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Page 1: Elearning Tips From the Pros
Page 2: Elearning Tips From the Pros

IntroductionThis short book is a collection of some of the posts made on the Elearning Networkwebsite, as part of our annual "24 tips" programme.

We have tried to select those that would be most useful to someone starting out on theirjourney with elearning (in all its guises). But don't let that put you off if you've already gotsome experience under your belt. There'll be something in here for you too.

We would like to thank all the authors and ELN board members who have put time intocrafting these posts. You'll find a full list of authors at the end of the book. They come fromacross the elearning industry, and include users, vendors, consultants and even learners!

Where there are any errors or inconsistencies, please blame the editing process and notthe original authors.

We hope you enjoy reading the book, and find something useful. Please let us have anyfeedback on the Elearning Network website.

The book starts with a two sets of rules from Charles Jennings and from Martin Baker thatprobably apply to every learning intervention that we might want to design.

About this book

Editors

Mark & Sarah BerthelemyWyver Solutions Ltd

Reviewers

The ELN Board

Software used to produce this ebook

All these tools are free, or very low cost.

Wordpress - Used to author the original blog posts on the the ELN Insights blog

wp2epub - Wordpress plugin to convert blog posts to epub

Booktype - used to sort out which posts to keep, put them in order, and edit them. Beingbrowser-based and multi-user this allowed us to use a Chromebook for editing, whilst

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sharing the workload

Google docs - For final, collaborative review of the content

Calibre - to convert the Google doc (via Word format) to ePub

Sigil - for last few bits of tweaking of the epub file

Scribus - title page creation

Lessons learned in producing this ebook

We tried a number of different production routes, which is why there are so many toolslisted above.

Booktype looked to be the ideal, since it could produce both ePub and PDF versions.However, although the editing worked well, we had a few sticking points at the end of theproduction process (small bugs like not coping with changing the name of the book), somoved to a different route.

We exported to PDF and used Google Docs to review with the ELN Board - as itscommenting features are second-to-none.

Then converted back to ePub using Calibre, and did a final tidy up in Sigil, as the conversionprocess from Google docs (.docx format) was not as clean as hoped.

There are still some things that we'd like to fix - like page breaks at odd points. But that'sfor a future edition!

If we were doing this again then we'd probably take one of these three routes:

1. Use Booktype, but fixing the name of the book right at the beginning.2. Paste the articles directly into Sigil as plain text and do the editing and formatting in

there. This would only work, though, in a single-user setting.3. Build the content in Google Docs, collaboratively, and then upload to Lulu for

conversion to an ebook.

Copyright License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives4.0 International License.

Page 4: Elearning Tips From the Pros

Rules for effective learningCharles Jennings

Here are four tips for effective learning support, based on the idea that there are four waysin which we all learn:

Through the experiences we are exposed toThrough the opportunity to practice, especially in contextThrough conversation and storiesThrough having the opportunity for reflection

Support learning through ensuring exposure to rich andchallenging experiences

Make sure any learning intervention you design or develop - whether it involves elearning ornot – is focused on gaining deep engagement with the learner. Experiential learning has fargreater impact than any other approach. If learning content is only informational it will washaway faster than the receding tide.

Every learning experience should offer the opportunity topractice

Practice is critical to learning. Practice in context works better than practice away from thepoint-of-use. Supported practice in context works best of all. If you can see the opportunityto provide support and the opportunity for learners to practice in context, then grasp it withboth hands.

Exploit the power of conversation

Rich conversations, sharing with colleagues and peers, are powerful tools for learning. Thesocial aspect of learning is critical. Good learning design has always included it. In today’sworld we have many available options and tools to help us incorporate learning throughconversations, stories and simply sharing experiences – so we should never think oflearning without thinking about how to weave conversations and stories into the process.

Provide plenty of time for reflection

The power and usefulness of reflection is something that can be easily forgotten in our fastmoving world. Yet reflection is essential in all learning. The power of reflection can be seen

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in simple things, such as taking the time to stop, think and reflect on what went well, whatdidn’t work out and what you’d do next time. As learning professionals, we need to designlearning environments, learning programmes, or elearning courses with plenty of time forreflection – preferably guided reflection – built into them.

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Ten Top tips for elearning successMartin Baker

1. Manage eLearning as a professional projectDeveloping and agreeing the business case, working with stakeholders andcommunicating throughout. Spending more time at the start – clearly defining needsand expectations – saves time later on.

2. Keep in contact with your learnersDespite eLearning and virtual classrooms being popular, it’s vital to still have some faceto face learner interaction to keep abreast of their changing needs.

3. Don’t underestimate the importance of marketing and communicating the service youare offering to existing usersGetting people to register on a site is relatively easy; it’s much harder to get peopleusing it on a regular basis.

4. Be flexible and be prepared to adaptLearn to change tack in order to achieve what you want.

5. Once you deliver the product, you have to work hard to get people to use itWorking with line managers is particularly beneficial.

6. Lack of time is often identified as a barrier to usageLet learners know that the eLearning you are offering can save them time by quicklyand easily providing solutions to issues or concerns they may have.

7. Celebrate achievementEven if your courses are not accredited, allowing learners to print out Certificates ofCompletion provides the learner with evidence of CPD.

8. Immerse yourself in understanding new technologiesThis allows your team to build up a toolkit of resources that can be used in anycombination to provide the right solutions.

9. Learn to walk before you runSuccess comes in small chunks. Make your resources easy to find and quick to use.

10. Keep reviewing your progressPlan for the future. The issues you need to deal with will change over time and youneed to be able to adapt to a range of challenges.

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Supporting an online learning communityJames McLuckie

Digital technology has reshaped the concept of ‘community’ away from geographicalconsiderations, to one of relationships and shared interests. Many learning professionalsspeak about building a community environment for their learners to collaborate andcommunicate within. Such a ‘learning community’ can be defined as:

A group of people who have a common interest in learning, innovating and exploring aparticular subject or topic. The emphasis is on collaborative discovery and understanding,and knowledge creation. Through these exchanges the understanding and capability of thegroup as a whole progresses.

So what are the core elements for supporting a learning community?

Create a central space

Think about some of the most successful TV programmes of recent years. There’s usually ahub where the characters get together (e.g. coffee house or pub).

These spaces:

provide a safe environment where characters can be themselvesencourge structure and form to proceedings, created either by personal circumstances,or by the logistics of the locationallow characters to step outside the community space, and return to share externalstories and experiencesfacilitate conversation, allowing problems to be solved, issues debated, planning, andsupport through interaction

That’s a robust model to replicate as the hub of your community. So think about a space(on, say, Moodle, Facebook, or Bloomfire) where you can allow your learners to:

meeteasily navigateget informationcollaborate and share

Create member profiles

In any social situation it’s important to get to know the people. An effecive way to do thatonline is to encourage members to compile a profile.

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This helps community members discover common ground, and explore opportunities to worktogether. It also provides a greater sense of where the community strengths and interestslie.

Perhaps ask learners to record a video introduction and post this on YouTube. The keyoutcome is to help people to build tangible relationships with each other.

Jointly develop guidelines

Encourage start-up interaction by running an activity where the community collaborate on aset of guidelines (not rules!) on a wiki or a discussion board. This isn’t a list of ‘dos anddon’ts’, but a set of principles for getting the most out of the community.

These principles might include parcipation, trust, purpose, and shared goals.

Include interactive activities

Online activites provide the potential to be creative and create dynamic learningexperiences. However, these activities should support the learning and performanceoutcomes, not vice versa.

Additionally, the principles of good instruction are still valid – is the activity going to enhancethe learning experience in a meaningful and purposeful way?

The focus needs to be on the purpose of the activity, not the tool. For example, less “let’srun an activity on a wiki”, more “let’s build a glossary and a wiki is the ideal tool”.

It’s not enough to give learners a discussion board and say “go discuss”. Create reasonsfor them to go there: share links, start discussions, seek advice, and propose conundrums.Learners will soon become more proactive.

