There are many things to think about when creating an eLearning team and creating online training. This posts list 10 DOs and DON’Ts to consider when building your next team and course. It isn’t a complete list but it does cover the main bases. You can also checkout the animated presentation.

Feel free to leave comments on sections that we should add.

1. Old PowerPoint decks kind-of stink
Now-a-days, almost every training course has a PowerPoint (PPT). This PPT is used during class to help the trainer stay on course and to provide some information to the learner. Let’s just come out in the open and say it, Classroom PPTs should not be put online and called eLearning. Now don’t get me wrong, they do have their place as a valuable source of information and can help jump-start an eLearning course. Online courses need to be more than just online reading. They should engage, challenge, inform, and test the learner. A PPT can be restructured to be more than just slides with text. With a little instructional design they can turn into true online learning.
2. Hiring the right talent makes a huge difference (SME, ID, and Design)
Just because someone is an expert at selling the product doesn’t mean that they can design training. It takes various skills to create effective online training. Let’s discuss some of the major roles involved. You may be lucky enough to find all of these in one person or you may need to build a team.
Subject matter expert (SME)
This person is the expert about the product, process, etc. Every thing that a new person needs to know is in the SMEs head. The SMEs responsibility is to somehow get this information into the training. SMEs also become critical to the process of reviewing the course for accuracy and letting people know when there needs to be updates.

Instructional Designer (ID)
The ID is in charge of getting all of the information out of the SMEs head. This is often done through interviews, researching knowledge bases, observation, and at times, bribery. Once the information is obtained it must be structured and laid out in a way that makes sense to new learners. Outlines and storyboards are created, text is written, processes are documented, and the course is created on paper.

Designer
The designer must take the paper concept of the course and make it come to life. This includes knowing the software needed to create graphics, build quizzes, design interactive games/challenges, develop course navigation/tracking and more. The designer often knows both the graphic design side as well as the back-end coding. This person works closely with the ID to ensure that the course is instructionally sound.

3. Smaller chunks are easier to digest
We’ve all gone to a website or opened a document and been in utter shock at how much text and information suddenly appeared. Our minds suddenly turn off and we close the documents or quickly navigate to another page. The truth is that learners usually don’t thoroughly read online content. They scan! So, the challenge becomes, how do we make them scan the information that we want them to learn? Well, the answer is chunking. Just feed the learners a little bit at a time. Start with the basic concepts and build upon them. If a page seems to have a lot of text and information, find a good place to cut it into 2 pages. As a learner clicks through pages it also gives the feeling of accomplishment and progression.
A few tips:

• Use bullet points. Everyone will scan bullets.
• Break things into steps. If the information happens in a sequence then number it.
• Always think about the information from the perspective of the new learner (your audience). What should they know 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.?
• Find ways to rewrite sentences to be more concise.

4. Brand your training so it looks like your training
When a learner launches your online course they should know that it belongs to your company. The colors, styles, logo, etc. should match your company’s branding. Many times this shouldn’t be too hard if you contact the marketing group and ask for some fonts, color swatches, and image files. Many of the current authoring software allows you to create your own color scheme. The training interface can match your company’s colors and have the logo.

5. Create hands-on demos for real-life practice
Many people learn by actually trying out the system …. a hands-on approach. Online training is a great way to give learners a way to try out a system without being live. You can recreate a series of steps in a software transaction and package it as a simulation. Many times you can also get test data from the developers to use as sample customer information to ensure that your simulations have populated screens.

Learners can have three options:

• Sit back and watch a demonstration of how the software works.
• Be prompted where to click and how to navigate the software.
• Be tested to see if they can use the software without any help.

It is basically the Tell them, Show Them, Let Them Do It approach. Simulations are a great way to let learners practice in a safe environment.

