One of the largest NHS Trusts providing community, mental health, learning disability and social care services in England is transforming its workplace training with 13 new elearning modules aimed at helping to improve safety and free up more time for staff to spend with patients. Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, which covers much of Hampshire and beyond, is working with elearning specialist, Sponge UK to develop the modules covering a range of topics including health and safety, infection prevention control, safeguarding and the Mental Health Act.Southern Health is believed to be one of the first NHS Trusts of its kind to provide elearning relating to the receipt and scrutiny of statutory forms under the Mental Health Act.The innovative elearning modules will incorporate games, video and workplace scenarios to make them as engaging and effective as possible.Moving aspects of essential training online will help cut down on the amount of time Trust staff spend travelling to face-to-face training sessions and free up more time for patient care.Associate Director for Education at Southern Health, Bobby Moth, said:"Our aim is to provide a high quality, engaging and flexible training experience where staff want to learn, which also allows us to give back more time to frontline clinical care.  We’re hoping that something in the region of 3,500 classroom attendances plus associated travel time will be freed up as a result of these new elearning modules, so you can see the impact this could have, in terms of giving back more time for staff to spend with patients."The elearning is aimed at around 7,500 staff including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, health visitors and support workers who deliver services from over 200 sites. Managing Director of Sponge UK, Louise Pasterfield, said:"Southern Health is leading the way in terms of training innovation for health professionals. The modules are highly interactive and will set new standards in terms of the overall learning experience for staff.  By using the latest game techniques, the training will be bought to life in a fun and engaging way, and help to reinvigorate attitudes to workplace learning."The new elearning is currently in production and is due to be rolled out to staff later this year. The post NHS Trust frees up more time for patient care with new elearning appeared first on Sponge UK.

In Part 1, Instructional Designer, Brayley Pearce takes us through engagement, emotion and empowerment in elearning.Be guided through the elearning process with practical tips for L&D professionals and learning designers at each stage.Part 2 will complete the journey by discussing the learning environment, ways to excite learners and how to evaluate the course.E is for EngageEngage with learners to create a deeper, richer & more meaningful elearning experienceImagine a dream elearning launch scenario…The CEO is behind it, the finance department have signed it off and the subject matter experts (SMEs) and HR have all agreed to the content; The line-managers who’ll be responsible for overseeing the launch are behind the initiative.But did anyone ask the learners? Really ask them?As an instructional designer, with a background in business psychology, I firmly believe there’s great value in getting learners engaged with the process of creating elearning courses.One of Knowles principles of adult learning (andragogy) is to get adults involved in the planning of their learning. Often, however, the first time learners engage with any workplace learning is when they sit down and begin the training. Ask potential learners what they need to do their job better/quicker/more effectively  A quick search on Google throws up thousands of results about the questions you should ‘ask yourself about the learners’ but precious little about how to actually work with your learners when designing elearning.Each organisation’s learning strategies are as different as learners are from each other, but here are some ideas to get you started:Talk to the learners (not their managers)Ask potential learners what they need to do their job better/quicker/more effectively. You may be surprised to find its not knowledge they need, but motivation, certain skills or another type of support.Why bother? Training (elearning included) should be tailored to deliver what the learner actually needs, not what the organisation thinks they need.Test the content, design and interactionsTest the course on learners, before and during the design process. Designers can have a very different perspective on a course to that of learners. Find out that content, interactions or imagery and graphics are not delivering the learning experience the learner wants early on.Why bother? Save costs and time in reviews and mistakes by highlighting issues early on. The result? Training based on the learner’s learning desires. Designers can have a very different perspective on a course to that of learners Getting the learner to engage with your elearning once you’ve launched is just as important, something we covered in our blog about using marketing techniques to get the word out about your elearning.Engagement once you’re into the course itself leads us to the next of our E’s:E is for EmotionHow do you want the learner to feel after they finish the elearning?One of the most powerful things you can do as an instructional designer is to make the learner feel something. Harnessing emotion keeps people interested and helps them remember better.That’s why in content meetings one of the first questions I ask is "how do you want the learner to feel once they have completed the elearning experience?"SMEs, HR and managers may not have been in the learner’s job role for a while (or possibly ever) and this question can get those in the room thinking more holistically about what is they want to achieve with the learning.Adding emotional outcomes, as well as learning outcomes, to a design brief can also help ID’s and designers in their work. It can help them focus on content, interactions and imagery that can help deliver the appropriate emotional connection.Create emotional outcomesWriting down words or phrases that you feel are important for a learner to feel when they complete the learning helps to focus the content. It may be worth writing all the feelings and emotions you DON’T want the learner to feel too!Why Bother?  A positive emotional reaction to the learning is vital for the learner to feel motivated to put into practice what they learn.You can test the emotional reactions to content and images by engaging the learner during the design process (sounds familiar…)Now we’ve connected with the learner emotionally, it’s time to get engaged emotionally with the third e of elearning….E is for Empowering75% of learners want to be able to do their job faster and better, next time you participate in any training or learning experience, ask the facilitator: "What am I going to do better/faster/more effectively after this training?"This is a valid question for learners to ask (and I encourage you to do so). But why? Adult learners want to know how workplace learning and training will (positively) impact their ability to perform their job.However, as an instructional designer, I feel it’s my role to find a better way to help the learner establish this. I believe that to be empowering, the elearning must clearly communicate the benefits of completing the learning within the module.Easy. Just list the learning objectives (preferably in bullet point form) in the introduction.But these are most often written from the point of view of the organisation, and not from the learners’ perspective. Adding an emotional attachment to the learning benefits will help engage the learner on a deeper level.An example; which of the following resonates more deeply with you;After this training you will:Be able to locate all the fire exits OR Increase your safety by locating all the fire exitsUsually it’s left to the learning objectives and these are normally just a list of outcomes written from the organisations point-of-view; it needs all its staff to be able to locate all the fire exits… (and rightly so)… But for the learner, they want to increase their safety… and it’s through empowering them with the knowledge of where those fire exits are, that they will achieve this. Empower the learner with the benefits they’ll gain by doing the training, instead of listing the learning objectives Flipping the learning objectives to emotive learning benefits that resonate emotionally with the learner, is one way to get them engaged. But how can we make it memorable?Part 2 of the 6 e’s of elearning will explain the learning environment, how to make learning exciting and how to evaluate your elearning.Author: Brayley Pearce, Instructional Designer, Sponge UKDiscuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post The 6 e’s of elearning - Part 1 appeared first on Sponge UK.