I read a great blog recently by Ethan Edward of Allen Interactions, Improving Your e-Learning Designs: What I Learned from a Flower . In the article Ethan focuses on a story from his youth about a night-blooming cactus. He compares the lessons learned from that cactus to how we can create effective learning events with [...]
There are many things to think about when creating eLearning. There’s no way that I can mention all of them in this post but I’d like to mention a few that come to the top of my mind. Course Outline / Storyboarding Know the audience Find good SMEs Always create an outline of the course [...]
We have all had project “kick-off” meetings with Subject Matter Experts where they do an information “dump”. They share with us anything and everything they have ever learned about the topic. We are then left reviewing all the content/information that has been given to us and try to determine what is “Nice to Know” and [...]
Previously we have talked about when we should test learners . Now let’s focus on writing successful test questions that support course objectives. Keep these tips in mind when writing test questions: Write test questions first. Once your course objectives are defined, write your test questions before writing your course content. This prevents the trap [...]
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 [...]
The Learning eXplosion , by Matthew Murdoch and Treion Muller, is a great read that steps you through how to successfully move your classroom instructor-led training into the virtual classroom. The book specifically focuses on 9 Rules for Creating Effective Virtual Training: 1. The Rule of Continual Change – Learners and designers must always be [...]
We thought it would be nice to start the New Year by sharing with you a sample PowerPoint Template…for FREE. That’s right, click the link below to go to our eLearning Templates website and download this free template. Free PowerPoint Template
I recently read a great blog post by Articulates Tom Kuhlmann, titled Here’s Why Slide Count is Irrelevant to Your E-Learning Course . In the post he mentions the following key points: – Screen count does not matter to the elearner…what matters, is the interaction built into the course. – Do not auto-advance the slides [...]
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 [...]
A key point in instructional design is to “know your audience”. One of the reasons to do this is because you can tailor the content to the learner’s existing knowledge level. Connie at the eLearning Coach has done a great series of posts on how to design course content for experts vs. beginners. Tips when [...]
“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, [...]
I don’t remember how I came across this Google book preview but it has been an interesting read. eLearning and the Science of Instruction (Ruth Colvin Clark, Richard E. Mayer) Chapter 8 of the book has some great points that I’d like to share, “Applying the Personalization Principle” (page 160). Ways to Personalize eLearning 1. [...]
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 [...]
