You don’t have to be in the defense industry to benefit from simulation-based elearning. In this article, Li Whybrow looks at three companies that are applying simulation-based elearning to achieve very different training outcomes. Draw inspiration from these three simulation-based elearning examples For some time, the bread and butter staple for elearning agencies involved converting people’s classroom training into elearning. But, this missed the true potential of this powerful learning tool. When I started out as an instructional designer, I recognized that computer-based training provided the solution to the very thing that was missing in the classroom: a space for individuals to practice skills and knowledge in a safe environment. When simulated practice was first introduced into elearning, it offered a game changer for many innovative organizations that looked to improve the performance of their team. Let’s take a look at three examples of simulation elearning from three different sectors: healthcare, skills, and financial. I’ll show you how these organisations collaborate with elearning providers and use new technologies to bring innovative learning solutions to their audiences. 1. AIIMS uses video-based simulation in their surgical training (Healthcare) The All India Institute of Medical Sciences set out to train surgeons in a complex surgical procedure - Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting - by encouraging learners to explore an experimental approach in a risk-free environment. They created web-based elearning solution, featuring a video of the actual surgery, shot using a head-mounted camera in the operating room, and covering a series of surgical procedures. The video serves both as a reference point in creating the training and as a valuable asset in the training itself. The elearning product comprises realistic 2D and 3D simulations with a ‘Show Me’ option that lets learners view an animated demonstration of each step in the procedure. A ‘Try Me’ option allows them to select the right surgical tools and to perform the surgical procedures. Guided hints help learners rectify mistakes and provide them with feedback. Visit Elearning Superstars: AIIMS’s simulated surgical training 2. Train4TradeSkills uses virtual reality to teach trade trainees (Skills) The Virtual Reality House gives trade trainees, such as plumbers, a virtual place to practice their skills in a ‘walled garden’ setting. It provides a safe environment to make mistakes and build confidence and competence before embarking on the workshop-based practical training element of their course. The instructional approach is built on the premise that the more practice you have, the more confident you become. The elearning provider’s own i3D engine is built on the Unity 3D framework. It allows rapid development of simulated interactive training scenarios that are cross-platform compatible. The elearning can be run from most machines including standard desktop Mac and Windows systems and hand-held mobile devices. The modular design of the elearning makes it easy to scale courses and to tailor them to the requirements of the end users. The complexity of the scenario can be altered for beginners and advanced learners (think changing a washer to installing a whole plumbing system). This flexible, non-linear instructional design and engineering solution lets learners create their own learning pathways. But the real innovation is the simulated environment in which learners can test solutions safely and go back and fix any faults. Visit Elearning Superstars: Train4TradeSkills’s Virtual Reality House 3. Llyods Banking Group uses integrated systems software training in their induction program (Financial) Lloyds Bank’s induction program is a superb example of how vendors can work together in partnership to create a really innovative elearning solution. Elearning agency Brightwave and simulation software provider Assima worked on this induction program for the banking firm Lloyds Banking Group. When contact center staff begin their careers with the bank, there is a need to spend a long time getting to know the system that the organization uses for handling customer calls. Staff must understand the complexity of the regulations and good practice regarding handling sensitive customer data and verification of customers. This can’t be done using live customer data, so Assima provided a fully simulated ‘clone’ of the system using synthetic data provided by the LBG. This was integrated into Brightwave’s elearning software to create a rich, scenario driven, learning programme. Visit Elearning Superstars: Lloyds Bank induction program Stay on top of the latest elearning ideas, trends, and technologies by subscribing to the Elucidat weekly newsletter. The post Simulation-based elearning: Three companies that have applied elearning in very different ways. appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