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Considering applying for a role in elearning but worried about your lack of experience?Don’t be. Scriptwriter, Lewis Edwards, suggests it might just be a good thing…If you’ve got experience in other industries and sectors you might be surprised to see how well you fit into the elearning industry.Take my background before joining elearning company, Sponge UK. I’ve already been a journalist, a teacher and even a footballer after leaving school at the age of 16 to join the ranks at Plymouth Argyle.After finding myself on the scrapheap of failed professional footballers, I enrolled on a Sports Media and Journalism degree at the University of St Mark and St John in Plymouth. This led to roles within the local media before I took up a position as a teaching assistant and then, as a course tutor on a TV and film course at Plymouth College of Art while studying for my PGCE teaching qualification.At first, I found it somewhat of an oddity that these broad range of roles could help prepare me for life as a scriptwriter. But at each interview stage for my new job at Sponge UK, I started to realise how, possibly, it was an advantage.The combination of media and teacher training has amalgamated and shaped my transferable skills. I can draw upon my writing ability to contextualise the educational practises and theories I implement in the modules we create. With each passing day, I dip into my tool bag of skills collected from past experiences to tackle elearning tasks.Ask yourself: ‘What could you bring from a polar opposite career to a job in elearning?’I genuinely enjoy my role here at Sponge UK. I could be writing scripts for a game or a video shoot in the morning, then, in the afternoon, be part of a cross-Atlantic call with a client to discuss a new elearning project.Don’t’ let your reservations about being new to elearning put you off a job in the sector.Everyone, at some point in their life, has been taught something. Some, may have had bad experiences of education, others have fonder memories. That’s the beauty of learning, not everyone absorbs and responds to information in the same way. Each person who brings an idea or experience into Sponge is valued, no matter what their background.As a newbie, you’re not alone. There’s an eclectic mix of creative people at Sponge UK, many with a wide experience outside the elearning industry. This only adds to the bank of knowledge that everyone benefits from thanks to our healthy social learning environment.  And, to be honest, the ‘freshness’ of a new employee is a highly-prized perspective. While in other professions it might be regarded as a hindrance, at Sponge UK, being able to draw upon a wide skill set from a range of backgrounds is heralded.What’s more, it’s great to know all your colleagues are more than happy to lend some brain cells when you need inspiration, which is something of a rarity compared to some other company cultures I’ve been exposed to. With the wide spectrum of clients we work with, drawing on this breadth of background often provides the ‘hook’ that helps learners connect with the content.So, make the most of what you have to offer and sing it proudly.Find out more about joining the ever-expanding hive of activity here at Sponge UK.Author: Lewis Edwards, Scriptwriter, Sponge UK The post From footballer to elearning scriptwriter appeared first on Sponge UK.

Retailers are among the most innovative when it comes to elearning, but what can they teach the National Health Service (NHS) about harnessing learning technologies?Despite the obvious differences, there are common challenges and some of the elearning practices being used in the retail sector could help deliver change for the health service.Retail is leading the way in the use of elearning to deliver tangible business benefits. According to the Towards Maturity Retail Sector Benchmark Report, retailers score much better than the private sector for the impact their elearning has on learners. They are using it to cut costs, increase productivity, improve quality, enhance customer service and retain good staff. The way they do this could offer lessons for NHS trusts grappling with similar challenges.Here are some retail innovations that could work equally well for the NHS and other healthcare providers:Just-in-timeJust-in-time elearning allows employees to access training at the moment they need it most. Within retail this can work well to help sales staff stay on top of information in a rapidly changing environment, for example getting to grips with new product lines. It can help knowledge retention rates because there is only a small gap between learning and doing. To be effective, just-in-time elearning needs to short and focused; a lengthy module would defeat the object of in the moment training. It’s a strategy that could benefit NHS staff who need to refresh their training frequently or keep up to date with changes.Pre-inductionAlso called pre-boarding, this is the practice of providing part of an induction training programme BEFORE new employees start work. For retailers, this strategy cuts down on the time it takes for new recruits to get up to speed and helps them feel more prepared for their new role. Research suggests that companies with pre-induction are 11% more likely to retain staff in their first year than businesses without pre-induction. Elearning is ideal way to deliver pre-induction training because it can be accessed remotely and completed using a variety of devices. With recruitment and retention problems in certain healthcare roles, pre-induction may be worth considering for some areas of the NHS. Sports Direct - Pre-induction New starters with the high street and online retailer must complete the initial section of the induction elearning so they are familiar with the company in advance of their first day at work. Find out more about the elearning developed for Sports Direct by Sponge UK. Bring Your Own DeviceAround 80% of retailers are using some form of mobile learning to overcome problems with IT access for learners. The most innovative companies in the sector are experimenting with a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy that allows employees to complete elearning on their own laptop, tablet or smartphone. This creates maximum flexibility for staff to learn using familiar technology and helps overcome issues around device access. It’s a particularly helpful strategy where employees are not office-based whether that’s on the shop floor or in a warehouse. Similarly, BYOD may be a solution for health service workers who are based in the community.GamesElearning games are being used by some retailers to address specific business issues through spaced practice learning - helping employees absorb what they need to know through replaying a learning game regularly. Games are also a way of motivating staff to complete a module. For an organisation such as the NHS where there is a great deal of mandatory training, elearning games can contribute to a compliant workplace by boosting engagement levels. Waitrose - Games The leading supermarket chain has included an elearning game challenge to help staff learn the rules around selling age restricted items. Find out more about the game approach developed for Waitrose by Sponge UK. Because Sponge UK has more than ten years’ experience working with large retailers as well as NHS trusts across the country, we’re uniquely placed to help organisations learn from each other and share the best elearning practices.Get in touch for some new ideas before you start your next elearning project. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post 4 elearning tricks the NHS could borrow from retail appeared first on Sponge UK.

