Authoring Your Own Content

As e-learning has developed so has the technology available for companies to create their own e-learning modules or adapt existing content. This has allowed organisations to create, develop or change e-learning material to reflect their look, feel and internal processes.

Regardless of what software is used to create and modify modules thought needs to be given to the process of creating learning material.

A good e-learning module should be of high quality and contain appropriate subject content with a method to assess that learning has been achieved. To do this you will need a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and an understanding of how people learn.

SMEs are valued resources in all organisations and are often very busy yet key to knowledge transfer and learning.

When creating a module, it is important to outline your learning outcome at the start. Learning outcomes break the learning down into sections and walk learners through the learning process. This will also allow you to identify opportunities for using objects and interactions to both break up and reinforce learning. Learning quizzes can also be used to identify any short falls in learner knowledge, allowing individuals to re-visit learning or view additional supporting information.

Assessing the learner and recording their knowledge retention can now be done a number of different ways, from multi choice questions to simulations. Your LCMS should help you manage learners, not only recording results but also giving learners feedback and providing managers with information on shortfalls in knowledge retention.

Once you have created your masterpiece internal processes for release should be examined.

For example:

• Will this module supersede current training?
• Will this affect existing training records and require re training
• Who needs to take this learning?
• How do you let the appropriate people know about the new material
• How is this material made available to these learners?

Next generation LCMS should be able to help with a number of these questions by allowing you to assign and manage access to training material as you create new content and make it available.

The good news is with practice comes perfection and once you have a process in place updating and creating new modules to meet your requirements will become second nature.

Next Generation of LMS/LCMS

As e-learning has developed so has the LMS/LCMS technology to deploy it. Next-generation LMS/LCMS advancements are not focussed on aesthetics, but around interactivity and the recording of user behaviour. This information is valuable when looking at future development as it is quantifiable and helps you understand the continuously changing individual and organisational needs.

Some functions of a next generation LMS/ LCMS that could be of interest to you include:

• The ability to hold supporting documents not only Presentations, PDFs and Microsoft Word documents, but also objects such as website links and video clips that the learner can use as an additional learning resource.

• Creating programs of learning or grouping topics together, breaking learning up into bite-sized chunks so that staff are not overwhelmed by a long, unordered list of learning courses. With programmes of learning you can also group related courses, documents and links together giving the learner all the relevant information in one place.

• Your learner may only be interested in a pass or fail - but having the ability to drill down into test results can give you insight into your user’s behaviour. For example do you know:
• How many attempts were required to pass an assessment?
• How much time was spent spend on the learning?
• When was this training completed
• When will it expire?

• Creating assessments out with the module allows the learner to proceed at their own pace and revisit material until they feel they are ready to take the assessment This allow you to create summative assessments including flash interactions within your modules, whilst providing a formative assessment at the end of the learning process.

• Randomly selecting assessment questions from a large pool of questions allows you to avoid predictability.

• Customisation of your LMS and training materials allows you to give your e-learning the look and feel specific to your organisation.

• Course booking system integrated within your LMS, gives you one system to manage all your training from e-learning to scheduled classroom sessions in one place.

• E-portfolios, allow you to track your staff development and align learning to roles.

• Interoperability of IT systems is becoming increasingly important. Ensure that your suppliers are happy to interact with other 3rd party systems and that this will not cost the earth.

I hope this has given you a quick insight on how LMS/LCMS systems can help you provide exceptional training to your organisation.

Sharing Content

Ever spoken with a colleague about your current e-learning development projects only to find you are both creating training material and e-learning modules on the same topics? Wished you could share training materials or use a common template to avoid duplication of effort and reflect your organisational processes? 

The benefits of sharing content are not limited to saving development time, other benefits include:  

1.   Reducing the required interaction with subject matter experts (who can

      be hard to locate and get information from).

2.   Standardising knowledge and procedures across organisations and

      sites.

In addition, sharing is not restricted to modules: you can also share objects such as movies, audio and interactions giving you more flexibility in content design.

Some things you need to consider when sharing content are:

        • Licenses agreements: What are the restrictions for use of the

           shared content and who owns it?

        • Software compatibility: there are many authoring software 

           applications available. Ensure that the export formats are 

           compatible.

        • Control of distribution: Who holds the master version and how

           will you handle version changes, correction of errors and updating 

           of content?

        • Liability for inaccuracies: Who would be liable?

        • What do you share? PowerPoints, modules, scripts, movies,

           animations?

