eLearning vs mLearning

In my old role, we used to build custom eLearning from the ground up. So we would plan and execute the design for many common devices such as desktops, iPads, surface pros, android phones, and every size of iPhone. This meant creating individual graphics and coding brand new modules for each size. You can imagine the amount of work and expense that went into making our modules responsive.

Responsive design allows for viewing the content across various devices. These days, if we know users will be accessing the content with their phones, we will opt to develop in Articulate Rise. Rise is excellent at responsive design because it automatically reorders content to be digestible, limits buttons, and mimics mobile design. Our learners are hospital staff who sometimes have to reference just-in-time (JIT) resources, which is best done from mobile. Considering learners' access to mobile is also an important feature to consider before designing, and is appropriate for our learners because the hospital supplies devices.

“Can you make good use of the camera, microphone, GPS, or any other features? For example, could your learning be genuinely improved by varying what is shown dependent on the learner’s GPS location?”
— Tim Buff

I think the future of designing for mobile devices also includes opportunity to utilize AR/VR technology. Because mobile technology is fairly new, I think we are just scratching the surface when it comes to learning application. It will take time to study the effects on learners, but in the meantime I think it is worth meeting the learner where they are, making learning accessible and easy, and exploring the possibilities.

References

Ivec, S. (2015, June 19. Desktop versus mobile learning. [Web log post] Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/desktop-versus-mobile-learning

eLearning Object Review #1

I have the opportunity in this post to review Blue Beta Facilities Orientation.

Image shows a screenshot of the Blue Beta Facilities Orientation training.

In this post, I will be identifying:

  1. the course topic

  2. the relevant characteristics of the target learner audience (what can you infer?)

  3. the knowledge and/or skill type(s)

  4. the learning domain(s),

  5. the assessment method(s) (i.e., response options, test items),

  6. the trigger event(s) (how do you get the learner to act?)

  7. the guidance technique(s) (how does the learner know what to do next?)

  8. the advisor type(s) (if any)

This course is an example of a linear hierarchical (directive) e-learning object.

  • Linear: Information is organized into chunks that naturally build on one another. The learner is limited by the interface to only view the information in a specific order, one topic at a time.

  • Hierarchical (directive): Similar to a textbook’s design, an eLearning course can have several lessons, each with several topics which can be presented with multimedia such as text, images, animation, audio, and video clips (Chyung, 2007, p.3). A directive approach is ideal for workers with new jobs because it offers small chunks of knowledge at a time, and allows learners to observe and listen while periodically responding to questions (Clark, 2013).

The (1) topic of the course is the office facilities and providing any information employees will need to know to work in the facilities both in the present and future. The (2) audience, a company new hire, has no prior knowledge of office layout of rules. They are considered novice learners with high motivation, as they are eager to start their first day. We assume they are familiar with the technology on which the training is being delivered. Orienting activities are usually done at the learner’s pace, so there are no time constraints on this eLearning object. (Of the learning characteristics to consider when developing an eLearning object, age, gender, cultural background, prior education, and prior work experience are not relevant.)

There are three categories of eLearning content: declarative, procedural, and situated. This eLearning example falls under the declarative (4) knowledge domain because it is concerned with “knowing what.” Specifying the topic’s learning category and the level of learning helps developers determine the most appropriate methods and media to deliver the content (p. 4). The (3) content-type is concepts and facts that will be useful to the learner in the future.

The (6) triggering event should be realistic and compelling (Clark, 2013, p.64). In this course, the triggering event occurs on the first page of the eLearning, Here, it provides a quick overview of “why learn this information” and gives them a clear idea of what the expected outcome is so that the learner is prepared (p. 64). The module asks the learner to interact by clicking “Start Course” to view the next topic.

Clark identifies nine types of guidance techniques: faded support, simple to complex scenarios, open vs. close response options, navigation options, training wheels, coaching advisors, worksheets, feedback, or collaboration (p. 77). Articulate Rise uses fairly intuitive navigation options as a (7) guidance technique. As the learner reads from top to bottom, they reach a barrier that asks them to click to continue. This is the typical way an audience interacts with a webpage, both in scrolling and clicking through menus. Because the training is being delivered in this manner, it is important to know the learner’s ability to use the technology. Rise also employs signaling (via animations and hover states) to indicate where the learner should click.

This eLearning object requires a test with multiple-choice and yes/no questions to give immediate corrective feedback during its (5) assessment.

