One of the most common struggles we hear from eLearning designers and developers is the “inability” to accurately replicate real world activities in an online format. Now, we’re HUGE fans of eLearning, but we’re realists too. That being said, there isn’t one single solution that fits every need. As such, there are some things that […]
One of the things we consistently find with training teams is their desire to reuse things they’ve already created. Depending on the diversity of the courses you develop, you may not be able to reuse the content per se, but you could still create structures to serve as “templates” that can be quickly reused in […]
So you bought Articulate Storyline and now you need to learn how to use it. The good news: Storyline is one of the most approachable eLearning development tools out there. The bad news: it can still be daunting to figure out all there is to know. While there are several great eLearning tools out there […]
When news broke that Sean Penn interviewed the infamous drug kingpin El Chapo for Rolling Stone, it didn’t take long for professional writers to speak up about how they felt about it. Journalists from the Washington Post, New York Times, and many more noted how dangerous this move was on Penn’s part—and how many professional […]
Even if you weren’t one of the 9.9 million people who tuned in for the premiere of Downton Abbey’s final season, there are probably similarities you could recognize from the eLearning world just from the characters’ personalities. What do we mean by that? Well, Downton Abbey is known for it’s cast of very different characters—ranging […]
It’s that time of year when we look back at the year to find the crème de la crème—the best, most interesting eLearning topics we wrote about in 2015. We’ve looked at the numbers and pulled out our 10 best blog posts of 2015 for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! Best Posts of 2015 Everything You […]
You want your trainees to remember what your training course taught them, right? That’s kind of the main objective for any eLearning course—to get participants to retain information and then use what they’ve learned in their roles at work. But research tells us that people generally forget about 50% of what they learn after one […]
Sometimes working in the eLearning field means re-working existing courses. Say a client comes to you with a course they’ve been using for years, and they want you to breathe some new life into it. Seems like no big deal, right? But when you take a look at the course, you realize that you’ve got […]
Think of a storyboard for an eLearning course like a comic strip: Each frame tells a part of a larger story and moves the course along. Without a storyboard, your course can be all over the place. It would look a little something like this: Lesson 1! Irrelevant interactive game! Lesson 5! Pop quiz! Matching […]
As someone who lives and breathes eLearning, you probably feel comfortable with terms like ‘Authoring Tool’ and ‘LMS.’ But when you go to a client or meet with executive leadership to explain what you’ll be doing when you design the eLearning course—you get some blank stares…and a lot of questions. The technical language means nothing […]
In the newly released film Creed, Adonis (son of Rocky’s rival, Apollo Creed) begs Rocky to train him and teach him his boxing knowledge. He knows that he’s the one person who can get him to the performance level he needs to compete in the high-stakes professional boxing ring. In training, we know the importance […]
It’s the week of Thanksgiving, and while we’re busy basting turkeys and flipping through Black Friday ads, we should all take a moment to be thankful for eLearning. Wait…you weren’t thinking being thankful for eLearning? That’s weird. eLearning provides a lot of wonderful benefits that we really should celebrate. Let’s look at a few specific […]
Part Three: Managing the Process In part two of this series, we went over all of the many different people who bring a successful eLearning course to life. In our third and final piece, we’ll discuss the general progression that helps course development and execution happen smoothly and efficiently. Today’s focus: P = Process. Each […]
Part Two: Managing People In part one of this series, we talked about the performance expectations that define the scope and general objectives for a successful eLearning project. Now we’re going to look at the many different experts that have to come together to make an effective and interactive training resource. Today’s focus: P = […]
Part One: Managing Performance Expectations Projects, regardless of the type, are usually deemed unsuccessful when things don’t go as planned and goals aren’t met. Contributing factors often include limited resources or role ambiguity among the team, as well we process and communication breakdowns. This post is the first in a series of three directed at […]
One of the common obstacles Instructional Designers of today face is that “seat time” in training has been slashed—so learners have to complete courses at a highly efficient pace. More than ever, leadership wants employees to get training done (and fast) so they can get right to work. Reasons for Limited Seat Time in Training […]
We’ve all heard the dreaded phrase, “But this is how we’ve always done things!” which is typically presented as a valid objection to implementing something new. It’s the #1 enemy of change. And with eLearning courses, we’ve found that this phrase often comes up within systems and process training, which means implementing a new process […]
For the past four years, Jimmy Kimmel has asked parents to trick their kids into thinking that they’ve eaten all of their hard-earned Halloween candy—and to film it. The reactions from kids are both heartbreaking and funny, with responses that range from irate scolding to disappointed tears. Most of the time, the kids are just […]
It’s Halloween time: The season of ghouls, ghosts, and horror movies. So while you munch away on the candy you’ve borrowed from the trick or treating bowl, now is the perfect time to also think about some of the horrifying eLearning mistakes that scream out from within a course. Brace yourself: It’s going to get […]
In 2015, trainees have relatively short attention spans—so the page-turner format of eLearning often struggles to hold their interest (and frankly has never been a solid approach). To combat this, many instructional designers are relying on increased interactivity through a variety of features within eLearning courses. Now, this isn’t to say that complex interactive elements […]
Notifications
