In the ongoing quest for improved workforce training, organizations often find they don’t know where to turn for the best advice. Is it better to outsource or to train in-house? What are the newest tools and techniques for delivering training? The traditional instructor-led, classroom training model has typically been thought of as the standard for delivering high quality training to learners. However, studies have shown the effectiveness of training has less to do with face-to-face instruction than it does with the design of the course material1. One thing is certain; companies want more value from their training programs, i.e. better results for less capital outlay. This often means replacing or reimagining the traditional classroom-based training model for new and more creative ways to deliver critical job skill updates. This is where blended learning can benefit both the organization and its employees. When properly designed and implemented, blended learning solutions can improve the engagement level of learners, leading to improved retention and better overall success rates. What is Blended Learning? Take one part classroom training, one part e-learning, a dash of self-study, and add a pinch of on-the-job training. Now shake vigorously. Blended learning, right? Actually, that’s not quite it. Blended learning is a term that’s often used to describe training programs that substitute at least some part of the traditional or classroom training curriculum with online learning. This can mean using computerized training methods such as e-learning, training simulations, game-based training or any combination of these, in support of the learning objectives. Often blended learning is thought of as a compromise between delivering classroom-only training, or online training. In fact, the best blended learning strategies use the unique attributes of each method to deliver an optimized learning solution based on the skill or lesson being taught. Instead of contrasting the virtues of instructor-led and e-learning techniques, blended learning combines them into a holistic approach to effective knowledge delivery. Benefits of Blended Learning The use of blended learning allows for a greater flexibility in presenting a mix of training delivery styles and options. This means a training course may be preceded by a self-paced assessment of skills, knowledge or aptitude, and the results of this assessment can lead to a more tailored training on an individualized basis. The result of this approach is less time spent in bringing learners up to the same level in order to teach a necessary skill or concept. For example, let’s say we have a group of customer service representatives who will be supporting a new product or service. Some of the reps have many years with the company and can quickly adapt existing knowledge to the new concept. Others will require some background training in order to learn the new ideas. By incorporating an e-learning assessment and commensurate training module prior to any face-to-face instruction, learners can be brought to nearly the same level of practical knowledge. This is an obvious time- and cost-saving implementation of blended learning. The combination of traditional training methods with new e-learning techniques can lead to better training value and more effective training delivery. It can also have the effect of engaging learners by providing more stimulating delivery mechanisms such as gamification, serious games, simulations and mobile learning. Maximizing the Results of Blended Learning A blended learning program is only as effective as each of the components within it. Simply taking a classroom lecture and modifying it for electronic delivery isn’t the same as developing a computer-based lesson in support of face-to-face instruction. In order for a transition toward blended learning to be effective, it must incorporate the best practices of E-Learning, gamification, immediate feedback and the freedom to fail. That’s where the proficiency of industry experts like those found here at Designing Digitally, Inc. can help. By leveraging our experience at creating the newest generation of E-Learning and Gamification training, companies can reap the benefits of cost-savings, increased retention, and employee engagement that blended learning promises. When implemented properly, blended learning can achieve the goals of teaching, supporting and sustaining the skills that workers need in order to be more productive in their jobs. To see how our expertise can help improve your company’s training delivery program, click here to request a free quote. We’ll design a customized solution that will have your workforce eager to learn and excited about the prospect of attending training.   1 U.S. Department of Education - Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies - 2010.

Online learning is the future of education, and it is happening right now all around us. E-learning, m-learning, distance education; all of these technologies are providing access to information and skills that were previously available only to a select few. Now, industry leaders, workforce development managers and educators of all types are discovering the vast promise that e-learning holds for the future of training delivery, and education in general. Here are some notable quotes by leaders in the field of workforce development, training and technology describing their views on the future of online learning:  "The students of the future will demand the learning support that is appropriate for their situation or context. Nothing more, nothing less. And they want it at the moment the need arises. Not sooner, not later. Mobile devices will be a key technology to providing that learning support." Dr. Marcus Specht, Professor of Advanced Learning Technologies, Open University of Netherlands. "Online learning is rapidly becoming one of the most cost-effective ways to educate the world’s rapidly expanding workforce." Jack Messman, former CEO at Novell, Cambridge Technology Partners, Union Pacific Resources, Somerset House Corp. "You can’t teach people everything they need to know. The best you can do is position them where they can find what they need to know when they need to know it." Seymour Papert, MIT mathematician, educator, computer scientist. "In times where small instructor-led classrooms tend to be the exception, electronic learning solutions can offer more collaboration and interaction with experts and peers, as well as a higher success rate than the live alternative." Keith Bachman, Corporate e-Learning Executive, W.R. Hambrecht and Assoc. "Gamification aims to inspire deeper, more engaged relationships and to change behavior, but it needs to be implemented thoughtfully. Most attempts at gamification currently miss the mark, but successful and sustainable gamification can convert customers into fans, turn work into fun, or make learning a joy. The potential is enormous." Brian Burke, Gartner Group VP of Research and author of Gamify - How Gamification Motivates People to do Extraordinary Things "Instructional designers need to run, not walk, away from classroom-based thinking and get to the point of providing short, quick business-focused learning points that are easily accessible when and where our learners need them. This means leveraging new technologies to deliver non-traditional instruction." Karl M. Kapp, Professor of Instructional Technology, Bloomsburg University. "If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don’t bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking." R. Buckminster Fuller, author, inventor, architect, futurist. "Training developers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instead of viewing it as an add-on, an after-thought, or an event." Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Executive Director of the Curriculum Mapping Institute, author, educator. "There can be infinite uses of the computer and of new technology [in training], but if the instructors themselves are not able to bring it to the learners and make it work, then it fails." U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum And finally, a quote about training in general, delivered by one of the most successful and inspirational motivators of the 20th century. "The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave, is not training them and having them stay." Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker, trainer and author of more than two dozen motivational books. How to Bring Online Learning to Your Workforce Designing Digitally, Inc. is a leader in the development of Online Learning, Distance Learning and Mobile Learning technologies. We create customized learning solutions to meet the needs of today’s employees and the organizations they work for. Our E-Learning solutions are designed to educate, engage and entertain workers, while achieving the training and educational goals of your organization. We work with corporations, government agencies, educational facilities and any organization with training needs. Let us know what we can do to help advance your learning and development initiatives by requesting a free quote today.

In an effort to meet the growing demand for education and job skills training, companies, organizations and governments around the world are turning to innovative technologies and training techniques. The expanding use of distance learning initiatives, serious games and computerized simulations has brought a new learning experience and life-changing opportunity to millions of individuals. As the success of e-learning solutions becomes evident, more organizations are adopting these solutions for their learners. The result is a growing understanding of how to successfully implement these new learning solutions. Here are a few success stories of companies and institutions that have incorporated one form or another of e-learning, gamification, serious games and-or 3D simulations into their learning strategy. E-Learning: In some of the world’s poorest countries, the difference between scratching out a meager existence and having a hopeful future is availability and access to education. The Sri Lanka Government recognized this as a national problem and created the Open University of Sri Lanka in response. The OUSL has the distinction of being the only school in the nation’s university system that offers degrees from graduate through PhD level, entirely via distance learning. More than 18,000 students enroll in OUSL’s e-learning program annually. Serious Games: Marriott Hotels International successfully implemented a game-based strategy for attracting people who may be interested in a career in the hospitality industry. The company launched a game called "My Marriott Hotel" and promoted it through Facebook. In this game, players learn to manage a virtual hotel restaurant kitchen including ordering provisions, staffing, meeting quality standards, etc. Players from more than 100 countries have signed up to play the game, and more importantly, 30% of participants in the game click on the option that takes them to Marriott’s job application website. General Electric is one of the largest suppliers of diagnostic imaging equipment used in hospitals and clinics around the world. In an effort to raise awareness about the importance of hospital efficiency, GE created a game called "Patient Shuffle" that allows players to virtually manage the patient flow in a large hospital environment. Aside from being addicting, Patient Shuffle also raises awareness of how complex a hospital can be, and gives average folks a better appreciation for the role that doctors and nurses play in our healthcare system. Training Simulations: Geological exploration and modeling is a particularly interesting area for development of 3D simulations and scenarios. Using digital images that can be rotated and viewed from any angle allows for safer and less expensive training to take place in otherwise hazardous conditions. Merla, Inc. is a manufacturer of valves, actuators and high-pressure fittings designed for the oil and gas exploration industry. Using a 3D simulation program, Merla was able to train their clients on how to assemble these fittings in a virtual setting before attempting them in the field. The simulation programs could even be downloaded and viewed in the filed just prior to installation. The result was fewer damaged components, a safer work environment, and bragging rights to an industry-leading technology. The use of 3D simulations for training emergency response personnel has been a common practice in some countries for years. When the Italian government did a study of the effectiveness of emergency responders in that country however, it was not pleased with what it discovered. Italian firefighters were found to be lagging far behind other European countries in both readiness and effectiveness1. A possible cause for this was the almost complete absence of any serious games or 3D simulations within Italian firefighter training programs. In 2009 a system was put in place that used 3D simulations to teach basic technique, tactics and strategy to incoming firefighters. Comparisons made in 2013 showed a vast improvement in firefighter readiness in Italy. Learn What E-Learning, Serious Games and 3D Simulations Can Do For Your Company Here at Designing Digitally, Inc., we specialize in the creation and development of game-based learning systems that help to train today’s workforce. Our customized online learning solutions help to deliver a faster and more consistent training experience for employees and learners. Let us know what we can do for your organization by clicking here to request your free quote. 1Towards a knowledge intensive serious game for training emergency response services - Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM)

