Join eduWeb Digital Summit 2015 conference which will attract 500+ attendees, from 15 countries and 42 states. eduWeb has established itself as the only conference focusing on your institution's integrated digital marketing presence. Since its beginning nine years ago, eduWeb has consistently seen an increase in the attendance of those working in the areas of: Enrollment management Advancement Marketing communications Web/IT eduWeb prides itself in offering a diverse selection of presentations and pre-conference workshops from leading industry and higher education experts. The program focuses on the integration of mobile, social media, branding and communication content with programming, design and analytics. eduWeb Digital Summit 2015 Tracks Digital Marketing Communications Social Media Technical Design & Development Web Intelligence eduWeb Digital Summit 2015 Tracks Workshops Pre-conference Digital Marketing: Strategy and Tactics to Win in a Mobile World - Bob Johnson, Bob Johnson Consulting Managing the Unmanageable: Web Governance in Higher Education - Mark Greenfield, University at Buffalo The Explosion of Video Marketing: People prefer watching video to reading text, who knew? - Tod Plotkin, Green Buzz Agency Post-conference Closing the Loop: Gathering and Using the Right Data to Evaluate Your Marketing Initiatives, Stephanie Geyer, VP, Web Strategy and Interactive Marketing Services, Ruffalo Noel Levitz New Conversion Science: Proven Methodology to Get More Out of the Traffic You Have Now - Chris Mechanix, WebMechanix The eduWeb Digital Summit 2015 conference will be held at the Westin River North(Chicago, US) in July 27-30, 2015. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Educational technology specialist Jamie Forshey brings some color to the world of classroom technology solutions. Her blog features innovative teaching methods powered by technology. Whether the news of the day is apps, pedagogy or digital media, Forshey has something to add to the conversation. These are the words written by D. Frank Smith, a social media journalist, who recently inked an article entitled The 2015 Honor Roll: EdTech’s Must-Read K-12 IT Blogs for the EdTech K-12 Magazine featuring a brand-new lineup of the top IT bloggers on the web. According to the post, these selections were based on a mix of veterans from years past, fresh picks by the editorial staff and nominations from readers making this honor roll the most diverse ever. I only had one word when I learned that Edutech for Teachers received a shout out on this year’s roster—like wow! OK, that was two! Seriously though, as you might imagine, I was beyond surprised, humbled and, of course, totally psyched to be named as part of such a knowledgeable group of geeky girls and gals—Yay! So, why am I sharing this info? Because this post is really about more than just me. This honor roll consists of a wide range of educators and edtech experts, one that can be utilized to discover and explore a wealth of tech-related content and resources that can be integrated into classroom lessons, activities and projects. And that’s what is most important to me. Besides all of that good stuff, I need to give some major props to everyone who visits this blog! Your support and encouragement inspires me to keep on writing. Muchas gracias! ♥

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What You Must Know Before Creating Elearning Courses For Adults #1 Understand Your Goals and Objectives Determine the goals and objectives of the elearning course. Do you want to provide adult learners with information or education or both? Do you aspire to provide them with basic or advanced knowledge and skills with the elearning courses? Do you want the adult learners to acquire knowledge and skills through online methods or a combination of online and face-to-face methods? You want to build an elearning course that fits your goals and objectives for it. For example, if you want to impart advanced education for management executives, then the elearning course should address their specific needs and wants in knowledge and skills. If you want to build an elearning course to change work behavior, attitude and performance, then the elearning course should not just be an information dump. #2 Make It Relevant to the Adult Learners The best elearning courses are relevant, useful and practical for the adult learners who, in turn, will find the subjects fun and engaging. Bored adult learners and boring lectures are the recipe for failure in any learning situation, thus, you should design an elearning course that will be both a learning and engaging venue for adult learners and instructors. Do your research on the following areas to increase the relevancy of the elearning course: Look at the certification or degree requirements for the elearning course Consider the specific subjects that must be included in the elearning course that will impart the required type and level of knowledge and skills for the adult learners upon course completion; and Get feedback from prospective adult learners and instructors about the initial designs. You should ideally design a learner-centric elearning course. #3 Consider the Flow of Learning Let the adult learners learn the knowledge and skills in a controlled pacing instead of letting them learn at a too slow or too fast mode. The adult learners should be able to take in new information and learn from the old information. This allows them to maximize their knowledge and skills learned on the course. #4 Let the Learners Pull Their Own Weight Stop designing elearning courses that push information out because this is akin to spoon-feeding that increases the risks for adult learners learning less than they should in the course. Instead, create elearning courses that let the adult learners pull their own weight and pull the information in. For example, instead of click-and-read screens containing words and images of information, you should give adult learners problems to solve. You should provide the adult learners with the necessary information to solve the problems but avoid spoon-feeding them - create access to more resources that they can learn from on their own. As the adult learners solve the problems, they will pull the information they need. #5 Go for Visual Appeal Bullet points, lengthy paragraphs, and white screens will make zombies out of adult learners. Keep in mind that people are more attracted to vibrant colors, effective layouts, and readable texts, among other visually appealing things. Your elearning course must then encourage and maintain the attention of your adult learners from end to finish. Use evocative images, such as graphs, charts, and cartoons. Break up the texts into easy-to-read parts but be cautious about using too many bullet points. Apply pops of color into the texts and images so that the black-and-white monotony are avoided. #6 Make Navigation User-friendly Elearning adult learners usually have more freedom and control than in the traditional classroom-based method since they can navigate the course on their own. You should design an elearning course that provide adult learners with the right level of freedom and control in navigation - a user-friendly set of navigation controls, if you will. As early as possible, resolve issues with locked navigation. Let the adult learners explore and experiment while also giving them the opportunity it make their own decisions based on set parameters. #7 Encourage Commitment to eLearning The tools of technology used in elearning courses are just that - tools that aid adult learners in acquiring the desired knowledge and skills. You must then incorporate elearning aspects that encourage commitment to learning in general and elearning in particular. Find creative ways to make the course content more relevant to the adult learners. Step away from information dumps and venture into effective education systems. Show the benefits of learning the course. #8 Look for External Inspiration Elearning is also based on traditional education methodologies and approaches but with a notable difference - the virtual learning environment with access to technology including apps. You must then look at the educational methodologies and approaches used in the traditional classroom setting and adapt these to your elearning courses. Think of it as getting the best of both educational worlds. With these 8 tips in mind, your elearning courses should be amongst the best in the industry. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

