Let’s continue our Formatting eLearning Documents series with a little discussion on another area that interacts with the Table of Contents (ToC). The ToC depends on Continue reading “Formatting eLearning Documents: Give Me a Break”
Tag: Content
Budget (but not free) eLearning Content Creation Tools
Can we all agree that paying recurring costs for licensing software, particularly when you are a small (or even one-person) team, sucks? It ends up being a large, recurring cost that can be difficult to justify or subsidize, particularly in lean times. Oftentimes you don’t even need all the new and shiny features that a regular subscription provides.
But purchasing software outright (when it’s still an option, as many companies no longer offer it) can have a prohibitively expensive up-front cost—high-end software often costs upwards of $1000 dollars, even for just a single license.
But, free tools aren’t always the answer either. Continue reading “Budget (but not free) eLearning Content Creation Tools”
Quick Tips to Help Your SME Curate eLearning Content
It’s a given that subject matter experts (SME) are, well, experts. SMEs understand the ins-and-outs of their subject, the nuances of how similar topics relate to it, and Continue reading “Quick Tips to Help Your SME Curate eLearning Content”
The New Digital Divide in Instructional Design
Many people are familiar with the concept of the digital divide—the idea that as technology continues to advance at a remarkable pace, there is a growing gulf between the “haves” and the “have-nots” when it comes to access to, and adoption of technologies. Many in instructional design consider these technologies essential for our day-to-day careers: internet access, easy access to information, and ubiquitous WiFi. Which makes it challenging when we design content for those who don’t have easy access to those things.
But, there’s another gulf forming in Instructional Design. Continue reading “The New Digital Divide in Instructional Design”
Formatting eLearning Documents: Hop, Skip, and a Hyperlink
The Formatting eLearning Documents series is an overview of various Microsoft Word functions, how to find them, and how best to use them in eLearning. These tutorials are not exact step-by-step directions. The how-to steps in software change so often, the blog would simply become post after post correcting the ever changing tutorials! Can you imagine? We’d have to re-title our blog and everything! Nobody wants that (especially the editors).
In this post, we’ll look at creating both hyperlinks and a Table of Contents (ToC) as the two are related in Word. They are also important items in eLearning, especially Continue reading “Formatting eLearning Documents: Hop, Skip, and a Hyperlink”
Efficiency: The Trap of Modern Design
We live in a culture, and work in a field, that prizes and demands efficiency. A million things always need to be done immediately, and at least a thousand projects needed launch yesterday. We make endless to-do lists, debate time tracking and performance metrics, hire project managers by the truckload, and do everything in our power to wring every last drop of “efficiency” out of our daily lives.
And often, we’re making a mistake. Continue reading “Efficiency: The Trap of Modern Design”
3 Things I Learned Working with Subject Matter Experts in my First Year as an ID
In my first year as an instructional designer (ID), I worked with college faculty to develop the courses they had taught face-to-face into online courses. I was eager to dive into my new role, create successful courses, and stick to a 3-month timeline for each project.
A few key lessons that I encountered in those early days continue to guide my work. Continue reading “3 Things I Learned Working with Subject Matter Experts in my First Year as an ID”
Bringing Value to your Learners with OER
You walk into the campus student bookstore. Classes started last week, and you just got paid at your part-time, minimum wage student job. You nervously add the cost of the stack of textbooks in your head.
You don’t have enough cash. You never have enough cash.
What do you do? Put some books back? Continue reading “Bringing Value to your Learners with OER”
Formatting eLearning Documents: Back to the Basics
Elearning is a highly collaborative environment, with instructional designers (ID), subject matter experts (SME), instructors, and editors all working together to provide consistent content across multiple platforms. It’s one of the great strengths of eLearning.
It can also be a great weakness. Continue reading “Formatting eLearning Documents: Back to the Basics”
Make your eLearning More Authentic
Have you noticed that our culture is beginning to value authenticity over authority?
We’re tired of being told. We want to be asked.
We’re tired of overly-complicated wordsmithing. We want clear and concise information.
We’re tired of not knowing. We want to be kept in the loop.
Authenticity is what we all crave. Continue reading “Make your eLearning More Authentic”
Model eLearning 
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