Course with a Ton of Steps

Hi Heidi,

First thought... If possible, let the learner at least pick their own path. In other words, which topic (maintenance task) they want to tackle first. And incorporate a "fuel guage" or some such that shows them visually see how far along they are in getting the tool ready for use once again.  And yes... that is setting the stage for a scenario where this critical tool is out of service, and they have to maintain it in order to solve the issue.

Second thought...  why be all or nothing? In other words, use different methods for different tasks. Video for some, timeline for another, etc.

Third thought.... be sure, really really sure, that you have to actually TEACH each step. Often times complex tasks like this can be handled through jobaids and the like, and all you need to do is teach them to use the jobaid... often by making them use it to work through the course.

Hope these ideas help,

Bob

Hi,

I recently delivered a course for a well-known Global religious organisation (yes - honestly...!) that has lodging houses that need to be cleaned.

For each of the major areas, (bedroom and bathroom cleaning), I just had one slide with numbered buttons that fired off sequential layers. Each layer was an instruction, and they could go over things again and in any order.

See image below.

Sometimes, you just DO have to go through stuff in a sequential manner, however this way made it more interesting.

Bruce

Wow!! First time I posted anything in ELearning Heroes, and now I'm hooked.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to Bob and Bruce for your speedy reply and your creative ideas. 

Bob, I meet with the SME on Monday and I was also thinking of asking him how much of it really needs to be "taught" and what the objective of the course really is. That should help me narrow things down, I hope.  I really like the idea of having the user choose his/her own path, and I love the idea of the "gauge."  I also had the same idea of using multiple engage interactions, but I am a little nervous about making sure the course is consistent. 

Bruce, exactly what you said, sometimes you DO have go in a sequential order - If the SME insists on that, I will definitely take your advice. 

Again, thank you guys. Really appreciate it!!

I would also recommend using attachments. Give the user easy access to process steps / cheat sheets / checklists. Especially for longer or more complex processes.

Agreed. We also included the "process sheets" as an Attachment.

Just to point out too that each step, when the process button was clicked was a mixture of audio, (some) text, but mostly graphics, so for "...open the windows..." we had this a n image of a window with arrows showing it being opened - all designed for the audience of room cleaners who may or may not have English as 1st language.

Bruce

Hi Heidi,

Glad you are finding some value for you  here in the community... I know I do everyday!  Some great folks here for sure.

Welcome aboard,

Bob

Thanks again guys!!

A friend of mine, Helene Caura Yang has done some elearning work in that industry, and she's a lovely helpful person.  Google her and get in touch, if she's not swamped she might have some ideas.