Other than the technology used to deliver our online courses, some would argue that instructional design hasn’t changed much in the past several decades. We often see the same techniques used over and over in the courses we design and take. This isn’t a bad thing… as long as the techniques remain sound and relevant to our modern-day learners. The problem, however, is that it’s easy for our audience to get bored – they’ve already seen and done the techniques you’re using, often dozens of times. Instead of keeping that traditional mindset of instructional design, let’s consider a few ways to refresh our perspectives and design courses that are a bit more innovative, new, and unexpected! A design thinking mindset Learner Experience Design (LXD) focuses on design thinking. In other words, it looks at how to improve the entire end-user experience by considering how your instructional material is developed AND actually implemented. For example, as instructional designers, we know the … [Read more...] about Is Your Instructional Design From The ’90s?
Instructional Design and ELearning
How to Focus On “Backward Design” for Creating Online Courses
As course creators, we often design from the top down. We think we know exactly what our audience needs, and in turn, shape our course content around this framework. On the other hand, if we rely on "backward design" (where the content is learner-focused), our eLearning will achieve our objectives better and resonate with our audience. Here's how to stay focused on the learner and implement a backward design in eLearning. Ask the Right Question What do they need to know to be successful? A simple question, but let's break it down a bit. Note the qualifier "successful". This is extremely important. It's easy to be so close to your content that you lose sight of what your learner's goals actually are. I've taken many online courses that have completely failed at delivering the content needed to accomplish my goals. Instead, the designer created a course they wanted - not a course that the learner needed. To ensure you're meeting the need vs. the want, you have to look at things … [Read more...] about How to Focus On “Backward Design” for Creating Online Courses
5 Compelling Reasons To Implement The Interactive Design In Your Elearning Content
Interactive design certainly makes your online courses look sharp, but the bigger reason to use interactive design in eLearning is it boosts the quality of your learner’s experience – making your content engaging, yet easy. If you’re still not convinced. Here are 5 compelling reasons to implement the interactive design in all of your eLearning content! #1 Grab Their Attention The days of text-heavy, sleeper courses have come and gone. RIP dry PowerPoint slides. Enter videos, rich graphics, animations, photos, infographics, illustrations, and photos to grab your learner’s attention and bring the content to life. To grab your audience’s attention, the content must be more akin to the content they consume daily on social media and YouTube, not a boring mandatory corporate training lecture. #2 Hold Their Attention To prolong engagement, your eLearning must include the audience as an active participant in the learning journey. Bringing your content to life with immersive videos and … [Read more...] about 5 Compelling Reasons To Implement The Interactive Design In Your Elearning Content
Creating Online Courses: Your Roadmap-Step-by-Step Plan for Creating eLearning
For almost every initiative, before professionals produce their final product/service, they create an outline or mock-up. Architects produce blueprints, engineers come up with engineering specifications and concept designs, software developers produce prototypes and writers create templates. So, why are these interim artifacts necessary? Well, without them, it’s hard for anyone – the project sponsors, the professionals, their subcontractors, or their clients – to visualize what’s required (in terms of time, effort, steps, or desired results) to produce the final deliverable. With the digitalization of the world and the rising demand for online training and courses, it is a great decision to start a career in this industry by offering a unique perspective on different skills and professions. While creating the course sometimes it is difficult to understand where to start and what should be the first step. It is necessary to determine the right online course strategy for your … [Read more...] about Creating Online Courses: Your Roadmap-Step-by-Step Plan for Creating eLearning
7 Interesting And Promising Trends To Watch In 2021
What a year 2020 has been, especially for those of us involved in L&D, and more specifically with eLearning! The rise in work from home (WFH) prompted employers to focus more on remote training and development. From onboarding and induction training to ongoing certification and compliance, training teams across all industries have scrambled to adapt to the challenge of delivering content via eLearning. 7 eLearning Trends And Predictions For 2021 As the global training industry evolves to blend into the new reality of distance learning, what’s in store for us in 2021? Well, based on what we’ve already seen in 2020, here are some eLearning trends that we are likely to encounter in 2021: 1. More Emphasis On Train-The-Trainer Programs Corporate workforce capability-building is the cornerstone for global competitiveness. According to renowned management consulting firm McKinsey, as the global pandemic hit, nearly 50% of corporate in-person training in North America came to a halt. … [Read more...] about 7 Interesting And Promising Trends To Watch In 2021
5 Tips on Editing Text for Instructional Design
There's a good chance that text is the bulk of your online learning content. Since the text is the biggest player in most eLearning courses, it’s essential to present it in the best way possible to optimize the instructional design. Here are 5 Tips to edit and present textual content for your online courses! 1. Line Length The optimal line length should be around 60 characters for the best reading experience. Too short, and the reader must constantly scan back and forth quickly, which can be quite frustrating and cause eye strain in bigger chunks of content. Too long, and you risk losing the reader's focus as they try to digest a lengthy string of text. Of course, you don't have to do a character count on each line, but be aware of this guideline to get a feel for what 60 characters of text actually look like when you preview your content. You can play with margins, text boxes, and design elements to shorten/lengthen this. 2. Paragraphs Justified blocks of … [Read more...] about 5 Tips on Editing Text for Instructional Design