It is a well-known fact that medical representatives face many challenges, while promoting their companies’ products.They need to impress and convince doctors to prescribe their medicines and upgrade their product knowledge to survive in a fiercely competitive business world. How can a medical representative overcome these challenges and promote his company’s drugs to doctors? Well, effective training plays a vital role in enabling these representatives to face doctors confidently and convince them to prescribe their medicines. E-learning can be the best solution to improve the efficiency of medical representatives. As an e-learning company, we are experienced in designing and developing training programs for medical representatives by following these best practices. We design and develop bite-sized (10-15 minute) modules for medical sales representatives to reinforce learning on the go. These modules can be accessed anywhere, anytime, on any device (such as iPads, Smartphones, PCs and so on.). We use different kinds of interactivities, animations, scenarios and gamification to develop engaging and learner-oriented modules. We frame assessments to enable the sales representatives to apply what they have learned already. This helps them retain their knowledge for longer periods. Once a medical representative is trained well, he is ready to handle doctors’ questions. Here is a list of questions, which may be asked by the doctors. Why should I prescribe this product? How does this product help treat the disease? What is the recommended dosage for different age groups? What is the composition of your medicine? What are the pros and cons of the product? What will be the side effects of discontinuing the drug? When should the patient discontinue this product? When does the product expire? What is the cost of the medicine? Is it a newly manufactured drug or re-modified from an existing product? Is it effective compared to its competitors? How many doctors have prescribed this product till now? Here I would like to share the best practices of creating effective assessments for medical representatives. Create interactive assessments to reinforce learning and enable active participation Provide explanatory feedback for the assessments once representatives attempt them, and this helps them understand the concept better. To be successful as a medical sales representative, you need to have good knowledge of the product to handle the doctor’s queries effectively, and this is possible through effective e-learning.Please do share your thoughts! Related PostsInformation Security - Why Does This Sensitive Topic Need E-learning?5 Tips for Quality Control of E-learning Courses5 Compelling Reasons Why Organizations Need E-learning

One of our clients approached us with an interesting and difficult requirement, and in this blog, I am going to explain about the requirement and the solution we offered. Requirement: Our client, a leading provider of logistics, transportation and warehousing services, trains its employees through the online courses which are hosted on its intranet/ portal, and it doesn’t use a Learning Management System (LMS). Also, it doesn’t track its learners who complete courses successfully. The client wanted to develop an e-learning course on safety, for all the employees of the company who are geographically dispersed. Some of the employees work on the field. So, it wants its employees to take the course whenever and wherever they want, on the device of their choice. And, it wanted to track the completion of the course regardless of the time, place, and device. The client also wanted to email a certificate to each of its learners, containing his name and designation, on passing the final quiz of the course. Solution: 1. Firstly, we need to finalize the tool which: Can be used to publish to a format which is compatible with multiple devices Can be customized easily Is flexible for coding All the above mentioned features are available in Articulate Storyline. So, we selected this tool to develop the course. 2. The client wanted a ‘completion certificate’ which contains the learner’s name and designation to be emailed to the latter. In order to get that information, we created an intro page for the course in which the learner needs to enter his first name, last name, designation and email ID. We restricted the page such that the learner cannot proceed to the next slide unless he enters information in all the fields. 3. Now, we had all the information of the learner. Using this information and JavaScript and PHP, we generated the certificate with the name and designation printed on it and mailed it to the learner as an attachment. 4. Finally, we met the requirement — the courses could be viewed on any device and the certificate was emailed to the learner. To meet the other requirement of the client, i.e. track the learners who have completed the course successfully, we arranged to send a carbon copy of the email to the trainer, through coding, so that he can know how many learners have completed the course successfully. This is how we met the client’s requirement. Hope you find this post interesting. Do share your views. Related PostsHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?Rapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key FeaturesHow to Create Section 508 E-learning Course Using Flash

E-learning is used extensively by companies to impart training to their staff members. According to the report, Corporate Learning Goes Digital: How Companies Can Benefit From Online Education, published by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, 77% of American companies offer online corporate training to improve the professional development of their employees. The report also stated that the online corporate market is expected to grow by 13% per year up to 2017. How can companies make the best use of this immensely popular training medium? What does it take to create highly effective e-learning courses? Well, organizations need to focus on one of the most important steps in the development of an online course - preparation of the storyboard. Here is an info-graphic that explains what a storyboard is and why it is important to make good storyboards. Hope you find this post interesting. How do you develop e-learning courses? We’d love to know. Related Posts4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning CoursesWhy are Videos so Effective to Train Your Employees?6 Phases of an Effective Instructional Design Process [Infographic]

