When to use eLearning

Back around the time AOL was the number one Internet Provider and the sitcom “Cheers” ruled the airwaves, computer seminars were all the rage.  Software Companies would book huge conference centres and invite customers to attend “how to” sessions.   I actually participated in one of these myself that was intended to demonstrate to the audience members how to use Microsoft Office products more effectively.   The session was held in an auditorium with at least 500 in the audience and the demonstrations being broadcast on a 10 x 10 screen at the front.  As we did not have laptops the only way to follow along was to watch the small screen at the front and take notes as quickly as possible.  After 60 minutes of this fruitless exercise I got up and left along with the person sitting beside me, who as we were leaving the room said something that I have never forgotten….” This would have been much easier to do at home” My prophetic friend could not have been more correct, and while it did take a few more years before hosted webinars were the norm, eventually the message was received.

This leads to what I wanted to briefly discuss, that being how does one determine when to use eLearning versus in class, instructor led sessions.

In some instances, making the determination between using eLearning or instructor led training is simple, and often done for you before development starts.  For example, consider geographic location of the intended audience.  If the material you are developing is intended for a national or even global audience, or it is not economically feasible to bring your intended audience in to a classroom, then eLearning it is.   Also, aside from the fact eLearning is a significantly cheaper option when compared to instructor led training, many organisations are now focusing on making “greener” choices when it comes to the business decisions that are made.  Understanding that, using eLearning is a perfect compliment to that philosophy.  By having the participant learn from home or the office, the individual’s carbon footprint is significantly reduced by avoiding unnecessary travel, hotel stays or the use of conference halls, classrooms, etc.

Another simple determining factor is content.  What is it that you wish the students to learn?   If the learning objectives all relate to understanding the finer points of karate, then I and probably most of us would choose to attend a class led by a qualified instructor as opposed to staying home and watching Bruce Lee movies.  However, if the tasks, activities, functions, etc. are either performed on a computer or easily viewed on any type of media, then there is a very high probability that eLearning will be the best method for providing that content.  Colleges and Universities across North America have been using self paced eLearning for several years now to provide instruction in almost all courses that are offered as part of their curriculum, so the limits are endless when it comes to what subjects one can learn through eLearning.

In some instances, the pros/cons are seemingly equal between going with instructor led training versus eLearning.  In these situations, a person then should consider who will deliver the training if instructor led is chosen as the delivery method.  I am sure most would agree that just because a person is an expert on the content, does not mean they will be able to effectively teach the material to a classroom full of students.   We have all been in at least 1-2 classrooms where the facilitator was a terrible communicator, could not manage questions, was rude to the student’s, etc.…  As such in situations where there may not be 100% confidence in the ability of finding the right facilitator to deliver the content, then eLearning would be the way to go.

Finally, if nothing else trust your instincts and common sense to help make the eLearning versus instructor led training decision.  If an experienced developer can picture themselves completing the training they have been asked to create using eLearning, then chances are that is the right choice.

To learn more about eLearning training solutions offered by Pathways please visit our website at http://www.Pathwaysinc.ca

Learning and education concept in 3d word tag cloud on white

Strategies for Developing an Effective eLearning Course

Recently I attended a seminar that was being offered by a software vendor, who was trying to entice the participants to purchase their development products.    The 30-minute session started with a facilitator literally doing a back-flip as she entered the stage.  With audience attention now definitely focused on her, for the next 25 minutes she proceeded to enthrall everyone with her tales of past Olympic competition glory.   For the final 5 minutes of the presentation she mentioned the development software, said it was a “Gold Medal Winner” and exited stage left for an autograph session while the theme from “Rocky” was blasted though the hall speakers.   While I definitely left the conference hall with a deeper appreciation for how dedicated gymnasts are and how much they enjoy using the phrase “Awesome Sauce”, I unfortunately knew very little about the software I was looking forward to learning about.

While the above scenario may sound a bit ridiculous to some, I think the lesson is a good one for ELearning developers, and that is when you create a course make sure you understand what the overall learning objective is first.  Far too often I see ELearning that while perhaps well authored and engaging, fails to convey the learning objectives.   So simply put, if you ensure your material covers all specified learning objectives, you are well on your way to creating a successful ELearning course.  With that in mind here are few additional strategies I use when creating an ELearning program.