Experiment

If you have an idea for an activity but no software to run it, dig around online for a free tool.For instance, if you want to run a voting pool, a Google search for “free voting pollsoftware” produces dozens of results.

A positive about running your community online is that members can often be flexible in theirparticipation. They can record a screen cast using Screenr, or upload a presentation ontoSlideShare. They’re not limited to just text.

Encourage reflection by promopting learners to keep a blog on Blogger or WordPress.

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Encourage the outside in

Don’t take an insular approach to your community. Some will argue for reasons of securityand privacy, but in the vast majority of cases there is no point working in silos or isolatedgroups. An open approach to your community creates the conditions to grow collectiveintelligence.

Social media tools put us in a fantastic position to tap into individuals, groups and networksin a quick and easy way that wasn’t possible before.

Exploit these possibilities by encouraging community members to tweet questions outsidethe community, or to start discussions on LinkedIn about learning goals and findings.

This culture of sharing is very much in the spirit of community and social learning. Givesomething to the wider world, and you’ll get it back in spades.

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How to make social media work inelearningLaura Overton

Marketers and L&D professionals have very similar challenges as both are looking toimprove the way that they connect with their audience, drive engagement and influencebehaviour. And both are increasingly turning to social media to help address thesechallenges.

What top tips can L&D learn from marketing colleague’s successes and mistakes?

Master the art of conversation

Marketers have found out the hard way that social media is not just about broadcastingyour company’s products and news; it is best used to engage consumers in conversationsthat are of interest to them.

Lessons for L&D – don’t use social media to shout about your existing learning services.Use social media to engage in new types of conversations between staff, so thatknowledge and understanding is shared and acted upon.

Understand your audience

When First Direct Bank wanted to win back consumer confidence following the bankingcrisis, their marketers looked at how their customers appreciated the small things that thebank did for them. They created a campaign to film reactions of their bank staff giving outchocolates and flowers to members of the public. Thanks to a little bit of insight, theprogramme resulted in over 1,600,0000 hits on their site.

Lessons for L&D – this concept works in learning as well. For example, BT found out whatstaff were doing naturally to learn in order to design their Dare2 Share platform. BT alsoused the platform to monitor what learning conversations were taking place in the businessto identify new learning needs that weren’t currently being met.

Find where the conversations are happening and go there

A recent CIM report flagged up how consumers tend to stick to a few online ‘villages’ suchas Facebook, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Skype and Twitter. Marketers are advised to set up apresence in their customers’ village rather than to try and drive them to another unfamiliarsite.

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Lessons for L&D – do we actually know what online ‘villages’ our staff are comfortable in?Are we meeting them there, or creating new sites that contribute to information overload?

Sharing great content is at the heart of engagement

Continually sharing great content that is useful or informative is at the heart of goodmarketing engagement. Content developers need to be generous with content – it has to beuseful, relevant and has to keep the consumer wanting more.

Lessons for L&D – are we looking to be generous in our sharing via social media? Busystaff need practical ideas to help them in their job – hints and tips, job aids, newapproaches, case studies, toolkits.

Master the tools to align to business strategy

Pete Caputa, blogging on Hubspot, flags up the importance of aligning the use of socialtools to business objectives but insists that marketers need to also master those tools ifthey are going to be effective.

Lessons for L&D – how do we build confidence in new tools? If you haven’t already doneso, check out Jane Hart’s Handbook on social learning tools, and Jane Bozarth’s bookSocial Media for Trainers.

I have been intrigued for years about the lessons that marketing and learning anddevelopment can explore with each other. The social media agenda has provided evenmore overlap. Struggling with the same challenges, they may prove to be a useful ally fororganisations looking to embrace social learning more fully.

If you are interested in more marketing perspectives, here are some useful sites andreports:

What hasn’t happened yet – the shape of things to come (Chartered Institute ofMarketing report)Digital Disciplines Report by RocketContent Management InstituteUtalkmarketing.com

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Avoiding webinar pitfallsKim George

There’s a lot of advice out there on how to run a slick and engaging webinar.

Top tips after top tips on what to do and how to do it and while that’s incredibly useful, Irecently discovered that no matter how much you think you know about online learning andno matter how much you prepare, there’s a lot that can go wrong!

Read on for some advice on how to avoid the common pitfalls of running a webinar.

Check your content

Just because your presentation looks a dream in PowerPoint doesn’t mean it’s going to lookthe same once uploaded into your webinar programme.

Check everything – don’t trust that it’ll work just because it did once!

Test, test, and test again

Whatever technology you’re using, test the life out of any web links and videos. Bear in mindthat online videos shown via a webinar may distort and pixelate, particularly for viewerselsewhere in the world.

Most people are patient with this, but follow up your session with takeaway links so theaudience can view them in their own time, at a higher quality.

Get to grips with the audio

If you’re linking webinar software with a conference line and need your audience to hearpresenters and videos over the line, there can be a lot of audio to manage. The obviousthing to do is to ask everyone to mute their phones.

Don’t forget to also mute your laptops and even the webinar programme itself – the lastthing you want is a lot of echo and feedback making everyone sound like they’re in a timewarp.

Recruit a second pair of hands

Having someone behind the scenes for support takes the pressure off the presenters. Theycan keep an eye on chat, control the slides, launch the videos and deal with any issues.

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What’s also invaluable is having a separate laptop logged on as an attendee, giving youinsight into what your learners are seeing…or not seeing!

Stick to your start time

You’ve spent hours planning your webinar, invited 150 people and two minutes before it’sdue to start, only 14 people are online. It might be tempting to wait until more people joinbut, if you do, you’ll end up rushing your presentation and will sound flustered.

Stay in control and start on time – if people are late, they miss out and that’s their problem,not yours!

Relax!

Most people know to speak a little slower than usual when presenting. However, if you’representing online, particularly to groups of people at the end of a conference line, it’s evenmore important to speak clearly.

Try to sound enthusiastic and positive, and let your personality shine through. Don’t beafraid of silence; pauses will help your listeners keep up and give them a chance to absorbwhat you’re saying.

Don’t panic

Mistakes will be made, technical glitches will strike or the fire alarm may go off. It can bestressful or downright baffling, so pause your presentation if you have to, keep youraudience informed, recover and move on.

No one will mind and it may even inject a bit of extra humour into the presentation.

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Building your personal learning networkMark Berthelemy

One of the most useful things you can do as a learning professional is build your ownnetwork of people on whom you can call and who may call you.

This has both immediate and long term benefits:

Immediate:

Know who to call to support specific tasksBe pointed to useful resources that will help you keep up-to-date

Long term:

When/if you decide to “go it alone” you’ll have a head start in gaining useful contacts

So, how do you do it?

Let’s take the traditional face-to-face approach first…

You walk into a conference room. It’s your first time at this particular conference andthere’s no welcome pack to sit and pretend to read. You can see quite a few peoplestanding around drinking coffee, talking and eating small pastries.

You have three options:

1. Turn around and walk out2. Find someone you know and begin a conversation about one of the conference themes3. Introduce yourself to someone you don’t know and look for areas of common interest –

remembering to make a note of who that person was afterwards!

After the conference, you’ll follow up some of those conversations, perhaps with a phonecall or an email. Remember to keep the contact fresh by dropping a note to them onceevery six months or so (See: Manager Tools: Building a network for more on this).

Online networks

Building your network online follows a similar process, although, in this case, whilst the toolscan help build and maintain contacts, they can also make it too easy and we become over-connected – with connections that have very little substance behind them.

Twitter and LinkedIn are probably the two most favoured locations for professional

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networking. To the new person they can feel like a crowded conference room where youdon’t know anyone, or the social norms.

