How To Sell Your Online Courses: A Proven Model  For the past 10 years I have taught instructors, trainers, and small businesses how to launch online academies and sell courses. In this article, you will be given steps to generate traffic to your academy’s website, build trust with your learners, and ultimately sell courses. Traffic | Trust | Sell Traffic  Maybe you already know which groups of people will benefit from your course. The question is, where are they and how do you begin a conversation? Step 1: Contribute to an online community. When you think about it, community and relationship is kind of like the chicken or the egg: Which came first? What we do know is that community builds upon relationship and the best way to cultivate a relationship is to have consistent interaction. With today’s social media platforms, there are many ways to engage with others. LinkedIn.  Pulse: http://linkedin.com/pulse Pulse provides the space for people to write, share their articles, and get likes and responses. It’s a great way to start or join in on a conversation! Groups: http://linkedin.com/directory/groups Groups allows you to interact with specific types of professionals that share your same interests. Google +.  Communities: http://plus.google.com/communities All you need is a Google+ profile. Go to the communities link above, find a community that is relevant to your content, and start sharing! Reddit.  Subreddits: https://www.reddit.com/subreddits/ Reddit acts like a virtual bulletin board where you can share, connect with others, and facilitate discussions that matter to you. Facebook.  Groups: https://www.facebook.com/help/167970719931213 It’s the number one social network. Need I say more? Quora.  Community: http://www.quora.com Quora is a community of people in need of answers. Choose a question on a topic you know about and submit an answer with a link to your product. Growth Hackers. Post: http://growthhackers.com It’s a forum for growth hacking and marketing. See what’s trending or start a trend yourself! Product Hunt.  Post: http://www.producthunt.com Tech, games, apps and more! This is the place to join in the chitter-chatter on the newest tech products out there. Step 2: Post a video on YouTube and link to your course. YouTube is the second largest search engine and a powerful means for product promotion. Start by uploading a short video that introduces your course or post one of your recent webinars. Remember, the key to driving traffic to your video is to include a keyword that your audience is searching for within the title. With an estimated 300 hours of video added to YouTube every minute and 4 billion video views per day, you must create a specific title and description in order for people to find it. Don’t forget to include a link to your course in the video description and tag relevant topics your audience cares about. Step 3: Find out what learners are searching for and what your competitors are promoting. To learn more about a product or service, a person will likely google it and view the top results. In order for your course to rank high in a search engine, you will need to use the same keywords your target audience uses. Another way to position yourself in the market is to identify the keywords your competitors use and what they are promoting through social media. Buzzsumo.  In buzzsumo.com’s search box, type the domain name of your competitor and find out what they are promoting. Alternatively, type in a keyword related to your course and find out what social channel most prominently promotes that content. Tweetreports.  Tweetreports lets you find out ahead of time when specific Twitter chats will be taking place. These chats are conversations scheduled in real time to give users a chance to contribute their thoughts and resources relevant to a particular topic. Step 4: Bundle your course with a deals website. Everyone loves a good discount. A price cut often leads to larger purchases and helps sellers tap into large audiences that would be otherwise unreachable. Here are a few of the top deals sites you could consider posting your course. To leverage them effectively, bundle a few items together and sell them for a discounted rate. Stacksocial: www.stacksocial.com Groupon: www.grouponworks.com/get-featured LivingSocial: www.livingsocial.com Bitsdujour: www.bitsdujour.com/promotions/software-marketing-services AppSumo: www.appsumo.com/business Fatwallet: www.fatwallet.com MightyDeals: www.mightydeals.com Slickdeals: www.slickdeals.net - Note: This forum has the most traffic, but is also one of the hardest to post to if you don’t contribute regularly. Ozbargain: www.ozbargain.com.au  - Note: This is an Australian deals forum. If your deal gets featured, you could receive as many as a few thousands clicks in one day! Step 5: Create an email signature and add a link to your course. Like most working professionals, you probably experience the daily barrage of emails. With so many messages to sift through, it’s important to make sure the ones you send aren’t instinctively trashed before being read. While there are many marketing tips on this, one step I highly encourage is to create an email signature. A signature adds a touch of professionalism and credibility; a point of reference for who you are and what you do. This is also an excellent opportunity to work in the link to your course! Here is what my email signature looks like: -- Ridvan Aliu CEO EDUonGo, Inc.    |  EM: ridvan@eduongo.com  |   PH: 1-800-955-8363   |   WEB: www.eduongo.com Check out my recent article, "A Proven Model For Selling Online Courses" -- Here are some helpful video tutorials that demonstrate how to create email signatures: Gmail Signature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzVdX5USTFY Outlook Signature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP9BvCRlaRE Yahoo Signature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNJx2DqmWqw Step 6: Send an email to your current community. If you have taught an online course before, make sure to touch base with former students by sending them a mass email announcing your new course. Remember, these are individuals of a community you have previously engaged with. If they have benefited from your other content, they are more likely to sign up again. Former students already know the value of your content and are more likely to pay for your next offering. Here is an email sample you can refer to: https://goo.gl/SfVZaV Trust  Building trust is an essential part of generating traffic. It will keep visitors on your site long enough to read through your content. The goal is for them to subscribe to your newsfeed, register for a free course and eventually pay for the course you are selling. Step 7: Install Google Analytics - THIS IS A MUST. Google analytics enables you to get the data you need to make intelligent marketing and business decisions for your company. Find out the bounce rate on your web pages; for instance, a bounce rate above 30% (which is relatively high) indicates you need to revise the content of the webpage. I facilitate a self paced online course with materials gathered from Google Academy; it helps people understand how the platform collects, transforms, and organizes data in Analytics. You can check in out here: www.goo.gl/BKfDvP. Step 8: Integrate Sumome - Another MUST. Sumome provides intuitive apps to help you build trust with your audience. Below I have listed some apps I use as well as how I use them. List Builder.  List Builder converts one time visitors into faithful readers and subscribers. As they leave your website, a window will pop up asking for their email. Content Analytics. If you blog, you likely have no idea of how little or how much content your visitors read. With Content Analytics, however, you can see exactly where your readers stop reading. Smart Bar.  Smart Bar sits at the top of your webpage to remind visitors to sign up for your mailing list. Step 9: Hold weekly open hours (AKA webinars). Set aside one or two open hours every week to talk to your website visitors. You can use Google Hangout, Skype conference, or any similar tool. A live online event like this will facilitate more personal interaction with your visitors and strengthen the credibility of your brand. To organize and keep track of these events, Sumome offers a dialog box feature, where participants can RSVP to your next open hours. Sell Once you are generating traffic and interacting with visitors, you can focus on setting a price for your course. The question is, how much do you charge? If you already have a price in mind, ask yourself whether you would pay that much for the course. If you would, charge accordingly. Connected with this is the final step that can help you hit a homerun. Step 10: Build a brilliant landing page. The look of your landing page is key in convincing visitors to register and pay for the course. I could write another article just on the topic of the landing page. What I will highlight are a few tools that can help you create an attractive presentation page: Course Video Intro. Spend as much time as it takes to create a quality introductory video to your course. Using something as simple as your smartphone to record yourself as well as screen recording can do the job. Here is a sample: http://goo.gl/Ci9fQS Personally, I like to use Camtasia from Techsmith to do screen recording and editing. Course Description. Write a short and sweet description about your course. You don’t have to make it long if you are including a video intro. Curriculum Outline. Users want to know what they will be paying for. Give them the curriculum outline and mention any media material you will be providing as downloadable inside the course. Testimonials. Display testimonials of what people are saying about the course and you. It’s a way to show that others have indeed benefited. Your Biography. Write about your passion and highlight your achievements. Write a lot. You want people to feel like they know you, which helps you to gain their trust and inclination to pay for the course. That’s it. You have reached the end of the 10 step model to help you sell a course. But before we bid adieu, there is one last thing you need to know. Following these steps will only yield the desired results IF you add this one essential ingredient: Repetition. If something works, do it again and again. Repeatedly doing what works will generate more revenue. Eventually, you can hire others who can do the repeating for you. And before you know it, you are running an online school. Speaking of online schools, I actually created a tool that helps anyone the launch their own online school. You can check it out at www.eduongo.com. Here is a video that explains how to get started with EDUonGo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yH2DCHyGNw I would love to hear your feedback. Please feel free to leave a comment! This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

