.

We are happy to note that the trend has caught on and the US Chemical Safety Board, has started usage of such animations in its safety training videos. Their findings are that the viewers pay more attention, understand the concept better and hence, are more likely to actually learn the stuff.

They have even started posting these videos (part video, part animation) on their own site and also on YouTube (of course!). Here is an example of one of these videos below. It shows how an innocuous device like a level instrument float, can cause a major fire due to static electricity!

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