According to workforce.com, an HR magazine, 73.6 percent of technology-delivered training in Fortune 500 firms comes through networked, online methods. So, we can imagine the popularity of eLearning over other methods of training, by these facts. E-learning is very popular because it is more cost-effective and flexible than the classroom training format. Let’s go through the following info-graphic which lists some benefits of eLearning, which make it more beneficial than instructor-led training. Please share your views about eLearning. Related PostsCreative Ways to Present Click on Tab Interactivity in E-learning Courses - An InfographicBenefits of Using E-learning in Organizations - An InfographicE-Learning 101 - Fundamentals of eLearning - Download Free eBook

6 Cultural Considerations For eLearning Localization Global companies mean global learners. eLearning is an effective solution for organizations looking to train and educate these global learners to required company standards, values, and procedures. It is important to acknowledge that not all global learners are the same; they are influenced by cultural factors. Being aware of some of these factors goes a long way in developing culturally appropriate courses. Below is a list of 6 cultural factors to take into consideration with eLearning localization to help design courses that will resonate with all learners. Language And Text.  It is best to provide content to learners in a way in which they best understand. If learners are multilingual, the best practice would be to translate content into the appropriate language. Prepare your source content for localization. Try to eliminate any idioms, similes, or metaphors, as they are often culturally specific. The same applies for slang or jargon; they may not make sense to other learners across different cultures. Also, don’t forget acronyms. You may mention a governmental organization such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but if you are localizing for Brazil, you may need to either mention or substitute the Brazilian equivalent National Health Surveillance Agency of Brazil (ANVISA). In some languages such as Spanish or Portuguese, the adjectives are placed after the noun so the orders of the letters in the acronym are different. Design And Layout. Not all languages read left to right. Languages using Arabic script, the Hebrew Alphabet, or the Syriac alphabet are read right to left. This affects both text and graphics. For example, flow charts and graphs that show progression or sequence will need to be flipped around. Color choice is also important. Colors mean different things across cultures. White is the color of mourning in a lot of different countries, from Nigeria to China to India. Certain colors may have religious or political significance. Do your research and plan your color schemes accordingly! Teaching Styles. Teaching styles are not the same across cultures. A major example is formal versus informal teaching. In Asian cultures, the teaching style is more formal. The instructor controls the conversation and speaking out or disagreement is discouraged. In Western culture, the style is more informal. Employees speak their minds and are usually freer with their opinions, divergent or not. Keep this in mind when designing training for different cultures. Learner Characteristics. Societies are typically either individualist or collectivist. These dynamics affect the values and beliefs of learners. Understanding the values and beliefs of a culture is essential to understanding how people learn, think, act, and do business. Asian cultures are more collectivist, while Europe and the United States are more individualist. Collectivist cultures are described with such adjectives as "interdependence, group identity, self-restraint, and hierarchical control". Values of the group are usually held above values of the individual. Gender Roles. The roles of men and woman change from culture to culture. As a result, it can become difficult to correctly portray relationships between genders in a culturally acceptable way for each and every target audience. As a result, it is recommended that you try not to show people of different genders interacting with one another. Why? Certain behaviors may not be acceptable from one culture to another. Also, when choosing a talent for voiceover narration, keep in mind that a female narrator would work well in some cultures, such as in the United States, but might not in a Middle Eastern culture, where having a male instructor is the norm. Graphics And Images. Not all symbols are universal; for example, road signs as navigation to tell a learner to stop or move on in the course. The red hexagon sign is not universal. The "thumbs up" gesture means "good to go" or "I understand" in the United States, but it is insulting in the Middle East. Monetary symbols such as a dollar sign are also not culturally universal, as currency is different across countries. Images and symbols used in eLearning courses should be adapted so that they make sense in each culture and don’t offend learners. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Is your screen filled with content and has no space for more? Are you looking for an easy way to display this additional content? Articulate Storyline gives you the solution for this problem. While surfing the Internet, you might have come across pop-ups which display videos, image slideshows, advertisements or even a ‘like’ button for the website page. These pop-ups are called light boxes. A similar feature is available with Articulate Storyline. This lightbox feature can however be used to display videos, images or more information like in the websites. It can also be used as a common slide to display content that is common throughout the course like resources, glossary or sometimes even the course map or menu. Today, in this blog, we will see how to add a course orientation slide as a lightbox to a course in Articulate Storyline. Step 01 Open a Storyline file of the course to which you want to add an orientation slide and design an orientation slide as per your requirements in a new scene. Step 02 Now, open the player properties wizard to add a button to the player that would display the orientation slide. Step 03 Click the Add button. Step 04 You can give the desired name for the button and create a trigger as shown in the screenshot below. Click OK both in the trigger wizard and the player properties wizard once you create the trigger. If you preview or publish the course, you can see the newly added button on the top right corner of the player. If you click that from anywhere in the course, the orientation slide will appear as a lightbox. That’s it! This is how we can display content as a lightbox in Articulate Storyline. You can even use this to display the extra information, examples, images, or videos for various slides. For this, you only need to add a button in the particular slide instead of adding it to the player tabs as shown in the examples below. Video lightbox Image slideshowlightbox Contentlightbox Simple and easy, isn’t it? Only one trigger. So, what are you waiting for? Start using this wonderful feature to display the additional content. Hope this is useful to you. Please share your thoughts in the comments box. Related PostsRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key FeaturesHow to Change the Background Color of Lightbox for iPad Course Using Articulate StorylineHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?