What Is A Learning Portal?  A learning portal is a gateway to all the courses, resources, and instruments that facilitate teaching and learning. Technically speaking, it’s a website that acts as a repository for teaching and learning materials. It’s a place where you store all your documents, podcasts, videos, presentations, and so on. Learning portals can also include applications that facilitate communication: Discussion forums, messaging services, email, calendars, and so on. In its simplest form, a learning portal can be a shop-front where your learners can discover or be assigned content. In its complex form, a portal can be an ecosystem for managing all teaching and learning. Whether simple or complex, a learning portal must: Let your learners get into the system and keep out those who aren’t registered. Provide easy routes for learners to navigate through the content. You don’t want your learners stepping over pools of alligators or having to pass through cages of lions along the way! With that in mind, here are 7 points to consider when selecting a learning portal. 1. Learning Portals must personalize the learning journey. One size no longer fits all. The key to a successful modern-day learning strategy is to move away from the sheep-dip and toward the shop-front model. A learning portal is the most effective means by which today’s learner can get to content that’s relevant to them and their organization. To make your portal as flexible as possible, you need to keep each piece of content disaggregated and chunked into small discernible parts. Why? Because this makes it easier for you to create a variety of courses or programs. For example, imagine you have a minute of really good video that helps explain a new product. By keeping it small, you can provide it as a stand-alone object in your library of content (even if it’s also included in a longer eLearning module). This provides your learners with additional options for accessing content that’s of interest to them. 2. Learning Portals must make content "discoverable". This is one of the most difficult things to achieve. A learning portal, by its very definition, needs to make it easy to access content quickly. Portals need to provide multiple routes to content, and they need recommendation systems that suggest content that is relevant to learners. A great way to achieve this is to embrace the "like/dislike" feature that is popular on social media sites. By asking learners to recommend (or like) content, the content can be organized in such a way that it suits the learners. 3. Learning Portals must be flexible.  Large or diverse organizations need a learning portal that offers sufficient flexibility to customize the learning journey and to customize the look and feel of the learning environment. Different departments have different needs and wants, so it’s important for large organizations to find a solution that offers flexibility. You may also have experts who want to manage their own learning resources. In this instance, look for a tool that gives you design control so you can structure how the content is presented. Elucidat is a tool that can give you design control while providing authors with the flexibility to change brand identity and content. 4. Learning Portals must enable community interaction. A learning journey shouldn’t be a lonely experience. While it is important to encourage self-directed autonomous learning, you should provide opportunities for learners to interact with other learners and teachers. Discussion forums, blogs, and sharing buttons are great communication tools that can create an environment that encourages learner-learner and learner-teacher interaction around the content. 5. Learning Portals must recognize achievement. Use your learning portal to recognize learner achievements. Give awards to those who complete courses and finish programs of study. Smaller achievements can be recognized by using a system of badges that are awarded after specific course goals have been met. Make sure you choose a tool that lets you build badges into each level of your course. This provides learners with a sense of achievement - or a progress report - that keeps them motivated to complete the course. 6. Learning Portals must blend online and offline learning. A learning portal can do so much more than simply act as a gateway to your online courses. As part of your overall learning strategy, you’ll want to be looking at value-adding as well as efficiency saving. If you are using face-to-face training in combination with online training, you should provide routes in and out of the portal so learners can access information online while they are involved with face-to-face training. For example, consider letting learners access the content online before they attend a scheduled mini master class or lunchtime huddle. By promoting these lunchtime huddles through the portal, you can bring online learners into an offline environment where they can discuss the content with a facilitator or expert. 7. Learning Portals must be accessible on all devices. The modern learner wants to learn on the go. Your portal must be accessible and easy to use across a range of devices so that the learning can begin at the desk and then continue on smart devices. Choose a tool that synchronizes learners’ progress across multiple devices. Conclusion: What Makes A Good Learning Portal?  In summary, here are 5 features every learning portal should have: It encourages your learners to be independent. It enables your learners to curate content that’s relevant to them. It provides multiple learning journeys. It allows learners to communicate and connect with other learners and their teachers. It allows learning to take place in all contexts across all devices. For inspiration, take a look at these 3 great examples of learning portals: Jurys Inn: Learning portal awarded silver in the ‘Best LMS Implementation’ category Sky: Global LMS trains 36,000 learners Plan International: Plan Academy is a learning community Stay on top of the latest eLearning ideas, trends, and technologies by subscribing to the Elucidat weekly newsletter. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Examples Of Collaborative eLearning Activities To Achieve Near And Far Transfer Saying that we use a project-based learning approach in Instructional Design is a good start, but what are the actual collaborative eLearning activities that we are going to use? Are the same types of online activities appropriate for all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy of learning objectives in order to achieve near and far transfer of knowledge? In the next section, I’ll show you examples of collaborative eLearning activities that can be used to promote near or far transfer of knowledge, meeting different levels of learning objectives, as defined in Bloom’s Taxonomy. In all cases, I take for granted that these collaborative eLearning activities are accompanied by the respective social media online discussion section, as part of a project-based approach of Instructional Design for eLearning based on Constructivism. Knowledge. In order to create collaborative eLearning activities the aim of which is to help learners acquire new information, I would recommend one of the following two approaches to be used: Gamification (Inductive approach). First you present the information to your audience and then provide them with a game-like online activity to help them memorize the information. Gamification is very effective at this stage as gamified eLearning activities are relatively easy to develop; most eLearning authoring tools offer templates such as memory card games, wheel of fortune, who wants to be a millionaire templates, etc. All these questions test lower level cognitive learning objectives that require basically memorization of the information presented in the eLearning course. Through leaderboards and badges shared on social media, learners may have a sense that they compete with each other, while at the same time they assimilate the new information through the online learning activity. Group Presentations (Deductive approach). An alternative technique could be based on a deductive approach; instead of giving the initial information, the online project consists of asking learners to find the information themselves and present it as a group project. For instance, in order to teach food vocabulary in a foreign language, you may ask learners to create an online "recipe book" with recipes they find on the Internet and then a shared glossary of the ingredients they have found, with no duplicates allowed, translated to their own language. Comprehension. This level of project-based collaborative eLearning activities require learners to demonstrate that they have understood the information presented at earlier stages and that they are able to identify benefits, drawbacks and key characteristics. Searching for additional information to enrich the topic. An excellent idea is a collaborative eLearning project that asks learners to review similar or complementary articles that discuss or further elaborate the previously presented information, enriching learners’ knowledge on the topic by going a step beyond the basics, identifying key characteristics, benefits or drawbacks. A blog or a wiki would be ideal tools for this stage. Apart from