Here are some simple steps to help you get the best out of them:

Introduce yourself via your profile. This is the way people will find you, or find out moreabout you. If you don’t write a little about who you are and what you do, then it’sunlikely that anyone will connect with you unless they already know you.Find people you already know and follow or connect with them.Dip in to what your network is talking about at least once a week, if not more. Mobileapps like Flipboard can help this. But, be careful – they can be addictive!If someone you are linked with posts something, consider replying. Networks are abouttwo way conversations. As soon as a network becomes reliant on a just a handful ofpeople pushing out ideas, then that network becomes very vulnerable. Strong networkshave multiple two-way connections.Once a week or so, consider starting a conversation. Pose a question. Share a link tosomething useful. Post a document. Think out loud. It doesn’t have to be serious. Itcould even be controversial. However, as in all contexts, the more useful and relevantyou are to other people in your network, the more likely they are to think of you nexttime they need something doing.LinkedIn, in particular, is very good at sending updates to prompt communication. So, ifsomeone gets a new job, send them a message to congratulate them.

General online networking rules

Remember that anything you write down may potentially become public.Remember that the other names in the network are real people, with real feelings.Text is a great communication medium, but it doesn’t convey emotion easily. Whenyou’re writing, be aware of how the words may be received. If necessary, useemoticons (like for example). But don’t overdo it.

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Using the conference backchannelStephanie Dedhar

Many of us cite Twitter as our number one learning tool and perhaps one of the mostpopular uses of Twitter in our community is to report from conferences. If you’re in L&D andyou tweet, the likelihood is you’ve done one or more of the following at a conference andfelt like you were making good use of Twitter:

Followed the backchannel using a hashtagRetweeted or replied to specific messages from the backchannelTweeted interesting points from a particular sessionUploaded photos of the speaker or session

But I bet you’ve also sometimes tried to follow the backchannel from a conference youaren’t attending, struggling to understand the flow of a session, wishing you could get a bitmore detail, or seeing endless photos of generic lecture theatres with an indistinct figure infront of a bullet-pointed PowerPoint slide.

So, what can we do to improve our use of Twitter at conferences and share really valuablelearning and insight with fellow L&D folk? Here are my top tips (gleaned throughconstructive feedback from other people, observation of a few different backchannels, anda bit of trial and error!).

On signing up for the conference:

The very first thing to do is to decide why you want to tweet, and who for.

Are you tweeting for yourself, as a way of taking notes? If so, you may want toacknowledge this to people following the backchannel.Are you tweeting in conversation with other delegates? If so, you might be morefocused on retweeting and replying to the backchannel than on your own ‘original’contributions.Are you tweeting for people who can’t attend the conference? I would guess that mostpeople would put themselves in this camp, so the rest of the tips that follow are allprimarily aimed at these people.

Before the conference:

Prepare yourself with the key Twitter details: the conference hashtag (eg. #lt14uk forthe Learning Technologies conference), and the Twitter handle (@name) of anyspeakers. I try to reference the speaker in every tweet that refers to, or is inspired by,their session.

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Review the summary for each session, and consider whether you’re aware of anyrelated content: blog posts, infographics, videos etc. Equip yourself with a list of linksthat you can easily pull into tweets at the event.Let your Twitter followers know which sessions you plan to attend and invite them tosend you any burning questions they have.

During the conference:

Shortly before each session, send an opening, context-setting tweet. Provide thesession title, the speaker’s Twitter handle and a summary of what to expect (okay, youmay need two opening, context-setting tweets!). You could even prepare these tweetsin advance, save them as drafts, and send them at the right time.Be prepared to commit! If you start tweeting a session, stick with it. Don’t just sendsporadic, apropos-of-nothing quotes if you hear a good soundbite: make sure you sendat least one tweet for each point the speaker makes. If you read back your tweetstream from the session, would it provide a good executive summary?Take advantage of any visuals. For example, if a chart or diagram is shown, don’tstruggle to translate it into 140 characters. Instead, take a photo and upload it toTwitter with an accompanying caption.Focus on sharing the speaker’s content first, and your opinions second. Other peoplemay disagree with this, but I feel that if I’m tweeting for non-attendees I have aresponsibility to share as much of the speaker’s expertise as possible. I can alwaysshare my own opinions later, on Twitter or my blog.Engage with other backchannel contributors as much as possible. You might want toretweet someone else’s commentary, if they’ve captured a point you didn’t quite get, orlinked to a related website. Or you may want to respond to a question from someonefollowing the backchannel remotely.Don’t delete any tweets! For whatever reason, you’ll sometimes find yourself draftingsomething that doesn’t warrant publishing to the backchannel, but don’t delete it – saveit as a draft. Come back to it later: it might be something you can craft into ameaningful tweet later, or it might just be a useful reminder to yourself to exploresomething further.

After the conference:

Take the time to thank the people who engaged with you during the event.Don’t abandon the backchannel as soon as you walk out of the door. If you said you’dfollow up on something, do it and tag it with the conference hashtag for continuity.

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Budget-friendly first steps into elearningLouise Talbot & Laura Layton-James

So you’ve decided to venture down the elearning route – or maybe you’ve been pushed!You’ve done your research and know what makes great elearning. Maybe you’ve attendedsome of the ELN events, national exhibitions or even attended a course or two. Now you’reready to get hands on and create something. But, oh, where to start….

With so many providers and tools to choose from it’s very easy to quickly blow the budgetwhen creating online content. When taking your first uncertain steps into the shiny world ofonline tools to create your first pieces of elearning, here are my tips to ease your way.

1. Think creatively2. Check out free stuff3. Experiment4. Prove the concept

Think creatively

Remember that elearning is more than the interactive self-study tutorials we often thinkabout. Think of elearning under the wider definition to include: podcasts, video clips, forums,web-conferencing, blogs, online search, wikipedia and many more! These work superblytogether to create effective, bite-size content which will support learning, bringing it to life.

Check out free stuff

There are numerous tools out there that you can use for free. Most of the free tools arecut-down versions of the tools you would normally pay a licence for. You might even alreadybe using some yourself such as Skype or Google Hangouts. Skype can be used to run liveonline events as part of your elearning using live chat, video call, and telephone.

Experiment

Be in a better position to buy and experiment with the free tools and software trials. Youmight be surprised at how straightforward they can be to use and there’s a good chanceyou’ll find a ‘how-to’ video on YouTube or Vimeo to get you started. You will then be in abetter position to choose the right tools for the job.

Prove the concept

Using these free tools will help you prove the concept without a big outlay upfront. Bycreating a prototype of your idea without blowing the budget upfront you can help your

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managers, your learners and the rest of your stakeholders share your vision. It’s also agreat opportunity to get their feedback and allow them feel part of the process.

Check out:

Moodle for course websitesAudacity for recording podcastsScreenr for recording IT screencastsJane Hart’s Top Tools for learning

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Know your audience 1Joan Keevil

In an ideal world, when creating elearning, we’ll have the opportunity to do a needs analysisto identify what kind of elearning solution will fit the bill. Is it awareness raising orcompliance? Is it to build knowledge or change attitudes and behaviour? Or is it a mix of allof these?

Sadly, we don’t live in an ideal world! Instead we inhabit a world of fast-moving change,where instant solutions are required and time and budgets are short. So instead we mightgiven a brief (usually a long PowerPoint!) by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and asked tocreate a programme very quickly, without really knowing our audience for the end product.What are the pitfalls to working in this way?

Avoid unrealistic expectations

Firstly, SMEs often have unrealistic expectations about what can be incorporated into amodule or course. Most learners can only retain a small amount of new information. Weneed to be able to prioritise this information, reducing the ‘noise’.

If people are learning about a new process, they will pick up the key elements very quicklyif they use it every day. So the learning should focus instead on ‘systems critical’ elements,or on areas that will be used only occasionally. Alternatively, make some or all of theinformation available online, so that learners can access it when they need it (‘just in time’).

The elearning can then deal with the really important aspects of motivation and attitudinalchange – why something is changing, the benefits to the learner and the organisation ofchanging the way they work and the risks if things stay the same.

What do they already know?

Secondly, we need to know what the audience already knows, what they’re currently doingand the ‘desired new state’. We can then start where the learner is in our design ortreatment, making it easier for learners to bridge the gap between the old and the new, tounderstand the behaviour changes required and to assimilate the new knowledge.

Why not relate the elearning to the workflow to make this assimilation easier? Anotheroption is to ask learners to do a quiz or assessment at the start and use this to filter thecontent, so that they don’t have to work through content they already know.

