When school administrators and instructors first embark upon a project to embrace eLearning, the immediate temptation is to “scan everything and put it online!”. While “pure digitization” might be a quick way to introduce online learning to kids, it’s not always the best way to engage kids through eLearning. Key design and conversion considerations Unlocking the power of eLearning for kids is not just a matter of digitizing content from the existing curriculum. Kids today are extremely tech-savvy, and when they stare at an electronic version of their textbooks, it’s likely to spur immediate disengagement. ELearning designers must therefore go way beyond scanning and uploading paper content to pique kids' interest. Here are five design considerations that should help you decide whether you should design from scratch, or convert or port school curricula into eLearning courses: Enhance your content ELearning provides you an opportunity to go above and beyond what existing … [Read more...] about Converting school curriculum into eLearning: Considerations for designing eLearning for kids
Instructional Design and ELearning
Training for Agility: Understanding the new paradigms in eLearning
Dell Technologies Inc, one of the largest technology manufactures in the world, said recently that “…around 85% of the jobs that today’s learners will be doing in 2030 haven’t been invented yet.”. The new world will be based on organizations “...becoming more agile and profitable”. This bold statement was made in a report titled “The Next Era of Human Machine Partnerships”. If this prediction is, in fact, true, it then introduces a brand-new paradigm for trainers and instructional designers alike: How do you train future workforces to embrace that leaner, more competitive, agile and profitable future? Agility in eLearning The challenge with future of workforces, as laid out in the report cited above, is that information and knowledge is expected to become redundant at a much faster pace than it is today. In the new paradigm, while employers have already mapped out a new business model, they won’t have a sizable enough trained workforce to implement their vision – unless they … [Read more...] about Training for Agility: Understanding the new paradigms in eLearning
Why storytelling in eLearning works? Secrets to telling compelling stories
The best way to engage and communicate with your eLearning audience is through storytelling. Not only will you be able to connect with your learners, but if the story is appropriately framed and structured, they will be able to better relate to the content being taught. This will lead to improved transfer of knowledge and, as a result, deliver better overall learning outcomes. Why tell stories at all? In late 2013, Emory University published a study conducted by its neuroscientists that linked changes to the brain’s neural patterns as a result of reading real-life event-based stories. Without getting too technical, researchers saw extraordinary activity in the research subject’s left temporal lobe – the part of our brain responsible for processing semantics (meaning) in vision and speech. In layman’s terms, the results showed that stories created more brain connections to the events being studied, compared to straightforward facts, figures and other raw data. The conclusion that … [Read more...] about Why storytelling in eLearning works? Secrets to telling compelling stories
Leveraging Immersive Technologies in ELearning: The key to enhancing learner experience
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
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?