links to related articles, learners could also upload YouTube videos, provided that they would also write a brief summary of the new material uploaded in order to show their personal contribution to the group project. This should be clear to all learners, as the purpose of the activity is to make each learner demonstrate comprehension; thus, only new information should be regarded as contribution to the topic at this stage. Summarizing is an excellent practice that shows learners’ level of understanding of the information presented, for both texts and videos. Application. At this stage, the purpose of the project-based collaborative eLearning activity is to enable learners to demonstrate that they can apply what they have learned in action. Role-playing videos. Role-playing scenarios are very effective at this stage. The group project may consist in assigning learners different scenarios, let’s say for example, in a corporate setting different scenarios may be distributed among learners on how to handle customers’ objections while closing a sale. Then, learners could be asked, in pairs of two, to practice the scenario in front of a camera and upload the video. The rest of the group may compare how each pair handled the objection, and comment on best practices and weak points at the respective online discussion group on social media. At the end, they may create and upload a shared document which summarizes all good practices they have encountered. Case Studies. Case studies are ideal tools as they can be used as real-life examples that further elaborate how the information that has been presented to your learners so far can also be applied to different settings. As "application" is a transitional stage from near to far transfer of knowledge, this is the right stage to provide your audience with case studies in order to reinforce the learning message and promote far tranfer. The purpose of the activity should be just to show that the same principles can also be applied in different contexts. For this reason, the focus of the eLearning activity should not involve any kind of judgment in the case study, but rather, asking learners to open their minds trying to visualize other contexts that the same principles can be applied; an interesting online discussion may arise from such brainstorming, and this will be your audience’s first step towards far transfer and assimilation of knowledge. Analysis. In order to design collaborative eLearning activities which place emphasis on analysis of the information presented, as an Instructional Designer you should take for granted that learners should be in position to demonstrate not only that they have mastered theory, but also that they have understood how to apply it. Therefore, collaborative eLearning activities designed at this stage, are highly demanding as they require learners to make use of higher order congitive skills in order for both near and far transfer of knowledge to be achieved. Comparative Case Studies. Assigning multiple case studies to learners, which illustrate application of the same principle in a variety of contexts, would be an example of collaborative eLearning activities suitable for this stage. The task would be to ask learners to group together common elements or characteristics of different case studies, differentiating factors and how similar or differentiating elements led to different types of decisions taken. Such an analysis would reinforce learning towards far transfer. Commenting on Branching Scenarios. Commenting on branching scenarios would also give learners the opportunity to examine and compare different approaches to a given situation, classifying common elements and discussing the differences with the potential consequences of each decision or action taken. It is important here, as an online group facilitator, to cultivate an open non-judgmental culture, where learners will feel comfortably to open up and express their personal viewpoints, without the fear of being judged. Let them know that there are no right or wrong answers, but rather less or better-documented support arguments. Evaluation. Ideal evaluation collaborative eLearning activities would be based on learners’ recommendations of required action, no matter what the given context is. In order for your audience to be able to recommend best possible action, they need to show knowledge on the subject matter, as well as understanding not only of what you are asking for, but also of the context to be applied. Problem-based learning activities. Learners at this point may be asked to give a solution to a specific problem, the objective of which should not be the problem itself, but rather the approach they will follow during the decision-making process, and how they will use their previously acquired knowledge on the subject-matter to solve this problem. It is also important for the learners to perceive the problem given as realistic, that is possible to happen; this would further motivate them to get involved in the learning process. Collaborative eLearning activities would be quite useful at this stage, as learners would have to argue with their vitual classmates, discuss and rate each different factor presented, make recommendations to the rest of the online group, until they reach an agreement on how to proceed with the problem. Ranking. Another collaborative eLearning activity appropriate for the evaluation stage of learning objectives would be to ask learners to rank possible solutions to a problem. In this type of activity, instead of giving a specific problem to be solved in group, as an Instructional Designer you do exactly the opposite; you provide your audience with a list of possible solutions, asking the group to evaluate each one of them and rank them accordingly, taking into consideration the circumstances, their previous knowledge on the subject-matter or new elements they need to search for. Group agreement should also be reached through online discussions or video conference meetings among the learners.  Synthesis. Asking learners to produce an entirely new concept out of current knowledge meets the highest level of learning objectives to be mastered, and definitely demonstrates that far transfer of knowledge on the subject matter has been achieved. Proposing Alternatives. Collaborative eLearning activities that ask learners to propose an alternative course of action may be an example of appropriate online activities at this stage. This would also require students to generate new ideas and make predictions about their possible consequences. A problem-based online activity could also be effective here, but the emphasis should not be to solve the problem itself, but rather to the benefits of the solution given. The examples of collaborative eLearning activities given above are only indicative, and can certainly be used to meet various levels of learning objectives. These were just a few proposals; the only limit is the creativity of each Instructional Designer. Before closing, there are two last points I would like to mention: First, never mix levels. Go through each level of learning objectives with a different collaborative eLearning activity. For higher level of learning objectives, you may extend the previous activity, but the new objective to be mastered should always be crystal clear to your audience. Last, but certainly not least, always supplement the collaborative eLearning project with online discussion groups. I would recommend social media closed groups, as the vast majority of eLearning course participants are already familiar with and they already have a social media account. Want to learn more about how to design effective collaborative eLearning activities? Read the article Success And Inhibiting Factors Behind The Instructional Design Of Collaborative eLearning Activities to learn about the factors that contribute to the success of collaborative eLearning activities, as well as inhibiting factors that may make Instructional Designers reluctant to include them in their instructional design for eLearning. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

5 Horror Stories Of eLearning Design And How To Avoid Them  Like many of us involved in creating eLearning, I’ve seen and heard many horror stories which would make any designer scream with fright. In the run up to Halloween, here are five ghostly eLearning design situations I’ve come across, with some tricks on how to avoid them. Narrating all screen text. This is the one of the scariest eLearning design principles of all. To make matters worse, there was no option to switch off the audio. If you go down this road, you’ll kill the learning experience for sure. Reading and listening to the same information creates a cognitive overload; making it difficult to process the learning messages. We all read at different speeds and if a learner reads faster or slower than the narration, then you’ll lose them. More importantly, writing an audio script which will be listened to is completely different to writing onscreen text, which learners will read. Audio script writing should be more informal and conversational. Therefore, recording the onscreen text word for word just does not work. It’s making me shiver just thinking about it. Trick: Decide on the purpose of using audio narration in your eLearning. For example, if you’re telling a story, narrate the script with powerful images; like a movie trailer. Or narrate a short introductory message at the start of a topic and then leave learners to read the rest. At the very least, give the option to switch the audio off. Content which has been dug out from the internet. It was frightening when I heard a colleague was given a bunch of links and was asked to use them to design an eLearning course. Fear not readers, he did not use the information; but had a conversation with the client. Whilst the internet is an invaluable source of information, it shouldn’t be used as a unique content source. Even if the content is for internal use, copyright laws will haunt you for sure. Trick: It’s an obvious trick, but use a Subject Matter Expert (SME) during the eLearning design phase. They’re