Cost and time overruns in e-learning projects don’t happen over night. In fact,they happen in each phase of the project, whether big or small. To find out the root cause of this problem, let’s look at some of the reasons that causes cost overrun and schedule delay 1. Starting a project before the inputs are ready It is common for organizations to start a project before they’re ready. They provide provisionary inputs and ask the vendor to proceed. The vendor often puts in a lot of effort to comprehend the inputs at the initial stage, with the help of the SMEs and stakeholders. Inspite of all these efforts, you don’t find good progress. Provisionary inputs result in re-work, delays and cost overruns. 2. Quoting before knowing Sometimes it happens; before knowing the complete project scope we started quote for the same.Often, estimates are prepared in a hurry. At first, it appears that the projectinvolves only asmall amount of work,but as timeprogresses, a completely different picture emerges. For example, there might be some complex animations involved that consume most of the production time, and we wrongly estimate thiswhen we quote. As the number of hours spent goes up, cost overrunsoccur. 3. Inadequate planning and poor scheduling Inadequate planning and scheduling leads to chaos among other projects. Due to inadequate time estimations, resources have to work overtime to meet the deadlines which will indirectly result in cost overruns.Inaccurate time forecasts also have a negative impact on quality deliverables. 4. Wrong assumptions The mismatch between two brains results in rework and cost overruns. To avoid this,both the parties should sign off the scope prior to commencement of actual development. A prototype,developed before actual production starts, helps scale up the requirement greatly. 5. Change of owner/stakeholders A change of owner/stakeholders creates lots of differences in a project. The expectations of the new stakeholders may differ completely, from the previous stakeholders. If this is the case, all the work done already will have to be discarded. Similarly, when there is a change in the internal teams, problems such as ineffective transfer of project knowledgeto new team members may take place, and this results in re-work, delays and cost overruns. These are some of the common mistakes I come across in my day-to-day professional life; do share the ones you come across, too. Related PostsCreative Ways to Present Click on Tab Interactivity in E-learning Courses - An InfographicDr. APJ Abdul Kalam: Homage to a Great TeacherTypical Setup Time and Cost to Develop and Deliver eLearning Courses

Using videos in e-learning is an effective way to make the learners recall the things on which they have been trained. Many training managers prefer adding online videos directly into the online course. However, we face some problems when we use online videos, especially those from the YouTube, directly in our courses.  In this post, I would like to share some tips to avoid issues while adding You Tube videos to e-learning courses using Articulate Storyline. Let us take a sample video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDjRIONF7ag) of CommLab. As you are aware,YouTube has stopped device support recently, as Google is updating the API. As a result, videos embedded in Articulate Storyline result in ‘Device Support Error’ and videos don’t play. In order to make the videos work, insert them as web objects. Below are the steps to insert YouTube videos as web objects. Step 1: Click the Insert tab; select the Web Object option. Step 2: In the window opened, type/paste the location of the video as shown below. Step 3: Adjust the size and position of the web object on the screen. If we add you tube videos as described above, the entire web page will be inserted into your course. As a consequence, other videos which are suggested by the You Tube will be displayed on the screen and even played after the completion of your video if the Autoplay option is set to ON. So, here is my second tip - to avoid playing such unwanted videos, use embed before the video ID in the URL. For example, to use a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDjRIONF7ag, you should update the URL as www.youtube.com/embed/RDjRIONF7ag which plays the same video. Using tip 2, you can insert just the required video, but at the end of your video,the You Tube just suggests (but does not play, unless you click) some videos as shown in the screenshot below image. Learners may get distracted from e-learning courses if this issue is not resolved. Hence, I advise you to remove such suggestions by the You Tube. To do that, just add ?rel=0 at the end of video URL which looks similar to the link below. Sample Link: www.youtube.com/embed/RDjRIONF7ag?rel=0 These are some tips to remember while inserting You Tube videos into your e-learning courses. Have anything to add to the above list? Do share with us. Related PostsHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?Rapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key FeaturesHow to Create Section 508 E-learning Course Using Flash

