‘RFP’ Woes and How to Get the E-Learning Solution of Your Dreams. The path to eLearning bliss may not be so simple.
If you are new to eLearning, pursuing companies for proposals can be a bit overwhelming, even a little daunting. Learn the ins and outs of defining your needs so you get the right eLearning partner and avoid surprises. It’s a scenario that happens all too often. You smiled, spoke clearly and shared your eLearning dreams with whom you thought could be the eLearning vendor for you, but now you’re not so sure. You fancied eLearning Vendor A, even RFP’d them, only to find that eLearning Vendor A had an entirely different vision for the future than eLearning Vendor B. eLearning Vendor B came back with $7,500, and eLearning Vendor A, $75,000.
Alright, alright, so that was a little dramatic, borderline soap opera cheesy with the faint music in the background. E-learning solutions aren’t a one-size fits all approach in terms of final product and neither are the options and costs associated with choosing one that’s right for your company. Online Training Software: Create Online Course & Training. 10 principles of usability for learning. Nielsen and Loranger’s book, Prioritizing Web Usability is a world of value and a bookshelf essential, but what does it have to say about designing for learning on the web?
The Nielsen Norman Group offer detailed reports on specific genres like e-commerce, but, nothing yet on education. Nor does the book showcase any educational sites or make reference to these in user studies. This, of course, makes user testing our own work all the more important. It’s also why I thought it was worthwhile to put a few of their guidelines in educational context. Here are the top ten lessons for learning interface design that I believe stand out from Nielsen and Loranger's (N&L) general usability findings.
Do your own testing. While these 10 principles stand out as especially influential in educational context, there's little in the book that doesn't apply as much to designing for online learning as it does for designing anything else on the web. Elearning Blueprint » Action Mapping overview. You’re about to use a quick, visual way to design elearning. It’s like mind mapping, but I call it Action Mapping because it helps you change what people do , not just what they know. It helps you design action-packed materials that improve business performance, and it can keep stakeholders from adding extraneous information. The blueprint is based on this approach, so don’t skip this overview!
Download a PDF of the overview How will it help me? Action Mapping helps you avoid creating an information dump by making you and your stakeholders focus on what learners need to do in the real world. Here’s a short, fun video that shows why this fundamental mindshift needs to happen. How does this change your process? One reason action mapping works is because stakeholders collaboratively analyze the performance problem, all commit to the same measurable goal, and all agree to focus on activities rather than information. How to Turn Content Into Training: The Cognitive Therapy Case Study. This article makes me nervous.
Why? Because I’m giving away too much. There’s a line between sharing information and putting yourself out of a job. I think I’m about to cross it. You see, experts need people like me to turn expertise into training. Now, if I start giving my secrets away―POOF! Whatever. Now listen up.
Where to find images for e-learning projects. E-learning Samples. 8 Things You Should Include In Your Terms of Service Agreement. Useful Legal Documents For Designers (PDF/DOC) Contracts are a source of anxiety and dismay in creative work, but they exist for a good reason.
A good contract ensures that you and your client have the same expectations, and protects you in case things go south. Ideally, your contract should be a combination of industry standards, legal protection and personal preferences. To help you get started, here’s a set of 10 basic agreements for a variety of common business situations that creative professionals face.
How much do you expect to be paid in advance? What happens if a payment is late? 2Image credits: Joybot3. Here’s the full set that you can customize online: AIGA Standard for Professional Design Services4 Drafted by the premier design association in the US, this is probably the most complete designer-friendly agreement out there (works best for big projects). You can also download the full set in PDF/DOC17, with one single file (.zip). (vp) (jc) 10 Ways To Protect Yourself From Client Issues. Sharebar Whether you’re dealing with stakeholders, internal clients or external customers, some issues are bound to arise during the design and development of eLearning products.
Usually these issues can just be smoothed over by listening more closely to what the client is saying or by preparing and educating the client as to how the process works. There are those times, however, when communication breaks down and issues develop into something more serious. Articulate Storyline Pearls.
Ed tech. Mind mapping software.