Unlocking the SMART SEND code
Jun 03, 2013
Happy Monday Community,
I am building a CBT in PPT/Articulate/Engage with a topic called The Smart Send. The challenge is that each letter of the word SMART and SEND is a guideline for writing careful corporate email. For example -
S = Stick to the Facts
M = Make it Clear
A = Avoid....etc.
SO, I am wondering what the best way to teach this content is - my 2 ideas so far are not very creative and the content is already really dry...
1. A click to learn table with the letters across the top and principals going down a la Jeopardy?
2. A linear, animated Articulate interaction with the words, then the letters and their principals and then the words again, or an Engage click to learn?
I have a very vague thought about jumbling the letters of the two words and a having character or 2 put them in the correct order and/or decode them, but do not know how to translate this into an engaging and memorable interaction....
My client is very very high tech, so scientists in labs might work....or unlocking a puzzle like DNA...
What do YOU all think?
I can't wait to hear your thoughts. I love this community/resource so much that I said that on Facebook very recently...
Kendra Haddock
2 Replies
Hi Kendra,
I wouldn't put too much emphasis on making the acronyms SMART and SEND memorable. They need to be able to write an email using those principles.
I would suggest showing several examples of brief emails that do not follow the SMART guidelines, and ask the learner to identify which parts do not follow the SMART guidelines. You could use hot spots to do this. See this link for examples:
http://community.articulate.com/blogs/jeanette/archive/2011/04/28/why-hotspot-questions-are-hot-and-10-examples-of-ways-to-use-them.aspx
Hope this helps!
Melanie
That is so true.
In fact, I just finished a course about Good Documentation practices that has exactly what you describe - examples of good and bad documentation (including email) with the issues called out and but identified but by color, not hot spots....and
hot spots are much "sexier" than color coding because you get to click.
So thanks so much for your help and the link. I will let you know how it turns out on this blog.
Since I posted, and before I got your reply, I have been working on a Periodic Chart design where you click on an element and go to the detail, but your point is well taken. Maybe I could add a third layer with email examples with hot spots - the chart (even reduced in size greatly) has many "elements" to click on....and it would give different learners different paths through the same content...
I feel inspired! I love this site/forum/blog.
Kind Regards
Kendra
This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.