As instructional designers create courses, they rarely have the luxury of working at their own pace, and incorporating the elements they feel are truly needed. The reality is that most of the time, instructional designers have to work around pressing deadlines, and under a tight budget. Yet, they are still expected to deliver quality courses. Regardless of the time, or monetary constraints, course designers should consider the following five elements: ISD methods and principles – As we all know, ADDIE is the most popular ISD model; however, many instructional designers prefer a more rapid approach, so they tend to use the RID model instead. Yet, there are other designers who use a combination of different models and approaches. When you select the model to use for designing a particular eLearning course, be sure to shape it around your learning objectives. Language – The language you use in your eLearning course is your key to success. The rule of a tomb is to avoid … [Read more...] about 5 Considerations for Designing Amazing ELearning Courses
eLearning
Instructional Design for ELearning Course
Two months ago, I announced the launch of my Instructional Design for eLearning Course. Unlike many other generic courses available on the subject, this course has been designed from ground-up, and takes a down-to-earth, practical approach to Instructional Design in an eLearning context. Whether you are an aspiring Instructional Design professional, new to the field of designing eLearning content, an instructional design guru looking to familiarize yourself with the latest developments and best practices of the industry, or a Human Resource specialist– you’ll find this course an invaluable resource. Based on my highly popular book on the subject, the course has been specifically structured to: Explore the basics of online learning theories, principles, techniques and methodologies Help you develop highly personalized eLearning content to meet the unique needs of your students/learners Enable you to master the skills needed for producing highly interactive eLearning courses … [Read more...] about Instructional Design for ELearning Course
Conducting Needs Analysis: Is it Really Important?
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 reason the training is needed and seamlessly help the clients select the most appropriate training modality. To do that, it is crucial that instructional designers review the available information about the company and the current need. It may also be necessary to talk with some of the employees and managers to get their perspective about the situation in the organization. After conducting analysis, instructional designers should formulate a measurable business goal and create an action plan to reach that goal. During the initial research, instructional designers should determine why people are not doing what they should and whether the real problem has to do with work environment, motivation or lack of … [Read more...] about Conducting Needs Analysis: Is it Really Important?
How to Effectively Use Video in ELearning
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 videos, it is important to look at them as if they were commercials. As we all know, the main goal of any commercial is to catch people’s attention quickly. However, it is equally important to keep one’s attention on the desired subject. Commercials usually reach that goal in less than 3 minutes by appealing to people’s emotions. Including short, thought-provoking chunks of information in your videos is much more memorable than creating long videos and covering all the material at once. In fact, it is best not to use video throughout the entire course as it may overwhelm your learners. Instead, include it at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the course. A short introductory … [Read more...] about How to Effectively Use Video in ELearning
Leveraging Performance Support Tools and “Just In Time” Training
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 support when it is needed. Unlike training, which often includes some of the “nice to know” information, Performance Support tools offer “just enough” assistance to get the job done. Naturally, Performance Support can be either Electronic (EPSS) or Paper-based. Instructional designers have been developing quick reference guides and job aids to supplement their training courses for ages. Nowadays, most of us are used to having the information available to us when we need it at any time and place. This is where the Electronic Support System comes in handy. Many EPSSs offer a contextual, step-by-step, immediate solution to people’s needs. When instructional designers conduct their initial meeting with the client, they … [Read more...] about Leveraging Performance Support Tools and “Just In Time” Training
Designing Device-Agnostic Content
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, most courses were still created just in the eLearning format. As time went on, the need for building device-agnostic content became apparent. So, what is device-agnostic content? It is learning content that can be accessed on any device including ipads, smartphones, laptops and TVs. Device-agnostic content adjusts to the browser and the size of the screen the learner is using. One of the most valuable benefits of creating device-agnostic content is that it allows learners to start their training on one device and continue on another device. Thanks to HTML 5, eLearning developers can develop device-agnostic content quickly and effectively. The main limitation here is that not all … [Read more...] about Designing Device-Agnostic Content