Scenario-based elearning can be an effective way to improve your learners engagement levels. Draw inspiration from these four scenario-based elearning examples. Tom Kuhlmann: Scenario elearning with powerpoint Developed by Tom Kuhlmann, this elearning uses powerpoint for storyboarding scenario-based learning. We like how Tom presents an overview of the process, focused less on the content and more on the mechanics of working in PowerPoint. Additionally, you can download the powerpoint file to help design your own scenario elearning. Read more on Elearning Superstars: Tom Kulmann’s scenario elearning with powerpoint Lost IoP: Scenario-based elearning from 2003 Cutting edge for its time, this piece of scenario-based elearning was created in 2003. Developed by Leo Learning, this elearning example still stands out from the crowd over 10 years later. What we like: Full screen, high impact video-based scenarios High-quality production value using professional actors Real world feel with real life scenarios Simulation design Read more on Elearning Superstars: Lost IOP’s scenario-based elearning Broken Co-worker: Not your typical elearning experience Elearner Engaged developed this scenario-based course with a unique comic book feel. The comic book layout gives the learning good visual appeal and a strong story-based structure. Read more on Elearning Superstars: Broken Co-worker is not your typical elearning experience BBC: Finance for non-financial managers This elearning game was developed by Leo Learning for the BBC. It won a gold and bronze at the 2011 Elearning Age awards. What we like: Scenario-based:  Situates the user in the role of decision-maker in front of which a series of characters come to bid for time, money and resources. Tailored feedback at each decision point Each stage is timed - a dynamic counter ups the ante and piles on the pressure to be decisive Read more on Elearning Superstars: BBC’s finance for non-financial managers Which one of these scenario-based elearning examples is your favorite? Check them out: https://t.co/OUp3inam4A — Elucidat (@elucidat) October 27, 2015 The post 4 examples of scenario-based elearning appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Are you considering using a learning portal for your organization? Not sure what to look for or what’s out there? This article will guide you through seven key points you need to consider when evaluating a learning portal. 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. The post What makes an effective learning portal? Here are 7 key points to consider appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Patrick Dunn shares some of his ideas in a series of six videos for the Elucidat blog. 1. The anatomy of a high-performance elearning team Key points: Overlapping skills: A graphic designers should be able to edit a text. Collaborative working: Stakeholders can make real-time comments and edits. Flexible development process: Cut down content documentation. This should be written directly into the tool your using. Appropriate culture: Rapid elearning development requires a culture of tolerance, openness and flexibility. 2. How to produce rapid elearning really slowly (what not to do) Key Points: Cut your documentation and content in half. Use a suite of connected or integrated technologies. Select the right type of person for the job. Simplify the process. 3. Elearning engagement: 5 little factors that can make a huge difference Patrick produced a model called "CREAM" to make sure his learning engages people. This is what CREAM stands for: C is Control: Learners need to feel that they are in control. R is Relevance: Keep your content up to date. E is Emotion: Tap into the learner’s emotions through storytelling. A is Action: Set up learners up in decision-making situations so they have to take rather than a more passive approach. M is Multimedia: Use a variety of multimedia to create a multi-sensory learning environment. 4. Why instructional designers secretly hate mobile learning Key points: True mobile learning is simple, direct, and functional. More focus on action and doing, rather than a tremendous amount of content. Mobile learning is more about interaction design and experience design. Again, less focus on large content and text. 5. Elearning Scenarios: It’s not as difficult as you think Key points: With advances in authoring technologies, any elearning designer can create quality elearning scenarios Why is scenario based learning effective? Learners are driven by goals Stories are an engaging way to tie information together Take action - learners make decisions and see consequences 6. The 3 rules of rapid elearning prototyping The 3 rules: Do it soon: Produce a prototype quickly. Within a few days, not weeks. Do it rough: Don’t be worried if there are a few mistakes and rough edges in the prototype. This can be a good thing. Do it often. This gives you the ability to work with your stakeholders progressively so they know what they’re getting. Videos from Patrick Dunn on rapid elearning and designClick To Tweet   The post Patrick Dunn tackles six elearning topics in six videos 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. 