Are you looking for a more cyclical design process that doesn’t adhere to the traditional linear format? In this article, I share 7 tips to implement the SAM model in eLearning.
This post was first published on eLearning Industry.
Instructional design
ADDIE Model Vs SAM Model: Which Is Best For Your Next eLearning Project
Structured, repeatable methodology is highly effective in online training. ADDIE and SAM are among the most popular eLearning development methodologies. Is there an objective way to find out which one is ideal for your organization when it comes to SAM vs ADDIE?
This post was first published on eLearning Industry.
Unconscious Incompetence to Conscious Competence
I always like these small differences, but I think they are very useful when considering learning and how it might be created and the stage of the change journey the learner is on.
For example if you are creating a piece of learning you may need to consider if the person has already realised they are competent or not competent at doing something. You may want to help them through this realisaion from not being to becoming competent by having a quizz initially for the learner to assess their knowledge.
Then as they work their way through the learning, you might have different activities to test the various levels of competency, hence strengthening the learning.
But we should remember that this should not be the end of the learning journey but the begining, until they have reached the stage of unconscious competence. Effectively doing without thinking.
The post Unconscious Incompetence to Conscious Competence appeared first on eLearning.
Is This as Good as It Gets? Two Reasons Why E-Learning Isn’t Better
I see a lot of e-learning courses and to be honest many of them are not as good as they could be. They tend to be what we anticipate from corporate e-learning: screen after screen of content with lots of next buttons and then a final quiz. You have to work with what you have. Sometimes the training content isn’t good (like the leads from Mitch and Murray) and you can’t do much with it. But often, when it comes to the content, what could be interactive is static; and what could look engaging, looks discordant.
Why? Here are a couple of reasons why that’s the case with some recommendations to make improvements.
E-Learning Designers Lack Technical Skills
Good news: e-learning software makes it easy to build courses. Virtually anyone can build a course. However, the software doesn’t “build” the course. That requires some skill.
There’s a lot that goes into crafting a good course and it requires multiple disciplines. Instructional design is different than programming which is different than visual design which is even more different than specific software expertise with e-learning tools such as Storyline 360. However, many organizations buy the easy-to-use software and then place the burden on a single person to have a broad range of skills that could, in their own right, be separate career paths. That’s a big burden.
We’re not all graphic designers and UX experts, which explains some of the discordant aspects of the course. But we can learn the basics of the skills we need and that helps clean things up and lets us know when we’re outside our skillset.
Solution:
- Instructional design is not pushing content. It’s about teaching. Make the content relevant and frame it around real-world decision-making and you’ll create a better learning experience.
- Develop a solid foundation of basic skills needed to craft a good course: things like instructional & visual design, etc. You won’t become a pro in all things, but you’ll learn enough to know the difference and what to look for in your course design; and know when to bring on experts to do the things you can’t.
- Stay in your lane. For example, if you don’t have strong visual design skills, don’t try to be a visual designer. That’s when things start to look a bit clunky. In those cases, stick with a simple template or use form-based Rise 360 over Storyline 360 because you won’t have to make as many design decisions and the course will look good and work well.
Companies Don’t Invest in the Resources
Companies spend what they need to meet their business objectives. A lot of e-learning is compliance training where the only objective is to get the course in front of people and verified by the end of the year. In that world, it doesn’t make sense to spend more than you need in time and money to get courses developed and delivered. And that’s why so many e-learning courses aren’t interesting or engaging.
However, if you want to build good courses, you must commit to that and invest the right resources.
Solution:
- Determine what type of course you’re building to better allocate resources. Generally, courses are one of two types: explainer courses or performance-based courses. Don’t overbuild a course that has no expectations but a certificate of completion. Save your resources for performance-based courses with clear, measurable objectives. They tend to require more production which takes more time and money.
- Understand what resources you need. E-learning software is one thing. Building a good course with it is something different. Do you need a designer to help produce the core structure and some templates? Do you need a graphics person? Are you looking for some custom programming or a specific type of interactivity that requires advanced skills? Figure that out and plan on it.
- Create a budget to pay for what you need. Many organizations just buy the software and leave it at that. But it takes more than software to build effective e-learning. And like any useful product, it requires the right investment. Propose a budget for your courses.
There are a lot of other ways to improve e-learning courses. But making an investment in skills and resources is a good place to start.
Download the fully revised, free 63-page ebook: The Insider's Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro
Free E-Learning Resources
 |
 |
 |
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Want to learn more? Check out these articles and free resources in the community. |
Here’s a great job board for e-learning, instructional design, and training jobs |
Participate in the weekly e-learning challenges to sharpen your skills |
 |
 |
 |
|
Get your free PowerPoint templates and free graphics & stock images. |
Lots of cool e-learning examples to check out and find inspiration. |
Getting Started? This e-learning 101 series and the free e-books will help. |
Where Does E-Learning Fit into Learning
When people talk about effective e-learning it’s usually around meeting performance objectives. Many take the position that any e-learning course that isn’t performance-based is wrong; and inevitably, you run into a lot of lamenting about the dangers of click-and-read e-learning.
