A common request instructional designers are tasked with is to shift in-person training online.
But that doesn’t mean you have to start designing everything from scratch. Instructor-led training (ILT) material can be transitioned to an e-learning environment with a few strategic tweaks and adjustments. Of course, the right tools help, too.
Here are some practical tips to help you repurpose ILT content:
Why repurpose ILT?
There’s no doubt that ILT training works. It’s been used by businesses for decades to train their workforce in countless subjects and skills.
But the problem is that it no longer fits modern life. And traditional ILT presents challenges that no longer align with the pace and flexibility that organizations require.
This is because ILT requires several things:
- An instructor
- A physical space
- Logistics (all participants must be available at the same time and in the same place)
- Hard copies of training material
- Everyone to work at the same pace
This reliance on fixed logistics limits scalability while remaining cost- and resource-heavy. Ultimately, these issues limit the ability to run widespread or frequent training sessions.
In contrast, e-learning:
- Does not need an instructor
- Requires no physical training room
- Can be used by anyone at any time and at their own pace
- Has no limits on the number of participants
- Uses digital resources in place of hard copies
Essentially, e-learning gives organizations the power to train more people faster and with greater flexibility. It’s adaptable and accessible and simply fits in with people’s busy lifestyles.
But, in most cases, the material used for ILT is still fit for purpose. It just needs to be adjusted to fit within the e-learning environment.
By adapting what already works, you can launch e-learning programs faster and significantly reduce development costs – something organizations are always happy to do!
Key considerations for repurposing ILT content
Think about how a live environment works. The instructor interacts with their audience, and the learners interact with each other, asking questions, querying points, producing ideas, etc.
If the instructor needs to go off on a tangent about something or perform a demonstration, they can do that, and make the session more fluid and dynamic.
Also, an instructor can repeat content that may not have been fully understood the first time around and help learners catch up so they all stay on the same page.
With that in mind:
- If you simply record the content and then place it online, you’ve gone from an active experience to a passive experience which – let’s face it – is pretty dull and uninteresting. So, pre-recorded content needs to be engaging to retain interest.
- E-learning is an asynchronous environment which means content must be designed so learners can engage with it without relying on immediate instructor feedback.
- To replace the direct engagement between the instructor and learners, e-learning needs to incorporate learner-driven interactivity (scenarios, activities, quizzes, etc).
Ways to repurpose ILT content in instructional design
Here are five great ideas:
1. Recording live sessions
As I have mentioned, it’s not enough to record a live session and think, “job done.”
What are you going to do to make it as interesting as the actual live session?
First, no one wants to sit through an hours-long lecture. Given that the average attention span is roughly a minute (shocking, I know!), what are you going to do to stop people flicking over to social media?
Start by breaking the content down into short, bite-sized segments, otherwise known as microlearning. Think YouTube-style videos that are about ten minutes long.
Also, break each video segment down into chapters so viewers can quickly find and view specific parts.
Don’t just record someone talking (boring). Add visuals and graphics into the mix. Then back it up with captions, transcripts, and supplementary resources like workbooks.
Software is your friend here. There are loads of interactive video platforms (such as Vimeo) that will allow you to take existing videos and transform them into fun, interactive, and clickable experiences.
2. Convert classroom activities to scenarios
Replicating live activities can present a challenge. For example, a role-playing exercise where two or more participants engage with each other.
Here, it’s a great idea to transform these kinds of exercises into scenarios.
Besides working perfectly for e-learning, scenarios present learners with real-world situations or challenges and incorporate decision points (called branches) that affect the outcome.
This is interactive and engaging and gives the learner a chance to practice in a risk-free setting.
3. Transform slide decks into interactive modules
Slide decks are a staple in ILT, but let’s be real – they often act more as a crutch for instructors than as tools that enhance learner engagement. Bullet points (*snore*) and static visuals (why so much clipart?!) do nothing to spark interest.
Now is the perfect opportunity to give those slides a new lease of life and transform them from passive backdrops into something of actual value.
