Oftentimes, when instructional designers are tasked with designing a course, one of the challenges that they face has to do with the design approach they take. While experienced instructional designers seem to have a better grasp of this, novices often struggle with selecting the right...
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If you are interested in designing effective and instructionally sound eLearning solutions, then I’ve got great news for you. I just published my brand new “Instructional Design for eLearning” course. The class is rich with videos, articles, templates, and exercises. Here is what one of the...
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Have you ever developed training that wasn't really needed? Unfortunately, it is not always easy to convince clients that what they have in mind may not be the best solution from the training perspective. However, good instructional designers must be able to recognize the ultimate...
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When instructional designers create eLearning courses, they do their best to address all learning styles. However, what many of us forget is that it is necessary to address learning styles across all generations. To do this, you should first conduct target audience analysis. If during...
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Instructional Designers always look for ways to make their courses fun and engaging. Adding video is the best way to involve learners in their learning process. Video is a great way to teach behavioral skills, demonstrate techniques, and provide excellent performance support. When creating instructional...
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Today, I want to talk about Performance Support. As we all know, the main difference between training and Performance Support is that training is trying to fill the gap between the missing and the needed knowledge while the Performance Support tools provide on the job...
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A while back, when mLearning became popular, instructional designers trying to accommodate all learning modes began designing two separate versions of their courses: a regular eLearning version and a Mobile version. Since creating two different versions of the same course can be very time consuming,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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All instructional designers are well aware of the benefits of learning objectives. However, even those who mastered the art of writing objectives often wonder of their effectiveness. First, let’s look at some of the reasons why we need to include learning objectives in our lessons....
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Instructional designers often look for a handy eLearning development checklist that they could use as a reference when they develop their courses or when they do that final check before hitting the publish button. I created a checklist below for my personal use. Not everything...
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We all know that courses must be meaningful and motivational to learners, but, unfortunately, not all Instructional designers know how to engage adult learners. When adults are required to take courses that they have no interest in, or find irrelevant to their needs, their level...
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Proofreading and editing your eLearning courses can sometimes feel a little awkward, to say the least. However, both proofreading and editing are the essential components of the eLearning development process. One of the best ways to catch mistakes is to create and follow a style...
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All eLearning professionals are well aware of the three main learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Some of the effective strategies to engage auditory learners include recording lectures and making them available for future use. To accommodate these learners, instructional designers may also consider podcasts...
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Even though webinars have been around for a while now, many organizations still find them intimidating. However, with proper planning, even a non-technical person should be able to conduct effective webinars. Webinars can be used for just about anything starting from teaching people how to...
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Working with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) is a challenging yet important part of successful course design. Instructional designers often have to find creative ways to obtain all the required information from their SME. Here are some suggestions that you may find helpful when dealing with...
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In one of my previous posts, I discussed translating eLearning modules into other languages. Since then, I have completed a project that needed to be translated into Spanish. As I was working on my translation, I came across some localization issues, which I would like...
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Instructional designers, especially those who work on federal contract, often experience the dilemma as to whether or not they should score assessments. While some believe that assessments must be scored; there are others, who do not feel that way. Learners who like scored assessments feel...
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