New technologies are changing the way you deliver learning. In this article, Steve Penfold reviews five leading elearning authoring tools. Compare each tool based on ease of use, themes and designs, feature set, and price. I think it’s fair to say that no one, not even professional elearning development houses, creates elearning without the use of authoring tools these days. More sophisticated shops might have created their own bespoke authoring tools to help them build their special brand of magic more quickly, but even these will fall back to commercially available tools when the job calls for it. But which of these commercially available elearning authoring tools is best? I think you already know the answer to that. It depends. Things like the platforms you want to publish to, how much you’re prepared to spend, how much technical expertise you have, how quickly you need to develop your courseware, and whether you need to do something a bit tricky—like animating objects around the screen—will inform your decision. Let’s review five elearning authoring tools and comment on each in respect to their: Ease of use Themes and design Best features and benefits Pricing and plans 1. Elucidat Elucidat is a web-based product that uses a themed page-template editor that is pretty straight-forward to use. For most users it’s a simple matter of selecting a look and feel theme, then choosing a sequence of page types (e.g., hotspot, drag and drop, sequence builds, text and graphic…) that you want to house your content. In its simplest form, you just have to add text and media to the pages. Any interactivity associated with a particular page type is pre-built into it, so there’s no coding to do, although some page types may require you to make a few simple adjustments via the friendly user interface to customize how an interaction behaves (e.g., specifying where, and how big, you want hotspots to be.) Themes and designs Out of the box, Elucidat has dozens of themes to choose from. A theme in Elucidat is a color-branded set of interactive screen types, a bit like souped-up PowerPoint slide masters and layouts. You can easily make your own color adjustments to most aspects of them. For the more technically savvy, entirely new themes (including completely customized interactivity types) can be created using HTML, CSS, and Javascript via the built-in HTML editor. The Elucidat Youtube channel has lots of information and tutorials on themes and tweaking page types. Best features and benefits Very easy to use for non-technical content authors but can be heavily customized by techies. Teams can be restricted to certain themes for consistent look and feel. Responsive output (content adjusts to different screen sizes) is easy to control. Role-based collaboration allows authors and reviewers to work together over the web. Built-in image library. Built-in badge assignment can be easily implemented based on user progress/activity. Pricing and plans $2,400 USD per year 14 day free trial 2. Adobe Captivate (v9) Captivate is a desktop application available for both Windows and Mac. It’s one of the most powerful authoring tools in this list, but it comes with a steeper learning curve. That said, you don’t have to have significant technical ability to create some very clever interactivity. Most of the ‘scripting’ happens via a wizard-style interface that guides you through the process by allowing you to make selections from provided lists of commands. This Lynda excerpt gives a pretty good example. Themes and designs Captivate doesn’t have many themes to choose from by default, but you have easy and powerful customization options for the ones that are there, and you can create your own from the ground up. Conceptually, the themes are similar to PowerPoint, with color palettes and slide masters defining the look and feel. Because Captivate is a desktop application, sharing themes and master slides to ensure consistency across multiple projects or installations on other computers can be a bit tricky and is a manual process. Best features and benefits Powerful responsive output options. Output can be location aware, i.e., you can hook into a device’s geo-location capability. Interactivity in the output can recognize common mobile-device gestures (e.g., pinch and zoom, swipe.) Accelerometer based interaction types. Very powerful action (scripting) capability. Define groups of actions that can be shared on multiple objects. Pricing and plans $1,099 USD lifetime license 30 day free trial 3. Articulate Storyline (v2) Articulate Storyline is a Windows desktop application that leverages a PowerPoint look and feel. It has a modest learning curve considering the flexibility that it offers—especially if you know your way around PowerPoint. There’s a very active and welcoming online community for Storyline. If something can be done, you’ll quickly find someone to tell you how—either an Articulate employee or an enthusiast. Themes and designs Like PowerPoint, general page themes are controlled via the project colors and slide masters, but these can be changed at will and on a page-by-page basis by the author. This makes it very flexible, but a bit tricky to control consistent branding over multiple courses and Storyline installations. Most end-user interactivity is achieved through the use of triggers, which fire when a screen object is tapped, clicked, rolled-over, etc. When one of these user-actions is detected, other screen objects can be shown or hidden, auto page navigations can be invoked, variables can be adjusted, or media can be started/paused. No coding is required, with these authoring actions being entered via a friendly selection interface. Here’s a good overview video that shows what’s possible. Best features and benefits Very active online community. Reasonably powerful show me/try me/test me software simulation elearning capability. Good flexibility and power for the modest learning curve. Output will run on desktop, Android, and iOS devices, but it isn’t responsive—it just shrinks the screen. Pricing and plans $1,398 USD per perpetual license 30 day free trial There’s often a bonus on offer. At the time of writing, a license comes with eight character packs (each high-quality character in 145 poses), and Articulate Replay, which enables you to create screencasts that combine your screen and webcam. 