What is an e-learning tool (job interview)?

I would say they actually want you to talk about solutions that you have created and how these solutions have solved problems and helped organisations.  I don't think they want to talk about the benefits of using a specific tool, apart from when you talk about the technologies you employed, when creating your project.

My reading of this would be that they are more interested in what you created rather than what you used to create it.  Your presentation should be less about the technology and more focused on why was an elearning solution required, what problem was it addressing and what did the resulting solution achieve.  You can discuss why you chose a specific tool to create your project.

If you don't do this then you need to be creative in the presentation you deliver.

Good luck!

thanks for the reply Phil.

So do you think it is acceptable to discuss things like customizing open source software such as wordpress etc. as well as creating courses in VLE's and specific interactive applications.  would you pick a couple of specific examples or would you talk more generally about various solutions?

I have also created custom reporting systems, some in php some using excel and vba to track students results and compare them against previous years to show trends.  I would say that this is not an e-learning tool as it does not teach anything, though it does support the lecturer.  Do you think including things like this, which show I am diverse, would be acceptable?

I agree with Phil, you should discuss a situation or problem that you solved through various training solutions. They would probably want specific examples and details on the process (ADDIE) you used to develop the solution. Maybe your company wanted to reduce errors on a certain online form. How did you address it? Did you analyze what exactly the problem is? Did you identify if the process needed refinement or did the employees need better training? Did it require an entire eLearning course or maybe a helpful job aid was suffecient.

I would talk about several different solutions you provided. ELearning modules isn't the answer for everything and employers would probably want to see a variety of different solutions and how you developed them. (Developed as in how you came about deciding that training solution not what tools you used)

I would choose 1 or two examples that show the process you went through from start to finish.  I wouldn't get too caught up in the technology involved and would talk more about the business requirements and how the solution met these.

I agree with Jerson, just because you have a hammer doesn't mean theta every problem is a nail.

Reading the responses from Jerson and Phil it strikes me that IDs/developers need to be bilingual and willing to learn other (business) languages to respond to the needs of a business.

It's not really a question of being bilingual, it's just a case of learning why your business (training), actually exists, and being able to talk to people about it. This is fundamental to being a success, unless you are happy to just take orders for the rest of your career. If you do not use and operate within a structure of business communication and business terms, how can you be an ID?

At the end of the day, I am not sure that any one of my clients actually care about what tool I use to develop training, but they DO care about what the point of the training is.

@Cheese - do not (exclusively) talk about the tool, talk about what it is being used FOR. What is the end use of the css, html, php etc?

Thank you Bruce, I'll be taking notes on this thread.

So I've been giving this a lot of thought and I keep changing my mind about what I'm going to present but I think I have a good idea now.

I know you are recommending not to talk about the tool but it does specifically ask about languages used and technologies used so I'm going to try and cover everything from one example by discussing a learning platform that I built through customizing open source technologies.

From here I can discuss using ADDIE and AGILE methods (platform / course content), and discuss how each step needed to be considered for both the teacher using the platform to deliver the content and the content itself with regards to the students needs.  I can then bring in both the development of the platform (languages) and the other technologies used to deliver the course content such as captivate etc.

I am talking about what and how it is being used for as well as the process used to build it.

Does this sound like a good approach?

@Cheese - not sure anyone is saying "do not talk about the tool..." - we are saying "remember the PURPOSE of the tool".

I came up through the technical support route, but I always wanted to know WHY I was fixing the kit or network. What was the business purpose of that broken thing. That's all people are saying, as it is easy to get stuck in one's comfort zone.

It sounds as though you have considered this thoroughly - and have a good plan.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.