As the new year has begun and we are moving toward Q2, it seems like a good time to broach a subject that is often the skeleton in the closet when it comes to training games - at least for those trying to sell training games products to clients. "ROI." "Return on Investment." "ROI = (Gain - Cost) / Cost." You get the idea, you know what ROI is. More importantly, you know how much it figures into the business decisions your company, educational institution, firm, manufacturing facility, business or agency makes about funding expenditures. Especially with the misunderstandings still out and about in the marketplace when it comes to serious games - "What, we’re going to pay our employees to play video games on the clock!?" - demonstrating the value gained from serious games far outweighs the costs of serious game production can go a long way towards getting the sign-off from the C-Suite for the investment in this fascinating milieu of training and educational tools. But there’s been a lot of discussion, and not a great deal of consensus, on how to measure such things as motivational enhancement, brand empowerment, and skills augmentation via serious games. There are plenty of anecdotal stories, testimonials and claims from human resource pros and sales managers, yet these don’t always translate into concrete statistics and measurable figures. Sometimes they do, and we’ve reported on those occasions with much gusto. Yet sometimes they don’t. So, we’re going to present content on ROI and gamification from time to time - more from an epistemological perspective (how to look for results) than from a statistical perspective (what those results are in a numerical format). ROI and Serious Games We found an article from Gigaom.com from several years back that references research done by noteworthy Forrester Research. What we found interesting from a predictive ROI perspective is that the article points to more of the ‘hidden’ ROI inherent in serious games. As the piece by Wagner James Au explains it, "Forrester cites the ‘green revolution,’ which is pushing major corporations like IBM and SAP to experiment with virtual world technology as a way of saving on energy and operational costs, as well as the pervasive popularity of technology, especially among the Net-savvy Generation Y: ‘This comfort with virtualized workspaces has opened the door for the use of video games to help reduce long-term expenses in other cost centers, like training, learning, and team building,’ the report reads. (Forrester’s authors distinguish persistent virtual worlds like Second Life from serious games, which are developed for specific goals in a limited time frame.) Because of this, Forrester argues, companies, government agencies and others will increasingly turn to serious games, with traditional game developers, software giants like Microsoft, and other players vying for their dollars." So ROI for training games according to this research is about energy savings and operational costs saving at facilities, as well as the popularity of the digital format for younger workers - which can translate into better comprehension and participation for training and learning. These aren’t necessarily P&L figures an accountant will zero-in upon, yet they are valuable business advancements for those thinking about Big Picture developments. Read the entire article from Gigaom.com here. How do you measure the increased efficiencies of your employees, or the value of clientele who enjoy your serious games, or the extra time they spend on your websites engaged with gamification while ads pass by their eyes and search engines record that extra engagement time on the website? These also, to be fair, should be considered as aspects of the ROI for gamification, shouldn’t they? Are these even metrics that your business considers? Smart companies consider them. As a gamification insider explained to Toni Bowers, award-winning blogger and Managing Editor at TechRepublic, "Gamification, used properly, ties directly into a company's key business objectives to drive high-value customer and employee behavior. These techniques can be used to help improve efficiency of your sales teams, increase the LTV of customers, or increase overall engagement within a media property for increased advertising revenue… Our customers have experienced a 20 percent to more than 200 percent increase in these key behaviors, across very diverse experiences and audiences." The Social Side of Games There’s also the social aspect of gamification to consider - the enthusiasm for learning and training that comes through competition with others and oneself as well as the promotion of that competition. (After all, what game would be complete without some competition?) Although the social aspect of serious games may be the hardest to measure, it can’t be denied that morale and company atmosphere and socialization are important aspects of an enduring company. These too are aspects - albeit nebulous - of ROI. As Juliette Denny writes in an article on eLearningIndustry.com, "In a previous article I spoke about the 70:20:10 problem and how it relates to return on investment. The reason that L&D plans sometimes fail to report a good ROI is that they focus on the wrong parts of knowledge - or at least, the smallest proportion of knowledge. As the ratio explains, only 10% of what we know is gained through formal training - yet L&D departments often funnel 100% of their resources into it! Clearly the sums won’t add up. Luckily, gamification helps to access the remaining 90% which occurs through observation of others (20%) and learning on the job (70%). It does this by tying rewards into social interactions. What Ms. Denny is saying is that gamification can serve the same function that bonuses and raises can achieve - motivating workers and students to do better, but for fun and competition - not monetary reward. You can read her entire article on gamification and ROI here. Clearly, or as clearly as we can explain it here, there’s a great deal more to measuring the ROI for gamification initiatives than just metrics on product sales, grade scores or decreases in work absences. The modern company or learning institution is a multi-textured and multi-faceted zone of individual interactions united for communal purposes. Understanding those many nuances are essential for determining the true ROI brought about by serious games and their effects upon individuals and corporations of many kinds. We hope you’ve enjoyed this food for thought about the true measure of ROI when it comes to the benefits of serious games and gamification in the modern learning or workplace. We’d love to answer any questions you might have about our serious games development process. You can contact us here, or take some time to explore some of the serious games we’ve made for past customers on our Serious Games Portfolio page.

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application that allows businesses to manage their E-learning programs. It allows numerous administrative tasks such as tracking users and their productivity, generating reports, and administering training programs. This system also has the ability to organize content and scale the training in a variety of ways. With a large selection of learning management systems on the market and new options arriving at a steady pace, it can feel like an overwhelming task to decide on the best solution. This quick guide will explain the major features/benefits to consider and how they can be implemented. What is the Major Differences between Learning Management Systems? There are a number of factors to consider when deciding on a learning management platform. Some are open source and can be modified to a wide variety of needs, while commercial LMS systems are more robust in features and come with a full support staff. The programming languages used within the LMS is yet another consideration, since not all of them are fully compatible with Tin Can API (see below) or iOS systems. Also, since there is a large range of learning management systems to choose from with varying levels of quality, compatibility and price points, it is essential to consider long-term objectives before making a purchase. Should I Choose a Hosted or Local Solution? Another important decision is how to host the LMS; should it be located on-site or in the cloud? Both options have their own benefits and limitations. A local solution allows your company to customize many of the features on-site, but it may be limited in terms of how much it can scale with future growth. A hosted solution, on the other hand, does not require hardware upgrades and expensive bandwidth, and most cloud-based LMS systems can grow exponentially as needed. At the same time, however, there are additional costs/limitations to consider with hosted solutions. The monthly hosting costs could be substantial for large corporations, plus it limits the company’s control over data security. In some instances, the company would not own the actual data either, so it is not always the default best option. Is SCORM or Tin Can API Sufficient for our Needs? Most Learning Management Systems are designed to be SCORM compliant, which is now accepted as one of the three major industry standards for E-Learning software. It stands for "Sharable Content Object Reference Model", and it allows numerous types of learning software written to be compatible with each LMS on the market. This allows your content to be transferred to future LMS systems as well, which is certainly a big plus. Then again, SCORM will not always fit a company’s needs. It limits tracking capabilities, plus it is very bandwidth reliant and a complicated format. We can always design custom a LMS solution to bypass these deficiencies, however, so it is definitely worth discussing sooner rather than later. A newer specification worth considering is Tin Can API, which is also referred to at the Experience API. This database works outside of SCORM and offers much stronger tracking abilities. One of the other major benefits of Tin Can API is that it can effectively track user activities outside of the LMS itself, which allows for classroom and online activities to become more integrated with the learning process. Which LMS is the Best for Me? When choosing an LMS for your organization, start by taking a thorough need analysis of your company. This should include strategic goals, technical requirements, security concerns and what you’re looking to do with the software. Defining these needs will help narrow down the possible choices in today’s LMS marketplace, or it may show that having a custom learning management system built would be a better solution. As we said earlier, there is a lot to consider when selecting an LMS for your learning needs. At Designing Digitally, Inc., we are always glad to help you navigate through these types of difficult decisions to ensure your organization has the perfect E-Learning solution in place and the tracking and analytics to support your goals. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact us directly at 866-316-9126.