4. SHIFT SHIFT is a web-based elearning authoring tool that doesn’t seem quite as intuitive as some of the others in this list—at least to me. It’s not hard, but might take a little bit of getting used to, especially if you’re new to these types of tools. It does have some really powerful features and integrated tools, however. There’s a series of videos on Vimeo about various aspects of SHIFT, but this one gives a good overview. Themes and designs SHIFT allows you to build up courses in a Unit > Topic > Screen hierarchy, where the screens can be one of around 250 different layouts. Each layout is responsive and has any interactivity (e.g., hotspot, drag and drop, photo carousel…) built in. Like most of the other template-based tools in the list, you’re shielded from any scripting, but that means that you generally have to use the functionality that’s provided in the layouts as is. One differentiator is SHIFT’s lip-synched avatars. The gender- and ethnically-diverse avatars use a text-to-speech generator, and lip-synch and move to your supplied text. The text-to-speech voices aren’t too bad, and the avatars are photo-realish, but purists may prefer live-actor video. The upside of the avatars is that if you need to change something after the production’s finished, it’s easy to fix, whereas you’d have to reshoot live video. Another design feature that’s a bit unique is a built-in scenario generator that allows you to place and pose avatars in a 2d-world setting and have them enact/demonstrate some interaction. One final built-in design feature is the 20 game templates that allow learners to progress through the game by meaningfully interacting with screen elements (e.g., answer a question correctly.) A bit like the avatars, this could be a great feature depending on your needs, but could also be a bit cheesy if forced or mismatched to the audience. Best features and benefits Extensive graphics library. Avatars that lip-synch with audio. 2d world simulation creator. Game templates/layouts. Pricing and plans $1,200 USD per year 15 day free trial 5. Lectora Inspire (v12) Lectora is an elder statesman in this arena. It’s been around a long time, with Inspire being version 12. It’s another Windows desktop authoring tool that is quite powerful and assumes that you’ll want to do some scripting to get the most flexible interactivity. Like others of this ilk, it comes with a steeper learning curve than some of the other tools in the list. If you watched the video about Captivate’s actions, you’ll see that Inspire’s are along the same lines. Themes and designs When you start an Inspire project, you’re prompted as to whether you want it to be desktop or mobile. This could be a problem if you want learners to be able to access your content on a wide range of devices. Lectora might have work-arounds that simulate a responsive output, something most of the other tools listed here do automatically, but it would certainly need some Javascript programming and a sound technical knowledge of what Inspire’s doing under the hood to make it happen. Once you choose a platform, you can create a blank project, import from PowerPoint, or use a wizard to create the usual Course > Lesson > Screen hierarchy. Inspire comes with a ton of screen templates that can be tweaked. Some aspects may be changeable via the development interface, but other aspects (e.g., button up and down states) may require you to use a graphics package to replace existing images (this could require some manual file copying.) Inspire also comes with access to additional templates from eLearning Brothers, and it has free bundled graphics libraries from eLearning Brothers, too, that give you a good range of graphic assets. Best features and benefits Flexible scripting capability. Free access to eLearning Brothers graphics libraries. Extended eLearning Brothers screen template library. Bundled with SnagIt and Camtasia for state-of-the-art screen capture. Powerful online reviewer collaboration using ReviewLink (included with one year maintenance contract option.) Pricing and plans $1,595 USD per year 30 day free trial In conclusion There’s a lot of overlap in the functionality of the tools shown here, but their nuances and pricing, and your appetite to learn new skills, will determine which one will fill your needs best. Have you investigated other authoring tools that do something different than the ones listed here? Or have you done your own homework and committed to a product? What are your authoring tool experiences? Share them in the comments section below. The post 5 Elearning Authoring Tools: Comparison and Review appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Measuring training is hard. In this article, Li Whybrow will show you how new technologies can help you measure elearning performance using Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model. The Way You Measure eLearning Performance Is Changing Analyzing the performance of your eLearning will help show that the investment in eLearning is paying off. It’s your job to measure the metrics and interpret the results so you can find ways to improve the performance of your eLearning. Here is how you can measure eLearning performance using Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model. Kirkpatrick’s Training Evaluation Model For over half a century, most learning professionals have measured training using Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model: In summary, the four levels are: Level 1 measures the reactions of learners: What did they think about the training? Level 2 measures learning: What was increase in knowledge or capability? Level 3 measures behavior: What was the extent of behavior and capability improvement? Level 4 