Google for Education Video Tutorial: Teacher Tips- Using Google Forms to quickly gather student feedback This Google for Education Video Tutorial presents Google Forms and how they can manage your data and the tools available to you. The post Google for Education Video Tutorial: Teacher Tips- Using Google Forms to Quickly Gather Student Feedback appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

Graphic Design Best Practices eLearning Professionals Should Know While the text may often steal the show in eLearning courses, the graphic design is actually what properly showcases your written content. Without the right typography, images, color scheme, and layout, even the most articulate eLearning materials would be chaotic and confusing for your learners. By following these graphic design best practices for eLearning professionals you can design eLearning courses that are powerful, meaningful, and visually stunning. Tap into the power of typography. The fonts you use should emphasize the text and highlight the most important ideas and concepts. Using creative fonts can bring the subject matter to life and increase learner comprehension, but only if it is clearly legible and used in moderation. Here are 3 important typography tips to keep in mind when creating your next eLearning course: First, don’t use more than two font types. Including a wide range of fonts will only clutter the page, rather than add to its visual appeal. Second, depending on the font you’re using, keep the size between 14 to 16 pixels for the body of the text. For headers and sub-headers you can use slightly larger font to grab learners’ attention. Last, but not least, use font types that are easy to read on both computers and mobile devices. For example, an Arial font is more mobile-friendly than a more elegant font that may not be as legible on a smaller screen. Use color with caution. Color has the rare ability to evoke certain emotions and make the reader feel more connected to the subject matter. This is why it’s essential to use color with caution in order to achieve the desired effect. For instance, if you want to relax your learners before an important exam you would opt for blue instead of red to calm their nerves. Here are a few more eLearning color points you’ll want to consider: Stick with a color scheme that involves 2 to 3 colors, any more than that and your design can start to look chaotic. This ultimately distracts your learners from the overall value of the eLearning course. In addition, if you are using colored fonts, try to stick with the same shade for the body text all throughout your eLearning course. Likewise, choose one color for the headers and another for the sub-headers to help them standout. Last, opt for colors that contrast. For example, you can use a more subdued color, like soft yellow, and pair it with a dark blue to add depth to your eLearning course design. Effective online learning begins with a successful layout. Though the layout may not be one of the design elements that immediately stands out for your learners, it does have a direct impact upon knowledge comprehension and retention. Keep in mind that the learner’s eye is naturally going to scan the page from top to bottom and left to right. As such, you should place the most important information, such as the key takeaways near the top and the right-hand side of the screen. Another tip is to place similar objects or concepts next to one another to emphasize their connection. You can also use a different color to highlight each group. Finally, an important piece of information should never be hidden on the page, such as inside a clickable link or in the middle of an image. You should also draw the learner’s eye to the key concepts or ideas by making them the focal point of the page. Opt for cohesiveness over clutter when choosing visuals. Visuals, such as image, icons, and graphics, boost learners’ engagement and make the eLearning course more dynamic and exciting. They can also help to illustrate the most important subject matter. When integrating visuals into your graphic design, you should always use high quality, royalty free images. The learner should immediately be able to tell what it is instead of trying to decipher a blurry graphic. In addition, the images you choose should always relate to the subject matter. If they are only there for their aesthetic value and don’t serve the learning goals and objectives, then it’s best to just omit them entirely. Finally, don’t forget to avoid graphics that contain text or culture-specific images if you are planning on localizing your eLearning course in the future. Leave White Space. Not every square inch of the page needs to be filled with graphics, text, and buttons. In fact, leaving some white space can actually prevent cognitive overload and improve the visual appeal of your eLearning course. When you leave blank space around the text and graphic elements on the page, your learner’s eye will automatically drift to the information they need to retain. Think of the white space as a frame that draws their attention to the key pieces of knowledge they need to absorb. Know your audience. Every element should cater to the needs of your learners. Before you even begin mapping out your eLearning course design, you should have a keen understanding of who you are designing the eLearning course for. Every image, block of text, and color you choose for your eLearning course must offer some benefit for your audience. It must serve their learning needs and help them acquire the information they need, or else it doesn’t hold a place in your design layout. Graphic design is essential to the overall effectiveness of your eLearning course. Even elements that don’t immediately grab the attention of your audience work behind the scenes to create a more cohesive look. So, keep these graphic design best practices on hand when designing your deliverable to develop the most beneficial learning environment for your learners. If you’d like additional graphic design tips for your next online course, the article Top 10 Graphic Design Tips for eLearning Success features 10 top tips you can use to achieve eLearning success. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Recently, I missed attending a webinar. I was forwarded the PowerPoint slides in the PDF format, subsequently. When I looked at the slides, I couldn’t understand the content and context properly. Luckily, I was also given an audio file that I was supposed to play while viewing the slides. Not the most convenient way to get knowledge but it was a good punishment for missing the webinar! A PowerPoint presentationis not capable of knowledge transfer by itself. In a classroom, it needs an instructor, and in online environment, it needs an instructional design strategy. To implement the strategy, you need authoring tools. It is not surprising that we have a host of rapid authoring tools that are meant to efficiently convert PowerPoint slides into engaging and interactive eLearning courses. Each of them comes with different features and capabilities. How do we know which one is the best for our purpose? Here is an eBook that helps us with the process. Titled "Converting PPTs to E-learning Using Rapid Authoring Tools: Tips for using Storyline, Captivate, Presenter, and Lectora", the eBook is a must for those who want to explore different authoring tools to convert their in-house PPTs into online courses. Download the eBook now! Related PostsRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key Features4 Tips for Developing E-learning Course Using Rapid Authoring ToolsHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?