6. Use meaningful graphics, not gratuitous images
We’ve all heard the phrase, a picture is worth a thousand words. Graphics are great training tools and can make the difference between an average course and a great course. The true test of a graphic: Can the learner look at the image and understand the concept of the training page without reading the text?Graphics come in many different shapes and sizes. They are more than just a picture of a person or a business office. Graphics can portray steps in a process, pieces of a concept, interaction between people, emotion, and much more.Just because there is some open space on a page does not mean that a gratuitous image must be present. White space is ok. Find a way to create an image that adds to the learning.

7. Have standards and be consistent (colors, fonts, sizes, layout, design)
Standards are a critical part of every course. Learners need our help to learn. So how do standards do that? We’ve all seen websites that use every color known to man and every font that was available. The reader is more worried about the colors/fonts than what is actually written. Standards can help learner know what is important and what we want them to do. It helps them focus and they become accustomed to the standards as they take each course.
Here are some examples:

• Bolding: Decide how to use bolding. Is it to emphasize, headings, sections, actions, etc.?
• Italics: Are hyperlinks italicized? What about names of documents, screens, and systems?
• Fonts: Choose 2-3 fonts and decide which one is for headings, body text, and possibly image design.
• Colors: Find colors that contrast well. There are many different websites that help create color schemes and check contrast. Just a hint, stay away from lime and purple text.
• Layout: Design 5-10 different layouts and let the team use them. This saves time because each page doesn’t have to be custom designed each time. It also trains the learner to know how to understand your pages.
• Grammar and tense: Are you talking directly to the learner? Past tense or present tense (maybe future)?

By using standards you will help your learners know what to focus on during your course. They won’t be distracted by the aesthetics or letters.

8. Using scenarios and case studies will create real-life, meaningful connections
The course needs to tie the learner to real life. If you’re fast food workers need to learn about how to effectively handle angry customers, then interview a few employees and get real examples. Customize the course to your audience. Learners want to be challenged. Don’t just give away the answers. Make them think. Let’s say that you’re doing a course on small business banking products. Instead of having a course that just lists the features/benefits of each product why not make is a case study? Have the learner read a quick background on a company and give them a problem to resolve.”The company has recently opened 3 new offices and a launched a new website. What products might help this company process customers payments?” The learner could then explore the course and learn about the bank’s products. We all learn best when we’re interested in the topic. The course must give us something that we can use in real-life.

9. Using learning games will keep things fun and engaging
Find different ways to liven up the course and to have learners do more than just read. Games (GameShow, Millionaire, puzzles, challenges, etc.) will help engage the learners and make them think. Think of ways to teach by letting someone do a game instead of just telling them what you want them to know.

10. Certify participants knowledge through scored tests and evaluations
Tests/assessments are a great way to see if anything was actually learned. Online authoring software makes it easy to create quizzes/tests. Many different types of questions are available from simple true/false and multiple choice, to drag-and-drop and matching. You can also create screen shots of systems or processes and have a learner click the correct button or area of the picture. Tests can also include case studies and system simulations. Once a learner is finished with the test the score is automatically calculated and custom feedback can appear based on the score. You may want someone to retake the test if they scored below a certain score. Or you may want a person to be able to print a certificate when they score 90% or higher.

Who would have thought that simply writing an eLearning course would require the instructional designer to have so many different writing skills? As an instructional designer our writing has to motivate the learner, as well as, instruct them on correct processes, policies, techniques, etc.

In the eLearning Coach’s article 10 Types of Writing for eLearning Connie explores the 10 different writing types we must all remember when writing effective eLearning. Below is a summary of her key concepts…with a few of my own thoughts added in:

1. Writing On-Screen Text

Summary: Most readers only skim online text so keep it lively and relative to the learner. Don’t kill the learner with continuous bullet points.

Comment: True, learners don’t read all of the text. This is why it’s so important to add nice visual design to your course. You need to “draw” learners in and help them “want” to engage with your course. You should also think about chunking content.

2. Writing Audio Scripts

Summary: Find that “hook” that sparks the learner’s imagination. The sounds of words and cadence of phrases in the script is important. Be sure to choose your voice talent carefully.