The team behind the award-winning Adapt responsive technology will be answering questions on multi-device elearning at the first ever Adapt Hangout.Adapt is a free and easy to use elearning authoring tool that creates fully responsive, multi-device, HTML5 elearning content using the open source Adapt framework.Established in 2013 and developed by a collaborative team, Adapt allows people to create single version content that works across multiple types of devices.   Some of the project leaders are coming together to answer questions about the technology in a discussion hosted on Google Hangouts.The panel will include Adapt’s Project Lead and Kineo’s Technical Director Sven Laux, CEO of Learning Pool Paul McElvaney and Sponge UK’s Games Developer Jason Butler.Jason Butler of Sponge UK said:"Adapt is changing the elearning landscape and making multi-device learning a reality for more and more organisations. We’re using the technology to create responsive learning solutions that can meet the needs of large global businesses and their employees. As well as creating a new customised look and feel for the framework, we’re also working to expand its gamification capabilities and range of interactions."The Hangout is a chance to ask questions about the Adapt framework, how it works, the progress of the new authoring tool, the advantages of open source development and the organisational benefits of using Adapt.Paul McElvaney of Learning Pool said:"We’ve been heavily involved in the Adapt project from the start and our focus has been on creating Adapt Builder. I’m hoping to share how this development has significantly changed our business by reshaping the development workflow and encouraging creativity. I can also explain our continued plans for developing this exciting new product as an open source endeavour."Aimed at L&D professionals, instructional designers and elearning developers, the Hangout is the first of its kind to bring together some of the key figures behind the world’s leading open source responsive framework.    The Adapt Hangout will take place on Tuesday, October 6 from 12:00 to 12:30 (BST) via Sponge UK’s YouTube channel or Google+.People can submit questions in advance by email to communications@spongeuk.com or via Twitter @Sponge_UK and @AdaptLearning.              The post Adapt Hangout lifts the lid on multi-device elearning appeared first on Sponge UK.

How games work to increase engagement and how they fit into workplace elearning are among the questions being answered at a free seminar at the World of Learning exhibition and conference.The learning workshop hosted by Louise Pasterfield, Managing Director at Sponge UK, will offer L&D managers and professionals an overview of elearning games and real-life examples of how organisations are using them to boost learner engagement.World of Learning takes place at NEC Birmingham on September 29-30 and features live workshops, free seminars, 120 exhibitors and a highly respected conference.   Louise Pasterfield said:"I’ll be breaking down what it is about elearning games that engages learners. I’d like to show people the sheer variety of elearning games available and how they can be used to target specific learning challenges or develop particular skills. As with all our seminars, you’ll be able to see lots of real examples of the work we are doing for major global businesses including an interactive video project that is helping train managers in how to deal with difficult conversations."Sponge UK is an award-winning elearning provider specialising in bespoke elearning solutions for large organisations.The free seminar is called How to boost engagement with elearning games and takes place in Theatre 2, 12.15-12.45pm on Tuesday, September 29. Entry to the World of Learning 2015 exhibition is free with registration available at https://venturemarketinggroup.circdata-solutions.co.uk/rfg/publish/WOLE15/The post Boosting engagement with games at World of Learning appeared first on Sponge UK.

Learning expert, Clive Shepherd shares his views on the skills gap in L&D, blended learning and creating compelling content.Clive has pretty much done it all in the world of elearning. He started as a Learning and Development (L&D) manager at a big corporate before co-founding the elearning company, Epic.Now a freelance consultant, he’s one of the industry’s most influential writers. His latest book, More Than Blended Learning is the culmination of a decade of work and sets out his vision for strategic learning design in the workplace. In this exclusive interview, he shares his thinking on a range of topics from the L&D skills gap to compelling content.What are the barriers that stop organisations creating successful blended learning?Some people are doing quite well so it’s not that there are dramatic problems. I think that people have a very narrow view of what blended learning is which doesn’t help. At a very simplistic level, a lot of people see it as a way of just reducing the cost of your classroom training by offsetting some of it into some other medium, typically online. That’s okay as a start but it misses the point that blended learning is not just a cheaper version of what you had before, it’s a much more effective version. So I think the barriers are both awareness and the capability of learning professionals. An awful lot of them are either in denial or don’t understand the opportunities that they have and there is a massive skills gap which is really holding us back.How serious is the skills gap and what needs to be done to address it?It’s a big issue. I think what’s holding back a complete change in the way that corporate learning is designed and delivered is not the readiness of organisations (although some are obviously more ready than others), but the willingness and capability of learning professionals to make it happen. Many of them just haven’t been orientated properly into what is possible with learning media and what the new thinking is in terms of learning design. I suppose it’s because a lot of learning professionals are afraid of the whole process, they think it’s technical and beyond them, they hide away from it. But when you can actually break through, and I do a lot of capability building work with them, they are absolutely fine though you do realise what a barrier there has been.Video: Clive on the L&D skills gapYou recently wrote about the art of media chemistry in learning design - can you explain what you mean?It’s a very simple idea and not a huge concept. I did write a ‘mini book’ about it about four years ago. It’s about getting content designers much more aware of why they are using each of the basic elements of all digital media, which you could regard as being text, still images - whether that’s photographs, illustrations or diagrams, speech, music, animation, video and possibly 3D. They must be very savvy about why they are using them and how they are using them rather than indiscriminately plastering them all over a programme with the idea that more is better. There are all sorts of ridiculous ideas people have about stimulating all the senses and all that sort of stuff which is largely nonsense. Yes, we want to be able to make use of the eyes and the ears on certain occasions but it’s not really about senses it’s about what’s the best way of conveying a particular message.Video: Clive expands on his theory of media chemistryWhat is the most important thing to remember when trying to create compelling learning content?I think there are actually six characteristics. I’ve just finished