Engage through design

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The third key element is ensuring we engage learners through good interactive design.Asking questions of the learner encourages them to think and reflect. Inviting them to reviewchoices and commit to a decision, eg through scenarios, helps them process the contentand evaluate different options.

Getting it wrong and reflecting on why is a powerful way of learning. Most of all, tellingstories rather than presenting facts is proven to be much more memorable – some say wedon’t remember what people say, we remember how they made us feel. The same can besaid of engaging elearning.

What is the wider context?

Lastly, we need to consider the wider context in which the elearning sits and help learnersto bridge the gap between learning and performance. Can we promote conversations aboutthe elearning and identify success stories?

Can we invite team leaders and managers to run ‘so what’ discussions after the elearning,to identify what each team has to do differently in their day-to-day work? This will make iteasier for learners to transfer the elearning into the workplace and achieve the ‘holy grail’ ofimpacting on performance.

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Know your audience 2Rob Hubbard

Users are the most important, but frequently neglected, stakeholders in an elearningproject. Those who will use the learning app, system, game, course or content we create,hold the key to our success. Our role as learning experience designers is to empathise withour users, to put ourselves in their shoes. The best way to do this is to work closely withthem from the start of the project.

A word of warning however – don’t take what they tell you as gospel. Why? Because theymay not know best.

I once led a huge project developing middle manager blended learning materials. At thestart of the project we ran a number of focus groups to learn about our audience and findout the kind of material they responded best to. We created four styles of material andgathered their opinions on it. The style they liked best was essentially glorified PowerPointpresentations. The reason? This was considered the ‘easiest’ form of learning and thereforethe ‘best’. It was also one of the least effective forms.

But it’s always a good idea to conduct user testing. This might be as simple as a handful ofusers feeding back their comments via a shared spreadheet. Or it could be tens or evenhundreds of users interviewed in focus groups. The form that your user testing takes willdepend on your time and budget, but also how different this thing you’re designing is,compared to what they’re used to.

As you include your users in the design process, remember that their comments are useful,but equally important is your skill and vision as a designer.

Users are the most important stakeholders in your project. Involve them in the designprocess right from the start.Don’t assume that they always know best. Instead consider their views in the widercontext of the project.Conduct thorough user testing. If you’ve involved them in the early design stage of theproject, there shouldn’t be any nasty surprises

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Designing engaging & effective resourcesGill Chester

Our aim when designing learning resources is to create something that engages ourlearners and brings about change. So here are six tips for designing elearning that focus onthe learner.

Understand the learners' needs

Before you get too carried away with your designs, talk to the stakeholders. At minimum,this should be your learners and those signing off the resource. Make sure you understandwhat it is they want to achieve.

There’s no point spending weeks designing an amazing software simulation if all the usersneed is a cheat sheet. We should take care to not inject our personal view on elearningdesign, but instead focus on what will be most effective.

A simple but effective way to understand their requirements is to get a range of people tojust write down when they get stuck and what they couldn’t do.

Resources not courses

I’m not going to go into this area in detail, but you will no doubt see a shift to thedevelopment of resources rather than closed courses.

Focusing on the identification and development of self-contained resources that can bereused makes sense and allows you to use content in a number of ways (online and face toface). Part of the resurgence of this model (made famous in the ‘90s) is the wealth of goodquality and free resources available online.

This model allows teams to develop learning paths using a library of materials (internal andexternal). If there are gaps, you can just focus on filling these. This can cut down the time tosolve a performance problem from months to weeks.

Dream and design

When looking at a problem, use your imagination and try to identify the best possiblesolution. Don’t worry at this stage about how you will create it. It's better to pull back froman ambitious plan than to stick to solutions you have already use.

If you decided to install a new kitchen, you wouldn’t leave out the sink just because you

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haven’t plumbed in a sink before. So make use of a range of techniques and technology.This might include audio, video, screen recordings, quizzes and interactive diagrams.

The idea is not to throw all these different methods at every project, but to consider howdifferent media might enhance learning.

If you’re using a rapid development tool, for part or the entire project, search for solutionsand inspiration from user forums, blogs and YouTube. The Articulate community is a greatsource of design ideas and is open to everyone, not just those using Articulate products.

Simple but effective approaches

Consider different approaches such as storytelling. I’ve just finished a project for a clientsupporting the roll out of a new and internally developed project management process. Itmade sense to present this as a journey through a project, rather than the dry facts of thenew procedure.

Another approach is problem solving. Give the learner authentic and realistic problems thatthey have to respond to. For example instead of explaining a new policy, offer the learner asituation where the policy might have been infringed and ask them to identify how.

This approach also doesn’t force them to go through unnecessary content. Both thesesolutions present the information in a relevant context and allow the learner to build theirown mental model.

Put the learner in the driving seat

Whether you are creating a number of short resources or a whole course, it’s a good ideato let the learner take control and let them to decide on how they progress. In an idealworld this would allow them to skip over content they don’t believe is relevant, but this isn’talways possible, for example in the often cited compliance training.

In practical terms this might mean providing a main screen that then acts as a menu for thelearner to branch off and explore a topic before returning. Unless there’s a good reason fornot allowing them to go back, don’t restrict access to areas they have already visited.

Don’t overload the learner

Finally, when designing screens, it’s important to consider how the learner will process theinformation onscreen. I’m not an expert here, but basically our sensory memory processeswords through our eyes and ears because we read the text in our mind.

Competing graphics, narration and on screen text will put unnecessary strain on the learners

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working memory. So, for example, if you are using a narration track only provide (single)words on screen to reinforce the message.

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Balancing ‘test’ and ‘tell’ in yourstoryboard designStephanie Dedhar

It’s generally accepted that elearning should be ‘interactive’. In this article I will share oneapproach to grouping different kinds of interactions, and also a tool for checking the use ofthose interactions in a storyboard.

I find that most interactions fall into one of two categories.

Some interactions (like the humble click-to-reveal, rollover or click-through photo-story) areperfect for enhancing engagement and improving the user journey. They help to break upcontent into learner-friendly chunks and they start to turn a passive learning experience intosomething more active. But they don’t demand intellectual engagement.

You can click through the whole activity without necessarily putting any thought into it. I callthese ‘telling’ interactions, and for me there are three main situations in which you mightdecide to use one:

1. To make content more manageable and avoid information overload2. To provide structure and improve focus when assimilating information3. To bring facts to life by drawing on real-life incidents

Other interactions, such as a drag-and-drop, quiz question, or matching pairs activity,demand a little more from the learner. This kind of interaction, when well designed, starts tomirror reality and encourage exploration, focusing on the actions and behaviours learnersneed to demonstrate in real life, and therefore making the learning more meaningful andeffective.

I call these ‘testing’ interactions. They are best used:

1. Where it’s appropriate to challenge unhelpful attitudes or misconceptions2. Where it’s necessary to enable proficiency, change behaviour or improve performance

So both telling and testing interactions have their place, helping to enhance the learningexperience, as long as the decision about which to use is considered and thought through.However, as well as making the ‘test or tell’ decision on a screen-by-screen basis, it’s alsoimportant to keep an eye on the big picture and how each individual screen fits into thecontext of the course.

The way I do this is to create what I call a ‘screen type index’, which is nothing morecomplex than a couple of tables summarising the storyboard I’ve just drafted.

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The first table summarises each screen, setting out the screen type, title and key message.

This allows me to check that:

1. The flow of the content is logical2. The testing interactions are focused on the key learning points

The second table provides an overview of the whole course, looking purely at screen types.

I use three colours (one for non-interactive text screens, one for telling interactions and onefor testing interactions) to create a patchwork representing the whole course. It's quick andeasy to see the balance of interactivity to non-interactivity, and of telling to testing.

Do you have far more telling interactions than testing interactions? If so, double check thatyour key learning point screens test rather than tell. If you notice a constant stream ofinteractions with no respite, consider whether they’re all needed – interactivity for the sakeof interactivity has little value.

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Use the screen type index to provide that little bit of distance and allow a degree ofobjectivity in reviewing a storyboard you’ve authored yourself. Assess the balance andspread of interactions and make any appropriate changes.

