Hey You Rapid e-Learning Peeps, Slooow Down and Take a Little Drive on the ISD Side of Town

When I read e-Learning Magazine's article by Bob Little, Rapid e-Learning Polarizes Opinion, I was very irked by it.  Especially when I read the following excerpt.

"While purists sneer that e-learning produced via rapid tools may lack quality in terms of adhering to instructional design principles and may just be brain dumps by subject matters experts, if such e-learning materials improve workers' performance, who can criticize their place in the learning and development armoury?"

I will say this, if they are not adhering to instructional design principles, then they are far less likely to improve workers' performance. I have never been a fan of the term rapid e-learning. I believe there are some great rapid development tools, but these still require sound instructional design, which takes time and effort, starting with a needs analysis.

As stated, I am not fond of the term rapid e-Learning, but I do not wish to be negative or come across as bashing efforts made under only good intentions. Here is the reality, not all organizations have the luxary of employing an instructional designer or perhaps enough instructional designers. However, they do wish to offer their staff online training. So, the subject matter experts gets a hold of the new fangled software that says "create e-learning in only a matter of hours" or some such thing. They then do their very best, but because they did not identify the learner's needs and create an effective course design it falls short and does not result in learning or impact behavior.

So, here is what I suggest.

First off, be willing to dedicate more time to the analysis and design phases of your project. Learn as much as you can about instructional design, more specifically e-learning design. Here are a few ways to get started:

• Follow e-learning blogs (the eLearningLearning blog community and eLearningPulse are chock full of great blogs)


• Attend conferences (there are plenty of great e-learning conferences out there)


• Join  e-learning and instructional design societies and groups (the eLearning Guild and ASTD both have plenty of books, articles, research, webinars, conferences and more)


• Network with e-learning designers and ask for advice and reviews of your work (LinkedIn has plenty of e-learning and ID groups and Twitter is perfect for connecting with people in the e-learning world)

The more time you invest in instructional design, the more effective your courses will be and your audience will appreciate it too. And remember, sloooow doooown and spend some time in instructional design!

For Those of Us Who Didn't Get a Google Wave Invite

If you did not get a Wave invite, but would like to get a peek at it, here are few videos from those that did get invites.








And here is the Google Wave team on launch day.


FYI: If anyone out there still has a Wave invite, I am still interested in receiving one. Thanks!

Wanna Read Some e-Learning Horror Stories?

Over at the PLS Online Course Development blog they have been posting e-learning horror stories and they have had some doozies so far. These stories are not only entertaining, but also valuable ways to learn directly from the witnesses of such ghoulish e-learning events.

Christy from the PLS Online Course Development blog was nice enough to include my horror story, but worked her magic and transformed it into a poem in the style of Poe's "The Raven." Thanks!

You can read the poem here. And read their other horror stories here.

Here is the original of my horror story. Although it may be more funny than scary, it was a horror to me went it happened.

Seven years ago, when e-learning was still new to my company, I launched an online course. My company, which provided health care to military personnel from North Carolina to Maine, had service centers throughout its footprint. Of course geographical distance was no obstacle to me, for I was a Distance Educator. Well, actually they called me an e-Learning Designer, but just the same.

As always, I marketed the online course. I included the title of the online course, who should take the online course, what they will learn
from the online course, the benefits of taking the online course, and how to access and launch the online course.

Several days later, while sitting in my cubicle in Baltimore, someone came a tapping. As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my cubicle door. Why is a co-worker from the far reaches of our Virginia service center here at my door?

She said, "I am here for my ONLINE COURSE."

LearnTrends Conference November 17-19 (free, online conference)

The preliminary schedule for the LearnTrends online conference is now available. Its focus will be Convergence in Workplace Learning.

 

Here are just some of the speakers you can expect to hear from at the conference:

• George Siemens


• Tony Karrer


• Jay Cross


• Tony O'Driscoll


• 
  
  Charles Jennings


• 
  
  Andy McGovern


• 
  
  Clark Quinn


• 
  
  Deb Schultz


• 
  
  Jerry Michalski


• 
  
  Jane Hart


• 
  
  Laura Overton


• 
  
  Christy Confetti Higgins


• 
  
  Janet Clarey


• 
  
  Pam Boiros


• 
  
  Harold Jarche


• 
  
  Jack Merklein


• 
  
  John Smith

This is an impressive group of people who will be providing great perspectives and conversations around innovations in workplace learning.

See the full agenda here...   And register here.

 

See you there.

Attention Span of e-Learning Participants - It Depends

What is the attention span of participants taking a self paced e-learning course? A lot of different numbers have been thrown around out there. In my opinion, the attention span for an e-learning participant depends on many different factors, which I will list here:

Audience

• Is the working environment conducive for learning online? Time given away from daily responsibilities to take the course, a location without distractions , etc.


• Do they have a preference for learning online?


• Are they encouraged by supervisors to complete courses? An optimum situation is not only where supervisors encourage participation, but where they also  discuss the course with staff (what was learned, how they will apply the new skills or knowledge, etc.).

Content

• Is the content relevant to the learner and their job?


• Is the content engaging and have an appropriate level of interactivity?


• Is the content succinct?

Navigation and orientation

• Does the course allow user control?  Adults like to direct their own learning.


• Is there an ease of navigation? Difficult or confusing navigation is discouraging and certainly does not increase attention span.


• Does the learner know where they are in the course at all times (orientation)?