a blog series on this and I’m about to start doing some presentations on the subject, so it’s very much on my mind at the moment.Here are the six characteristics as I see them:A compelling concept - An idea where there is a real demand, an idea for content that will motivate people to use it in the first place, something relevant, practical and not too long.A compelling structure - So much digital content is really slow to get going so it’s got to start by really engaging people in terms of lifting the emotional level of interest and end with a call to action.Compelling use of media - Certain media combinations are compelling and certain ones put you off, so that comes back to the media chemistry issue I talked about earlier.Compelling copy or writing - You have to write in a way that is compelling not in corporate drone as if the content is written by the legal department - it’s about personality in the writing.Compelling stories - Your content needs to be liberally spread with stories whether they are scenarios, examples or demonstrations.Compelling challenges - These need to be stretching but reachable tasks or interactions within the content.     Clive Shepherd has written several books about workplace learning design and strategy. For more details visit www.morethanblended.com or his blog www.clive-shepherd.blogspot.co.uk. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post ‘A massive skills gap is holding us back’ appeared first on Sponge UK.

Great teams are not enough, they have to be able to work together. Creating effective elearning requires many different skills and collaboration between team members is crucial to success.Collaborating effectively should be part of every day at all organisations. The apps and technologies have come a long way in recent years and it pays to be aware of the various options you have.Here we present our 5 favourite collaboration tools, perfect if you’re looking for some inspiration for your own L&D team’s workflow.SlackCommunication is key, making it quick and easy to get in touch with any other member of the organisation can make a huge difference.With flexibility and powerful extension capabilities, Slack allows colleagues to interact with each other and the various other tools they use more easily.Creating groups for different teams is easy and provides a great way to get input from a team of people quickly and efficiently.You can integrate many different services and tools with Slack, allowing you to get real time twitter updates in your messaging application, or share Google documents easily amongst a team.We’ve talked about how we use Slack and how it can be part of the natural social learning strategy at your organisation in our webinar "A well bee-hived workplace: Learning socially from nature".  "Slack is a messaging tool, a file sharing tool, a community tool… we are able to come to meetings more prepared and have an understanding of the holistic points of view from everyone within the group because we’re creating communities." Brayley Pearce, Instructional Designer DropboxAll elearning projects involve digital files; Dropbox has become one of the most popular services for storing and synchronising all types of files across multiple devices and locations.Having the right files available when you need them makes for better collaboration. Dropbox stores your files in the cloud and synchronises them across all your devices automatically.If you use a connected device like a Samsung Galaxy camera for photos and video in the office, you can upload straight from the camera to a Dropbox account, internet of things style.The latest update to the service gives you a team option, making it clear that Dropbox is focused on making collaboration even easier in the future.  "Everyone knows and trusts a Dropbox link, which is important when you’re sharing sensitive files." Chris Houlden, Digital Marketing Executive Toms plannerProject managers need something simple and effective to manage their team’s time. Tom’s planner is an easy to use Gantt chart style web app.In an area like project management you have so many different tools available it’s easy to let analysis paralysis set in. The immediate availability of a cloud based tool like Tom’s planner reduces the barriers to trying it out.Having an application online makes it easy for multiple people to update and view a chart. Project managers can create or edit work for various teams and make it available for everyone to view easily and quickly.It’s important to have a scalable solution for this kind of tool. Having your tool grow with the company is an essential requirement for a modern application.Finding the right tool for the job might involve testing out a variety of options before finding the best option for you. Thankfully it’s never been easier to try out the different tools available.  "Tom’s planner makes it easy to schedule people’s time. Any changes made to a project are immediately available to everyone involved so even if circumstances change we’re all on the same page."Richie Harrison, Project Manager PinterestAll creative teams need some inspiration, and Pinterest is a great way to collect images based on a theme together.The real strength of Pinterest for inspiration gathering is that it’s so easy to collaborate.Group boards are an integral part of the Pinterest ecosystem and they can help you gather ideas that will drive the design for your project forward.You can create private boards for confidential projects so you can control who can see your inspirational content.Consistently being ranked in the top 15 social media sites also has its advantages, ensuring that the mobile apps and website is cross platform compatible and up to date.Pinterest is most useful for visual design teams who can easily collect a searchable archive of images on a theme for inspiration in a project.  "The design department will often collect ideas for elements of a design on Pinterest. Collecting images in themed boards that anyone can contribute to makes finding inspiration much easier."Glen Harling, Senior Designer InvisionDesigns go through many iterations with input from instructional designers, developers and clients. Traditionally this process resulted in many versions of files with associated notes from various different teams.Invision takes your original design files and allows you to create interactive prototypes that are updated automatically when the original source file is saved. Comments are easily added by anyone with access to the link and revisions of the files can be saved at every staged for reference throughout the process.Recent news from Invision will be especially useful to people who are also using Slack, with updates from Invision projects automatically being added to Slack chats.  "Invision has increased collaboration in so many ways. From sharing early design concepts with the wider team, to sharing with end clients for review. The comment system keeps everything in one place and clients particularly love the ability to pinpoint areas of a design they want to give feedback on." Paul Messenger, Senior Designer Collaboration is always going to be a part of business, technology is making it easier and more efficient every day. Issues that could have held you back a year ago can now be overcome with free web apps.In a fast changing industry like elearning using the smartest technology and services helps give the best experience for your customers. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post Top 5 collaboration tools appeared first on Sponge UK.