Of course, like any patchwork, there’s no perfect design. Different courses justify differentcombinations, but in every case the balance needs to be consciously considered, and thescreen type index encourages that thought process.

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Learning from games-based designpractices 1Cat Oxley

We all talk about escaping the ‘click next button’ elearning design, and we all know that canbe a challenge at times. Therefore, as instructional designers, we are always looking toimprove our learning design and how we can make learning more ‘exciting’ and more ‘fun’.Hopefully these tips, drawn from the world of games design, will help you to get started...

1. Start with action – Draw the learner in and encourage engagement. NOT with a pageof objectives, they aren’t fun! Start a challenge right away. Then ask the learner aseries of questions related to the objectives.

2. Mastery - If you just give the learners information they aren’t learning! Think aboutsomething you had to do at work and how you mastered it. Learners need a sense ofaccomplishment.

3. Don’t make it too easy! - But not too hard either, as the learner may become bored, orfrustrated. Things that are too easy will be boring and the attention will be lost.

4. Include an air of risk! - Putting the learner at risk can make them more invested in whatthey have to do. A simple way is through timing. “You have 5 mins to do this – Go!”

5. Nine lives? - Ok may be five lives is enough. But giving the learner more lives providesthem with more play and practice.

6. It’s ok to fail! - Give the learner the sense it’s ok to do something wrong andaccommodate failure – learn from mistakes.

7. Experience! - The learner needs to experience something to know what it means.8. Give the learner choices - Have different characters, with more simple challenges for

some characters and harder ones for others.9. Give the learner control of their learning - When you do this, they invest more and

attempt more complex strategies.

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Learning from games-based designpractices 2Peter Phillips

Most of us, whether a teenager or of an age where we really should know better, havesuccumbed to the temptation to just try one more level, to blast one more screen of pigs orzombies, to find that last missing coin.

Video games can be irresistible. I cannot claim to have seen many elearning courses thatcommand such devotion from their users.

Of course, most video games are nowadays developed with budgets that we in elearningcan only dream of. However, the underlying principles of engagement, immersion anddesign excellence could hardly be more relevant, and are often simple to apply.

So here are my tips for bringing gaming ideas and principles to your elearning.

1. Dump the linear, in favour of hub design. Let the learner explore, make choices and feellike they have some control.

2. In at the deep end. Encourage learners to dive into a scenario or case study beforethey have all the facts, then make the facts available in context when they are needed.

3. Grab them by the lapels. Don’t make the user wade through bullet lists of learningobjectives, or those dreaded user instructions where you point out that the X in the topcorner closes the window, the right facing arrow means Next and the left facing arrowmeans Back. We already know! Get on with it!

4. Games let you know how you are doing. Try to find engaging graphical ways ofmeasuring progress. You can also have more than one progress indicator.

5. Don’t be afraid to let your learners fail. Think how long it took you to get 3 stars onevery level of Angry Birds. Users don’t mind “losing” so long as they are encouraged,get positive feedback on their progress, and get challenged to try again. Build in risk offailure – having to go back and start the case study again is a strong motivator tofocus, especially if you “lose a life” in the process.

6. Include the elements of humour and surprise. Many of the best and most successfulvideo games include the elements of humour and surprise. Why not elearning? It maynot seem easy to bring a good laugh into a course on, say, money laundering – butactually it is. Use your imagination, and remember you don’t need to be ROFL funny.Even the mildest play on words can come as blessed light relief to the poor, benightedcompliance student.

7. Give them an incentive to explore. There is not a lot of scope for randomness in mostelearning projects, but if you create blind alleys, make sure they add to the learningand then encourage the learner to explore them. Remember this when designing

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branched case studies – all that creative effort and no-one ever goes down the “wrong”route because the right route is too obvious.

8. Use high quality graphics and sound. The YouTube generation has made us remarkablytolerant of low quality video, but this is not the case with audio or with the overall userexperience. Poor quality audio can be worse than none at all. We are all now so usedto high quality intuitive UX from our home and mobile technology that even with ourlimited budgets, the quality of the graphic design is increasingly important to attractingand retaining the learner’s attention.

9. Use peer motivation. We may not be able to compete with World of Warcraft, but wecan integrate simple social media tools into our elearning, add league tables in theLMS, or show the learner the last five answers to an open question.

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The science behind writing persuasivecontentRichard Hyde

As a learning designer, I often look at parallel industries for creative ideas. I’ve long thoughtthat marketing offers many ideas for writing persuasive copy. These people know how toconvince us to buy products and services by changing our behaviour. There’s an establishedpsychology behind web marketing that works – it makes us feel so good about what we’reseeing that we just have to have it!

With the move towards informal learning based increasingly on less media rich resources,the need for great persuasive copy is more important than ever.

I’ve just come across a presentation called ‘The secret psychology behind persuasivecontent’ by Nathalie Nahai. This perfectly illustrates what we can learn from the masters ofmarketing. Nathalie shows how web psychology can be used to influence attitudes andbehaviours in an online environment.

I’d like to summarise the main points of this presentation in my tip for learning designers.

Get the complete presentation here: http://tinyurl.com/onrxlxl.

It’s all about context

Writing persuasive content has to be perfectly tuned to the reader’s current situation. Theyhave to recognise themselves in what they’re reading, hearing and seeing to maximise thechance of them buying into it. So keep it in context and don’t stray off the point.

Three secrets to online success

The benchmark to great online communication can be summarised in three points:

Know who you’re targeting – we know this as learning designers!Communicate persuasively – copy should be convincing and professionalSell with integrity – often we are trying to subtly change behaviour by ‘selling’ a newway of thinking, which needs to come across as realistic.

Seductive headlines are under-rated

Do you pay enough attention to headlines in your copy? Do learners actually read them?

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A headline could be the first thing a learner sees and it can make them want to read on.

So get seduction in your headlines and hook learners in with great titles:

Write to one personUse psychological trigger words like secret, absolute, essential and freePick a benefit for the headlineWrite a totally wacky headline

Be audacious

Why not stick your neck out a bit and really challenge the norm? elearning copy doesn’thave to be riddled with business-speak. Try some of these ideas:

Promise your reader something valuableDare them to read your articleBe bold, seductive and provocativeBut make sure you can deliver!

Follow the formula

There’s even a formula to improve your headlines:

Trigger word + adjective + keyword + promise = killer headline

So instead of writing this:

Our new Porsche is a high powered car for rich business people

Try this:

A Porsche is not a car, it’s the most exciting executive toy in the world

Well, that’s my top of the head example – I’m sure you can do better.

Key takeaways

So, whether you’re writing copy for online learning or designing a static resource for casualreaders, the quality of your copy is critical. So have in mind:

Who you’re targeting and write for a single personUse web psychology to optimise your contentMake sure you elicit emotions in your users

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Accessible learning is also better learningSam Taylor

When many of us talk about accessible elearning, we think of low-res, text only versions, orseparate word documents. There are no real defined, accessible elearning standards, somany of us may feel that we want to make something accessible, but don’t know what thatentails, or what to ask for.

What’s it all about

Accessibility is about making learning content available to everyone. For many years theLearning department has provided the “accessibility document” to support those learnerswith a visual, learning, physical or auditory impairment. Until recently, that’s been deemed“enough” for many organisations, but the Accessibility Technology Charter from BTAT, andSaffron’s 2012 article on a need for a common standard are challenging organisations (anddevelopers too) to say, “let’s do more”.

Many of the things we can do to make our learning accessible can also serve to make ourlearning more usable.

Here’s my list of simple, practical things you can do to create accessible and great learning:

Think legibility

The easier it is to read, the more all learners can focus and pay attention to the content.

Do not use text effects – do not add shadow, reflection etc. It makes it harder to readthe text.Do not use images to convey large amounts of text. They pixelate easily and are hardto read. Buttons are okay, but don’t use a text box to hold more than a couple ofwords.Don’t use watermarks or images as backgrounds. This impacts legibility and maydistort words.Ensure you use a good font size – 12-14pt (or equivalent ems) and a sans serif font –preferably Verdana. These are easier to read onscreen.Ensure that there is a good contrast between text and colours used on screen.e.g.black on white is good, but white on light blue isn’t a great contrast. The less thecontrast, the harder it is to read. You can use contrast checkers such ashttp://juicystudio.com/services/luminositycontrastratio.php.

