You’ve already decided interactive eLearning is the right fit for your company. You’ve also come to the realization that your company doesn’t have the time, means or experience to create an effective program in-house, so you’ve decided to outsource. It might seem like the bulk of your big decisions are behind you, but there’s one more big piece to the puzzle: Who should you hire as your eLearning partner? There are many choices out there, making it difficult to narrow it down to the best fit for your organization. Rather than getting overwhelmed and choosing the first option you come across, it’s best to take your time and find a partner who understands exactly what you need.  Where do you start? And how do you know if an eLearning partner is right for you? Here are three big questions to get the ball rolling and help you decide: Have you created programs similar to what I’m looking for? Can I see examples? Finding a company experienced with the type of eLearning program you’re looking for is essential for getting what you want the first time. If anything, it can show you you’re on the same page and have a strong foundation to build upon. If the company says yes, make sure you ask for examples. This will be helpful to not only ensure the company is being honest with you, but also to see exactly what the team has done in the past.  Can you describe your development process? When choosing an eLearning partner, you need to know exactly what you’re getting into. Knowing how the company develops its programs and what degree of feedback you’ll be able to offer is necessary to establish the working relationship. You don’t want to have any miscommunications about the expectations of the project.  What ideas do you have for my specific eLearning program? You might have an entire binder full of ideas for developing your eLearning program…or you might be completely lost. Either way, you’ll want to know what ideas your partner will be bringing to the table. The team’s response can also provide good insight into how well they understand you and your organization, as well as how closely your visions align. Though these three questions are a good place to start, you should feel free to ask as many questions as you need to when searching for an eLearning partner. You can also search for reviews online or use your network to ask for a recommendation. Regardless of how you come to your decision, you want it to be one you feel confident about, so don’t be afraid to be thorough in your research.  Think Expand might be the right eLearning partner for your organization? Let’s talk.  

This week I sat in on a celebration of teaching and learning workshop where the theme was geared toward understanding student differences and enhancing student experience, specifically in terms of sense of belonging and accessibility. The topic of Universal Instructional Design (UID) came up, and while I was nodding my head to the point of pulling a muscle, I think many of my colleagues were at a loss for words. Now that’s not saying they all were, but I was probably the only one sustaining injury during those slides of the presentation. As a result, I’m planning a workshop on the topic of UID. In any event, I figured that if 75 people in a small workshop were wondering about UID, I thought a pocket of the Internet might be curious too, so here we go! Universal Instructional Design (UID) UID involves the careful consideration of all potential learner needs in the design and development of a curriculum and/or course. It involves thinking about how you can appeal to all individuals, enhancing the user experience, without hindering the content and learning objectives. Part of the bigger problem might be that not all instructors know how to write proper learning objectives, but that’s a problem for another day. There are seven primary principles of UID: Equitable Use; Flexibility in Use; Simple and Intuitive; Perceptible Information; Tolerance for Error; Low Physical Effort; and Size and Space for Approach and Use. Some camps differ in their explanation of principles for UID, but all of the above seem to be considerations in most, if not all. Now, what this really means is that you want to appeal to the lowest common denominator (and no, I don’t mean ‘dumbing things down’). Meaning that when developing your curriculum and/or course, you should think about making it as accessible as possible. For example, if you’re a science teacher who wants to teach your students about the lifecycle of a bog, design your curriculum to bring the bog to the students instead of requiring students to attend a field trip to observe a bog in its natural habitat. While the latter might be a neat way to engage your students, it automatically excludes those who have physical hindrances (e.g. are in a wheelchair or have allergies). Instead, you can change your way of thinking (and possibly learn something yourself) by creating a small-scale bog lifecycle in the classroom! Fun and outside of the box. In my world of distance education, I encounter a lot of faculty members who are getting stuck behind the technology and what it ‘can’t’ do, that they get stuck in their problem solving. Having been a distance student, I have good insight into ways of enhancing the student experience within distance education, and it really starts with UID. Students enrol in distance education for a variety of reasons, but one of the top reasons is: Accessibility. If students are enrolling for reasons related to accessibility, shouldn’t we be ensuring an equitable user experience to traditional classroom experiences? I should think so! Some Helpful Resources: Introduction to Universal Instructional Design (UID) at the University of Guelph Historical, Theoretical, and Foundational Principles of Universal Instructional Design in Higher Education Seven Principles of Universal Instructional Design Universal Instructional Design Curriculum Transformation and Disability: Implementing Universal Design in Higher Education