measures results: What was the effect on the business? In The Past… Level 1 was easy to measure. You might be in a classroom or conduct face to face training where the use of a simple survey was a good way to gauge learners’ responses to the training program. But at Level 2 and beyond, evaluation becomes complicated. For years eLearning managers have tried to build evaluation into the eLearning process. Most without much success. But in 2015 you are in luck. New eLearning tools are making it easier than ever to measure Level 2 and beyond. Build Evaluation Into The eLearning Process Organizations can now develop and manage their own eLearning using new eLearning authoring tools. If you’re moving your eLearning in-house, here are some ways to build evaluation into your eLearning roadmap. Level 1: Reactions of students Modern authoring tools have inbuilt analytic tools that help you evaluate learners’ responses to eLearning. For example, you can use Elucidat to quickly create surveys into your design. Use the feedback to evaluate Level 1: Track learners to find areas where you can improve the learning experience. Use this insight to quickly change and test different variations of your eLearning. Share learner tracking data with other software systems. Here’s a quick project analysis screenshot taken inside Elucidat: Level 2: Learning Use pre- and post-tests to evaluate what learners get out of your eLearning. For example, before you start training, create a pre-assessment survey that asks learners to assess their capabilities in relation to the eLearning topic you’re about to teach (on a scale from 1-5). This will provide benchmark data on how well learners think they know the content. After they’ve completed the eLearning, provide a post-assessment survey. Now you can compare the pre-assessment data with post-assessment data to determine if the training had a positive impact. Level 3: Behavior change Level 3 evaluates how much new knowledge or skills a learner has learned and then applied in their role or job. Some behavior change can be quantified. For example, if the training is for customer service, you can measure how many complaint calls are made before and after the training. In other cases, where the behavior change is not easily quantifiable, you need to gather data through observation and analysis. The best way to do this is to have a supervisor or manager work closely with learners to assess their behavior and capabilities both before and after the training. Level 4: Results/effects on the business Level 4 involves evaluating the extent to which the eLearning has contributed to your desired business outcomes. What you are measuring in this stage is the impact of the eLearning, rather than measuring learners’ performance. This takes time, as you won’t necessarily see benefits immediately. If you have brought eLearning design and development in-house, you’ll be in a better position measure this performance metric. For example, you might be able to directly see the impact of the new sales training on the sales figures for the quarter. Final takeaway As the role of learning inside organizations changes, so does the way you evaluate eLearning. With more and more pressure to demonstrate the positive impact eLearning is having on your business, it’s important to use a tool that lets you measure key performance metrics (and Kirkpatrick’s four levels). Stay on top of the latest eLearning ideas, trends, and technologies by subscribing to the Elucidat weekly newsletter. The post How To Measure Elearning Performance: The New Way To Build Evaluation Into Elearning appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Elearning Superstars is a curated list of inspiring elearning examples, published every Tuesday. Subscribe to get weekly updates via email. This week we have some great elearning by Sky UK and Plan International. We also compiled a list of our eight favorite induction training elearning examples. Showcase your elearning: Have you created a great piece of elearning that you’re really proud of? Showcase your elearning here to win awards and get published on Elearning Superstars. Sky’s Global LMS trains 36,000 people Why we like it: Provides an automatic roll out of structured learning plans for each job role within the business. Contains search engine functionality, face to face session workflows and reporting. Looks great on a range of devices. Plan Academy is a learning community created by Plan International Why we like it: Through a partnership with Lingos, it utilizes volunteers from the elearning industry to design and build content. The platform has an inbuilt forum to facilitate discussion. Good demonstration of resource management. You can quickly search and download files such as reports, briefing notes, toolkits, handbooks, job aids etc. 8 induction training examples: Sky, ING Direct, Toyota, and more… Need more inspiration? Head over to Elearning Superstars for more examples of great eLearning programs that are motivating the modern learner. The post Elearning inspiration: Sky’s Global LMS, Plan Academy platform, 8 induction elearning examples appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Here’s a list of the best elearning events and conferences that you should consider attending in 2016. Schedule these into your calendar now so you don’t miss out. 1. Learning Technologies (February 3-4) Learning Technologies is Europe’s leading showcase of technology used to support learning at work. Co-located with Learning & Skills, the showcase will feature 150 free L&D seminars, 250 exhibitors and two exhibition halls packed with the latest learning technologies. Why attend this event: See