Think ease

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The easier it is to understand or navigate, the more the learner can concentrate on thecontent.

Enable keyboard navigation for all screen elements – not everyone uses a mouse, andsometimes it’s easier to move around the page using a tab key.Ensure consistent navigation throughout the content, e.g. key buttons should remain inthe same place. It’s easier to move through the learning, and your learner isn’tdistracted by having to work out what they need to do next.Don’t use colour to convey meaning alone, or to identify any elements on the screen(e.g. ‘click on the green box’). Learners who are colour blind won’t necessarily knowwhat you are referring to. (There’s some great guidance on how colour blindnessaffects web users here: http://wearecolorblind.com/).Write in plain English, using simple, clear wording. Keep sentences short and to thepoint.Limit the use of acronyms or abbreviations where possible.

Think choice

Is there an alternative to audio, image or text? As well as supporting learners withdisabilities, it presents learners with an alternative too.

Provide a Transcript of Audio/Video clips. Not only does this aid the hearing impaired,other learners may not have audio enabled, be unable to use it in open plan offices, orjust prefer to read content.Label your key images using the ‘alt’ attribute – this enables understanding throughscreen readers, or if a page is slow to load. This is really important for a summary ofgraphs or process flows.Ensure that the learner can control the speed at which text builds in animations orteasers. There’s nothing more annoying than being half way through a sentence and it…………………….(moves on before you can complete it). As well as being irritating formost learners, it’s not an easy or positive experience for those with visual or learningdifficulties.Create an accessible document. These are still useful. Use properly formattedheadings in MS Word or equivalent, so that screen readers can put the right emphasison content. Use images wisely to support content, and ensure images are ‘meaningful’,not just there for effect. Accessible docs work well for those with Learning Difficulties,or who simply struggle reading content online.

Accessible learning doesn’t have to mean reducing the effectiveness or quality of yourlearning. By making these changes you can make your learning more effective for alllearners. Content will be better presented, easier to navigate and simpler to take in.

But finally, a word of common sense. Whilst we should make our materials as accessible as

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possible, elearning is a delivery method, not the learning itself. It may still be a betterlearning experience to have a 1:2:1 session with a line manager to support the learnerfurther.

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How to review elearning contentSam Taylor

I often work with SMEs to review content as it's being designed. There are always anumber of areas that I feed back on which can improve the experience, if addressed. I alsotry to get them to consider them when writing future content.

Here’s a list of the top things I look for:

In the scripts:

Any objectives which mention “understand”.

I work on the principle that if it says the learner should understand, it should be a piece ofcomms, not learning. Make the objectives more active – what will learners be able to do atthe end?

Is it relevant?

Make sure the content fits the objectives – it keeps to the point. If it dilutes the message ordoesn’t even belong, it shouldn’t be there.

Does it make sense?

Can you read the sentence without thinking you have stumbled into an episode of 'Yes,Prime Minister'? Could it be said in a shorter, clearer way? Remember to review thelearning as an expert and as a learner. Don’t make assumptions with jargon – add aglossary if necessary.

Redundant padding words or phrases

This has to be my biggest pet peeve when reviewing content:

“It is essential to remember”, or, “it is important to remember that”. If it wasn’t, itshouldn’t be in the elearning!"Therefore" - just padding.“As you are aware” or, “as you may be aware”… You’re going to tell them anyway, sowhy include that phrase?“Hopefully, you should”– doesn’t inspire confidence. Ditch the hopefully."It is mandatory" (in a mandatory module. Said several times)."Inter alia", or other Latin phrases which won’t suit your audience!

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"In this regard…"“When you are ready, click 'next' to continue”… delete the first part.

You get the picture! Just delete them – it’ll save space. Space and a learner’s attention areprecious – don’t lose it unnecessarily.

In the elearning module:

The visual stuff

Does the text sit right on the page? Is there too much, or not enough? Are you running offthe page, or is there just a sentence on the page? Too little content on the page is just asbad as too much on the page before.

Does the next button work?

We’re providing learning for adults. Give them the choice - they may know some of thecontent already. Don’t force them to complete anything.

Colour

Is the contrast right? Use white text on black backgrounds sparingly – some people getmigraines from this. Have you used too many colours on the page? Does it just feel toomuch? Do you need a pair of sunglasses to read the page?

As I said, this is just a starter for ten, there are many other things to consider. You mighthave a brand guidelines checklist you can use that directs font or imagery. From the contentperspective, you’ll develop a feel for what will work with your learners. Spend the time andbe thorough. You’ll get better content as a result.

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Rolling out elearning that worksChloe Weatherhead

Don’t make elearning a gimmick

It is important that elearning is seen with the same seriousness as any form of trainingwithin your organisation. If people are to trust it and feel that it is useful, it must be madeclear that elearning is as important as any face-to-face training and is all part of a ‘blended’learning approach.

Involve managers at every stage

Managers should be trained up on elearning initially, as it is important that they are seen tobe taking part. Managers can be made accountable for the uptake of elearning in theirdepartment, which generally leads to a higher rate of course completion. Managers can beused as role models and rewarded for good elearning results.

Make expectations clear from the start

It is a good idea to try and get all employees who will be taking part together for an initialshort meeting/presentation to explain elearning and get across the importance of completingthe courses. This meeting can also be used to hand out information on elearning, take anyquestions that employees may have and explain any schemes to do with elearning that youplan to implement

Familiarise employees

To make elearning appear more accessible and less ‘scary’ you could create an onlineadvert, an online ‘guided tour’, or set up a live demo so that people can have a look at it andfamiliarise themselves with the system before they try it on their own.

Create a communication campaign

It is important to take the solitude out of elearning. This can be done by creating anewsletter, or online blog to showcase new courses and student achievements. An onlineforum or lunchtime meeting is also a good way to get employees discussing and interactingaround elearning.

Add some incentive

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Using incentives and formal recognition for elearning is a great way to encourage prolongedtake up amongst staff.

Track performance

There are many ways to track performance using Learning Management systems. It isimportant that you know how many people are utilising elearning so you can adapt the wayit is used. This also enables you to track performance across departments. Individualcomparisons can be made among students and the results, perhaps suitably anonymised,can be published for all to see to encourage better take up.

Get learners involved in courses

Ask learners what else they would like to see in an elearning course. If many people areasking for training in a certain area you can tailor your course list to suit their needs.

Provide excellent learner support

If a learner feels they aren’t getting the support they need then they will soon tire ofattempting elearning. A dedicated support system is vital to a successful roll out. This couldinclude a dedicated helpdesk or email address. Make sure that queries are answeredquickly and accurately.

Ask for feedback

One of the most important tips is to ask for feedback from your learners. You could sendout questionnaires, or have a dedicated elearning comments box in staff areas. You couldreceive feedback through focus groups, or ask people individually about their thoughtstowards elearning. You can then shape future delivery of elearning using learners’ ideas.

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Finding images with an impactSam Burrough

Most elearning courses are essentially a visual medium, but how much time do you spendsourcing and creating images?

Few of us can call on an in-house graphic designer to lend their expertise. But getting thelook and feel right is a crucial factor in crafting a credible, engaging experience. Peoplehave high expectations of what they see online these days. If you give them a bunch of clipart, or ill-fitting, poorly edited images, they’ll judge the rest of your content before they’veeven read a word.

Searching for images is laborious on a good day and it’s all too easy to settle for somethingthat’s just “ok” when you’ve been looking for hours and deadlines are looming. So what canyou do to speed up the process and collect images that match the look and feel of the restof your course?