Sharing can be done physically by sending emails and CDs to each other; or you can organise an online library/platform giving everyone 24/7 access. The key to sharing lies in ensuring it is fit for purpose and meets your organisational needs.

You don’t have to do everything online. When it comes to Rapid Authoring there are advantages with offline packages such as Wimba, as you can easily open the scripts in Microsoft Word avoiding any restrictions from your IT department or hardware limitations.

Aspects such as branding, look and feel should not be forgotten. There is no point in sharing content if you spend significant time changing logos, colours, fonts and pictures to match your organisational needs. Courses should be either written and shared with your branding or written in a standard template so that all organisations can easily add their look and feel too.

If you are sharing data, ensure you do not get sloppy with your computer and systems security. Check for viruses and ensure you follow proper procedure when exchanging information.

Finally - keep communicating. Roles within organisations change so record what e-learning has been created and what will be required in the future. So long as you all share this information regularly you can continue to save time and effort while delivering content to your staff.

6 tips on how to increase uptake of e-learning

The easier it is for someone to use something the more often they will use it. Following this philosophy there are simple things you can do to improve uptake.

1. Increase ease of access:

     a. Ensure that it is easy for people to find the learning they need

     b. Standardise log on details across systems

     c. Provide visual instructions on how learners can access learning in 

         hardcopy at training stations and on the local intranet

2. Be clear where to find learning:

     a. Hold events to stimulate the learner e.g. induction for new employees

     b. Hold open training days with set schedules where trainers are 

         available to aid people with their learning.

     c. Be clear on who learners ask for help and where they can to access 

         help resources.

3. Encourage and advertise the catalogue of courses available to both

    individuals and line managers.

4. Show obvious links to how e-learning can help the individual and show 

    how this matches up with personal development. 

5. Respond to and fix issues quickly. Whether the issues are lost passwords

    or broken links the quicker they are fixed the less barriers people will

    have.

6. Proactively work to break down common misunderstandings and negative

    feelings towards technology and learning.

Successful uptake needs to be facilitated; it does not simply happen by itself. The more of the organisational structure that buy into and support e-learning the easier it is to increase exposure to staff and create positive interactions. 

It does not happen overnight but if you plan how you are going to integrate e-learning throughout the organisation, you can adapt and learn while increasing the uptake in a controlled and manageable way, while achieving long-term goals.

Reducing barriers to learning

By reducing the barriers to learning we are closing the gap between individuals and training, these barriers to learning are not always time and money: we must consider other factors such as access to learning material, terminals and whether the course fits the purpose. 

There is no point in having great interactive e-learning in place if the terminals where training takes place do not have sufficient hardware, bandwidth or even soundcards.

As a manager, having the ability to report effectively and support your learners is also important. 

The easier it is for users to log on and access learning the more likely they are to do it again. Having standard logon details that can be easily remembered resolving any problems quickly will help create a positive experience, thus increasing a learners desire to do it again and again.

E-Learning over Wide Geographies

E-Learning is often used to deliver training over a wide geography. In this case geography does not only mean wide open plains but can also include diversely spread out organisations within a city or even a building.  The reasons for using e-learning are not limited to financial and time savings: they also include other factors such as improving training consistency, decreasing time required to complete mass training and improved maintenance of material.

Furthermore, e-learning gives us the ability to deliver and record prior knowledge, as most training requires an individual to have base knowledge that can be built upon. If the building blocks are not in place then it may take longer for learners to achieve or retain information delivered in training. 

By using e-learning to deliver the appropriate base, staff are prepared for the face to face training and will benefit from interaction reinforcing theory in a personalised manner. Prior learning may not always be interesting; mandatory E-learning removes the lecture or book reading stigma by creating interactions to break up learning, reinforcing key points and assessing the individual’s understanding of knowledge. This also ensures that your entire organisation has access to the same information, so that no knowledge gaps result from limited time or from people missing part of the training due to illness or work commitments etc.

By allowing self-service access to this prior learning you can help make the experience less of a “chore” which increases user understanding and allows the learner to see more of a benefit of participation in the training. By combining this with line managers matching available training with individuals training requirements and objectives, you give the individual power to obtain the learning at a pace that suits their workload and learning style. 

Allowing both managers and individuals to see available training, which they can link to role and team development e-learning becomes a tool for growth rather than a chore that takes staff away from their work. At the end of the day we all know the saying “no pain no gain” but we can at least make learning as painless as possible.