GoAnimate Video Tutorial: How to Use GoAnimate- Quick Video Maker This GoAnimate Video Tutorial shows how Quick Video Makers are perfect for getting started quickly. Choose a background, choose some characters, type or record your dialogue and press play. GoAnimate will automatically generate an awesome video for you. The post GoAnimate Video Tutorial: How to Use GoAnimate- Quick Video Maker appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

Games As A Tool For Better Decision Making Join us for this interactive and collaborative webinar where we will be exploring the possibilities of affordable elearning games. We'll take you through real life examples of how to effectively incorporate games into an elearning course and how they can be used as a powerful teaching tool for better decision making. During this webinar you will learn: About the rise of games in the workplace How games can play a key role in elearning How to integrate games into your elearning How to prepare a brief for an elearning game Presented by aAron Pont Learning Solutions Architect at Sponge UK   With more than 20 years of elearning development and teaching experience behind him, aAron is an expert in introducing people to new concepts and ideas through developing creative solutions and contextualizing content for an authentic learning experience. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Prezi Tutorial: New feature- Layouts In this Prezi Tutorial you will learn how to add a single frame with placeholders, or a multi-frame diagram, both ready for you to edit! Save time by using our new layouts feature. The post Prezi Tutorial: New feature- Layouts appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

LEARNING LIVE 2015: New thinking, challenging ideas, interactive content and renowned speakers separates LEARNING LIVE from any other learning conference. LEARNING LIVE 2015 features world-class speakers and thought-leaders from the L&D world, together with inspirational case studies, practical workshops and networking opportunities galore. 25 UNIQUE CONFERENCE SESSIONS Spread across two days, the LEARNING LIVE 2015 conference sessions are interactive 45 minutes seminars featuring the world’s leading figureheads in workplace learning. The sessions are categorised into three streams, ‘Performance Support’, ‘The Real World’ and ‘Our Future’. LEARNING LIVE EXHIBITION At LEARNING LIVE 2015 the focus is always on the content, however by having a smaller, more intimate, exhibition area we can assure we invite only the most innovative and relative suppliers to be part of the LEARNING LIVE experience. The Exhibition runs throughout both days, which allows delegates plenty of time to discover the latest advancements in learning technologies and support services. NETWORKING DINNER LEARNING LIVE 2015 is currently the only major L&D conference to host a formal networking dinner as part of the event. The networking dinner is a great opportunity to get to know fellow delegates and exhibitors in a relaxed informal environment. Drinks, a fantastic three-course meal and an evening speaker are all included as part of your ticket. An event in itself, the network dinner often sells out well ahead of the event so please book early to get your seat at the table. Who should attend? LEARNING LIVE 2015 is for learning and development and HR professionals involved with any aspect of organisational learning and performance improvement; this includes learning strategy, development and management through to learning delivery and implementation of learning systems. Typical job roles for delegates attending LEARNING LIVE 2015 Chief Learning Officers Heads of Learning and Development L&D Directors/Managers/Team members HR Directors/Managers/Team members Training Directors/Managers/Team members IT Directors/Managers/Team members E-learning professionals Organisational Development Directors Performance Improvement Managers Personnel Directors/Managers Project Managers Talent Management Officers LEARNING LIVE 2015 will take place in London on September 09 - 10 2015.   This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

GoAnimate Video Tutorial: How To Use GoAnimate- Full Video Maker This GoAnimate Video Tutorial shows how to use GoAnimate- Full Video Maker. Full Video Makers give you total creative control with simple drag & drop tools. You sit in the director’s chair and command how the characters, movie sets, sound effects and camera controls all work together. Click, Drag, Action! The post GoAnimate Video Tutorial: How To Use GoAnimate- Full Video Maker appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

Creating Effective eLearning As we know, Instructional Design is the systematic development of specifications using both learning and instructional theory to ensure the quality of training. In professional training the aim of Instructional Design is to improve employee performance, as well as to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Many Instructional Designers focus on the business objective of the organization while developing any eLearning curriculum, as business objectives can be achieved via the performance objective of the learners. So while focusing on eLearning effectiveness we should also focus on the eLearning course’s performance objective. Choosing the right method is always important. However, equally important is creating eLearning with effective results, and this is still a challenge. eLearning is part of a conscious choice to choose the best and most appropriate ways to promote effective learning. Both facilitated and self-paced eLearning activities and content should conform to a set of quality standards to ensure the effectiveness of an eLearning program. What Does Effective eLearning Mean? Effective eLearning means getting the business objective fulfilled by delivering the whole bunch of courses to the learner and get their performance objective. Effective eLearning provides learners with motivation by using delivering techniques. An effective eLearning course takes a good deal of time, hard work, and a commitment to high-quality content. Effective eLearning enables accessible, relevant, high-quality learning opportunities that improve