Instructional design can be an inspirational and rewarding career, but it doesn’t seem to get the recognition it deserves. aAron Pont argues it’s time to start celebrating instructional design and its potential to help change the world.For the past 20 years, the Jobs Rated Almanac has produced an annual report on the best and worst rated jobs. Using US data about pay, work environment, stress and hiring outlook, a list of the top 200 jobs for each year is produced.In 2015, the top-rated job was…an Actuary. Job satisfaction contributed heavily to this number one rating; apparently, actuaries love what they do, which involves using statistics to evaluate risks and probabilities. Good for the world’s actuaries!Interestingly, instructional designer was not listed in the top 200, despite 317 jobs being advertised on the Jobs Rated site compared to just 26 actuary posts.Of course, this could be interpreted in a number of ways, but one thing I take from the statistics is that instructional design needs a bit of a publicity campaign.It’s certainly a growing sector with lots of exciting opportunities, especially on the learning technologies side.  According to the Elearning Guild’s 2015 Global Elearning Salary & Compensation Report, the average global salary is on the increase, although there are national variations. The average global base elearning salary for 2015 is $78,310, up 2.5% from last year - Elearning Guild Global Salary & Compensation Report Instructional or learning design is creative, varied and challenging, but what really needs to be promoted is its status as a rewarding career. A good instructional designer can contribute towards positive behaviour change and help people to reach their full potential. I’d go as far as saying that instructional designers can help change the world.Here are some of the things I’m proud to have been a part of:Contributing to the eradication of Measles and Rubella globally through awareness educationHelping to teach the world about the next big thing - Open DataEducating Australian indigenous health workers on managing diabetes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslandersHelping to introduce new teaching and learning practices and technologies into just about every industry areaI think we could all shout a little louder about the rewarding side of what we do.Please share your stories and tell us what you are most proud of achieving as an instructional designer, learning architect or training professional. Simply tweet #IChangedTheWorldBy and complete the sentence.Follow @Sponge_UK where we’ll be sharing some of the contributions.Author: aAron Pont, Learning Solutions Architect, Sponge UKDiscuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post How instructional designers can change the world appeared first on Sponge UK.

Instructional Designer, Brayley Pearce takes us through the final three e’s of elearning.Part 1 took us through the first 3 e’s of elearning: Engagement, emotion and empowerment. We finish by discussing the learning environment, ways to excite learners and how to evaluate the course.Environmental LearningIn her book ‘Design for how people learn’, Julie Dirksen argues that students studying for an exam are wise to choose to study in the grey, windowless classroom, rather than the cosy library or the noisy coffee shop.Why? Because the theory is that learning situated within a particular social or physical environment improves the recall and memory of what’s being studied.Learning that’s situated within a particular social or physical environment improves recall and memory of what’s being studiedAs an instructional designer, I want to design elearning experiences that reflect the learner’s reality (or as close as I possibly can).Understanding where the learner will be putting into practice their new found knowledge/skill/motivation will help greatly in designing elearning that mirrors their reality.Some of my recent projects that have used this well involved creating elearning designs that simulated a text message conversation between a client and the learner. Made in the responsive Adapt software, the learner ‘scrolled’ through the messages as they would on their phone. When completed on a mobile or tablet, it simulated exactly how a real text conversation would happen.Provide the learner with an accurate and relevant context in which their elearning takes placeIt sounds simple, but getting the terminology and content into a format that is short, sharp and conversational took some time. One big plus was having the constraint of fitting the text into ‘message bubbles’  - this really helped SMEs and writers to concentrate on delivering really focused copy!In the early stages of designing, find out where, when and how (place, time and method) the learner will put into action the objectives or outcomes of the elearning experience. Then work backwards and look to include as many emotional, physical and contextual triggers as possible, either in design, copy or delivery method (or all three!).Exciting Learning"To cause great enthusiasm and eagerness…" if elearning evokes these emotions, it’s exciting elearningMany learners today have grown up in a world of interactivity and they expect to find the same in their workplace.In turn, it has created new benchmarks for elearning.Many of today’s workforce have experimented with learning-by-doing (when did you last find an instruction manual with a new laptop, tablet or smartphone?), and when it comes to workplace elearning, expectations are going to be high.Exciting