What an exciting week folks! After a week in Orlando for the Learning Solutions Conference and Expo the Designing Digitally team is back in office and back on the grind. Before we dive in, thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth! It was great to get to meet so many new people. Not only did we get a chance to talk to new and interesting people and increase brand awareness, we had a blast doing it! Thursday we had a March Madness shootout where we gave away a Kindle Fire HD6, Google Chromecast and an Amazon and Subway gift card! So much fun! We drew four names and had them do a shoot out to see who could make the most baskets in 20 seconds. Thanks to everyone who entered and congrats to our winner, Amy!   read more

At one point in our lives, we have all sat through one of those drawn-out, mind-numbingly boring PowerPoint presentations that put half of the audience to sleep. In these situations, there is usually very little excitement in the room because the interactions are very limited. While the intentions are there, it simply does not stimulate us enough to be able to absorb all the information efficiently. In fact, most of these types of learning experience are so easily forgettable that they’re being phased out of corporate culture completely. After all, the main reason to give a training session is to inspire those in attendance to take some type of action afterwards based on their newly reinforced knowledge. For that to happen, the learners have to feel engaged, inspired and connected to the message being delivered. In other words, the presentation has to be a learning experience that actually matters; no matter what the objective. That’s why so many organizations are now embracing blended learning and web based training. Create Scenarios to Relate to the Audience Web-based training has a completely different feel because it is designed to create numerous levels of direct interaction and engagement. From the very beginning, users are drawn in with smart, engaging instructions that are custom-designed for the audience. Even when they dive right into the content without instruction, there are many concepts in play to draw the audience in and capture their attention. For instance, interactive knowledge checks, animated assessments and immediate feedback. By making users feel like they are a direct part of the learning process, studies have shown that this can boost learning potential up to 28 times higher than in conventional learning methods. That’s because people have vastly different learning potentials that traditional education can’t always cater to. Some forms of instruction do have higher success rates than others, but web based training can eliminate this problem by combining some of the most popular learning models into a fun, interactive learning opportunity. Get the Learners Directly Involved Think about teaching a teenager how to drive a motor vehicle. No matter how often they are told to ease off the brakes and gently press the gas pedal in a classroom setting, it takes those first few attempts actually behind the wheel for them to really grasp the concept. While most people can understand why getting learners physically involved can have such a huge impact on learning, this concept is often disregarded when it comes to presentations. When we create genuine learning experiences for our clients, the presentation feel is completely stripped away. Regarding the example above, we would create an ultra-realistic simulation that places that student behind the wheel, instructs them from a peer perspective and actually allows them to gain hands-on experience in the safety of the simulation. This learning model thrives in almost every industry because the student receives plenty of feedback while being directly involved throughout the process. Employing E-Learning Solutions At Designing Digitally, Inc., we create custom Serious Games, Training Simulations and E-Learning solutions that will engage your audience, get them motivated and allow them to experience your concepts firsthand. To request a free quote or to find out more about creating genuine learning experiences for your company, please feel free to call us at 866-316-9126 or get in touch through our contact form. We are always happy to help.

There has been a lot of talk about how the emergence of performance support on mobile devices will transform how employees learn and access information on the job. This is simplifying the way users access information and how they learn from it, That’s because mobile performance support is built to be more accessible and much easier for the average employee to understand. Within the next few years, training tools like textbooks, training charts and employee information sheets could all become a thing of the past. What is Performance Support? Performance support is a type of learning tool that can help employees achieve a higher level of proficiency within the workplace at the moment of need. This can also apply to traditional learning methods such as employee handbooks, seminars or other training methods. Performance support on a mobile device takes all of these concepts a step further, however, by allowing this training material to be more easily accessed literally anywhere, at any time. Today, some businesses have refined performance support to also include communication abilities, so employees can ask questions or add relevant information in real time. There are also numerous engagement metrics involved so companies can monitor their training software in real time and make updates/changes whenever necessary. Performance Support & Mobile Devices By making content compatible across Android, iOS, Windows and several other popular operating systems, employees can access vast amounts of information while on the go, when they need it. From allowing a cook to get instructions on a new recipe to helping a sales rep educate a client at a business luncheon, the training applications are almost endless. While performance support should be broken down into much smaller bits of information for smartphone and tablet usage, it also gives developers a chance to create a much more customized learning experience as well. Through responsive design, developers can ensure a smooth, functional experience for users that presents the information in a quick, accessible way. Also, numerous gamification aspects are now being tied into mobile support to create incentives to complete the learning experience, and learning management systems allow for ever more precise feedback about the end-user’s learning preferences. The Future of Performance Support The Bring Your Own Device revolution that has swept across the nation has all but guaranteed that mobile performance support will play a strong part in the future of corporate learning. The ability to educate the workforce on a global scale, and give feedback in real-time, simply offers too many benefits over traditional performance support methods. Thousands of corporations have already adopted these practices into their training regimens and there is no limit on future growth. As long as it continues to save money, educate and increase productivity, mobile performance support is here to stay. At Designing Digitally, Inc., our mobile learning development team has a stellar track record of producing next generation Serious Games, training simulations and numerous other E-learning solutions. If your business is ready to join the 21st century with game-changing performance support, contact us for additional information.

Think of a time when you failed at something. Ok, got it? Now what did you learn from that experience? What not to do? What to do next time to avoid that situation? Hopefully all of the above, if you’re smart. Game-based learning, with the freedom to fail, is one way to use that same methodology in a training context. By giving your learners the opportunity to make mistakes, and work through a solution on their own, knowledge retention and learning are more likely to occur. So, how does learning and growth occur through failure? Let’s investigate. Does Failure Motivate? Let’s start with a look at the basic mechanic, failure, in the context of video games. As most people have played a game of some form or another in their life, be it Candy Crush, Super Mario of Call of Duty, you have likely experienced failure within that game. Let’s say you’re playing Super Mario Bros. and you are one hop on top (hey, that rhymed) of a Goomba away from reaching the flagpole and beating the level. However, a poorly timed hop leads you directly into the Goomba’s face and you are now on your last life. Do you rage quit and abandon all hope of ever jumping to the top of that flag pole and reaching victory? (I would hope not) No, you try again! This time, you buzz through the level, dodging Goombas and those duck looking guys with shell bodies, climb those stairs and jump to the highest part of the flagpole to victory! The point is, just because you let that little mushroom looking guy stop you once, doesn’t mean you are stopped forever. You are motivated to succeed and prove to that Goomba that you are THE Mario and a force to be reckoned with! This same ideology can be used in learning. One little roadblock or failure does not mean you are finished, we can use that to motivate and reach success. Learning via Failure So, not only can failure motivate, but it provides the opportunity to learn. To lead with an example: recently I needed to swap the transmission out of my project car (‘95 Nissan 240sx if anyone is a car person out there). Having never done this particular job, it was a learning experience to say the least. So I have my younger brother helping drop the transmission, because those guys are heavy when laying on your back under a car. We pull the old, broken transmission out and begin to try and install the not-so-shiny new transmission. As we are working to get this hunk of metal lined up under the car we encountered numerous roadblocks: how to get the transmission lined up properly while lying on our backs with only a jack, holding transmission in place to bolt it up, how to get the drive shaft bolted together and into the transmission at the same time, the list goes on. Being the first time doing a job like this we expected to hit roadblocks, but did those hurdles stop us? No, we hopped over them by learning a better way to do something. For example, we first tried to bolt up the transmission and then deal with the drive shaft; aka not the best way. To get it seated and bolted up we learned we needed to bolt up the rear end of the drive shaft and slide the other end into the transmission, then raise and bolt up the transmission. Morale of the story here, roadblocks are an opportunity to learn and improve. Failing to install the transmission perfectly on the first try was a bit disheartening, yes, but we learned what we needed to do in the next attempt to get it right. If we put this in the context of game-based learning, the same thought process still stands. Using game-based training and allowing your learners to work through on their own and explore various paths, they have the opportunity to learn on their own. Either, this worked and that didn’t, or, now I know what not to do and this is what I should do in the future to reach my goal. How to Make Mistakes Teach for You "So, how do I incorporate freedom to fail in my online training?" you ask. Well, there are many ways, a few of which are listed below: Multiple learning paths Immediate feedback "What-if" scenarios Multiple Learning Paths Using multiple learning paths allow your learners to make decisions and see results of those decisions, whether they are right or wrong. If John chooses to select response A (the wrong answer) in a dynamic dialogue call system in your online training, he will see the result of that decision; which is a dial tone-- the virtual client hung up on him. Now, John realizes what not to say and how to improve in future sales calls. Multiple learning paths make it possible for the learner to make various decisions along the way to reach a most correct or less than desirable outcome. Immediate Feedback By giving your learners immediate feedback in online learning, you are telling them right away if they have made the correct/best decision. For example, we created a training for the REVAS process in firefighting where the learner is virtually performing their job. Should the learner choose to take matters into their own hands and perform a task out of order, like breach the front door before cutting a vent, they will see the dire consequences of their actions. Which, in this case, results in their co worker getting blown up..obviously not the desired outcome. Following that outcome, it is likely the learner will be crystal clear on what not do and the correct process. "What-if" Scenarios Through the use of "what-if" scenarios you can give your learners the opportunity to think critically through a situation and how they would handle that situation. This gives learners the opportunity to work through on their own and figure out what works and what doesn’t in that particular situation. By using the above elements in your online training you can have the learner work through on their own and allow them to make mistakes and find the best path to success, without necessarily guiding them through the entire experience telling them what to do. Freedom to fail is not as negative as it may sound. Allowing your learners the opportunity to make decisions and find out, on their own, what works and what does not, or what is correct or incorrect, is a great way to increase knowledge retention and motivation. Much like how we learn valuable lessons in life through our experiences, be it a success or failure, the same ideology can be applied to aid in corporate training. To learn more about how you can use this concept in your online corporate training, contact us!

