Get to Know The 4 Levels of E-Learning
If you work in e-learning or training, you’ve probably heard people refer to the levels of e-learning before. But what does that mean? In the e-learning industry, there are four generally accepted levels of e-learning that will, in turn, affect the learning experience, cost, and development time of your project. Today, you’ll get a high-level look at all four levels. Once you understand the key components of each level, you’ll be better equipped to estimate the time—and also cost—of future projects. Level 1: Passive Interactivity Level 1 e-learning is a passive experience, where the learner just consumes information. There’s little to no interactivity with the course and the learner mostly reads and moves forward by clicking Next. In fact, some refer to level 1 as the “click next” style of e-learning because of its low level of interactivity. These courses include static text and images, and little to no multimedia. Quizzes in level 1 courses are usually straightforward multiple choice and true-or-false questions. Level 1 e-learning, while simple, does have its place: it can be a quick way to cover simple rules or procedures. Check out these examples to get a better understanding of what level 1 courses look like: View Example View Example Level 2: Limited Interactivity At level 2, e-learning courses start to incorporate some multimedia. Courses at this level can contain audio, some video, basic animations, and a few simple transitions. This level of content is often accompanied by narration and click-and-reveal interactions. Level 2 quizzes start to incorporate drag-and-drop interactions and matching activities. If you’re looking for a nice middle ground with a richer learning experience without too much development time, level 2 e-learning is probably a good fit. Here are some examples of level 2 courses: View Example View Example Level 3: Complex Interactivity With level 3 e-learning courses, the interactions become even more sophisticated. In this level, you can expect to include extensive audio, video, transitions, animations, and more. Quizzing can involve branched, scenario-based questions that allow learners to explore multiple paths and feedback levels. Level 3 e-learning is usually a good fit if you’re looking to teach learners more complex skills, for example, if you’re creating a course for new nurses on patient care. Here are some examples of level 3 e-learning: View Example View Example Level 4: Full Immersion Level 4 e-learning uses all of the components in levels 1, 2, and 3, plus gamification or simulation. These courses may incorporate 360° images, games or complex gamification, scenarios, avatars, or interactive videos. These courses are more immersive than other levels of e-learning. As learners interact with the course, they receive feedback on their choices. And in some cases, their choices might even impact the content they’re presented with next. This makes level 4 e-learning excellent for learners who need to practice real-time decision-making skills. Although these courses take the longest to develop, the learner experience makes it well worth the effort. Take a look at a few examples: View Example View Example Wrap-Up Now that you know about the four levels of e-learning, you’re ready to identify which one a new project falls under! This will help you appropriately estimate the time and assets needed to create the course. Are you looking to learn more about e-learning development? Check out these helpful resources. What You Need to Know to Create Amazing E-Learning 6 Easy Ways to Make More Compelling Interactions for Your Online Courses Here’s How I Transformed This Static E-Learning Content What level of e-learning is your favorite to create? Let me know in the comments below. Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.How To Make the Business Case for E-Learning Software
Being a part of the sales team here at Articulate, I’m on the front lines answering customer questions (and yes, indeed, we get them all). In a single day, we might hear, “What is e-learning exactly?” “What is the cost of a license?” and everything in between. The most frustrating comment we encounter, however, is “Now I just need to convince my boss to pay for it.” You know how great our software is, but what’s the best strategy to convince the “higher-ups” to go for it? Here are some helpful hints. Share a Demo The first rule of sales is “show . . . don’t tell.” We are happy to offer a free, fully functional 30-day trial of Articulate 360 so you can experience how easy it is to use, and so your boss can see how much this robust software platform can do. To someone not fully versed in e-learning, words like triggers, variables, blocks, microlearning, and highly immersive courses don’t mean a lot. Those people need to see the difference. Identify the Cost Benefit Another piece of advice is to make it make sense—and cents! How much time would Articulate 360 save you compared to all of the tools and resources you currently use? And if you decide to include our AI Assistant in your subscription, your time saved will go up even more! This can be a powerful message, especially if your workload is at capacity. You should also find ways to show how much money e-learning saves your organization. Many people find they can quickly and easily justify the expense when they consider how much this small outlay will save them in the long run. Demonstrate the Ease of Use Articulate differentiates itself by providing outstanding customer support, free training webinars, tutorials, and a helpful, friendly user community. This is key for your manager to know, because you can get up and running quickly with minimal downtime—without lengthy expensive training—and if there’s a problem or something you can’t figure out, our fabulous support team and community are here to help. Fulfill Future Needs Software that meets a current need is good, but software that also has future benefits for your organization is even better. So, think about your organization’s current needs, and how they will evolve. Then, have a good explanation ready for how Articulate 360 will help your organization fill an anticipated need. For example, perhaps mobile access isn’t a huge