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. Qmusic: Titanic Music Event University of South Wales: Mixing Paint 4 learning portal examples: Sky (2), Jury’s Inn and Vaillant The post Elearning inspiration: Qmusic, University of South Wales, 4 learning portals appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Are you developing a learning portal for your organization? Check out these four examples from Sky, Jury’s Inn and Vaillant. Sky’s Global Totara LMS This learning portal from Sky assists over 36,000 employees with their training. Developed by Mind Click, this is a great example of a Totara LMS solution for customer service staff. Features we like: Integrates with internal systems, including HR and induction systems with single sign-on. Contains search engine functionality, face to face session workflows and reporting. Looks great on a range of devices. Visit elearning: Sky’s Global Totara LMS Sky Employee Induction Portal Sky and Brightwave joined forces to create Sky’s induction training portal. Features we like: Portal-driven solution with good content. Multi-channel backed up by an LMS. There is a variety of content to suit a large and diverse audience. Leaderboard style scoring system keeps learners enthused and engaged. Visit elearning: Sky employee induction portal Jury’s Inn: Learning Portal Learning Pool developed this award-winning learning portal for Jury’s Inn. We like the integrated approach that draws on different technologies and services: Totara LMS, Classroom Connect and Knowledge Bank Administration, user setup and management, Reporting and management information Content development Visit elearning: Jury’s Inn: Learning Portal Vaillant Learning Portal   Vaillant, a one hundred and forty year old family business, revolutionizes its approach to training with this successful blended learning solution. It combines elearning, workshops, hands-on skills and online performance support into a single sign-on Totara LMS. This learning portal was developed by Mind Click. Visit elearning: Vaillant Learning Portal The post 4 excellent learning portal examples appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Are you a modern author looking for ways to use gamification to create engaging and more intriguing digital learning experiences? In this article I’ll share some ideas to show you how you can gamify your digital learning and turn your learners into gamers. Three core instructional principles underlay gaming design in digital learning: Engagement and motivation, challenge, and accomplishment. In this article, I’ll dive into these principles and show you some simple ways to gamify your digital learning. 1. Focus on engagement and motivation Games are about the player’s journey from novice to master. This is what makes them engaging or even addictive. Think of your learners like gamers; build your digital learning in a way that encourages learners to reach the next stage. Chunk up your content. Present learners with a series of small achievable challenges or steps along the way to reaching an overall goal. Use quests. High levels of interactivity like quests can engage and motivate people. You can get started with a simple question or quiz interaction. Remember to create an experience for learners even when they fail. Good learning happens when your learners can learn from mistakes, so make sure you provide great feedback. Good learning also shows learners where they went wrong and gives them a chance to try again. I find this helps to keep learners motivated to continue. Video is a great medium to use for feedback in a challenge. Utility Warehouse uses video feedback well in its New Starter Training program. Short talking-head videos are placed on response layers in interactive question screens to coach learners and provide relevant information regardless of the answers they selected. Here’s another example of an engaging elearning program that has multiple small, achievable challenges (built with Elucidat): 2. Make it a challenge Design your course with lots of small incremental challenges so you can keep learners motivated to improve their skills or knowledge. Make these challenges achievable or level-based, and provide feedback and branching to keep the course relevant and engaging. A simple but effective example of this is demonstrated in a mini course called Preventing Fraud (built with Elucidat): In this example, learners can jump to the next stage of the course only if they respond correctly to a challenge. Learners are taken on different twists and turns until they reach the desired outcome. Tip 1: Set a score. In the Preventing Fraud example, a "score" is set to lock the level by setting the value to "greater than" and setting the score slider to 50%. With this rule set up in this way, learners will only be able to get to this part of the course if they have scored 50% up to this point in the learning. This is useful if you want to create a page that learners can view only if they have attained a score over 50% and have seen 50% of the course. Tip 2: Add rules. Adding rule groups allows you to organize your rules and use both "AND" and "OR" statements simultaneously. Like so: Related: Learn how to use branching and the rules function in Elucidat City Witness utilized Elucidat to set up complex