Developing a successful e-learning program is both rewarding and challenging. While there are many positive aspects to building an e-learning project, there are also difficulties associated with determining exactly how much you are saving and making. Figuring out the return on investment (ROI) of an e-learning program is integral to understanding its overall success, worth, and business impact. ROI is the most widely used method for calculating the financial impact a project has on a business. In other words, ROI is the formula used to determine whether or not an e-learning project was successful. In order to do this, there are a handful of factors you must consider. There are both tangible costs and intangible benefits associated with an e-learning project, both of which are important. Calculating the tangible costs is easy, as long as you know what type of data you should be collecting. Additionally, you must look at the hard and soft cost savings of your project in order to get the full picture regarding your ROI. Below you will find detailed information on each of the factors that go into figuring out the ROI for an e-learning project, which should help you understand the bottom line for your company. Tangible Benefits While the tangible benefits of an e-learning project may seem straightforward, you must be sure you are covering all your bases and collecting data from a handful of areas in order to accurately determine the ROI. Logistical costs, development costs, and opportunity costs are all tangible factors that must be analyzed. Logistical Costs While e-learning programs definitely cost less than conventional classes, there are still logistical costs associated with setting up an e-learning program. When determining the logistical costs it is important to look at the number of class participants, travel time for each student, required classroom materials, cost of instructor, and number of classes per year. Development Costs Development costs refer to the materials needed to teach each class and the amount spent on the instructor (only applicable if you are hiring outside of your company). It may be a good idea to compare the cost of hiring an outside instructor with training an internal employee, you may find that one fits into your budget better than the other. Opportunity Costs You will assess your opportunity costs based upon what type of e-learning program you have and who your audience is. This can be difficult, but just keep in mind that the more instructors or customer service reps you have, the more it will cost. Opportunity costs are closely related to soft-savings, as customer satisfaction is a key part. Hard and Soft Savings Beyond the tangible benefits, you must look at the intangible costs, or soft-savings. Measuring the ROI for an e-learning project can be tricky because there are certain 'soft-savings' that can be hard to determine. Soft-savings refer to the aspects of your project that are more difficult to place a monetary value on, such as increased customer satisfaction, staff reduction, shorter training time for employees, productivity improvement, and employee satisfaction. While harder to measure the ROI on, the soft-savings are what make or break an e-learning project and are therefore extremely important to consider. On the other hand, 'hard-cost savings' are easier to identify and are similar to the tangible benefits of a program. Hard-cost savings associated with e-learning projects include shorter travel distance for your employees, fewer trainers, and less work-interruption. When calculating and measuring the ROI of an e-learning program it is essential to have an open mind and look at all possible factors. From the easy to identify tangible benefits of e-learning to the soft-savings that are more difficult to place a monetary value on, you must look at it all. If you do so, you will have a much easier time understanding and measuring your ROI, which will give you a better grasp on your business as a whole. To learn more about how E-Learning can benefit your organization, give us a call! 866.316.9126

Developing and maintaining a successful e-learning project begins and ends with communication. It is essential to keep your learners in mind when designing an e-learning module, as they are the ones who will determine your project’s success. It is not enough to simply put information together and assume your learners will somehow understand what you are trying to convey. Through the use of various tools, technologies, and designs, you must clearly and accurately communicate the objective of your training, as well as the role that is expected of the user. Clear communication is crucial to the design of an e-learning course, mainly because it can be challenging for users to receive and decipher the information you are conveying exactly as you want. As e-learning communication is quite different from face-to-face interaction, it requires a different approach. The tips below are designed to help you learn why communication is important to the overall success of an e-learning course and will also give you an idea of where to start. It Begins With The Learner One of the most important things to keep in mind, and something that differentiates the e-learning process from traditional settings, is the role of the user or learner. With an e-learning course, you do not have control over how the content is being received and processed by the learner, which means you cannot adjust it to allow for better communication of your content. Because the learner will most likely not have a means to communicate with you and let you know whether or not they are understanding the content, you are left in the dark. In order to fix this communication issue, it is helpful to look at your communication process as a whole and take the following into consideration: Determine Your Audience By having a clear idea of who your target audience is, you will have a better chance of "speaking" to the learner. Your e-learning project needs to be in a context that your learners can understand and relate to. It is important to take demographics, user backgrounds, and age into consideration. For example, if your intended audience is people who have been in the workforce for many years but are new to certain technologies, you may need to adjust accordingly to their inexperience with the various technologies. Feedback is Key One way to combat the lack of communication between the learners and trainers is to develop a feedback system that will allow the learners to provide you with information regarding their experience. Feedback can be critical to the success of an e-learning course, and it is an area that many enterprises neglect. By developing a course that is not only focused on content delivery, but also gives the learners an opportunity to provide feedback, you are giving yourself a better chance for success. Determine How to Engage Users Determining the best method for engaging your learners is also an integral component of effective communication in e-learning. It is no secret that people learn best when they are provided with content that is relevant to them and presented in a way they can relate to. Your e-learning content needs to be transmitted in a way that is motivating, effective, and interesting, a lot of which comes with it being relevant. Ask yourself questions like, "What interests my audience?" and "How can I present this information in a way that is easily digestible?" Companies that implement effective communication practices from start to finish are more likely to be met with success and to outperform their competition. The more active you are in preparing for communication challenges, the better off you will be. By assessing different aspects of the communication process, you will be able to prepare yourself for possible issues and counteract them before they cause a problem. Understanding your audience, coming up with a solid feedback system, and learning how to engage learners are all integral parts of developing an e-learning course that will help your company grow and find success. To learn more about how your organization can create better training content, contact us!

As I am sure you are familiar with the terms E-learning, online training, gamification, etc. you may have decided this was something that interested you. However, before diving into online training, there are a few questions you should ask yourself to make sure you aren’t flying blind. Below, we have outlined some considerations for converting your training to E-learning: #1 - Why Do I Want to Convert to Online Training? Before diving head first into online training, think to yourself, "why do I want to switch to online training?" There are copious reasons why someone would want to switch to online training, but when it comes down to it, it is your reason that matters most. It’s great if Company A uses E-learning because they have taken all their processes and documentation online, so using online training just made sense. But, why and how your organization can benefit is what’s important. A few (of tons) reasons why companies are taking their training online include: Increase learner engagement with fun interactions, video integration and the ability to learn at their own pace Cut down on training travel and instructor costs and expensive onboarding sessions Allow learners to access training anytime and anywhere (depending on delivery method) and review at their leisure #2 - Produce Training In-House or Outsource? So you have decided online training is right for you, now you’re thinking, "do we have the resources to create this training in-house, or do we need to seek outside help?" If you are lucky enough to have some folks on staff capable of creating online training, that’s great! If not, you’re not out of luck, there are many, many vendors out there who are capable of creating your training. There are also many authoring tools for creating online training, just a few include: Articulate Storyline HTML5 Lectora Inspire Think about what you are trying to accomplish with your training, and match the authoring tool that best meets that need. Also, do you have the capacity and resources to create your training in-house? If you don’t have the staff on hand, you would have to hire people, train them on process and get them up to speed. If that is the case, outsourcing your training development may be best to keep your attention and resources working on other things in the background. #3 - What am I Trying to Accomplish? What is the goal of your training? What is it your learner’s should walk away with? After someone completes your training, what should they know or be able to do? What is the goal/purpose of your training? Are you trying to increase product knowledge? Teach a new skill? Think about what is the main objective of your training. If your learner’s walk away from your training with one thing, what is that one thing? What Level in Bloom’s Taxonomy? Bloom’s Taxonomy was created to classify levels of intellectual behaviors in learning. The "lowest" level is knowledge. This would be training on product specifications, for instance. Can the learner recall product specs? As you move higher, to application and beyond, the way you approach your instruction must change. Keep this in mind when evaluating your training goals. #4 - Who is My Audience? This may seem like an obvious question, the employees; but really think about it. What qualities make up your employees who are the target group of your training? Are they senior executives? Is your training for new hires and onboarding? Young vs. old? Tech savvy, new to the organization, do they have a home computer? For instance, if your training is for young, new sales professionals, they are likely very tech savvy and familiar with laptops, mobile devices, etc. These individuals could pick up a tablet and jump right into a gamified learning experience, no problem. Whereas, if your audience is an older demographic who aren’t keeping up with the latest and greatest, you may want to steer clear of a super immersive learning experience that may overwhelm your learners. #5 - How Should I Deliver My Training? This question goes hand-in-hand with the previous consideration. If your learners aren’t as tech savvy, an immersive, multiplayer simulation may not be the best delivery method. Consider, also, how you want your learners to interact with the training. Are they going to be taking the online training at work, at their desk? Or are they expected to take this online training at home or on their own time? Also, the topic/type of training should be considered. If you are providing a performance support piece, an app-based, mobile online learning experience would be far more beneficial than a laptop, browser based training. Reason being, an employee could brush up on product specs or go through a sales scenario on their tablet before heading into a client meeting. If that information is only available on the company intranet, they wouldn’t have access to that vital information on the road, with perhaps no data service. #6 - How Will I Measure Success? Once you have a solid idea of what you want your online training to look like, what topic you are covering, and for whom, and how you want to deliver your training, it is time to think about who you are going to evaluate your online training. How are you going to measure success? Depending on your learning objectives, here are a few ways (of many) to track success: Improvement in performance: Is an individual performing at a higher level than before? A good way to look at this is, "what is the employee doing, and what should they be doing?" If your online training bridged that gap, congratulations! Pre and Post Assessment: Before participating in your online training, employees take a pretest to note their current knowledge. Then, after the training, a post-test measures changes in knowledge on that particular subject. Learner feedback: Upon completing your online training, do your learners feel as if they have gained a new skill, learned new information of process? Getting direct user feedback is also important to future program success. Take user feedback to improve interactions, update content and user experience. We know change can be hard. But, change is usually for the best. When converting corporate training to online training, keep the above considerations in mind and you will be on the right track to program success. If online training is something you would like to know more about, give us a call @ 866.316.9126 or contact us!

