Recently, the technical director of a leading OEM (original equipment manufacturer) asked us to create an e-learning course on the organization’s data privacy policies and procedures. The company is committed to maintaining the highest standards of data privacy globally by training its staff and ensuring compliance to information-security norms. The organization provides data privacy training to all its employees who process personal data, on their induction and at regular intervals during their employment. The company uses a custom learning management platform to deliver key training requirements to its employees. The training has to be tracked on a learning management system to confirm that the employees have read and understood the OEM’s data privacy standards, global privacy policy statement, and manual on processing personal data. The subject-matter expert (SME) of the firm wanted us to create an online course that: Is highly engaging and imparts effective training to help learners prevent violations of data privacy Is unique in terms of its look and feel and enables the learners to ‘connect’ easily with the learning content Can be translated easily to meet the training needs of his organization’s international workforce Can be tracked to confirm that the employees have read and understood the content   Developing the instructional strategy of this course was very challenging. To meet the SME’s expectations, we decided to use a scenario-based instructional approach. Scenarios go a long way in injecting life into courses on dry, boring subjects. Furthermore, they enable learners to grasp information very quickly. The SME liked the idea and provided us with the following topics to cover in the online course. Importance of using passwords for employee data files while sending emails Precautions to be taken while using portable drives Any paper documents that contains sensitive information has to be locked and secured, Encryption of laptops and their protection Importance of keeping computers secure by locking them before leaving the desk After conducting a comprehensive analysis of the topics, we finalized a few scenarios and created several questions for each scenario. We got the scenarios and questions approved by the SME in order to avoid rework. We took some important points from the manuals, which had to be highlighted in the course. We then developed the introductory screens which appear before the actual scenarios with questions. Our team then started giving life to the scenarios by creating and animating cartoon characters with a narrative story. To provide the look and feel that helps the learners connect with the course immediately, our visual designers created an office environment which was similar to their organization where the characters interacts each other in the scenarios.To make this happen we should have access to the local company which is not that easy and takes more time in travelling. To overcome this problem, we requested the SME to provide us with some pictures of the learners’ workplace. As soon as we had these pictures, we converted them into the 2D format and integrated them into the scenarios. Finally, to confirm that the learners comprehended the content effectively, we created an acknowledgement page at the end of the online course. By clicking it, the completion criteria will be met and tracked on the learning management system. We had a wonderful time working on this e-learning course and received a positive response from the learners who told us that it was fun-filled and very interesting. Hope you find this post interesting. How do you use scenarios in online training programs? We’d love to know. Related PostsInformation Security Awareness Program - Free PresentationSuggested Curriculum for Security Awareness ProgramSecurity Awareness Training - A Suggested Curriculum

How can you create a highly effective e-learning course? What does it take to deliver good online learning experiences to your people? Well, you need to focus on one of the most important aspects of e-learning development - selection of the right authoring tool. The choice of the right authoring tool goes a long way in translating your instructional strategies into reality. But, with hundreds of authoring tools flooding the marketplace, how can you zero-in on the "perfect" authoring tool for developing your e-learning course? Well, here is an info-graphic that shares a few very useful tips to select the authoring tool that best caters to your learning needs. Hope you find this post interesting. Do share your views. Related Posts4 Tips for Developing E-learning Course Using Rapid Authoring ToolsRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key Features5 Key Factors for the Selection of Rapid eLearning Authoring Tool

It is no exaggeration to say that the performance of the sales team plays a key role in the success of a company. Good salespeople help companies deal with the challenges posed by a dynamic business environment and reach their goals. But, how can you become a successful salesperson? What does it take to succeed in a highly competitive sales arena? Well, you need to have the right attitude. For this, you need to: Remember that each day is a new day. Donot let failures let you down. They are the stepping stones to success. Never give up. Do not forget that you are born with a purpose. Keep in mind that procrastination is the biggest enemy to success. Here is an excellent video that tells you more about how to become a winning salesperson. Check out the presentation now! Related PostsTime Management Strategies For Sales PeopleSales Training Challenges!Videos for L&D Managers - A Salesperson’s Wish List [Video]