branching using "rules". Complex branching ensures your learners’ journeys are based on the decisions they make at each stage. Draw inspiration from this eLearning program by City Witness called Medieval Swansea: Medieval Swansea is an interactive historical game that enables learners to take on the role of a detective to solve a mystery. Learners must complete challenges to unlock stages. Here are some of the gamification features I liked in Medieval Swansea: Scenario learning. Learners choose their journeys by completing interactive challenges and quests. Storytelling. Narrates the different stages and character witnesses. Progression. Dynamic map shows player-learners what stage they are at and what’s left to do. Dynamic polling. Vote on solving the mystery and see how other players are voting. Challenging. Lots of opportunities to gather points and bonuses that can unlock future stages. 3. Create a sense of accomplishment Learners need to have their progress affirmed. I bet you love taking tests and getting 100%. Once learners pass a test or a level, give them something to show they’ve done well. Badges in digital learning can be awarded to learners each time they demonstrate knowledge or competence.  These "trophies" attest to the fact that learners have successfully completed specific stages in a program. Badges can be used for both internal and external accreditations. Elucidat is an eLearning authoring tool that lets you create simple achievement badges to help you add a simple gamification element to your eLearning. Here’s a quick screenshot to show how badges are created inside Elucidat: What’s more, badges and achievement rewards can be used to "unlock" levels in your course. This shows learners they have to reach a certain competency before they can move on. I like using badges in compliance training to demonstrate the competence of a workforce. Learners also like badges because they can transform dry content into a fun and competitive experience. Related: Stay on top of the latest eLearning ideas, trends, and technologies by subscribing to the Elucidat weekly newsletter. Next Steps Browse these excellent examples of gamified eLearning programs on Elearning Superstars: BBC and LEO: Finance Game McDonald’s and Kineo: Till Training Game Heineken and Brightwave: Capability Academy City Witness and Make Sense Design: Medieval Swansea UK Resuscitation Council and Unit9: Lifesaver The post Can You Turn Learners Into Gamers? Here Are 3 Simple Ways To Gamify Your Digital Learning appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

What is a storyboard? Should you use storyboards when you create elearning? Steve Penfold believes storyboarding can increase the efficiency of your elearning design and development process. Read on to discover four reasons why you should consider integrating storyboards into your elearning creation process. It’s said that when Mozart wrote down musical parts for the first time, he never made a mistake. The music was fully formed and flawless in his head before he started writing. Sadly, you and I probably don’t have this ability in music - or when developing elearning. Most of us need a written plan of one type or another to allow us to grow our ideas iteratively. For elearning deliverables, this plan often takes the form of a storyboard. The shape of the storyboard and how detailed it is will depend on the size of the project, who will be using it, what software you have, and the authoring tool you’ll be using to build the elearning. But whatever the form of your storyboard, the storyboarding process is an important phase of elearning development. Here’s why… 1. Storyboarding helps you validate concepts early As an elearning author you have several masters to serve. On the one hand, you have the consumers who will be learning from your course. You want to include the right content, in the right amount, and in a way that will engage and inform your target audience. And then, you have the people who commissioned the work, and who have their own agenda that you must consider. Maybe they want to include (or exclude) particular materials for political rather than andragogical reasons. Sometimes you walk a tightrope, balancing the needs of these two groups. A high-level storyboard, describing the content elements and how they fit into the course, can be a quick way to get consensus from all stakeholder groups. Your storyboard might be as simple as a flowchart (consider using Visio or PowerPoint), with each flowchart node representing an elearning screen. A simple comment on each node can indicate what would be covered on that screen. Advantages of this include: It takes only an hour or two to make. An entire elearning deliverable can be represented on one or two A4 pages. It’s easy to share and discuss. It’ll highlight holes in the content or flow. It’s easy to change if it exposes flaws in your thinking. 