The proof is in the pudding.  If you want to know for certain if a person can complete the task you have just demonstrated, one sure fire way of making that happen is, to put it bluntly, make them prove it.   For shorter programs a test at the end of the course can be sufficient, however if your program is longer than 10 minutes it is always a good idea to include quick tests for understanding throughout the course.  This can be done through a game, true/false interaction or a multiple choice just to name a few.  Regardless of the activity you create remember that marking a course “complete” should not be the only indicator that the learning objectives were clearly understood.

Mix it up.  I have written in the past that I am amazed at what ELearning developers are coming out with but too much of a good thing is, well, a bad thing.   The options for what can be included in an ELearning course are endless so make making the best use of video, whiteboard animation, computer animation, gaming and music to name a few will go a long way in tuning a good ELearning course in to a great one.

Looking good.  Using graphics and images that are visually appealing are important, but no less important is ensuring you put the same effort in to using fonts that match the content and page, a layout that is logical and easy to navigate, colours and titles that do not clash and interactions that are smooth and consistent with the rest of the course.  Many students will tell you that regardless of how well written the material is, if the layout is difficult to follow, navigation does not make sense or the fonts are not pleasing to the eye, often that is where their focus is concentrated as opposed to the words on the screen.

Less is more.  Adding to the above point on visual appeal, remember the page does not need to be filled from top to bottom.  White space is OK if all you wanted to convey were a few simple points.  To enhance the appeal when the page is a bit bare you can use bold, bullets, colours, etc…but regardless your choice remember to keep the focus on not filling the screen with animated explosions that are not part of the objective.

There are of course many more strategies for developing an effective ELearning course but I am hopeful the above gave you enough to think about for now.  As for the software I mentioned at the start of this, I never did end up buying the product but I did get my picture taken with an Olympic Gymnast, so the 30 minutes was not a complete waste of time I guess.

To learn more about ELearning training solutions offered by Pathways please visit our website at http://www.Pathwaysinc.ca

Young man pointing at E-Leaning concept over a tablet computer

Pathways: Winner of the Training Excellence award

Last week, Pathways Training and eLearning Inc.(Pathways) received an award for Training Excellence from the Institute for Performance and Learning. This coveted and prestigious award, recognizes the best in Canadian learning and development. (http://performanceandlearning.ca).

The award was achieved in the category of blended learning (classroom and eLearning) for successfully integrating these mediums into a highly interactive program. Additionally, the eLearning courseware included sustainment modules to ensure key learning concepts were continued over time, supported with an online portal for continuous, easily accessible ongoing learning.

According to Kurt Tiltack, Managing Partner of Pathways, “… on behalf of Pathways, may I say how honoured we are to win this award. A special thank you to our incredible team of innovative instructional designers and programmers for their hard work and for the trust and dedication of our long-term client and partners at OLG.”

More information about this award-winning program can be accessed via the following link http://performanceandlearning.ca/awards/ .

eLearning Gamification – Strengths of Virtual Simulation

Since the dawn of interactive entertainment, the then unattainable goal was virtual reality. But as technology advances and new innovations such as the Oculus rift, HTC vive, or Project Morpheus are bringing us closer than ever before.  But while a matrix like VR experience is still a long way off, the creation of interactive simulations has proven to be an excellent tool for learning and training for several reasons.

Greater retention of content

Thinking about the experience of an eLearning module vs. a video of the same content.  Assuming audio and visuals are identical to each, you will absorb more from an eLearning module because it involves interaction.  Without interaction the module cannot proceed. It is an active way of learning compared to the more passive example of video. User involvement automatically makes the experience more significant. This logic is what makes videogames such an immersive experience when compared to television or movies.

This same comparison can be made between virtual simulation vs. eLearning modules. Typically an eLearning module goes over the learning material and then eventually tests the user on it (in a similar manner to classroom learning).  But virtual simulations goes about learning in a more practical sense. Instead of being tested on content in a classroom setting, the user is thrust into the role. The virtual environment provides a practical learning environment which will help with the transfer of learning.  Studies have shown that learners recall 90% of information when simulations are used.

* Source – elearningindustry.com

Taking part in a simulation teaches the user in a much faster way, not only because engagement equals significance, but also because the nature of simulations results in a quicker rhythm of feedback teaching the user through their mistakes at a faster rate.