Comment: You also need to find a balance between what content should be narrated and what content you should let the learner read. Also, there are many times when the learner can read faster than the audio narration. How will you handle this? Can a learner turn off the audio? Can they advance to the next section when the audio narration is still playing?

3. Writing Video Scripts

Summary: Remember that video is for showing, not telling.

Comment: Video should be used to demonstrate key concepts in the learning. Here is a sample video tutorial we have built to demonstrate how to add a Glossary to an Articulate Skin.

4. Technical Writing

Summary: Technical writing can be dull and dry…so find a way to inject creativity into your course.

Comment: Scenarios can be a great way to spice this up. Start off with a problem and then show the steps to fix it.

5. Writing Stories

Summary: Storytelling incorporates facts and concepts learned, and should contain characters that the learners can identify with.

Comment: When building a course with various stories to tie them all together. Always focus on the same characters throughout the entire course…this allows the learners to keep building on concepts already learned.

6. Writing Test Questions

Summary: All test questions must correspond to the learning objectives in the course. Give yourself enough time to write effective test questions.

Comment: Many instructional design models have you write the test question very early in your design process. The problem is that many of us build the entire course and then say “oops, I forgot to create the test.” Then we hurry and create some questions and throw them out there.

7. Writing Glossary Definitions

Summary: The 4 tips for writing glossary definitions are: 1) every word counts, 2) remove extraneous words, 3) use a consistent style for every definition, and 4) let someone else edit them.

8. Writing Interactions

Summary: Interactions can be a powerful learning tool…but they must be well written with good instructions.

9. Writing Microcopy

Summary: Microcopy is the little instructions and phrases used in eLearning and should not be an afterthought.

Comment: I like to add text to my image treatments as well. Any image can be combined with text.

10. Copywriting

Summary: Copywriting is the use of persuasive language to entice someone to take your training. Most copywriters follow the AIDA formula when writing copywrite.

“In the beginning there was a blank slide.

All eLearning designers dreamed of the endless possibilities.

Wondrous content could spring into life.

However, something went wrong…

Bullet points sprang up like weeds.

Clip art infiltrated the blank space.

Bad color schemes and ugly fonts polluted the slide.

The dream of engaging, awesome content suffered a great blow.

Would the dim flicker of hope survive?

Would awesome content rise from the bullet points, clip art, and clutter?

Would eLearning designers overcome the Curse of the Blank PowerPoint Slide?

YES!”

Ok…enough of my attempt at creative writing. As many of our readers know our goal is to Make Your Training Look Awesome. Many eLearning designers look at a blank slide/page and have a hard time overcoming the “curse of the blank slide”. Many times we do better when there is an existing structure and layout. (It’s also faster.) That is why we started creating templates.

eLearning templates offer great benefits. Here are a few:

– Professional Graphic Design: Not all eLearning designers have graphic design or multimedia skills. However, they have enough experience to use templates.
– Branding: Templates can have branding incorporated so that course material matches your corporate look/feel.
- Standards: Build you standards into the templates. You can exterminate rainbow colored fonts, lime green buttons, and microsoft clip art.
- Speed: Content development goes a lot faster when you don’t start with a blank slide every time.
- Quick Customization: Get the source files with your templates so that you can make tweaks. Many of us know software well enough to make tweaks to an existing file. (the challenge is to build it from scratch)
– Consistency: Templates give a consistent look, layout, and branding to eLearning. Even if many different designers are working on the course it will still look like it “belongs” together.
– Lean Team: If you don’t have the luxury of employing a graphic/multimedia guru then owning professional templates can help.

Our learners expect courses that look professional! If a course looks ugly, the learner will think the content is ugly too. In other words if our course looks professional then the learners will pay more attention.

Rapid eLearning development can overcome the Curse of the Blank Slide and be Awesome!

