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Boring E-Learning....BE GONE!

21/10/2018

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Once again I was trawling e-learning blogs and came upon this gem.

While I'm not usually into inspirational quotes, if they come from an authentic source then maybe I can be swayed. Winston Churchill is an authentic source...right? 🤓

I particularly loved number 7 - "Where my reason, imagination or interest were not engaged, I would not or I could not learn" - Winston Churchill.

I try to engage my learners as much as I can but my skills are limited when it comes to serious gamification. I overcome this by adding some humour to questions, answers, and statements. I also try to find videos or images that really capture what I'm trying to say in emotive or entertaining ways. I particularly love scenes from The Office. They are not only hilarious but they can be a welcome break from serious workplace training. I understanding not all clients want this type of content though...it's their product after all I'm always open to suggestions for entertaining but informative videos so feel free to comment below!

As a learner, I know I want to be engaged. Information presented in an emotive or entertaining way is more likely to help me remember what I’m being taught. I assume I am not alone...if you only want slabs of information I may not be the designer for you
(sorry, not sorry 🤪)

I think this quote from Winston is important to remember when talking to clients. Sometimes they want massive info dumps and forget what its like to be a learner.

We all want to be entertained. Online learning can be so bloody boring, I believe it is our duty as designers to make it as engaging as possible.

L x

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Collaborative Content Development with Learners

15/10/2018

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When I stumbled across the article The Advantages of User-Generated Content in Online Learning I was so excited to read encouragement for developing content WITH the end user. I 100% agree with the article and here is why.

Before I became an instructional designer and developer, I was a user of e-learning products. I found them boring, plain and mostly the colour blue (*sigh*). So when I started working on my very first e-learning project, my first instinct was to get the users involved straight away. I workshopped problems, ideas, solutions, even aesthetics which ultimately led to a product that they not only understood and learned something from, but they also had ownership over. Also having something nice to look at for 1-3 hours was helpful too.

I find collaborating with the intended learners or past learners (if I’m improving or re-developing a course) to be a critical step in the development process to ensure they are taught what they need to know in an aesthetically pleasing environment. Pretty simple eh?

Some of my favourite discussions to have with learners is around their experience in their workplace. What are some of the issues they deal with every day that a new person should know about? What are some challenges they face when dealing with certain types of clients? What are some of the strategies they use to solve problems? etc. The information gathered from these discussions are particularly useful for developing scenarios and activities. It gets the learner thinking about what they would have found useful to learn when they were starting out in their role.

A creative, but less formal way, of developing content with learners is to organize a social media group for them to be a member of and contribute to. As stated in the article, the most ‘liked’ comments will filter to the top of posts which gives the developer a great source of popular information. The developer can also ask questions or create polls within the group to generate discussion. It also gives the thinkers of the group to sit back, formulate their response or idea and then post when ready. This is a great alternative to workshop discussions where the thinkers or introverts can be overshadowed by the extroverts in the group.

The content development process can be one of the most arduous and difficult parts of the instructional design process. But by making it about the learner and demonstrating they are the key to the success of the product then you have a winning strategy for a kick-a** e-learning.

L :)

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E-Learning in our Current Work Environment

4/10/2018

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People are getting busier and busier. We want information and interaction now, not only on our lunch breaks or at home. As a result of this 'now culture', businesses are trying to get their product or service to the market possibly before or during the training of their staff. There is no time to stop or pause for training. It's about learning it now or in-between shipping this product and the next. I'm not saying this is right or wrong. What I am saying is this is the current state of play.

So how does e-learning fit into our current 'now' environment? Well, it provides an online mechanism for learning on the go. It is consistent, assessable and costs less than hiring a face to face facilitator. According to Blocker (2005) via Brown et al (2006), "eLearning addresses business issues such as reducing costs, providing greater access to information and accountability for learning, and increasing employee competence and competitive agility". In Bonk's 2002 survey of over 200 corporate entities, results from questions regarding web based training, tools, experiences, assessments and so forth included:
- e-learning increased access to training by 86%
- 66% of companies were using e-learning as an alternative to instructor-led training or as a supplement (55%).
-1/5 companies used e-learning as the sole source of training.
- e-learning software was said to be "highly useful by 66% of the respondents and was actually used by 57% of their organisations.

There were some issues though.
- perception of high cost was recorded at 44%
-resistance to the technology was recorded at 33%
-lack of organisational support came in at 32%
-perception of lack of time resulted in 46%.

My response to the issues above are this:
- I agree with the perception of high cost. The costs are sometimes very high indeed. However, I challenge an organisation to deliver Code of Conduct training to 500 + staff in 20 people lots in a total of 1.5 hours. Sure the e-learning may cost up to 10k to be built but how much would it cost to facilitate the abovementioned example in a face to face environment taking into consideration cost for the facilitator and staff absence from work......a lot more.
- Resistance to technology may have occurred in 2002 but its 2018 and I doubt this is still relevant.
- Lack of org support is a real thing. It is often seen as a challenge to change workplace training from face to face to e-learning. Finding 1.5 hours to train is much easier than 2 days, trust me.

I will continue to write blogs like this as and when a relevant topic pops up in the e-learning world. Please feel free to subscribe to my blog to stay updated!

So have a think about e-learning for your business.

Lisa

ps. I have no idea what's up with this font! Sorry, it's not consistent with my other posts!

References:
Blocker, M.J. (2005), “E-Learning: An Organizational Necessity” a White Paper. Retrieved January 31, 2006 from www.rxfrohumanperformance.com

Bonk, C. J. (2002), Online training in an online world. Bloomington, IN. Retrieved April 6, 2005 from www.CourseShare.com

Brown, L., Murphy, E., & Wade, V. (2006). Corporate eLearning: Human resource development implications for large and small organizations. Human Resource Development International, 9(3), 415-427.

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Sparkle E-Learning Blog

Boring E-Learning....BE GONE!

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E-Learning in our Current Work Environment

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