Quality control is a process to review all essential elements involved in order to meet the requirements of quality. It is an important step that must be followed before delivering any course to client. A thorough and systemic quality control (QC) reviews and testing must be done to avoid obvious errors. Formative and summative reviews are done usually before we send a course for stakeholders or clients, but rather you can QC your course at the stage of developing, designing, and production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "A part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". So, checking the quality of the course is really an important phase of course development. Let’s see few tips on how to test/check the quality of an e-learning course. Plan for the unplanned We should be able to plan the quality standards in advance considering all the issues rather than take shortcuts at the final stages of course delivery. For example, a developer or an instructional designer working on a project takes an unplanned leave, but as per the planning, the course should get delivered on the same day when he\she took a leave, and no one has a time to review or test that course; as a result the course delivery would get halted. Hence, we should plan for the unplanned situations too.Also, we must include a set of review cycles in the project plan itself, to have consistency for all the changes that are taking place at each phase. For example, limit the content edits for the first review phase such that audio need not be re-recorded.We must reserve time in the schedule for the quality control reviews. At least 10 to 20% of the project’s time is required for the quality control or testing of the course. Create checklists Create checklists for testing the QC such as standardization, efficiency, and accuracy. Some key points that must be included in your checklist while testing a course are: All links and buttons must be tested All audio must be tested Test whether the videos are loading properly Accessibility features must be tested Test the course in multiple browsers and with different resolutions Test whether navigation is in correct sequence Test the final assessment at the end Master the process of Quality Control Maintaining a personal checklist and keeping an eye on details helps you master the process of quality control. Identifying the issues at a glance or lesser review time are the signs of mastering quality control process. Use a fresh set of eyes to review your course A Quality Analyst or an IDwhile viewing for functionality, also reviews consistency in storyboards etc. You could also find someone who is not directly involved in the project to review the course as every individual who is working on the project may not identify small errors or mistakes such as spelling errors, double spaces, incomplete navigational page, wrong hyperlinks, errors in functionality, etc. Having an independent person to review the course helps to rectify such anomalies. The developer, then can correct the issues and complete the edits. Maintain an issue log Keeping track of all the feedback is a crucial step and is more challenging to maintain. An issue log contains a list of ongoing and closed issues of the project. It would be easy to maintain an issue log. If we get the changes done in the course on the same day, sort and move closed issues to a side or bottom, maintain the status of each issue, keep your issues together, and allow members to submit the issues. In terms of collecting and resolving feedback, using an issue log that will help list all the feedback we received, as well as those assigned to fix it along with comments. These are few tips that I have noticed that help bring about a better quality control of an e-learning course.  Have other interesting tips? Please share with us in the comments section below. Happy Reading!! Related Posts5 Compelling Reasons Why Organizations Need E-learning6 Aspects to Consider Before Starting an E-learning ProjectSmart Questions to Evaluate Product Knowledge of Medical Representatives

Are you creating an e-learning course for your people? Do you want to execute the project smoothly? Well, we must have a clear vision for and set the goal of the project before we start. In our organization, we analyze the project requirements clearly before commencing work on a project. As an e-learning project manager, I would like to list some key aspects you should consider before starting an online course development project. Stakeholder: We need to get information about the stakeholder by asking the following questions. What is the role of the stakeholder? Was he involved in the development of online courses earlier? Who is the point of contact for the project? What is the best way to communicate with the stakeholder? How much time can the stakeholder spend on the project? Business Need: Here are some questions we should ask to learn about the client’s business need. What is the ultimate goal of the project? How does the project help the client reach its goals? How is the client imparting training, currently? (Is the training imparted in a classroom or through self-paced online training material?) Will the e-learning course be translated? Learner Profile: The following questions will help us gather the required information about the target audience of the course. Are the learners familiar with e-learning? What is the level of their proficiency in English? (This helps us determine the complexity of the language to be used in the e-learning course) What are the learning resources currently used by the learners? Content: Here are some questions you need to ask about the inputs. What is the format of inputs provided (MS-Word documents/PPT files/videos)? Can the given content be modified/edited by us? Is the content finalized by the subject-matter expert (SME)? Do we get all the inputs in one go? Technical Requirements: Answers to the following questions help us understand the technical requirements of the client better. What is the LMS on which the online course will be hosted? What is the learning technology standard to be followed (SCORM 1.2/SCORM 2004/AICC/Tin Can API)? What are devices on which the course will be accessed? What are browsers that the course needs to be compatible with? What are the operating systems that the course needs to be compatible with? What is the bandwidth available to the learners? Project Management: You need to ask the questions listed below to get useful information that helps you execute the e-learning project better. What is the project deadline? Can the client arrange for an SME to answer our queries about the content? Can we contact the SME directly, or will the client help us organize meetings with the SME? By obtaining this information, you can understand the e-learning project requirements clearly. Hope you find this post useful. Do share your views. Related Posts5 Compelling Reasons Why Organizations Need E-learning5 Tips for Quality Control of E-learning CoursesSmart Questions to Evaluate Product Knowledge of Medical Representatives

According to the Mac Observer, 94% of Fortune 500 companies are either testing or using iPads. The widespread usage of these tablets from Apple has ushered in a new era in the world of online training. Millions of learners access online courses easily, anytime, anywhere, on iPads. These devices have indeed opened the door to highly effective and convenient learning. The iPad is the ideal tool to train your mobile workforce. It has a number of hardware and networking features which are very useful to impart high quality training online and create excellent learner experiences. Here is an info-graphic that lists 6 aspects you need to consider when you develop e-learning courses for the iPad. Hope you find this post interesting. How do you use iPads? We’d love to know. Related PostsUsing iPads to Harness the Full Potential of E-learningMedia Suitable to Deliver High Quality Training through iPads [Infographic]5 Questions you Need to Ask Before Designing a Course for the iPad

Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes. - Peter Drucker It is well-known that imparting effective training to sales people goes a long way in enhancing revenues. Well-designed sales training programs help sales personnel face customers confidently and overcome the challenges posed by a dynamic, fiercely competitive business world. But, how can you build a good sales training program? Well, you need to consider the following two major learning needs of sales personnel. Most sales personnel travel extensively. So, it is important to enable them to access to the latest industry updates and news about competitors anytime, anywhere. Sales people find it very useful to have information about products at their fingertips as it helps them explain their benefits in a convincing manner. Check out this interesting video to know more about creating a highly effective sales program. Get to know how to provide a comprehensive training solution to next-gen sales people, in this video. To watch more interesting videos, click here. Related PostsChallenges in Product Sales Training - Too Much KnowledgeRole of Education and Training in Increasing SalesImportance of Sales Training Programs for an Organization

