So you have a custom eLearning project ready for kick-off. After careful evaluation of eLearning development companies, you have identified the best eLearning content developer and you are eager to start the development process. The problem is you don't know exactly where to find the content for this particular custom eLearning solution. Is it in the classroom materials you previously used for this course? Or does it reside within the mind of one of your colleagues? Will you provide a high level and/or a detailed course outline and script?
Frequently,  clients have just such a challenge: where and in what form will the raw content be provided to the eLearning company? Identifying those sources is essential to accurately scope any custom eLearning solution. As we discussed in previous blogs, the instructional design and related storyboarding effort is dependent on the raw content. And, the effort required is in turn dependent on the source of that content. Raw content can be provided in many ways and may or may not require the active participation of the selected vendor:

1. Written: this may be in many forms, electronic files or hard copy only and from a variety of sources, such as:

• Courseware from a classroom course
• PPT presentations
• Marketing materials
• Technical product, system or application tutorials
• Design document and outline

2. Oral:

• Interviews and collaboration with internal subject matter experts
  
• Interviews with external subject matter experts

3.Research

4.Topic specific training or product use

5. Combination of resources

Whatever, the source for your raw content, it should be openly discussed at the scoping phase. This will enable your custom content development company to more effectively scope the project for time and cost as well as to identify the best internal resources for the project.  The more detailed and specific the raw content, the simpler the instructional design and storyboarding effort.

For example, we created a highly successful course for an application training course. Since this content was for a new product for which no technical documentation had yet been written, the course raw content was provided as actual training of the instructional designer in the use of the application, an entirely hands -on process. Since no written content was provided, the instructional design and storyboarding effort required was a high level. 

So, an experienced custom eLearning development company will work with you and the content you provide, no matter where that content may be found. But, it is critical that the client and the vendor understand what the source of that content is so that both can adequately assess the effort required to translate that into outstanding custom eLearning courseware.

KMi has 10 years of custom content development experience. Let us put that experience in action for you. Contact Margie Herron at mherron@kmionline.com for more information.