given the hat of Subject Matter Expert because their knowledge and experience has made them an authority in their field. Typically, the Subject Matter Expert will work with the Instructional Designer to identify the learning goals, give content ideas (some may even write draft content), and review storyboards. No instructions on screen. Shocked by this story? So was I when I came across it. Providing no screen instructions because you think that learners will figure it out is horrifying. It might be obvious to some learners what they need to do, but not to others. Trick: Even in a world where we’re used to finding our way through online content, make clear what you want the learner to do when they arrive at a screen. Whether it’s to choose, select, tap, read, reflect, drag, or simply click, include clear instructions. At the heart of creating eLearning is the Instructional Design process, so as well as designing everything else, make sure you design the instructions themselves. An eLearning version of a workbook. A workbook for use in the classroom is created word for word into an eLearning course just in case learners cannot make the classroom training. This eLearning design approach is ineffective on so many levels: Ineffective for the learners; it’ll no doubt create ineffective design; ineffective on the budget and generally a waste of time. Trick: First, ask yourself some fundamental questions. For example, why should there be an eLearning version of the workbook? What’s the purpose? Why are learners not attending the classroom training? What is the value of providing the same solution in two formats? Spend time deciding if you need both. If you do, give each a unique role in the overall learning. Would a blended approach of core knowledge in the workbook and eLearning scenario work? Is there any context out there? Imagine having to read copious amounts of facts and information, screen after screen, with no context around the content. Learners are given no indication of how the information applies to them or how they’ll use the information. Terrifying, right? Context is what gives any learning meaning and relevance. Trick: Using scenarios, common problems, conversations or situations learners regularly come across all help to create context. As well as text, remember to add context in all the media assets that will used in the eLearning. For example, images of the environment where context might take place; the tone in any voiceover; body language of characters used in images. This will ensure the context represents real life as much as possible. What are your eLearning horror stories and tricks to avoid them? This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

How To Give Your Existing eLearning Course A Modern Makeover One of the secrets to creating a successful eLearning course is ensuring that it’s always relevant and relatable. Thus, it must be adaptable and flexible in order to keep up with the ever-changing needs of modern learners. But how do you turn your existing eLearning course into an eLearning experience that is memorable and engaging for your current learners, without letting all of your hard work go to waste? Here are 10 top tips that can help you transform your eLearning course into a modern day masterpiece. Turn text into an interactive eLearning scenario. If you have a text-based tutorial that takes learners through every step of the process, why not turn it into an interactive eLearning scenario that shows them the real world benefits and applications. For example, if your current customer service online training course features a step-by-step explanation of how to complete a refund, you can transform it into an interactive eLearning scenario that allows learners to make choices that lead them down different branches and outcomes. Integrate video clips. You might be surprised by how much a video clip can boost the interactivity of an eLearning course, especially if your current online course lacks multimedia at the moment. Either create your own videos, if it’s in your budget, or embed online videos from YouTube, Vimeo, and other video sharing sites that tie into the subject matter. Just make sure that you give credit where credit is due and include an attribution for the video creator. Let an image do the talking! Images can immediately grab the attention of your learners and make them feel an emotional connection to the subject matter. For this very reason, it’s always wise to add at least a handful of compelling and relevant images to your eLearning course, preferably those that are high quality and relatable for your learners. Avoid images that may be cultural-specific, as this makes it more difficult to localize your eLearning course and may end up offending certain members of your audience who hail from different backgrounds or countries. Go bold when choosing colors. Adding splashes of color to the screen, in form of vibrant fonts and backdrops, can instantly make your online content pop off the page. Just make sure that you go with colors that are in-line with your branding and evoke the right emotions. For example, blue can calm a learner and get them mentally prepared for an online assessment, while red can ignite their creativity and passion to increase their motivation. Also, make certain that colorful fonts are readable and have a good contrast with the background. Perform a relevancy check. Now that you are revamping your eLearning course, this is the time to go through all of your online content with fine-toothed comb to make sure everything is still relevant. If your eLearning course is a bit verbose, try to omit some of the written content by adding images, eLearning scenarios, and videos instead. In addition, be sure that everything is still relevant and relatable, especially if you designed the eLearning course some time ago, so that you can create an eLearning course that speaks to learners today. Include infographics. Infographics have been around in some form for years, but they have recently become quite popular in online courses. This is primarily due to the fact that they deliver key ideas, statistics, and pieces of information in a visually appealing way, making it more memorable and engaging. There are plenty of infographics online that you can add to your eLearning course, just make sure that you ask the permission of the creator if necessary and include an attribution. Use attention grabbing fonts. There are times when more basic fonts are necessary, especially when you are trying to convey a core idea and legibility is a top priority. However, you can significantly improve the look of your eLearning course by including attention grabbing fonts for the headers and titles within your eLearning course. For example, you can use a bold font to draw attention to a tip at the corner of the page. Break up text blocks. Lengthy text blocks can cause cognitive overload and make your learners disengage from the eLearning course, especially those who are pressed for time or prefer visual learning resources. If you have large text blocks, try to break them up into bullet points or shorter paragraphs. If it’s a process, divide it up into individual steps so that your learners can follow along and actually retain the information. Freshen up the first page. First impressions matter and you can draw your learners into the eLearning experience by livening up the introduction of your existing eLearning course. Ask them a thought provoking question, stress the real world benefits of the eLearning course, or show an image that will immediately grab their attention. If you connect with them in those first few seconds, then they are more likely to stay with the eLearning course and actively participate. Add a story. Stories have the power to evoke emotions and create an instant connection with your learners. Include a story that features a situation or challenge that your learners face on a regular basis, as well as characters that are relatable to them. You can even use stories to convey the real world benefits of the subject matter, or show your learners how they can apply the knowledge in their personal or professional lives. Use these tips to update your existing eLearning course and make it more interactive, engaging, and effective for your online learners. The key is not throwing all of your eLearning content by the wayside, but adding a modern twist that makes it resonate with the learners of today. The trick to creating truly effective eLearning courses in this tech-centric age is making them interactive! Read the article How To Develop a Successful Interactive eLearning Strategy to discover 7 top tips you can use to develop a successful interactive eLearning strategy. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