 Elearning games come in all shapes and sizes and they can deliver different benefits in terms of learning and skills development.But what are the different types of elearning games and how do they fit into workplace training?Defining elearning games is proving tricky for the Learning and Development (L&D) world.First of all, we are still struggling with the definition of gamification in learning after years of discussion on the subject. Thankfully, Professor Karl M. Kapp has done a pretty good job of pinning it down in his recent blog post, An Elusive Definition.Secondly, there is a hang up about the difference between gamification and elearning games. This useful graphic helps to compare some of the characteristics.Pinning down these definitions can be helpful to aid our understanding of gamification in learning and elearning games, but dwelling on them can be counterproductive. Pigeonholing elearning games as a specific genre risks overlooking one of their key benefits within learning - their broad range and scope.So when someone asks to see a typical elearning game, it is very difficult to represent what is possible with a single example. Instead, we’ve picked out six types of elearning games that are particularly useful for workplace learning.Elearning game typesRole-playing gamesIn this type of game learners take on the role of a character, usually the protagonist. The character might be represented as an avatar or the game may be constructed from the learner’s point of view (PoV). The game has a strong narrative and the learner must complete tasks or make decision in the role of the character. Role-playing elearning games are useful in the workplace to support customer service, soft skills training or empathy development. Timed gamesWorking against the clock adds to the challenge and some elearning games are specifically designed to make the most of the time element. Playing against a timer can stretch learners and adds a new dimension to learning tasks. Timed elearning games work well in compliance training to boost engagement or where employees have to make quick decisions.Decision gamesThese require learners to make a set of decisions to move through the game. There may be an optimum set of options but there can also be ambiguity with no perfect decision possible. Often, learners will be able to replay and see what would happen if they made a different decisions. Again, a strong narrative is important. Decision games lend themselves well to leadership training and other soft skills development.Collaborative games People often focus on the competitive aspect of elearning games but they can be just as powerful as team exercises. Collaborative games may require learners to work together to complete a complex challenge or allow a single player to seek outside help to finish a game task. In the workplace, collaborative elearning games can help support team skills or act as an ice-breaker in an induction programme.Detective gamesExploring the game space and trying to solve a mystery, puzzle or challenge is the key characteristic of the detective type of elearning game. It hinges on the learner being curious and a narrative works well in this kind of elearning game. They are useful in helping to develop the problem-solving skills of employees, as well as a good way to teach aspects of compliance where observation is important.   Competitive gamesCompeting against individuals or teams not only motivates learners but can help their development by allowing them to compare their performance against others. Competitive elearning games may allow learners to check their score against colleagues in the form of a leader board or similar system. They can be useful in situations where workplace learning needs to be completed within a tight deadline or as part of a team-building challenge.So, in summary, here are six elearning games you might consider using as part of a workplace training programme:Role-play games - Where learners must take on the role of a character in the game.Timed games - Where learners must work against the clock to complete a challenge.Decision games - Where learners must choose the ‘best’ course of action or decide how to respond to a given situation.Collaborative games - Where learners must work in teams to solve a problem or complete a challenge with help from others.Detective games - Where learners must explore the game trying to solve a mystery, puzzle or challenge.Competitive games - Where learners must compete as individuals, or in teams, to score points and win the game.Of course, this is just a selection and by no means an exhaustive list. It’s also worth remembering that some elearning games combine several different types; there are no hard and fast rules.By embracing the variety, rather than worrying about definitions, we are more likely to use elearning games creatively and focus on what really matters - how they can aid workplace learning and development.Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post 6 types of elearning games for workplace training appeared first on Sponge UK.

The impact multi-device learning is having in the workplace and how businesses can make the most of responsive learning opportunities are among the topics being explored in a week long social media event.#Multideviceweek, hosted by award-wining elearning company, Sponge UK, will bring together experts, tips, data, blogs and articles about all aspects of multi-device learning.As part of the event, founding members of the world’s leading open source responsive framework, Adapt will be answering questions about the technology in the first ever Adapt Hangout on Tuesday, October 6.Sponge UK will also be unveiling a new elearning module on cybersecurity, built using Adapt, so people can see how the technology responds to different devices.Louise Pasterfield, Sponge UK’s Managing Director, said:"The learning landscape is changing and the idea that people will sit a desk to do their workplace training already feels outdated. Multi-device learning is on the agenda for more and more organisations and we are hoping to host a lively debate about what this means for the way we design and develop elearning. I think learners will increasingly expect to access elearning on whichever device they choose and the L&D world needs to make sure it can provide content that meets this expectation. #Multideviceweek is a way of highlighting some of the issues around responsive elearning and sharing ideas for the future, so I would encourage people to get involved."The worldwide market for mobile learning is forecast to reach $12.2 billion by 2017, which is more than double its position in 2012. As part of the event, Sponge UK will be running a poll to gauge how widespread multi-device elearning is within businesses and organisations around the world.#Multideviceweek takes place from October 5 to 9, 2015 via Twitter @Sponge_UK and across the company’s other social media channels.Anyone who would like to get involved should email communications@spongeuk.com The post Join the debate on multi-device learning appeared first on Sponge UK.

