Whether you are producing online How-To guides for corporate clients, DIY Instructional content as a freelancer, eLearning courses for adult learners or other digital educational media for your employer, your objective is likely the same: To successfully engage, educate, and enlighten your audience. And to do that, you need to produce equally engaging and informative content. If learners don’t find your content appealing, they’ll likely tune-out within the first few minutes of the course. So, how does one create successful digital learning content and eLearning courses? Read on to discover a 10-point blueprint to doing it right. The 10-Step Blueprint In digital learning terms, success is about learners consuming your content, and whether they (eLearners and digital content consumers) accomplish their learning objectives as a result. If you meet those two criteria with your content, your audience, clients and other stakeholders will deem your courses a success. Use the following … [Read more...] about The 10-step Blueprint for Creating Successful Digital Learning Content
The ELearning Course Designer’s Blog
How To Create Next Generation ELearning
Way back in October 1999, during a seminar on Computer Based Training (CBT) in Los Angeles, a new phrase was introduced to the audience for the very first time – eLearning. Back then, while Internet access to the masses was restricted, training course developers (mostly programmers and IT professionals) still managed to produce eLearning courseware accessible through intranet, CD-Rom, and – to a lesser extent, via a handful of websites. Today, with instant communication available to the masses and cloud-based learning on the rise, the next generation of eLearning is poised for takeoff. In this article, we’ll talk about what it will take to create next-generation eLearning. Guiding Principles On How To Create Next Generation eLearning The next generation of eLearning will be based on an eclectic view of learning, and not focused on single viewpoints such as socio-constructivism or behaviorism. The guiding principles for an eclectic-focused eLearning environment of the future will, … [Read more...] about How To Create Next Generation ELearning
Types of Learners: Understanding learning styles and what they mean to eLearning designers
Learning styles refer to a diverse set of theories that attempt to identify various types of learners and explain the differences in how individuals learn. The underlying view of these theories is that individuals learn differently and that one can categorize learners by their learning styles. Learning styles and what they mean to eLearning designers ELearning designers can learn a lot by understanding the types of learners for whom they are developing learning content. However, instructional designers must bear in mind that the theorists themselves have differing opinions about how to define learning styles, and how to classify learners. Knowing the learning styles and types of learners an eLearning designer is catering to can help in tailoring pedagogical approaches for that specific audience. eLearning designers can also maximize learning outcomes by using design elements and learning tools that coincide with the learning styles and preferences that learners (or at least the … [Read more...] about Types of Learners: Understanding learning styles and what they mean to eLearning designers
How to Measure ELearning Effectiveness: Using key performance indicators to validate investment decisions
For any business endeavor to be justified, business leaders ask their management teams to provide concrete facts and figures, in terms of Return On Investment (ROI), that show beyond doubt that the proposed initiative is worth undertaking. Similarly, once the project has been commissioned, senior management and project sponsors need to know whether their investment was justified – in hindsight. Therefore, to rationalize eLearning projects prior to development, Instructional Designers and project managers need to collect, evaluate, and report on specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). How Key Performance Indicators Help In Justifying Αn eLearning Investment If an eLearning initiative offers a better return than the outlay (dollars, time, effort, inconvenience factor) needed, then it is likely to be approved. However, when judging an eLearning projects’ ROI, business leaders expect to see tangible performance results following the implementation of the training program. These metrics … [Read more...] about How to Measure ELearning Effectiveness: Using key performance indicators to validate investment decisions
Leveraging Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction
Robert Gagné put forward a unique set of events to help Instructional Designers create effective learning materials. His nine-event based system uses a behaviorist approach to guide Instructional Designers on creating content that can accomplish specific learning objectives set for learners. As eLearning content designers, you can leverage Gagne’s Nine Events Of Instruction to produce highly engaging and motivational courses. Here are some thoughts and guidelines on how you can achieve that. Creating Engaging eLearning Content: Leveraging Gagne’s Nine Events Of Instruction At their very basic, Gagné’s Nine Events Of Instruction can help eLearning professionals achieve the following goals: Help your audience relate to the content you are delivering by associating it with prior knowledge or experiences. Offer supporting online content (prompts, hints, flashcards, cues) in the form of building blocks for the new information you are delivering. Pose probing … [Read more...] about Leveraging Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction
ELearning Corrective Feedback: Importance and approach
“If you don’t know what went wrong… how will you fix it?” is an often repeated mantra. This applies to feedback about a specific initiative being reviewed and is equally relevant to eLearning environments, where the provider of feedback and its recipient are often physically distant from each other. Here is the challenge, however: How do eLearning designers provide corrective feedback in a setting where they have not met or physically interacted with the learners? In this article, we will look at the importance of providing corrective feedback to learners. We will also review some of the approaches recommended for providing formal corrective feedback. Lastly, we’ll review best practices for ensuring successful feedback sessions. Importance of Corrective Feedback Before we delve into the “how”, let’s pause and think about “why” corrective feedback is important. Adult learners participate in eLearning courses to obtain new knowledge and skills. However, the following questions often … [Read more...] about ELearning Corrective Feedback: Importance and approach