The roots of a great digital learning project

We will discuss …

• different approaches to getting started with digital learning

• figuring out your learning technology requirements• common stages of digital learning design and

development projects• common pitfalls of digital learning projects

Why digital learning, not eLearning

Digital learning is a more holistic term that takes in social learning, performance supports and blended approaches.

Benefits of digital learning

Increased flexibility Increased effectiveness Decreased cost

Benefits of digital learning

Increased flexibility Increased effectiveness Decreased cost

Quality is often not a consideration

Types of digital learningasynchronous synchronous

Self-paced modulesSimulations and games

Social learningDiscussions and collaboration

eBooks and resources

Virtual classrooms Online meeting

70:20:1070% occurs as people engage in informal learning processes such as watching others, participating in workplace routines and undertaking challenging tasks.

20% arises from mentoring and coaching (mostly from a manager or supervisor).

10% is the result of formal courses and reading.

Morgan McCall, Robert Eichinger and Michael Lombardo

The most effective solution will be a blend

Self-paced modulesSimulations and games

eBooks and resources

Virtual classrooms Online meeting

Social learningDiscussions and collaboration

70:20:10

What does great digital learning look like?

Serious eLearning manifesto - http://elearningmanifesto.org

Performance Focus Not focus on awareness. Focus on changed behaviour.

Meaningful to Learners Relates to what learners do with their jobs

Engagement-driven Built around activities and what learner needs to do. It’s not around what they need to know.

Authentic Contexts Built around scenarios and stories

Realistic Decisions Activities reflect the choices and decisions an employee needs to make

Individualised Challenges

Challenge assessment at the start and then scenarios focus on the learner’s weaknesses

Spaced Practice Broken into smaller sections and happens over time

Real-world Consequences

The feedback on activities creates changes to the scenario

What does great digital learning look like?

3 ways to start in digital learning

Buy access to a content library

Build your own programs

Commission programs to be built for you

Open SesameLynda.comSkilsoft

Doesn’t work financially if you are a training provider

Generally works better if you currently do in-house training

Customised to your organisational needs

Moderate quality Quality digital learning is harder to build than you would expect

You would expect the quality to be higher

Moderate cost Low cost Higher cost

I want increase the flexibility of internal training programs and

improve learning transfer.

Meet Max our Learning and Development Manager

What is your advice to Max?

Build his own course

Get a custom course made Buy an existing course off the shelf

Get started with something simple. Don’t start with your

induction programs.

Meet Rebecca our Digital Learning Consultant

Max has decided to start with a small pilot that focuses on

report writing.

He needs to able to track who has completed the program so he decides he needs an LMS.

How about Moodle it’s free ... the price sounds right.

You pay for what you get. Totara is a version of Moodle

designed for workplace learning.

Where to do I start with building the course?

This sounds like you are going to need a blend. Maybe a course that shows some

examples and virtual classrooms that allows

learners to review each other reports.

I’m going to ask lots of questions and then design

some the storyboards

Meet Angela the Instructional Designer for the program

The storyboards are the plan for the resource.

Sometimes they are Word documents, sometimes they

more visual

Who are the learners?

What do they need to do?

Do you have great report writer I could interview? Maybe we could use the

interview as a video in the resource?

I’m getting started by doing some quick mood boards of different visual approaches.

Meet Troy the Visual Designer for the program

Thanks, Troy, the 1st mood board should work well for our

learners.

Now I’m using some of the material that Angela has been working on to mockup how it

works.

Ok, the instructional approach we going to use is a series of examples where an expert

talks about a report.

Over time the learner starts completing sections of the

report.

That sounds great.

Max, the storyboard is ready for you to review.

The storyboard defines what is going to be built. Try and make

sure the content is correct.

Everyone that is going to be reviewing the content needs to

check the storyboard.

I’m so pleased Max doesn’t want this authored in Totara.

It means I can make some engaging interactions.

The module is going to made as a SCORM object and uploaded to the LMS

SCORM stands for (Sharable Content Object Reference

Model)

Basically it’s a way to bundle up files so that the LMS can read them. Also it controls how the learning module

sends information to the LMS

We use a mixture of authoring tools.

The main three tools we use are• Storyline • Captivate• and our own custom tool

Now that the storyboard is reviewed and the build is

underway, we can start adding more details about the virtual

classroom sessions.

What virtual classroom tool should I use?

The most common 3 are

GoToMeeting WebEx Adobe Connect

They all have much the same features at the same price

The module is now ready to reviewed.

To really make sure the program is a success Max needs to make sure the virtual classroom sessions help learners to practice their skills.

What goes wrong

Change is the killer of projects

What goes wrong• Getting the technology in place is more complex than you

expect• It takes more Subject Matter Expert time than you expect • The wrong people are involved in the design and review

of the program• The focus is on content not behavioural change • The programs are not marketed to the learners • The learners are not supported do the learning, this

could be technical and/or manager support

Please stay in contact and keep the conversation going

Thank you for your participation!

Robin PetterdLearning Consultant

M: +61 419 101 928E: robin@sproutlabs.com.auT: @sproutlabs_au