ICETC 2015 is supposed to be the largest technical event on Education Technology and Computer in Berlin, Germany in 2015. ICETC 2015 provides opportunities for the different areas delegates to exchange new ideas and application experiences face to face, to establish business or research relations and to find global partners for future collaboration. The focus of the conference is to establish an effective platform for institutions and industries to share ideas and to present the works of scientists, engineers, educators and students from all over the world. ICETC 2015 Keynote Speakers Dr. Joy Kutaka-Kennedy, Associate Professor, Department of Special Education, School of Education, National University,USA Prof. Dr. Sergei Gorlatch, University of Muenster, Germany Prof. Axel Sikora, Hochschule Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany The 2015 International Conference on Education Technology and Computer (ICETC 2015) will be held at the RAMADA Hotel Berlin Alexanderplatz on August 13-14, 2015 This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

As an eLearning professional, you need to struggle hard to meet your learners’ expectations from an eLearning course. The moment you know your learners and their expectations, you are sure to provide them with an effective eLearning course. Remember, your learners want to take the course for improving their performance and not just for the sake of taking the course. For this, you need to know what your learners actually want from the course. Here are a few things. Problem solving: As mentioned earlier, your learners take an eLearning course for a specific purpose.Your learners would like to know "what’s in it for me?" before taking the course. After all, they would learn better and pay more attention to the aspects they find relevant to the realworld. For this, present them with a problem and allow them to think what the solution is and how it would be applicable in the real world.  Presenting information: Your learners donot want to waste their time on information that is irrelevant to them. They want to know only those which could help them improve their performance. Hence, it’s your responsibility to decide whichpart of the content is relevant and which is not. You need to also make your learners understand how to apply the information in the real world.  Emotions: Learners learn better if they are able to connect themselves to the course emotionally. You can provide your learners a memorable learning experience by providing them with an emotionally-driven course. For this, you can include interesting stories that have memorable characters or give some real world examples that can make learners relate to their personal or professional life.  Visualization: It is well-known thata picture is worth a thousand words. Your learners would naturally pay attention to images rather than large pieces of text. Add visuals to your course,while explaining the content. When you pair the content with relevant and meaningful images, your learners are sure to store information in their long term memory. Assessments: Assessments allow learners to participate in a course actively rather than just sit back and absorb the data. They allow learners to know and understand what they have learned and retain the information for a longer period of time. Use these strategies in your eLearning course and you will see a dramatice change in your eLearning effectiveness. Related PostsHow to Create Effective Scenarios for E-learning Assessments?E-learning For Effective Problem Based Learning4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning Courses

An online learning community (OLC) is a web-based learning environment with the latest digital technologies, where interconnected learning participants communicate, construct their knowledge collaboratively and share their personal experiences (Palloff & Pratt, 1999; Preece, 2000; Richardson, 2006). OLCs have immense learning potential and bring additional benefits of flexibility and ability to track the learner’s participation and behavior. They can be used to train learners, spread across the globe, effectively. Hope you enjoyed this post. Do share your views. Related PostsE-learning for Telecommunication Industry5 Questions you Need to Ask Before Designing a Course for the iPadWhat is the Concept of Networked Online Learning Communities?