E-learning professionals usually write/modify the content in online courses during the development process. While typing, there is a chance of typo errors. Articulate Storyline has a built-in dictionary and highlights the wrongly spelled word by a red underline, and we can correct the word by right clicking it and selecting the appropriate word from the list of words suggested by Storyline. What if we have to use words not available in the default dictionary i.e. words of other languages or technical words? Well, we have a useful default feature in Storyline which enables us to create a new dictionary,so that we can add our own words. Do you know how to add a dictionary to Storyline? Here are the steps. Step 1: Create your list of words in a Notepad and save the file with .dic extension. Step 2: Click the File menu and selectStoryline Options. Step 3: Select Spelling Options under Spelling section. Step 4: Select the Custom Dictionaries option. This opens the Custom Dictionaries window. Step 5: Click the Add button to add a new dictionary to the existing list. Step 6: From the window opened, browse your .dic file, select it, and then, click the Open button. Now, you can see that the new dictionary is added to the list. These are the steps to add a custom dictionary to Articulate Storyline. Hope this blog is useful. Do share your views. Related PostsHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?Rapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key Features4 Types of Triggers in Articulate Storyline to Develop Interactive E-learning Courses

Have you just launched newly developed weighing practice software for your global vendors and distributors? Are you thinking of cost effective methods to make everyone in the organization use it?  E-learning could be a viable option for you. Now that your company has launched a new software, as a training manager of the company, you need to train employees about the new system in the company. Just launching the software is not enough to get the desired results. Like, after sales services of products, you need to train your learners on the usage of the software post the launch in order to achieve your desired goal. Software applications are complex and it’s not easy to follow. Employees are generally comfortable with the old methods. They don’t want to change the old process and want to continue with the same. One of the reasons for not wanting to change is that, the employees feel uncomfortable with the new process and feel, what if this new process gets more complex in future Anengaging training about the uses of the new software and its benefits can help overcome such a mindset. E-learning can help you with regards to this. Let’s see how e-learning can help you in launching the new software globally: Learn on the same platform to ensure uniformity: You want your global employees to know and learn the software on the same platform to ensure uniformity, improve quality, productivity, and speed up the process. Providing excellent training about the usage of software is very important for the success of the software. A gap in the training may waste all your energy and cause a loss that is hard to overcome after launch. Methods: The "Watch Try Do" is one of the best methods we use to develop software e-learning courses. Depending on the complexity of the application you can restrict the training to only "Watch" or "Watch and Try" or "Watch Try Do". Providing an access to the software helps to capture the screens. If the application is confidential and you don’t want to give access, you can share through video conferencing and we can capture the screens and convert it into interactive learning by presenting a step by step process. A video of the software can also be done to train the employees.  A Power Point presentation with animations that you use in classroom training can also be presented in a form of interactive e-learning to make it more engaging. Using different e-learning tools and software like Storyline, Captivate, Adobe Flash etc you can make an engaging training for your global employees. Related PostsWhy SAP Implementation in Organizations is Such a Big Change Management Issue? Challenges in Designing Technical Training Programs7 Reasons Why Online Training Solutions are best for Software Applications

Are you a training manager who constantly struggles to change the mind-set of your employees when it comes to your e-learning courses? Do you find that the assigned training programs yield a little or no result because they are seen as a break or a free hour by your employees? How do you shift such extrinsic attitudes to seek a more intrinsic form of learning? As hard as these questions may sound, it is actually quite simple to convert your distracted learner into an attracted one. Your employees will be motivated only when they find value in your online course. There are several ways in which your course content can be taught more enthusiastically with various instructional methodologies that involve active learner participation. The following three strategies will turn your employees from unwilling to willing learners. Inform Your Learner  This can be done even before your employees take the course; small tidbits such as emails and posters publicizing your course can go a long way in generating learner interest. Another way to empower your learner is to let them know how the course will benefit them. Reasons such as developing a new skill that could lead to a promotion are powerful weapons to make your learner interested in taking the course. You can also "redirect" your learner in several ways. For instance, you can provide "how-to" PDFs and redirect your learner to the actual e-learning course where they can watch the entire process. Here is an example of how a course on performance management was publicized using desktop backgrounds. Offer Real-World Experiences  Real life experiences that your employees relate to add a level of familiarity that instantly makes your learners feel right at home. Providing applications such as case studies, product simulations, and scenarios are a few such instances of creating real-world experiences in your e-learning course. Take a look at a few scenarios, avatars, and case studies we have used in some of our courses. Assessment Based Scenario Situational Scenario  Avatar/Guided Simulation Make Them Play  You must have heard the saying "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." This applies to your e-learning courses too. Making use of gamification in your course adds a lot of value to your learning. But, keep in mind that you don’t just add a game for the sake of gamification. For example, if you use a game of archery in the assessment of your course, while the course is about performance management, your learner will not relate to the game, and your course loses its authenticity. On the other hand, if your course is on food safety and you have a game of search and find (search and find food hazards), you will have a higher learner recall as the game adds more significance to your course content. Take a look at our game-based course on food safety. Try these three instructional techniques to convert an unwilling learner into an engaged learner and your online training programs will churn out the desired results. Hope you find this post useful. Do share your views. Related Posts4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning Courses3 Tips to Use Audio Efficiently in E-learning - An Infographic8 Instructional Design Tips to Create a Winning E-learning Course