may mean different things to different people, organisations and workplace cultures, but dull, long-winded and boring elearning looks the same for everyone.But as the number of distractions grow, so do the number of creative tools that can be used to bring delight, entertainment and personalisation to elearning solutions. The number of creative tools that can be used to bring delight, entertainment and personalisation to elearning is growing Simple ideas like cinemagraphs bring static pictures to life and can be created with free software. There is free software for creating games (such as Phaser) that, when learning design theories are applied, can add interactivity to many elearning solutions.There’s free software to create responsive experiences that are device agnostic (Adapt), so designing elearning that reflects what learners are already familiar with doing online has never been easier, or more important.Instant gratification, shortening attention spans and many online distractions have created new benchmarks for elearningToday’s successful instructional designer needs to find ways to satisfy a learner’s need for instant gratification, take into account shortening attention spans and compete against the many online distractions.So what next? Let’s evaluate that learning experience.Evaluate elearningChoosing a specific and measurable outcome to evaluate helps all stakeholders create and deliver a focused elearning experienceA quick Google search of ‘ROI elearning’ delivers numerous results that show how training costs have been cut by 50, 60 even 90%.These are great headlines to support the introduction of elearning.It’s relatively easy to perform a simple ROI calculation - deliver elearning to X number of people at their offices/homes and this saves X in travel, hotel and associated costs. So if ‘instructor-lead training’ is costing an organisation £200,000 a year, cutting this by any of the above percentages is a great saving.But this is a rushed, and potentially a short-sighted way to evaluate elearning. First you should evaluate the outcomes of the elearning, and whether they support the strategic objectives of the business.First you should evaluate the outcomes of the elearning, and whether they support the strategic objectives of the business£100,000 (if there’s a 50% saving) on any training method that doesn’t deliver, is £100,000 wasted.Choosing a specific and measurable outcome to evaluate, right at the beginning of the design process, helps all stakeholders create and deliver a focused elearning experience; one that can then be evaluated.Staff are achieving higher customer satisfaction scores. Wastage of perishable products down by 12%. Sales increase 15% and returns decreased by 25% through better product knowledge.Asking the question "How will we know if it’s worked?" may seem incredibly simple, but it is one of the most important questions (if not the only) that evaluating elearning needs to answer. "How will we know if it’s worked?" may seem simple, but is one of the most important questions evaluating elearning needs to answer Knowing the answer before starting with elearning could save even more money in the long run.Author: Brayley Pearce, Instructional Designer, Sponge UKDiscuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post The 6 e’s of elearning - Part 2 appeared first on Sponge UK.

This week we’re encouraging instructional designers to shout a little louder about the things they’ve done that made an impact on the world.aAron Pont started the week off with his own reflections on how being an instructional designer can really make a difference, and we’ve already had some great tweets and we’ll be featuring them in a round up at the end of the week.Now we’re giving you some ideas that have come from our experience of instructional design to give you some inspiration.Open source projects play a big part in elearning, especially enabling non-commercial projects to benefit as wide an audience as possible. If you’re a contributor you have helped change the world. #IChangedTheWorldBy contributing to an open source educational tool Sometimes miss judged learning theories can waste time and negatively impact peoples ability to learn effectively. #IChangedTheWorldBy debunking potentially harmful elearning theories Compliance training regularly helps people avoid accidents and identify hazards in unsafe work environments. #IChangedTheWorldBy helping people work safely Many elearning projects give support to areas where there are limited opportunities for more traditional learning. #IChangedTheWorldBy providing learning to underprivileged adults and children around the world Data security is a popular theme for elearning and the skills it teaches can help protect sensitive data in peoples work and home lives. #IChangedTheWorldBy helping people protect their privacy Soft skills like collaboration and teamwork can change the way people interact with one another, something that goes far beyond the working environment. #IChangedTheWorldBy teaching people the skills to get along You can tweet out any of these ideas using the twitter icons, or use them as inspiration for your own story of how you changed the world. We will catch up with the #IChangedTheWorldBy hashtag and tell dome of the stories that have been highlighted in our next blog post. If you need help changing the world with your next elearning project get in touch.Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter  The post How has your elearning changed the world? appeared first on Sponge UK.