2. Storyboarding keeps you within budget An interested party in many elearning projects is the Project Manager. He or she will have a distinct view on what’s ‘in scope’ for the project. A good storyboard will give an indication of how many screens are to be in the course (assuming it is a screen-based project), how many complex interactions there are, and what media elements will be required. These can be compared against logistic considerations like when the project has to be delivered and how much money has been allocated for video shoots etc. Again, if the storyboard doesn’t meet with stakeholder (in this case project manager) expectations, it’s relatively easy to change to match the budgetary constraints - and a great deal easier than having to rebuild a fully working deliverable. 3. Storyboarding helps you identify errors Errors can take several forms in an elearning deliverable. Examples are: Typos and grammatical errors Missing content Questionable or erroneous content Ambiguous content Logic errors, e.g. scenario branches that go to the wrong place. Some errors will be simple to fix, but others could require a massive rework. Imagine if a department name was wrong in a video and the talent and video crew had to be recalled for a reshoot. Usually, no one individual will recognize all types of error: Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) should recognize content related issues, a proof reader will see grammatical errors, but It might take an instructional designer to realize that a proposed branching link won’t work. By having various stakeholders review a detailed storyboard prior to the first build, that build will be as error-free as possible. This is crucial for efficient development, because rework disrupts the production phase, wastes time and duplicates effort. 4. Storyboarding can set your mind free Perhaps this sounds a bit new-age, but it’s true. If you launch into a prototype build in an elearning authoring package without a firm plan of what you want to build, your ideas will be shaped by what that particular tool prompts you to do. If, on the other hand, you sit down with a blank storyboard template as your canvas, your options are far more open. You’ll be designing with the end goal in mind, rather than around what the authoring tool designers thought would be a good idea. You might devise a plan that’s impossible to implement with your chosen tool, but that’s unlikely. Most modern authoring tools, like Elucidat, are very flexible. You might need to be creative with the authoring tool to make it do what’s in your storyboard, but that’s far better than the other way around - and your course will be interesting and fresh because you’ve pushed the boundaries a bit. In conclusion Like any other plan, what constitutes a good storyboard will depend on what it needs to do and who needs to work with it. And remember that its form can change as ideas mature and more detail is needed. But whatever form it takes, the time spent creating your storyboard will help to ensure that all your stakeholders will be satisfied, the production phase will be as efficient as possible, and your elearning program will reflect your creativity. Stay on top of the latest eLearning ideas, trends, and technologies by subscribing to the Elucidat weekly newsletter. The post Why storyboards for elearning are important (4 reasons) appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Animation is a fun way to engage and motivate learners. Here are three of our favorite uses of animation in elearning. Virgin Atlantic: Visually appealing animated flight safety film Virgin Atlantic has used a novel approach to spicing up the boring safety message before take off. A storytelling animated video provides a fun, attention grabbing message to all passengers. The animation is stylish, well designed, and has a strong plotline. The video provides an education and memorable experience for customers. Visit elearning: Virgin Atlantic’s safety message video Northern Imagination: Tesla Statue This fun animation video was used to raise funds to build a statue of Nikola Tesla in Silicon Valley. Built with popular animation software GoAnimate, it does a great job of communicating key ideas in a fun and engaging manner. Animation features we like: Available in HTML5 and Flash. Good script, storyboarding and voice-over Excellent use of audio effects Visit elearning: Watch the animation film by Northern Imagination National Film Board of Canada: Highrise documentary project This example of animation, by the National Film Board of Canada, explores vertical living around the world. It does a good job of combining stunning imagery with animation and gamification. The program plays like a movie, but you can stop it at points and explore more in depth through interactions such as pop-ups.  By using HTML5, learners can complete it on a range of different devices. Visit elearning: Highrise Documentary Project 3 excellent examples of animation in elearningClick To Tweet   The post 3 excellent examples of animation in 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. Scootpad: Adaptive online learning platform for PreK-8 and primary schools Smart Sparrow: Save a Life is virtual ED room where you’ll learn to test and operate a defibrillator with a Virtual Patient Animation in elearning: 3 excellent 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. Elearning inspiration: Scootpad, Smart Sparrow, 3 examples of animation in elearningClick To Tweet   The post Elearning inspiration: Scootpad, Smart Sparrow and more appeared first on Elucidat Blog.