PowerPoint Templates
75+ layouts, 40+ themes, professional branding…all in one pack!

Flash eLearning Templates
High quality flash games, quizzes, and interactions. Own the source code.

eLearning Interaction Builder
Use this online tool to build great looking interactions and games.

I’ve often thought that our eLearning courses are like one big presentation. We’re trying to share information but we’re also trying to capture attention. We can’t have our course just “stand there” and use a monotone voice to try and teach. We must engage, motivate, capture, and excite.

Last week at Learning Solutions I ran across Nancy Duarte and a new book that she has written. I’ve seen her work in the past and have always been impressed.

Here are 5 Rules for Creating World Changing Presentations. (And my comments of course)

1. Treat your audience as king
You should always build a course with the audience in mind. How will they learn most effectively? In what type of environment will they be learning? What do they already know? What do they really need to know? Why should they care?

2. Spread ideas and people

• Use images to convey meaning. Images can be inspiring.
• Replace pages of text with something that “means” something. The course audio can be coupled with diagrams, images, and truly meaningful information.
• Don’t put everything on the screen at once. Sequence information and build the suspense.

3. Help them see what you’re saying

• Brainstorm graphics that can replace your words. You’ll be surprised what can visually replace the text.
• The audio can do the “talking”. You don’t have to write down every word that is spoken.

4. Practice design not decoration

• Don’t put too much on the page. (Less is more)
• One word on the page is OK and can be powerful. It draws attention.
• A picture can fill the whole slide.
• Don’t put stuff on the page just to “fill space”.

5. Cultivate healthy relationships with your slides and audience

• Use fewer words and let the course narrator “connect the dots”.

Check out duarte.com for some inspiration.

PowerPoint templates for eLearning.

I’ve written various blogs about why gratuitous eLearning images are bad. Our images should be relevant and be used as a teaching aid. It has always been interesting to me how many “bad images” are used in eLearning. Especially since many of us are primarily visual learners. This probably happens because typing text is a lot easier and faster than creating meaningful images. (Confession…I’ve used my fair share of “bad images” over the years.)

Jakob Nielsen has done various eye tracking studies to determine how users interact with images on websites. I’d consider eLearning to fall into the same category as websites. Our learners typically browse and scan our courses as they would a site.

Here are the main results of his study:

- Users pay close attention to photos and other images that contain relevant information but ignore fluffy pictures used to “jazz up” Web pages.
- Some types of pictures are completely ignored. This is typically the case for big feel-good images that are purely decorative.
- Other types of pictures are treated as important content and scrutinized. Photos of products and real people (as opposed to stock photos of models) often fall into this category.

Basically learners pay attention to “information-carrying” images.

Extra Tidbit:
He also mentioned that when a user clicks on an image to enlarge it we should make it at least twice as big. Too often we only enlarge it 20% and that’s not enough. If the user wants a big picture…give it to them.

1st, 2nd, or 3rd person? Which style of writing better “connects” with the learner?

I’ve worked on a lot of courses and this question comes up quite often. Some organizations want to be formal and think that a conversational tone is unprofessional. My thought has always been that self-directed learning is a “personal” activity. It’s just between the computer and the learner. So to me it would make since to speaking conversationally and directly to the learner.

In a recent Learning Solutions article Ruth Clark touches on this topic:

“Based on the work of Reeves and Nass, Mayer and others have established that learning programs that engage the learner directly by using first and second person language yield better learning than the same programs that use more formal language.”

Another interesting finding was that conversational audio had more of an effect than text.

“Learning was better when the agent’s words were presented in audio rather than in text and in a conversational style rather than in a formal style.”

We’re always looking for ways to improve our eLearning content. I came across a post on eLearningWeekly about “5 Ways to Improve Bad eLearning” that I wanted to share.

Here are his main points and my comments on how to improve bad eLearning:

1. Open up the Navigation
I like the idea of letting the users control their own navigation. There are many times when we should just let the learner get what they want and get out. Do they really need to view every slide?

