Training In An Online World: Designing, Producing, And Distributing Course Material
People have been talking about it for over 20 years. Yet, online learning has never before been such a popular topic. In the early 90s, the first universities that were convinced of the need to modernize teaching methods attempted to publish their course material online with the scant resources available at the time, a simple Web Page. The work of James O-Donnell, University of Pennsylvania, is a perfect example [1]. These first attempts so brilliantly illustrate the fundamental challenges of digitizing educational content. What is the ideal format? How do you make it attractive and engaging? These are questions that have only recently been answered.
Why is the debate about digitizing content still so alive and well? The number of online tools has skyrocketed and they incorporate what today’s users are looking for: interactivity, collaboration, mobility, and personalized learning methods [2]. They provide new solutions for creating engaging and impactful content: Prezi, ThingLink, interactive video, GoAnimate, etc. Most importantly, these new tools are available to everyone. It is no longer necessary to hire an expert who is capable of using complicated software or outdated tools like Adobe Captivate or Storyline. These innovative new LMSs are user-friendly, ergonomically designed, help professionals create their own content as needed, and help them stay up to date with market demands.
This new reality has created a new set of strategic challenges for businesses. How do you transform traditional training methods into blended learning or 100% eLearning? How do you change current digital habits within a company to incorporate dynamic and innovative tools to meet employee expectations? There are also financial and HR implications to consider: cost reduction, employee retention, team performance, and the list goes on.
Training providers are also aware of changing needs among business. Proposals with eLearning or blended learning components are becoming the norm. To remain competitive, the challenge today is for training providers to efficiently expand their offer by digitizing courses based mainly on traditional face-to-face learning.
The eBook Training In An Online World describes a series of practical techniques to immediately start digitizing your training material. It has been developed for anyone looking to digitize content originally designed for a traditional classroom setting: including educators, of course, but also for business managers.
About The eBook
Here are the key chapters of Training In An Online World:
- Understand what has changed
It’s because people are changing the way they learn that you need to change the way you train. Discover what has changed and how you can adapt. - Discover your options
What are the latest learning formats? How should an online course program be structured? What is a MOOC or a SPOC? - Engage learners
What are the best practices to get learners hooked on your courses? Who are your learners and which digital formats should you use to engage them? - Draft your training plan
In this eBook, you will find all the information you need to match your ambitions to your budget and deadlines. - Learn to adapt
How can I use data to improve participation and course pass rates? Data plays a key role in a learning project. Discover how you can use it to continuously improve your content.
Whether your course material already exists or has yet to be designed, in the eBook Training In An Online World you will find extensive information to make courses attractive, understandable, innovative, and engaging.
Footnotes:
- At the end of each class, O’Donnell would put all course documents and slides online so that other university student could consult them cf. Teaching on the Infobahn, May 20th, 2013, Georgetown University.
- This is called Adaptive Learning cf. Learning Analytics, 2015.
