Introduction
Imagine your company is embarking on a program to implement e-learning to complement its classroom training program, and you have been recruited to design some of the new courses. This article lays out a list of questions and hints that can serve as a checklist of things you need to consider when designing e-learning courses. Not all of these points apply to every situation. They must be appropriate to the objectives, the learners, and the content. Unfortunately, as the creator of the program, you are often not the best judge of these things. The most effective way to evaluate them is to have some typical learners go through the course with you. This is called formative evaluation.
Target Audience
It is essential to begin by identifying the target audience and determining both how much they already know about the topic and whether they have the necessary computer skills to access and complete the course.
Objectives
Critical for helping learners get the most out of an e-learning experience is a clear statement of learning objectives. You should consider attitude objectives as well as knowledge and skill objectives. You should state these objectives in measurable terms with expected outcomes and explain the criteria against which the outcomes will be measured. It is important to share these objectives with the learners so they know what is expected of them.
Pre-assessment
Before beginning the course, you may want to provide the learner with a pre-test or self-assessment that will enable him or her to bypass a module or course if they already know the material or have the required skills. Another option is to have the results of the pre-test direct the learner to specific sections according to where his or her skill deficiencies exist.
Design
Once the learning needs and objectives have been analyzed, the next step is course design. Instructional design is a lost science. Developed in the 1960s as a systems approach to the design of instruction, it employs practices that have worked very well in engineering. Instructional design has received some bad press for the time it takes, but that press failed to recognize the quality and effectiveness of the learning that results when it is done properly. The problem has often been that instructional design is used by people who haven't acquired the skills to do it correctly. Everyone is in a hurry today and wants the design done immediately. It is possible to do good instructional design quickly without abandoning the principles behind it. However, too often steps are skipped, for example, the analysis step because someone "knows what they need".
First, it is important to select a learning strategy that is appropriate to your objectives. Some examples of such strategies include story telling, sequential, competency-based, criterion-referenced, evaluated, co-operative, case studies, discovery or constructivist, role playing, simulation, games, experiential, laboratory, etc. Keep in mind that the most effective learning occurs when learners are actively engaged.
Does the content design reflect the needs and interests of the intended audience? Are the tone, level of content, and interactivity appropriate to the audience? Content needs to be clearly organized divided into appropriate chunks that are small enough for learners to assimilate. Be sure that you have provided for enough active exercises and practice to ensure the acquisition of the necessary skills and knowledge by the learners. The exercises should be directly related to the objectives and should reinforce key messages.
You may also want to provide ways for learners to organize the material (i.e., an advance organizer, see http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~best/html/learning/advorg.htm for more information). In addition, resources that the learner can use for supplementary learning or clarification, as well as jobs aids and performance support (easily accessible pieces that workers can use for quick reference while working), may be included.
It is even possible to design the instruction to be adaptive, so that it can adjust itself to learners' needs based on their responses to the pre-test and their performance on previous modules. Prior performance can direct learners to only those modules that they need, allowing them to skip others.
Motivation
Learners need motivation to continue. Your course should appeal to their intrinsic motivation to learn, to do a better job, and to enjoy doing it. Does your program provide sufficient consistency and yet variety to maintain the interest of the learner? An e-learning course can engage the user through novelty, humor, game elements, testing, adventure, unique content, surprise elements, etc. Frequent learning checks and appropriate and timely feedback can also motivate the user. Above all, it pays to address the learner's primary concern: what's in it for me?
Aesthetics
The visual appeal of courses can help determine an e-learning initiative's success. For instance, is the overall design attractive and appealing to the eye and ear? Is the use of color appropriate and pleasant? Does the course have a consistent look and feel? Screens should be neither too busy nor too stark, and the overall appearance should be professional. In addition, icons or clear labels should be appropriately used so that users don't have to read excessively to determine program options.
Navigation
If the course is easy to navigate, the e-learning experience can be beneficial even for users with minimal computer skills. Make sure you provide instructions about the navigation through the course. The directions and navigation controls must be clear and intuitive. Answering the following questions may help you determine whether your e-learning course is easy to navigate.
* Have you provided a course menu (content map), one which links to all parts of the course so that the learner can choose where he or she will start or navigate to next (self-directed learning)? Are there several types of menus to help different learners?