We’ve been celebrating the differences you can make in the world through instructional design this week. You can still share your world changing instructional design projects on twitter using the hashtag #IChangedTheWorldBy.Read the post that started the ball rolling for some background from Learning Solutions Architect aAron Pont and check out some examples of possible tweets in our mid-week blog.Scroll down to see some of the tweets so far, we’ve picked out a couple of the great projects that have been highlighted below:The Learnappeal capsule, created with Appitierre, brings elearning to areas which have no internet connection by providing a low powered, self contained capsule, read more about it here.Dev4X’s moonshot education project revolves around a new type of educational experience on mobile devices, tailored to the under-served areas of the world whose best chance of an education could be on an inexpensive mobile handset.#IChangedTheWorldBy helping to teach the world about the next big thing - Open Data; how have you changed the world? http://t.co/tUPA6RXOuZ— Sponge elearning (@Sponge_UK) August 24, 2015 #IChangedTheWorldBy Helping young ex-offenders find meaningful work & to build new lives - http://t.co/mkVBs2tsAw— Brayley Pearce (@BrayleyPearce) August 24, 2015 #IChangedTheWorldBy preventing the spread of disease through the #gamification of handwashing techniques @Sponge_UK #eLearning— Andrew Jinman (@ADJinman) August 24, 2015 #IChangedTheWorldBy breaking through barriers to learning for the disadvantaged around the world - @LearnAppeal— Sponge elearning (@Sponge_UK) August 25, 2015 #IChangedTheWorldBy accepting a job @Sponge_UK they enable talented individuals to succeed at meaningful work #ProgressPrinciple— Andrew Jinman (@ADJinman) August 25, 2015 #IChangedTheWorldBy making enterprise system training relatable, fun and valuable for our customers at Sage HR & Payroll.— Celesté Mulder (@Celeste19831227) August 25, 2015 #IChangedTheWorldBy teaching teachers how to stay cyber-safe in the classroom - @LewisEdwards9— Sponge elearning (@Sponge_UK) August 26, 2015 #IChangedTheWorldBy Contributing to the eradication of Measles and Rubella globally through awareness education— aAron Pont (@tintin9153) August 26, 2015 #IChangedTheWorldBy being a group of passionate volunteers taking a radical, open approach to help end illiteracy - @dev4x— Sponge elearning (@Sponge_UK) August 27, 2015 #IChangedTheWorldBy being a group of passionate volunteers taking a radical, open approach to help end illiteracy - @dev4x— Sponge elearning (@Sponge_UK) August 27, 2015 #IChangedTheWorldBy bringing offline learning to the disconnected with #Bloom & our low powered, high performance capsule - @appitierre— Sponge elearning (@Sponge_UK) August 28, 2015 The post #IChangedTheWorldBy - Instructional design makes a difference appeared first on Sponge UK.

Sales people face many challenges, thankfully some of the biggest can be overcome with elearning.Find out which elearning strategies and techniques will help the most with your sales training.We’ve looked at some recent reports and listened to feedback from companies we’ve worked with to give you this breakdown of the most effective ways you can use elearning for sales staff.Induction or onboardingSales people traditionally take a long time to get up to speed, between 6 and 7 months on average, but 16% of organisations say onboarding takes too long.How can you make your induction more efficient? Using elearning allows you to deliver a consistent message to everyone joining the company. You can deploy it quickly and easily regardless of how spread out your staff are geographically.Often your sales staff will not have access to a computer in the workplace, in this case it’s possible to create a course which can be accessed on any device with an internet connection. Some of our recent induction training has been taken on devices from Xbox consoles to Kindle tablets.Pre-inductionPre-induction, or pre-boarding is becoming more popular and could help in the sales sector particularly, as employees can familiarise themselves with the underlying basics of the sector.You can start building the company ethos and giving your employees a grounding in the values of the company and how you work before they even start.By giving future employees access to induction training materials you allow some of the basic elements of the training to sink in and avoid overwhelming them once they arrive.A good employee will already have looked into their new role and how they will fit in, so giving them the opportunity to use your training in their preparation is a natural progression.Use elearning in a blended solutionSome induction will be better handled in person, so a blended strategy can be the best way to make sure your new employees get off to a strong start and can continue to learn as they progress.It’s important to target the right areas with induction, much of your sales training will be more effective