If you would like to learn more about eLearning, virtual simulations and gamification please visit us at

www.pathwaysinc.ca

How to Select the Right ELearning Vendor

In 1992 the novel “The Positronic Man” was released.  Written by legendary scholar and Author Isaac Asimov, the story is about a robot that as it learns more and more of the human condition, starts to replace its own robot parts with organic, more human material.   Considering the story was created by one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, and a man that had an immense intellect, one would think that the translation from book to film would have been easy, and wildly successful.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Year’s after the book was released it was turned in to a movie titled “Bicentennial Man” starring Robin Williams.  In a nutshell the result was not good, and considered by many experts in both film and books to be an incredibly poor interpretation of what Asimov had created, and in fact the movie is on just about every list that ranks great books that made poor movies.

After considering the above one can only assume that those responsible for turning the Asimov vision into reality were not clear on what the objective of the story was, or did not understand that what had been so eloquently stated in words was not necessarily going to be easily turned in to another medium, in this case film.

In the world of training development this happens all too often.  A customer has created materials that they feel are well written, clearly stated and effectively meets the learning objectives, but when these are provided to an ELearning vendor so that the words can be turned in to ELearning training, the meaning get’s lost in translation to the point the customer is dissatisfied with the end result and feel their work and time have been wasted.   The reason’s as to the cause of these issues are numerous, and can include anything from the vendor simply was not equipped or lacked the resources to manage the project, all the way to a complete lack of understanding as to the objective.   Regardless the cause one thing is clear, and that is most if not all issues can be avoided at the same critical point, and that is when the vendor is selected.

ELearning training vendors while perhaps numerous in the industry, are definitely not all the same.  Some specialise in a specific type of training development while others will do everything from creating a job aid to developing an hour long training video.  There are even vendors that do not actually create anything for their clients but instead outsource all of their work.  So knowing there are so many companies to choose from, how does a client decide what ELearning vendor is right for them?

Selecting the right vendor can be difficult and perhaps not always done the same way, but regardless of the scope and size of the project, these essential qualities and factors should always be considered during the selection process:

Experience:  What is the background of the ELearning professional?  Have they ever worked with a larger client, be that National or even Global?  Does the team have the necessary work experience and tenure in training development and facilitation as well as the necessary maturity to manage my account?  Big or small, it is important all projects have the right people working on them, people who understand the nuances of working with both larger companies and smaller, private organisations.  You also need a team that is passionate about training, take pride in their work and have a plethora of experience in all areas of ELearning development and  facilitation.

Available Resources & Qualifications:  How big is the vendor?  How many people will be available to work on the project?  What are their qualifications?  If your project includes video production it will be vital to have an experienced script design person, videographer, editor and project manager at a minimum.  Often some companies will be contracted to create a professional learning video, only to realise too late there is much more involved than having access to a decent camera and that they do not have the expertise for the job.  The result is then a video product that is poorly lit, choppy, uneven camera work and sounds terrible.

Examples of completed projects:  Regardless of the project a reputable ELearning vendor should be able to provide multiple examples of their work, be that an online brochure, interactive game, whiteboard animations or learning video to name a few.  Companies that are not able to provide quick access of work samples should be avoided for the obvious reason if they cannot provide an example, they probably have not done the work before.

Trust & Reputation:  Finally, if nothing else trust your own instincts as this, along with the recommendations of those whose opinion you value should be a good starting point as you evaluate the fit of a perspective vendor.   All good ELearning vendors will readily, if not anxiously show off their awards and accommodations which can be helpful and certainly well earned, however above this should be considered the vendor’s reputation with those companies they have worked for.  Ultimately, if you want to know if someone is capable of doing great work, the best person to ask is those they have done it for already. Good advice I think, and hopefully something that is considered before another masterpiece in literature is lost in translation.

To learn more about ELearning training solutions offered by Pathways please visit our website at http://www.Pathwaysinc.ca

The Advantages of ELearning

Often when completing a needs analysis for a development project I am asked to include elements of ELearning.  When I inquire as to what type of ELearning the stakeholders were interested in, the reply is often “you know…the normal kind”.