ICEduTech 2015 is the International Conference on Educational Technologies 2015 Topics for the ICEduTech 2015 Conference Education in Context Education in the Network Society, Educational Games, Social Media in Education, Home Schooling, Students’ Rights, Parents’ Rights, Teachers’ Rights, Student-Safe Searching, School Violence, Education and Tolerance for Peace, Education in Developing Countries Education as Professional Field Teacher Education, Teachers’ Professional Development, Teachers’ Workload, Teacher Support for Grading, Time Tabling, Grading, Learning Tools, and Online Learning Software, Teachers’ learning in Communities of Practice, Web-based Communities for Teacher Support, Teachers’ Career Planning, Legal and Financial Issues, Conflict Resolution and Mediation, Governance and Servant Leadership, Educational Policies Curricular Evolution Problem-based Learning, Critical Thinking Skills, Creativity Skills, Learning Citizenship, Global Education, Media Literacy / Pedagogy, Multicultural Education, Alternative Assessment Methods Learner Orientation Student-Oriented Learning, Peer- and Collaborative Learning, Learning Strategies: Learn how to Learn, Motivating Students, Recognizing Students’ Learning Styles, Special Education Integrating Educational Technologies Social Media and Social Networking, The Semantic Web 3.0, Podcasting for Broadcasting Video Lectures, Podcasting feedback to students, Wiki and blogs in Higher Education, Mobile, Virtual and Vicarious Learning, Simulations and Modeling International Higher Education Marketing Higher Education as a Business Case, Pitfalls and Solutions in Joint and Double Degree Programs, Enculturation and International Teacher Accreditation, Web-based, Mobile, Virtual Presence and Social Media to Overcome Student Mobility, Blended Learning and Student Assessment at a Distance, Student Mobility and Distance Education, New-Emerging Standards and Benchmarks for Higher Education, Education, Research, Exchange an Capacity Building, 21st Century Academic and Industrial Brain Exchange, Academic Salaries, Faculty Contracts, Residence Permits and Legal Issues, International Student Exchange Funding Programs: Erasmus Mundus, the U.S. Council on International Educational Student Exchange, and the Euro-American "Atlantis" program, Networks for International Higher Education in the Pacific, Australia, Europe, Asian and European countries, Higher Education, Cultural Diversity, Tolerance and Political Conflict ICEduTech 2015 Keynote Speakers Professor Piet Kommers, University of Twente, The Netherlands Professor Pedro Isaías, Universidade Aberta (Portuguese Open University), Portugal The International Conference on Educational Technologies 2015 (ICEduTech 2015) will be held in Brazil on November 30 to December 2, 2015. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

4 Ways To Create Multi-Device eLearning Games   eLearning games are a proven way to increase engagement and get your learners more interested in your course. If your eLearning is going to be deployed on multiple platforms then you need to make sure your games can be too. Whether you’re going to be introducing gamification elements to your eLearning or a fully-fledged serious game, you’re going to need to make sure it’s multi-device friendly. 1. Gamification Using game thinking to introduce gamified elements to your eLearning can be achieved in many ways. Adding a points system and leaderboard is often best done at the Learning Management System (LMS) level, so having a Learning Management System that offers multi-device support means you’re all set. Making your Learning Management System available on all devices could be as simple as using a responsive theme, one that adapts to the screen size and input methods of the devices your learners use to access it. The top 3 LMSs by users are Moodle, Edmodo, and Blackboard, with a combined user base of over 100 million. All three have gamification features available and are multi-device friendly as standard. They either offer native mobile apps for the major operating systems or a responsive theme allowing access via a web browser from any modern device. If your Learning Management System is responsive you just need to add the leaderboard, badges, points, or other scoring system to have your gamified eLearning course. 2. eLearning Games In Authoring Tools Serious games that focus on eLearning needs are one of the best ways to keep learners interested in your course. Storyline 2 can be used to create interactions like drag and drop, matching, and other basic game style elements and build them into the course you’re creating. Currently, courses can be exported as HTML5 for deployment across multiple devices. Articulate has announced plans to release a responsive mobile player for their content, which should act a lot like Adobe Captivate Prime’s fluidic player, allowing the same content to be viewed anywhere in a controlled frame rather than a browser. Adobe Captivate includes several templates for interactions like Hangman and jigsaw puzzle-style games that can be used to include a basic game. With the new features Adobe introduced in Captivate 9 these interactions are available across platforms for mobile users as well as desktop. Lectora also has games templates and you can create your own games within the tool using actions and variables. Building simple game interactions is possible in most popular authoring tools, but it’s also possible to build fully featured serious games and include them in a course. You can also use a fully responsive, HTML5 based framework like Adapt to crate your course. Starting with a responsive learning course makes it much easier to include game content that is built in the same way. 3. HTML5 Responsive Games There are some techniques you can use for creating real games that work seamlessly in your eLearning. If you’re using a framework which outputs HTML5 content then it’s possible to include HTML5 components, including games, in your course. There are many different HTML5 game engines to work with if you go down this route, some of the popular options include: Phaser. An open source framework for 2D HTML5 games, there’s an active community and plenty of tutorials to help you get started. Construct 2. A user friendly interface allowing rapid creation of 2D games with output in various formats including HTML5 for the web. Easeljs. Another open source project, it’s a good choice for developers who are familiar with Flash as it uses a similar API. Amazon developer Jesse Freeman sets out four key requirements for creating a responsive game: Display. Game graphics and user interface supports multiple resolutions. Controls.  Game mechanics work across multiple types of input. Cross platform code.  Publish to multiple platforms with the same code base. Synchronized data.  Saved data is synced across all platforms. Amazon has platforms that run on everything from phones to TV sets with all combinations of controllers that you can imagine. The chances are that your learners won’t be accessing the course from such a huge variety, but these rules are a great place to start when you create your game content. Synchronizing data across platforms becomes especially important when you’re tracking your learners’ game achievements in your Learning Management System. Allowing people to come and go from the game and not lose any progress is essential when promoting it as a mobile friendly option. 4. Multi-Platform Games.  The next level in game design is a fully fledged 3D game engine which can publish to any platform using the same code base. Unity 3D is currently the most popular option for game developers and can publish your game to all major platforms. The truth is, the majority of eLearning games will be built either within an authoring tool or using a more basic 2D HTML5 game engine. It’s a step up from the basic interactions you can achieve inside an authoring tool, offering a huge leap in terms of creativity. Consistent Experience  Whichever route you go down it’s important to make the game an intrinsic part of the experience. Building it with the same visual style and control methods as your course will mean a consistent experience for your learners. With the extra creativity you have from a responsive HTML5 based game framework you can create much more varied and realistic games and simulations to compliment your eLearning objectives. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Comparing 7 Cloud Based Authoring Tools  As the growth of online learning has exploded in recent years, so has the vast array of tools and platforms vying for your attention. While cloud based Learning Management Systems have been around for years, the emergence of cloud based content authoring tools is a relatively new trend in eLearning, driven by the rise of BYOD and mLearning. This trend has required innovation and fresh thinking for multi-screen course editing and dissemination. Using the latest online platforms, almost anyone can create virtually any type of training that will run seamlessly across desktops and mobile devices. Following is the comparison of 7 cloud based course authoring tools and the exploration of each solution’s advantages and disadvantages. 1. Litmos Author Litmos Author is the self-proclaimed leader in cloud based collaborative course authoring. Their platform is designed to allow staff to collaboratively manage media assets, storyboard, develop, review, and publish eLearning in a four-step process; but is it as easy as it sounds? Pros:  Intuitive Media Manager for organizing resources, along with handy tools for optimizing images. Collaborative authoring for co-developers, as well as the ability to add clients as "reviewers". Access to the SDK allowing for customized templates to be added (not tested). Flexible publishing options including: URL sharing, SCORM 1.2, 2004, Tin Can and AICC compliant downloads - Litmos Author allows you to download your course along with the source files. Cons:  An unpolished and outdated (Flash-based) user interface - most parts of the authoring interface aren’t intuitive to use. Form-based templates are difficult to work with, involving a lot of trial and error to get a good result. Little to no scaffolding - warning messages are often downright confusing. Some of the visuals lack design flair, and the overall design approach seems lackluster. No instant signup - trial access is available, but you’ll have to request a demo if you’d like to take a look around. Overall:  This reviewer was disappointed with the Litmos authoring tool. The Media Manager could be handy for organizations where approval for media is required. The range of variety of eLearning templates might be also be a drawcard for some users. The fact that you can export authored content in almost any format possible, with no limitations on URL sharing or publishing content, is possibly one reason to consider Litmos Author over other similar platforms. Price:  $1999/yr or $999/yr for education (separate to Litmos LMS). Recommended for:  Corporate HR Teams who have experience with authoring tools like Articulate who are looking for a way to develop resources in a more collaborative environment. 