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn - Benjamin Franklin It is well-known that effective learner interaction plays a key role in the success of an online course. In classroom training sessions, the trainer interacts actively with learners to capture their attention and ensure they remain focused. But, how can this be accomplished with online courses which are self-paced? Well, you can ensure that your online learners "stay on track" using interactivities. In e-learning courses, interactivities are used to teach as well as assess the learner. Here is an info-graphic that lists 10 interactivities which are widely used to explain the subject-matter in an engaging manner. Hope you find this post interesting. How do you use interactivities in your e-learning courses? We’d love to know. Related Posts4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning CoursesInstructional Design Techniques to Make Your E-learning Better [Infographic]5 Tips to Engage Your Online Learners - An Infographic

Today, India celebrates its Independence Day. 68 years ago, while the world was asleep, a land of 330 million awoke to freedom, breaking the yoke of colonialism. The saga of Indian independence is one of courage and sacrifice to break the shackles of oppression and tyranny. On this occasion, I am reminded of a verse from Gitanjali, the magnum opus of eminent poet and the first Indian Nobel Laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore who earnestly believed that true independence comes with learning - learning that nourishes the soul. Wishing you all a very happy Independence Day. Related PostsINDEPENDENCE AND LEARNINGWishing Everybody A Happy Independence Day4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning Courses

You have completed analyzing the training needs of your company and your boss agrees that e-learning is the ideal solution. Are you ready to commence the development of your online training program? Not really. Before you begin creating the training program, you need to understand your learners. It is very important to know who your learners are and what they have to learn. This information will help you tailor the presentation of the learning content to meet their specific needs and preferences. Here is an info-graphic which lists a few things you need to do while performing a learner analysis. Hope you find this post interesting. Do share your views. Related Posts10 Questions to Ask Your Stakeholders About the Target Audience: A Picto-Blog5 Tips for Quality Control of E-learning Courses6 Aspects to Consider Before Starting an E-learning Project

Recently, we were asked by a client to develop questions of the fill in the blank type for assessments of his online course. Each question consisted of 3 blanks, and an equal number of options were provided to the learner. The learner was required to drag each option and drop it in the right blank. Options, if dropped correctly, were to be displayed indicated in green and "wrong drops" were to be shown in red. We met this complex requirement using Articulate Storyline. Here are the steps we followed. Step 1: Create the drag and drop slide. Step 2: Add two states (Correct and Incorrect) to each drag item in the slide. Here, I have named text box 4, text box5 and text box 6 as Eyes, Nose and Ears respectively. Step 3: Create a Boolean variable Drop 1 with initial value as false. Step 4: Adjust variable Drop1 to true when text box 4 is dropped in the correct drop target (Here Drop 11 is correct drop target for text box 4). Step 5: Adjust variable Drop1 as false when text box 5 or 6 is dropped in Drop11. Step 6: Add two triggers, as given below, to the Submit Button. Trigger 1: Change state of text box 4 to correct if Drop1 is true when the user clicks the Submit Button. Trigger 2: Change state of text box 4 to incorrect if Drop1 is false when the user clicks the Submit Button. Repeat the steps 3 to 6 for text boxes 5 and 6. Publish or preview the course and see the output. This way, we can differentiate the correct and incorrect options in a drag and drop interactivity using Storyline’s triggers. Hope you find this blog informative. Please share your thoughts. Related PostsHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?How to Improve Multiple Response Quiz Questions in Articulate StorylineHow to Enable Retake Quiz Option in Articulate Storyline?

