The traditional way of distance learning is all but over! No longer do learners want to watch animated PowerPoint slides or YouTube videos so they can grasp a subject. Increasingly, instructional designers are being challenged to come up with more relevant, and highly innovative content to not only challenge learners, but to also enhance their learning experiences. Immersive Technologies – What are they? Consider this scenario: You have been hired by a large company, that has staff around the world. The company has just created a prototype of their new electric engine, and you are commissioned to develop a course on how to disassemble and re-assemble the equipment. There’s just one prototype, and there are 300 employees across the globe that need to get “hands on” training on the device before it starts mass production. How do you train a workforce so dispersed, and with such an obvious challenge? The answer: By using a combination … [Read more...] about Leveraging Immersive Technologies in ELearning: The key to enhancing learner experience
Instructional Design and ELearning
Why is Quality Assurance Important in ELearning
Quality Assurance - Case Study The Advanced Media, Inc. team was struggling with the end of a major project: a huge simulation designed to train officers in the military. Though they had a standard QA process, they were quickly finding that the usual process was inadequate. Their military clients were incredibly detail oriented and needed every aspect of the training to be perfectly accurate, clear to a wide variety of learners, and it should conform to protocol. The need for more and more reviews and revisions was creating tension with their clients and losing them money. The team knew they should have clarified the process before the project had begun, but it was too late now—they were bogged down with work. Finally, the instructional design lead decided they needed a pair of fresh eyes. She brought in a QA Analyst from another project who was known for his ability to streamline and simplify the QA process. First, the QA Analyst decided to have a meeting with the clients. He … [Read more...] about Why is Quality Assurance Important in ELearning
Have You Ever Wondered If Learning Styles Really Exist?
The study of learning styles aims to understand the different ways that learners are able to take in and process new knowledge. It seeks to find the best practices to help a learner absorb, comprehend, and retain a piece of information. In recent years, many instructional designers have devoted their time to come up with different learning style theories that aim to ease new knowledge acquisition. However, one big question in the world of learning styles, particularly among skeptics, is: Do learning styles really exist? The lack of reliable studies looking over the effectiveness of learning styles in the classrooms is one big issue that continues to plague it. In their study “Learning Styles and Pedagogy in Post-16 Learning: A Systematic and Critical Review,” Coffield and his colleagues bemoaned that while there are several researches available, they all have “poor reliability, poor validity, and a negligible impact on teaching and learning.” The authors also raised concerns … [Read more...] about Have You Ever Wondered If Learning Styles Really Exist?
New Resource for Designing Exceptional ELearning Courses!
Want to know latest eLearning and instructional technology news? Want to design robust, innovative eLearning courses? Check out the new edition of the Instructional Design for eLearning book, and start creating successful training materials today! … [Read more...] about New Resource for Designing Exceptional ELearning Courses!
4 Ways To Apply Behaviorism Principles to Your ELearning Materials
As instructional designers apply behaviorism principles to create courses for virtual settings, it is important to keep in mind that the driving force behind progress is reinforcement. 1. Repetition Take audio visual presentations as instructional methods employed in virtual classrooms. People learn through observation, so audio or video presentations are an efficient way to enable learners to understand the subject, organize their own thoughts around that subject, and ultimately present their own analysis of the matter. In behaviorism, only the response to the information received can be measured, so it is a good idea to develop materials that promote drill tasks. This involves teaching concepts by presenting a series of steps that lead to expected outcomes. For example, in a database class, the lessons would entail presentation of various data types as well as the commands for specific functions. Step by step video tutorials would be provided, guiding the learner as to … [Read more...] about 4 Ways To Apply Behaviorism Principles to Your ELearning Materials
3 Cognitivism Principles for More Effective eLearning
The wise application of cognitivism principles in the design of training materials results in more effective learning for both children and adults. In any kind of learning environment, the needs of the learners need to be taken into consideration so that optimal absorption and understanding of new information can be ensured. In a nutshell, cognitivism principles have to do with optimizing the way adult learners are able to think about, understand, process, and integrate new information to put what they already know to good use. Cognitivism Principle #1: Learning Should Be More Focused and Purposeful Adults learn more effectively when they know why they are learning something in the first place. They need to understand how the concepts and ideas that they are going to learn can be applied to their own lives. At the onset, the why is often more important than the how. Therefore, clear and specific purpose of all training materials has to be stated at the beginning. … [Read more...] about 3 Cognitivism Principles for More Effective eLearning