2. Easy Generator Easy Generator's all-in-one eLearning software gives authors simple tools to create engaging courses in the cloud, "no coding expertise required". From the time you sign up, Easy Generator steps you through defining learning objectives, encouraging authors to measure their learner's success through a "strong instructive framework". This platform doesn’t include student management features but provides the option to see results from anyone who provides their name and email before completing a course. Pros:  Jump right in with the help of excellent scaffolding and tutorials when you need them. Extremely user friendly user interface - no scripting or programming needed to create an interactive course. Elegant "out of the box" themes providing Instructional Designers a visual consistency approach across all parts of a course. Mobile friendly responsive courses. Ability to add co-authors to each course. Customizable questions responses for correct and incorrect feedback. Comprehensive sharing options including private link sharing, website embedding, SCORM, and HTML download. Cons:  Interactive elements are fairly limited, and there isn’t a great deal of variety in the 9 available content templates, however, the "Academy" plan lets you build and add your own templates (not tested in this review). Can become pricey if multiple authors need to access the platform. Overall:  Easy Generator is an excellent example of a next generation authoring tools for training development - it’s easy to get started without any instructional or design expertise. Authors with previous eLearning experience might feel limited as to what they can build and create - however, the "Pro Plan" now allows users to add their own templates, or modify the existing source code, providing greater flexibility across the platform. Price:  Easy Generator has a free trial and a freemium model (limited to 2 basic question types) with several other plans available. The "plus" (or standard) account is $39 per author per month. To access the advanced features will set you back $59 per month. There’s also 50% off for educational institutions. Recommended for:  Anyone that doesn’t want to spend days learning their way around a new authoring tool and doesn’t require too much flexibility in design. 3. Lectora Online Lectora Online recently released version 2 of their cloud based authoring tool with a number of new features. Those who have used Lectora before and are familiar with the interface will find it easy to get the hang of... Pros:  A 30-day free trial is available - you can try it out right away. Handy integrations, for instance, the ability to add your GoAnimate professional animated videos directly into your Lectora Online Media Library. HTML, SCORM, and Tin Can publishing (you can download your resources and keep a copy of them without an ongoing subscription). FTP publishing and the ability to publish and preview "titles" without too much fuss. Ability to create LMS compatible assignments. Cons:  HTML is not mobile friendly or responsive. The title explorer can become overloaded with elements and is often difficult to work with. You’re left to join the dots on most interactive elements, which can result in errors, especially for beginners. Error checking is required each time you publish a course and is designed to validate your "design" but can be very frustrating, as the help video explains "you may have to repeat this process a few times" - why not validate the components as they are being saved? A little on the pricey side. Overall:  Contrary to the publishers’ claim that the interface is "easy to get the hang of", this reviewer found it fairly difficult to work with. Lectora Online has all the benefits of an online authoring tool, for instance the ability to collaborate on "titles" from all corners of the earth, but so do all of the platforms in this review. The course organizer and editing environment is inline (what you see is what you get authoring), which is great for some purposes but impractical at other times. The templates provided also look a little jaded, and are not a great starting point for developing your own eLearning development. Price:  $159 per month ($1,908 per year). Recommended for:  Existing Lectora users who have already invested time and effort learning the desktop platform. 4. eCoach eCoach is a newcomer to the market, and at the time of writing is still in BETA release (and free to use). eCoach multi-device authoring tools allow anyone "to quickly build new online courses from scratch using media and resources from around the web". So how does it stack up? Pros:  A free 30 trial is available. Easy to learn user interface and help videos throughout the site, making it easy to get up and running (once you’ve learnt how to work with 1 template the rest are fairly easy). A great variety of templates that are easy to work with. The ability to share resources via a simple or private URL (using a course code). A consistent and great looking format for learners to work with. Completely mobile friendly learning resources - our test course performed well on all devices. Cons:  Templates are form-based, meaning you have to preview them each time you add new content. Some questions templates are hard to find. No SCORM exporting or HTML downloads. Lack of tracking for student quizzes (the current approach is to have students email their quiz data). Overall:  eCoach is a lot more fun to use than some of the other platforms tested, after spending half an hour with the platform we were actually having a blast making our own lessons. The visual layout of the Learning pathway is another neat feature, and takes a different approach to any other platform we’ve tested. The "Quick Share" option is likely to appeal to teachers, while those looking for student tracking and more advanced Learning Management System features will be disappointed. Perhaps one of the best features of eCoach is the mobile compatibility, which was second to none, and is a clincher for anyone looking to deliver training via BYOD programs. Price:  Currently free, but will become a paid service in November starting at $29.95 per month for teachers, and $49.95 per month for all other users (we had to contact the publishers to find pricing information). Recommended for:  Teachers who are prepared to put a little bit of elbow grease into their online learning, or any trainer looking to deliver great looking content across a number of devices. 5. Ruzuku Ruzuku is more of a learning repository than an authoring tool; it’s not really a Learning Management System either, as there is no tracking of student data (except participation). Ruzuku relies on uploading your own information, files and activities within "steps" which can be scheduled across 1 or more days. It also allows you to build a course and share or sell it. Pros:  Simple to use. Allows you to build a simple signup page for your course, including custom enrollment and sign in pages. Courses can be easily sold via integrations with Stripe, Paypal, and 1shoppingcart. On demand, open or scheduled publishing along with the ability to monitor the "health" of a course by tracking student participation. Simple to follow knowledge base and support articles. Cons:  Limited "activity" options - how do we add questions? Ruzuku recommend using an "outside tool" like ProProfs or PollDaddy. Page loading times weren’t great during testing. Limited styling options (7 colors, 4 font styles) with no previews. Courses aren’t interactive or engaging. Overall:  Ruzuku sits somewhere between a traditional Learning Management System and an authoring tool (kind of like Udemy). Out of all platforms reviewed, it’s no doubt the simplest way to publish and market a course. While it’s incredibly easy to use, you probably won’t win an eLearning award with your Ruzuku courses. Price:  From $49 per month (with 25 enrollments) to $997 per year for unlimited access and all features. A free 14-day trial is also available. Recommended for:  Blended learning, seminars, workshops, or short-courses where the focus of the training isn’t purely online. Ruzuku could also be valuable to external consultants who are looking for a way to develop a training calendar, and simple tools to accept registrations and enrollments. 6. Smart Sparrow The Smart Sparrow platform allows you to create, deploy, analyze, and share adaptive lessons. Lessons are "adaptive" based on what the student is doing, what they’ve done in the past, what they already know. The "Adaptivity Factors" can be customized to facilitate almost any kind of learning activity, providing feedback or changing dynamically based on feedback and input from learners. Pros:  Simple and clear product tour. A clean and simple to navigate user interface - inline editing done well! Adaptivity - powerful editing tools that allow you to build almost anything, including branched / interactive scenarios and simulations. Excellent insights into what students are learning and where they are struggling. Public links, embedding, and SCORM compatible publishing options. Cons:  Education only - you’ll need a valid EDU email to sign up. It’s easy to get lost when working with some of the screen elements and layers. It’s not always clear how each element works, or what files types are supported. Adaptivity is a powerful function but is tricky to work with, and will take a while to master - previous experience working with conditional logic will help! Not mobile friendly or responsive. Overall:  Not surprising a lot of Smart Sparrow’s customers appear to be universities. This is a powerful editing suite which you can achieve amazing results with - although there is a steep learning curve. Smart Sparrow also includes real-time analytics to monitor student learning behavior, allowing teachers to identify common mistakes and misconceptions, as a way to constantly adapt content and improve learning outcomes. Authors can also use Loops to build a showcase of lessons and share it with a community of like-minded educators (not tested). Price: From $39 per month for a single author with up to 30 students, or $199 a month for 3 authors and 200 students. POA for for larger class sizes and campus-wide solutions. Recommended for:  Smart Sparrow is well designed, but it’s not easy to use. Universities with dedicated eLearning staff working in a collaborative team / environment will be able to leverage the power of Smart Sparrow to create world class eLearning resources, while non specialists might struggle to find the time to learn their way around all of the features. 