Tight eLearning Budget: 6 Tips To Create An Amazing Online Training Course

Tight eLearning Budget: 6 Tips To Create An Amazing Online Training Course
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Summary: Unlimited eLearning budgets are the exception, not the rule. So, how can eLearning professionals create effective and memorable online training courses with minimal resources? In this article, I’ll share 6 tips that you can deliver top notch online training experiences without paying top dollar.

Tips To Create An Amazing Online Training Course On A Tight eLearning Budget

The old saying goes that you “pay for what you get”. However, there are a variety of ways that you can create amazing and engaging online training courses on a tight eLearning budget. By using the right tools and capitalizing on your experience, skills, and talents, you can offer your corporate learners an unforgettable experience. Developing online training courses doesn’t have to cost a small fortune, especially if you use these money-saving eLearning tips.

  1. Narrow the scope of your online content.
    One of the quickest ways to go over budget is trying to cover too much subject matter in a single online training course or module. This is why it’s essential to narrow the scope of your online content before you even start the design and development process. Sit down with the Subject Matter Expert to figure out what you should cover and what can be left out. Whether you are creating the online training course yourself or enlisting the help of another Instructional Designer, this approach will save you money and time. It will also benefit your audience, as they won’t have to sift through an abundance of online content to find the information they absolutely need. Determining the objectives and goals of the online training course goes hand in hand with this. Otherwise, you run the risk of wasting resources on topics that don’t even belong in your clear and concise online materials.
  2. Repurpose existing online training materials.
    If you have any online materials already on hand, such as interactive interactive scenarios, online text, or images, you can cut costs by repurposing these elements. Even if you need to make minor modifications to the current online content, it will still save you a great deal by not having to create it from scratch. It may even be wise to store all of your images, text blocks, background music, and any other resources in one centralized location. This will serve as your own personal eLearning library moving forward, which can reduce costs on all future eLearning projects. For this very reason, it’s wise to select a LMS that can store all of your important online materials safely, and allow you to quickly and conveniently integrate them to other online training deliverables.
  3. Find the perfect eLearning tools.
    It’s a common misconception that authoring tools are too costly for tight eLearning budgets, especially when more advanced software with a variety of features is concerned. However, there is a wide selection of eLearning tools that are affordable, or even free, that you can use to design your budget-savvy online training course. An example of this is Google Apps in eLearning, which is an entire suite of tools that can help you develop surveys, eLearning assessments, and online presentations for free. Just make sure that you choose an online tool that is ideally suited for the talents, skills, and experience level of your eLearning team. The goal is to go with a solution that offers the perfect balance of usability and features.
  4. Rely on eLearning templates and online media libraries.
    Many eLearning tools integrate a great variety of pre-designed eLearning templates to choose from. You simply input your information, images, and any other online resources that are necessary, for deploying the online training course. Rather than having to build your online training experiences from the ground up, eLearning templates give you the chance to design amazing and effective online training courses in a fraction of the time. There are even some solutions that allow you to integrate your branding and color scheme into the layout of the online course. If you need to include photos, music, and images, look for eLearning tools that include online media libraries. These online libraries often have hundreds, if not thousands, of multimedia elements , interactions, and graphics that you can use in your eLearning course design.
  5. Create bite-sized online training experiences.
    Instead of creating one lengthy online training course that covers all of the subject matter, you can also opt for several bite-sized modules that focus on a specific sub-topic. This not only reduces the risk of cognitive overload for your corporate learners, but allows you to create online training experiences more rapidly. Another perk is being able to quickly modify and update each individual module, rather than having to edit and revise the entire online training course over time. For example, if you discover that one of your bite-sized corporate eLearning experiences is not as effective as it could be, you can simply modify that particular element to improve its weaknesses.
  6. Invest in needs analysis and audience research.
    Audience research, performance assessments, and needs analysis may all seem like items that don’t belong on your expense sheet. However, they can all offer you the chance to create more effective online training courses for less. This is primarily due to the fact that they reduce the likelihood of several revision rounds and ensure that you are meeting the needs of your audience. Conduct surveys, interviews, and focus groups to figure out the goals and preferences of your online learners, as well as the expectations of the organization with respect to online training courses. Doing so will also allow you to pinpoint which training needs to be covered, and which pieces of information can be omitted. If you pair this with Subject Matter Expert input, you can develop a streamlined, cohesive online training course on a tight eLearning budget.

With these tips on hand, you have the power to create visually stunning and highly effective online training courses for your corporate learners, without breaking the bank. Using the appropriate online tools and a bit of creativity, you can develop meaningful online training experiences for a fraction of the eLearning cost.

Now that you know how to design top notch online training courses on a tight eLearning budget, take a moment to read the article 5 eLearning Costs That May Put At Risk Your eLearning Budget to discover the 5 eLearning costs that may put your eLearning budget at risk.