the latest advances in workplace learning and learning technology Experience how learning technologies are influencing how and what we learn at work Meet the leading learning providers currently shaping the way we learn and develop corporate skills Network with more than 7,500 learning and development professionals Event details: February 3-4, 2016 at Olympia London - London UK FREE exhibition entry - register here Visit LearningTechnologies.co.uk and follow @LT15uk on Twitter 2. Learning Solutions (March 16-18) Learning Solutions 2016 is all about sharing ways you can leverage technology to enhance learning and performance. Choose from over 100 sessions covering elearning best practices, how-tos, case studies, and emerging trends to help you create more engaging and effective learning experiences. Learning & Performance Ecosystem Conference is co-located with Learning Solutions 2016 and features 20+ sessions that dive into four major components: people, processes, content, and technology. Event details: March 16-18th, 2016 at Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista - Orlando, FL USA $1,695.00 - Register here  (Includes Learning & Performance Ecosystem 2016) Visit Learning Solutions Conference website and follow @LSCon on Twitter for more infomation 3. ATD International Conference(May 22-25) ATD 2016 is the premier event for training and development professionals, with more than 10,500 attendees from over 80 countries. Why should you attend: Largest conference in the field providing the most choices for your development 300 top rated educational sessions World-renowned speakers Networking with like-minded peers from around the world World-class expo. Event details: May 22-25th, 2016 at Denver Convention Center, Colorado USA $1,650 - Register here Visit atdconference.org and follow @ATD on Twitter for more information 4. mLearnCon: Mobile Learning Conference (June 8-10) mLearnCon is North America’s leading mobile learning conference and expo. The expo focuses on the growth of mobile technologies and the way these technologies integrate into learning strategies. mLearnCon offers you the proven approaches, relevant information, and knowledgeable community to help you succeed with mobile learning. As a bonus, the Performance Support Symposium will be co-located with mLearnCon. This expo is included in the price but does require a separate registration. Event details: June 8-10th, 2016 at JW Marriott Austin - Austin, Texas USA Registration opening soon (price TBA) Visit mLearnCon and follow @mLearnCon on Twitter for more information 5. Learning Technologies Summer Forum (June 14) The Learning Technologies Summer Forum show is designed to further develop the key learning themes from January’s conference. Explore sessions and new technologies you may have missed in January, as well as new content that will be available at this show. Event details: June 14th, 2016 at Olympia London - London UK FREE exhibition entry - register here Visit LearningTechnologies.co.uk and follow @LT15uk on Twitter for more information 6. DevLearn Conference (September 30 - October 2) If you are responsible for or engaged in the use of learning technologies in your organization, then you need to be at DevLearn. Event details: November 16-18th, 2016 at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Registration opening next year (price TBA) Visit DevLearn and follow @DevLearn on Twitter for more information   6 elearning events you cannot afford to miss in 2016Click To Tweet   The post Elearning Events in 2016: Six events you cannot afford to miss appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Are you struggling to engage and motivate your learners? Gamification in elearning has been a hot topic in recent years. In this article, Steve Penfold shares four reasons why gamification in elearning is so powerful. We all love games. The feeling of accomplishment, of improving, of beating an opponent, and the feedback and rewards that you get are the sorts of things that keep you coming back for more. Gamification is the application of these same gaming-mechanics to non-game activities, with the aim of getting you to participate and engage in a desired way. For example, think about how frequent flyer programs work. There’s something deep within us that likes to make the progress from silver status to gold status. L & D teams are hooking into this psychology in order to make their initiatives more engaging and effective. Here are five reasons why you should consider using gamification in your elearning. 1. Gamification can motivate learners Sixty two percent of learners indicated that they would be more motivated to learn if leaderboards and colleague competition were elements in their learning. Many elearning tools have now built gamified elements into their platforms. For example, Elucidat let’s build achievements and badges into your elearning to incentivise and motivate learners. Learners are also motivated by competing against themselves. You can motivate learners by asking them to improve on past scores in order to earn a "badge" that indicates progression. 2. Gamification can be used to personalize learning experiences The best games let participants make choices that influence outcomes. In elearning, this can be achieved by giving the learners choices to investigate parts of a course that are most meaningful to them. For example, you can use a branching scenario that enables learners to invoke different outcomes based on the choices they make. These mechanisms make the experience more personal to the learner. This simple Fraud Prevention branching scenario demonstrates what I means. It gives learners the power to control their destiny. 