You’ve spent a long time recruiting the best people for the job, but how do you know which of your employees are performing best?It’s not just HR that need to be aware of the skills and potential of your employees. All line managers can benefit from knowing which members of their team are suited to which roles.Retaining your best employees requires careful attention and nurturing, but why is it so important to keep identify your A-players?Internal vs external recruitmentSometimes it’s not possible to source an applicant from within the organisation to fill a role, but whenever it is you should make every effort to do so.Advantages of internal promotion:Fewer applications to processKnowledge of the candidate is already good, no need for lots of researchFaster than external, interview process is quicker and easier to organiseCurrent employees are already familiar with company culture, a huge part of the settling in processMorale is boosted when an internal hire is made, it indicates career opportunities are availableBetter able to fill the position being vacated before they move up, reducing costs of lost productivityThe time for an external candidate to achieve full productivity is often underestimatedIt’s no surprise then that 42% of all positions are filled from within the organisation, making it the biggest single source of new hires.An often quoted study from 2011 confirms that external hires are paid more and perform worse than an internally promoted employees.Knowing who the best person for the job is ahead of time can speed things up even more. No application process is needed if you have the information you need to make the decision already.Bad employees are costlyDiscovering the cream of the crop can help in many ways, including highlighting the below average performers.Many companies have realised the importance of not hiring bad employees in the first place.This practice is exemplified by Zappos’ mid-training offer of $2,000 if new customer service employees quit there and then. The hope is that by ensuring that only employees who really want to be there complete your initial training you’re filtering out unengaged candidates.But sometimes an employee might be a great fit for the company culture, but missing some piece of the puzzle. Identifying different traits, both strengths and weaknesses, is essential for managers to get the best out of employees.It could be as simple as a change to the working environment, in Susan Cain’s book and Ted talk she explains the importance of allowing introverted people to work in a way that allows them to be themselves.Whether you can turn an under performing employee around or not, it’s invaluable to your management process to be able to judge how they are doing.Elearning can helpNow we know why it’s critical to know who your best employees are and what they are good at, we’re going to explore why elearning is one way to identify the top performers:TrackingUsing any modern LMS you can track your employees’ progress through courses and see results from assessments. Having objective figures on training performance allows managers to quickly discover high performers.Many LMS allow you to monitor whether staff have returned to an elearning module. Staff who are referring to their training to retain their knowledge are likely to exhibit other positive traits at work.Cross trainingIf you have a course which is designed for your sales team and one for your marketing department it’s easy to allow the target audience of each course to access the other.Known as cross-training, it can help people collaborate better and if it’s introduced on a voluntary basis it will help highlight employees who are willing to put in extra time to better learn how to best help their colleagues.ComparisonBy providing standard assessments to all members of staff it becomes much easier to directly compare individuals to the group and other individuals.Adobe’s recently launched Captivate Prime LMS makes a big deal of the ability to compare progress between employees.Whether you keep this information confidential and use it for performance reviews only or make it a part of motivating your staff is something to consider, but the value for discovering high flyers is undeniable.Self-paced learningGiving staff the opportunity to take the learning when it’s most convenient is a big plus for elearning. As a bonus for management it can help reveal who is most motivated to complete training quickly.If a deadline is set for the completion of the module you will be able to see who has decided to leave it to the last minute and who takes a more calculated approach.InteractivityElearning gives you the opportunity to get feedback from staff during or directly after the training. Hearing what employees have to say about the course can really help you find the people who are asking the right questions.Beyond feedback there are many LMS’s that allow learners themselves to create and share content about the training. Giving staff the chance to record a video or statement which is made available to the rest of the team is a great way to get the stand out a-players.We’ve outlined the ways keeping track of your best employees can benefit your organisation and how elearning can help with the task. If you’d like to learn more about any of the ways elearning can help you get in touch.Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post Can you name your best employees? appeared first on Sponge UK.

At the start of #multideviceweek, we’re highlighting the kinds of devices your learners use to access your elearning, and you might be surprised by the results. Accessing training on a range of devices is becoming a necessity, there are more people expecting it and the benefits are growing. The costs of desktop learningLike 66% of people I use my smartphone at home, at work and in between, it’s sitting in front of my PC monitor as I write this. I might tweet a link about something I’ve read on the PC, or I might have an alert from one of the Slack or Skype groups that I use regularly for work.People now use their phones and tablets to access the internet wherever they are, and mobile-friendly courses have been around for years to take this into account.But are there any other devices being used to take elearning courses that don’t fit into the mobile phone or desktop mould?What does truly multi-device learning look like in 2015? Our research "Make sure your LMS is responsive, as your learners will use whatever devices they have to access their training." Karla Anker - LMS Support Coordinator, SpongeUK We’ve looked into the statistics from Sponge UK’s Launch&Learn LMS and pulled out some surprising devices that have been used to access elearning by real learners. Launch&Learn is a cloud based LMS which holds many different types of courses for a variety of organisations.We were surprised to discover that solid data on the specific device use is quiet hard to find.  Most statistics bundle all mobile users in together, so we’re going to dive deep into our own LMS numbers and share some data that everyone may find useful.We can assume that many staff have an android handset or an iPad which they use to access the internet. The people you need to plan for are the ones who don’t have a work PC, a modern phone or tablet.What do these people use to access the internet, and your elearning?These are the outliers, there aren’t many people using these devices for elearning, but it highlights the need to adopt a truly multi-device approach if you want to include every member of your audience. Weirdest devices Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii Now games consoles are connected to the internet they become another channel to view your online learning.The Xbox 360 was the most popular console to appear in the data.The average time spent on the LMS for games consoles was very similar to the time spent on desktop platforms, showing that people were likely to sit down and take time over their learning on their TV. Playstation Vita The only hand held console on the list is the PS Vita, with a 5 inch touch screen and decent processor you’d think that any elearning made for smart phones will work well.Unfortunately the web browser which is supplied with the PS Vita is reportedly not up to displaying HTML5 content, so it could end up being a frustrating experience. Bada and Symbian OS based phones Samsung’s phone operating system Bada didn’t take off like Google’s Android (which was a close second to iOS as the most popular mobile operating system). However the latest version, Bada 2.0 released in 2012, has all the features of a decent smart phone including support for HTML5 and multi-tasking.Symbian OS will be familiar to anyone who had high end Nokia handset pre-iPhone, think N95.There are fully featured web browsers but the app ecosystem never became as established as Android or iOS, and Nokia’s move to Windows Mobile OS saw the end of development for this platform. Series 40 - feature phone The most basic phone used to access the learning ran on Nokia’s series 40 operating system.It does have a browser but it’s very basic, supporting HTML4 only.The chances of this kind of device being used to access your elearning from the UK or US are very slim, but there are people out there who are more likely to use a 5 year old feature phone to access your elearning than a desktop PC.If you’re planning on delivering an elearning project to a wide audience in a developing country you might consider making it feature phone-friendly. Likewise, if you’re launching in Japan you might be surprised to know that flip phone sales are on the increase as smart phone sales drop.  