How To Create An eLearning Incentives Program For Your Employees eLearning is a powerful way to train your employees. The convenience, flexibility, and magnitude of possibilities that Learning Management Systems (LMS) provide can rocket employee productivity. However, while the knowledge employees gain should be motivating enough to continue using the Learning Management System, that’s not always the case. Employees derive motivation in many ways, and incentive programs can ensure users continue to take advantage of all the benefits from using the system. Incentive programs provide Learning Management System users rewards for what they accomplish in the system. For example, for every module a user completes, they receive a tangible reward. Since rewards are based on how many people use the system, your employees will be more likely to use it as much as possible. 8 Types Of eLearning Incentives Programs  There are many options for incentive programs available. Actually, incentive programs can be as creative as you would like them to be. The goal is the incentive or reward to be worthwhile. The following are some options you may want to implement into your Learning Management System. Shout outs. Employees love praise, especially in front of their co-workers. When users complete a lesson, send a shout out to them during a meeting or even via email or an interoffice communication system. This will not only motivate users receiving the praise, but also their co-workers who also wish to win acclaim. Flexible work hours. Working from home is one of office employees’ greatest wishes. If your Learning Management System is accessible from your employees’ homes, that might be an incentive you can provide to users. If employees complete a module early in a workday, they can come to the office later in that day. This means employees can relax in the morning completing their training on their couch. Financial rewards. You can pay your employees to take advantage of the eLearning course you’re providing. For every lesson or module users complete, they will receive a bonus in their paycheck. This can be highly motivating, especially during holidays like Christmas. Days off. Employees receive a certain number of days of paid leave, but it’s usually not enough. Additional paid days off for completing sections of the Learning Management System can quickly get users to work on their training. Gamifying the Learning Management System. A gamified Learning Management System can be fun for users. For every module users complete, they will receive a certain number of points - i.e. 10 points. For every 50 points a user receives, he/she will receive a gift card; an hour off work or some other incentive. You could keep a list of incentive rewards that employees can redeem their points for. Incentivizing a good cause. Collaborating to raise money for a good cause can be an incredibly motivating goal. Follow the example of Harrisburg agency WebpageFX, whose employees surpassed their goals in order to raise funds to build a school in rural Guatemala. They were so motivated that they managed to raise the $25,000 needed in just seven months! Allowing Dress-down Day. Employees often like to trade in their suits for slacks and a nice shirt. Those who need to complete training, you can allow to dress down the days they will be working on it. Since they will be in front of the computer all day instead of in front of customers, the difference in work attire shouldn’t affect the company’s image. Assigning titles. Before a new employee completes training, he/she could have a title of Sales Trainee. Upon completion of the Learning Management System training, the employee can have the title Sales Associate. As employees complete lessons in the Learning Management System, their titles can change to ones that gain more prestige. For example, someone can go from Sales Associate to Sales Specialist to Sales Manager. How To Choose The Best eLearning Incentives Program For Your Employees  Think about your office’s culture to decide what will be the best eLearning incentives program for your employees. The goal of this type of program is to motivate Learning Management System users to use the system. If the program doesn’t provide anything the employees want, it won’t work. Many organizations work with their employees in creating the incentives program. They ask them for feedback on what would help them learn more from the Learning Management System. Employees are usually quick to provide their suggestions, because they truly do want to learn but find it difficult to absorb the information when there are so many distractions around them. Focus becomes easier when there is a reward dangling in front of them. It’s also possible to combine incentives to create a program that encourages everyone to use the system. You may offer choices to employees when they complete a lesson; they may choose a day off, a gift card, or the option to dress down the next day. Providing employees with the ability to choose what kind of reward they want will also empower them, which can increase morale. Increasing incentives as employees make their way through training can also be highly motivating. You may want to give users a $500 bonus upon completion of all the modules, but for each module they complete, users will receive a smaller reward. Create an eLearning incentives program today; the faster you have an incentives program in place, the quicker you’ll see your employees log into the system to start using it. Get started with your eLearning incentives program today! This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Watch-try-do simulations are ideal for software training. They enable learners to first watch, and then, try it themselves, and finally, work on the software. Recently, we satisfieda unique requirement. The training manager wanted to have a login screen in some screens of software. Learners have to type their usernames and passwords in the text entry fields. The learner should automatically jump to the next slide, whenever he types correct answer. The most important thing here is that the learner should neither click anywhere else in the slide nor press any key after typing the response. This is not possible either by default or through customization. The only option is to use external text entry fields (i.e., HTML ‘Input’ field). Text entry fields in Articulate Storyline don’t provide much control for eLearning developers. So, I have used a HTML field through a Web Object. Here are the steps. Step 1: Insert the recording in Test mode steps. Step 2: Create a variable of theText type with default value as "False". I have named it as UserName. Step 3: Now, develop a HTML page with an Input field (Text field, in general). Format it as youwant as shown in the screenshot below. Note: Make sure to save the HTML file as index.html. Step 4: Now, in the Insert tab of Storyline, select theWeb Object option to insert the HTML page into Storyline. Step 5: In the window opened, paste the location of the HTML file, or you can browse for its location by clicking on the folder icon as shown below. Step 6: Adjust the size and position of the Web Object on the screen. You can even place a portion of the Web Object off the stage. However, the output remains the same.Shown below are the references. Step 7: Publish the course and check the output. Now, the learner automatically jumps to the next slide whenever he completes typing the username. In my next post, I will explain how to add the password fields in Articulate Storyline. Hope you find this post useful. Do share your views. Related PostsIntegrating Twitter in An Online course Developed in Articulate StorylinePrinting User Entry Text in Notes Field Using Articulate StorylineRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key Features