Recently my friends visited my place and we make an impromptu plan to watch a movie. Due to the unplanned decision and weekend rush, we didn’t get bookings for an English movie. Instead we ended up watching a movie in a regional language that some of my friends were not familiar with. The duration of the movie was for 2 hours and I spent the time translating the dialogue of movie into English for them. My weekend escapade became an spontaneous translation session, instead of being a relaxed cinematic experience. My experience of the day made me realize the importance of translations and I realized it is required in many situations just as in any e-learning course. There are many reasons why your e-learning should be translated into regional language. In an instructor led training, the instructor is an expert in his subject but not in a language. Whereas if learners come from different regions, they may be unable to understand the instructors language. So, it is a good idea to follow up an instructor led training with an e-learning course that is translated into the native language of learners. The same thing applies to an e-learning course that is rolled out in English. It is always to give options to leaners to choose the language of instruction. Translations play a vital role in putting across the information in a format that learners can understand effectively. In a survey conducted by our company in 2013, we found the following results: 59% of responding organizations indicated that translating e-learning programs was important. 85% of the survey respondents have translated their e-learning courses into nearly 10 different languages. Out of them English, Spanish, and French were popular languages Around 34% of respondents indicated that their primary e-learning language was something other than English. For English-speaking learners, your e-Learning courses may be highly effective and engaging, but for learners whose native language is not English, the training may not be effective. How can this be done? This can be done by localizing the training in the native language and making it culturally appropriate. There are a few things that are needed to be taken care of, when you decide to translate your online course into various languages. Following are the points to focus on: Simple Content: Content used in the course must be simple enough, since complex language can create problems while translating courses. Special Characters: In English courses, the font of the text is not a problem. But for other languages, even a space can change the intended meaning. These factors should be kept in mind. Images with Text: Images which have text in it can create a problem while translating. Text should be placed outside the image so that it can be easily editable. . Expansion of Text: Different languages have different sizes and volumes. Always keep in mind the problem of expansion of text in other native languages. Remember that there is possibility of expansion or contraction when translating English courses into other languages. Translating your e-learning courses into the languages spoken by your global learners goes a long way in imparting high-quality training and ensures better performance. However, best practices in translation ensure that you get a better return on your investment. Hope this blog was helpful to understand key information about translating online courses. Please share if you can add up. Related Posts4 Steps That Simplifies E-learning Translation and Localization Process - An Infographic8 Tips to Improve the Quality of E-learning Translations [Infographic]3 Things to Consider while Translating Your E-learning Course - An Infographic

Today, e-learning courses are used by firms in all sectors, and the demand for online learning solutions is growing. Organizations in manufacturing, healthcare, financial services and other sectors are using online training methodologies. Today, I would to share how e-learning can be used to train professional in the financial services sector. Organizations in this industry need to train their employees on financial instruments, soft skills and their new processes. It is vital that financial professionals receive top-quality training to ensure compliance to regulatory norms. Let us now look at the problems faced by financial institutions and the solutions that e-learning can offer. Problem 1: Financial companies are recruiting large numbers of personnel to meet their growing needs. These new staff members have to be trained on various regulatory norms. However, it is not possible to train all these employees together due to logistical constraints. As a result, there is considerable delay in training new hires on compliance matters. Solution: E-learning can address these challenges effectively. With e-learning, it is possible to deliver the training to employees, anytime, anywhere. E-learning is also useful to facilitate effective induction of new employees. Online courses can be delivered to new employees whenever staff members join the company and make them familiar with the work environment. Problem 2: If an online course is delivered to employees and they are asked to complete it without any support, learning may not take place effectively. If the content and terminology are not explained properly, the employees may lose interest in the course. So, how do you ensure that your training is effective and your learners are fully involved in it? Solution: It is essential that e-learning professionals comprehend the content first, and then, develop the course. The course may be divided into several modules that explain different topics. An effective GUI (Graphical User Interface) can be used to customize the courses to fit the company’s culture. Complex content can be explained through effective scenarios and by providing real-life examples. Learners can also be engaged in the course using rich visuals and appropriate images. Problem 3: How do you ensure that your learners have understood what you taught them? Solution: Assessments are the solution to this problem. Assessments are important to evaluate how much your learner has understood. If your learners answer the questions correctly, you may infer that they have comprehended the information effectively. A learning management system (LMS) can be used to monitor learning activities and keep track of the learning outcomes. E-learning is the ideal solution to address the training needs of financial professionals. Financial organizations can use eLearning to impart highly effective training to their employees. Hope you find this blog useful. Do share your views. Related PostsE-learning in the Healthcare Sector: Delivering Top-notch TrainingHow Does eLearning Address the Training Needs of Banking and Financial Professionals?Games in eLearning: Impact on Financial Sector

The e-learning juggernaut is showing no signs of slowing. According to a report released by Docebo, the global market for self-paced online training solutions reached $35.6 billion in 2011. The report estimates that the market would register a five-year compound annual growth rate of 7.6%. This means that it should touch the $51.5 market billion by 2016. What makes e-learning immensely popular in the L&D world? Why are companies throughout the world climbing the online training bandwagon? How can organizations deliver better training through this format? Let us see. Hope you find this post interesting. How do you train your people? We’d love to know. Related Posts10 Reasons for High Dropout Rates in Online Learning Courses [Infographic]6 Phases of an Effective Instructional Design Process [Infographic]5 Tips to Make a Stupendous Online Course