Decide on a theme or style before you start looking for theimages

Consider creating a design map (http://community.articulate.com/tutorials/courses/using-the-mind-map-template.aspx). It will help you to focus on exactly what you are looking forand save you time. You could look for a cool website design to get inspiration. Personally, Iget most of my design ideas from trawling galleries of lush websites like these:

siteInspire: http://siteinspire.net/Best Web Gallery: http://bestwebgallery.com/Design Bombs: http://www.designbombs.com/

Now you know (roughly) what you’re looking for, you can start your search.

Choose the right image search tool

Most people jump straight into Google images. Although it has improved, the search optionsare still relatively limited. You can’t create lightboxes and you have to wade through anawful lot of rubbish to find anything decent. Then when you do find “the one”, it's probablynot legal to use it anyway (although you can now use the Advanced Search to restrict bylicense). So, instead I recommend using a reasonably priced commercial site, like one ofthe following:

Istockphoto

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ShutterstockBigstock

It doesn’t cost much to buy a few credits - particularly if you are only using the smallerphotos. You’ll save time by searching through higher quality images that you can legally use,so the extra cost is easily justified. These sites also give you more detailed search options.Search by colour, search by copy space, filter by categories and you can create lightboxes,which we’ll come on to in a second.

If you really can’t afford to pay there are other options:

Creative Commons – Many images on the web are available under a CreativeCommons license. This means that you can legally use them for free as long as yougive credit to the people that created them. The Creative Commons portal makes iteasier to search a wide range of sites containing CC images.Free stock sites – these combine the powerful search tools and lightboxes of thecommercial sites above, but they contain images that you can legally use for free:Stock ExchangeMorguefile

Always remember to check the license agreement!

Create lightboxes

While you’re searching, you will inevitably find great images which don’t fit what you arelooking for, but could still be useful in the future. Make sure you save them, or bookmarkthem for another day. If you use a paid site you can create themed lightboxes to build upyour own library of quality images. Alternatively, you could use a social bookmarking toollike diigo for Creative Commons images.

Make bold choices

Try to avoid 'cheese'. Don’t go for obvious images, go for pictures with impact. Controversyis memorable (within the bounds of taste and decency of course). If you’re stuck for ideas,try using synonyms of key words to vary your search. Use the built in tools on Word, or trya site like thesaurus.com, which tends to come up with more suggestions.

Make it easy on yourself

Try to find images that work together, but remember, it’s easy to apply simple filters andeffects on Photoshop to create harmony. Not sure how to do that on Photoshop? Try theseexcellent free tutorials on Tutsplus . If you can’t afford Photoshop, try GIMP which is free todownload (here are some tutorials), or just use the tools in PowerPoint 2010, described on

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the Articulate site.

Whichever editing tool you use, don’t bite off more than you can chew. On some sites likeistockphoto, you can filter images that are isolated, i.e. they have a blank, usually whitebackground. This makes it very easy to remove them from the background.

Trust your instincts

When you’re looking through hundreds of pictures you need to do it quickly, so chances areyour first impressions of an image will be similar to the majority of your audience. Askyourself, “Does the image have the emotional effect I am looking for?”

Be patient

If you get fed up looking, have a break and do something else for a bit. Remember, gettingthe right images is important, so don’t settle for second best.

DIY

Alternatively, stop moaning about the cost of stock photos and take your own!

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Effective use of audio in elearningPeter Phillips

Audio can add an extra dimension to your courseware and increase both user engagementand retention. However, like every other aspect of instructional design, it needs skill to do itwell. The following tips will help you to do just that:

Quality matters

The Youtube generation has made us remarkably tolerant of low quality video, but this isnot the case with audio. Poor quality audio can be worse than none at all.

Use professionals

There will be occasions where you want the genuine voices of colleagues, or aninspirational opening address from the CEO. However, where you are asking the speaker toplay a role, professional actors will give you a far better outcome. The voice of aprofessional can add depth, richness and character to your course. They are not expensiveand even when budgets are tight, this is not the place to economise.

Mix it up

Try using more than one audio character. If your content doesn’t lend itself to dialogue andscenarios, you can still add variety with different experts, or “the man or woman in thestreet”. Use your imagination.

Shhh! Recording in process

Background sounds are fine if they are planned and not intrusive – bird song, traffic noise oroffice background sounds can all add to the sense of realism. But unplanned footsteps,slamming doors and pinging microwaves can ruin a recording.

The best solution is to use a professional studio, but if the budget or timescales don’t allow,then here’s a tip; stick a decent directional mike in your laptop and do the recording in yourcar for a sound proofed temporary studio.

Ding dong

Sound effects are not used much in elearning, but can be very effective. Note how soundeffects are used in video games to give auditory clues. There are many familiar sounds all

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around us that can be a quick and even amusing alternative to narration or text – anincoming email, ringing phone, knock on a door, alarm clock, the gentle thwack of leather onwillow …… but, don’t overdo it!

Script for audio

People don’t speak the way they write. So when writing an audio script you will usually wanta more informal and “human” tone. Don’t ask the narrator to read out bullet lists. Don’t letyour narrator lecture the user or talk down to them and avoid management speak. A friendlytone will typically be the aim.

Keep it short

There is a temptation, particularly if you are trying to fit a lot of content into a 30 minuteelearning course, to give the narrator more to say just to keep the text off the screen. Butbeware, audio takes control of the pace of the course away from the learner, and if theclips are too long or too many, the user will tune out.

Don’t read the screen

While it is usually essential to give the user a text alternative to the audio, you should givethem the choice of whether to view the text, and at what pace to read it.

Screen reading software

Most operating systems these days come with built-in software to read what is on screen.This can then provide your narration, particularly if your content is going to changefrequently.

It will save the expense of bringing in actors and recording studios each time. Although thequality of the output might not be up to the standard that will keep people interested.

This is largely used as an accessibility tool, but can have other uses. For example, if yourcontent is going to change frequently, then using screen reader software to create youraudio can save you the trouble of return trips to the studio.

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Developing an elearning narration scriptTim Drewitt

Getting your audio narration correct is not only easier on the ears of your learner, it’s easieron their eyes too. In his top tips for developing a narration script, Tim Drewitt shows youhow.

Narration style

Generally, for an internally-developed course, a more informal style of narration ispreferred. Remember that how you say things is just as important as what you say and asit’s likely that many of the users will know you personally. They will expect you to sound likeyou, not a professional voiceover artist.

Duration

When you design your on-screen content, it’s recommended that there be no more than fivebullet points on a screen. Not only does this make the content more legible, it alsoencourages you to keep the narration short.

To maintain the concentration levels of the average learner, you should try to avoidspending too long on any single screen. You can actually say a lot in 60 seconds and this isa good average time when planning what you say.

As a rough guide, 150 to 175 words will typically take about one minute to narrate.

If you type your narration into the Notes View within PowerPoint, with a standard font sizeof 12pt, once you have filled the available space, this is approximately a minute of audio.

On a practical level, when it comes to recording the audio, the longer your narration perscreen, the greater the risk that you will make more mistakes and have to repeat the take.

Generally, if you have a lot to say on a certain topic then consider:

How many topics you should include in a single course.How you can divide up what you need to say, so that you spread your commentaryacross multiple screens, but keep a good pace. It’s acceptable to increase the numberof screens to facilitate this.

Scripting your narration

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Although an informal narration style is preferred, you will still need to write out yournarration. This ensures that your recorded commentary is delivered in a slick manner. Thereis nothing more frustrating for a learner having to listen to someone narrating off the cuff.Unless you’ve delivered the same “talk” off-pat for years, the pauses and more frequentstumbles will be soon become annoying. There is also a heightened risk of going off-tangentand repeating oneself. If you then lose your train of thought, it’s very difficult to pick thingsup, usually meaning you have to start all over again.

As you write, remember that we don’t generally speak as we write, so it’s acceptable toignore the usual grammar rules, especially if they would make the narration sound tooformal.

Once you have typed your script, if you’ve already created your screen content, double-check that the bullet points still match the flow of your narration. Also consider if, based onwhat you have said in the narration, you can further shorten or even remove some of theexisting bullet points.

