Happy New Year to all of you! And thank you for your contributions to this blog and to my growth as an elearning designer and writer.
As I write this, there are 30 posts in the blog and 239 comments. Many conversations continue long after a post appears.
Below are four of the posts with the most in-depth discussions. If you haven’t seen them recently, check them out, and please add your own ideas. It’s never too late to contribute.
Addicted to audio? and Should we narrate on-screen text? 31 comments
- How can we provide information in multiple ways without being redundant or spending too much money?
- Does narrating on-screen text help or hurt accessibility?
- Will learners get confused if some parts of the course have audio and others don’t?
- Is text-to-speech software an effective replacement for human voices?
Makeover: Turn objectives into motivators. 14 comments
- Are bulleted-list objectives ever useful?
- How should we evaluate how well a course meets its objectives?
- Is a course focused on real-world application always more expensive than straight information delivery?
Is a course really the answer? 14 comments
- Is a click-Next-to-continue course ever the best solution?
- Does controlling learners’ access to information improve learning?
- How much structure should we provide?
What topics would you like to discuss next? Do you have any questions for your fellow blog readers? Leave a comment below, or feel free to send me an email (see my address here).
Photo ©iStockPhoto.com/fpm
Hi Cathy,
Can you touch upon the use of psychology in writing? I read that Agatha Christie was a huge hit as she embedded a lot of psychological insights in her writing. I also recognized that aspect of her writing when I was reading “After the funeral” a novel by Agatha where she dwells on the character of a lady named Cora.
Even though it seems far-fetched for instructional writing, how can we bring in the psychological element or chunk when we write? Can you share your thoughts?
-Anitha
Anitha, thanks for your comment. I used to write fiction (back when I had time!), and I think a lot of techniques used in fiction apply well to elearning. These include creating interesting characters with believable motivations and creating psychologically compelling situations.
While it’s easiest to apply these techniques when writing simulations or scenarios, it can be a fun challenge to also use psychological insight when presenting information or procedures. I’ll try to cover this in future blog posts. Thanks for your suggestion!
I’ve received an email request for information about ways to offer just in time, on-the-job training and individualized coaching. I think a lot of what we now try to do in courses will move to more flexible, just-in-time delivery, and I’ll be covering that in the blog.
I think wikis are a natural tool to use for this, especially as they continue to replace standard intranets. The Elearning Blueprints are based on a wiki, and as they come out of beta I’ll be able to offer them as an example.
Hi Cathy,
Starting this year, I can’t stop about wondering about a new LMS approach, new techonologies and social learning. Any contributions about that?
Keep on moving. I really enjoy your posts!
Hi Flavio,
I’m also interested in social learning and how new technologies can help us change and support performance, and I’ll try to cover that in the blog. I’m likely to stay away from any LMS topics, however, since I’m not an LMS expert and am actually rather suspicious of the things. Another blog that’s sure to cover LMS developments is Tony Karrer’s blog at http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/ .
Thanks for your comment!
I straddle the fields of education, business, and communication. I just blogged about a way of analyzing new communication technologies and its impact on organizational communication (http://connecting2theworld.blog.com/). I think these same categories could be used to analyze how the impact these new technologies have on learning and instructional design.
Virginia, thanks for your comment. I agree those categories are useful ways to categorize technology. Once people identify the problem they’re trying to solve with their instruction, they could consider which type of technology would be best for each aspect of the solution.
Hi Cathy,
Great site! Your blog is a great addition to my eLearning feeds.
One topic I’d like to see you cover is visual design in eLearning, something I feel isn’t addressed often enough. There’s lots of talk about theory and application, but how about giving eLearning a visual appeal that will bring the learners back? Most the eLearning I’ve experienced falls far short of the mark in this area.
Since there seems to be little discussion out there regarding visual design in eLearning, I’ve recently started to blog about the topic myself. I feel it is an aspect of eLearning design that deserves some attention. Hopefully some of you will find this a valuable supplement to the rest of the eLearning discussion going on out there.
http://www.equixotic.com/
Keep up the great work Cathy – I’m really enjoying your stuff so far.
Chris, welcome to the blog, and thanks for the link to yours. I agree that visual design in elearning doesn’t get nearly enough love. We need to address both visual appeal (so the learner will actually want to use the material) and instructional effectiveness.
Often a graphic explains something better than words alone, yet we use words because they’re easier to produce, comment on, and change. I’ll be sure to talk about this in the future.