When it comes to training, most organizations have a need for product training. Be it manufacturing, pharmaceutical, electronics or finance, product training needs to be imparted by companies in all industries. So, how does one cater to a single form of training for such different segments? In this post, we will look at a few effective e-learning design strategies that are best suited for product training across various industries. An important point to remember - don’t just jump into explaining the product and its features. "Create a context" and set the stage before you introduce the product. For instance, you can make use of a problem-based scenario where a customer is having a hard time doing his work and looks for a solution, and in this setting, the solution is your product. Such a context drives home two vital points.  Customer problems  Target audience  Here is an example of creating a context for a calibration product. The greatest challenge for any sales representative is to show the customer how the product works. Organizations spend thousands of dollars in road shows and events. When it comes to e-learning, videos are the most common way to demonstrate a product. However, there are certain products which cannot be demonstrated using videos. For instance, it is not possible to show the pharmacokinetics of a drug using videos. In such instances, you can use "animations" to demonstrate your product. They are not only interesting to watch but also leave a long lasting imprint in the mind of the learner. A display of your product with visually rich animations beats the routine bullet points any day! Take a look at how pharmacokinetics of Aprovel and Bisphosphonates are shown in animations. Most clients come to us seeking an interactive demonstration for their e-learning courses. This requirement is most commonly asked for software products where the learner is required to gain an understanding of the process or steps involved in an online tool or web link. In such instances, you can make use of "simulations" which are virtual settings of the real-world product. The most unique aspect of using simulations is the Watch-Try-Do approach, where your learner first watches the simulation and tries it in the course before actually using the real software platform. This kind of learning minimizes errors that could take place while working on the real-world software platform. Here is an example of a watch and try simulation. I hope you find this post informative. What are the strategies you use to create your product training course? Feel free to post a comment. Related PostsFormulating Excellent Design Strategies for Top-notch Product TrainingMeeting the Changing Product Training Requirements - How?Online Product Training Design Strategies

IPad - a device that has revolutionized the corporate world. According to the Mac Observer, 94% of Fortune 500 companies are either testing or using this device from Apple. The widespread usage of iPads has resulted in the opening of new vistas in online training. No longer were learners required to carry "heavy" laptops or remain confined to their desks. People could conveniently go through online courses on these devices. Indeed, these devices have truly made learning anytime, anywhere. The iPad is an information powerhouse, and various hardware features and networking capabilities of this tablet computing device support a wide variety of media which are very useful to deliver high quality training to the mobile workforce. Hope you find this post interesting. Do share your views. Related PostsBest Practices for Developing M-learning Courses - An InfographicAssessment Strategy for M-learning5 Ways to Deliver Effective Training through IPads

Content comprehension is an important step in the e-learning development process. It broadly includes identification of relevant content and its separation from irrelevant content and arranging it in a proper manner. It enables instructional designers (IDs) to ensure that topics ‘flow’ in a logical sequence. It also helps IDs to find gaps in the content. If performed effectively, it will help you understand the subject-matter of the course better, and you will be able to present the content in an easily understandable manner. Here, I would like to share an info-graphic, which shares a step-by-step process to comprehend the content effectively before developing online courses. Hope you find this post interesting. Do share your views. Related Posts4 Tips for Developing E-learning Course Using Rapid Authoring Tools5 Ways to Make E-learning Interesting - An Infographic4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning Courses

E-Learning is gradually replacing the classroom training format, worldwide. 41.7 % of fortune 500 companies are using e-learning tools for online training (E-learning Magazine 2013). Online courses need to be engaging and interactive because they are self-paced i.e. an instructor is not present to deliver the courses. Learning design professionals always try hard to make online courses as interactive as possible using scenarios, case studies, graphics, multimedia elements etc. In spite of using all these things, sometimes they forget to make the courses on the basis of fundamental elements of learning which form the basis of an effective e-Learning course. These elements describe how learning takes place. Here is an info-graphic which lists the elements. Hope you find this post useful. Please do share your views. Related PostsEffective Elements That Make Online Learning More Engaging5 Ways to Make E-learning Interesting - An Infographic5 Ways to Enrich Your Online Training Courses - An Infographic