When all elements are in place, I believe course participants' attention span is 30 minutes maximum. It has been my experience that longer courses, even with all of the above elements, do not maintain participants' attention. Courses I have developed that fall below this 30 minute threshold have higher completion rates and time spent in the courses are more reflective of the estimated course completion times.  I cannot say the same for my hour long courses.

Here are links to what others have said about this topic:

Sailing by the Sound blog

ZaidLearn

Clark Aldrich

I Came, I Saw, I Learned...

Please feel free to share your opinion on the attention span of e-learning participants and what factors may affect it.

Searching Screenr

I am still exploring Screenr. While exploring, I wanted to find Flash tutorials... I can never learn enough about Flash. Am I missing something? Believe it or not, there is no search function on the Screenr site.  Luckily, I eventually found a Screenr tutorial on how to search Screenr. Thescreencast is below and was created by onEnterFrame.

http://screenr.com/Content/assets/screenr_0817090731.swf
Remember, if you are looking for Screenr tutorials, just use a search engine to  conduct a site search - site:screenr.com yoursubject. And yes I know one could search Twitter for Screenr tutorials, but keep in mind many companies still do not allow access to Twitter.

Thank you onEnterFrame for sharing this simple solution.

Using Screenr to Create a Video Post

With all the hub-bub around Screenr, I had to check it out. It is extremely easy to use. If you have not heard about it yet, Screenr gives you the ability to capture your computer screen, mouse movements and audio (e.g. software simulations).  Once you click done, it compiles it and sends it and your text description out as a tweet.

While I was playing around with it, I realized I can capture my webcam on it...what an easy way to create a video post that I can tweet.  Here is the result of a 2 minute investment of time.
http://screenr.com/Content/assets/screenr_0817090731.swf
If you would like to see it in my Twitter timeline, you will find me at http://twitter.com/minutebio (@minutebio).

My Top 10 e-Learning Tools

Jane Hart is gathering top ten lists for e-learning tools. Thus far, 203 people in the e-learning field have submitted their list. I have posted my e-learning toolkit in the past, but not what I necessarily consider my "top e-learning tools." So, here are my top 10 e-learning tools. They are not stand alone e-learning tools, but together allow me the ability to create effective e-learning courses. I have included how and why I use these tools.

1. Adobe Flash - An essential tool for creating highly interactive elements, including animation, games, immersive learning simulations, and almost anything else you want if you can manage writing or finding the actionscript.


2. Adobe Fireworks - It is my choice for editing graphics because it is user-friendly to non-graphic artists like me. And it worked very well with my Macromedia Flash when I was getting started in e-learning... old habits are hard to break.


3. Adobe Captivate - Fantastic for creating simulations (software sims and branching sims), plus it does a good job recording audio for your sims. Being able to add quizzes and publish SCORM/AICC compliant courses is a big plus too.


4. DHTML authoring tool - My preference is OutStart Trainer (TrainerSoft). Being able to create SCORM/AICC compliant courses that imports Flash SWF files and plays well with the LMS makes my ability to implement e-learning much easier.


5. WordPress - I am using it right now to get my blog posts out. Writing my blog is a great way share, learn, and connect with others in the e-learning field. It gets me out of my e-learning vacuum.


6. Adobe Dreamweaver - Still the best tool for creating web pages (I occasionally have to do that) and  jerry-rigging the HTML in courses.


7. Windows MovieMaker - Editing videos prior to using them in courses.


8. Twitter - Another way for me to share, learn, and connect with others in the e-learning field. I expect either it or Yammer to play a larger role for informal learning at my company.


9. Notepad -  Editing XML, which is extremely useful in working with DHTML courses and sometimes Flash courses.


10. SnagIt - Extremely helpful when making software  sims or getting screenshots for courses.

Learn About Tomorrow's Lunar Impact

Tomorrow NASA has a planned impact with the Moon. Here are a few resources to learn more about the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission, which if successful will identify water on the Moon.



And here are some LCROSS resources directly from NASA:

NASA's LCROSS mission website

LCROSS Flight Director's blog

Good luck NASA, if there's H2O up there, you'll find it!

Flash is Coming to Blackberry - Announced at Adobe Max

Today Adobe announced they will be releasing Flash Player 10.1, which will extend the use of Flash on mobile devices. And RIM has added its Blackberry to the list of devices that will run this newest version of Flash Player. Read more about it. No exact date has been set for when it will appear on the Blackberry just yet.

And with Flash 10.1, we probably won't need, or hear about, Flash Lite any longer.

As stated in earlier posts, I believe that Flash's availability on Blackberries will be a boon to m-learning. Sad to say, Flash on the iPhone is still not on the horizon.

Quick Explanation of Google Wave - Video

Here is a video from Epipheo that sums up Google Wave in just 2 minutes.



If you want to learn more, go to http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html.

Adobe Flash in Your Car

Adobe Flash has continually been showing up in more and more places. Phones, TVs, Billboards (really just big monitors in airports and mega stores), now in your car. QNX has created the Connected Automotive Reference (CAR) platform, which provides interactive interfaces for dashboard displays and car entertainment consoles. And games, widgets and videos can be integrated into these systems. WARNING: e-Learning while driving may be dangerous, leave it to the passengers.



FYI: This is not a thing of the future. Cars are offered now with QNX based systems, including BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Jaguar, Mercedes, Porsche and Toyota.