Extract the key points from the slides, then break them up into multimedia content.
What do I mean by this?
Think:
- Infographics
- Animations
- Narration and audio
- Short explainer videos
- Interactive, clickable areas like drag-and-drop activities or quizzes
4. Reformat handouts and workbooks
Yes, it’s easy to simply upload digital copies of handouts, etc., as supporting content. But this doesn’t always translate well to e-learning.
The resources need to be optimized for digital format. Don’t forget that learners will likely be viewing them on a mobile or similar device, so the content must be readable and accessible.
This may require redesigning them to be more visually appealing or to cut down large walls of text. You can use a tool like Canva for this.
Turn static handouts into interactive PDFs that allow learners to click through links, fill out forms, or access embedded videos.
Take care to keep the resources aligned with the e-learning content. So, if you’ve adapted and readjusted the learning sequence, then the workbooks must be updated to reflect the changes.
5. Move live elements online
E-learning doesn’t work for everything, particularly learning experiences that require collaborative exercises or practical demonstrations.
There’s no reason why you can’t move these things online, though.
For example, use live video training where needed (you can also record it and make it available afterward).
I also find it helpful to include a chat forum for learners to chat and share ideas. Live Q&A sessions (via chat or live video) also give learners the chance to engage directly with the instructor and get up to speed.
The challenges of repurposing learning content
Lack of engagement
The danger of e-learning is that it can easily become a passive learning experience, so your job is to make it as engaging and interactive as possible without going overboard.
For example, gamification is frequently used to keep learners engaged. Using points, leaderboards, and levels keeps learners invested in the final outcome.
However, you must ensure that gamified elements match the tone and style of the content and – most importantly – are relevant. Don’t add gamification for the sake of it or where it doesn’t make sense.
Content length
ILT often runs for hours at a time, but this is not going to work in an e-learning environment.
Apart from being overwhelming, you simply won’t engage people for that long (remember our tiny attention spans).
So, cut the fluff and distill the content into the key points. Focus only on what the learners must know and ditch the stuff that’s kinda interesting but not strictly relevant.
Then, break it down into microlearning modules so learners can focus on one thing at a time.
Tone and energy
The energy of a live environment can’t easily be replicated online. Nothing beats an energetic and passionate instructor who loves what they do.
Therefore, try and get the right people for your video content. Use experienced presenters who know how to exaggerate their performance so it translates well onto the screen (without being cheesy).
I’ll mention gamification here, too. Adding a competitive element helps keep energy levels and momentum running high.
Outdated material
When training is instructor-led, it’s straightforward to update materials in real time since there is always someone leading the learning experience.
This isn’t the case for e-learning, so you have to keep on top of the material and ensure it doesn’t become defunct or outdated.
- Implement regular reviews of your repurposed content (in fact, you should do this for all of your e-learning material).
- Switch out content and update it as necessary so everything remains current.
Technology and cost barriers
Repurposing ILT content tends to come with a higher upfront cost because you need to invest in things like authoring tools and platform subscriptions to make it happen.
Yet, this upfront investment pays off over time, since e-learning is more cost-effective to maintain and scale than live training sessions.
Choosing the right technology is important because you want to ensure the learning experience is high-quality. Plus, it’ll save you even more time and effort rather than struggling with less effective tools.
Luckily, a lot of necessary software is low cost. Twine, for example, is free, and Vimeo – the platform I referenced earlier – has plans from around $10/month.
A lot of LMS and LXP platforms contain features for repurposing, so if your organization or client uses one, then you may find you already have what you need.
Wrap up
I hope that you can take the tips in this article and apply them to your repurposing strategy.
It’s likely you will need to repurpose ILT content sooner rather than later in your instructional design career. So, having a plan in place upfront will help you hit the ground running.
Remember, interactivity and engagement are key, and take advantage of the available tools to make the job run smoothly.
By Janette Bonnet
Janette Bonnet is an experienced L&D professional who is passionate about exploring instructional design techniques, trends, and innovations.