You know the expression you get what you pay for? It’s typically used in response to a disappointed reaction after a money-saving choice. For instance, let’s say you have a burger craving, but can’t bring yourself to pay the $12.99 restaurant price, so you head to the closest fast food restaurant. Sure, you’re only out a few bucks, but did you really satisfy your craving? Probably not. You got what you paid for. A similar argument can be made for "off the shelf" eLearning programs. There’s no denying they’re cheaper than a custom model, which makes them the training of choice for many companies looking to cut costs. At the time, the choice probably seems sensible. Employees will still get trained and the company saves a little money. Win-win, right?  Not exactly. All too often, "off the shelf" eLearning programs live up to the you-get-what-you-pay-for mantra. The company is unsatisfied, the training isn’t effective and even more money ends up being spent on a second solution.  While a custom eLearning program likely involves a higher upfront cost, the benefits can make it well worth the price tag. Before you head for the bargain bin, consider these advantages: Why You Should Consider Custom eLearning You’ll get exactly what you want. Just like that unsatisfying fast food burger, an "off the shelf" model will require you to make some concessions. With a custom program, you won’t have to make sacrifices. You’ll get what you want from the very start.  Your employees aren’t one-size-fits all. You company is unique and so are your employees —shouldn’t your eLearning be as well? A program that is designed to be standardized isn’t likely to fit the specific needs of your company. By going with a custom model, you can ensure your eLearning program fits your specific employees. You’ll develop an ongoing relationship with an agency. The agency will get to know your company, and you’ll get to know the agency, allowing for better service and online training that works the first time around.  You won’t waste your time. Rather than settling on a cheaper model that won’t have everything you want, a custom eLearning program keeps you from having to start all over. Since you’ll be involved in the design process, you can make choices that make your online training more effective, minimizing the chance you’ll need to find a new solution when your first choice doesn’t work.  You’ll get better results. Providing your employees with effective training is an investment in their future performance. However, since training takes time away from work, you want to make sure it’s effective. By choosing a custom program that caters to your company’s needs and personality, you’ll see results that make the process worthwhile. We’re all for a good deal, but make sure your eLearning program of choice isn’t going to cause you to slap your forehead and mumble, "Well, you get what you pay for." Investing a little more upfront can save you more than a few bucks—it can save you a headache.  Expand Share is a customizable learning platform unlike any other. Learn more about it by clicking here.

Next week, I’ll be presenting at the Articulate E-Learning Heroes Roadshow in Denver! This is exciting for several reasons: I’ll get to meet some new colleagues and reunite with others; I’ll be presenting on how to build your e-learning portfolio, which I did in Toronto, but it’s super important, so I’m doing it again; My husband and I are sticking around for the rest of the week to have a mini-moon together; I’ll get to meet the lovely Erin (and Anthony); and Hiking, coffee, beer, VACATION! …just to name a few. In any event, I’m changing some things up with the presentation for Denver (based on some feedback from Toronto and also some personal revisions). This time around, in addition to some of the templates I linked to by other E-Learning Heroes Community members, I’ll be linking to one of my own. Today I came up with a very simple portfolio template (seen below). You can swap out the sample images, links, colours, and personal information to make it your own, so go ahead and get on that!   Click here to view the full interaction. Click here to download the free portfolio template for Articulate Storyline.

Revamping a training program is one of those tasks that is much easier said than done. In addition to more time and money, change can be a difficult concept to accept—especially if your company’s training has been done one way for a long time.  Yet as a manager, you’re pretty in-tune with the daily operations of your employees. You know when a change is needed. It’s more than a little frustrating to watch important and necessary training fall short year after year. Still, even though you know your company needs to adopt a new training method, how are you supposed to convince your boss to embrace the change?  Since all bosses are different, we came up with a list of approaches for bringing up the need for new training. Try one, try a combination, but most importantly, just try. Your company needs an advocate for better training, and there’s no better time than right now.  8 Strategies to Convince Your Boss You Need New Training Get straight to the point. Your boss will be able to tell if you’re giving him or her the runaround, so be direct about what you want and why you want it.  Highlight the benefits. As easy as it would be to discuss the failings of your current training, keep it positive and focus on the benefits of a new model.  Crunch the numbers. Your boss is probably going to be concerned about the financial side of things, so have specific numbers ready to make your case. Give the stats. Nothing makes an argument more convincing than demonstrating real life success, so find some statistics to back up your claims.  Present a few options. Even if you have your heart set on one particular new training solution, bring a few options to the table so your boss won’t feel cornered with only one choice.  Show the problem. If your boss denies your current training is ineffective, kindly ask him or her to sit through a session. It’s likely been awhile since they experienced the training first hand, so reminding him or her of the problems can highlight the need for a new solution.  Demonstrate what could be. Provide a demonstration of a new model to show your boss what kinds of improvements could be made.  Use employee feedback. If your employees are just as fed up with unsuccessful training as you are, use their feedback to show your boss how much they want to learn and apply their knowledge. Emphasize that the issues with your training aren’t related to unmotivated employees but inefficient learning methods.  By taking the time to thoroughly present your case, you’ll show your boss how a custom eLearning program is well worth the money and effort.  Let us help you convince your boss. Contact Expand to have your needs assessed or to schedule a free demo.   