Articulate Storyline comes with a rich media player that can be utilized to run sound in a very potential manner. The player controls, for example, the sound volume, play/pause, advancement bar and replay "related" to the whole slide. A case in point is that when you snap replay, the entire slide is replayed one more time. One of our clients wanted to embed audios to the slide and enable learners to control individual media elements with unique player design. The client also wanted his learners to work around an audio timer and controls. He was interested to enable his learners to control the audio levels even from within the slide in multiple interactive sessions. In Articulate Storyline, we don’t have an audio timer within the player. Using the HTML5 tag, the audio player can be integrated on to the slide in a very simple manner. Let us follow this step-by-step tutorial of how to add an HTML5 tag to add a customized audio player to your slides. Step 1: Create an audio folder and within that folder, create the html file. Copy the audio tag and paste it in the html file; also, place the audio folder in same folder location (see the screen below). Step 2: To embed the audio on to the slide, go to the Insert tab, select Insert Web Object and open the created HTML file Slide1.html; adjust the position of the web object on the screen. Shown below are the references. Step 3: Now we are done with the integration of the audio; let us publish and preview the slide. This player is HTML5-supported and therefore, its look and feel are dependent on the browser or the device you use. This is how we were able to create a customized audio player using an HTML tag. If you want the controls to have a different design, you are most welcome to access a plethora of information that is present free in websites. Tips to reminders *  Make sure the audio file is located in the same folders location. If the web object is located on the Internet or an intranet, you need security permissions to access it. Web objects can’t be seen when previewed; to view it, open publish "html" in the supported browser and "publish for CD" or else you have to publish the course output to a server.  Hope you find this post useful. Do share your views. Related PostsArticulate Storyline: 4 Easy Steps to Create a Custom Video PlayerHow to Customize the Storyline Player?Articulate Storyline : Adding Custom Controls for Audio in an E-learning Course

All of us are familiar with the bitten apple and the tick mark. Wondering what I’m talking about? Well, you would have guessed it by now! Am talking about Apple and Nike. The mere sight of these symbols in any media links our minds to the companies. That is the power of visuals. They have the power to drive the point home with unerring accuracy in a way even a thousand words may fail to. Now consider a scenario where you are attending a presentation. Imagine each screen being visually different from the other - one screen has icons, one with real images, another with graphs, vector images etc. - all in different colors without any uniformity or consistency. How would you feel after 15 minutes of such a presentation? Even if the speaker is a good orator and keeps you hooked to the presentation, the different things happening on screen will, in the best case scenario distract your attention, and give you a headache in the worse case. What does that mean? Visuals need to be uniform, consistent, and connected to the topic to enhance their effectiveness and maximize their impact on learning and retention. In today’s corporate scenario, E-learning is being used extensively to train global workforces on a wide range of topics - from HR and compliance policies to product, software, and internal process/procedures trainings. When you rollout e-learning courses, it is essential that you establish their identity visually. This implies that your courses should reflect the topic in all visual aspects. Visual Identity at the GUI Level At a broad level, this means ensuring your GUI (Graphical User Interface) reflects the topic. This can be done by modifying the GUI or incorporating appropriate icons. (The screenshots given below demonstrate this.) Have a single GUI for your e-learning courses and tweak it to reflect the individual aspects of each course. Example: This will orient learners and visually reinforce the topic being handled. It will also lend a comprehensive, authentic visual dimension to the course. Taking care of such details will grab their attention, and build their anticipation of what the course has in store.  This attention has to be sustained and taken forward by handling individual screens effectively. Let’s see a few instances of how this can be done.  Visual Identity at the Individual Screen Level On a smaller but extensive scale, the rule of establishing visual identity applies to the individual screens of the entire course. As discussed earlier, we need to augment the interest piqued by the GUI. This can be done by using a common theme for the entire course - using elements such as a particular color scheme, icons in a particular set of colors, etc. For instance, we recently developed a course for a not-for-profit, industry-led global standards body. The course dealt with the use of RFID technology in the Apparel industry. The course was developed with the consistent use of icons in 2 shades. The entire course followed a similar pattern and the result was a very engaging, visually attractive course. Similarly, if your course deals with safety rules, you can incorporate related icons and graphics to lend a consistent feel and give your learners a theme they can identify with. Using themes to develop courses will orient your learners, focus their attention on the topic being dealt with, and lend a consistent look and feel.  Have other ways of incorporating the use of themes? Do share with us. Related Posts3 Tips to Create Immersive Learning Environment in E-learning Courses [Infographic]E-Learning vs.Traditional Classroom Training3 Reasons Why Social Media Training Should be Mandatory for Employees [Infographic]