Adobe Captivate 8 Tutorial: Adobe Captivate 8 Objects as Buttons with Roll Over Effects This Adobe Captivate 8 tutorial presents a new feature in Adobe Captivate 8 that I discovered by accident - the ability to use objects as buttons (nothing new here) but now with roll over states. The post Adobe Captivate 8 Tutorial: Adobe Captivate 8 Objects as Buttons with Roll Over Effects appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

How To Get Multiple Choice Questions Right Today’s article aims to give you a better understanding of this question type, shed some light on its advantages and disadvantages, and also explain how to construct questions of this type properly (which is not as simple as it may seem at first glance). Let us begin by defining the principal characteristics of multiple choice questions. Multiple Choice Questions Advantages Highly effective. Convenient - the learner only needs to mark the answer, no need to write anything. Can cover a wide range of topics. Can be used to test many degrees of understanding. Multiple Choice Questions Disadvantages Hard to construct correctly. Coming up with plausible-sounding alternative answers is not easy. Time-consuming if formatted correctly. Learners who do not know the correct answer can still answer correctly by picking their answer at random. As you can see, this question type comes with both advantages and disadvantages. Despite being universal, they are far from being easy to construct. The fact that learners who do not know the correct answer can still answer correctly with a lucky guess makes one jump through hoops trying to minimize the impact of luck on the test results. Do not despair though. Below you will find advice and best practices that will help you construct multiple choice questions the right way. You will learn how to make both the question and the answers more readable and easier to comprehend, and also how to make it so that learners guessing the correct answer does not skew the test results. Whenever possible, examples with commentary are also provided. Some Advice Regarding The Construction Of Multiple Choice Questions If possible, order possible answers in a logical way (chronologically, alphabetically, from smallest to greatest etc). Make sure that the correct answer cannot be inferred from the question itself. Try to avoid answers like "All of the above", "None of the above", or "Answers A and C are correct". Do not use answers that confuse the learner and do not contribute to knowledge retention. Whenever possible, use direct questions and not incomplete statements that need to be completed. Democracy is a system of government based on… - Incorrect. What is democracy? - Correct. If you find that a particular word is repeated in all answers to the question, it is recommended to move it to the question itself. Avoid negative constructions in your questions. It is always recommended to formulate questions positively as to not confuse the learner. If negation is unavoidable, bring the learner’s attention to the words expressing it by writing it in bold, in all caps, or by underlining it. Which of the options below is not a part of… - Incorrect. Which of the options below is NOT a part of… - Correct. Which of the options below is not a part of… - Correct. Try to keep all answers roughly the same length, and compose them in such a way that they are similar to one another. Give at least four or five answers to each question to decrease the chance of the learner guessing the correct answer. Make sure that the correct answer if not always the first (or the second, or the third) in the list of possible answers. Shuffle it up - ideally, for every question, the chances of every possible answer to be the correct one should be roughly equal. Use capital letters A, B, C, and D to mark the possible answers. This makes them more readable and helps avoid mistakes caused by the lack of attention. How To Make Sure That A Question Is Constructed Correctly The best way to understand if a multiple choice question is good is to see whether a person familiar with the subject is able to answer it correctly having read the question, but without looking at the answers. Try not to make two or more answers that read similarly to each other. It is important to construct questions in such a way that the learner who has grasped the material can identify the correct answer quickly. Most important, there should always be a single unambiguously correct answer. Aim to clearly identify the correct answer, and not to confuse the learner by having them to pick from a list of similar answers with subtle differences. Keep in mind that the goal of the test is to ensure that the learner who understands the subject answers correctly, and the one who has not yet grasped it - incorrectly. Reference: This article makes use of material from "A Short Guide to Writing Effective Test Questions" by Ben Clay from Kansas Curriculum Center.  This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Welcome to today’s blog post. Most of the articles, blogs and eLearning companies today portray an impression that the working domain of instructional designers is limited to eLearning. This is not true. The instructional design concept came into existence even before the invention of personal computers. E-learning or the educational technology uses the instructional design principles to enable superior understanding and enhanced learning experiences. Now that most of the training institutions have moved on to digital classrooms globally, I would like share some ideas on instructional designing for technology-enabled classroom training. These ideas will be applicable even in a traditional Instructor-led Training (ILT) program except that the supporting documents will be hard copies and not digital. The instructional design approach for a digital classroom will vary from that of the eLearning territory. The process involves development of three key documents as shown here. Facilitator’s Presentation Facilitator Guide Learner Guide (Digital Handout) Facilitator’s Presentation: In eLearning, we develop a storyboard that consists of all the elements to be used in the course such as on-screen text, narration and visualization for the course. Similarly here, we develop a presentation with the content that needs to be displayed on the screen (projector screen). The difference to note here is that unlike an eLearning storyboard, the presentation will not contain indicative images/media but the polished final ones. That is, you got to first prepare a draft storyboard and then work along with your visual designers to transform it into a fully equipped learning document. Please note thathere you need not write audio script/narration as in an eLearning storyboard. It will only include the elements that need to be shown, to the learners, on the screen. Facilitator Guide: This document is exclusive to ILTs. This is a guide we develop for the facilitator in order to conduct the session effectively. In this document, we write step by step instructions for the facilitator on the explanation to be given for each screen in the presentation. This is similar to the narration/audio script we write for an eLearning storyboard except that here you have a facilitator reading it out for the learners in a live session. Please note that along with the explanation for the on-screen content, you should also provide any additional information that would be required by the facilitator in cases that are specific to classroom training. For example, in an eLearning course, the learner will be asked questions with limited options to select, and according to his selection, an immediate feedback is displayed. But, this is not the case in a classroom training program. The possibilities to answers, given the learners, are many. Therefore, you need to provide the facilitator, the possible responses to be expected from the learners and the feedback to be given for each. This would help him deliver the learning smoothly. Learner Guide/Digital Handout: This is a simple document prepared to enable the learner record his learning from the sessions. In this document, you will provide any information that will help the learner better understand the training during the session. You will also provide space in the document for recording his learning (key points) for every topic. Also, any activities or tests to be performed by the learner are to be recorded in this document and at the end of the session be forwarded to the facilitator for evaluation. With the evolution of technology, the way people learn things is changing. It is important to remember that educational technology is only a supporting medium to enhance learning experiences, but the learning theories and instructional principles stand as the foundation pillars to effective learning even today. What are your views on this? What are your ideas for using instructional design in digital classrooms? Please share your views in the comments section below. Thanks for reading. Happy eLearning!! Related PostsWhat Exactly Should an ID do to Develop an Effective E-learning Course?What Does it Take to Convert Classroom Training Material into E-learning?8 Must Have Elements in an E-learning Course