As folks operating within the field of education (or training and development, however you prefer to look at it), it’s critical that we continue foraging our own learning journeys. Admittedly, I’ve been a bit slack with this. Why? I freelanced my butt off, quit my corporate gig, started my own business, and scored a fantastic gig within the post-secondary education sector - just to name a few. However, I’m letting things slow down for me a little bit, and I’m hoping to be able to participate more frequently in the coming months. With that being said, I’ve been keeping my eye on a few great collaborative learning opportunities, primarily existing within the social media sphere. These are great, because they don’t involve a whole lot of time and you get to learn from a group of colleagues with similar interests! Here are some learning opportunities that have been on my radar: E-Learning Heroes Weekly Challenges  - I participate in these when time allows, and I am presently challenging myself to complete all of the current challenges and keep pace with new ones. Learn Camp - A self-directed learning experience designed to allow participants to explore new learning concepts and technologies. I’ve seen a lot of Twitter activity under the #LearnCamp hash tag, and catching up will be my goal during some upcoming downtime! Lrnchat - Lrnchat is an active chat-based community of involvement over on Twitter (hash tag #lrnchat). Participants meet on Twitter each Thursday and participate in online discussion of questions that have been asked. People get really into this one, and I would definitely recommend participating if your Thursday evenings aren’t currently tied up! OLC Online Teaching Certificate - This program is presently in my line of sight as an opportunity for professional development within my on-site role. It’s a great opportunity to expand upon my Instructional Design experience, while allowing me to contribute more effectively to the design and development of online courses with university faculty members. Online Learning Consortium Annual Conference 2014 - This year I’ll be sitting in on streamed sessions for the annual conference, and there are SO MANY available! I’m pretty excited. Especially since I wanted to hit up DevLearn this year and wasn’t selected as a presenter (this time around). Both events occur around the same time (late October), so I’m happy to be able to participate in one. E-Learning Heroes Roadshows - After becoming more active in the E-Learning Heroes Community and being asked to present at the Toronto event back in July, I was hooked! If you have an opportunity to attend one of these events, you’re definitely in for a treat! I’ve also been looking into a PhD program, but that’s neither here nor there (until I get accepted - which might be this year, next year, the year after - who knows). It’s a long-term goal I have, so I might as well get a jump on it, even if I’m still in the infancy stage.

Determining how effective your eLearning program is for your employees is usually pretty simple: Did employees learn or not learn certain concepts? Has job performance improved or not improved? Were employees engaged or not engaged? However, when you’re using eLearning to help your healthcare organization run more smoothly, gauging effectiveness isn’t always as simple as a couple of yes or no questions.  For starters, your patients probably won’t take too kindly to being quizzed. Luckily, there are other ways to gauge the success of your healthcare eLearning program without putting your patients on the spot.  5 Indicators Your Healthcare eLearning is Working Happier Patients. When your patients feel informed and prepared, they’ll be more at ease with their stay in the hospital. Pay attention to patient reactions to your eLearning program to see how it affects their mood and overall approach to their healthcare struggles.  Improved Patient Compliance. A big reason many patients end up being repeat patients is due to confusion or misinformation over their continuing care. eLearning can help ensure patients have a solid understanding of how to use their new medical devices, perform their therapy exercises and take the proper doses of medications. If you’re seeing less repeat patients due to compliance issues, it’s safe to say your eLearning is making a difference.  Less Daily Frustration. Communication issues are a common source of frustration among hospital workers. When patients are better informed due to eLearning, healthcare employees won’t have to repeat instructions as frequently or deal with as many repercussions from miscommunications. If your eLearning is working, your hospital will hopefully experience less daily frustration.  Increased Efficiency. With more knowledgeable patients and staff, the daily operations of your hospital will hopefully run smoother. If you notice increased efficiency in tasks that used to require significantly more time, it might be an indicator your hospital is experiencing positive effects from eLearning. Positive Feedback. Often, one of the best ways to tell if your eLearning is working is from the positive feedback you hear from the parties involved. Don’t be afraid to ask patients what they think of your training program, and take note of where they see benefits.  As eager as you probably are to see results, remember these things take time. Set goals for progress over time and track the differences you see in employee or patient behavior and the daily operations of your healthcare organization.  Are you interested in a healthcare eLearning program? Click here to learn how Expand can fit your needs.   

