Whether you are an HR manager considering an in-house eLearning course, or a consultant thinking of bidding on an eLearning project. The one question that’s always front-and-center is: How long will this eLearning project take? We’ll explore that question in this post, and leave you with a simple 5-step process to answer it! Factors to consider The methodology explained below is based on a set of logical steps that you need to follow when putting together a timeline for eLearning development. As an eLearning content developer, however, when applying the 5-step process provided below, you must also factor the uniqueness of your project requirements, and the development environment, into the equation. For instance: How many course designers, developers, and content producers will I have? What types of course authoring tools will I have access to? Do I have developers who have experience with those tools, or will there be an associated learning curve? Untrained or less … [Read more...] about How to Estimate ELearning Development Time in 5 Easy Steps
Project Management
Agile Project Management for ELearning Development
Nowadays, more and more eLearning project managers lean towards agile methodology. As opposed to traditional project management approaches, agile methods let you adjust your courses as you go based on the need. Agile project management is an iterative method of managing the design and development activities for eLearning projects. The best part about agile project management is that it embraces change even late in the development phase. The main difference between agile and traditional approaches is that agile method reduces complexity of a project by specifying and managing small usable chunks of the project as opposed to managing the whole project at the same time. In agile method, team members handle most of the assignments, are responsible for managing their chunk of the project, and are accountable for quality control of their piece of the project. To ensure success of any project, agile project managers are responsible for managing the team’s environment … [Read more...] about Agile Project Management for ELearning Development
Why Companies Choose to Outsource Training Design and Development
Did you know that not all companies have their own training department? In fact, many organizations choose to outsource training instead of hiring their own instructional designers. There are many reasons why companies decide to outsource their training needs or even purchase prepackaged training materials. For some companies, outsourcing employee training and development makes both financial and business sense. First and foremost, it is much cheaper to have an outside vendor create training than to hire a full time instructional designer to accomplish the same task. Therefore, if a company only requires occasional training, it makes much more sense to hire an external instructional design/training company. Many companies, however, outsource training to supplement their internal resources. For instance, while an internal training department may be very good at instructional design, it may need assistance in the area of development or production. Also, some organizations do … [Read more...] about Why Companies Choose to Outsource Training Design and Development
Critical Knowledge Transfer- Managing Your Company’s Best Brains
Many organizations experience high employee turnover rates. The biggest problem with this is the lack of knowledge transfer. Because new employees who come onboard are not equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to be successful at their new job, they often cannot contribute to the optimal level. It is clear that all organizations must have a system for transferring existing knowledge from departing employees to those who come onboard. While limited time and resources are all contributing factors to the lack of knowledge transfer, it is essential to obtain managerial support before the organization can successfully implement the knowledge transfer initiative. Here are some of the common knowledge transfer practices that any effective organization should consider implementing: On the job mentoring, coaching, and shadowing Formal training (classroom courses and eLearning pieces), and Informal learning through social media and other knowledge repositories Nowadays, … [Read more...] about Critical Knowledge Transfer- Managing Your Company’s Best Brains
Why Professional Instructional Design Services Are Your Best Bet?
Building an instructional program for a course or training session requires a lot of effort. It takes time, consideration and a thorough understanding of what motivates people to learn and retain information. There are many individuals and companies that honestly believe that they are capable of creating their own instructional design products. While it is possible to do so, are these do-it-yourself instructional design courses really effective? Companies may know what they want to include in their training and e-learning products, but this does not mean they have the necessary expertise to create their own course materials. It is highly recommended that companies utilize professional instructional design services to ensure that they have an effective end product. Why Do-It-Yourself Instructional Design Doesn’t Work Just because a company knows what is needed for a training or an e-learning course does not mean they are able to create, build and execute this information on … [Read more...] about Why Professional Instructional Design Services Are Your Best Bet?