Quick e-learning tips from a cup of coffee

Today we are going to discuss one of the basic experiences I get every day in instruction designing.

We will learn this after having a cup of coffee (you may prefer tea J).

Don’t worry! I’m not going for a break… I was just trying to make you think about a hot cup of coffee (essentially hot). Now, think about gulping all at once.

Crazy! Isn’t it?

We drink it slowly, sipping, knowing that it is wiser to take in small amount at a time.

This is a same route a good e-learning course follows .

No matter how complex a topic is, approach should be such that the content is broken into smaller concepts. This iteration must be continued until every concept is easily digestible.

Once this is done, you’ve got the back of the job broken (as my boss says… J)

Now, the next step is build a flow between all the islets of the concepts and link them so that you come up with the whole picture

So, its just a 3 step process:
1.     Break the whole concept into smaller counterparts.
2.     Goto step 1, until every part is easily understandable.

3.     Combine all concepts back to give a complete view.

Now, let’s imagine a hot meal and revise the concepts. J

Kick start your (e)learning.

It has been almost 9 months since I joined Finitiatives (FLIP) as a Content Design Expert (CDE). I have been learning new things every day. Many a times there's only information, but quite a few times its transformation.

In past 9 months I have realised that my brain is too small to remember all the learnings. Things change very rapidly. To keep pace one not only needs to learn new skills, but also retain older ones. To keep the learning alive nothing is better than sharing it. After all, that's what my profession is :) .

Since this is the first post of my e-learning series, I would like to introduce my company as well as my work process a bit.

Who am I?

I'd like to be called as a 'FLIP-ite' . We provide role specific e-learning in the Banking and Financial Services (BFS) sector. The courses are written by people who have years of experience in various verticals of BFS sector. This ensures that our courses remain as closer to real-life as possible.

What's my contribution?

When the content comes to CDEs (us :) ), it is redesigned in a way that a boring book becomes a movie. Apart from teaching these movies tend to engage the learner with various elements (that we will discuss in near future). These engagements ensure that the learner lives the lessons.

I want to design an e-learning course, too. Where do I start from?

Every business starts for customers. This rule remains unchanged here.

First objective of any e-learning course is to cover the expectations of the learner. For this an instructional designer should first understand role of the learner in his job and how it can be enhanced through an e-learning platform. Sometimes, the present status is fine and just needs a touch-up. Sometimes, it needs overhauling. Its upon us to decide. However, we must always keep in mind that the information content should not be more or less than what is required.

Second objective is about setting targets. It acts as a foundation for any Instruction Design. The easiest way to achieve this is by setting up an overall target that the learner will achieve by the course designed by you. The next step is to simplify the main target(s) by breaking it in small milestones. Chewing up bit by bit, one at a time. Remember that these small milestones must add up to the final objective :).

So, to start with an e-learning course here are some quick tips:

1. Interact with the learners to get their current skills. Ask about their expectations.
2. Create a target that your e-learning will achieve. Communicate the user about enhancements they can expect after going through this course.
3. De-construct main targets in small milestones. Cover them one by one. It is advisable to check the learning achieved at the end of each milestone. Create a story around the content. Milestones may help in creating the chapters of the story. This helps the learner visualise the content and remember it for longer time.

An e-learning must always contain information that engages the user while teaching them. But core of the learning comes from the ideas discussed above.

So, what are you waiting for? Get started...