It is well-said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Proper use of images in an e-learning course goes a long way in enhancing its effectiveness. It complements the on-screen text and reduces the cognitive load. Good images help communicate the intended message to the learner efficiently and are very useful to engage the learner. But, how can you make the best use of images in your online course? What are the things you need to remember when you incorporate visual elements in your e-learning course? Here is an info-graphic that shares 4 very useful tips. Hope you find this post interesting. How do you use images in your online courses? We’d love to know. Related Posts4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning CoursesTypes of Visuals and Their Functions in E-learning [Infographic]4 Important Aspects of Audio Narration in E-learning Courses - An Infographic

In my previous blogs, I have shared how we can develop courses, where learners are able to email the trainer, using JavaScript. But, in these courses, we enter the email ID that is present only inside of the JavaScript. Here, I would like to explain how the learner can mail to the email ID of his choice. He enters an email in a text box and the text box should be validated. The learner should be restricted to enter the email ID only in the provided text box. Here are the steps to validate a textbox. Step1: Insert a Text Entry Field. When we insert a text entry field, the TextEntry variable will be created automatically. Here, we want to validate this text entry field where user must enter only email IDs.  Step2: Create a Boolean variable Validate with the default value "False". Step3: Rename the variable "TextEntry" as "Email" for our convenience. Step4: Add a trigger such that "Adjust variable Validate to false when the slide timeline starts." Step5: This is an important step. Here, we can execute the JavaScript. Add a trigger as "Execute JavaScript when Control loses focus on TextEntry Add the below code in the JavaScript window. var check = /^\w+([-+.’]\w+)*@\w+([-.]\w+)*\.\w+([-.]\w+)*$/; var player = GetPlayer(); var email=player.GetVar("TextEntry");  var Validate=false; if (check.test(email)) { var Validate=true; } else { var Validate=false; } player.SetVar("Validate",Validate);  Step6: Now insert a button named "Submit", and add trigger such that "Jump to next slide when user clicks the "Submit" button" on a condition Validate is equal to "True" Step7: Now, publish your course and check the output. Hope you find this blog useful. Do share your views. Related PostsPosting an E-mail Using JavaScript in Articulate StorylineIntegrating Twitter in An Online course Developed in Articulate StorylineRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key Features