when it’s done in context. If a new starter is equipped with the basic knowledge from pre-boarding it speeds up the essential face to face part of the training.Customised elearning"Organizations surveyed report selling content not personalized to buyers (27%), and sales unable to effectively communicate value (41%) are top reasons for not achieving quota. Both display a healthy increase from 2014 at 10% and 11% increases respectively" - Qvidian 2015 Sales Trends ReportPersonalising your content for the buyer is important, and so is having bespoke content for your staff, it’s much harder to target their selling efforts if they’re using generic training themselves.Give them a customised training package to work from and they can better tailor that to the prospective buyer.LocalisationCreating content from scratch allows you to include elements that are specific to a localised area. 71% of North American businesses operating internationally expect better sales with localised content, so the ability to efficiently translate words and images in elearning is a big benefit.Up-to-dateKeep the information current and make sure your staff have the best chance of making an impression on buyers. Elearning is more easily updated than printed or face-to-face training materials.Once the basis of a course is in place it can be built upon with a consistent look and feel to extend training, perfect for new product launches.Social learningIncorporating collaborative tools to allow your staff to communicate with each other can accelerate the creation of up to date elearning resources. With the right moderation and support you can use your team to help build up a bank of knowledge which is already being used in context. Case study: LexusSpeed was critical in getting this training ready for the launch of the new Lexus IS. The module was delivered in 6 weeks to give staff the best chance of familiarising themselves with the vehicle before it arrived on the forecourt.It was also important to ensure the content could be translated easily for sales people around Europe. Localisation is one of elearning’s key benefits and can be critical in delivering a consistent message to all sales staff. Just-in-time learning"Of organizations surveyed, 55% have difficulty finding tailored selling content at the time they need them." - Qvidian 2015 Sales Trends ReportInformation is more readily available than ever before, and consumers use this to their advantage. Your sales staff need to be able to compete with instant access to the latest trends and news in their field.Just-in-time elearning features only the information that’s needed and makes it easy to access and absorb. Short, highly targeted bursts are becoming one of the standard ways we consume information, and elearning can take advantage of this trend.SpeedElearning allows you to deliver training content quickly and widely at a lower cost than traditional methods. Getting the course to all your staff quickly is a key benefit of using elearning.Create a campaign around a new product within an elearning module and it can be being absorbed by your staff as quickly as you can send an e-mail.AccessModern elearning can be built for deployment on any LMS to any device. A responsive course, built once to be compatible with many devices, gives your learners the opportunity to access the training anywhere, any time.Many sales staff, especially in retail, are part of a new generation who are comfortable using their mobile devices to access the internet. If you can provide training on the platform that your staff are already using you’re one step closer to them completing the course.Sponge UK create bespoke elearning that’s tailored to your organisation’s needs. If you’d like to talk to us about your next sales training course get in touch below. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post Effective elearning for sales staff appeared first on Sponge UK.

A Q&A on QAQuality Assurance (QA) in elearning is about much more than picking up a few typos and spelling errors. It’s a complex process that can raise standards and ensure quality.Adam Read is involved in the QA process at Sponge UK. He’s agreed to take part in a question and answer session on quality assurance - a Q&A on QA! What is quality assurance?It’s a way of maintaining standards and making sure customers get a consistently high standard of service or product. This happens through a system of checks at every stage of the process. It not only helps to iron out problems and pick up errors, but can play a big part in continuous improvement and innovation. All sorts of sectors and industries, from clothing manufacturing through to software development, use some form of quality assurance.   