In recent years, the eLearning market went through some major changes that led to making it more approachable, affordable, and easier for more people. Many instructional designers and eLearning professionals worldwide are now thinking of expanding their services in the freelance arena by creating a side hustle or starting their own business. If you belong to that category yourself, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll look at seven steps to starting and growing a successful freelance business. How can you start freelancing as an instructional designer or eLearning professional? First, as it happens with every freelancer, the most important thing you should bear in mind is that you are on your own. Regardless of whether you are making your move with a side hustle or creating your own freelancing business, one thing is for sure: you will be your creative team, your sales, and marketing team, your accounting team, and your PR team. In a nutshell, working as a … [Read more...] about 7 Tips to Start Your ELearning Freelance Business
The ELearning Course Designer’s Blog
A Complete Guide to Nano Learning: What it is, when, and how it’s used – and more
When learners initially immerse themselves in lengthy, 25 to 30-minute (or longer!), learning experiences, it’s unsurprising that significant chunks of the knowledge won’t “sink in”. That’s how our brain works – it absorbs only part of the information provided at first, especially if the content is new to the learner. That’s where Nano learning helps. Because it comprises of small, highly focused, chunked-down learning content, learners retain more of what they’re exposed to compared to traditional eLearning content. Profile of a Nano “Module” Because they are self-contained learning content (“modules”) in and by themselves, Nano learning typically embodies all the characteristics of their lengthier peers. In fact, Nano learning achieves what longer-formatted content seeks to accomplish – but in many compressed durations. The following main characteristics profile Nano learning: To be clear, readers mustn’t construe these characteristics of Nano learning as painting a … [Read more...] about A Complete Guide to Nano Learning: What it is, when, and how it’s used – and more
Evidence-based Tactics that Promote Deeper Learning and Application
As eLearning developers and Instructional Design (ID) professionals, we’re constantly looking for the most effective way to deliver our targeted learning objectives. Well, nothing beats the use of an evidence-supported approach to further deeper knowledge transference, and to assure the application of that learning in the workplace. In this post, we’ll talk about some of the strategies and tactics to promote deeper learning, through practice and feedback. How Deep Learning Works When employees undertake further learning, it is typically to build new skills or enhance proficiency in existing ones. So, how does learning happen? Well, it happens as a process: Employees undergo trainingThey rehearse what they’ve learned during exercises, tests, and assessmentsThey’re often not perfect! Trainers evaluate how they’ve performed, and instruct them on required actions or behavioral changes They incorporate those modifications when applying the newly-learned task/skill in the … [Read more...] about Evidence-based Tactics that Promote Deeper Learning and Application
How To Write Better Test Questions to Assess Learning: Evidence-Informed Tactics for Test Questions
Is the fact that a learner completes a prescribed set of training, sufficient evidence that they’ve accomplished what the course set out to teach them? In most instances, the answer to that question is: No, it is not! When designing test questions that demonstrate achieving “real” learning outcomes, L&D professionals must use evidence-informed tactics for question construction. They must also consider the context in which they’re administering the test, what evidence they need from their students to prove that they understood the material and if they can substantively demonstrate that understanding. Use Evidence-based Tactics to Contextualize Your Questions There has been considerable research to understand the impact of question construction and its implication on how learners respond to them. The adaptation of Response Modelling (RM) techniques, and Item Response Theory (IRT) to academia, has produced a vast body of statistical evidence for helping test question preparers … [Read more...] about How To Write Better Test Questions to Assess Learning: Evidence-Informed Tactics for Test Questions
How to Create Stunning eLearning Content in PowerPoint
Creating eLearning courses isn’t rocket science. You can build a professional-looking online course with quizzes, role-play simulations, and interactions right in PowerPoint — even with no tech or design skills. Hard to believe? Then read on and see for yourself. iSpring Suite — A PowerPoint-Based Authoring Toolkit All you need to create a course is iSpring Suite and a good vibe, of course. iSpring Suite is a comprehensive eLearning authoring toolkit that’s integrated with PowerPoint. Once you download and install it on your computer, it will appear as a new tab on the PPT ribbon. On the iSpring toolbar, you can see the entire set of its tools that can be used as easily as any other PowerPoint functionality. Just click on Quiz if you’d like to create a quiz, or choose Screen Recording if you need to make a video of your screen. It’s as intuitive as can be. Create Slide-Based Courses in Minutes Do you have existing PPT slides? Then leverage iSpring Suite to turn them … [Read more...] about How to Create Stunning eLearning Content in PowerPoint
7 pro tips for creating effective eLearning scenarios
Scenarios, as teaching aids, are one of the most powerful tools in the arsenal of eLearning course creators. When developed properly, Scenarios encourage critical thinking, help course attendees to learn by doing, stimulate learner emotion by linking them to specific outcomes, and give learners a way to practice what they’ve learned, and improve their level of understanding. When eLearning content requires participants to make important decisions, there’s no better tool than Scenarios to help accomplish that objective. But to do that, course builders must create effective scenarios. The genesis of an eLearning Scenario Before we share some expert tips and techniques for creating effective scenarios, let’s cover some scenario-writing basics. Don’t just start writing your scenarios! Before doing that, it’s important to know your audience, understand what the course is all about, and be clear about what you wish the scenario to accomplish. This knowledge will help you more … [Read more...] about 7 pro tips for creating effective eLearning scenarios