Mobile Learning is the availability of continuous and instant wireless communication without having to be restricted to a fixed place to seek knowledge. - Mike Sharples (Father of mobile learning) Why mLearning? According to a Morgan Stanley Research, 90% of the world population has access to a mobile telephone device. According to a report released by Forrester on mobile adoption, 66% of employees now use 2 or more devices including desktops, smartphones and tablets at work. Organizations today are dealing with increased and tough competition and believe that a competitive workforce is the key to success. To increase efficiencies in businesses and maintain the same zeal among the workforce, organizations are leveraging technology for knowledge transfer and investing more into training. 54% of organizations are now focusing on developing a comprehensive policy to support employees bringing their own devices for learning. The above trends indicate it’s time for organizations to move from traditional e-learning to m-learning. Today, I would like to list 5 important steps to initiate m-learning, for organizations who wish to climb the mobile learning bandwagon. 5 key steps to kick-start m-learning Step 1: Identify the requirement - In order to identify your requirement, ask the following questions. Who are the people that would benefit from m-learning? How would they benefit from it? What is the learning material available? What is the best way to present the material? It is important to identify whether m-learning can support existing training methods. Step 2: Select the devices - Organizations have two options - provide identical similar devices to employees or follow the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy which encourages employees to bring their own mobile devices. Each option has its pros and cons. Let us see what they are. 1. Supplying Company Owned Devices A major advantage of providing devices to employees is that security and compatibility issues can be avoided. On the flip side, the organization will incur considerable expenditure on the purchase and maintenance of devices. Moreover, some employees may not find using multiple devices to be convenient. 2. BYOD Policy The main benefit of following the BYOD policy is that organizations need not pay for mobile devices. Furthermore, employees can learn better on their own devices. But, when employees use their own devices, problems such as security issues, data leakage, and compatibility issues may crop up. Learners of an organization following the BYOD policy can access the organization’s resources using their personal mobile devices at the workplace. Many firms are adopting this policy, as it is more cost-effective. Step 3: Design for the small screen -This step involves two major aspects. 1. Learning design: You can use various media and instructional elements to create an effective learning design. Podcasts could be used to deliver key messages from senior managers or the CEO as part of information security, compliance, change management and other training programs. Scenarios or case studies work well for compliance, safety training or workplace harassment prevention courses. Videos would be beneficial to demonstrate the working of a process, pieces of equipment or machinery. 2. Visual design: When formulating a visual design strategy for m-learning courses, you need to consider these aspects. How learners access them: The learners may access the courses with one hand or use the thumb for navigation. Also, they may be standing or moving in a train or a bus while using their mobile devices. Different screen sizes: When you want to launch m-learning, you need to understand that devices come in different sizes. For example, different tablets and smart-phones come in different sizes. Toggle features: Features such as touch, swipe and zoom have changed the way users interact with devices. While designing the interface, we have to take these features into consideration. Auto-rotation: This feature of mobile devices allows learners to use them both vertically and horizontally. Course interface needs to be designed keeping this in mind to ensure uniformity of design. Bandwidth or network access: What is the bandwidth available to users when they use their mobiles for learning? Multimedia features such as video animations need to be designed accordingly. Step 4: Select the right development tool: In this step, you need to choose one of these two options. 1. Option 1: Using native features of HTML5, CSS3, and Java Script, you can create online courses by designing your own framework for mobile compatible. 2. Option 2: Development of learning-learning courses has been simplified considerably, with the advent of rapid authoring tools. Currently, latest versions of these authoring tools are able to publish courses to HTML5 making them compatible with most devices. Adobe Captivate 8, Articulate Storyline and Lectora Inspire are some of the well-known rapid authoring tools. Step 5: Decide on the delivery method : Companies have two options to deliver their m-learning courses. Use a Learning Management System (LMS) which is compatible with all mobile devices and can be used to track the data of their learners who access m-learning courses on various devices. Create and set up their own apps store similar to Apple Store or Google Play, where users can download the course. Technology has revolutionized the way we work and learn, and the corporate training world is chanting the mobile mantra. What do you think? 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In the storyboard, we give a rough idea of how the course should look like. We decide how each slide of the course should be represented. Based on all these ideas, the course is developed and our ideas are given life. When we receive the course after development, it is essential to review it thoroughly and make sure there are no errors in the course. When reviewing the course, there is always a chance that we may forget to check a few things. To avoid such mistakes, it is preferable to have a checklist ready to remind us if we forget to check something in the review. For an error free course, here is a list of seven common things that need to be checked in every course. 1. Slide titles and page numbers We need to ensure that every slide has a unique title, so that the title can be replicated in the menu and the learner can access it easily. Make sure the slide titles are matched with the storyboard. The second thing to check is whether the slide numbers are given properly or not. This helps the learner assess the duration of the course. 2. Clear graphics and their position  Graphics play a vital role in an e-learning course. We need to make sure the graphics in the course are not skewed. High resolution graphics must be used in the course. The next thing to check is whether they are placed in the proper position throughout the course. To grab the learner’s attention, it is advisable to place the graphics always on the right side of the slide. 3. Font and color consistency  We need to check whether the font is clear and readable. The same font must be used throughout the course, in order to maintain consistency. To highlight the main points on the screen, we can use either bold or italicized text or show the text in a different color. The colors used in the course must be same throughout the entire course. For example, for an interactivity used in the course, if you use blue, navy blue and grey to show the normal, hover and visited states respectively, then the same must be used in the entire course. 4. White spaces and unnecessary gaps  The extra spaces or white spaces in a course would irritate a learner. So, it is essential to check and remove white spaces or extra spaces in the slide. Sometimes, there may be a ‘double space’ between two words which must be removed. After every sentence, a specified amount of space must be given, and this must be consistently adopted throughout the course. 5. Functionality and navigation  Functionality and navigation are the most important aspects of a course review. We need to check whether all the clickable elements of the course are working appropriately and show the right content on click. All the buttons, links etc. must be checked whether they are working properly or not. Regarding navigation, it should be clearly understood and must be free to use. 6. Check thoroughly with the storyboard  The storyboard is the base of any course. So, make sure that the course is checked in accordance with the storyboard. The entire text, graphics, titles etc. from the storyboard must be there as they are in the course. 7. Abide by the standards of the project  As instructional designers, we may be working on different projects that belong to different clients. Every client may have different standards that they follow in their organization. So, we need to be clear about such standards and make sure that they are followed in the course. For example, one of our clients does not want us to show numbers preceding with zero ("01", "02", "03"), and they wanted them to be shown as only "1", "2", "3" and so on. This was their standard of using numbers in their organization. For an error-free course, these 7 things must be checked invariably. I hope you find this checklist useful. Please do share your ideas on it. Related PostsChecklist for QA Process at the Storyboard stageInstructional Design Review for Quality eLearning4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning Courses