3. Gamification makes it easy to give learners feedback The most engaging games quickly show the consequences of your actions: make a move and you soon know if it was a good one or if you need to take a different approach next time. The ways that a feedback cycle can be implemented are limited only by your imagination (and what your audience needs to learn!), but the engagement principle is the same. Don’t be afraid to stretch learners in the choices they have to make! It’s not bad for learners to make mistakes, as long as your feedback guides them to make better decisions next time. 4. Learners love game-like activities People love to engage with games. In one poll, over 75% of people played online games moderately to fairly often. In fact, 80% of respondents said that they felt they’d be more productive if their university or work environment were more game-like. What is that telling you? Gamification isn’t just about making something fun. Instead, it’s about incentivizing people to engage and actively participate in your learning. In conclusion Games are everywhere. You have likely been motivated by points, badges, leaderboards, and other game mechanics in the past. So why not try using the same powerful levers to motivate your learners towards better learning outcomes? The post Why gamification in elearning is important (4 reasons) appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Elearning Superstars is a curated list of inspiring elearning examples, published every Tuesday. Subscribe to get weekly updates via email. This week we have some great elearning by Pepsico and Learning Evolution, and David Anderson. We also compiled a list of our four favorite scenario-based elearning examples. Showcase your elearning: Have you created a great piece of elearning that you’re really proud of? Showcase your elearning here to win awards and get published on Elearning Superstars. The post Elearning inspiration: Pepsico, Learning Evolution, David Anderson appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Are you an elearning manager tasked with training a connected but easily distracted workforce? This article will help you understand what motivates modern learners and how to factor this into your elearning. Meet the modern learner: She is overwhelmed, distracted, and impatient; permanently connected to electronic devices, checking texts and emails and bombarded by notifications, alerts and apps. Some characteristics of the ‘modern learner’ include the following: All ages Uses multiple devices Rapidly switches between devices Bombarded by information Attention spread thinly across multiple distractions Data more quickly processed, but less deeply Josh Bersin created an infographic that neatly captures the modern learner: Modern learners are the people now working in your organization. They have tight schedules and workloads that no longer allow for day-long training programs, and, more importantly, they are not interested in training that’s not relevant to their roles or professional goals. Enter elearning. It’s flexible, available at times that suit the learner, and easy to access on different devices. Modern learners love elearning, but technology alone cannot solve the issue of motivating modern learners; instead, it requires a different approach to training design and implementation. Let’s look at five areas you need to focus on in order to capture the attention of modern learners and to deliver training that aligns your organisation’s goals with their expectations. 1. Make training useful to learners What to do: Create training on topics that will be useful to learners. Give your elearning programs titles that convey value and have the ‘pull’ factor to get your modern learners on board, for example, instead of using ‘Difficult Conversations’ for your title, try ‘5 Top Tips for Approaching Staff about Issues’. Align organisational goals (what you want to teach) with learners’ goals (what they want to learn), and then position your elearning somewhere in between. For example, consider repositioning a unit called ‘Ethics for Sales Staff’ as ‘5 Easy Ways to Avoid a Million Pound Fine’. Adapt instruction to learners. One size does not fit all. By giving learners the freedom to select their own content, you can make it more engaging for them. Try building your learning in ways that allow multiple learning pathways. This helps learners who already have the skills move onto the next step. You can do this by providing ‘Test yourself’ quizzes that place your learners at the most relevant parts of your program for them. 2. Keep training short and to the point What to do: Short attention spans and busy schedules make it imperative that you keep your elearning sessions short and to the point. Video is a great medium to quickly communicate concepts and messages, but be sure to follow the five-minute rule (no video should be longer than five minutes). Tools such as Screenr can help ensure that you don’t make it too long. Prepare properly with a script so that you don’t make mistakes and have to spend hours editing. Draw inspiration from this short, useful program by Utility Warehouse in their New Starter Training. Keep your elearning units to no more than 15 minutes long. Chunk content into small, bite-sized nuggets of training to let users navigate their own learning journey. Build an interactive menu to let learners select topics that interest them. Check out this elearning by Filtered for a good example of how to use an interactive menu. Pace your learning with breaks, checks, feedback and so on. For example, follow up a two-minute chunk of content with a quick check or reflection question, and then ask for feedback. I like to design my elearning in three- to five-minute daily training ‘bursts’. 