This is not to suggest that those responsible for assigning training development projects such as a program leader or operations manager do not know what they need or are not very familiar with ELearning…quite the contrary, often they know more than they realise.   By that I mean many people tend to think of ELearning as something that is relatively new in training development, but the truth is ELearning has been in all of our daily lives for several years.  Early examples of ELearning include taking a driver’s exam that used video and online testing, or installing software that came with a “how to” section…. even doing your taxes online, something that has been around for more than 10 years, could be considered ELearning.

Simply put, ELearning can be any activity that uses navigation (forward, back, pause, next, etc.…) and is presented in a digital format.  Examples of ELearning can range from something as simple as explaining how to fill out a form using highlights and arrows, to much more complex materials that incorporate elements such as HD video, gaming, interactive activities and whiteboard animation while tracking the learners progress and providing pass/fail feedback for all tests and quizzes.

The advantages of ELearning are enormous and go far beyond the significant cost savings that companies and learners alike enjoy by choosing ELearning over more traditional classroom training.  With ELearning the student completes their training from any location, on any device and often at their own pace, and with the expansion of the virtual classroom ELearning continues to grow and evolve to the point many students of today are earning degrees from accredited Universities without ever stepping foot on a campus!

While the advantages of ELearning are certainly impressive it is important to note there are times an instructor may be needed to assist with the ELearning journey, however that journey continues to become more and more exciting each passing day and I have no doubt that when it comes to ELearning, the best is yet to come!

To learn more about ELearning solutions offered by Pathways please visit our website at http://www.Pathwaysinc.ca

Advancements in Instructional Design

Highway Signpost with New Technology wording on Sky Background.

As we progress through the 21^st century I continually marvel at the technological advances that have been introduced and continue to emerge at a rapid rate.  Just in the past few years we have seen cars that can park themselves, a fridge that can tell you when you need to buy milk, a phone that can lock your door when you are a thousand kilometres away, robots that can clean your floors and drones filling our skies that are quite literately flying where no man has flown before and doing everything from delivering a package to mapping out the best areas to grow crops.   While many of these examples have made our lives easier they have also conditioned us to expect the same type of progress in all aspects of our lives, including how we learn.

It wasn’t that long ago that training meant going to classroom, reading from a thick manual and listening to a facilitator tell you what you needed to know.  Now while there remain situations where having a facilitator assist you in learning is beneficial, the fact remains today’s student expects more, and more is what they have been getting.  Through virtual learning today’s student can attend a course being taught by person on the other side of the country while still participating in live exercises, collaborating with their fellow students and receiving immediate feedback on tests and quizzes.   With mobile learning (or Mlearning) a student can not only access course material that has been specifically formatted for their hand held device or smartphone, but are also able to view and complete interactive exercises, the same as they would on a laptop or desktop computer.

Looking at the content being developed the advancements have been just as impressive. With Elearning, course materials and manuals come to life by integrating elements and interactions that keep the learner engaged. This can include 3D graphic and Whiteboard animation, technologies that not that long ago were only seen on your local movie screen. If that were not enough to excite and engage, learners can also complete exercises and reviews through gaming which is quickly becoming a popular option, especially with the younger audiences.

With the continued advances in training and course design there has emerged a parallel need to house the materials in a central location that is easily accessible for the learner. As such many organisations over these past few years have moved to using a Learning Management System, or LMS. These learning portals can provide the user many great options including easy access to course materials through a simple menu design and search features, links to social media, chat options, forums for discussions and quick availability to a student’s learning profile.

Considering all of the above I think it fair to say these are indeed exciting times in training and development and am equally certain that the best is yet to come!

To learn more about training solutions offered by Pathways please visit our website at http://www.Pathwaysinc.ca

What Makes a Great Vendor?

There are quite a few companies out there that focus on one trait when choosing a vendor: price. Although this is understandably a very important factor in your choice, there are some other aspects that should be considered as well. There’s a lot more to working with a vendor than just how low the invoice is, and here are a few:

1. Reliability – Can your vendor make deadlines and deliver what it promised to, or do they leave you blowing in in the wind?
2. Stability – Have they been around for a while and do they have proven successes with previous clients? Do they have repeat clients?
3. Competency – Do they offer the latest, most advanced solutions that will keep you ahead of the curve?
4. Responsiveness – How quickly do they respond to your requests and does it take a week for them to get back to you?
5. Consultative – Do they act as a true business partner and provide value-add or do they just do the bare minimum?