The online training medium is used extensively by companies worldwide. A study by Global Industry Analysts Inc. reported that the global market for e-learning solutions would reach $107 billion, by 2015, registering a near 100% growth over the previous year. Why is e-learning immensely popular with the L&D community? How does it help organizations impart training better and meet their organizational goals? Let us see. E-learning is highly flexible and helps deliver consistent training Online courses can be accessed anytime, anywhere. This enables the busy learner to draw his own, convenient learning paths without disrupting his work schedule. Furthermore, as e-learning is an instructor-independent learning format, it is possible to impart high quality, consistent training to learners throughout the world. E-learning is cost-effective In an economy that is slowly recovering from a huge recession, companies need to ensure that they get the best value for their training dollar. Companies can cut their training expenditures considerably using e-learning. Studies reveal that organizations using the online learning medium were able to reduce workplace training costs by at least 50%. E-learning boosts productivity in a big way According to a report released by IBM, companies who utilize e-learning tools and strategies have the potential to boost their productivity by up to 50%. For every $1 that company spends, it’s estimated that it can receive $30 worth of productivity. Indeed, the online training medium is ideal to impart training. E-learning is eco-friendly The advent of e-learning has eliminated the need for learners and their trainers to travel in order to attend training programs. This goes a long way in reducing CO2 emissions. A study by the Open University at Britain showed that e-learning helped reduce the CO2 emissions per learner by about 85%, and with millions of learners using the online medium, the reduction in CO2 emissions is very significant. E-learning enables quick delivery of training The online medium can be used to deliver highly effective instruction in quick time. Research shows that companies using e-learning were able to reduce instruction delivery time by at least 60%. This has become possible with the advent of rapid authoring tools. Using this software, a 60 minute online learning module can be developed in 2-3 weeks. Thus, we see that e-learning helps companies to meet their training goals efficiently, and thereby, enhances their productivity. Indeed, e-learning is a boon to the corporate world. Isn’t it? Related PostsE-Learning vs.Traditional Classroom Training6 Aspects to Consider Before Starting an E-learning Project6 Hot E-learning Trends Shaping the Corporate Training World [Video]

Effective training plays a critical role in the success of a medical representative. So, pharmaceutical firms spend huge amounts of money on training their sales personnel. According to Merck Capital Ventures, drug manufacturers worldwide spend about a billion dollars an year on training their salespeople. How can pharmaceutical companies ensure that their sales staff members are trained effectively on their products and ready to face the challenges of a dynamic business world? What does it take evaluate the product knowledge of medical representatives? Well, you need to ask them 11 questions. Let us see what they are. Hope you find this post interesting. How do you assess the product knowledge of your sales staff? We’d love to know. Related PostsInstructional Strategies to Train Medical Representatives OnlineTraining Medical Representatives - Benefits of Using Bite-Sized Modules [Infographic]E-learning for Better Training to Sales People of Pharmaceutical Firms

It is common knowledge that well-trained employees are the crux of a successful organization. Companies need to ensure that their staff members have the required knowledge and skills, to survive in a dynamic world of business. But, how can firms deliver good training, quickly, at low cost, to their people? Well, they need to use e-learning. Research shows that adopting of online methods can reduce training expenditure at least by a half and instruction time by around 60%. A report released by IBM stated that companies who utilize e-learning tools and strategies have the potential to boost productivity by up to 50%. For every $1 that a company spends, it’s estimated it can receive $30 worth of productivity. How can you make the best use of this highly beneficial learning format? To find out, check out the webinar Unleashing the Power of E-learning to Impart First-rate Training. This webinar: Explains how e-learning could be used to meet organizational and training goals Lists the challenges in implementing online training programs and suggests measures to overcome them Provides a comprehensive overview of various training programs that can be held online Shares the best practices of getting started with e-learning Download the webinar now! Related PostsE-learning - A Boon to the Corporate WorldAn Effective Guide to Online Course Development - Free KitLearner Analysis - 5 Things You Need to Do [Infographic]