7. Versal Versal education is an authoring tool allowing you to create interactive learning experiences for the classroom or the office (with the later designed for corporate trainers). In this review we took the "Education" product for a test-drive… Pros:  The ability to invite students to Versal, or embed courses directly into websites or popular Learning Management System platforms (LTI and SCORM compliant). Courses can even be published via the Versal Chrome app. Incredibly intuitive drag and drop editor with an huge number of import options (Quizlet, Google Docs, Disqus, Prezi, Educreations, PDF, to name a few). Adjustable timers for "challenge" style interactive content. 15 out of the box gadgets of varying quality, along with a mind-boggling array of interactive elements available via "labs" (anything from a tool to teach chess openings, to music notation!). Great sharing and publishing options. Access to the "teacher-powered" gadget marketplace containing over 1,000 gadgets that anyone can download to their ‘tray’ (most licensed under Creative Commons). Ability to add your own courses and submit them as a gadget. Cons:  Some templates (or gadgets) are easy to work with, others we had no idea how to use. Buggy - the course editor would occasionally skip from the lesson manager to the course overview screen for no reason, I was also signed out for no reason on one occasion. Sharing a course didn’t always work, often returning a 403 error via share links. Requires a mobile player to view resources via smartphone. Overall:  Versal is a sophisticated platform, but one that is incredibly easy to use. The huge range of customizable JavaScript applications available from the Gadget market makes creating content and adding existing materials into your course a breeze - gadgets are available across a huge range of topics and the library is constantly updated. Our only criticism might be that there’s a no consistent format for community gadgets, meaning that authors will need to spend a lot of time becoming familiar with the format of each resource. Searching and finding resources isn’t easy either (some categories would help!). Price:  Free for public courses or $5 a month for teachers who require student tracking. If you’re looking for student management features, a Versal Pro account is required. Business plans start at $100 per month. Recommended for:  High School Teachers. Why? It’s free and you can share courses with Google Classroom at the push of a button. There’s also an excellent library of STEM content available via the gadget marketplace. Conclusion  None of these online tools are perfect - some platforms are way too complex and don’t feel at home on the web (notably Litmos Author and Lectora Online). Versal, eCoach, and Easy Generator are great alternatives for anyone looking to make a great looking course with a minimum of fuss. Smart Sparrow is a great tool for experienced Instructional Designers and tertiary institutions who want to take their eLearning to the next level. For anyone wanting to package and sell a simple course using their existing resources, try Ruzuku - keep in mind that you could use Ruzuku in tandem with any "authoring" tool that allows embedding or link sharing to package and sell your courses. Have a suggestion, experience using any of these platforms, or an alternative recommendation, please add it in the comments below! This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Making Your Content Go Viral: Ideas From Real Learning The Real Learning Project is a book, site, and exercises designed to show people how to learn to learn socially, experientially, and informally. Real Learning is self-instructional and self-contained, created with the individual in mind. We expect some organizations will want to apply the lessons of Real Learning more widely. To support organizational renewal and reinvention. To become true learning organizations. To establish a more open, sharing, collaborative culture. To adopt social business, Radical Management, digital transformation, and other models. To enable workers and managers to take charge of their own learning. To be more responsive to change, more sustainable. To consolidate groups after a merger or acquisition. To focus new hires in onboarding programs. To build mentoring and coaching skills into management develop programs. To delegate decision-making to the operational level. To work smarter overall. To take advantage of the benefits of informal learning. To become a leaner organization with more generalists. To get everyone up to a baseline standard of self-directed learning skills. To become more technologically advanced. To exploit wikis, social networks, videoconferencing, and teamwork to the fullest. To shift from a training to a performance orientation. To unleash the power of collective intelligence. To open the process of innovation to all workers. How does one apply self-instruction to a group? Teams and organizations can use Real Learning to help small groups and entire companies to better engage, collaborate, learn, share, and make decisions. Shift a group from old power to new. In Understanding New Power (HBR December 2014), Jeremy Helmans and Henry Timms capture the essential shift from centralized power to distributed power. The characteristics on the left are vestiges of the pre-web industrial era; those on the right are the values of Web 2.0, democratization, and Real Learning. Harvard Business Review Visual Library, December 1, 2014 If you are making this journey, here are some things to consider: Form a task force. Assemble a task force of influential people to monitor progress and communicate results. Make the task force responsible for change management. The task force will keep stakeholders up to date, keep track of adoption, trumpet successes, set leader expectations, create a vision, eliminate obstacles to change, plan for short-term wins, and tie project outcomes to organizational success. In selling the value of Real Learning, the task force should focus on business outcomes, not the learning capabilities that led to them: Better, more knowledgeable customer service. Faster response time. Higher morale. Reduced turnover. Greater flexibility. Bottom-up innovation. Collective intelligence. Governance. Real Learning can work miracles if people are free to choose their own path, something they truly believe in. You can’t control freedom without strangling it. Real Learning pays big benefits - so long as you give it room to thrive. Governance means someone having the clout to represent executive management as ombudsman. Beyond having a social media policy and code of ethics, not much documentation is required. Align Real Learning with real needs. Learning never exists in a vacuum. You have to learn something, not just learn about learning per se. Couple Real Learning to a topic the group needs to master, e.g. becoming a real-time business, embracing Six Sigma, implementing new enterprise software, entering a new marketplace, or getting our team back on track. Hitchhike with a winning cause. Enlist sponsors and champions. As with any project, the more support from the top of the organization, the better. Leaders should model the behavior they are looking for. Managers must make time for learning, practice, and reflection. Find champions -learning junkies and working smarter enthusiasts- to pilot Real Learning and demonstrate how it’s done. Shift the culture. Work on developing a culture that is open, sharing, tolerant of mistakes, and respectful. Reward individual behaviors such as working out loud, reflecting on successes and failure, creating knowledge as well as consuming it, and taking on daring but not foolish challenges. Study group. The first year I attended business school, every evening before class I would join four friends to discuss the three cases that would be discussed the following day. We were a diverse group. One fellow was so conservative, risk-averse, and Republican, that I had to hold back from taunting him. Another guy was a convicted felon who refused to let his wife leave the house without him or listen to the radio. The third fellow held views similar to mine. Diversity helped: We had different perspectives on the cases. I learned more in the study group than I did in class. Figuring things out with your peers is powerful medicine. Form your own study group. You have my permission. Enlist a colleague or two who’ll work their way through Real Learning with you in tandem. Lesson plan. Hells, bells, you don’t need a lesson plan. Nobody’s teaching here. Real Learning defines the topics. Go through them at a pace that’s comfortable for your group. Skip around if you like. There is no specific order. AA-style. "Hi, my name’s Jay and I’m powerless over my own learning". Join with other people who want to work smarter and improve their position in life. Be authentic. Tell stories. Get a sponsor should you lose the faith. Attend meetings. Come if you feel like you’ve hit bottom, don’t know what you’re doing, and need someone to toss you a life ring. Host a Meet-Up or post an announcement on the bulletin board. Team-driven. Teams are defined by their context. An agile development team is not like the team that meets every morning before Whole Foods opens or the Honda workers doing jumping jacks before heading to the production line. Four people who have worked together for years is a different team than eight contentious people with low morale and high turnover. There are great teams and sick teams and teams that cry out to be fixed. Real Learning focuses on practice. People learn socially, sharing with others, respecting others, and working smarter. They reflect on successes and failures, understanding how they can make the team healthier and more productive. Real Learning is a catalyst for organizational development, for one of the methods of learning to learn is teamwork. Ask yourself how your team might benefit from adopting Real Learning practices and what that would be worth to