In fact, there’s a lot or merit in first of all writing out your script and only then deciding whatappears on each screen. This way, with the audio narration providing the primary channel ofdelivery, you can ensure that what appears on the screen precisely provides the on-screenvisuals required. A common mistake is to write a bullet one way, but then to paraphrase it intoo different a way in the audio narration. It’s very hard for a learner to hear somethingdifferent to what they are seeing.

Writing your narration first helps to ensure that your supporting bullets use the sameextracted words. Of course, you must never break “golden rule number one” – never put fullsentences on a screen that you then read out verbatim, unless it’s a quote that wouldbenefit from being read out aloud.

Practice makes perfect

Writing out your narration also allows you to practice delivering it and determining theoverall running time.

It’s essential that you rehearse reading your narration out loud before the recording session,as it’s only when you do that that you actually find out if you do naturally say things the wayyou write them. Hearing things out loud will also confirm to your brain that what you’vewritten actually makes sense.

During the recording session itself, it’s very off-putting to be reading something and then findyou are saying something different, when you realise it’s not making sense,or you’ve madea fundamental mistake. This is one of the most common causes of stumbling, resulting inthe need for a retake.

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ContributorsMartin Baker

Martin is the founder and CEO of The Charity Learning Consortium, the largest group ofcharities in the UK collaborating to make elearning affordable.

Twitter: @martincbaker & @charitylearning

Website: http://www.charitylearning.org/

Mark Berthelemy

Mark was elected to the eLearning Network board in November 2012. He is a learning andcommunications technology professional with many years experience across theeducational, corporate, and public sectors.

He runs a consultancy, Wyver Solutions Ltd, specialising in advising clients on the selection,implementation and use of learning & communication technologies – from learning contentmanagement, through learning design, to social media and formal training administration.

Twitter: @berthelemy

Website: www.wyversolutions.co.uk

Sam Burrough

Sam Burrough gave up trying to be a professional DJ/snowboarder/bum about 5 years agowhen he became a dad. Since then he’s turned himself into an Online Learning Consultant atUnum, where he’s responsible for pretty much anything that involves learning andtechnology,from compliance training and LMS maintenance, to finding ways to use socialmedia and improving digital literacy.

He’s also partly responsible for WEElearning Bristol’s very own elearning social.

Twitter:@burrough

Website: http://www.weelearning.co.uk/

Gill Chester

Gill is a learning designer at Little Man Project, the company she founded in 2010. Prior to

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this she ran a busy training department, which delivered a portfolio of courses across theUK.

She has a Masters in Networked Learning, which was one of the first master’s programmesin this field (and it was only 12 years ago!).

Web site: www.littlemanproject.com

Blog: www.littlemanproject/blog

Contact: www.about.me/gillchester

Stephanie Dedhar

Stephanie spent the first four years of her working life on the supplier side, projectmanaging and designing bespoke elearning solutions on many and varied topics for a rangeof organisations.

Along the way she developed a passion for online learning design, being namedInstructional Designer of the Year at the IT Training Awards 2010. In 2011 Stephanie madethe leap to an in-house role and now works as a learning and performance consultant withinleadership development at BP.

Blog: www.stephaniededhar.wordpress.com

Twitter: @StephanieDedhar

Tim Drewitt

Tim, a longstanding eLN member, has 17 years’ experience in learning technologies withinthe leadership and management development, financial services and legal fields.

He coaches subject matter experts in rapid development and virtual facilitation techniques.Tim also steers the evolution of the firm’s LMS and has recently implemented a mobilelearning pilot, alongside initiatives in social media, learning transfer and evaluation.

Twitter:@timdrewitt

Web: http://timdrewitt.typepad.com/tech4learning/

Kim George

Kim is a learning and development manager at Getty Images. At work, her favourite thing todo is help new starters settle in, learn about the organisation and discover how they want to

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develop their careers; outside work, she’s reigniting her love for Pinterest, eating her wayaround London, and playing netball.

Twitter: @KimSGeorge

Rob Hubbard

Rob is the founder of LearningAge Solutions – the vehicle for his ongoing deep explorationinto technology and learning.

Rob loves the intersection of creativity and technology wherever that occurs. Video,transmedia and low-budget filmmaking are some of current passions.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/RobHubbard

Website: http://www.learningagesolutions.com/

Richard Hyde

Richard is a Director the eLearning Network. An elearning specialist with significantexperience of bespoke elearning development over the past 15 years, he is a Director atMind-click.

Website:http://www.mind-click.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/richardthyde

Joan Keevil

Joan is director of Designs on Learning, a consultancy specialising in elearning design,leadership development and facilitation. She has produced and scripted many complianceelearning courses for clients including the BBC and various blue-chip companies, and hasrecently delivered a series of anti-corruption workshops for a global high-tech company, inthe Far East, India and the US.

Joan was a judge in the 2011 Elearning Age Awards in the rapid and compliancecategories. She is also a ‘virtual’ tutor at Henley Business School and an enthusiasticsupporter of social media for learning.

Twitter: @Designs_JoanK

LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/joankeevill

Website: www.designsonlearning.co.uk

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Charles Jennings

Learning and Working Smarter specialist/consultant. Work globally. Internet Time Allianceteam member. ‘When working is learning, then learning is working’

Website: http://www.duntroon.com

Twitter:@charlesjennings

Laura Layton-James

Laura has worked in Learning and Development for over 15 years and delivers classroomworkshops and online programmes on the topics of blended learning, elearning design,elearning facilitation and elearning implementation. She is passionate about how technologycan help deliver and support learning more efficiently and yet still ensure effective learningtakes place by maintaining the human element.

James McLuckie

James is Learning Engagement Manager at Eden Tree, a resource bank for learning anddevelopment professionals. He has worked in the field for over ten years, and has aparticular interest in online technology for learning. James recently completed his Masters inE-Learning from the University of Edinburgh. He also manages the LDG (Learning andDevelopment Group) LinkedIn community.

Website: http://www.edentree.co.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/JamesMcLuckie

Laura Overton

Laura is MD of benchmarking company, Towards Maturity, a provider of independent expertadvice and support.

Towards Maturity helps organisations use learning technologies to accelerate businessperformance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the UK’s largestlearning technology benchmark, gathered by Towards Maturity over 8 years with over 1800organisations.

Website: www.towardsmaturity.org

Twitter:@lauraoverton

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Cat Oxley

Cat has been working in learning and development for eight years as the LearningInnovations Lead at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust(GOSH).

Her role has been an exciting journey, from starting out with a pile of CDRoms on her deskwhen she arrived, developing and implementing the Trust’s first LMS, leading on technology-enhanced learning projects across the Trust for all levels of staff, to launching GOSH’s firstever Learning Innovations Conference 2013.

Peter Phillips

Peter is Chairman of the award winning Unicorn Training Group, which he founded with hisbrother Andy in 1988. He led Unicorn to become a world leader in the development and useof strategic business simulations, and major provider of elearning services to the UKinsurance and financial services sector.

In August 2002, he was appointed Chairman of AFC Bournemouth football club, but hasnow returned full time to the calmer waters of Unicorn. In 2008 he was presented with theelearning industry award for outstanding achievement.

Website: http://www.unicorntraining.com/

Louise Talbot

Louise has worked in Learning and Development for over 15 years and delivers classroomworkshops and online programmes on the topics of blended learning, elearning design,elearning facilitation and elearning implementation.

She is passionate about how technology can help deliver and support learning moreefficiently and yet still ensure effective learning takes place by maintaining the humanelement.

Sam Taylor

Sam is an elearning manager and self confessed social networking addict. She has been onthe board of the eLN since 2010 and was elected as Chair in 2013.

Website: http://www.elearningnetwork.org/users/sam-taylorTwitter: http://twitter.com/samt_el

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Chloe Weatherhead

Chloe is Head of the Housing e-Academy, which is part of Virtual College – one of the UK’sleading providers of total solutions within the elearning arena.

The Housing e-Academy works specifically with the social housing sector and Chloe ispassionate about the benefits of elearning for both staff and tenants. She successfully useswebinars, e-books, video, conferences and social media to spread the elearning message.

Website: http://www.virtual-college.co.uk/