I’ve got a computing background and QA was drilled into me from the very start - test, test and test again. It’s a matter of pride that you want to iron out any bugs before something goes ‘live’. It’s also about accepting that no matter how talented or experienced you are, mistakes are inevitable; to err is human, after all.Broadly speaking, I like to think of QA in terms of negative and positive testing. Negative testing is where you are looking for things that have gone wrong or mistakes, while positive testing is where you are making sure things work as they should and that the desired experience is achieved. quality assurancenoun the maintenance of a desired level of quality in a service or product, especially by means of attention to every stage of the process of delivery or production. What are the QA issues facing the elearning industry?I think quality assurance can be a particular challenge within elearning for a number of reasons. First of all, there are a lot separate aspects involved in creating elearning which cut across a variety of disciplines; words, images, videos, interactions, technology. Who is responsible for QA at each stage? For example, the final stage of the process is normally elearning development, but software specialists won’t necessarily be looking out for misspelt words or visual design issues. With such a complex product reliant on such a wide skill set, it can be a challenge to set up an effective QA process. Secondly, some elearning teams are small, multi-disciplined units so it can be hard to manage QA, particularly where you might benefit from a ‘fresh pair of eyes’.  Effective QA can take time and smaller teams may find it particularly hard to build this time into their schedules.I also wonder whether QA is a contributing factor to the varying standards in the elearning industry and the problems of consistency which are sometimes levelled at the sector.What do you think is the best approach to QA in elearning? I think collective responsibility is the best way to maintain standards, pick up mistakes and generally improve the whole process.  It’s this approach we use at Sponge UK - everyone has a role to play. In practice, this means a rigorous QA system, where instructional designers, visual designers and developers all carry out their own screen by screen checks. It’s an important stage and happens before anything goes to the client.One of the strengths of this approach is that it makes the process more efficient for both client and provider. Reviews and amendments take time, so ironing out as many issues as possible on the first version benefits everyone. A multi-disciplined approach to QA also means you get an insight from people with different skills; an illustrator may pick up something more easily than a developer because they come at the content from a slightly different perspective.This way of tackling QA really pays dividends when it comes to elearning games and game elements. More and more clients are asking for gamified elearning and these elements require extra attention to make sure they work both from a learning perspective and from a game perspective. Testing the logic and the flow of a game can be quite an involved task so taking a collective approach to QA really pays off.What are your top three tips for QA in elearning?There are a few things I always try to bear in mind when I’m doing any quality assurance work.Be specific - If you find an error or bug, make sure you have a clear process for identifying or reporting the problem. Otherwise, you could waste time clarifying the issue.Consider all angles - Try to second guess all the possible ways that learners will use and access your elearning module; don’t assume they will follow the path you have set.Look for opportunities - Obviously, you want to spot mistakes, bugs and errors, but be mindful of how the module could be made better. By suggesting improvements during the QA process you can help support continuous innovation. 10 common elearning errors Mismatched fonts - Often overlooked and guaranteed to undermine the look and professionalism of your module.Typing errors - Spellchecker won’t always save you if fail to spot a missing or misplaced letter. My favourite is public and pubic - oops! Spacing - If a piece of text or an image is in the wrong place it will undermine the visual look of the module. US spellings - Americanisms, such as organization, are easy to miss and can jar with learners who use UK Standard English.   It’s or its - A really common mistake. Make sure you know the difference between the contracted form and the possessive form.  Dead branches - Flawed logic in a branching scenario can lead a learner down a dead end, literally!Missing names or facts - How many times have you seen xxx left in a piece of text?Flawed scoring - Sloppy scoring systems can demotivate learners rather than boost engagement.Vague instructions - Make sure learners know what to do next - it must be obvious to everyone, not just you.Consistency - Whether it is in colour, images or language, consistency is king. Author: Adam Read, Senior Elearning Developer, Sponge UK Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post Quality assurance in elearning appeared first on Sponge UK.