deal to your company now but might become so in the future. With Articulate 360, you’ll have a ton of robust features to call on as your needs change, and we’re constantly adding and improving those features with monthly software updates that are included in your subscription. Wrap-Up Convincing upper management isn’t always easy, but if you prepare for the meeting and present your case logically, you might find it is easier than you think! Here are some additional resources to help get you started: Get Up to Speed on Articulate 360: What’s Included? Making the Business Case for E-Learning Build Compelling Courses Up to 9x Faster with Articulate’s AI Assistant AI Assistant Released: Pricing Details and Resources Available Don’t forget that you can start a free 30-day trial. And subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest product updates, e-learning examples, and expert advice sent directly to your inbox. If you have questions, please share them in the comments.Audio Interviews with E-Learning Challenge Heroes #461
Interviews with E-Learning Challengers #461: Challenge | Recap 🏆 Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to create an audio podcast or interview on the value of working out loud and showing your work in the E-Learning Challenges. You can share your examples using any app or platform. In the past, designers have used Rise 360, Storyline 360, SoundCloud, and Vimeo to host their examples. OPTIONAL: After sharing your example, summarize your answers on your blog, LinkedIn, or community forums. Podcast Interview Questions The following list of questions should be enough to help you get started. You can choose any number of questions to use in your demo. If you only have time for one question, great! If you want to do more, great! Advice for Others Community Aspect What advice would you give to someone just starting the challenges? How can new designers make the most of the experience? What are some best practices for giving constructive feedback? How can designers balance challenges and client work? Why would you recommend participating to other designers? What has the community support and interaction meant to you? Have you collaborated with other designers or made connections? How has being part of the community impacted your design work? What types of examples or topics would you like to see in the future? How could the challenge experience be improved or evolved? Favorite Challenge Example Design Process Which challenge example are you most proud of and why? What example did you find the most creative or innovative? Which example required the most effort or was the biggest challenge? Is there an example you wish you could redo or improve? What feedback on your favorite example helped you grow as a designer? How do you come up with ideas for the weekly challenges? What is your typical process for creating a challenge example? How do you decide which authoring tools or interactions to use? How much time do you usually spend on creating an example? Do you have a dedicated workspace or tools for e-learning design? Inspiration Learning Experience Which other designers' examples inspire you the most? Are there any examples that made you think, "I wish I had done that!"? How have the challenges exposed you to new techniques or authoring tools? Have you incorporated ideas from the challenges into real client projects? What tips would you give for overcoming creative blocks when working on challenges? What have been the biggest lessons or takeaways from participating? How have the challenges helped you improve as a designer? What skills have you developed further through the challenge process? How has feedback from the community benefited you? What keeps you motivated to participate week after week? Benefits of Showing Your Work Time Spent on Examples Why is it important for designers to share examples publicly? How has sharing your work benefited you professionally? What lessons have you learned from getting feedback on your examples? How do you decide what examples to share publicly or keep private? Have you ever collaborated after connecting over shared work? Which platforms or channels have been most effective for showcasing your work examples? How do you balance sharing enough work to benefit your career while protecting intellectual property? What is the breakdown of time (ideation, building, testing, etc.)? How do you estimate time required for different example types? What strategies do you use to work efficiently with limited time? How have regular challenges helped you get faster at development? Do you set aside dedicated time or fit it in around client work? What has been your most time-consuming example and why? How do you balance depth/quality vs. time invested for portfolio pieces? 🧰 Resources Check out the previous audio challenges to get an idea of ways to present your audio interview: Audio Interviews with E-Learning Designers #364: Challenge | Recap Podcast Interviews with E-Learning Designers #266: Challenge | Recap Instructional Design Podcasts #67: Challenge | Recap ✨ Share Your E-Learning Work Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post. Forums: Start a new thread and share a link to your published example. Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We'll link to your posts so your great work gets even more exposure. Social media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can follow your e-learning coolness. 🙌 Last Week’s Challenge: Before you click record on this week’s challenge, check out the creative toggle button examples your fellow challengers shared over the past week: Toggle Buttons in E-Learning RECAP #460: Challenge | Recap 👋 New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos. Learn more about the weekly e-learning challenges in this Q&A post. 📆 Upcoming Challenges Challenge #462 (05.17): Click. Hover. Drag. See ELC144 for a general idea of what we're doing. 🚨2024 Articulate User Conference Call for Proposals We’re now accepting proposals for this year’s in-person user day conference co-hosted at DevLearn in Las Vegas. Learn more about the proposal process.What Makes a Training Team? 11 Common Job Titles in E-Learning
