How to design elearning that’s memorable and budget-friendly

19 May 2010 By 19 Comments

Need to make an impact on a budget? You might find some ideas in this presentation.

It shows five decisions you can make that will help you save money and create more memorable elearning. It’s split into five short videos for easy idea-snacking and to meet the restrictions of YouTube.

Highlights include a matrix that helps you decide if training will solve the problem (part 2) and an example of a storyboard that emphasizes activities, not information (part 5).

Here’s the first part.

These links go to YouTube:

Part 1

  • Super-quick overview of action mapping
  • “Awareness” and “tracking” aren’t good reasons to create a course

Part 2

  • Handy matrix to help you answer, “Why aren’t people doing what we need them to do?”
  • Will a course really solve the problem?
  • Example of a multiple-choice question and feedback that simulate the real world

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Instructional design, Scenario design Tagged With: , , , , ,

Why you want to focus on actions, not learning objectives

4 August 2009 By 61 Comments

Two fire fighters look at a fire
Pop quiz!

1. What do these people need to do?

A. Put out the fire

B. Describe the techniques used to extinguish a fire

 

 

 
Woman working at flower shop

2. What does this woman need to do to stay in business?

A. Sell flowers

B. Explain the principles of the flower-selling process

 

 

 

volunteer
3. This young man wants you to give him money. Which objective are you more likely to fund?

A. Build a home for a displaced family in Sudan

B. Describe how to build a home for a displaced family in Sudan

 

 

Learning objectives are wimpy

A typical learning objective focuses on what each person supposedly needs to know, ignoring whether this knowledge will actually lead to useful action.

Instead, to create elearning that changes real-world behavior, we have to first identify what people need to do, and only then decide if there’s anything that they need to know.

Identify the action, then the knowledge

Many people start their design by writing learning objectives. Instead, it’s helpful to first choose a business goal for your project and then identify each “action” needed to reach that goal. (See action mapping and the Elearning Blueprint for lots more on this.)

What’s an action?

An action: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Instructional design Tagged With: , ,