E-Learning Council

This blog entry is part II of a series on Creating Custom E-Learning solutions. Click here to read Part I: General Business Overview.

Once the purpose and success metrics for a custom E-Learning solution are established (see Part I), the following questions further refine the content and scope of the project. Important questions to consider include:

Seat Time

What is the estimated duration of the training module(s) from the learner’s perspective (i.e., how long will it take a learner to complete the training module or series of modules)?

Industry standards measure E-Learning in one (1) hour segments. Generally, the compression rate is about 50%.  For example, a 2 hour face-to-face class compresses to a one (1) hour course.  This is an important consideration in developing training for continuing education units (CEUs).  When building E-Learning, efficiencies are gained when the seat time extends beyond one (1) hour.

Source Content

Where will the source content come from?

1. Instructor led classes: If training has been held as an instructor led class:

   a. How many times?

   b. Do the presentation/class materials include speaker notes or are the speaker notes
       all in the instructor’s head?
    

2. If content is not derived from prior instructor led training:

   a. What books or manuals will content be drawn from? Do you have copyrights to them?

   b. What presentation or series of presentations will be used? Are there speaker notes?
    

3. What other documented sources of content exist?

Levels of Interactivity

1. There are four levels of learner interactivity. What level is appropriate? Hint: We typically discuss this with the SME and Instructional Designer together.
    
2. We are all familiar with “death by PowerPoint” but did you know that video can be considered a “level 1” interactivity too?  Additional detailed information about the four levels of learner interactivity are found on the MicroAssist blog: The Learning Dispatch in Linda Warren’s white paper, “Myths About Online Training.” 

Accessibility

Must training meet any particular accessibility standards for people with vision, hearing or movement disabilities? These may include:

1. Low or no vision
    
2. Hearing impaired: hard of hearing or deafness
    
3. Mobility issues, i.e. impairments affecting the ability use a mouse to get around a screen
    

Custom E-Learning solutions begin from a business perspective. You should have a clear understanding of why the training is needed and how you will measure its success. I start with general business questions to identify gaps, needs, and metrics. Here are a few:

1. What organizational or business problem are you trying to solve?
2. What new skill or change in behavior are you trying to accomplish?
3. Is training the best approach?
4. How will you know if it is successful?
5. What metrics will be used?  Knowing that a manager will eventually ask for a report about the success of your E-Learning project, keep your metrics relevant and show how they solved the business problem.

In the next article, “Creating Custom E-Learning Solutions Part II: Training Overview,” we will dive a bit deeper with questions that further tailor training to business objectives.