In today’s society, more and more organizations are turning to E-learning in place of traditional instructor-led training (ILT). Over the past few years, E-learning has proven to be a cost-effective and reliable way to deliver training. While many small and mid-size organizations have already discovered the benefits of making the switch from ILT to E-learning, this is not to say that there are not challenges. When it comes to E-learning, there is added pressure to deliver informative and useful content in an accessible manner, while using fewer resources. However, with these challenges comes the opportunity to revolutionize the way in which training is delivered and accepted. Because of this, it is imperative for an organization to critically evaluate their business needs and goals before taking the plunge and converting from ILT to E-learning. As we continue to see advancements and innovation in technology, we expect to see more and more companies making this switch. In order for an organization to make this transition successfully, there are numerous factors that need to be addressed and a Needs Analysis should be performed to determine whether a company - and its employees - are ready for this next step. Why Convert Instructor-Led Training into E-learning? In most cases, there are a handful of business-based reasons for converting an ILT program into an E-learning course. Before you commit to making the switch, you will need to determine what factors are driving you to make this transition. Here is a look at some of the most common reasons for wanting to adopt an E-learning program in place of an ILT course: Cost - In most cases, online courses are cheaper to deploy and maintain Time - E-learning programs will have shorter deployment cycles, shorter training sessions, and are easier to maintain Accessibility - E-learning programs are a great option if you would like your employees to be able to access the training materials 24/7. E-learning works well to ensure all employees have access to critical training materials and resources at all times Limited Training Resources - This is one of the main reasons organizations opt for E-learning over ILT. Your company is big enough to need training, but too small for a training department, E-learning may just be your answer These are just a few of the main reasons why organizations are deciding to make the conversion from ILT to E-learning. A cost-effective and proven method of providing learners with important and relevant training materials, E-learning is the future of training.     Best Practices for Making the Switch Now that we’ve touched on a few of the most common reasons for making the switch to E-learning, let’s look at how to do so effectively. Before we so, it is important to once again reiterate the need for organizations to establish an E-learning strategy before making the conversion. In order to find success with online training courses, you must make sure the program is part of an overarching strategy. Assess your organization's current state and take a good look at your employee’s capabilities around technology, as well as the culture of your company and your technical infrastructure. Keep it Simple. The first step when switching to E-learning from ILT is to remember to keep things simple. The idea here is to develop courses that are accessible to your learners and that communicate the content in the right way. Learners should be able to understand the material and therefore have the tools necessary to improve their job performance. Effectively Organize Content. By making sure you have clear learning objectives and a plan in place when it comes to your instructional content, you will be setting yourself up success. When it comes to the design of your E-learning program, make sure you carefully select graphics and animation in order to highlight certain learning points and content in order to help learners retain the information. It is always important to remember that content is king in regards to E-learning. Because of this, it is critical for you to make sure all your content is relevant and up-to-date. Consider Feedback. Paying attention to constructive feedback from your learners is one way to improve your course and make sure it is being received as you intend. By making an effort to listen to feedback and implement changes, you will be showing your learners that you are serious and it will therefore encourage them to worker harder and provide you with feedback. Once again, the key to success in E-learning is to have a solid strategy in place to ensure that making the transition from ILT courses is the right one. If you play your cards right and set the stage for success by taking the above tips into consideration, you will be setting the state for a smooth switch to E-learning, which will in turn save you money and allow you to provide your users with information they need, whenever they need it. While you may be met with challenges and hiccups along the way, we believe that, if done right, converting an ILT program to an E-learning one will be beneficial to your organization. If E-learning is something you are interested in, give us a call! 866.316.9126

Shout out to Training Industry for recognizing the Designing Digitally, Inc. team's hard work! We are listed on the Content Development Company Watch List for the third year running!  It feels great to be recognized by such an influential group.  You can check out the full list, here.  We are honored to be chosen for this list for a third year and look forward to continuing to provide high quality online corporate training for our customers. Congrats to the rest of the Top 20 Content Development Companies List as well! 

The old model of training a workforce to perform a job or task by simply sitting them in a classroom is (thankfully) fading into the past. Today’s workforce doesn’t need more training, they need more effective training. In fact, what they really need is task-specific guidance and support delivered at the exact moment it’s required. When this support combines the processes, tools and resources necessary to enable employees to perform their jobs better, businesses win. While more L&D departments are getting the message and have built effective learning management systems, even this doesn’t address the complete issue. Today’s knowledge-based workers must have access to job performance information at the moment they need it in order to be most effective. It is our challenge to build the systems that allow for this on-demand training and performance support that today’s workforce requires. What is Performance Support? Simply put, the term performance support encompasses a wide variety of supplemental training and job performance tools. It can include everything from low-tech job aids to technical procedures presented in a how-to video. The single unifying characteristic that all performance support tools share is that they are available on demand and controlled by the worker performing the task. Many of the best performance support systems involve employee portals with a library of documented processes and techniques. They are searchable and offered in a variety of media types. Performance support combines the best methods for delivering a particular job skill or task based on the need of the worker and the demands of the task. When implemented correctly, performance support can be thought of as the mentor standing beside an employee as he or she attempts a new procedure. With the proper guidance and coaching, a worker is given the tools to perform any task confidently. Just as a qualified mentor is there to confirm the correct technique or procedure, performance support tools can answer questions, validate assumptions and confirm the details needed for proper task completion. Performance Support Compared with Training Performance support is not a substitute for training; rather it’s a supplement to the often technical and sometimes tedious training we frequently see. Where traditional training methods are content-based, performance support is context-based and provides workers with the tools they need to complete a task or procedure in real-time. Within the training and development realm it is generally acknowledged that learners forget as much as 70% of the material they’re taught with 48 hours of attending a training session. That said, no one would suggest doing away with classroom or other formal job training. Training is a foundational activity, and gives workers the exposure to new concepts that allows them to continue learning on their own. In addition, the portion of formal training that is retained is often the most important and fundamental of the concepts. By combining formal training with a comprehensive performance support system workers are given the best opportunity to successfully perform their job roles. Why Performance Support? When looking at the amount of money spent on traditional training, many organizations may ask the question; why do we need performance support as well? The truth is that performance support systems are an investment in the continuing success of an enterprise. In fact, while the knowledge and skills acquired in classroom or other formal training resides with the employee (and departs with them as well), performance support systems stay in place for future use by all employees. To be clear, designing and building a performance support infrastructure is a commitment and an on-going process. The maintenance and continued creation of documents, procedures, guides, video demonstrations and other tools requires both budget and manpower. However, the return on this investment can be seen in the time savings of employees performing their job duties, the satisfaction levels of customers who are better served, and a general improvement in deployed projects across the board. How to Implement a Performance Support System The design and implementation of a performance support system requires an understanding of the challenges your workforce faces. Are there particular tasks that cause more difficulty and struggle than others? Where are performance support offerings most urgently needed? What delivery mechanisms will be most effective for your workforce? The answers to these questions and others are what our learning support team can help you to determine. Our Performance Support experts will identify your organizations current needs, and help to design a framework to build upon. It’s not enough to provide more information to your workers, you must give them the information they need at the time they need it. Providing support at the moment of need is what the experts here at Designing Digitally will help you to do. To learn more about how a performance support system can help your organization, contact us.

The need for training in our modern work environment has never been more critical. That’s because the job skills we require of our workers have never been more complex or more specialized. The advances in technology that continues to improve productivity in the workplace are also making the tasks of our workers more challenging. The only way to meet these challenges in job complexity is through effective skills training. When employee development managers consider the options available for training today’s workforce, increasingly they are turning to e-learning solutions. The effectiveness of e-learning within the work environment has grown along with the advances in technology used to develop and deliver it. In this way e-learning is keeping pace with the needs of industry, while also meeting the growing needs of employees. Why e-learning? Part of the reason e-learning is garnering such positive attention is the increasing recognition of its effectiveness. When implemented correctly, e-learning has the advantage of being more efficient, more relevant, and a more enjoyable way of learning than traditional training methods. E-learning is more efficient because we no longer rely solely on sending an employee to off-site training or sitting them in a classroom for hours on end, and instead bring the training to the employee. It’s more relevant because we can target very specific job skills and deliver them any time an employee needs to access them. It is also a more enjoyable way to learn because employees can progress at their own rate of comprehension, without the pressure that sometimes accompanies a classroom setting. Use e-learning to engage and appeal to your audience Within e-learning design, there are ways to create courses that have more appeal for your intended audience. These techniques aren’t secrets or tricks of the trade; rather they are time-tested training methodologies that are modernized for use in today’s on-line and electronically delivered media. Here are some examples of successful e-learning techniques that are designed to engage and appeal to your audience. Focus on the learner. The temptation is to develop an e-learning course that is slick and exciting, and uses all of the latest design techniques and fancy features. While aesthetics are important, form follows function in this case. Design courses that focus on how an employee approaches his or her job, and what skills they will need to master in order to perform better. Deliver it in a way that respects the learner’s time, intelligence and current abilities. Also, remember to incorporate different styles of information delivery, since people learn in different ways. Make it relevant. In order for a learner to get the most from an e-learning course, they need to believe it is relevant to them and to their job performance. It should be made very clear what the benefit is to the employee, and what they can hope to accomplish once they have mastered the lesson. When tied in with real-world returns, case studies and real life situations, e-learning is far more likely to appeal to an employee. Challenge your learners. Nothing is likely to turn off your audience more than if you present an e-learning course that insults their intelligence. If they are going to put in the time, they expect to gain the knowledge and skills that are promised. This can only be done through challenging and thought-provoking lessons. At the same time, care should be taken to give them all the information necessary to succeed, if they really apply what they’ve learned. Make it interactive. One of the biggest advantages of e-learning is that it can be as interactive to your learners as you want to make it. When your audience is engaged and interacting with the lesson, they are more likely to progress, learn and retain the information you’re providing them. Interactivity also appeals to those individuals who learn more kinesthetically, offering them an experience they are less apt to receive in traditional classroom-based training. The real benefits of e-learning for today’s workforce are measured in increased productivity, increased engagement, and improved job performance. Here at Designing Digitally, Inc., we’re experts at creating e-learning courses that not only educate, but engage and entertain a modern workforce. Our team of expert designers will work with you to develop an e-learning program that appeals to your employees while teaching them the valuable skills needed to succeed. Let us know how we can help you bring the power of e-learning to your business.