How often do you test your elearning on a TV screen? Or with a gamepad as the only input device?Even if your course isn’t designed to be used this way it might be, and the chances are greatly increased if you don’t supply computers for your staff and especially if you employ younger people. Responsive designHow can you offer a consistent multi-device experience that can cope with all the different screen sizes and inputs that your employees can throw at it?Elearning can take a cue from web design which faces the same challenges of an ever-changing device landscape. The answer for web, and now for elearning, is responsive design; one set of content that changes it’s layout to fit best on whichever device it is being access on.Building an elearning course using a responsive approach means you can use it effectively on any device with a modern web browser.If you know the full range of devices that are going to be used to access the elearning then you can tailor the content to those devices, but our research shows that if it can access the internet it’s going to be used to access your elearning.Throughout #multideviceweek we’ll be putting out more multi-device facts and tips through Twitter, so keep an eye on the hashtag or follow @Sponge_UK . If you want to find out more about creating responsive elearning content join us on Tuesday 6th October at 12:00 midday for the Google Hangout Q&A with some of the team behind Adapt, the open source responsive elearning framework. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter  The post Multi-device elearning - The weirdest ways learners access content appeared first on Sponge UK.

Multi-device elearning may be a trendy buzzword but there are compelling reasons why businesses are adopting it as a delivery strategy.Creating elearning content that works across the widest possible range of devices can help to address some tricky enterprise challenges. It wasn’t all that long ago that if someone was online they were almost certainly using a PC or a laptop. Today, a huge range of devices and consumer goods are internet-enabled so you can’t make water-tight assumptions about how people are accessing your online content. Of course, smartphones are becoming increasingly predominant but recent research reminds us to take nothing for granted.A study of Sponge UK’s LMS, Launch&Learn reveals that learners are accessing content via 16 different operating systems, evidence of the multi-device world in which we live. For some organisations, the fact that learners are accessing content in this way is cause enough to build the case for multi-device elearning, also known as responsive elearning.But there are also specific enterprise benefits of taking a multi-device approach to elearning, depending on the challenges facing a particular organisation. Here are seven business problems where multi-device elearning could make a difference:  Rapid change or crisisSometimes there is a requirement to deliver elearning quickly and this can be a particular challenge for large, global organisations. There may be a change in direction for the company, perhaps precipitated by the appointment of a new chief executive. Or, there may be a need for swift action following a crisis affecting the reputation of the business. Either way, the speed of the training rollout is an important factor. In this situation making elearning multi-device capable is a real advantage. Employees don’t have to wait for time on a corporate device as they can get the elearning done on whatever device they have to hand. This also allows them the flexibility to complete urgent training when they have the time.  Varied workforce profile Much is written about millennials and their smartphone usage, and it’s hard to argue with the data. More than 85% of 25-35 year olds use a smartphone - the highest percentage of any age group. So for businesses with a largely millennial workforce, it makes perfect sense to offer elearning on mobiles. But many organisations do not have a homogeneous workforce, employing people across a broad range of ages with differing skills, experience and needs. Some employees may be able to do their training on a mobile but with only 70% of 45-55 year olds owning a smartphone, there may be a proportion who cannot. Advances in elearning technology like the Adapt framework allows businesses to develop a single elearning course that can function on practically any device. This makes multi-device elearning a cost-effective option and makes sure all learners are catered for whether they use a smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC to do their online training.  IT pressuresIn some business sectors, large sections of the workforce don’t have access to a desk and a computer. Retail is an obvious example, where employees spend the majority of their time on the shop floor and space for a training office with dedicated PC is at a premium. Other service industries including travel, hospitality and catering have similar challenges in terms of IT access. Making workplace elearning available on a wide range of devices including tablets and smartphones is an obvious way to overcome these IT pressures and allow employees who cannot get to a PC to make full use of elearning and other online training programmes. Poor product knowledge Lack of product knowledge by sales staff can by a real problem in the demanding consumer environment of today. A survey by Red Ant found that 67% of customers have experience poor product knowledge and it is a significant factor driving them away. Clearly, this is of particular concern for retailers, but the same issues could apply to any sector where product knowledge is crucial, the automotive and pharmaceutical industries, for example. Multi-device elearning allows employees to have product knowledge training and information at their fingertips when they need it most. Tablet learning is particularly useful in this respect and some businesses are using dual-purpose content that can be used for staff training but also as an aid to show customers.  Future-proofing Creating an elearning course costs time and money so organisations expect to get a reasonable shelf life for their investment. But with technology advancing so quickly, an elearning module could become defunct if it is only available on single device or operating system. By using responsive technology that can deliver elearning to the widest possible range of devices it is possible to extend the life and value of an elearning module.In summary, five specific training challenges facing organisations around the globe can be met by adopting a multi-device or responsive elearning strategy:The need for rapid change or a crisis responseTraining a workforce that varies greatly in age, skills and experienceLimited access to desktop PCs or laptopsCustomers being put off by poor product knowledge among sales staffWasted investment due to rapid changes in technologyFinally, the crucial point about multi-device elearning is that it offers businesses the best of both worlds. The ‘traditional’ practice of completing online training sat at a desk using an office PC is still available, but there is also the flexibility to enable learners to take an elearning course on practically any device. For this reason, more and more organisations are opting for multi-device elearning and we’d love to hear your experiences of solving real world training challenges with a responsive approach.Sponge UK is one of the founding partners of Adapt, the world’s leading multi-device elearning framework, so if you have any questions about responsive elearning technology or design do get in touch.  The post 5 challenges multi-device elearning can help solve appeared first on Sponge UK.