A cinemagraph is a photo with a touch of movement, more subtle than a full motion video or animated gif.Named and popularised by fashion photography and design duo Kevin Burg and Jamie Beck, it’s now possible to create them easily and quickly with any smartphone.Why cinemagraphs for elearning?You already use images in your elearning, and you might use video where appropriate too. But don’t assume you’ve got all the visual media options covered.Cinemagraphs are hybrids, they combine elements of still images with movement and wrap them in a convenient gif file format.They offer even more opportunities to tell a story and make an emotional connection to a learner than a photograph, with the added impact of movement to draw the eye.Eye catching elearningPeople ignore generic images and even full motion animation is becoming more commonplace on the web. Adding a unique layer of interest, like selective movement, can really make people pay attention.You’re often competing for your learner’s time with countless distractions and other commitments. Catching their eye and drawing them in is your first challenge and cinemagraphs can help without being overwhelming.Emotional impactMemory is tied to emotion, being able to evoke feelings in your elearning will help knowledge retention. If you can make your learner feel something then you’ve got their full attention, they are engaged with your content.Think about how you can use a cinemagraph to better evoke the appropriate emotion for your course.Uncanny valleyMany cinemagraphs feature perfectly still people with garments or hair fluttering in the breeze, there are some good examples of this style on Burg and Beck’s site cinemagraphs.com.There’s a fair chance some of you will find this specific style of images a little eerie; it’s a phenomena known as the uncanny valley. The theory is that if something moves with almost natural qualities some people can see it as unsettling.Among the arguments against the theory are that younger people are more used to encountering simulated natural movement in other things. Either way viewers are often fascinated by unexpected types of movement.With thought and planning you can use this effect to create an emotional response in the learner which leaves a longer lasting impression than a still image. The Uncanny Valley pic.twitter.com/DTra2lXAaD— Rick DeVos (@RickDeVos) August 6, 2015 Provide visual cuesBeyond simply looking attractive you can use the motion in a cinemagraph as an intrinsic part of your elearning.People are programmed to recognise motion, especially in animals and other humans, so you can use this element of the cinemagraph to offer visual cues to your learners.It’s easy to imagine a fire safety course using moving elements to highlight possible hazards.Using motion as your visual cue rather than colour can make your learning more accessible. Colour blindness is relatively common, and localisation issues around different cultural significance of colours are also a factor to consider.Shareable by designOne of the best ways to get your course seen is to have the learners themselves share it. Making it easy for them to pin, tweet and share your graphics can make the difference.Because a cinemagraph is usually displayed as a gif it’s designed to be shareable, the image format is supported by many major social network sites as standard.Compliment videoThere are many situations where video will offer a better experience for your learner, but you can use the cinemagraph to compliment it.On the front page of oil & gas skills navigator they have a looping cinemagraph image as a place-holder for a longer full motion video. When you click the button to find out more the full video plays with a voice-over explaining more about their services.With some planning you can help draw attention to a valuable video element and lead them into clicking through to get the full experience. Using cinemagraphs in an interactive way like this is straightforward with all modern elearning tools thanks to the standard gif image format.Grabbing attention, engaging your learner, creating an emotional response, all these things can be done with a well-chosen image or video. But there are advantages to the cinemagraph that make it ideal for elearning in particular.Advantages of a cinemagraphAny web browser can display an animated gif, from the latest smart phone to the oldest desktop your learners will be able to see the cinemagraph in all its glory. This is particularly important for delivering consistent courses to clients with a wide range of target devices.You don’t need expensive software or equipment to create them. If you’ve got a good eye for composition and a smart phone or camera you can create attention grabbing cinemagraphs in a few minutes with free apps.You can also create cinemagraphs from existing images or video, turning assets that are already available into a new feature for your course.How to make a cinemagraphThe easiest way is to use your smartphone or tablet, you will need to make sure your phone is perfectly still when capturing the video to get the best results.There are several apps which will let you create cinemagraphs, we’d recommend searching the Apple app store or Google Play store and finding your favourite.Flixel is one of the more popular apps for creating cinemagraphs and there are lots of examples on their twitter feed: VIDEO: Learn to create a #cinemagraph with @lindsayadler‘s great new tutorial. https://t.co/vZxbrUmY0I #flixel https://t.co/pyoE2eftQC— Flixel (@Flixel) August 10, 2015 Using software on a desktop computer, you can get finer control over the cinemagraph creation process.There are apps for Windows and Mac which are designed to make creating cinemagraphs easy. If you want ultimate flexibility you can also use most popular image and video editing packages to achieve the same result.Now you’re all set to use cinemagraphs in your next elearning project. This post originally appeared on elearning industry.Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post Cinemagraphs in elearning appeared first on Sponge UK.