The training and e-learning industry has never been a more exciting field to work in than it is today. First, technology—and let’s face it, e-learning is technology!—is a booming, growing industry that is ever-evolving, providing job variety as well as the opportunity to constantly learn new skills. Before the age of the Internet, training was mostly face-to-face and classroom based. But now, with globalization and increased access to the Internet, training departments are hotbeds of technology, adopting trends like gamification and interactive video. For these reasons and more, it’s easy to get excited about a career in training and e-learning design. Let’s look at some of the common job titles in today’s training and e-learning industries. Keep in mind, there are always nuances at each organization about job titles and the job functions they actually represent. The definitions below are simply a general idea of what each job title could entail. Trainer AKA: Facilitator, Instructor, Teacher What do trainers do? Simply put, they deliver instructor-led training—in either a physical or virtual classroom. Trainers deliver instructional content (designed by instructional designers), administer activities, and provide feedback to learners. To be a trainer, you need to be comfortable speaking in front of groups. Effective trainers are usually confident, dynamic, and engaging. You should also have strong communication skills and a knack for sharing information with learners in a concise and efficient way. If you have any doubts, there’s a whole industry dedicated to, well, training trainers on how to train! Two other key skills are time management and adaptability, which means being able to adjust your material or delivery on the fly to meet a group’s learning needs. And if you’re a virtual trainer, it’s important to have technology skills, like experience with web-conferencing or virtual classroom apps. Instructional Designer (ID) AKA: Training Designer, Instructional Systems Designer, Curriculum Designer Instructional designers (IDs) design training experiences. Whether the requirement is an instructor-led classroom training session, a one-hour e-learning module, or a single-page job aid, the ID needs to have the skill set to transform raw source content (often a Word document or a PowerPoint) into a meaningful and effective training solution. The output of an ID’s work varies depending on the type of training experience they are creating. If they’re designing an e-learning course, the output will likely be a storyboard, which is often passed along to a developer to create the content. On the other hand, if the ID is designing a classroom-based training activity or a simple job aid, they might develop those training materials themselves and then pass them on directly to the trainer for delivery. What skill set do you need to be a successful ID? You should be familiar with adult learning principles, learning theories, and instructional methodologies and models, such as ADDIE, SAM, and Kirkpatrick’s Levels of Evaluation. Since there’s a lot of writing involved in creating training materials, you should also strive to be a clear and effective writer. You also need to be analytical, logical, organized, and creative to design courses that present the key messages in a way that makes sense and engages the learners. E-Learning Developer AKA: Multimedia Developer, E-Learning Designer, Course Developer The e-learning developer takes the instructionally designed content (typically a storyboard or Word document) created by the instructional designer and develops them into a functional online course using e-learning authoring software. Depending on the level of detail the ID includes in their storyboard, the developer may or may not need to make some visual design and content layout decisions. They might also be the point person to replace any placeholder content (such as images or videos) and provide the final content. The e-learning developer’s skill set, ideally, would include strong experience using e-learning authoring software, a certain level of graphic and visual design abilities, an ability to manage timelines and due dates, and a level of comfort working with audio and video. Subject Matter Expert (SME) The Subject Matter Expert (SME) is someone who’s an expert in their field. SMEs aren’t usually specifically hired for the purpose of developing e-learning courses (though that does happen in certain cases). The SME is usually the person in an organization who has the most knowledge or skill in a specific topic and is simply helping out with the course creation process. The SME could be an HR staff member, an engineer, a researcher, a product manager, a sales manager, a finance person, etc. SMEs have the content, experience, and insights that are essential to creating great e-learning courses. They provide the course content to the instructional designer, who picks out the key messages and decides how to present them to learners in an effective way. Then the SME reviews the course to ensure the content is still accurate. In addition to being an expert on the subject, ideally the SME is someone who’s got a basic understanding of what makes training effective and how the course creation process works. If that’s not the case, it’s a good idea for the instructional designer to give them a quick overview, so they know what to expect. Here’s a course that was designed for this exact purpose. It’s also important for SMEs to be detail-oriented, since the accuracy of the content depends on them reviewing the course carefully, every step of the way. Finally, a good SME also has great communication skills, allowing them to provide clear feedback, so the instructional designer can then adapt the course accordingly. Here are some tips for first-time Subject Matter Experts. Content Editor AKA: Proofreader Some larger e-learning course creation companies hire content editors to review their courses. Their job is to ensure that everything is explained clearly, terms are used consistently, and the text is free of typos, grammatical mistakes, and spelling errors. When the project team is smaller or if courses are created internally, the content editor role is often done more informally by, say, a willing coworker. No matter who proofreads your course, it’s