In eLearning, an (8) advisor can appear to provide context-specific guidance or direction at the moment of need (Chyung, 2013, p. 82). Because of Articulate Rise’s simplistic interface, there is no included option for an advisor to appear. A designer could include directions to learners about what to do next, but that would appear alongside the rest of the content as the user scrolls through the lessons.

References

Chyung, S. Y. (2007). Learning Object-Based e-Learning: Content Design, Methods, and Tools. The eLearning Guild’s Learning Solutions. https://www.learningguild.com/pdf/2/082707des-temp.pdf

Clark, R. C. (2013). Scenario-based e-learning: Evidence-based guidelines for online workforce learning. (Links to an external site.) San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

Thoughts on ID Documentation and Storyboarding...

Having a background in graphic design and illustration, I have come across many opportunities to use document templates. One wouldn't always think that graphic design is a field that lends itself to templates, with art being an open-ended medium. But the more professional work I did, I found myself creating my own templates to work from, be it for animations, brand style guides, or laying out print pieces. Creating templates was essential for my work because it would maintain the quality of my deliverables while saving me time on each new project.

Storyboarding during the animation process begins once the concept and characters are developed and a script is decided upon. The script then informs the development of a storyboard. You can think of the storyboard as capturing the movement of the characters through a scene, and when each frame is connected, it'll bring the scene to life. As an artist, my job was to describe this movement in each scene with rough sketches of the characters, scenery, and perspectives.

My animation background easily translated to developing assets from eLearning storyboards. Like animation, the storyboards described the on-screen visuals, actions, and audience perspective. Whether for in-person, virtual, or hybrid learning experiences, storyboards gave structure, consistency, and depth to the deliverables.

Having worked with many different companies, each with its own version of a storyboard, I have begun to create my own storyboard template using what I've learned. I will share the template in a future blog post but wanted to touch on my early experience with creating design document templates. I believe the best templates come from experience. And when your own is lacking, I trust the experience of those around me. I love looking at examples of what has worked for other IDs in the past so I can learn from them and work their expertise into my own designs. I also believe that the best templates are adaptable, saleable, and easily understood. An ideal template contains enough detail and direction that both a novice and an expert can use it.

With my current experience, I have had the opportunity to write and document data for numerous training deliverables. I have some best practices when it comes to project documentation that I would like to share:

  • Consider your audience: It does not matter that you present information, it only matters that information is communicated. Therefore, consider your readers and meet them where they are. Use their jargon. Position yourself within their contexts and their needs. Make it as easy as possible for them to interpret.

  • Be concise: In that same vein, don't waste readers’ time. Explain what they need to know and nothing more. A wonderful book I read in grade school told the story of the author learning to write by going to his dad to edit his papers. His dad would say, "Well done, but make it three pages instead of five." And then during the next round of feedback, "Well done, but make it one page instead of three." This way the author learned to be direct and concise and attributes his success as a writer in being able to do so.

  • Ask yourself if a novice reader could understand: Indeed it is easy to become overly verbose when writing about something you are passionate and knowledgeable about. It is also easy to make assumptions about your audience and skim over background information you think is unworthy. And while this is the hardest practice to do, I think it is the most worthwhile. Assume the position of a reader who knows nothing of your process or project. Ask the questions you think are obvious. "Why did you do it this way?" "How did you get from point A to point B?" "What assumptions did you make here?" This was you can be sure that your client, coworker, or future self can be clued in to the thought processes and contexts you were operating in. And when in doubt, provide enough references for readers to find out answers for themselves.

Going beyond ADDIE: My introduction to LeaPS

My first job in eLearning revolved around the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) model. At this job, we built custom training for pharmaceutical sales reps. Being on the development side of these training modules, I worked with instructional designers to create assets based on their storyboards. At the time, this was the only exposure I had to IDs and (embarrassingly) thought instructional design was synonymous with designing eLearning modules. After all, the company’s purpose was to develop eLearning training, and it achieved that purpose very well.

Image depicts a round shape divided into five sections, each with its own heading. The sections are A: Analyze, D: Design, D: develop, I: Implement, and E: Evaluate.

A version of the ADDIE model approach to training used by my current organization.

This brings me back to ADDIE. In that environment, ADDIE (at least how we used it) served us very well. A client would come to us with a training request, my team would ask a few questions (the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?), we would design a storyboard, develop the training, send it off to the client, and update as necessary based on the client’s feedback and the learners’ reception. Simple, right? …and that was the extent of my relationship to ADDIE.