Have you introduced a new software application in your organization?Are you wondering how to train your global workforce on it in the most optimal way? Doing so with classroom trainings can lead to a logistical and financial nightmare. How do you overcome these glitches and train your employees effectively so that they will be ready to use the tool without any further training interventions? Simulations E-learning provides the best answer to this issue through ‘Watch-Try-Do’ simulations. These simulations provide learners the opportunity to watch and become acquainted with the software tool - what to do, how to do, which options to select, how to proceed, etc. In the Try segment, learners are given a chance to actually work on the tool by going through the entire steps in a simulated environment, along with prompts to guide them. They thus gain hands-on experience on using the tool and will be able to perform, ‘Do’ in real-time. If your process involves a diverse set of users who are assigned different roles and have distinct functionalities (such as HR managers, managers, and employees in a Performance Management System), you can separate your e-learning course into different modules based on their roles. This will ensure that learners become familiar with their part of the process without being overwhelmed by the entire process. You can even start your e-learning course with a short video telling learners what the simulation is all about - how it will help them and in which aspects. Adobe Captivate Various e-learning authoring tools provide this ‘Watch-Try-Do’ functionality, but Adobe Captivate is one of the most effective, easy-to-use tools for software simulations. How to Start? Just run the tool in the background and start the software application. This is done in 2 steps. Step 1: Start Adobe Captivate andunder ‘Create New’select ‘Software Simulation’. Step 2: Select the option ‘Screen Area’ to indicate that the screen actions are to be captured. You can set the dimensions of the capture area using the ‘Custom Size’ option. Click ‘Record’ to start recording the screen captures. You can start performing the needed steps in the software to be captured. (Ensure that all other applications/pop-up windows are closed as they will be captured too if they appear during the execution.) How to Stop? Go through the entire process to be recorded. Once all the steps are done, pressing the ‘End’ button on the keyboard will stop the capturing process. Pressing the F12 key provides a preview of the slides. The Output Adobe Captivate captures every mouse-click as an individual slide and provides default highlight boxes, callouts, and message boxes.  Highlight boxes are used to highlight on-screen elements such as buttons, icons, text-fields, etc.  Callouts are used to provide appropriate instructions.(Example: ‘Click Next to continue’, ‘Enter the name in the highlighted area’, ‘Select the end date by clicking the calendar icon’, etc.) Message boxes are used to provide additional information to the learners. (Example: Your request will now be transferred to your HR manager. Check your Inbox for further notifications.) All these elements are editable which makes this tool a quick and efficient option. Unwanted screens can be deleted, the highlight boxes can be moved around, and their color, width, etc. can also be edited. Even the callouts and message boxes can be customized with relevant text, font colors, styles, background colors, etc. Example Screenshot These screen capturescan be used to construct the simulation, providing learners an accurate look-and-feel and the necessary steps in an easy-to-understand, real-time environment which makes learning more effective. They can also be converted into a video, if needed, which can be embedded into e-learning courses as a quick reference aid. Thus, Abode Captivate is a very effective, easy-to-use tool for software simulations. It saves development time and efforts and provides rapid scalability. It is very simple to operate and customize. Infact, the captures can be done easily by people who have an actual idea of the tool and not by the developers. Translations are very easy too.If you have the tool in multiple languages, screen captures can be done quickly by the experts, and only the text in the callouts and message boxes will need to be translated into the desired languages. Hope you have a fruitful experience training your global workforce on new software applications using Adobe Captivate. Related PostsHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?What Kind of Training Programs Goes Well with Adobe Captivate 7?The Unique Benefits and Limitations of Adobe Captivate

Do you want to make your e-learning courses appealing? Then, you are at the right place. In this post, I will share how to use avatars in different ways to make your online courses engaging and help your learners focus better. 1. Use Avatars to guide learners through the Course Avatars are used for guided learning, as they hold the learner’s attention and make him engaged. We have used an ‘ant’ as an avatar in a course on supply chain management. The ant guides the learner throughout the course and makes him understand the basics of the supply chain management. 2. Use Avatars to ask icebreaker questions Using avatars to ask icebreaker questions makes the online course more interesting. Introducing the course with icebreakers helps you get your learners into the right mood and grab their attention quickly. You can pose a series of questions to your learners in the context of their learning need. We used avatars in one of our courses on performance management where we used icebreaker questions. 3. Use Avatars in the introductory slide You can effectively set the stage for learning by using avatars in the introductory screen. Avatars used in introductory screens need not be a vector image; it can be the image of a person. Depending on the content, we need to choose an avatar. For example, we used the image of a doctor as an avatar in a course on panic disorder, which went a long way in grabbing the attention of learners. 4. Use Avatars to explain topics Avatars can be used to present content when there is text on the screen (in a bulleted format) that is in sync with audio. Let’s look at an example from a course on building a positive workplace culture. Here, we introduced an avatar, which presents information on 5Ps that the learners need to know to create a positive workplace culture, in synch with audio. This makes them more engaged in the course. 5. Use Avatars to provide advice, helpful tips, and highlight important points Learners will be more engaged when avatars are used to provide advice and tips and highlight important points, and this will help them complete the course. Here is an example from our course on safety awareness where an avatar provides a few important tips to make the home a safer place. 6. Use Avatars to assess learners’ knowledge Using avatars in an assessment to give feedback will make the learner more engaged. Avatars can be used to assess learners’ knowledge and help them retain the learning longer. Here is an example from a technician training course, where we used an avatar whose expressions change based on the answer selected by the learner. 7. Use Avatars in scenarios Avatars play a key role in scenarios. In our course on a sales process, we used a conversation-based branching scenario. This type of scenario leads the learner to different pathways, depending on the answer he chooses. This conversation between two characters helps the learner retain the learning and apply it easily. 8. Use Avatars for storytelling Using avatars in stories makes the course lively. We designed a course for training HR managers, and this course was about the policies and processes they should know and follow while recruiting new employees. The course revolves around the story of Bob, the new HR manager who needs to tackle talent crunch and recruit new employees. An avatar guides Bob at each step of the recruitment process, helping him complete the process successfully. By the end of the course, the learners understand the process of recruitment. While creating an e-learning course, try to create an avatar which supports the content, to make the course interesting. How do you use avatars? Do share with us. Related Posts4 Effective Ways of Presenting Scenarios in E-learning Courses3 Interesting Avatars Which We Have Used in our E-learning Courses5 Tips to Make your E-learning a Success