Lectora Inspire V11 Tutorial: Publishing to ReviewLink with Lectora V11 e-Learning Software This Lectora Inspire V11 Tutorial presents how to publish your e-Learning courses to ReviewLink for seamless e-Learning review with your team. Online collaboration has never been easier. The post Lectora Inspire V11 Tutorial: Publishing to ReviewLink with Lectora V11 e-Learning Software appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

Enhancing Metacognition in eLearning: What eLearning Professionals Should Know Metacognition involves not just having knowledge and being able to cognitively process information, but being able to control these mental processes. This typically involves modification, monitoring, and organization of the information in order to apply it in real world settings. Metacognition also focuses on analyzing a challenge or task to determine which problem solving approach would be the most effective. One of the most significant advantages of using metacognition in eLearning is that it encourages learners to become more independent and empowered. They must identify their strengths and weaknesses, and fine tune their study, organization, problem-solving, and communication skills. In this article, I’ll delve into the categories of metacognition, its best practices, and I’ll share 5 tips that will help you use metacognition in eLearning. Metacognitive Knowledge vs. Metacognitive Regulation Based upon the research of Flavell (1979, 1987) and Schraw& Dennison (1994), metacognition involves 2 distinct elements: knowledge and regulation. Metacognitive Knowledge is the information that learners actually know about themselves, as well as the various problem-solving approaches that can be used, and what is required to complete a particular learning activity. Flavell also states that metacognitive knowledge involves three key variables: Self-awareness. Learners’ capacity to recognize and acknowledge their own strengths and weaknesses during the learning process. Task analysis. What learners already know or can learn about the task at-hand, as well as what they will need to successfully complete the task. For instance, they may understand that a complex problem will require more time and critical thinking skills. Selection of strategy. The strategies and problem-solving approaches that learners already have at their disposal to complete the task. For example, they might read through the research material before answering a set of questions or engage in an online scenario before completing the same process in real-world settings. Metacognitive Regulation refers to how well learners are able to modify their mental processes in order to take control of their learning experience. For instance, they might fine tune their post-evaluation process, plan more effectively, or re-evaluate their learning goals to prepare for the next learning activity. Best Practices To Enhance Metacognitive Skills According to Fogarty (1994), in order to enhance their metacognitive skills learners must participate in the three different phases of metacognition, which are: Creating a study plan. Learners should create a study plan before beginning any learning task. Monitoring their comprehension. Learners must be able to monitor their understanding and comprehension throughout the task, making adjustments as needed. Evaluating. After the task has been completed learners should evaluate their learning processes and determine how they can improve. 5 Instructional Design Tips To Enhance Metacognition in eLearning Integrate a wide range of skills and subjects. In the real world learners will need to be able to apply their metacognitive abilities in a wide range of situations and settings. As such, you will want to integrate a wide range of skills and subjects into your eLearning course design, so that your learners can fine tune their metacognitive talents by completing diverse learning tasks. Model the metacognitive process. Leading by example is one of the most effective ways to encourage metacognition in your learners. Create a tutorial or video presentation that showcases the metacognitive process. State the problem or question in the beginning of the presentation; then guide them through the steps you would use to solve it. Be as detailed as possible and include every mistake they could make along the way, as mistakes can serve as invaluable teaching tools as well. Give them control. Allow students to take control of their own eLearning experience by giving them freedom of choice. Give them the ability to choose what projects to complete, when, as well as which topics they would like to explore. By doing this, you generate authentic interest, rather than forcing them to master a particular subject. They are also more likely to use their critical thinking, analysis, and creative thinking skills to solve the problem if they were the ones who chose to tackle the problem themselves. Review, identify, and evaluate. At the end of every eLearning activity, encourage your students to review, identify, and evaluate the process. Ask them to review the eLearning