Every organization has to follow a set of laws which govern their sector in the country they operate. So, it needs to ensure that the employees are effectively trained on these rules to avoid compliance issues. Traditionally, this was done through face-to-face training in an engaging manner. But, with organizations expanding globally and the need for constant training, companies started using e-learning to quickly reach their global employees. But unfortunately, they land up with dull, boring and uninspiring courses which don’t give them the expected results. This happens because they present the content from a legal perspective instead of employees’ point of view with no relevance to their jobs. According to a Towards Maturity research report, 67 percent of organizations shared that user engagement and content overloading are the top barriers for delivering technology-enabled compliance training. So, how do we solve this? How do we make compliance courses interesting and purposeful? We must present the policies or laws in a simple manner and use an application-oriented theme, to help the learner apply what he has learnt in his job. We have worked on many compliance courses on different topics, which got good feedback. I would like to share some of them with you. 1. Course on Information Security Strategy used - narrate workplace incidents in the form of stories to convey the policy We have used slide shows to present different types of data (confidential, public, restricted, internal) that the company uses. We came up with relevant situations that the learners are likely to face in their jobs, to make the courses more learner-centric. We designed the scenarios using the inputs shared by the subject-matter experts (SMEs). Then, we explained the dos and don’ts of security using interactivities. We designed drag and drop exercises for assessments to make the course interesting. 2. Course on Trade Compliance Governance Strategy used - allow learners to explore and learn to ensure better engagement Here, the stakeholder wanted to explain the importance of a trade policy to the audience and check their understanding. We started the course with a question asking ‘Do you know’ and explained what the policy says. We have designed ‘explore and learn’ interactivities (book form with icons) to explain the various procedures that are to be followed as part of the governance. We explained each procedure/ situation, along with a few hyperlinks for the participants to go on a "web trip". If they are confident, they can go ahead with the next procedure. If not, they can go on a web trip - explore, learn, and then come back to go to the next point. Once they are done with exploring the process, they are asked to attempt the final quiz. As this enables active learning, the training is likely to be more engaging and effective. 3. Course on Unlawful Harassment Strategy Used - link dos and don’ts using case studies One of the principles of adult learning is that adults come with prior knowledge and love to be equal partners in the learning process. So, we presented the content in the case studies to check their prior understanding. The various types of discrimination are introduced using vector images. Once the learner clicks on the image, the topic is explained followed by a case study with a series of questions. The learners are given a question/ situation and a set of options to choose from. Once he submits an answer, he will receive a comprehensive feedback telling him why he is right or wrong. In this way, employees get to understand the situations relevant to the ‘job context’, rather than as an isolated piece of law or rule. Compliance training needs to be engaging, making participants feel that they gained something in the process. These were some strategies that we have used for the purpose. How did you make your compliance courses engaging? We would love to hear your experiences. Related PostsClassroom Training or E-learning - Which is Best for Compliance TrainingImportance of Regulatory Compliance Training in an OrganizationBarriers to Effective Compliance Training

Adding videos to e-learning courses helps learners retain information better. Articulate Storyline provides 3 options to insert videos into e-learning courses, by default. In this post, I will explain how we met a client requirement pertaining to insertion of videos. A client asked us for a requirement that their courses should have only online videos and the entire course should be developed using Articulate Storyline. We can meet this requirement using the Video from Website option of Storyline. Following are the steps to add online videos to e-learning courses using Articulate Storyline. Step 1: Develop a HTML code as shown in the below screenshot. In the above code, the word autoplay plays the video automatically. We can also adjust the height and width of the video in the code. Step 2: Go to Insert tab and click Video. Then, select the Video from Website option. A window will be opened as shown below. Step 3: Paste the above code in the window. Then, click the Insert button to insert the video into the slide. Step 4: Publish the course and check the output. Note: Videos are displayed only on HTML5 output. These are the steps to add online videos to an e-learning course using Articulate Storyline. Hope you find this post interesting. Do share your views. Related PostsHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?Rapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key FeaturesArticulate Storyline’s Best Way of Quizzing: Question Banks

