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How To Implement eLearning Modules Successfully
Sometimes e-learning behaves like a website. You’ve built it and informed people, but they don’t come. Here I share my experiences of rolling out an e-learning program in a mid-size information technology services company with several locations all over the globe and how to avoid some of the mistakes I made. Buy-ins Before starting development of e-learning, you would have secured buy-ins from the company’s management and heads of various business units. However, you may still find reluctance from learners to enroll and take the modules. When securing the buy-in it is essential that the time factor that learners will spend on taking the modules be made clear. Still further, it helps if the e-learning program is launched with the CEO and management enrolling in a few modules and that information is communicated to learners through a regular e-learning bulletin. At the time of securing the buy-in, it is crucial that the learning and development manager also speaks to line managers and learners, to apprise them of the time and effort that will be required from them to complete the modules. Once their agreement is secured, it becomes difficult for learners to plead business pressures as an excuse for not enrolling for and taking the modules. Test It You have great instructional and graphic designers. However, what appears as intuitive and idiot proof to you and your team is usually not. It is essential to conduct user experience testing for all your modules and for the GUI of whatever Learning Management System you choose to use. Previously, such as exercise involved hiring banks of video cameras and strobe lights. Today, with the advent of cheap digital cameras and mobile phones that can record video, such an exercise costs next to nothing. But what if your company does not permit video recording devices to enter the company premises? This is where the buy-in that you have already done helps. If you have done your buy-in properly, ask for help and you will get it. Keep it short and simple Although all e-learning practitioners know that a module must talk about the ‘need to know’ rather than the ‘good to know,’ most feel that this principle does not apply to them. A learner has eight working hours a day and will not take the module if it does not help him or her to do a better job. Anything that is not of immediate relevance will provoke boredom, and making an irrelevant module compulsory, will provoke resentment. The other great principal is that a module should not exceed 15 minutes. Again this should be adhered to. If I am a line manager with 10 learners working with me and I have to spare them for a one hour module, it involves a loss of ten person hours and the opportunity cost of these ten hours is high. On the other hand, if the modules are split into 15 minutes chunks the opportunity cost is not so high. Make it accessible There is no point in having a great e-learning program if users cannot sign up for it. It helps when all learners can sign up for the program using their company e-mail addresses and log-in passwords. This saves them having to remember additional user names and passwords. The e-learning program should be accessible to learners at all company locations and also to those learners who may be based at a client’s premises. Once again, if you have secured your buy-ins properly you should have no problem getting this done with the help of your company’s computer systems and security people. Anywhere, anytime One of the selling points of e-learning is that it is anytime, anywhere learning. So if you are using Flash files for animations in your modules, your company’s computer systems should have Shockwave Flash Player loaded and enabled. If you are using .mov files, ensure that Adobe QuickTime Player is enabled on all systems. Again buy-ins from your company’s computer people is essential to have this happen. If learners have to leave their terminals or cabins to go to specific computers to take a module, it increases the time required for the module. It also contributes to learner dissatisfaction. Helpdesk A 24-hour helpdesk is critical to success, especially if your company has locations across the globe. If a learner cannot access the modules he or she will typically complain to his or her manager, and it tends to go right up the company hierarchy before it percolates down to the learning and development manager. By this time, word has already gone out that the e-learning modules ‘don’t work.’ This can be disastrous. Further, when the company has locations all around the globe, if you do not have a 24-hour help line, a learner may have to wait for up to twelve hours before receiving assistance. Think like a customer. Do you want to have to wait for twelve hours every time you face a problem with something you have bought? If you cannot register on a website, do you want to wait for twelve hours for assistance? The myth of training dollars Somewhere in the e-learning world, somebody decided to give learners ‘training dollars’ that they could go out and spend on e-learning. These training dollars are worth nothing and learners will see them for the gimmick that they are. Instead, reward learners with training dollars or points, for achieving certain scores on the various modules. These training dollars or points could then be exchanged for company branded merchandise like baseball caps, t-shirts, or backpacks or for gift vouchers to departmental stores etc. Your company probably has these schemes in place already. Thus buy-ins from Human Resources are essential to tying in the e-learning program with the company’s existing operations. Incentivize Nobody does something for nothing. While in a perfect world, learners thirst for knowledge, in the real world most people are just trying to do their jobs. Your e-learning modules place additional burdens on their time. If taking your e-learning program is compulsory for learners, good scores should be reflected in their performance appraisal. If your learners benefit from your e-learning and become more productive, they should be rewarded appropriately. Deadlines It helps to have deadlines for every module. Learners must complete the assessment before the deadline in order to be eligible for incentives and rewards. Leaving e-learning modules as permanently open tends to encourage procrastination. Still further, when the modules are always available, business needs will always take priority over learning needs. Feedback and Quality monitoring Last, but not the least, give learners an opportunity to provide feedback. Feedback regarding content and GUI must be taken seriously and changes implemented to make the e-learning more effective. The learning and development manager must co-ordinate with the company’s quality auditors to ensure that the quality of the e-learning modules is audited according to company standards. This article has covered several aspects about implementing e-learning. You are bound to come up with others as you implement your modules. The trick is to respond positively to challenges and to overcome them. If it’s broke, fix it.
>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:1. Articles related to Content and Outsourcing
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