One of the biggest challenges we face in designing effective e-learning courses is keeping the learner engaged and interested in the lesson. It’s a fact that people learn best when a topic captures their imagination and motivates them to become an active participant. This type of engagement is possible when the e-learning presented is realistic, interactive and allows the learner to make choices and solve problems within the lesson. One way to accomplish all of these goals is through the use of branching scenarios in e-learning. Using branching scenarios gives learners the ability to apply the information you’ve presented, and to see the results of their decisions played out immediately. This immediate feedback is important in reinforcing the material, as well as in motivating the participant to continue learning. What are branching scenarios? Branching scenarios are essentially stories that allow a learner to select a course of action and see how it plays out virtually. When designed effectively, branching scenarios teach the underlying principles of a lesson, giving learners the ability to extrapolate the concepts and apply them to any number of similar situations. This type of situational role-playing is both highly engaging and extremely effective in promoting learner retention. Branching scenarios are more than just a series of scenes linked together. To be successful, branching scenarios must build upon previous decisions and relate the consequences to a particular choice or action. In this way, a learner can see the impact of even a poor decision, without the risk associated with doing it in real life. Benefits of branching scenarios Designing branching scenarios in e-learning courses has a number of benefits for learners. Immersing a learner into a scenario allows him or her to make decisions and assume responsibility for the choices they make. This emotional investment in the learning process ultimately has a far greater impact than traditional, more passive types of e-learning. Some specific benefits to branching scenarios within e-learning include: Increased engagement. As mentioned previously, the more engaged we are when learning new material, the more likely we are to remember the concepts. Designing branching scenarios into e-learning courses helps promote engagement on the part of the learner, and allows for better retention of the material being conveyed. When designed well, these scenarios also create a more realistic and relevant training experience. Learn from mistakes. The difference between being told what would happen when taking a certain course of action and watching it unfold before your eyes cannot be overstated. The brain is hard-wired to learn and remember the consequences of our actions far more than if we were simply told what they would be. In this way, making a mistake within a learning scenario and seeing the results can actually create a similar retention as if we had made the mistake in real life. Skills can be practiced with no risk. Another major benefit of branching scenarios is that potentially dangerous tasks can be performed without the risk of injury or worse. An obvious example of this is firefighter training. If the skills required to enter a burning building and search for victims can be practiced using branching scenarios, then we gain the benefit of experience without the risk to life. Branching scenarios are customizable. The use of scenarios to teach particular concepts or skills can be customized for almost any lesson. And since each scenario is its own mini-vignette, they can be modified as needed to update skills, increase complexity, or incorporate lessons learned. The use of branching scenarios as a way to improve the effectiveness of e-learning is growing in popularity. When applied effectively, this type of interactive lesson delivery can increase engagement, improve knowledge retention, and build valuable decision-making skills. By encouraging learners to be active participants in their education and skill building, scenario-based e-learning can have a positive impact on any learning program. To learn more about what this type of training can do for your organization, contact the experts here at Designing Digitally, Inc. We specialize in designing e-learning courses that incorporate a variety of branching scenario techniques and styles. Let us know how we can help you and your workforce.

How effective is your online corporate training? Is it providing your workforce with the critical job skills they need to be successful? Does it provide the up-to-date learning experience that today’s workers are conditioned to expect? Is it enjoyable or a nightmare to get through? If you believe you have a pretty good idea of the answers to these questions, I’ve got another one for you... how do you know? One of the most important tools we have in evaluating the effectiveness of our online corporate training programs is one that’s often overlooked. The importance of user feedback in providing meaningful and valuable insight about the online training we offer our workers is crucial. While we, as learning experts, may believe we’ve designed the best e-learning course possible, if the employees we’re targeting don’t agree, then we’re in trouble. Why user feedback is important It’s always a good idea to beta test new e-learning materials before they go into full production with your learners. However, most e-learning testing is done either by a select group of knowledgeable workers, or sometimes by training specialists. This type of testing, even if it’s comprehensive, doesn’t tell us the story of how effective a training lesson will be in the real-world. When our goal is to impart job knowledge and teach performance skills, we must be open to learning whether we’ve done our job well. The best way to fully understand how our training is perceived by the employees it’s designed to benefit, is by collecting feedback from those employees. This type of user feedback, when correctly solicited and obtained, allows us to analyze not just the design of our training, but its effectiveness. User feedback is important in telling us whether the information we’ve presented is what the learner is actually receiving. It also tells us whether the training is engaging or sleep-inducing, interesting or tedious, fun or frustrating. In short, does it work? How to collect user feedback Collecting user feedback can be done in a number of ways, some more useful and effective than others. A survey conducted at the end of a training course can be helpful, but it often does not provide the type of insightful information we need. By the time a user completes a training lesson - especially if it is a long one - they typically just want to be done with it. This may not be the best time to ask for genuine feedback. Even so, that does not mean you won’t get some good feedback using surveys. Building in user feedback opportunities throughout your e-learning course is a far more effective way to gather feedback you can actually use. Just as knowledge checks are designed into a course along the way, prompts for feedback can also be integrated. One technique for doing this is to ask for feedback in a different style or format than your knowledge checks or quizzes. Make them fun or even funny - and remember to keep the feedback questions short. Examples might be: Did you find that lesson helpful? Was that example relevant? Would you like more detail or less detail on the topic you just completed? User feedback can also be collected by the use of the Experience API. The function of the xAPI is to gather and provide access to the real-time experiences of e-learning users. While the xAPI requires an investment of both development time and infrastructure, the resulting data can provide valuable feedback. How to use and implement user feedback Collecting feedback on your e-learning material is only part of the process of improving your online corporate training. What you do with the information once gathered is the important step. It may be a natural tendency for the designer of a training course to defend their product zealously - but that does a learner no good in the long run. Instead, look at the feedback with an objective eye and with the understanding that improvements can always be made. Ask yourself if there is a theme or pattern to the feedback results, and see if you can identify any opportunities for improvement. Finally, understand that there are changes happening within the online training and e-learning field constantly, and working to improve your training delivery skills is just a part of the job. For more information, or to see how incorporating user feedback into your online corporate training can benefit your learning programs, contact the experts at Designing Digitally, Inc. We have tools and techniques that can improve the effectiveness of your training, and get the most from your e-learning investment. Click here to request more information.

As more corporate training is becoming self-directed, a major challenge faced by learning and development professionals is how to maintain the attention of audiences. This challenge has been addressed in part through advances in technology that allow us to create realistic graphics to simulate all types of real-world and real-work scenarios and interactions that stimulate learners. Using these new development tools and techniques we are able to develop more interesting and visually appealing e-learning courses. But is that enough to hold the attention of learners? Today we compete with more distractions than ever for the attention of our learning audience. And the expectations of learners have continued to increase, even as their span of attention drops. It’s no longer enough to present information and test for comprehension; we have to grab the interest of our learners and hold it. The best way to do this is by creating truly captivating content that exceeds expectations and sparks real interest in the information being taught. The Importance of Content Quality The first rule in creating captivating content is that it has to be high quality. The surest way to lose the attention and engagement of your learners is to offer them sub-standard quality in any aspect of your e-learning material. Or, content that has been regurgitated and re-explained so many times it sounds like it’s coming from Charlie Brown’s teacher. Most of our learning audience today has grown up in a media-rich and technology-saturated world. As such, they have much higher expectations from what they’re presented. With exposure to high-tech imagery like that found in the latest Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic World, today’s learners know what quality looks like. They also know what it feels like from interacting with video games, tablets and smart devices. This does not mean you cannot use 2D imagery or you must use game-like graphics, but keep in mind the quality your audience has come to expect in media. How to Create Good Content Creating content that captivates your learning audience involves engaging with them on different levels and using different media types. This could mean incorporating some or all of the following features: Video 3D simulations Branching scenarios Storytelling Personalized training Using multimedia to engage different brain activities and senses is more interesting to our learners and leaves less room for outside distractions. Interspersing learning tasks with performance tasks can both reinforce the lesson, and keep the learner interested in the material. A good example of this technique can be found in the REVAS Firefighter training created by our team at Designing Digitally, Inc. The challenge when designing training that simulates something as important and potentially dangerous as firefighting is to keep it realistic and relevant. The web-based training we designed for REVAS (Rescue, Exposure, Ventilation, Attack, Salvage) firefighter training used a combination of virtual reality, task performance, knowledge checks, branching scenarios and simulations. The learner is presented with a series of situations in which he must choose a path, perform a task, make a decision and test his knowledge and recall of his training. By combining these different tools, the learner/participant is kept engaged, interested and focused on the material. Another example of captivating content can be found in the design and use of serious games that allow users to learn while engaging in interactive, game-based activities. Here is an example of a serious game that we created for a Fortune 500 company to help their sales force increase its productivity. The problem faced by our client was that conventional e-learning and classroom-based training had failed to generate the results they were looking for. We designed and built a Serious Game in which sales associates could perform simulated calls using more than 500,000 potential dialogue options and scenarios. The employees earned points based on their success, and were provided with additional tools and information to grow skills in areas where they needed improvement. The result has been a more engaged sales team for our client and a more satisfying training experience for their workforce. In each of the above training design examples and countless others, the goal has been to create captivating content that would keep the learners engaged. In doing so, we focused on the importance of content quality, incorporating different design techniques and tools, and making the training as interesting as possible for the learners. If you want to learn more about creating captivating content and how Designing Digitally, Inc. can help your learning and development efforts, you can contact us here. We specialize in designing customized training solutions to meet any business need. Let us know how we can help you.