E-learning doesn’t just "happen"! It requires careful planning and implementation. - Anonymous How can you harness the power of the online training medium? What does it take to create good e-learning courses that meet your training needs effectively? Well, you need to follow a proper process to make high quality online courses. A well-defined e-learning development process comprises five phases viz. analysis, design, development, review and deployment. Of these, the design phase is the most critical. Here is an info-graphic that explains the significance of this phase in e-learning development. Hope you find this post interesting. How do you develop e-learning courses? We’d love to know. Related Posts6 Phases of an Effective Instructional Design Process [Infographic]10 Reasons for High Dropout Rates in Online Learning Courses [Infographic]Instructional Design Review for Quality eLearning

Now-a-days many organizations, institutions and even universities are using e-learning because it is cost effective compared to traditional training. Most small and big enterprises have begun to see the benefits of moving from classroom training to online training. Training managers are recognizing the value of e-learning and adopting the same. Here are the top five reasons why organizations need to adopt eLearning. 1. It’s adaptable: The major problem through DVDs and training materials is that once they are complete, they cannot be easily changed. If it is an online system, changes can be made easily with a few modifications. This will reduce the time required to finalize your training programs. It also makes editing existing courses easy, thereby minimizing the delay. 2. Training updates - Quick and Convenient:  Online training updates are simple and straight forward. If you would like to update your company’s policies and need to inform your employees, simply create an online module, and add it to the LMS and make it mandatory to go through the module. 3. Content deployment - Rapidly:  Online training can be delivered quickly, so that learners are able to access new information immediately. Physical training material required longer developmental time and employees cannot carry them along at all times. However, content available online can be access easily. All you need to do is upload your materials and offer employees the access to the information online. 4. Easy access:  The beauty of eLearning is that learners can access their training from any place, at any time. Especially if you are a training manager with a large group of employees, contract workers and shift timings you are going to find it is very difficult to train them all at the same time. Even when you arrange the training, someone may have a project deadline, some others may be ill and you may have to conduct a separate training session for them. As training managers if you arrange a training program globally then all the employees or contract workers can complete their training within the given time frame. Some learners wish to complete their training at home, eLearning makes this possible. 5. Engaging learners: It is common knowledge that effective learner engagement is vital to the success of a training program. When there are more number of students in a class, some may not be able to actively participate in the learning process. This shortcoming can be overcome through e-learning. Online courses are self-paced and the learner can go through them as many times as he wants and learn the concepts thoroughly. Furthermore, we can make the course interesting by including animations, quizzes, and games. So these are the top five reasons why training managers are adopting e-learning. What do you think? Related Posts10 Questions to Ask Your Stakeholders About the Target Audience: A Picto-BlogInformation Security - Why Does This Sensitive Topic Need E-learning?What are The Criteria for Selecting An LMS?

Welcome to today’s blog post. There are many learning theories and models followed in the training industry depending on the need and circumstances. Each one of these begins with an analysis phase. This phase demands thorough understanding of the training need and the proposed target audiences that undergo the training. Understanding your target audience stands as a strong foundation to building a well acknowledged course. In this post, we will discuss a few questions that you need to ask your stakeholders regarding the target audience and also understand the significance of each of them. 1. How old are they? 2. What is the learner’s educational background? 3. What is the learner’s English language competency level? 4. What is the learner’s cultural background? 5. What is the learner’s experience level with e-learning? 6. What is the learner’s computer literacy level? 7. What are the current motivational levels of the learner? Is the learner aware of the importance of the training to his job? 8. What is the gender composition of the target audience? 9. What do you want your learners to do after completing the course? 10. How familiar is the learner with the subject? Getting the answers to these questions during the initial stages of development is vital to develop the right course with the right content. This will help you focus on the making your course a perfect solution for your learners. It will perfectly align your course objectives with the performance goal of the learner. Have any more questions to add to this list? Please feel free to leave your comments in the section below. Happy reading!! Related PostsSmart Questions to Evaluate Product Knowledge of Medical Representatives5 Compelling Reasons Why Organizations Need E-learningInformation Security - Why Does This Sensitive Topic Need E-learning?

