the e-learner
In full bloom Waking up to a world beyond e-learning Xxxxxxxx
snowdrops bloom, the horses frolic, sweating under wintry coats, and our staff enjoy the last remnants of daylight as after work they wend their way home down the ancient lane. Sounds idyllic, right? But spring’s about more than our immediate physical environment. With the resurgence of light, warmth and life itself, comes a deep human impulse to start afresh. It’s a cliché, of course, but for good reason – spring’s the time to get cracking with that new project, re-evaluate the way you do things, discard what’s no longer working and spruce up what can be salvaged.
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One of the challenges I’ve recently faced at work has been suitably apt for the season, taking me out of my comfort zone and forcing me to consider the bigger picture when it comes to an organisation’s training needs. It’s a spring-like change for the client too, who is instigating a huge project to better serve the needs of the business.
My task was to take a five-week programme of face-to-face induction training and reconsider how the whole thing was delivered; transforming modules into online solutions where appropriate, cutting
t Mind Click HQ, spring is on its way. The last of autumn’s brown leaves will soon be cast off the old mulberry tree. Meanwhile, daffodils and
down content that wasn’t necessary, and creating additional resources to constructively support the curriculum. Ultimately, the goal was to create a shorter programme, more effective at teaching learners what they actually need to know. This wasn’t the familiar ‘here’s our training
need – create an online solution that fulfils it’ type requirement that I’m used to. Instead, it required in-depth analysis of existing content, methodical scrutiny of what should stay, what should go and what should be converted, and careful construction of a new training schedule, ticking all the mandatory boxes while creating a learner journey that engages the full spectrum of users. What’s more, I had to think about how we’d get important stakeholders, especially existing classroom trainers, on board. Having a perfectly designed programme is little use if the people administering it don’t know what they’re doing or simply don’t want to do it. The solution was a rollout campaign, incorporating a teaser animation, emails and posters, to market and explain the new programme to this audience.
As a learning designer, it’s been immensely helpful to take a step back from e-learning and think about how online resources work in a wider context. Here’s what I’ve taken away from the experience so far: n Time-consuming e-learning gets a bad reputation for being tedious, but weeks of back -to-back classroom training is no better. Variety is the spice of life, and mixing self-paced online
solutions with interactive face-to-face sessions is the best way to approach training on any given day.
n One of the joys of designing a longer-term programme is being able to incorporate recap sessions, where learners are asked to engage with content that they originally covered the day or even week before. Revisiting key learning points is one of the most effective ways to embed content in learners’ minds long-term.
n It’s not just about e-learning – other resources that we’re providing include classroom presentation slides, trainer notes, animations, physical classroom resources and an online activity center. It’s incredibly satisfying to be able to put your stamp on a full training programme, rather than just one element of it. As blended solutions become more and more
popular, it’s important that we as learning designers are equipped to expand our horizons beyond the standalone online module. Only by taking a step back can we appreciate the full experience of our learners. So that’s my spring, but what about yours? What will you choose to tackle for your workplace spring clean? Whatever you pick, remember to keep the big picture in mind as you go forth and bloom.
Megan McIlvenna is an instructional designer at Mind Click
@the_e_learner
It’s a cliché, of course, but for good reason – spring’s the time to get cracking with that new project, re-evaluate the way you do things, discard what’s no longer working and spruce up what can be salvaged.
22 e.learning age april 2016
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