learner engagement and achievement. Effective eLearning altogether means creating for the organization long-term assets which bring effective results in terms of ROI. 4 Tips To Create Effective eLearning eLearning can offer effective instructional methods such as practicing with associated feedback, combining collaboration activities with the self-paced study, personalizing learning paths based on learners’ needs, and using simulation and games. There are many ways to create effective eLearning; some very important aspects are: 1. Set And Communicate Clear Goals. There is no golden rule on how much time you need to put into creating the ideal content, but one thing is certain; you need to take your time to research material before making it available to your learners. A point we can’t stress enough: one of the reasons teams are unable to achieve goals is not having clear enough guidelines on how to reach them. Part of the curriculum of any course should be what will be done, when it will be done, and what is needed for the successful completion of tasks. It is, therefore, important that all instructors set and communicate clear goals to their learners in a manner which ensures not only that they will understand them, but also that they will be able to put them into action. 2. Focus More On Analysis And Design. Analysis and Design stages are essential to ensure course effectiveness and learners’ motivation and participation. Analyzing learners’ needs and learning content, as well as finding the appropriate mix of learning activities and technical solutions, is crucial to creating an effective and engaging course. Course effectiveness and participants’ motivation depend on several elements, including: Knowing well the subject matter. The relevance of the content and course objectives for the participant: Do they meet existing needs? Type of learning activities offered by the course: Are they interesting, inspiring, and well‑matched with the participants’ level? Course duration, timing, and number of hours to be invested: Do they fit the participants’ availability? Technical aspects: Is the technical solution appropriate to learners? Are the technical elements (e.g. the learning platform and its functions) clear and understandable to participants? 3. Qualitative Content Design.  eLearning content must be accurately prepared and presented in order to be effective. Instructional techniques should be used creatively to develop an engaging and motivating learning experience. While eLearning content may consist of different elements, ranging from simple learning resources (e.g. documents and PPT presentations) to interactive content, simulations, job aids, and so on. Here storyboarding plays an important role in creating the design mindset of the content developer. However, there are some elements that the developer needs to focus on while developing high quality content: High quality content, images, audio. Creating easy navigation. Maintaining a consistent look and feel. Making the content easy to read. Using the Color theory to create contrasting colors. Using high quality artwork. Using proper spacing throughout the course. 4. Evaluate Thoroughly. Another important aspect of effective eLearning is evaluation, and it is very important to think about it in the design stage. First, you should establish the purpose of the evaluation. The purpose might be to: Check the quality of the course to improve it before it is implemented. Measure the effectiveness of training and learning immediately after the course has been implemented; or evaluate an old course to see whether it is still valid or needs to be modified. For course efficiency I insist that you should evaluate the course: During the development stage, to improve instructional courses or products (formative evaluation). During or immediately after the implementation stage, to measure the effectiveness of education, training, and learning (summative evaluation). Sometime after the course has been implemented, to understand if it is still valid or needs to be updated or modified (confirmative evaluation). Evaluating learning activities is crucial for both self-paced and facilitated online courses. Evaluation allows you to assess learners’ progress, the quality and effectiveness of the course, and improve future learning activities and content. In conclusion, learning and development effectiveness is always an important factor for Instructional Designers. Creating effective eLearning is always a challenge, but it can be overcome by using proper methodology and process as discussed in this article. Understanding the above points will make a real difference in fulfilling business and learner objectives. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Prezi Tutorial: New Feature- My Content In this Prezi Tutorial you will learn how to reuse some of your content instead of starting from scratch. With My Content, you can save content for later, or add a previously made frame! The post Prezi Tutorial: New Feature- My Content appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

What Your Boss Wants To Know About Performance Support Tools Here are 5 important questions about Performance Support Tools; their answers explain why they must be an integral part of your company’s learning strategy. Q1. When do learners seek learning? Dr. Conrad Gottfredson and Bob Mosher’s Five Distinct Moments of Need© very succinctly captures when exactly learners seek learning. According to them, learners seek support in these Five Moments of Need: When they are learning an aspect for the first time (New). When they want to deep-dive and learn more (More). When they want to apply or remember something (Apply). When they need to solve a problem or fix something that has gone wrong (Solve). When something changes (Change). While formal training does address the first two learning needs, the use of Performance Support Tools is particularly relevant in meeting the subsequent three needs. Please refer to my article Improving ROI in eLearning where I have highlighted how an effective Performance Support intervention can increase the application of learning. This has a direct impact on improving ROI in eLearning. Q2. What