I think the beauty of ADDIE lies in its simplicity. You can explain it easily to clients. It can be used as a linear step-by-step. When I was onboarding at that job, a one-page pdf document was all I needed to learn the model. Looking back, I can recognize that my experience in an ADDIE-driven environment, while maybe not unique, was certainly not all that it could be. I don’t think I ever appreciated what ADDIE was capable of.

As I would come to learn, ADDIE is not a single model in and of itself, but a family of models with a common structure. It makes sense then that without embracing a more customized and detailed version of an ADDIE model, we did not understand how our deliverables could benefit from the process. After all, looking at the general ADDIE model gives users no indication of what to focus on, what questions to ask, what data points to collect, what deliverables each step should yield, how those deliverables add to the process…while it’s a nice model to reference, it does little to inspire action. No wonder I didn’t appreciate the power of models when I entered my master’s program.

During my OPWL master’s program, I was shocked and overwhelmed by how many models existed to help HPT practitioners accomplish their goals. I had always considered models to be a pretty summary or a way of presenting information rather than a systematic process to be followed. Suddenly I was inundated with dozens of models at my disposal, to help me work through issues. I’m lucky that I built a better relationship with models before I was introduced to OPWL’s very own LeaPS ID model.

LeaPS ID Model, introduced by the OPWL Masters Program at Boise State

Through the mastery of a group of professors at Boise State and their willingness to share their expertise, the LeaPS ID model offers a new approach to instructional design. Building upon and adding to many proven instructional design models, LeaPS gives more detail, insight, direction, and suggestions to beginner instructional designers. Admittedly the model is overwhelming at first glance. The graphic designer in me wants to take a stab at making the information more digestible and fluid (maybe a future post?). But the usefulness of the model itself is undeniable. I already have ideas about its application to my current organization and what it could mean for the future of our deliverables.

If you’re curious, check out the YouTube videos below for more information on the LeaPS ID Model:

What’s next:

  • How my current organization could benefit from the LeaPS approach

What made me go AH-HA!

Originally published 2021/08/01

This week's discussion around informal learning actually was my AH-HA! moment for this course. I am relatively familiar with eLearning software, and also feel prepared for where the field is headed. But I am slightly obsessed with learning about people's motivations and passions. And in that vein, informal learning intrigues me. Many definitions of informal learning include the "interest" of the learner, and I think that is an interesting juxtaposition from the "requirement" of the learner. Totally different motivations, and while I can't speak to while is the better of the two, I can guess that personal interest outweighs external requirements in terms of motivation.

This interest in personal motivation stems from many different experiences in my life, but probably none greater than having ADHD. With ADHD, no amount of external motivation coerces me into doing a task. I have to have full, complete, personal motivation to do anything, and then I do it with such veracity that it is the only thing I focus on. The description for informal learning included the example of YouTube, but my personal does of informal learning comes from Instagram. I love the sport of bodybuilding, and have been so passionate about it that I have sat for personal training exams (with no interest in personal training, I just wanted to learn everything I could). To this day my instagram is 80% personal training information, bodybuilding studies, how-tos, training suggestions, client results...and I interact with this multiple times a day. I am using the platform to constantly learn, even though I would ultimately consider it entertainment. And while this is not related to my career, I still think of it as an example of providing context and real world application of a learned topic.

What I can take away from this though is that I have the ability to casually, based on my interest and time allowance, seek out sources of information. I have set up my resources to be able to answer any question I have quickly, as well as provide more information and insight to what I am already interested in. Even if I don't have a specific topic, I am provided with new information with the simple action of a swipe. To the unfocused mind, this is a dream scenario. I learn about something I am interested in, whenever I want, and at my (ridiculously quick) speed. A lot of the critiques I have with eLearning modules or informational videos is that they don't move fast enough for my brain, I lose interest quickly, distract myself, and then it takes me extra time to sit through and digest the materials. I love the idea of informal learning because it provides a wide variety of audience the ability to learn in the way they prefer, we just have to provide that modality to them. The best feature for me in videos, for example, is the ability to play them at 1.5x speed. That is one of the only ways I can stay engaged with a video. eLeaning modules don't yet offer a feature to speed up audio, but maybe one day in the future they will, because they will realize that convenience and customizing learning to your personalized needs is one of the best features to make learning more accessible.