ABOUT
Bios
Alec Stephen
Alec is a principal pioneer of learning management systems and a recognized expert in flexible learning. His research and design work starting in 1975 codified the principles that made LMS practical and useful. He also directed a $1.9 million joint research venture with the Alberta Research Council to apply expert systems design to make learning design knowledge more accessible to users. Alec has a M.Sc. Educational Psychology (Computer Applications in Education) from the University of Calgary and a B.Vocational Ed. with Distinction from the University of Alberta.
With his partners, he founded two of the first commercial learning software companies in the world - one in Calgary, Canada in 1981 and one in Melbourne, Australia in 1983. Over the past 40 years, he has designed, marketed and consulted about learning management systems and the design of responsive learning for corporate, post-secondary, associations and k-12 audiences. Over 200 clients on five continents used Alec's LMS from 1975 to 1990.
Clients drawing on Standing Stones expertise range from the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada to the Presidents of the Colleges, Technical Institutes and Universities of Alberta. Based on deep experience and research, Alec's work focuses on the people side of 'social-technical' projects and learning to guarantee long-term benefits.
As co-founders of Standing Stones, we (Alec Stephen and Alan Stephen - yes father and son), bring a wealth of international experience to bear on client projects.
Standing Stones’ team members understand how to build consensus within diverse teams based on projects in North America, Europe, Africa and Australia – including work for the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program.
Alec is one of the pioneers of flexible learning and learning management having his learning software used on 5 continents by over 200 clients. He also directed a $1.9 million joint research venture with the Alberta Research Council to apply expert systems design to make learning design knowledge more accessible to users. Alan has worked on strategic learning projects and research projects for clients in Canada and the USA. He also has led a year-long research and proto-typing project on next-gen learning with the Advanced Computing Business Group at the Alberta Research Council.
Alan Stephen consults, researches and writes on the fields of learning and innovation in corporations and complex social-technical systems like utilities. He specializes in team and system learning using real-time workshops supported by innovative meeting technologies and visual conversation scaffolds. This approach grew out of a year-long project led by Alan conducted with the Alberta Research Council - researching and prototyping new software tools to support the social aspects of learning within design teams and users [note - this is a different project from the one mentioned in Alec's bio]. Mentored by one of the principal pioneers of technology-supported flexible learning [yes, Alec], he has a M.Sc. in Technological and Adult Education from the University of Tennessee with a B.Sc. in Science, Technology and Society from the University of Calgary.
Successes include: 1) developing a vision and gaining commitment from 15 colleges and technical institutes to form a provincial e-learning consortium, 2) defining national competencies for Canada's oil and gas industry, and 3) designing innovative learning to pass system smarts from experts to the next generation of operators in one of North America's most complex and respected water utilities.
He is a devout believer in the ability of informed minds, focused on the same objective, to create breakthrough solutions and take action.
Alan Stephen