activity, itself, including their personal opinions about it. Then ask them to identify the strategies they utilized and why they chose these strategies, before evaluating their overall performance and assessing their strengths and weaknesses throughout the task. Encourage learners to differentiate what they know from what they need to know. The main goal of any eLearning experience is to fill the learning gap, whatever or however large that gap might be. Before each eLearning activity encourage your learners to determine what they currently know and what they need to learn by the end of the task. This might be developing specific skills or acquiring new information. Once they have completed the task, have them evaluate their original statements in order to determine if they have achieved their individual goals. You can also ask them to modify or add to their statements throughout the eLearning activity if necessary. Metacognition gives your learners the ability to self-regulate and self-reflect, whether they have the skills and information they need to tackle challenges in and out of the virtual classroom. You can utilize these tips and best practices to develop metacognition in eLearning and benefit your online learners by facilitating their learning process and helping them to achieve better results. Using metacognition in eLearning can empower your audience, but they must also first have the motivation and drive to become active participants. The article Intrinsic Motivation In Online Training features 6 top tips to help you bring intrinsic motivation into your online learning environment. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

When most of us think about product training, we tend to think about the training programs provided for sales people to stay ahead of competitors. But, this type of training is given not only to sales people, but also to other audiences who need product training. Firstly, it should be provided to technicians to equip them with knowledge of every part of a product and its working. This helps them provide better service and ensure customer satisfaction. Another important audience who should be trained on your products is customers. A good training program provides the basic knowledge of your products, their usage and benefits, which goes a long way in building loyal customers. But, we all know that product training doesn’t end once you provide training to all of them. To be successful, you have to make sure that it is effective, engaging and provided "in sync" with product launches. Increased competition and rapid proliferation of products are dramatically altering the corporate landscape. But, does classroom training help you in overcoming these challenges in product training? Well, you might end up with less attendees, as sales people spend most of their time in meeting prospects. It is difficult to gather them for every new product launch. So, how do you overcome these challenges? How does technology help you cross these hurdles in product training? To provide you with the answers, we’ve created the following presentation. Flip through it to learn how to develop your own successful online product training course. Hope you find it useful. Please do share your views. Related PostsCreative Ways to Present Click on Tab Interactivity in E-learning Courses - An InfographicType of Training Required for Service StaffWhy E-learning Is A Viable Option to Impart Product training? [Infographic]

The iPad is a device which has radically changed the corporate world. According to the Mac Observer, 94 percent of the Fortune 500 companies are either testing or deploying iPads for various business purposes. It also reported that nearly 70% of global companies are using these devices. These advanced mobile devices offer fast and easy access to information, which no other device can provide. We even find many applications in the domain of learning. The tools used for developing online training programs for the iPad are Lectora, Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, iSpring etc. Any mLearning course can be developed using these tools. Well, here are the 5 aspects that need to be considered to design the perfect course for the iPad. Hope you find the post interesting. Please do share your views. Related PostsMaking E-learning Courses Mobile: 5 Aspects to Consider - An InfographicBest Practices for Developing M-learning Courses - An InfographicAssessment Strategy for M-learning

JoomlaLMS Webinar: Learn More About The Main Tools of JoomlaLMS In this JoomlaLMS Webinar you’ll get a substantial insight into core JoomlaLMS features that will allow you to start building your own eLearning portal. To be more specific, the JoomlaLMS Webinar covers the following topics: JoomlaLMS Home page. Organization of course material in JoomlaLMS. Learner’s performance management in JoomlaLMS. Communication tools in JoomlaLMS. Teacher/Student mode. Users management by teacher. Social tools and JoomlaLMS. The post JoomlaLMS Webinar: Learn More About The Main Tools of JoomlaLMS appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