Fast-paced organizations need just-in-time (JIT) learning. Nano or micro-learning gives learning managers a quick and simple way to adapt to the fast-changing needs of their learners. In this article, I’ll show you how to create nano-learning in under 15 minutes. You are likely under pressure to deliver more learning in less time. Nano-learning is gaining popularity because it lets you create smaller chunks of content. But, what is nano-learning? Generally speaking, nano-learning is: Five to 15 minutes long. Highly targeted; covers a single objective. Self-contained; offers small nuggets of information. Responsive; can be viewed on a range of devices. Easy to find. Multimedia; include text, video, sound, and images. To author a nano-learning object in 15 minutes, look for an elearning authoring tool that lets you do the following: Create templates for interactions that you can reuse. Build a "theme" that you can personalize or brand. Is cloud-based so that more than one member of the team can work on it at the same time. Use a pre-built menu so you don’t have to build your own. Gain access to a database of media files that are ready to use (images, graphics, and icons). Publish to an LMS (Learning Management System), LRS (Learning Record Store), and browsers in seconds. Create content that can be viewed immediately on a range of devices. 1. Use pre-built templates Pre-built templates give you the confidence that they are tested, bug-free, and ready for you to author your content. Choose a tool that ships with templates. At the very minimum, you will want presentation and question interactions, and even better, some video and sound files. 2. Create reusable themes that have your company branding already built in Ideally, your eLearning authoring tool will be easy to set up with your company’s branding, look, and feel. Once you’ve got this built, you can reuse the theme over and over again. This means you don’t have to develop the basic structure each time you want to create a new nano-learning object. 3. Use cloud-based authoring tools that are accessible anywhere, anytime When you work in the cloud, you don’t want to waste time packaging up your project files and sending them to other authors to work on. Cloud tools with collaboration functionality can empower multiple members of your team to work on the same project at the same time. Picture yourself uploading or writing the copy while a graphic artist works on the visuals. Tools -like Elucidat- will automatically synchronize updates to ensure all stakeholders are working on the most recent project update. 4. Leverage a database of rich media (photos, graphics, artwork, icons, etc) Choose a tool that includes free, high-quality media assets. For example, Elucidat’s rich media is specifically created with eLearning in mind. This will save you heaps of time because you won’t have to source your own. If you want more personalized imagery, choose a tool that lets you upload your own images and assets so you can keep them organized and accessible within your projects. 5. Use a tool that enables you to quickly publish, deploy and maintain eLearning To get your nano-learning out to your learners fast, you need a system that lets you publish and deploy it in minutes. Some tools -like Elucidat- let you push content straight into a Learning Management System that automatically updates the module in seconds. 6. Use a tool that automatically scales to respond to different mobile and tablet screen sizes You can’t afford to waste time creating learning for devices of different sizes. Choose a tool that automatically scales your content to fit devices of all sizes. For example, Elucidat’s responsive slider automatically scales content so you can see exactly how your learning looks on mobile and tablet devices. Look for a tool that lets you build once, but deploy to multiple devices. Final Thoughts Nano-learning makes it easier for you to handle a greater volume of learning content and get it out to learners fast. New technologies make nano-learning more accessible to learning managers at a wide variety of companies. When you are choosing an eLearning authoring tool, make sure it has these features: Streamlines learning publishing and deploys quickly. Simple to use so non-technical people with no previous experience can author. Automatically scales content so learners can view it on devices of all sizes. Stay on top of the latest eLearning ideas, trends, and technologies by subscribing to the Elucidat weekly newsletter. The post Nano-Learning Is Fast And Simple. Here Are 6 Ideas To Help You Create Nano-Learning In Under 15 Minutes appeared first on Elucidat Blog.