3. Use visuals to help learners recall information What to do: A picture tells a thousand words. In the past, humans used to ‘write’ in pictures (and some cultures still do). You are a visual animal and so is your learner. To help your learners process and recall information, you should include meaningful visuals (charts, cartoons or backgrounds) that help set the scene. But be careful—don’t add images simply to make your training ‘pretty’. Make sure that the visuals you use are meaningful and content-based. 4. Make training interactive to grab and hold learner’s attention What to do: Games motivate learners. Designing your elearning as a game (or with gaming features) can help to grab and hold the learner’s attention and to insert breaks into drier topics. Kineo’s Till Training Game for McDonald’s is a great example of a fully designed gamified piece of elearning. Try adding gaming elements into your designs by using simple teaser questions, brain games, levels (learners can’t get to the next level until they pass a little test), rewards and leaderboards. 5. Provide training on all devices so it’s accessible anytime, anywhere What to do: Modern learners want training or information anytime, anywhere. You should consider making your elearning fully responsive to these demands so that learners can access training on the go and when it’s convenient for them. A great example of responsive elearning is the Royal Yachting Association’s radio training program. It has been specifically designed for learners to access on their smart phones and tablets. Training that is accessible on any device is great for untethered staff who are not based in the office. This will help you retain control of your content and reduce the chance that workers will need to search outside your organisation for information and assistance. Need more inspiration? Head over to Elearning Superstars for more examples of great elearning programs that are motivating the modern learner. The post Modern Learners Are Overwhelmed, Distracted, And Impatient. Here Are 5 Ways To Motivate Them appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

We love working with our partners from all regions of the world. Here’s a list of 10 Elucidat partners that can help you use Elucidat in your next elearning project. Acteon Communication (UK) Acteon Communication and Learning empowers growth, change, and development through award-winning communication and learning solutions. They design elearning, blended learning, m-learning and distance learning materials. Additionally, Acteon provides software tools so clients can deliver and maintain elearning inhouse. Clients: Bayer, HC-One, Magnox Contact: @ActeonComm on Twitter enquiries@acteoncommunication.com +44 1223 312227 GuyKat Solutions (UK) GuyKat Solutions provide custom elearning solutions and internal communications for corporate clients. Client focus is on FTSE100 and Multi-national organizations. Based in Birmingham UK, but with a global client base and associate network. Contact: @GuyKat on Twitter info@guykat.com +44 (0)121 288 1122 Prosell (UK) Prosell is an international skill development and performance consultancy, specialising in sales and customer service environments. Prosell has developed a digital learning platform that provides an interactive, engaging solution to the sales and customer service needs of businesses. Clients: Comcast, Travelex, Dell, Hertz, Mitsubishi, O2, McDonalds Contact: @ProsellLearning on Twitter info@prosell.com +44 (0) 20 8755 5380 Marshall E-Learning Consultancy (UK) Marshall E-Learning offers flexible, managed elearning services. They focus on quality, speed and innovation with over 250 clients from public, private and voluntary sectors. Clients: Lloyds, Volkswagen, Hitachi, University of Oxford Contact: @MarshallACM on Twitter contactus@marshallacm.co.uk +44 (0)845 123 3909 Mind Click (UK) Mind Click specializes in bespoke e-learning and Totara LMS. They pride themselves on their creativity and flexibility, so that everything is tailored to the clients needs. Clients: Sky, Lewisham Homes, British American Tobacco, BT Contact: @MindClickUK on Twitter sales@mind-click.com +44 (0) 115 906 1270 Comms Learning (UK) Comms Learning focuses on the design, development and management of elearning programs. For over twelve years, they have created bespoke eLearning for hundreds of subjects and dozens of organizations. Clients: Vodafone, Salesforce, BT, News UK, HP Contact: @CommsLearning on Twitter contactus@commslearning.com +44 203 126 4995 Make Sense Design (UK) Make Sense Design creates award-winning online learning experiences for a range of organizations, using visual design techniques to make content that is clear, impactful and memorable.They specialize in Social learning, Micro learning, Educational Games and Learning Portals. Clients: Comcast, The Open University, Pearson Contact: @MakeSenseDesign on Twitter info@makesensedesign.com +44 1273 271 461 My Elearning Store (UK) My eLearning Store is an intuitive blended training platform which is designed to be accessible from any user device giving your organization a simple yet more flexible way to train. They are a  centralized training service that improves employees everyday access to professional and personal development whether it be via online, classroom, or reference materials. Contact: info@arcittraining.co.uk +44 1252 874226 AS&K (UK) AS&K is an award-winning, full service medical communications agency. With teams in London and Chicago, AS&K is an agency with a global vision. Seeing the