There’s an abundance of elearning out there but getting the good stuff to people when they need it most remains a huge challenge. If employees complain that they can’t find the right elearning, courses are too long and bland and they can’t access the training on their chosen device, it may be time to go on an elearning diet.The elearning diet plan In the same way you might make changes to improve what you eat, it’s possible to provide a ‘healthier’ diet of elearning for employees by following a few simple steps. Helping people find what they need quickly, delivering fresh, exciting content in smaller chunks with more flexibility to consume on the go will all help to make workplace elearning better for learners and better for the business. Here are some common problems and food-inspired solutions to help your organisation get started on an elearning diet:Problem: Overwhelming choiceHow many elearning courses are on your LMS? Choice is normally a good thing but too much can lead to problems. The average Moodle-based LMS contains an average of 125 elearning courses, and these are only the registered modules so it’s a conservative estimate. Abundance can backfire. The 2015 Learner Voice report by Towards Maturity reveals that 40% of people can’t find what they need and this creates a barrier to their online learning.Solution: Highlight the good stuff If you want to help learners find the best course for them you need to consider whether there is simply too much on your LMS. If there is, you will need to cut the fat and get rid of old, irrelevant or underperforming content. Whether or not you thin out the courses on your LMS, you will need to highlight the good stuff in some way, so learners can find what they need quickly and easily. One way to do this is take a long, hard look at your LMS from the learners’ point of view - if it’s not intuitive for them to use, you will need to make changes. Learner-first approach The new Adobe Captivate Prime is offering a learner-first approach with features to help learners’ find the best courses. Problem: Large portionsIt’s not unusual to have modules of 45 minutes, 1 hour or even longer, but large portion sizes may not be the best for learners. There are a number of theories about the attention span of adult learners, putting it at anything between 20 and seven minutes. Obviously, everyone is different, but the move towards lower attention spans seems to be a societal trend. New research by Microsoft suggests our digital attention span could have dropped to just 8 seconds!Solutions: Bite-size chunksOne way to tackle concerns about attention span is to reduce the length of the elearning courses so people are consuming training in shorter bursts. This microlearning approach also helps busy employees fit elearning into their schedules or refresh their knowledge at just the right time. Bite-size elearning could be 15 or 10 minutes long, although some organisations are successfully using elearning of just 5 minutes to provide focused bursts of training on a single topic.Problem: Bland dietHave learners ever called your elearning boring?It’s hard to get motivated into good habits if you are faced with the same bland fayre; it becomes dull and boring. Uninspiring learning content is one of the top turn-offs for learners and can undermine the best efforts to help develop employees’ skills and improve productivity.Solution: Exciting dietIf elearning is interesting, unexpected and engaging it is much more likely to connect with people and inspire them to apply what they learn. There’s a whole arsenal of tools and techniques that can spice up your elearning; games, interactive video, 3D simulations, animations, scenarios, story-telling, cinemagraphs, campaigns. There really is no excuse for a boring course. Problem: Sit down mealHow much of your elearning can only be done on a desktop or laptop?For the first time, smartphones have overtaken laptops as the most popular device for getting online in the UK, according to Ofcom. As digital habits change, the ‘traditional’ idea that workers will sit down at a desk to complete an elearning course needs to be challenged, especially for organisations looking to future-proof their learning content. Learning on the go Adapt is an open-source e-learning authoring tool that creates fully responsive, multi-device, HTML5 elearning content using the award-winning Adapt developer framework. It means a single elearning course built using Adapt will automatically adjust without loss of functionality to whatever size screen a learner is using. Sponge UK is a founder member and creator of Adapt. Solution: TakeawayProviding staff with the option to learn on multiple devices is the obvious way around this conundrum. If elearning is available on desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone, then all bases are covered. Research suggests 50% of learners believe mobile is an essential or highly useful method for learning, and the Ofcom data supports this finding. So learning on the go may well become a growing trend in the elearning landscape.By maintaining a healthy elearning diet it’s possible to increase sales, accelerate productivity, enhance staff skills and keep workplaces compliant.If you’re looking to change your elearning recipe, get in touch for some advice or inspiration.   The post Time to go on an elearning diet? appeared first on Sponge UK.

Custom-made elearning provider, Sponge UK has been shortlisted in one of the most sought-after categories of the 2015 Elearning Awards.The Plymouth-based company is in the running for the Outstanding Learning Organisation award which recognises organisations that have achieved considerable success and growth over a sustained period. Managing Director of Sponge UK, Louise Pasterfield, said:"We’re proud to be one of the six finalists in this important category. Sponge UK has really come of age in 2015; we are three times the size we were three years ago, our workforce has doubled this year and we’ve seen a big increase in the number of new clients. Our focus has been on learning as we grow, so we can continue to make a big difference for learners and businesses by delivering absorbing online learning solutions."The Elearning Awards recognise and reward excellence in elearning and are the leading, independently judged scheme in the industry.This year saw a significant increase in entry numbers with a record 400 across 19 categories from private and public sector organisations worldwide.The winners will be unveiled at the Elearning Awards gala evening in London on Wednesday, November 25. Sponge UK is the current Elearning Awards gold winner of Elearning Development Company of the Year. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post Sponge UK shortlisted for Outstanding Learning Organisation award appeared first on Sponge UK.