I have to apologize, because this is the first time Terminology Tuesday will not appear at it’s regularly scheduled time. Why?! (I know - you’re dying to hear about a new term) - WELL! My husband and I are on our very first vacation together as newlyweds, I’m presenting at the E-Learning Heroes Roadshow: Denver tomorrow, and my brain has more or less checked out - at least for the duration of my international flights. We packed light (or so the airline check in lady and customs guy told us), checked the pup into boarding, threw down a salad bowl of food for the cats (I KID! Mom will feed them twice a day - diligently - or Alison will eat one of the others), and had an airport beer. Movies and episodes of The League have been loaded onto the laptop, batteries are all charged, and WE ARE READY! I’ll try not to let vacation/party time overthrow conference presenting, but I make no promises. In any event, Terminology Tuesday will see you next week, and tomorrow I’ll toss up a conference-related blog post to tide ya’ll over.

Everyone learns differently, but did you know 65 percent of people are considered visual learners? This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given how dominant images and videos are in our culture. These days, it seems like just about every experience, moment or even meal is documented with an image.  There’s a reason we’re so drawn to image-based learning: Our brains are poised to process images quicker and easier than text content. And eLearning courses offer the perfect forum for capitalizing on visual learning. Including visual content in your eLearning courses helps capture the attention of your audience and makes them more likely to retain more information.  Let’s take a look at some of the science behind visual learning to see why it can be beneficial to your eLearning courses.  5 Reasons to Embrace Visual Learning Images are more easily stored in long-term memory. Difficult concepts are more easily understood when paired with a visual as an example. Once a concept is learned, having an image tied to it makes the information easier to recall. According to one study, 65 percent of visual information was able to be retained after a three day period of time—a significant difference over the 10 percent of text-only information.  Images are a more efficient way to learn. The large majority of information transmitted to the brain is visual. (90 percent, to be exact.) This is probably because our brains are able to process visual information at a much quicker rate than text information. While reading takes time and context to comprehend, visual context can be understood almost immediately.  Images improve learning comprehension. Since seeing an image stimulates our imagination, which allows us to process information more clearly. This study found including an image improved learning comprehension by up to 400 percent. When learners are able to, quite literally, "get a visual" of a concept, they’re able to understand and process the information more easily.  Visuals can leave a lasting impression. We’re more likely to react to a visual on an emotional level than we are to text. That’s why so many more people find themselves crying at movies instead of books. Images have the ability to cause an emotional response that helps commit information to memory.  People like images. It might seem like a silly final reason, but images capture attention and interest, leading to more engaged learners. At the most basic level, including visual content in your eLearning courses might simply make your audience enjoy the process more. You want your eLearning courses to be as effective as possible, which means you need to teach your audience in the way they want to be taught. Including visual content can take your eLearning course from something your employees simply get through to something they commit to memory.  Ready to design your custom eLearning program? Check out how we can help bring eLearning to life.    

Today I’ll be presenting at the E-Learning Heroes Community Roadshow in Denver. There is a huge lineup of fantastic presenters, and I’m eager to meet them all and hear what they have to say! I’m sure it’s going to be just as fun as it was in Toronto, so I hope to see a lot of participants engaging themselves in the full breadth of the learning experience today and tomorrow. I plan to share some key information about building your e-learning portfolios, but most importantly, I’ll be sharing some work done by several other E-Learning Heroes. Creating a portfolio doesn’t need to be a daunting task, and I’ll be giving some helpful tips that will hopefully encourage you to work on your own! Basically, I want to discuss portfolio building, why an e-learning portfolio is so important, why creating a portfolio can be a challenge, and why it really doesn’t need to be! You can check out the slides below!   Download this RESOURCE SHEET and check out all of the challenges and templates discussed during this presentation. Download the FREE PORTFOLIO TEMPLATE that I shared during this presentation.