Let’s face it, developing technical training is not easy. It’s much easier to design a course about Sexual Harassment than about a new software that has just been released. However, many companies want to train their employees on using new tools or applications, and those who understand the importance of high quality training, hire professional designers to create the most effective and instructionally sound training solutions. Unfortunately, many instructional designers create technical training the same way they design all other training courses. The problem, however, is that the goal of any technical training is not to “show and tell” (even in the interactive manner), but to “practice and do.” Teaching learners how to use a new tool or application is not enough as doing so will not help you achieve the ultimate goal of a training program, which is to help learners obtain new knowledge and skills. In fact, if you teach your learners how to use the tool, they will most likely leave … [Read more...] about Instructional Design for Technical Training
The ELearning Course Designer’s Blog
Agile eLearning: A windfall against “Waterfall”
ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate), a 5-step methodology in designing eLearning courseware, is commonly used in the industry. It traces its roots to the 1950’s Waterfall methodology of software design, where the development process gradually flows from one step to another, just like a waterfall. You can’t start step 2 until you’re done with step 1, and so on. As a result of new developments in how eLearning is viewed by training professionals, and significant enhancements in supporting IT and multi-media technologies, Agile methodologies have now sprung up. Agile eLearning design and development: Promotes a “parallel” way of developing courseware, as opposed to the serial Waterfall (ADDIE) approach Endorses the use of team-work as opposed to specialist roles (Designers, Developers etc.) that worked in insulation Infuses flexibility, speed and cooperation into the development process The Agile approach, which is based on short iterative full-cycles that … [Read more...] about Agile eLearning: A windfall against “Waterfall”
Developing Agile eLearning Content: Bits and pieces at a time!
When the ADDIE methodology is used to develop eLearning content, everyone knows that the course will take 8 to 10 (or however many) months to be developed. Agile, however, turns that concept on its head and says: Expect something every 2 weeks! How’s that possible? It is POSSIBLE because of the way Agile approaches the development process. In short iterative cycles, of 2 weeks (called Sprints), instead of one prolonged design, develop, test, and implement cycle. By delivering small chunks of usable content frequently, rather than the entire course at the end of the project. Here are some Agile best practices to follow when developing eLearning courses: Agile Teams: Build a team of self-organized, cross-functional people. Getting all the experts around the table early on is the key to successful Agile. User Stories: Look at the content needs from a user perspective. The most popular way to do so is to use the following User Story template: As a {type of user: … [Read more...] about Developing Agile eLearning Content: Bits and pieces at a time!
ELearning in Action: Turning Performance Goals into Objectives
The reasons why people are taking a course in the first place can sometimes get “foggy.” Instructional Designers know that learners have a gap in their performance...but the dilemma that they face is how to articulate that gap in learning objectives. Here are some ways to do that: Understand your audience: People tend to turn to learning when there is a perceived gap between what they SHOULD know, and what they ACTUALLY know. Therefore, before developing content, make sure YOU understand the objectives your learners should accomplish. Change your focus: Be action-oriented, and instead of focusing on the knowledge that the course will impart, build content that will turn knowledge into specific actions to be learned to meet the objectives. Get real: Content that merely paraphrases written materials won’t help bridge the gap between learners’ goals and the courses’ learning objectives. Instead, add real-life examples or simulated use cases to ensure the … [Read more...] about ELearning in Action: Turning Performance Goals into Objectives
Agile Project Management for ELearning Development
Nowadays, more and more eLearning project managers lean towards agile methodology. As opposed to traditional project management approaches, agile methods let you adjust your courses as you go based on the need. Agile project management is an iterative method of managing the design and development activities for eLearning projects. The best part about agile project management is that it embraces change even late in the development phase. The main difference between agile and traditional approaches is that agile method reduces complexity of a project by specifying and managing small usable chunks of the project as opposed to managing the whole project at the same time. In agile method, team members handle most of the assignments, are responsible for managing their chunk of the project, and are accountable for quality control of their piece of the project. To ensure success of any project, agile project managers are responsible for managing the team’s environment … [Read more...] about Agile Project Management for ELearning Development
Why Companies Choose to Outsource Training Design and Development
Did you know that not all companies have their own training department? In fact, many organizations choose to outsource training instead of hiring their own instructional designers. There are many reasons why companies decide to outsource their training needs or even purchase prepackaged training materials. For some companies, outsourcing employee training and development makes both financial and business sense. First and foremost, it is much cheaper to have an outside vendor create training than to hire a full time instructional designer to accomplish the same task. Therefore, if a company only requires occasional training, it makes much more sense to hire an external instructional design/training company. Many companies, however, outsource training to supplement their internal resources. For instance, while an internal training department may be very good at instructional design, it may need assistance in the area of development or production. Also, some organizations do … [Read more...] about Why Companies Choose to Outsource Training Design and Development