you? Content, books, community, FAQ, monthly prep teaching instructions via video, transcript, etc. costs less than $300 per person for a team of six. The big investment is people’s time: several hours a week doing exercises, working with a study-buddy, scouring the web, goal setting, practice, and more. Probably add a few hours at home or the "third place" during downtime for most people. Some teams, when the time is right and demand lulls make Real Learning the focus of management development and have participants mentor the rest of the organization on how to move forward. Book club. Six people agree to read and discuss Real Learning. They skim the book rapidly; in an hour, they "get it". They come together to answer "How could this improve our team?" Support the project with your corporate social network. Create a learning community on your in-house social network to coordinate and share activities. Yammer, Chatter, Jing, Slack, SocialCast, or IBM Connections will do. The basic functionality is not that different from one platform to the next. Encourage participants to share their discoveries. Put a community manager in charge of pruning, reorganizing, and keeping the conversations active. Niches before Big Bang. Try Real Learning with a few enthusiastic teams or small groups before taking implementation to the entire organization. Pilot tests provide examples, an opportunity to fix glitches, and a means of localization. Besides, why risk it all when you can build on experience incrementally? Keep individual self-study option open. Encourage individual go-getters to participate in Real Learning on their own or in dyads no matter what other programs you have going. The more experiments, the better. Announce the availability of Real Learning to everyone who might want it. Real Learning has had a great reception among experienced people, most with advanced degrees who want to audit the way they learn and make improvements. A person who doesn’t care about learning might need it, but will never be persuaded it’s something worth investing in. In contrast, the learning enthusiast will work hard to advance from 90 percent effectiveness to 95 percent. Affirm your values. When implementing Real Learning on a large scale, it’s a good idea to make a company wide commitment to your new philosophy on learning. Here are the values we developed with a client - and took an oath to follow: We are open and transparent. We narrate our work. Need to share. We value conversation as a learning vehicle. We make our work accessible to others. Our bottom line is business success. We know learning is work; work is learning. We are a learning organization. We value time for self-development and reflection. We recognize that reflection is a key to learning. Changing behavior requires continual reinforcement, so be ready to tackle the concern and resistance that some people may have toward becoming a more collaborative organization. Learning is social; connect people. People learn with and through others, so set up ways for people to introduce themselves and select learning partners. Effective managers encourage their team members to buddy up on projects, to shadow others and to participate in professional social networks. People learn more in an environment that encourages conversation, so make sure you’re fostering an environment where people talk to each other. Several years ago, the local paper in Ottawa carried a story about voter betrayal. The politicians had gone back on their promise to provide every elementary student with a computer. It would be 2 kids per machine. I smiled. The kids will learn a lot more this way. Adults need to take advantage of the social nature of learning. Have two or three people go through eLearning together, before a single screen. Encourage them to talk. Retention will skyrocket, and conversation will mitigate the boredom of most learning. Become A Meta-Learner Yourself  If you are personally drawn in by this subject, by all means consider being a mentor to your colleagues and friends. No one learns more than a mentor. You might host some online events or bring communities together. It’s intoxicating. Common Goal  I take my goal from my friend Howard Rheingold. We’re forming a community of co-learners. That’s not a bad line to use to spark a ground-up community of real learning practice where you work. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

eLearning Course Authoring Software Hidden Costs When you sign up for an eLearning course authoring software, you might naturally assume that the price tag includes any and all expenses. However, you may be surprised to learn that there may be other costs you haven’t even considered. These additional fees can add up quickly and throw your eLearning estimate off balance. This can make it difficult to stick to your eLearning development budget. In this article, I’ll shed light on the 6 most common hidden costs of eLearning course authoring tools. Upgrades. While many people focus on the startup or sign up costs of the eLearning course authoring tool, many overlook the fact that there may be upgrade fees involved. In fact, this is where some "free" eLearning authoring platforms earn their profits. They may not require any payment up front, but you will have to pay when it’s time to upgrade the product. For example, if they come out with a new version a month after you sign up, you might have to dig into your eLearning budget to be able to upgrade so that you can get the latest and greatest features. This is why it’s always a good idea to ask about upgrades in advance and, if possible, go with eLearning course authoring software that includes free upgrades for existing users. Also, if you are already utilizing the specific eLearning course authoring software and they release a new version that isn’t covered by the initial fee, then carefully examine the new features or functions to see if it’s really worth the added investment. Support. Even if you’re a tech-savvy eLearning professional who knows their way around an eLearning course authoring tool, there may be times when you need some assistance with the software. There might be a glitch in the program or you may be unsure about how to work a particular feature. In these instances, support services are essential. The trouble is that some eLearning course authoring tools charge extra for support and don’t include it in their monthly or annual fee. So, if you do run into a problem, you’ll have to either find another way to work around it or pay more to speak to a representative or chat with them online. Before you sign up for the software, double check to verify which support services they do offer and if they are covered in the startup costs. Are you able to contact them via email and phone, or do they only offer an online contact form or FAQ? Do they offer a premium package for a bit more that includes more extensive support? Licensing fees. They key to choosing the best eLearning course authoring software for your eLearning project is knowing as much as possible about their pricing model. While some products only require an initial investment that grants you unlimited access to the software in perpetuity, others offer limited time licenses that expire after a certain time period. For example, after a year you will have to pay the licensing fee again, or a renewal fee, to keep using the eLearning course authoring platform. Software maintenance. As a general rule, these maintenance fees are roughly 15 to 20 percent of the purchase price. This covers new software installation, on-site support services, and anything else that is par-for-the-course when it comes to maintaining an eLearning course authoring software. There is also a secondary cost that has nothing to do with the vendor. This is the staffing and monetary resources that you’ll have to put into your eLearning course authoring software to upkeep it on a company-wide level. Do you have to update your eLearning content on a regular basis? Are you going to need to modify it over time to meet the growing needs of your organization? Training. This is an essential cost that many eLearning professionals may not even consider. No matter how user-friendly the eLearning course authoring tool might be, there is going to be some sort of learning curve involved. You will need to train your eLearning development team or users on how to utilize the eLearning course authoring software so that they can take full advantage of its features, which improves your ROI. If you’re flying solo, then you will also have to factor in the time and effort you need to invest in order to master the tool. After all, time is money! More difficult tools may offer a vast array of features, but are they ideal for your eLearning development team, or should you opt for a more basic tool that cuts down training costs? Excessive fees. Overage fees may, unfortunately, be hidden in the fine print in some cases. For example, certain eLearning course authoring software vendors may charge an overage fee for every extra user or GB of storage that you use beyond your cap. Check to see how much usage is included in your package and if the vendor charges overage fees or simply blocks your access to the tool until the next billing cycle. If possible opt for an eLearning course authoring option that far exceeds your usual users or GB usage, just to be safe. Otherwise, you may end up paying much more than expected if your eLearning course is a resounding success. Avoid going over your eLearning budget and find the eLearning course authoring software tool that offers the features you need at a price you can afford. Use these tips to steer clear of hidden charges when selecting your next eLearning course authoring software. Want to learn more about eLearning authoring software pricing models, and how to choose the best eLearning course authoring software for your eLearning project? Read the article The Insider's Guide To Authoring Tools Pricing Models to find out about the basics and benefits of each price structure to determine which is right for your eLearning needs and budget. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.