* Can learners determine their own path through the course, if appropriate?
* Have you provided a glossary as an option to clarify meanings of words?
* Is an exit option always available?
* Does branching to other topics create a sense of being lost?
* Is there a way for the learner to tell how far along she is? For example, are there progress bars, or an indication such as page X of Y?
* Is the navigation consistent among courses, chapters, pages, tests, etc.?
Media
The term rich media is used to describe the use of graphics, animations, video, and sound. It can be very effective in helping the learning process, but it is extremely important that its use be appropriate to the topic, the audience, and the objectives, and not be merely for effect. The following questions may help guide you in its use.
* Is the on-screen text easy to read (font size and color)?
* Is the amount of on-screen text appropriate?
* Are graphics and illustrations appropriate to the topic, audience, and objectives?
* Do screens require scrolling?
* Are there too many or too few graphics?
* Is the use of animation or video distracting?
* Does the use of rich media sound and look professional?
Interactivity
To maximize learning and maintain interest and motivation, it is important that web-based learning be designed to be as interactive as possible. Interactivity is not simply clicking on buttons, watching animations or video, or listening to sound. It involves active participation by the learner—making choices, answering questions, going through simulations, etc. The learner should be engaged through the opportunity for input. Having said this, the interactivity needs to be appropriate to the course's users, content, and objectives, in terms of both type and amount. It should not be gratuitous, but rather be designed to promote learning of the course's objectives. There are various types and levels of interactivity, which are listed below.
* Choice of where to go next. This involves basic navigation capabilities, planned choice points, and optional access to anywhere in the course via a course menu or map.
* Supplementary resources or activities, for example, texts, journals, corporate documents, or web sites where a learner can go for additional information
* Branching as a result of answers to questions
* Exercises with more than one step (e.g., research, case studies, and laboratory exercises)
* Games and simulations
* Opportunity to communicate with a mentor or expert
* Threaded group discussions (either synchronous or asynchronous)
* Question and answer. Questions can be posed at various stages. There may also be interspersed quizzes.
* Feedback. Are there rich and unique feedback features?
SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/e-learning-course-design-18422/
Imagine your company is embarking on a program to implement e-learning to complement its classroom training program, and you have been recruited to design some of the new courses. This article lays out a list of questions and hints that can serve as a checklist of things you need to consider when designing e-learning courses. Not all of these points apply to every situation. They must be appropriate to the objectives, the learners, and the content. Unfortunately, as the creator of the program, you are often not the best judge of these things. The most effective way to evaluate them is to have some typical learners go through the course with you. This is called formative evaluation.
Target Audience
It is essential to begin by identifying the target audience and determining both how much they already know about the topic and whether they have the necessary computer skills to access and complete the course.
Objectives
Critical for helping learners get the most out of an e-learning experience is a clear statement of learning objectives. You should consider attitude objectives as well as knowledge and skill objectives. You should state these objectives in measurable terms with expected outcomes and explain the criteria against which the outcomes will be measured. It is important to share these objectives with the learners so they know what is expected of them.
Pre-assessment
Before beginning the course, you may want to provide the learner with a pre-test or self-assessment that will enable him or her to bypass a module or course if they already know the material or have the required skills. Another option is to have the results of the pre-test direct the learner to specific sections according to where his or her skill deficiencies exist.
Design
Once the learning needs and objectives have been analyzed, the next step is course design. Instructional design is a lost science. Developed in the 1960s as a systems approach to the design of instruction, it employs practices that have worked very well in engineering. Instructional design has received some bad press for the time it takes, but that press failed to recognize the quality and effectiveness of the learning that results when it is done properly. The problem has often been that instructional design is used by people who haven't acquired the skills to do it correctly. Everyone is in a hurry today and wants the design done immediately. It is possible to do good instructional design quickly without abandoning the principles behind it. However, too often steps are skipped, for example, the analysis step because someone "knows what they need".
First, it is important to select a learning strategy that is appropriate to your objectives. Some examples of such strategies include story telling, sequential, competency-based, criterion-referenced, evaluated, co-operative, case studies, discovery or constructivist, role playing, simulation, games, experiential, laboratory, etc. Keep in mind that the most effective learning occurs when learners are actively engaged.