We’re now well into #multideviceweek so hopefully by now you’re aware of some of the more unusual ways people are accessing your elearning content. One recurring theme throughout the week has been responsive design. To highlight the benefits and possibilities of responsive learning we created a mini module using Adapt as a multi-device elearning example. The module focuses on cyber security and is designed to work on any platform which has a web browser. Why responsive learning? Responsive web design Web access from mobile devices has grown exponentially in the last few years, in order to keep up with so many new devices a new approach was needed.Google penalises websites which do not work well on mobile devices in mobile search results so creating a mobile friendly version of a site is a must, but designing and maintaining different versions of sites is unwieldy and labour intensive. Ethan Marcotte coined the term responsive web design and helped popularise it in his 2011 book. It describes the principles of creating one set of content and using style sheets to manipulate it to best fit whichever device it’s being viewed on.It has become the standard way to design quality websites and its principles are now guiding the way the best websites in the world are created.   From a web design point of view it may seem like elearning design is lagging behind as it drags its feet adopting responsive principles.But it’s important to look at the staff who interact with your learning and the environment they’re in. The workplace usually has a much slower rate of change of infrastructure, many employees use a relatively basic desktop PC for their day to day work, including training.But things are changing, with BYOD schemes , the abundance of smartphones and tablets and a younger and more tech savvy workforce all adding up. Mobile apps for specific platforms have been around for years but there are advantages to a responsive learning design approach. Benefits of responsive learningA well designed piece of elearning works everywhere your learners will encounter it.Based on our research into users of the Sponge UK Launch&Learn LMS we know that real employees are using a huge variety of devices to access elearning right now. #multideviceweek 16 different operating systems have been used to access our LMS Create once, access anywhere The module looks great on all the screens we’ve tried from TV screens to windows mobile phones, you can navigate easily using basic controllers for games consoles or a touch screen interface. This is a standalone module but if it was part of a course it could track results and progress and report to the LMS for managers to monitor.Building a course like this one using technology like the Adapt responsive learning framework means you can create one piece of content that any employee can access from anywhere. Second screen learning Being able to access the course on your desktop and your phone has other advantages. The same learner might originally take the course on their desktop PC, but being able to refer to the same content on their mobile phone makes it much easier to apply that training.In our cyber security example a learner could bookmark the relevant course and return to it if they have a query about an email they’ve received. Having the training available at your fingertips gives staff the confidence to tackle tricky compliance issues more effectively. Cost effective A well designed responsive learning course can take the place of a suite of separate courses designed for specific platforms, reducing the time and investment needed to design, develop and distribute the course for everyone involved. Updating a responsive course is also a much easier prospect than several courses, especially if it involves delivering them in proprietary app stores. Future proof responsive learning Your employees will access your elearning on devices that haven’t been announced yet. The rapid rate of smartphone and tablet progression means that new devices appear on a monthly basis.Building your elearning on web technology is one of the ways you can ensure that it’ll be possible to access it in the future. Making courses which rely on proprietary apps or non-standard technology could mean limiting the lifespan of the content. Responsive learning design decisionsThere are differences in the design approach when using a responsive technology. Sponge UK developer Jason Butler ran through some of the considerations for creating responsive content in the Adapt hangout . Mobile friendly interactions "The real estate you’ve got available on a mobile phone compared to a desktop means certain components go into a different state. To give you an example, one of the components that we use a lot is a hot graphic where you tap on icons on an image and it brings up a pop-up to explore more. When that goes onto a mobile it then mutates into a narrative component, you can then slide through and find that content a different way. It’s essentially the same content but served up in different ways" - Jason Butler These screenshots show the differences in the hot graphic component on desktop and mobile Hot graphic component on a desktop computer screen Hot graphic component when selected on a desktop computer screen Hot graphic component on a smart phone screen Hot graphic component when selected on a smart phone screen Less text, strong graphics Designing for the mobile experience first leads naturally to a text-light approach. Introducing strong graphical elements helps keep learners interested and reinforces the theme.These considerations lead you to choosing interactions that lend themselves to being easy to use on mobile. Software like Adapt can help with these decisions by automatically changing the layout of an interaction depending on the screen size and input method. Test on a variety of devices When testing the module it’s important to use as many different operating systems and devices as possible, ideally with the smallest screen size you expect will be used.There were some changes made to the length of the component titles which allowed them to be more easily understood on smartphones.Adapt is set up to reconfigure components in a natural way in order to present the content in the most suitable way for each device. Responsive components If you want to include a more advanced interaction component like an elearning game in your course, you need to make sure it’s also responsive.Using an HTML 5 framework like Phaser to create the games content and adding that to a course built in something like Adapt gives you ultimate creativity without sacrificing accessibility.Responsive learning is more than a buzzword, it’s one of the most important considerations for any elearning program. It allows elearning developers to design elearning content that offers an engaging, effective experience on any platform. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter  The post The benefits of responsive learning appeared first on Sponge UK.