In my previous blogs, I have discussed about the importance of instructional design strategy and visual design strategy, the two main elements of e-learning in terms of design approach. In this blog, I will discuss about the significance of audio and audio strategy.  While videos have their own importance, they need to be supported with good audio. An effective audio strategy plays an important role, in terms of improving the efficacy of the course content. When we think of audio, we think of narration. Most of us forget that music and sounds can also be used very effectively to enhance learning. For example, if you are developing an e-learning course on fire alarms, you can enhance the effectiveness of the course, by using the sound of a fire alarm. Audio component in an e-learning course can be defined as the combination of narration, music and sounds. You can use these elements to enhance the effectiveness of learning. Sometimes, visuals shown on the screen need explanation and audio narration can be used for this purpose. To break the monotony of narration, you can use sounds while providing feedback on learners’ responses to assessment questions. You can use sounds like "oops" or "buzzer sound" for incorrect answers and "applause" for the correct ones. This would make the course more interesting and add a fun element to the learning. Proper use of audio in e-learning: Results in better understanding of the learning material Makes the e-learning content persuasive Engages the learner for an extended period of time Adds an element of interest Plays a key role in the learning process, when accompanied by the visuals How much audio narration is needed in e-learning? The Cognitive Load Theory explains that the learner’s working memory can retain only a certain amount of information. It stores auditory information separately from visual information, i.e., words in auditory channel and pictures in the visual channel. So, if you present too much of information with or without audio, there are chances of the learner getting confused, and he may not understand what exactly is being taught. Audio has to be a part of the total picture, as we learn best if we see, hear or do. It is possible only when the information presented does not overload the learner’s mental capacity. You can use audio to explain a complex process/process flows, complicated definitions, key points, simulations etc. You shouldn’t read every word of the on-screen text. One should also remember to synchronize the audio and animations properly as it helps explain the text and graphics better. Audio should always be aligned to support learning principles if it is to improve learning significantly. Hope you find this blog informative. Do share your views. Related PostsGuidelines for Content Chunking to Design Effective Online Courses4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning CoursesImportance of the Audio Component in E-learning

A Learning Management System (LMS) is essentially used to plan and publish e-learning courses online, to be accessed by learners. Earlier, LMSs were technology-based and quite complex for end users (both administrators and learners) to navigate and manage courses or access them. Users had to rely on the technical team even for minor issues or requirements. Every problem had to be addressed by IT personnel. This was frustrating and resulted in an unenthusiastic response to the LMS as a whole by the users. Very few registered for the courses, and even those who did never completed them. Only mandatory compliance courses had 100% completion rates for obvious reasons! However, LMSs have improved considerably over the years. They have many new features that can be used to make the platform user-friendly. This info-graphic shares tips to make your LMS platform easy to use, and thereby, increase user registrations. Pin it and share it now! Related Posts5 Ways to Make E-learning Interesting - An InfographicCustomizing the Self-Enrollment Feature in LMS10 Questions You Need to Answer Before Selecting an LMS