Does the content design reflect the needs and interests of the intended audience? Are the tone, level of content, and interactivity appropriate to the audience? Content needs to be clearly organized divided into appropriate chunks that are small enough for learners to assimilate. Be sure that you have provided for enough active exercises and practice to ensure the acquisition of the necessary skills and knowledge by the learners. The exercises should be directly related to the objectives and should reinforce key messages.
You may also want to provide ways for learners to organize the material (i.e., an advance organizer, see http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~best/html/learning/advorg.htm for more information). In addition, resources that the learner can use for supplementary learning or clarification, as well as jobs aids and performance support (easily accessible pieces that workers can use for quick reference while working), may be included.
It is even possible to design the instruction to be adaptive, so that it can adjust itself to learners' needs based on their responses to the pre-test and their performance on previous modules. Prior performance can direct learners to only those modules that they need, allowing them to skip others.
Motivation
Learners need motivation to continue. Your course should appeal to their intrinsic motivation to learn, to do a better job, and to enjoy doing it. Does your program provide sufficient consistency and yet variety to maintain the interest of the learner? An e-learning course can engage the user through novelty, humor, game elements, testing, adventure, unique content, surprise elements, etc. Frequent learning checks and appropriate and timely feedback can also motivate the user. Above all, it pays to address the learner's primary concern: what's in it for me?
Aesthetics
The visual appeal of courses can help determine an e-learning initiative's success. For instance, is the overall design attractive and appealing to the eye and ear? Is the use of color appropriate and pleasant? Does the course have a consistent look and feel? Screens should be neither too busy nor too stark, and the overall appearance should be professional. In addition, icons or clear labels should be appropriately used so that users don't have to read excessively to determine program options.
Navigation
If the course is easy to navigate, the e-learning experience can be beneficial even for users with minimal computer skills. Make sure you provide instructions about the navigation through the course. The directions and navigation controls must be clear and intuitive. Answering the following questions may help you determine whether your e-learning course is easy to navigate.
* Have you provided a course menu (content map), one which links to all parts of the course so that the learner can choose where he or she will start or navigate to next (self-directed learning)? Are there several types of menus to help different learners?
* Can learners determine their own path through the course, if appropriate?
* Have you provided a glossary as an option to clarify meanings of words?
* Is an exit option always available?
* Does branching to other topics create a sense of being lost?
* Is there a way for the learner to tell how far along she is? For example, are there progress bars, or an indication such as page X of Y?
* Is the navigation consistent among courses, chapters, pages, tests, etc.?
Media
The term rich media is used to describe the use of graphics, animations, video, and sound. It can be very effective in helping the learning process, but it is extremely important that its use be appropriate to the topic, the audience, and the objectives, and not be merely for effect. The following questions may help guide you in its use.
* Is the on-screen text easy to read (font size and color)?
* Is the amount of on-screen text appropriate?
* Are graphics and illustrations appropriate to the topic, audience, and objectives?
* Do screens require scrolling?
* Are there too many or too few graphics?
* Is the use of animation or video distracting?
* Does the use of rich media sound and look professional?
Interactivity
To maximize learning and maintain interest and motivation, it is important that web-based learning be designed to be as interactive as possible. Interactivity is not simply clicking on buttons, watching animations or video, or listening to sound. It involves active participation by the learner—making choices, answering questions, going through simulations, etc. The learner should be engaged through the opportunity for input. Having said this, the interactivity needs to be appropriate to the course's users, content, and objectives, in terms of both type and amount. It should not be gratuitous, but rather be designed to promote learning of the course's objectives. There are various types and levels of interactivity, which are listed below.
* Choice of where to go next. This involves basic navigation capabilities, planned choice points, and optional access to anywhere in the course via a course menu or map.
* Supplementary resources or activities, for example, texts, journals, corporate documents, or web sites where a learner can go for additional information
* Branching as a result of answers to questions
* Exercises with more than one step (e.g., research, case studies, and laboratory exercises)
* Games and simulations
* Opportunity to communicate with a mentor or expert
* Threaded group discussions (either synchronous or asynchronous)
* Question and answer. Questions can be posed at various stages. There may also be interspersed quizzes.
* Feedback. Are there rich and unique feedback features?
SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/e-learning-course-design-18422/
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