At times for our e-learning courses we receive requirement that the learner should be able to attempt the final quiz only thrice that is the learner can retry the quiz only twice. In this scenario the third time the learner fails he/she should not be allowed to take the quiz again. How can this restriction be imposed on our e-learning courses? There is an in-built feature, re-take option, in the final quiz. When the learner fails to complete the quiz,using this re-take option, the quiz can be attempted unlimited times. In the following example, we need to enable the re-take option. When the learner fails thrice, the re-take option should be disabled. Here are the steps involved in doing this. Step 1:Create some assessment slides and import them to a final quiz. Step 2:Assign points to each question based on the requirement. Step 3: Create a default result slide for the final quiz. Step 4: Go to the Result Slide option and enable the Retry quiz option. Step 5: And set the passing score percent for the final quiz (for example, I have set the Passing Score as 80%). Step 6: Create a numeric variable, for example, Count with initial value as zero. Step 7: Adjust the variable Count by adding 1 when the user clicks the Retry quiz button. Step 8: Add the below two triggersas the slide triggers. Change the state of the Retry Quiz button to hidden when the score is greater than or equal to 80 or the value of Countis greater than or equal to 2. Publish or preview the course. When the user attempts the final quiz for the first or second time, the retry option is enabled. When the user attempts the final quiz forthe third time, the retry option is disabled. By this way, we can restrict the use of the retake option in the final quiz using Articulate Storyline. Hope this blog has been useful to you. Please share your thoughts. Related PostsRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key FeaturesCreating Navigation Restriction in Articulate Storyline: Method IVHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?

There are three major challenges that the retail industry faces. They are(1) giving the highest service quality to the customer, (2) retaining the existing client, and (3) promoting the brand awareness about new products. All these challenges are related to the customer or the client. Now, when it comes to its employees, the retail industry again has an uphill task of retaining its own employees, making them more knowledgeable and providing updateson the latest products and services, and giving them the requisite access to information, so that they can use it when they need it the most.  Training is always seen as a solid base to address these challenges. Take the example of instructor-led training; it consists of an instructor conducting aclassroom training session or a retail seminar. Thus, all the retail managers have to attend, and this adds up to transportation costs and instructor fees and others. So, although it has its own place, but as a whole, it is not considered an effective training delivery platform. E-learning for Retail E-learning allows users to study anywhere, and they are freed from the constraints of time and place. Moreover, eLearning enables auser to be informed about all the latest specifications of products and benefits that they offer at each stage. Thus, a more knowledgeable sales force can lead to better customer satisfaction and increased sales. The service quality also gets improvised, and in a competitive market, gaining a customer preference always adds value to the organization. E-learning can address the issues of a retail business. A retail business can have different verticals such as stock management, product knowledge, payroll, safety measures, and so on. With eLearning, we can have tailor-made training solutions for employees working at each of these verticals. Often we have missed the chance to evaluate the learner’s progress and are not able to identify the knowledge gap. With eLearning courses, you can have assessments and when the learner attends the test on theLMS, the administrator can collect information such as: Who has completed the test and fulfilled the pass criteria Who has attended the test but failed to meet the pass criteria (we know the areas where he/sheis weak) Thus, the retail manager is able to get a complete picture of the learner’s performance.This transparent evaluation makes the learner well informed and as a whole, he is happy, and thisleads to improved employee retention. For a dynamic workforce like the people working in retail operations, the employee (learner) can log onto an eLearning platform and learn the things needed to refresh his/her memory. All the requisite information areat his fingertips. This streamlines the learning process of the learner. Things become easier with the paradigm shift from instructor-led training to eLearning. I want add a small case-study that right defines how the shift benefits the retail operation: Carrefour Italia introduces a culture of E-learning  Carrefour is a multinational retailer. The group’s four mature markets are France, Spain, Belgium and Italy, which together account for over 72% of its sales. Each store tailors its product offering to suit local culture. In Italy, for instance, 89% of ownbrand food products are locally produced. Carrefour Italia was also keen to tailor its learning and development to suit Italian employees. In Italy it has 18.000 employees and 1.218 stores. The group had three main learning challenges specific to its Italianoperations. It was looking to boost the management skills of its managers and introduce a culture of e-Learning. Secondly, it was looking for a more effective way of delivering technical training for specific in-store roles such as bakery or electrical department staff.Finally, it needed to deliver mandatory legal and compliance training to a large number of employees. Source: Crossknowledge.com Related PostsHow to Create Effective Online Courses for the Manufacturing SectorWhy Should Manufacturing Organizations Train Their Workers OnlineWhy E-learning for Retail Employees - Five Reasons - An Infographic

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