Organizations spend considerable time and money in recruiting new talent. There are many phases in the recruitment process, starting from initial screening to final selection. Once new employees join a company, they need to be provided with induction training. Importance of Induction New hire orientation or induction training plays vital role in retaining the employees.It will introduce the employees to the organization and gives the first impression about the company. And, it is well-known that the first impression is the best impression. Induction training goes a long way in helping new hires become familiar with the organization’s culture and structure.It also gives them a clear idea of their perks and benefits and the policies and processes they need to follow. Induction training will also enable new recruits to match their career goals with organizational goals. Good induction training will make new employees feel that they are a part of the organization. At the same time, it provides the employees with skills and knowledge required to perform their job duties. How to Deliver Induction Training Induction training is an ongoing activity not a one time affair.It can be broken down into three phases. Pre-Induction Induction Post-Induction Pre-Induction: Pre-Induction is a creative idea to welcome and train employees before joining the organization. It is a best practice to send a welcome note along with a few online training resources which talk about the organization’s vision, mission, people and culture, to a new employee, after he accepts the offer. These help the employee to have basic and real information about the company. Pre-induction training will be effective if wedeliver it online. Pre-induction training enables all new hires to come to the organization with the same prior knowledge. Induction: Once an employee joins the organization, right from the day one, induction training will be provided. We need to conduct certain sessions in a classroomwhile the others can be held online. Using blended learning to impart induction training is very useful to enhance productivity quickly. For example,we can use a trainer to explain new hires about a company and introduce them to its key people. The trainer can also take them through the premises of the organization and help them interact with the team. We can use e-learning modules to train new recruits on company’s history and values. E-learning can also be used to explain a new employee’s job role and responsibilities and the policies and safety procedures that he needs to follow. Post-Induction: An evaluation needs to be conducted after the completion of the induction program.This will help the organization know whether the program is effective or not. Also, the induction process can be improved by analyzing the feedback from each employee.You can provide each employee with a hand book and other online training material to reinforce the learning. Induction training can be effectively delivered through a blended approach.A well-designed learning blend can motivate new hires very effectively and help them get used to their work in quick time. Please share your thoughts. Related PostsNew Employee Orientation Through E-learningSignificance of Orientation for New Employees!New Employee Orientation Training - Why Use eLearning?

It is common knowledge that effective training goes a long way in enhancing the performance of pharmaceutical sales representatives. Well-trained medical representatives can explain the features of their products to doctors and convince them to prescribe the drugs. But, how can pharmaceutical companies impart good training to their sales teams? What does it take to meet the learning needs of a medical representative, in an efficient and cost-effective manner? Well, you need to deliver information in the form of learning nuggets. Here is an info-graphic that lists the benefits of using bite-sized learning modules. Hope you find this post interesting. Do share your views. Related PostsInstructional Strategies to Train Medical Representatives Online5 Training Programs for Medical Representatives - An Infographic5 Types of Trainings Every Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Needs

How can you impart the best training to your personnel? What does it take to make sure that your people have the right knowledge and skills to deal with a highly complex, ever-changing business environment? Well, you need to use learning technology to impart workplace training. Revolutionary developments in technology have made corporate training highly flexible and enable the busy employee to access courses anytime, anywhere. Technology-enabled training programs are very cost-effective and reduce the time taken for delivering training considerably. Various studies have revealed that companies using learning technologies were able to cut workplace training costs by at least 50%, and delivery times have gone down by 60%. Therefore, it did not come as a surprise when Global Industry Analysts Inc. reported that the global market for e-learning solutions would reach $107 billion, registering a near 100% growth. Are you too planning to climb the learning technology bandwagon? Then, check out the highly informative webinar Harnessing E-learning to Deliver Effective Workplace Training. The webinar answers the following questions. How can learning technology be used to meet your training objectives? Why do you need to go in for technology-enabled learning solutions? What are the issues in implementing technology-enabled learning solutions and how can they be resolved? What does it take initiate e-learning in your organization effectively? Download the webinar now! Related PostsWhy Consider Moodle for LMS Hosting? - An InfographicHow to Create Section 508 E-learning Course Using FlashWhy E-learning Making its Mark in Corporate Sector?