The Delivering Highly Effective eLearning Courses Infographic presents all the required elements to build a successful eLearning course .
PLAN
- Make sure your eLearning is your best choice . It probably is , but there are also worthy alternatives , like traditional and blended learning .
- Get all the tools you need to make your life easier . Without the right tools you may have to do double the work and get sub-optimal results .
- Find all the experts you will need . They are called Subject Matter Experts . Without them you cannot produce high value courses .
- Manage expectations for both stakeholders and trainees . you need to gain support from both of them .
- Know your audience . Building upon people’s needs , worries , hopes and desires can help you succeed .
BUILD
- Extract raw info from the experts . Interviewing them is probably the best way to achieve that .
- Organize your content in a sensible way . Course length , pace and structure are important . As a rule of thumb smaller courses or units are better . People cannot read lengthy text or view lengthy videos online . They get bored .
- Make your course interesting . Multimedia , animation and self-assessments are your core friends .
- Aesthetics do matter . Make your course look and feel fast and beautiful .
- Integrate evaluation mechanisms . They keep people on track and provide valuable feedback to you .
- Balance between size , time and cost . There is no end to what a course can do . Make sure you understand the limits . This takes time and you might fail initially . Keep trying and you will get there !
MARKET
- Building courses is not the end of the process . It is essential to market your courses to your audience . Don’t expect them to come without your active involvement . Newsletters , events and open-support from stakeholders are your key friends .
- Remember to reward users so they spread good words and get back . Use Certifications and Gamification at the core of your reward strategy .
- Use wording efficiently . Convince them about the value that the course has for them , not your organization .
COMUNICATE
- Build informal and formal communication channels . Internal Messaging , Calendar , Online Meetings and Discussions are your key friends
- Use proactive , automated communication strategy . Keep inactive people in the loop and ensure their success , even when they are about to drop-off .
- Your active and ongoing involvement can do miracles on how people perceive eLearning in your organization . Don’t just do , but rather live the experience together with your audience .
ASSESS
- Measure everything . Without measuring you are blind . Completion percentages , satisfaction levels , grades , retention and time spent on courses are key things to measure .
- Calculate the potential ROI for your organization to get the trust of stakeholders . Build beautiful reports for stakeholders , they like them .
- Improve your process and courses through relentless iteration . Perfection takes time and effort .