Many of the job performance tasks that we require of our modern workforce involve specialized training on expensive or dangerous equipment. Others call for very detailed and precise procedures that take time and practice to learn. Medical professionals in particular are involved in potentially life-and-death situations, where only their training and experience can avert disaster. All of these workplace scenarios and countless others are prime candidates for the latest generation of training simulations. Advances in technology and programming have allowed for the creation of training simulations that are more realistic and more effective than ever before. They are also safer, less expensive and easier to administer than the hands-on training they replicate. What Is A Training Simulation? Training simulations often use high-quality 3D modeling and high-definition audio to create a virtual reality world in which learners can practice performing tasks correctly and safely. Using custom graphics and animations these training simulations are interactive and engaging, allowing participants to immerse themselves in a realistic environment. They are able to make decisions, perform tasks and choose the right course of action through a specific activity or job process. There are several forms that training simulations can take, including first-person directed simulations, guided experience simulations, and other techniques. Thanks to faster computing speeds and updated development tools, these simulations are becoming extremely realistic and life-like. Benefits Of Training Simulations One of the greatest benefits of training simulations is having the freedom to fail. This not only takes an immense amount of pressure off of the job performer, but also reduces the risk of damage or injury. A perfect example of this is a worker who is training to operate a heavy-equipment crane in a setting where other workers are around. One mistake or error in judgment could mean property or equipment damage, or worse; injury or death. By practicing the movements and operation in a simulated environment, the worker gains necessary skills without fear of failing and the sever consequences of such. Another benefit is the ability to practice tasks anywhere, at any time. A worker can practice during off hours, or can brush up on job performance skill as a refresher just prior to performing the task in real life. An example of this might be a technician who is being sent into the field to install a complex piece of equipment. During the flight he can use a training simulation to perfect his skills and perform the task virtually. As a result he will be more confident and more capable when doing the actual installation. We would hope the technician wouldn’t be sent out on a job before they were ready, but you get the picture. Training simulations can also be used to prepare and train for emergency response to disasters. Since a disaster can strike at any time, having a well-trained response force available is critical. The time to train a team is not during the disaster, but before it happens. Training Simulations Can Save Money, Time and Lives There is an obvious advantage to training that can be done virtually, as it saves the expense of employee travel. It also allows for training on equipment that may be too expensive to practice on, or that may not be available to train a large workforce. And once a training simulation is developed, it is extensible throughout the organization - and to anywhere in the world. The time that it takes to send employees to training is often a primary reason for delay or deferment of important skill-building. Training simulations can save time by bringing the training to the employee for completion when work schedules permit. In the most extreme cases, lives can be saved when training simulations are used in place of ineffective hands-off training - or no training at all. By practicing potentially dangerous tasks in a simulated setting, workers gain valuable skills and experience that can save their lives or the lives of others. Here at Designing Digitally, Inc., we specialize in developing customized training simulations for a wide variety of industries and trades. From 3D simulations to custom animations, we’ll create a realistic training experience for your employees. Let us know how we can help your organization to develop a better-trained workforce.

The amount of capital spent by corporations on training their employees has risen steadily over the past decade. With the exception of 2008, the height of our Great Recession, companies have increased their corporate training budgets and per employee training allowance in each of the past ten years. Yet with all of the money spent training their workforce, very few organizations take the time to measure the actual effectiveness of their training programs. The success or failure of any corporate training effort can be measured by the increased productivity of the workers who receive the training, among other metrics. In this regard, training is an investment, not just in employee skill-building, but in the growth of the business. Too often however, organizations view the training of their workforce as just another expenditure or cost of doing business. Understanding that workforce training isn’t simply an accrued expense is the foundation for an effective training program, and is the hallmark of a successful company. Corporate learning and development departments would do well to remember this, and to avoid the following common corporate training mistakes. Ways Corporate Training Can Fail Not understanding the training needs of employees. This is one of the biggest reasons for the failure of corporate training to achieve its objectives. Sending employees to training that they are either not prepared for, is not relevant to them, or that they will not use in the immediate course of their job is a wasted effort. Instead, those in charge of learning and development should focus on conducting a training needs analysis that includes employee input. By analyzing the needs of the business, the training needs of the employee and the expected gaps in skills necessary for business success, corporate training programs can meet the needs of all. Not delivering the right kind of training. Depending on the complexity or level of skill needed to perform a job task, different types of training may be required. The expectation of an employee to learn complicated procedures by sitting in a classroom may not be a realistic one. Instead, using a combination of online corporate training, interactive 3D virtual training, serious games or other computer-based e-learning devices may be more effective. This type of training can also reduce the expense and length of time for many training scenarios. Not having a comprehensive training program. Many corporations view workforce training as an annual event that employees go to. Instead, corporate training should be viewed as an on-going process that involves clearly defined objectives and outcomes. It should also include the integration of a learning management system (LMS) to track employee training progress and success. Finally, a comprehensive training program should involve the recipients of the training - the employees. Getting feedback on the entire training experience is crucial in designing a comprehensive training program. Failing to evaluate the effectiveness of training. Training is sometimes viewed abstractly by those in management positions. It can be seen as a quantitative measure, as in "we’ve sent this many of our employees to training and spent this much money on it." Instead, training needs to be viewed in a qualitative sense, and evaluated for its effectiveness. Measuring the results of a training program involves enlisting employee feedback, observing post-training performance, and tracking business success metrics. Expecting the results of training to be immediate. A common tendency in corporate training programs is to expect the task performance to immediately reflect expertise. This is not only unrealistic, it’s unfair. What’s needed is a performance support system or other supplemental mechanism to help the transition from academic to practical application of the training. This can be an education portal or other e-learning device that the employee can reference to refresh his or her knowledge of the training. How To Remedy The Problem In all of the common corporate training mistakes we’ve listed, solutions are readily available. In each case, the best way to address the problem of why corporate training fails is to understand the potential obstacles to success. It is important to understand and to implement best-practices into your training program. Enlisting the help of training design professionals is the surest way of avoiding the failure of your corporate training program. Here at Designing Digitally, Inc., we are experts at analyzing and developing training solutions that meet the needs of business and of employees. Using a combination of e-learning design, interactive training tools and performance support techniques, we help companies to get the most from their training budgets. We also help by supporting and integrating with your existing learning management system. To learn more about how we can help improve the effectiveness of your corporate training program, contact us. We look forward to serving all of your training needs.