These are just a few considerations that you should think about when looking to hire a vendor or evaluating your current vendors. If you’re reading this and want to add to this list please do, I’d like to hear your thoughts!

Improving Employee Retention

There is an old proverb that states …” Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime..” While there is much debate as to the author of this proverb there is no denying the point, which at the core is that training is a good thing that can lead to a lifetime of fulfillment for the student. Ancient proclamations aside I do not think there would be much argument as to why it is advantageous to a learner to be properly trained, but what are the benefits for the employer?

Typically the objective of training is to teach a person a new skill, provide new or updated information or remind them of what they should already know. Therefore, one of the obvious benefits to the employer is that post training, your employee can do their job better, more efficiently, in a shorter period of time…etc. Now those are all good things, are critical to organisational success and thus clearly important, but another benefit of employee training for the employer is one that gets often overlooked, and that is employee retention.

Recent studies indicate that an employee who does not receive what they feel is proper training is up to 3 times more likely to leave an organisation vs those that considered the training at the workplace above average or excellent. Further to that point many experts agree that organisations who offer a coaching or mentoring program for employees can realise up to a 20% increase in employee retention, compared to organisations where no such program exists. The costs to an employer to replace employees that leave can have a significant impact on the bottom line as some organisations estimate an expenditure equivalent to the employee’s salary, if not more. Costs aside, many organisations experience significant “Skill Gaps” when employees leave, especially those that have 5 plus years experience. This happens when employees with unique skills and/or abilities leave before passing on their knowledge to a peer, and thus make replacing their role that much more difficult. Understanding that, I think it safe to say the argument to invest in an employee’s development is sound.

As a final thought consider the following from a report published in onlinemba *….By the year 2020, 46% of the workforce will be made up of millennials, or persons born after 1975. In a recent survey of this age group of people currently in the workforce, 65% said personal development was the most influential factor in their current job. Now considering personal development was selected ahead of other common influencers such as salary, benefits, work – life balance etc.. I would suggest it might be time to grab our fishing poles.

To learn more about training solutions offered by Pathways please visit our website at http://www.Pathwaysinc.ca

* https://onlinemba.unc.edu/blog/geny-in-the-workplace/

Trades Training and eLearning

With the industry trend towards eLearning and gamification of learning, one thing that I haven’t seen as much written about is what is happening with training associated with the professional technical trades, such as plumbing, carpentry, and automobile mechanics.

Training in the professional trades is typically very kinaesthetic and tactile, with much less time spent in a classroom, as practice and application are important to gaining mastery in these professions.  After all, would you hire an electrician whose body of knowledge was gained from reading a book to wire the fuse box in your home, or a car mechanic who has only ever watched it being done on a video to replace your car’s brake rotors?

While eLearning most certainly cannot replace the important hands-on physical learning that trades training requires, more and more technical college programs and trades associations are realising that eLearning can still be leveraged to supplement and even enhance the learning experience for students, as well as allowing the students to reduce their expenses and time away from home and work.

eLearning has generally replaced the classroom or theory component of the curriculum in trades training; in other words, the whats and the whys, not the hows.  From my observations many of these eLearning conversions have been less than innovative, mostly consisting of taking the existing classroom material and slapping them into slides, perhaps adding some graphics and animation if time and budget permit, and then loading the final product onto the LMS.

For kinaesthetic learners, which professional trades people often are, the end result can be a confusing mess, with too much learning content being served up at once, confusing instructions, and a general lack of interactivity.  In many instances the student would have been better served by listening to a classroom lecture in-person than by sitting at their desk reading what essentially is a user manual online.

Some colleges and associations have realised the shortcomings of their initial forays into eLearning, and have taken great steps towards increasing the engagement level and interactivity of their online offerings.  This has the advantage of letting students recall and synthesise the theoretical knowledge they have been studying much sooner than if they had just been reading a textbook or listening to a lecturer in a classroom, and perhaps also allows for a quicker transition to the hands-on component of their training program.  I have seen some recent examples of online trades training which even allow students to customise virtual houses and solve virtual problems using a virtual representation of their toolboxes, with some going so far as to include physical plug-in devices that mimic the application of a particular tool, like a wrench or pipe cutter!

At the end of the day, even though eLearning will not entirely replace the hands-on training that the professional trades require, if done properly it can enhance the learning process and introduce a level of flexibility previously missing in allowing students to complete their training.