are Performance Support Tools and where exactly do they fit in an organization's learning strategy? Performance Support Tools (PSTs) provide employees with on-the-job tools that make their work a lot easier. Unlike training, these tools are available to support and guide employees as they actually do their jobs. These tools are very easy to find, often directly embedded into the learners’ workflow (Learning Hub) and offer active guidance. These solutions enable organizations to provide the right amount of task guidance, support, and productivity benefits to learners precisely at the moment of need. Q3. How do Performance Support Tools help learners? Performance Support Tools provide an option for employees to learn and work at the same time. They can help an organization to reduce the cost of training while increasing productivity and performance. From a learner perspective, Performance Support Tools: Empower employees to perform tasks with a minimum amount of external intervention or training. Save the time spent by skilled performers in helping the less skilled performers on specific tasks. Help new team members perform quickly and accurately without losing productive time when training is impractical, unavailable, or constrained. Guide new employees through a complex process or task that cannot be memorized. Introduce, upgrade, or consolidate new systems (for example, customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, or tasks in certain call centers where agents must perform using complex systems, processes, or products). Q4. How can Performance Support Tools offset some of the challenges in learning recall, retention, and application? In 1885, Herman Ebbinghaus, a German Psychologist, defined the exponential nature of forgetting. As you see from this diagram featuring the "Forgetting Curve", we forget 80% of what we learned in 30 days! Added to this is an associated challenge that by investing on formal training that would happen for a few days in a year, we cannot expect learners to gain high levels of proficiency in it although baseline proficiency can certainly be achieved. The real solution lies in creating "Learning as a continuum". A good way to do this is to identify the areas for formal training and use Performance Support Tools intervention to reinforce it shortly after the formal session. You can then create a "learning path" that has interventions like this during the year. A combination of reinforcement as well as new assets that push application of knowledge on-the-job will help you create a high degree of knowledge recall, retention, and application. You can refer to my article Top 5 tips for innovative eLearning development where I have shared pointers on how we can change this curve to "retention curve". Q5. What are the possible ways to offer Performance Support Tools? Mobile Apps These are among the best forms of Performance Support available today and just like any professional for whom "information" is the key, learners could greatly benefit from mobile app solutions. Interactive PDFs You can convert any lengthy document into an interactive PDF with content tagging for easy navigation, richer visual experience, and so on. These make factual and knowledge-based information available to learners quickly and easily. These may include tips, fact sheets, checklists, practical forms, participant guides, processes, and procedures documents. eBooks Any document can be converted into HTML5 compatible eBooks accessible through PCs, tablets, and smartphones. These can also be converted as SCORM packages. Again, these can include key takeaways from a training program, participant guides, processes, and procedures documents. Kinetic Text/Animations If the content is highly conceptual and difficult to illustrate or the message is nuanced, sometimes showing the text is the best approach. That’s where kinetic text comes in - it’s an engaging, and dynamic way of bringing text content to life. With the option of presenting the content accompanied by a music track or audio narration, kinetic text infuses energy into the text content. It also enables us to highlight the key messages in the text - through the use of color coding, font size, and other effects. Whiteboard Animations You can create high impact videos using a creative story with pictures being drawn on a whiteboard along with conceptual graphics and audio. These can be used to teach employees different company policies or demonstrate a new software or product to consumers. Expert Videos, Webinars/Recorded Webinar Learners respect experts. Whether it’s a classroom tutor, eLearning guide, or workplace mentor, we are used to listening to and respecting expert views. These can be made more effective by enhancing them visually. The performance of the learners can be tracked by adding Assessments with SCORM packaging. Webcast/Podcasts These are short episodes of audio or video that can be downloaded to the learners’ own device. Episodic in nature, webcast/podcasts are the perfect example of a resource built for mobile delivery - brief, targeted, and entertaining; to be watched/listened to while in a train on the way to work or to kill time before a meeting. View demos of various Performance Support Solutions. I hope this article addresses the questions you or your boss may have on what Performance Support Tools are and why they must be an integral part of your learning strategy. If there’s more on Performance Support Tools or any other related aspects that you would like to know, do let me know or drop in your comments and suggestions. I shall try to address them and share more insights soon. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Eliademy Video Tutorial: How To create An Online Course In 2 Minutes We have prepared a new 2 Minutes Lesson that explains how you can create a course. Eliademy is a free online classroom that allows educators and students to create, share and manage online courses with real-time discussions and task management. You can create your account right away at https://www.eliademy.com The post Eliademy Video Tutorial: How To Create An Online Course In 2 minutes appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