Sound design is one of the most overlooked elements in the process of creating elearning, but it could be just what you need to take your elearning project to the next level.  Voiceovers and audio recordings often make up part of the content, however, it’s equally important to be aware of the whole soundscape that your elearning will exist in and create.How important is sound?"You are 66% less productive in a noisy open plan office."  - Julian TreasureThink about where your elearning is going to be experienced, a busy open plan office is one thing, but a multi-device course could be viewed anywhere, and with any background noise.Sound is critical in many visual mediums; modern cinema uses sound effects to create a sense of reality and music to illicit an emotional response. The thought and technique that goes into the process is just as impressive as the visual side.Controlling the sound in your elearning doesn’t have to mean creating complicated sounds of your own. Making a recommendation that people take the elearning in a quiet environment could be enough to make an impact on the outcome.Unless you’re designing for virtual reality, you’re not going to be able to control exactly what your learner can see. You can control the screen in front of them but not what’s going on around it. However, if learners are wearing headphones you have complete control of their audio experience.Sound can be more important to elearning than some people realise. We’re going to explore some of the key factors to consider when creating audio for elearning.3 Golden RulesJulian Treasure has some golden rules for commercial sound and they’re a good starting point.We’ve broken down the three that are most relevant for elearning. Designers need to make sure their choice of audio is:ValuableSound should add something to the experience and in this context we’re not talking about adding a voiceover to explain a picture or diagram.It should heighten the effect you’re creating, or give your learners something to latch on to in order to make something more memorable. Telling stories and evoking emotion aids engagement and sound can add a dimension to these techniques that you can’t get from anywhere else.Borrowing a quote from Eldridge Cleaver, if the sounds aren’t part of the solution, they’re part of the problem - there are no neutral sounds.Distraction is one thing, but if you’re not careful sounds can actually counteract the effect you’re trying to create. Pay close attention to the next two rules to make sure your sounds are beneficial for learners.AppropriateSound or music must match the tone of the learning; get it right and it will complement the experience.Sound is capable of provoking a strong memory response and this could be used to your advantage by associating a task with music which could spark the desired knowledge in the future. If you’re creating training on how to use a piece of equipment try recording the actual equipment in its environment and using it as part of the course.It’s also important to think about the aims of the course; where can audio add value to the learning you’re designing? TestedDon’t overlook the importance of testing your audio, it should be as important as the other testing you do for the course. Test in the environment that your learners will be in when they take the course, if possible.With international projects that span different cultures you should test in each area. Just like with text and images there are some sounds that have different significance in different cultures. The University of Adelaide has a fairly comprehensive list of how animal sounds are mimicked in different languages for instance.Every device that can play back an elearning module has the capability to play sounds. Providing headphones to the learners might be impractical but suggesting they use their own and giving the option to mute the course is a reasonable alternative.ExamplesRole-play scenarioYou may want to immerse learners in an environment that they will be a part of when they’re using the training. Using audio that was recorded in that environment can bring the simulation to life and make it more realistic. Sound effects are the most important element in creating a realistic soundscape for a simulation, so concentrate on these if you’re building a scenario.Elearning gamesMusic and games go hand in hand, remember Tetris? Chances are the first thing that comes into your head is the soundtrack. You can make your elearning games more engaging and memorable with a catchy soundtrack.Music as trainingIn some circumstances you can use music to deliver an important part of the training. One hundred and three beats per minute is the ideal speed for chest compressions, so the British Heart Foundation used the Bee Gee’s Stayin’ Alive to teach you how to give CPR. Rather than adding extra value, the track is integral to the training.Next time you’re planning an elearning course spend some time thinking about the soundscape your listeners will experience. Can you add sound to heighten the effect of the learning? Can you improve the ambient soundscape the learners are in?If you’d like to discuss using sound in your next elearning project, get in touch. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post Soundscapes for elearning appeared first on Sponge UK.