In a Rut
Jun 13, 2021
Hello creatives! I'm stuck in a rut and have a creative block. Most of my work is for professional nursing associations who want large courses (10-15 modules averaging 40 slides/module) built in a short amount of time (usually 2-3 months from getting the information in PPT to final modules). The content is very specific as well and because I am not a SME, I don't feel comfortable editing any of the content they send (I go off the assumption that any content I receive is need-to-know). Because of the number of modules, the dense information in the modules, and the short time frame, most of my work is simple interactions - click and reveal, hover, layers, etc. But I can't come up with something else to create that won't be a big time suck. I should also mention that this is part-time work. I don't have 40 hours/week to devote to it. Any suggestions I'm not thinking of or am I going about this the best way? Thank you!
3 Replies
As in my opinion SME's always think everything is evenly important... and it seldom is , i made on several occassions powerpoint templates for them that have all possible interactions on it... limited text and clear instructions on how to use them. Ofcourse they complained about too little space for text. But after showing them a few times how to use them... add an extra page if you lack space...use a tab or accordion interaction... things like that... the process became smoother and smoother.
Some ideas: build on Rise rather than Storyline, move to microlearning, use video software such as Lumen5 (simple and effective/quick way to transform boring text), use Kahoot or other quiz software as a teaching modality (who doesn't love a good quiz), use Scenario Based Learning (upskill or educate your SMEs to give you scenarios, or think in scenarios, that cover the required learning). For example, you could do a series of micro-modules in Rise featuring purely or solely SBL.
And finally, do you need to get comfortable editing what they give you? I definitely edit my SMEs but ask them to review to ensure I haven't changed clinical context. This seems to work because they still feel like they have final say.
Molly you're in a tough spot, and I get it. I'd stick with what you are doing, but consider adding an element of gamification. Remember that gamification is not necessarily about adding games (although it could include that) but about adding a series of rewards that motivate the participants.
For example, you may already ask course participants to answer questions either within a module or at the end of a module. Build on that by offering a badge or part of a badge for each right question or each module passed. Tell them at the beginning that their goal is to "earn all 5 badges" or "earn all pieces to create the final seal of approval" or whatever makes the most sense for your course.
Instead of badges they might be earning points, or revealing a portion of the course certificate, or a lot of different things. You can get really fancy, but you don't have to. Keep it simple and build on what you are already doing.
There are also lots of free templates you can find on this site that have pre-built interactions and games. Perhaps you can use one of those so you don't have to spend time building your own.