As Quincy Jones once remarked, "I’ve always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, "Ain’t that the truth." That said, Edu-fun Friday is a series devoted to adding some humor to the lives of teachers who visit this blog. After all, there’s nothing better than ending the week on a positive note! Plus, do we have the best topics to provide us with some comic relief or what? So, yeah, I get it. This image doesn’t really apply to the edtech setting—other than it reinforces the obsession the general population has with mobile devices—but with summer vacation rapidly approaching, it’s not only hilarious, but so, so true. I bet if you visit a beach over the next few months, you might even catch a glimpse of these 21st Century tan lines! Maybe even on one of your students, colleagues and/or yourself—ha!

The previous week has been incredible, with more than 15 blogs and 7 info-graphics posted. If you’re looking to catch up on what you might have missed last week, take a few minutes to check out our four most widely shared posts of this week. 1. 3 Good Strategies to Chunk E-learning Content Effectively Are you new to eLearning and want to know the secret of building successful online courses? Well, an important element in the creation of a highly effective eLearning course is efficient content chunking. Now, you might have a few questions such as: What is content chunking? How is it useful? What are the various content chunking strategies used by instructional designers? We have answers to all your questions Click here. Here is a blog which provides insights into the nuts and bolts of content chunking. 2. How to Deliver Engaging Fire Safety Training Course Through E-learning If you want to train a large workforce on fire safety, then eLearning is the best choice. Here is a blog that explains the best method that can be adopted in developing an effective fire safety training course. Click Here to read the blog. 3. Content Design for Mobile Learning Are you adapting your eLearning courses to the mobile device? If yes, it is important to know that mobile content should be designed in a different way than the content for desktop or laptop computers. It is not advisable to deliver "desktop content" on mobile devices. Well, here is a blog Click here that describes a few methods to design mobile learning content. 4. 3 E-learning Design Tips to Keep Your Creativity Flowing It is common knowledge that good eLearning course designers are creative. Often, they go beyond the traditional methods of designing online courses and come out with novel ideas. Here is a blog Click here which shares 3 tips to keep your creativity flowing. 5. How Descriptive is Your ELearning Course Description? The Right and the Wrong! This is an excellent blog Click here which talks about a few ways to write better eLearning course descriptions. You will also see some examples of good and bad ELearning Course Descriptions Hope you find these blogs useful. Do share your views. Related PostsRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key Features4 Tips for Developing E-learning Course Using Rapid Authoring ToolsMaking E-learning Courses Mobile: 5 Aspects to Consider - An Infographic

Adobe Captivate 8 Tutorial: Shared Action Enhancements This Adobe Captivate 8 tutorial presents the new enhancements in shared actions and variable parameterization in Adobe Captivate 8. The post Adobe Captivate 8 Tutorial: Shared Action Enhancements appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