First off, is a click-and-read course really “dangerous?”
I think swimming in shark-infested waters is dangerous. Clicking a series of next buttons is not the same level of danger (unless that next button was connected to the 108-minute countdown timer in Lost).
Granted there are some bad e-learning courses, but that’s not because they’re click-and-read. It’s mostly because they’re not designed well. An e-learning course is a tool in the learning process. Sometimes it’s the only tool and sometimes it’s one of many. And how it’s used is of most importance.
E-Learning Only
When the e-learning course is the only tool used in the learning process, then it makes sense to ensure that the course contains a more dynamic learning experience and avoids the typical linear, click-and-read structure that only presents content and no activities to support learning.
This is where most of the complaints about bad e-learning originate. The e-learning courses have actionable objectives and thus should contain activities designed to practice and prove competency. However, they don’t. And if the content-heavy e-learning course is the only tool used in the training to meet the performance objective it’s a waste of time and won’t do what it’s supposed to do.
E-Learning Plus
The other day I was talking to a group of students about some classes they were taking for an e-learning certificate. I asked what they did in the class. Guess what? They had to read a bunch of instructional design books. I yawned and said, “That’s so boring you won’t learn anything.” Books are literal page-turners. They’re old-school click-and-read learning.
Joking aside, a book is almost all content with no performance-based activity. However, that doesn’t make the book useless because it’s usually not the only part of the training program. In addition to reading, the students did reflective writing assignments, had group discussions, and then practiced applying what they learned in various projects.
In that sense it is ridiculous to suggest that because the book offered no interactivity, it was useless or boring. And the same can be said about click-and-read e-learning courses. The course is a resource that aids in learning. If it’s only content yet tied to actionable objectives, it needs to be coupled with other activities outside the course.
In previous projects I’ve used the e-learning course as a pre-meeting activity prior to face-to-face instruction. It allowed us to deliver the content consistently and gave the person freedom to go through it at their own speed and leisure. And then they came to our sessions at a point where we could do a quick review and jump into practice activities.
On another project, a lot of the core information was previously delivered in a loud production environment by various people who may not have been as motivated to stay on script. We separated the onboarding content from the hands-on activities. The onboarding content was delivered via e-learning. They learned about the production environment, the organization’s safety focus, and the machines they would be using. And then we sent them to the floor to work in a hands-on environment.
In both instances, the courses were mostly linear content with a few simple quiz questions. By themselves they were deficient. However, when the content was coupled with real-world activities it was part of a successful and effective training program.
And that’s how e-learning courses should be judged. If a training program has performance expectations with actionable objectives and it uses e-learning, then the course by itself needs to be more than content with appropriate assessment activities or the course needs to be coupled with real-world practice activities.
Download the fully revised, free 63-page ebook: The Insider's Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro
Free E-Learning Resources
|
|
|
|
Want to learn more? Check out these articles and free resources in the community. |
Here’s a great job board for e-learning, instructional design, and training jobs |
Participate in the weekly e-learning challenges to sharpen your skills |
|
|
|
|
Get your free PowerPoint templates and free graphics & stock images. |
Lots of cool e-learning examples to check out and find inspiration. |
Getting Started? This e-learning 101 series and the free e-books will help. |
List of free online courses for instructional designers
Greetings to the whole community and happy New Year to all!
With the New Year, new trends in education are coming, and for all instructional designers, continuous professional training is necessary.
I googled a bit and found free courses that can be helpful in our careers. See the list below.
Coursera
Alison
Open Learning
EdX
Leading educational innovation and improvement
If you also have some that you have attended or recommended, leave in the comments.
The post List of free online courses for instructional designers appeared first on eLearning.
If Learners Were Patients, How Would You Measure Our Success? By Visits?
What if the treatment generally works but not on the patient? Success or failure?
This post was first published on eLearning Industry.
How To Create Online Training For The 4 Different Learner Temperaments
A popular and age-old proto-psychological theory suggests that there are 4 core temperaments that describe human personalities. But how can you create online training for distinct learner temperaments so that everyone feels their needs are met?
This post was first published on eLearning Industry.
Newbie here
Where is the best place to start in this platform to learn useful information to start my journey towards becoming an instructional designer? Any and all advice welcome!
The post Newbie here appeared first on eLearning.
Some Important Instructional Design Theories
You have to choose an Instructional Design theory properly because it decides how impactful your course is. You have to take into account your learning goals and what your learners need.
This post was first published on eLearning Industry.