Articulate Storyline can be used to perform a wide variety of calculations. In this blog, I will explain how to compute cumulative average (a weighted average based on the points obtained in all the units in a course) using this rapid authoring tool. One of our clients wanted us to develop a course which contained 20 questions. If the learner answers a question correctly in the first attempt, he gets 20 points. If he gets the answer right in the second or subsequent attempts, he gets 10 points. The client also wanted to display the cumulative score in terms of percentage after attempting each question. To meet this requirement, it is necessary to compute the cumulative average of the score. Here are the steps to be followed. Step1: First you should know the maximum possible score for your course. (For example, in this course, we have 20 questions and each question carries 20 points if the learner answers it correctly in the first attempt, and 10 points are awarded if he gets the answer right in the second or subsequent attempts. So, we see that a maximum of 400 points can be scored.) Step2: Create two numeric variables "count" and "score" with default value "0". Step3: Add value "20" to "count" in the correct layer if the user answers the question correctly in his first attempt. Add value "10" to "count" in the correct layer if the user answers the question correctly in the second or subsequent attempts. How can we show the variation of score for his first attempt and subsequent attempts? To find out, you can visit my earlier post "Varying Scores Based on Number of Attempts: How to do it in Articulate Storyline" Step4: Create the following triggers. Trigger1: Adjust variable "score" is equal to the value of "count". Trigger2: Divide variable "score" by maximum number of points in course (here the maximum number of points is 400). Trigger3: If you want to show the cumulative average as a percentage then you can multiply the variable "score" with 100. Step5: Display the value of the variable "score" on each screen by placing the name of the variable in between two "%" symbols. Repeat step4 and step5 in all slides. This is how you can calculate some typical calculations. Hope you find this post useful. Do share your views. Related PostsRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key FeaturesHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?Performing Simple Financial Calculations Using Articulate Storyline

Despite today’s technology and a connected world, classroom training is still an effective method to impart training to all employees. But, instructor-led teaching may not be appropriate for all training needs. Suppose there is a requirement for an organisation to train its employees spread across the globe, on a particular product, in a month’s time, classroom training will not serve the purpose. Here, e-learning serves as a good option to train employees, at comparatively lower costs, within a given schedule. Due to improvements in reliability and speed, converting classroom training materials into online courses has become a justified and cost-effective opportunity. E-learning is the perfect delivery format to provide effective learning to improve the productivity of an organization. There is a considerable growth in the demand for e-learning, and it is proven to be an effective solution to address organizational needs in terms of efficiency, consistency, flexibility and quicker implementation. One of our clients wanted to convert its ILT material into a 2 hour online course. Its major challenge was to train its geographically dispersed personnel. Having learnt about our expertise in providing e-learning solutions, the client approached us with a requirement to train their global employees on leadership skills. Inputs were in the form of a MS-Word document which consisted of 8 sessions. They wanted a highly interactive course to be developed using Articulate Storyline. We followed these steps to develop modules. Phase-1: Comprehension of the learning content As soon as we received the inputs, we started comprehending the content. We had an internal kickoff with the team members who came up with a few queries about the inputs and strategy. We then interacted with the client to clarify all our queries. Here, we advised them to have a curriculum-based approach (a list of all the modules that cover a particular concept broadly). The client was excited about the approach and asked us to proceed. Phase-2: Development of a prototype Once the inputs and strategy were clear to us, we selected some slides which required extensive visualization and developed a prototype to provide a quick overview of how the course looks. We sent the prototype for the client’s approval. This enabled us to make the necessary changes as per the client feedback immediately. After the prototype was approved, we were able to proceed with the design proof. Phase-3: Module-wise development Once the prototype was approved by the client, we started developing the storyboards. The ILT material provided by the client pertained to 8 sessions and contained practical activities to test the learner. We standardized all the 8 modules. Each module consisted of: An introduction Learning objectives Formative assessments at the end of each topic A brief summary to reinforce learning A quiz at the end of each module to test the learners’ knowledge Resources which were given as handouts to the learners Paraphrasing narration that provided an overview of the on-screen text As soon as we designed the storyboard, we started the course development. We then sent each module individually for the client’s approval. There were a few edits which we updated. We then proceeded with the audio integration. Once the final approval was given, we merged all the 8 modules (as per the client’s requirement) and deployed the entire course on the LMS. Following this three-phase process helped us develop an engaging and captivating course by meeting the customer’s expectations with exceptional service. Thus, converting ILT materials into e-learning courses is an effective way to improve performance and enhance learners’ engagement. Please do share your comments on the same. Related Posts4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning CoursesOrganizing Training for Different LearnersPointers to Help Employees Embrace E-learning