Fast eLearning Program Time-Savers – eLearning Business
Time-saving tips for the Rapid eLearning program
While SMEs play an important role in L&D, L&D is neither their primary responsibility nor a formal part of it. Most SMEs are traditionalists who oppose the change in training format to online training. SMEs have a wealth of information and often insist on including all of this information in the eLearning course, blurring the lines between “necessary information” and “nice-to-know” information. Everything is equally important to them and they hesitate to make the content suitable for e-learning.
So what can you do to get your eLearning subject matter experts on board? How can you bridge the gap between the different expectations of SMEs and the L&D team?
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Quickly Design and Develop eLearning – A Guide for Enterprise Trainers
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Best Fast eLearning Practices to Save SMB Time
1. Schedule e-learning curricula instead of stand-alone courses
If you choose stand-alone courses spread over a period of time, the work of the SME will be multiplied, repeated and longer. Every time a course needs to be rolled out, the subject matter expert has to go through the same steps to review the main course content, fill in gaps, approve templates, storyboards and prototypes, and review the final course. However, if you are planning a curriculum right from the start, this process only needs to be done once.
You can standardize various design aspects of the eLearning course and receive your SME submissions / approvals on:
- Terminology, gaps in content
- Interactivities (complex processes may need SME help for chunking and / or visualization)
- Assessments / scenarios if the topic is complex or proprietary
2. Involve SMEs in the planning phase of the eLearning design
From the initial planning to the development of rapid eLearning, SME know-how is required. Therefore, involve them in the first stakeholder kickoff meeting to ensure clarity about the learning objectives and training expectations without the possibility of confusion and reworking at a later point in time
SME:
- Agree to the schedules for assessments
- Familiarize yourself with the tool used to review courses (if it is an online tool)
- Get to know the team working on the project and who to contact if necessary
3. Familiarize SMEs with the Rapid eLearning design and development process
Most SMEs are quite possessive about the content of their training. They are also skeptical of training formats other than face-to-face training, especially fast eLearning. This problem can easily be solved by familiarizing SMEs with the design and development process at an early stage. You can educate them about:
- Principles of adult education
- How to integrate the learner’s commitment to effective training
- Prioritizing need-to-know information over nice-to-know knowledge
- Possibilities and limits of using authoring tools
2 bonus tips
1. From microphone to micro-learning
If the SME has a PowerPoint deck (~ 10 slides) on a topic, we have a 5-step quick-and-dirty method to develop a microlearning video – with the SME only involved in 3 points.
- The SME provides a recording in which he / she goes over the slides.
- The slides and the recording are instructively improved by the eLearning provider, who also inserts suitable graphics, transcribes the audio and optimizes the transcript.
- The enriched slide deck and the edited transcript are sent to the SME for quick review.
- The eLearning provider produces a voice-over video using the improved slides with a professional speaker reading the optimized script.
- The SME reviews and signs the video.
2. Use online assessment tools
Reviewing storyboards in MS Word or PowerPoint and sharing feedback via email is a huge deterrent for SMBs. Most fast eLearning authoring tools have built-in online review apps – Articulate Review 360, Adobe Captivate Reviewer, and Trivantis ReviewLink. These verification tools help with:
- Easy collaboration between multiple SMEs and resolving conflicting feedback
- All SMB feedback and reviews in one place
- Easy review once the feedback is implemented
If your authoring tool does not have a built-in review app, you can use external e-learning review tools such as Review My eLearning.
Conclusion
While it can be a bit difficult to involve SMBs in the development of eLearning, you cannot do without them. And the only way to get them on the digital training cart and get their approval is to acknowledge their importance, appreciate their contribution to education, and most importantly, not waste time. And there is no better way to do this than fast eLearning!
Want to learn more about how rapid authoring software can help you develop great content? Download the eBook, Unveiling Rapid eLearning Design and Development – A Guide for Enterprise Training Managers to Find the Right Tools and ID Strategies to Start a Rapid eLearning Development Program Today. You can also attend the webinar to learn the basics of effective learning for your teams.
References:
CommLab India
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