Differentiated Instruction In eLearning Differentiated instruction in eLearning meets the individual needs of learners by custom tailoring not only the eLearning content, but also how the information is conveyed and how learners demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter. This allows us to perceive differentiated instruction in eLearning in terms of content, process, and final product, respectively. Every online learner has their own interests, strengths, learning needs, and knowledge base. Differentiated instruction in eLearning gives eLearning professionals the opportunity to create eLearning courses that honor these differences, instead of trying to make the learner fit into a "typical learner" mold. In this article, I’ll be highlighting the best practices of applying differentiated instruction in eLearning, sharing 5 tips that will help you use this highly effective approach in your next eLearning course. 4 Ways To Identify The Needs Of Individual Learners There are many ways that eLearning professionals can cater to the individual needs of their learners. However, these are the main principles that are found in all successful differentiated eLearning courses: Acknowledging diverse learning needs. Different learners have different areas that may need improvement. Likewise, learners assimilate information at their own pace, and they have their own unique set of skills. Acknowledging and identifying learning needs is essential in the differentiated learning process. Ongoing assessment. Online facilitators must assess and identify learners’ strengths and weaknesses throughout the eLearning course to determine if they need additional support. Group collaboration. In addition to self-guided online exercises, learners must also be able to participate in group collaboration online activities which give them the opportunity to observe different learning needs and benefit from the experiences of others. Learners’ empowerment. Learners are given the power to create their own eLearning experiences by choosing which tasks they will complete and how they will approach the online task. This empowers them to become active participants, due to the fact that they have greater control over the learning process. 5 Tips for Applying Differentiated Instruction in eLearning Give learners the opportunity to progress at their own speed. Not every learner is going to be able to speed through the eLearning course. This is why it’s important to give them the ability to progress through the eLearning experience at their own pace. Offer support along the way for those who may struggle with a topic or module, and allow those who complete the task more quickly to move forward when they are ready. If you are going to be doing timed exercises, such as assessments or scenarios, then make sure that you leave enough time for reflection, critical thinking, and still offer enough challenge for more advanced learners. Offer supplemental learning resources. Providing supplemental resources, such as links to helpful guides, articles, or videos, is beneficial for all learning needs. Learners who may be struggling can click on the resource links when they need additional help with a topic, while advanced learners can use the resources to learn even more about a subject or idea that interests them. For learners who may need additional support, because they are finding the work too challenging or not challenging enough, offer them a place where they can find the help they need. For example, you can setup a contact form or provide them with an email address where they can get answers to questions or address their concerns. Create a forum where they can receive peer-based feedback and support if an instructor is not available. Create an individualized learning plan. At the beginning of the eLearning course encourage your learners to create their own learning goals and objectives, then use them to develop a customized learning plan that will meet their individual learning needs. You can also ask them to create a timeline which highlights when they would like to meet specific milestones. At the end of the eLearning course ask your learners to evaluate their learning plan to see if they successfully met their goals, or if they may require additional support to achieve the desired outcome. Research the specific needs of your learners. This is, without a doubt, one of the most crucial elements of a successful differentiated eLearning strategy. Before you can cater to the individual needs of your learner, you have to know what those needs are. You have to know what they need to get out of the eLearning experience, and what they hope to achieve by the time they’ve completed the eLearning course. Conduct surveys and focus groups that identify what they need to know, and how the prefer to fill this learning gap. You can also assess your learners at the beginning of the eLearning course to get an accurate idea of their current knowledge base and which particular skills or information you may need to integrate into the curriculum. Clarify expectations right from the start. Regardless of their individual learning style or needs, every learner in your audience must know what is expected of them and which eLearning activities and delivery methods will be utilized throughout the eLearning course. On that same note, they should also be aware of what they can expect to receive by participating in the eLearning course. Develop a set of clear instructions that state what real world benefits the eLearning course can provide, as well as how they can apply the knowledge they will learn in real world settings. It is impossible to create a unique eLearning experience for every member of your audience, but you can help them achieve their individual learning goals and meet their needs by using these differentiated eLearning tips and best practices when designing your next eLearning course. Interested in learning more about customizing your eLearning course to meet the individual needs of your learners? Take a moment to read the article, Top 5 Benefits Of Learner-Centered Online Training which highlights the top 5 benefits of learner-centered online training. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.