There’s no question that eLearning has grown both in popularity and acceptance in recent years. It has also become one of the most effective and efficient ways for people anywhere to gain knowledge and learn new skills. Learners from all walks of life and from every corner of the globe are discovering the benefits that eLearning has to offer. Whether it’s improving fundamental knowledge, gaining new job skills, learning a foreign language, or countless other needs; e-Learning offers opportunities that would otherwise not exist for most people. In order to understand the rapid growth and increasing importance of eLearning around the world, we thought we’d answer a few questions about trends and statistics in our industry. The questions below are based on inquiries that we often receive about the current state of eLearning development. Since this information is valuable in understanding where eLearning is and where it’s headed, we’re excited to share it with all those interested in the future of training development. What exactly is eLearning and what techniques does it use? The best description of eLearning is a training or other learning experience that is delivered electronically. It typically requires an Internet connection, but can sometimes be delivered in physical form as on a DVD or storage device, or delivered off-line. The styles of eLearning delivery can vary from established technologies like video presentations to the latest in high-definition 3D graphics, serious games and virtual reality. Where is eLearning participation growing the fastest? The 10 fastest-growing regions of the world for eLearning growth are actually outside of the U.S. According to Ambient Insight in their study The Worldwide Market for eLearning Products and Services, India is the country with the fastest growth in eLearning adoption at 55%. The top 10 countries on the list include: India - 55% China - 52% Malaysia - 41% Romania - 38% Poland - 28% Czech Rep. - 27% Brazil - 26% Indonesia - 25% Columbia - 20% Ukraine - 20% In what areas is eLearning having the biggest impact? With the skyrocketing cost of higher education, eLearning offers an affordable alternative for millions of people around the world. It has been estimated that by 2019, 50% of all classes at the college level will be taught online[1]. Another area of impact is in the transition of corporate training from traditional classroom-based to eLearning methods. Currently 77% of US companies offer online or other eLearning tools to their workforce[2]. What types of job training use eLearning the most? According to research conducted by Training Magazine and published in December of 2014, some types of training are more suited to eLearning than other types[3]. Here is a partial list of job categories, and the percentage of training that occurs via eLearning. Compliance or other mandatory training - 72% Desktop application training - 56% IT/Systems training - 54% Industry-specific/professional training - 51% Sales training - 45% Customer service - 38% Interestingly, the categories of management and executive development training incorporated the lowest percentage or online or eLearning training at just 30% and 36% respectively. Is eLearning replacing classroom training in companies? While eLearning is growing in acceptance and availability, no one will argue that it’s a replacement for all training. In fact, it has been reported that blended learning programs, those incorporating a blend of classroom and eLearning instruction, are the most effective ways to train for certain job skills[4]. Why eLearning is Having Such an Impact The effectiveness of eLearning and its ultimate impact on learning and development programs across the board is due to a variety of factors. The combination of accessibility, ease of use, advances in design, technology and computing developments among other dynamics, have made eLearning a more readily available way to learn. It’s this availability that has had such an impact on businesses, industries and learners around the world. Future Growth Projections for eLearning If recent growth rates are an indication, the future of eLearning technologies is robust. Respected industry leaders and agencies have weighed in with their projections for the growth prospects of eLearning initiatives in coming years. Their predictions include the following: By 2019 more than 50% of all classes will be taught online[5]. By 2017 50% of organizations are expected to be using serious games and simulations as part of their eLearning initiatives[6]. In 2015, 44% of companies plan to purchase online or eLearning tools and systems. This compares with 33% who plan to purchase classroom tools and systems[7]. The online corporate training market is expected to grow by 13% annually through 2017[8]. By 2017 China is expected to be the largest consumer of online and eLearning programs[9]. Here at Designing Digitally, Inc., we have the expertise and experience to make eLearning a valuable part of your corporate training program. We design and deliver the next-generation of online and eLearning systems that enable more effective and efficient training delivery. Let us know how we can help your learning and development team integrate eLearning into your training program by requesting a quote here. 1Velsoft - The eLearning Revolution (2014) 2Roland Berger - Corporate Learning Goes Digital (2015) 3Trainingmag.com 2014 Training Industry Report (December, 2014) 4SRI International - Blended Learning Report  (2014) 5Velsoft - The eLearning Revolution (2014) 6Ambient Insight - Worldwide Market for eLearning Products and Services (2014) 7Trainingmag.com 2014 Training Industry Report (December, 2014) 8Roland Berger - Corporate Learning Goes Digital (2015) 9Ambient Insight - Worldwide Market for eLearning Products and Services (2014)          

As training professionals, we’re living in exciting times. The convergence of technology and advances in instructional system design principles have led to training programs that are more effective in their goal of knowledge transfer. It has also allowed for training that is more available and more easily consumed than ever before. We need look no further than the growing adoption of online training as a perfect example of how technology is enhancing the learning experience and providing increased access to knowledge. Benefits of Online Training The benefits of online learning aren’t found solely in the reduced cost of training, but in the increased efficiency and effectiveness of lesson delivery. This is due to a number of important factors that online training addresses. Let’s take a look at a few of these benefits: Consistent and repeatable. Unlike classroom-based training which can be influenced by a variety of environmental factors, online training delivers a consistent and repeatable learning experience. Also, once an online training course is developed it can be delivered over and over again, unlike the single-delivery model of classroom training. Learner-paced. Online training offers the ability for learners to work at their own pace, and to review the material as necessary. In a classroom or other multi-learner setting, some individuals learn at a faster rate than others. This can lead to inequalities in the effectiveness of training delivery. Increases productivity. Traditional training can require a worker to be away from the job for a period of up to a week or more. The loss of productivity - not to mention the outright cost - makes this an inefficient way to train your workforce. Online training offers learners the ability to update job skills while taking far less time away from productive work. More interactive. With the new tools and techniques available to developers, online training can deliver a far more interactive and immersive learning experience. Through the use of virtual reality, simulations and interactive learning scenarios, online training offers the ability for learners to see and perform sometimes complex tasks - not just hear about them. More enjoyable. In any training setting, the more enjoyable an experience it is, the more a learner will get from it. Online training can create an engaging, fun and interesting way for knowledge transfer to take place. How to Convert to Online Training A challenge that many learning and development departments face is how to transition from the current model of traditional training delivery to online training. What works well in a classroom setting may not translate easily to online training. That’s why it pays to engage the experts in evaluating the best ways to convert your current model to an effective online training model. Some of the best-practices for doing this conversion include: Avoid simply transferring content. The best online training comes from transforming your current content into an engaging, interesting and interactive digital learning experience. Create a story around your lesson. Develop your learning material into a story that tells not only how, but gives the details and allows a learner to explore the concept. Identify the best design for the material. Most classroom training has been developed without an eye for whether this is the most effective method of delivery. Converting to online training is an opportunity to review and identify the best way to deliver the lesson. Give them the opportunity to see it from different angles. Online training has the ability to allow for different learning styles and techniques. By converting asynchronous training into interactive exploration, training becomes far more effective. Training the Next Generation Online training is hitting its stride just as the Millennial generation is most in need of it. Here we have a workforce that is extremely comfortable using technology, and has the ability and desire to learn via online training and other eLearning methods. The implications for business are obvious. With a willing audience, available technology, access to online training expertise and a mandate to provide the most effective training possible - focusing on online training makes more sense than ever. In recent years the emphasis of training programs has shifted from simply improving the bottom line of companies to improving the capabilities of the workforce. Online training plays a pivotal role in such a transition. Here at Designing Digitally, Inc., we’re experts at designing and developing online training to meet the growing needs of today’s organizations. Let us know how we can help your company to implement an effective online training program.

Imagine being seated in the operator’s cab of a heavy-equipment lift as it prepares to move a 20-ton piece of gear into place. Now imagine that it’s your first time doing this. But not to worry - you’ve read all about how to lift and move things, and have even watched a video or two. What could possibly go wrong? If the idea of performing such a dangerous and difficult operation without the benefit of experience makes your palms sweat, you’re not alone. There are thousands of hazardous jobs out there, where the only thing between success and disaster is good training. It’s this type of complex and risky procedure that training simulations were made for. What are training simulations? Training simulations are computer-based scenarios that use highly-detailed 3D modeling and imagery to simulate an environment or condition virtually. These virtual reality scenarios are then used to practice a skill, perform a maneuver or execute a series of tasks in a safe and risk-free environment. In this way, potentially dangerous job functions can be honed, and expertise built, before a worker is ever seated in the actual cab of that equipment lift. A typical training simulation uses high-resolution graphics, and detailed representations of the objects and conditions that can be expected in real life. Through the use of these realistic and life-like images, we can create an environment that is as near the real thing as it’s possible to get. Now a trainee can practice the specific skills necessary to do a job over and over again until it is perfected. We can also introduce different situations and variables to simulate adverse conditions - a great way to prepare for the unexpected. Why use training simulations? When an organization is considering the development of training for a particular job or task, there are a lot of options available. Often the choices come down to instructor-led or classroom-based training, on-the-job training, observational training, or even video-based training. Where training simulations fit into this picture is that they are a complement to any of these other choices. There simply is no substitute for a detailed and realistic simulation, short of practicing the skills in real life. And while there may still be the need for knowledge transfer from an experienced veteran, the use of training simulations can provide much needed context for trainees in understanding the full picture. Risk reduction and the freedom to fail One of the greatest benefits that training simulations offer is a fairly obvious one - the reduced risk that comes from performing a task virtually. It’s this no-risk environment that gives learners the freedom to fail in a task, and to learn from that failure. And let’s face it; failure can be a great motivator. Since most of us are wired to succeed, a temporary setback is simply an obstacle to overcome the next time. When we think about the benefits of practicing a skill, having the ability to learn from our mistakes is one of the greatest knowledge builders there is. Through experiencing what doesn’t work, we are more likely to learn the correct way to perform a task, and to better retain that knowledge. Finally, we’d like to leave you with a few examples of when a training simulation could be beneficial. A lot of possibilities come to mind, but here are some that seem like obvious choices to us. Hazardous waste disposal training Heavy-equipment operator training Surgical and other medical procedure training Emergency response training Law enforcement skills training Security and protective detail training Disaster preparedness training Unmanned vehicle operation training Really, the list could go on. In any situation where life or property is at risk, simulations can provide a responder or operator with the necessary training to perform the task safely. Here at Designing Digitally, Inc., our team of expert developers can create a training simulation to meet the needs of just about any organization or performance task. We’ll work with you to design the exact training scenario that your workforce needs to ensure they’re proficient. From 3D modeling to custom animations to virtual reality worlds, we’re on the cutting edge of all the latest design techniques and training principles. Let us know what we can build for you.