2. Reduce Content
I like his phrase, “Early elearning suffered from project scope creep and from SMEs who were creeps.” As an instructional designer I try to keep the content short and sweet. Then…the SMEs want to review it…then they want to add “once in a blue moon” content. Fight to keep the course “lean and mean”! (Related article on How the Brain Remembers eLearning)

3. Start on Screen One
Let’s not make the learner go through a bunch of intro and help screens…let’s get down to business and start learning.

4. Layer Chunks
Basically with some smart design and thought you can combine multiple pages into one. This allows the learner to more quickly access the content and not have to advance through tons of pages. There are various eLearning interactions and activities that can help you present information.

5. Repaint
Give your course a “make over”. Make your eLearning fresh and hip. (Related article: Make your eLearning Look Good)

Your course goes live and you’re done right? Wrong…there are always changes and updates

I really don’t like spending tons of time “maintaining” course content. How can course updates be minimized?

Here are some ideas:

Speak in the Now – If you’re creating a course for something that will happen in the future why not talk about it as though it has already happened? Just explain what/how it is. That way once the product launches you won’t have to go back and change all of the text that has “this will…”.

Don’t Use People’s Names/Pictures – Employees change but typically titles and departments don’t. When possible just reference a department or job function instead of a person’s name.

Use Main Contact Numbers/Emails – Try and find “general” phone numbers and email addresses. (support@xyz.com)

Link to Resources - Don’t recreate existing online resources. If you are building a course on policies and procedures, then link to existing documents/pages within the P&P system. Whenever a policy is updated it will automatically be “linked” to the course. This also works well with product knowledge bases.

Be Cautious of System Simulations – Anytime you use system simulations and screen shots you are in danger of system changes. Most companies have multiple updates to systems and you may need to change the simulations each time. This could take tons of time.

Audio Might Hurt – Audio narration can be great in a course but it can also come back to bite you. Any changes that happen may impact your audio. Make sure you have access to the “voice” that was used before. If not you may have to re-record the entire course. Also it becomes difficult to do simple text changes if it affects the narration.

Beware of Quoting Pricing/Rates – If you are dealing with content that has exact pricing and/or rates, be aware that those may change frequently. It might be best to have a link in your course to a website that has up-to-date pricing/rates.

Vendors are Great…Sometimes – Was your course developed by a vendor? If so, did you budget for changes or do you expect to do it in-house? If you do maintenance in-house make sure that you have the software that was used to develop the content. (this is assuming that you got the source files from the vendor.) Also, does someone on your teams know how to make the updates? (Flash?)

Check for Errors – It is always difficult to jump into the middle of existing content and to start “tweaking and editing” text. Many times the sentences don’t make sense and spelling errors happen. Make sure that someone re-reads the pages to make sure that the edited content still makes sense.

Re-Publishing Takes Time – Once edits are complete you usually have to re-publish the course. Ensure that you have the correct publish settings. Sometimes these revert back to a default setting. Check the LMS settings and determine what it driving the completion of your course (test score, pages views, etc.). Also, remember that re-publishing takes time and then you also have to re-upload the course files to the server. Make sure that all of the edits are done and the errors are fixed before re-publishing. This will save you a bunch of time.

I ran across the great article on Work Memory.

This is an interesting topic for eLearning designers because we are typically trying to “cram” tons of information into someone’s head in less than 30 mins.

There are great tips in the article that could help us build better training. The ones that jumped out to me were:

• Working memory is characterized by a small capacity. It can hold around four elements of new information at one time. (We really need to do a good job distilling our content into small chunks.)
• The capacity of working memory depends on the category of the elements or chunks. (Check out Smaller Chunks are Easier to Digest)
• Unless it is actively attended to or rehearsed, information in working memory has a short duration of around 20 seconds. (This brings home the need that somehow the learner needs to put the new knowledge to use right away.)

Thanks to Connie over at The eLearning Coach.