With the ever increasing demand for safety at the workplace, training managers are finding it hard to spread the message of safety within the organization. Most often, safety training is regarded as a part of compliance training. However, safety cannot be taught, it needs to be made an integral part of an organization’s culture. How can you use eLearning, which enables anytime, anywhere learning, to deliver effective safety training? Well, you can use funny videos in online courses to provide top-notch safety training to your staff. In this post, I will take you through 4 eLearning design tips and tricks you can use for safety videos. #1. Start with a Message - Your learners need to know why they are watching your video. So, it’s a good idea to begin the video with a message. A message not only gets your point across, but also gives your video a great storyline to begin with. You can also make use of animated characters to create "that extra effect". For example, you could start your video by saying, "We are conducting this training program because we care about your safety, both at work and outside work." This creates a personal connect with your learners. #2. Move onto the Goals - The real reason we do anything is to achieve our goals. So, use your video to emphasize what you want to achieve with this training. Maybe, it’s creating awareness about safety or reducing the number of people injured at the workplace. The more you talk about your goal, the more it resonates among your learners. #3. Statistics to Create Awareness - Statistics are very useful to get your point across, and achievements of the past can be shown statistically. Visual representation of statistics will help ensure better recall in the long run. Statistics depict the change in quantitative terms and highlight important figures. More importantly, statistics help analyze and support data. Here is an example of how statistics can be used to present safety data. #4. End with a Conversational Narration - Now, you can have all the essential graphical elements for a great video. However, all you efforts will go in vain if your narration isn’t conversational in nature. Your narration is the backbone of your video. So, use a friendly tone to narrate the video. An authoritative tone "kills" the mood of your learner. Consider the two examples listed below. Example 1: This video will help you understand the importance of safety at the workplace.  Example 2: The reason we want you to watch this video is we are passionate about your wellbeing.  I’m sure you will agree with me that the second example is more effective as its tone is friendly and personal. So, there you have it! Use these tips and tricks when you make a video on safety for your eLearning course, and your learners will only keep asking for more! For more insights on safety training via eLearning, please subscribe. Related PostsHow to Make Your E-learning Initiative Work4 E-learning Elements to Leave Your Learners Spellbound - An Infographic116 Sure-fire E-learning Tips from the Experts in Online Training

Microlearning: Break it Down, Mix it Up When my dryer suddenly stopped heating a few months ago, I naturally turned to a Google search, hoping I could figure out the problem so I would know if it would be a cheap or expensive fix. Instead I found a YouTube video showing me how to diagnose and repair the problem—microlearning for the DIY crowd. When it comes to employee or consumer training, your audience has come to expect this approach. They want relevant, on-demand information that’s only as long as it needs to be, which is why you might be hearing the word microlearning more often lately. Microlearning: Break it Down, Mix it Up from Allen Communication Learning Services We at Allen Communication think of microlearning a little bit differently. While most people think of microlearning as only super short pieces of training, we think it’s training that’s only as long as it needs to be. Typically this will be shorter than traditional training, but really it’s any sort of course that gives your learners relevant information as briefly as it should be. This approach is often more engaging and effective, making sure your learners pay attention and retain information longer. However, you still have to be careful to not assume brevity automatically creates engagement. Putting many 5-minute segments in sequence may be as tedious or difficult as a single 1-hour piece. This is why varying the types of training you use and deconstructing a linear eLearning curriculum has become such an important complementary tool to microlearning. Μicrolearning breaks down training, deconstructing a longer traditional curriculum into easily consumable behaviors or pieces of information. Making microlearning non-linear deconstructs it further, turning courses into building blocks that can personalize your curriculum to specific learner needs. Ultimately training is all about strategy and design. Traditional training and traditional elements still have their place, but your learner needs may align better with bite-sized courses. It can be overwhelming to think about restructuring a program, but you can start small. Assess which parts of your curriculum are best suited to becoming bite sized. Rebuild just a portion, changing a few courses in your overall training solution. Or begin building new programs with micro elements. You’ll find that many of the techniques used in microlearning to catch attention and educate quickly are already being used in the marketing world and are easily adapted to training. This technique boosts your bottom line by retaining high efficiency with short content development times while still meeting training goals. Just like with my YouTube dryer repair, your busy workers like having accessible, ultra-relevant information. If you can serve up the information they need in a way that makes sense and fits in their day, you can drive higher completions, motivation and engagement. Ultimately, if your needs and goals align better with microlearning, it’s time to take the jump. You need to break down your curriculum to be able to build it back up in a way that’s more personal and more engaging to your learners. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Are you in dilemma whether to outsource the development of online courses or develop in-house? In order to take the right decision, you need to have a good idea of how an eLearning courses is developed and the various components required to create an online course. This helps you determine whether you have the needed resources or capabilities to develop courses in-house. A typical eLearning course development process consists of 5 phases - analysis, design development, implementation and evaluation. You can outsource all eLearning development activities or those in one or more phases, based on your requirements and capabilities. If you develop online courses in-house, you need to resolve issues such as developing the learning content, "blocking" the work of subject-matter experts etc. If you outsource the development of your online course, you can avail the services of experts and "free" the in-house resources for core business activities. Furthermore, outsourcing also helps reduce operating costs. But, it is tough to select the right eLearning vendor. There are many eLearning companies, and you can’t judge their efficiency by their advertisements and websites. Moreover, some websites are misleading. So, to help you overcome this problem, we have compiled this very useful checklist which covers all the aspects you need to consider to zero-in on the right eLearning company. Hope you find this post useful. Do share your views. Related PostsE-learning Outsourcing - Free E-bookA Checklist to Follow Before Signing off Your E-learning Course5 Ways to Make E-learning Interesting - An Infographic