As the decade closes, I would be remiss not to reflect on how my career has evolved over the last 10 years. I have been an instructional designer for the majority of this decade, thanks in no small part to the immense amount of resources available in the learning and development field. Continue reading
Elearning
E-learning can be intimidating. This collection of articles looks at elearning as part of a learning and development strategy.
Comparing ILT, vILT and elearning
Last week I wrote about the strengths of elearning vs. instructor-led training (ILT). In the comment section, someone suggested that it would be interesting to see a third column in the comparison: virtual instructor-led training (vILT). I’m nothing if not a man of the people, so I’m giving them what they want.
Something I found interesting when I added the vILT column is that I couldn’t really come up with anything unique to vILT. Every item checked off for vILT is shared by either ILT or elearning. As I studied this more, I had to pause. While vILT by its nature is instructor-led and thus will obviously share some traits with ILT, it also has some things in common only with elearning.
There’s nothing in this chart to suggest that any one of these formal training methods is superior to either of the other two. It really comes down to the problem you’re looking to solve.
Need to deploy something rapidly across multiple countries and continents in multiple languages? Elearning may be your best bet.
Have an audience of learners that doesn’t have access to reliable Internet? More traditional classroom-based learning (ILT) may need to be your solution.
What’s missing from this chart when it comes to advantages of these three delivery methods? Is there anything unique to vILT that neither ILT nor elearning have? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comment section.
Is iSpring the next StoryLine?
Microlearning is on the tip of a lot of people’s tongues at the moment and many groups are developing eLearning with a mobile focus. As we approach training with the lens of microlearning, should we use continue to use the same tools? Continue reading
Why didn’t elearning ever kill the Instructor-led training star?
Last Wednesday I was a guest on dominKnow’s Instructional Designers In Offices Drinking Coffee (IDIODC) show and we spoke about Instructor-led training (ILT) and the value it still has in today’s world of learning. During the show, we reminisced about predictions during the early 2000s that ILT would eventually be replaced by elearning and other technologies.
As we talked, there was consensus that both elearning and ILT belong in every instructional designer’s tool bag. My company has certainly had conversations with clients in which we entered the meeting assuming the best solution would be elearning, but after asking some probing questions it turned out that ILT was the best solution (and vice versa).
If your needs assessment determines that a formal training intervention is the best solution and you’re trying to decide whether you should go the elearning route or the ILT route, perhaps you’ll find the following comparison helpful:
Do you agree with the comparison? Do you see it differently? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comment section.
Why Are We Still Talking About Microlearning?
Years ago, I had a director who had perfected the art of what our team called the “drive-by”. A drive-by from this director involved him asking you for a “really quick favor” in which you would be asked to work on a pet-project of some sort that often involved a new technology or new industry trend he wanted to try out. These projects ranged from the latest video technologies, new StoryLine features, Moocs, gamification, leaderboards, performance support, etc… If ATD or other industry leaders had it on their radar, he had a pet-project targeted. Being asked to be involved was a compliment, even if other work had to be balanced when asked. Continue reading
eLearning Principles
I am re-reading Multimedia Learning by Richard E. Mayer to refresh some of my eLearning principles. If you work in any facet of the multimedia learning world, it is an extremely useful book to have in your library. It is not a light read. I am on my third way through it and am only now understanding many of the principles that the author is covering. Continue reading
Critical Thinking in eLearning
eLearning is not a passive activity. It should provoke thought and reasoning, and we should believe in our participant’s ability to do so. One key element I believe is missing from a lot of eLearning is critical thought. As designers or developers (or in some cases both) we should be pushing ourselves to go beyond a simple question and move our learners to think through all aspects of the objective. Continue reading
eLearning Interactions: Exploring Content
Throughout high school and college, I was a DJ at the college radio station. As technology improved around the turn of this century, our little radio station became much more automated, and the massive compact disk library moved to digital files. One thing that didn’t change before I left college was the soundboard that we used to fade music and microphones and do some light mixing. Continue reading
eLearning Interactions: Comic Strip Panels
Comic strips tell a story in a linear timeline that read from left to right. Anyone who opened a newspaper as a kid, read comic books or graphic novels, or has ever seen a panel meme is familiar with the style of storytelling.
One obstacle in eLearning is that our participants cannot tell us a story. Continue reading
eLearning Interactions: Puzzles!
Last week, we began looking at some of the limitations of eLearning interactions, and how to work within those constraints. Your comments and feedback indicated that this is a topic of interest to many of you. Over the coming weeks, we will continue to discuss effective ways to design eLearning interactions on the Thursday posts to this blog. Continue reading