Jim is assigned an online course developed using Articulate Storyline. The course was published to HTML5, and when he tried to open the same on his iPad, he saw a ‘transitional’ page with a play button, before the course was fully loaded. Jim wondered why the page appeared and contacted his training manager Dick. Dick asked his e-learning developer to hide the page. Many learners face the same experience while launching HTML5-based courses on their iPads. This is because iOS does not support HTML5 autoplay attributes for media (audio and video) tags. Webpages with audio or video elements cannot be self-launched without user interaction. For example, consider this page with an HTML5. This page contains which is played automatically when the course is opened on a PC. But, when a learner opens the course in an iPad, he has to play it manually. Here are the steps to overcome this problem.  1. First, publish your course. 2.  3. Then, search for the file named player_compiled.js (for latest version) orstoryline_compiled.js (for older version) in the mobile folder and open it in an HTML editor. 4.  5. Search for the piece of the code highlighted in the screenshot below, in the editor,and copy it. 6.  7. Insert the piece of code with after the textsee below screen"player.revealPostInterstitial();". 8. Save the changes and close the editor. 9. Now launch the course on an iPad. The course opens directly without the‘Play’ button page. Note You are editing the published HTML5 file. So, you need to make this change after publishing each time. Many a time, e-learning developers use an introductory video in their online courses. This may slow down the loading of the course as the entire video has to be buffered. This way, you can disable the ‘Play’ button which appears after launching the course on an iPad. Hope you find this post useful. Did you face any problems while accessing courses on iPads? Related PostsHow to Create Section 508 E-learning Course Using FlashRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key FeaturesHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?

Using scenarios in online training programs is a great way to make learning more effective and engaging. Scenarios help learners grasp the subject at a deeper level. Learners do not just read but participate by placing themselves "in"a particular situation and decide the right course of action to be taken. Thus, scenarios help transform theoretical content into a practical, lively training material. One of our clients wanted to impart product training to his sales and marketing staff. I will now share on how we used scenarios to make the training very interesting. 1. Understand the core objective and learners: Understanding the learner and the subject is very important. Based on the objectives of the learning and learners, a scenario can be created perfectly. We were asked to create a product training program for the sales and marketing staff of our client, so that they are able to do their jobs effectively.  So, we realized that it was necessary for the learner to understand the product and its features very clearly, so that he can sell the product efficiently. 2. Understand the subject and content: To design a scenario, it is very important to understand what the content explains. Until the content is clear, the scenario should not be decided on. To do this, we analyzed the content thoroughly and discussed our doubts with the SMEs. We then had a clear picture in our mind about the product, its advantages, its use to the customer etc.  We decided to make the scenario in such a way that the learner will know the problems faced by the customer and be able provide solutions to the problems. 3. Use open-ended questions: Questions can also be used for purposes other than assessing the learner’s knowledge. They can also be used to help the learner take a decision. For instance, asking open-ended questions like "What do you think Laura should do in this situation?" and suggesting a few options will give the learner a chance to relate the scenario with real life consequences. Based on the answers selected by the learner, he can be given feedback. Thus we can enable him to gain knowledge and apply it.  We made a list of problems, the customers faced and the solution provided by the product. And then prepared a few scenarios and used open-ended questions. 4. Use simple scenarios: Anything which is too messy or confusing can never give information, but can give only frustration. The learner needs to focus only on one thing at a time. So, the scenario should be as simple as possible, and impart knowledge that helps him in achieving his goals. A scenario should not be difficult to understand, but at the same time challenge the learner to find a solution to the problem. This is how we ended up making a real-life scenario where the learner finds a sales representative interacting with his customers to know their problems and sell his products. Hope you find this post interesting. Do share your views. Related Posts4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning CoursesDeveloping Effective E-learning Courses: 4 Questions You Need to Ask Your-self4 Principles to Design Learner Centric E-Learning Courses - An Infographic

It is common knowledge that quizzes are used extensively in assessments of online courses. So, it is essential that you frame good quiz questions. But, how can you create a good quiz question? What are the aspects you need to consider to churn out effective questions that evaluate your learners’ knowledge efficiently? Well, you need to understand the components of a quiz question and know how to build them effectively. A quiz question is made up of 4 parts - question stem, options-answers, options-distracters and feedback. Here is an info-graphic which shares a few tips to develop effective components of a quiz question. Hope you find the post interesting. How do you frame quiz questions for your online courses? We’d love to know. Related Posts5 Proven Tips to Frame Good Questions in E-learning Assessments [Infographic]Why Multi-select Questions Work in E-learning Assessments [Infographic]4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning Courses