When you google the words ‘eLearning vendor’, you will come across many websites. Each website contains a lot of information, and sometimes, it may be misleading. Moreover, you might be busy or have no time to go through all the content to check the credibility of the vendor. Here is an info-graphic which lists 7 things you need to check on a vendor’s website. It helps you know the capability of the vendor within minutes. Hope you find this post useful. Please do share your views. Related PostsE-learning Outsourcing - Free E-bookE-learning Outsourcing-What Should You Look For in a Partner’s Website?5 Tips to Select the Right eLearning Outsourcing Vendor Partner

Google for Education Video Tutorial: Teacher Tips- Using the research tool within Docs to quickly add citations This Google for Education Video Tutorial presents how to Use the research tool in Google docs to add citations simply and easily. The post Google for Education Video Tutorial: Teacher Tips- Using the research tool within Docs to quickly add citations appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

We still remember things that we have learned during our childhood. We remember many incidents that happened long ago. But, there are some instances where we don’t remember things. This,most probably, happens during education. Being a human being, it’s quite natural to forget things. So, the situations which we experienced long back may or may not be remembered. But as eLearning designers, it’s our responsibility to create a course which enables the learner to remember and recall even at the workplace. Do you know how to present the content in very "sticky" manner? Well, here are 4 tips to create an engaging eLearning course,so that the learner can recall information easily in any situation. Hope you find the post interesting. Please do share your views. Related Posts4 Tips for Developing E-learning Course Using Rapid Authoring Tools5 Ways to Make E-learning Interesting - An Infographic7 Tips To Create Effective Sales Training Courses For Gen Y Workforce - An Infographic

Lectora Inspire V11 Tutorial: Publishing e-Learning Courses with Lectora V11 e-Learning Software This Lectora Inspire V11 Tutorial presents how Lectora Inspire V11 e-Learning software makes it easy to publish mobile-friendly e-learning courses to smartphones and tablets or to your LMS. The post Lectora Inspire V11 Tutorial: Publishing e-Learning Courses with Lectora V11 e-Learning Software appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

In this blog, I wish to share my experience on how I developed an interesting course though it had technical content. This course on finance was a challenge for a non-financial person like me. Initially, it panicked me as I have no idea about finance. But, as an instructional designer, my approach towards this project was more on "educating not teaching". For this, I did a lot of content comprehension to educate myself before I educate others. We will now see how I faced this challenge and accomplished my goal. We received a new project from a leading electronic manufacturing company, which offered me a challenge on educating its employees on "Understanding the Profit and Loss Statement (P&L)". No surprise, I was shocked when I heard that it was a finance related course. Somehow I started comprehending it, and no wonder, it was just Greek and Latin to me. Firstly, I just had a glance and then started a thorough comprehension, and to my wonder, I understood it to some extent by which I could start my storyboarding with no doubts. The question that was hitting my mind all the time was how do I visualize it. Adding a P&L statement and text on the screen with a narrator in the background - is it not the same old idea? Then, what is the point in thinking so much about the course that will not help the learner in any way or cannot educate him. Then, I thought of making a rough prototype which could help me visualize the content. After making a lot of trials, there came an idea of introducing two friendly-looking 2D characters which can be represented as a finance executive and a new hire, where the executive will educate the employee on the P&L statement. The entire course moves around the conversation between the employee and the executive. There were questions arising from the hire, and the executive would answer all of his questions. This is how the course was made more interesting, leaving the old-fashioned visualization behind. This was something unique compared to the other courses that I did before. I added friendly words such as wow, that’s good, well done etc. that made the course appear like a general conversation between the two characters. The course was made interesting, by using the characters and narration in a friendly tone and a conversation that does not overload the learner but gets him involved in the course with all fun and interest. Here are the sample screenshots of the visualization I used for the prototype. The best part of this course was the office background which gave the actual look and feel of an office. It created an environment and a feeling of reality, which helped in enhancing the learner’s knowledge. Adding these 2D characters with a good narration gained the attention of the learner. It shows that this kind of visualization with characters is ideal for presenting technical content effectively. The aim behind this approach was not just to create the look and feel with rich graphics but to educate the learner about the P&L statement in a simple way without any ‘excess load’ and make him get involved in a fun-filled manner. A sample screenshot for presenting the P&L statement. This screenshot shows what the executive is teaching the new hire. This course had all the standards that we generally use in our courses such as formative assessments, exercises etc., with the same kind of visualization to make him more engaged. What will you do if you have to make a technical course interesting? Do not panic, use characters with a good narration and get it a conversational flow; it will make your course look good, enhance the learner’s knowledge and add fun though the content is dry. If you have any views about this blog post, please do share them with us. Related PostsMaking E-learning Courses Mobile: 5 Aspects to Consider - An Infographic4 Reasons Why Articulate Storyline Is Ideal to Develop CurriculaChallenges in Designing Technical Training Programs