bigger picture allows them to implement relevant strategies that leverage local knowledge and support your objectives. Contact: info@asandk.com +44 (0)20 7428 2900 Xperteam (France) Based out of France, Xperteam has been a leader in the digital learning space since 1996. Xperteam is both an editor and a software distributor, with a global coverage of all learning technologies. Contact: @Xperteam on Twitter contact@xperteam.fr +33/1 5570 2828 Elearning Experts (USA) Elearning Experts provide consultation, hosting, support, and training for a variety of open source tools. They have expertise in the world’s largest open source LMS platform, Moodle™ and are a member of the Moodle Partner program. Clients: Select Energy Services - Houston, Learningateway, Pearson Embanet Contact: @ElearningExp on Twitter info@elearningexperts.net +1 888-928-3848 Learning Evolution (USA) Learning Evolution was established in 2003 and is a leader in custom learning design and learning management hosted solutions. They build and design unique and engaging training programs for sales teams, management, and new hire training systems. Clients: Pepsico, Starbucks, P&G, Chevron, Red Bull Contact: @LearningEvolved on Twitter support@learningevolution.com +1 619-342-7877 InteSolv (USA) Headquartered in Texas, InteSolv is a global thought leader and solution provider of online events and learning systems. Contact: @InteSolv on Twitter info@intesolv.com +1 512-681-7272 Savv-e (Australia) Savv-e works with clients locally and internationally to create truly unique learning experiences. The company provides everything you need to manage, track and create high-quality elearning for your organization. Clients: American Express, KPMG, Ernst and Young, Pfizer and more Contact: @savvelearning on Twitter info@savv-e.com.au +61 2 9901 4522 Go1 (Australia) GO1 is an Australian based company who creates digital products that are intuitive, elegant and cutting edge. Their software allows enterprises the ability to train their staff and customers through an innovative, cloud-based learning system. Clients: University of Oxford, National Australia Bank, Queensland Government. Contact: @go1creative on Twitter support@go1.com +61 7 3188 7528 eCreators (Australia) The eCreators, established in 2007, are a dedicated team with a passion for online education and all forms of learning technology. Based out of Australia, eCreators expertise are in Instructional Design, Learning Management Systems (LMS) and rapid development using software such as Elucidat, Articulate Storyline, and Adobe Captivate Clients: GE Money, Nissan, Rip Curl, Telstra Contact: @eCreators on Twitter 1300 913 112 Learning Down Under (Australia and New Zealand) LearningDownUnder provides local e-learning and staff professional development advice in the Australia and New Zealand regions. Clients: Sydney Olympic Park Authority (SOPA), Fishing Nets New Zealand. Contact: @learndownunder on Twitter info@learningdownunder.com Ecole Solutions (India) Founded in 2007, Ecole Solutions offers a wide range of technology solutions for academic institutions that influence teaching and the learning delivery processes. Contact: @ecolesolutions on Twitters info@ecoleglobal.com +91-80-26571555 10 elearning agencies using Elucidat to create innovative elearningClick To Tweet The post These 10 elearning agencies use Elucidat to create innovative elearning appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

We interviewed three leading elearning professionals. Here are their thoughts on elearning, technology, and the future of our industry. Christopher Pappas Christopher Pappas is the owner of the world’s largest elearning network, ElearningIndustry.com. He’s a very busy man, overlooking eight elearning sites and taking on the role of community manager of the Instructional Design and E-Learning Professionals’ Group. Christopher beliefs cloud-based LMSs are the future of elearning. This is because "they are secure, have low initial costs, are easily accessible (anytime, anywhere) and do not require storage space on devices". Read the full interview with Christopher Pappas interview Craig Weiss Craig Weiss is the owner of 24/7 Elearning and author of their popular elearning blog. Craig is always looking at new tools and new technology. In 2009, he was laughed at when he predicted tablets would be the future of elearning. Now tablet learning is a huge part elearning solutions. He believes the biggest challenge for elearning professionals is the ability to create real world scenarios. He says, "A scenario is much more effective than an assessment. All an assessment tells me is that you know how to memorise, it doesn’t tell me that you know how to synthesis". Read the full interview with Craig Weiss Steve Rayson Steve Rayson is the founder and former managing director of Kineo. Steve spends his time now with social search engine, Buzzsumo. He says the biggest change in elearning over the last few years was the adoption of the iPad in technical design. With no support for Flash on iPads, technical designers had to adapt to deliver elearning solutions on tablets. When asked about the future of elearning, Steve believes the future is all about blended learning designs. Solutions that combine online content learning with master-classes to put that learning into practice. Read the full interview with Steve Rayson interview We interviewed Christopher Pappas, Craig Weiss and Steve Rayson. Here are their thoughts on…Click To Tweet   The post We interviewed Christopher Pappas, Craig Weiss and Steve Rayson. Here are their thoughts on elearning, technology, and the future of our industry. appeared first on Elucidat Blog.