I've been in eLearning for 4 years now - and I still consider myself new!
Nonetheless, I'll make an attempt to answer last month's
big question from the Learning Circuits Blog:
I am new to eLearning. What Should I do first?For those new to eLearning, either as a
learner or
provider, I can make a few common recommendations:
What to look at first:- $$$
- Perhaps I am financially driven, but I think the bottom line... should be the bottom line.
- Consider the training you do now and the costs associated.
- Will switching to eLearning save you money or provide an ROI?
- Often, you won't be able to fully answer this question until later in the process - but it's good to consider up front - and to always keep in the back of your mind.
- Click here for more info on KMi pricing
- Jargon
- Learn the terminology.
- LMS versus LCMS - what's the difference?!
- Does it matter to you?
- SCORM versus AICC - what the heck are these?!
- In terms of an intro to eLearning jargon, I recommend the simple, but often over looked resource, Wikipedia. It gives a great introduction to some of the common terms used in the eLearning industry
- Even if you don't know what each term means in detail, you'll at least start to recognize good comparison points across your eLearning options.
- Audience
- This point is equally applicable to learners and providers.
- Who will be doing the learning? Is it a geriatric crowd or perhaps a house full of teenagers?
- Outside of eLearning, what training and teaching techniques have worked in the past? How might we start to think about translating those previously successful techniques into an eLearning experience?
- If your audience is widely diverse, you may need more eLearning tools and features. If the demographics are similar for your learners, try to hone in on those similarities and how eLearning tools can exploit the commonalities of your audience.
- Need help defining your audience? Click here to contact Paul Shannon
The above ideas might sound good overall, but they don't really provide any specifics. Once you're familiar with the money situation, the jargon of eLearning and who will be participating in the eLearning, now it's time to face those devilish details! We'll consider such details next week.