important that they have excellent writing skills and are detail-oriented. If you don’t have access to a professional content editor, here’s an article that outlines some things to ask your coworker to watch out for as they review your course: Top Writing Tips for E-Learning. Quality Assurance (QA) Tester AKA: Usability Tester Some training companies hire QA testers to review their courses from a technical standpoint and ensure everything works properly before they roll them out to learners. In smaller companies, this step is often something the instructional designer or e-learning developer hands off to a friendly coworker. QA testers spend time going through the courses and exploring any and all possible paths a learner might take, to ensure the learner doesn’t run into any issues. In addition to having patience, QA testers need to be extremely observant and meticulous—taking note of anything that works in a way they wouldn’t expect. Here’s a list of things to look out for. Graphic Designer AKA: Illustrator Not every company has the budget to have a dedicated graphic designer, but having one can really add value. Graphic designers can design custom slide layouts, icons, illustrations, and more that will make your courses look even more professional. For those of you working on teams without a graphic designer, don’t worry! If you’re an Articulate 360 subscriber, you’ve got access to tons of great templates, icons, illustrations, and photos for no additional cost in Content Library 360. Graphic designers working on e-learning project teams require a skill set similar to those working in other environments: a great eye for design, creativity, and a familiarity with apps like Photoshop and Illustrator. It’s also helpful if graphic designers are organized and used to working in teams. That way they’ll be used to clearly labeling the assets they create so other people can easily find and edit them as needed. E-Learning Project Manager AKA: Training Project Manager Much like project managers in any field, an e-learning project manager is responsible for organizing and coordinating the creation of e-learning courses. Typically, this kind of role exists in larger e-learning content creation companies. In smaller organizations, the person managing the course creation might also be the instructional designer and/or the e-learning developer. In this case, they’d need to have the required skills for all three of those roles. The project manager is the main contact for external clients. As such, they serve as a liaison between the client and the project team members (instructional designers, e-learning developers, etc.), making sure everyone stays on the same page. The project manager also manages the course creation schedule, ensuring that things move forward as expected and stay on track to meet the deadlines. To be successful in this role, you need to know how to manage a team, a project schedule, and work with clients effectively. You need to have excellent relationship-building skills and be able to communicate clearly. And since you’ll need to anticipate any potential pitfalls that could pop up throughout the project, it’s helpful to have basic instructional design skills, a general understanding of what’s possible in the authoring tools you’re using, and a working knowledge of the way LMSs work. Training Manager AKA: Training Coordinator, Manager of Training and Development The training manager designs, develops, and executes an organization’s training strategy (which is usually outlined by the director of training). They typically work with internal stakeholders and teams to develop training programs—including in-person and online training—that align with the organization’s business goals. The training manager often takes care of scheduling instructor-led training sessions, booking training venues, communicating with participants about class logistics, ordering classroom materials, and more. They also identify training and developmental needs by analyzing job requirements, operational opportunities, and current training programs. After completing this research, they analyze the data and use a metrics-driven approach to develop training solutions and learning initiatives. Often, they will oversee other members of the training team, including the IDs, developers, and trainers. A training manager’s skill set should include the ability to manage a team, timelines, and projects. They should be well-versed in instructional design methodologies, performance management, needs analyses, and adult learning techniques to develop appropriate training programs as required. Director of Training AKA: Director of Learning, Chief Learning Officer, Director of Talent Development The director of training is a step above the manager of training. Directors are at the top of the chain; they provide the vision and direction for the training department and then oversee the managers as they execute the training strategy. Directors must think about the future of an organization, its assets, and its reputation with every decision they make. A director’s skill set should include leadership skills, broad knowledge of the industry at hand, a deep understanding of instructional design and learning methodologies, performance analysis skills, experience creating learning and development programs, and strong communication skills. LMS Administrator AKA: Training Systems Administrator, Training Implementation Specialist An LMS administrator uploads and tests the e-learning courses created by the e-learning developer in a company’s learning management system (LMS). This specialist also manages all tasks related to the LMS, including communicating with the software vendor, troubleshooting and fixing user issues, compiling reports and data, and communicating about performance metrics. What skills should an LMS admin possess? They should be a subject matter expert (SME) on the LMS platform an organization uses, possess strong technical capabilities, and hopefully have some experience in IT systems management. An LMS admin should also have in-depth knowledge of industry-standard publishing formats such as SCORM, xAPI (Tin Can API), cmi5, and AICC—and it doesn’t hurt to have experience uploading courses created with the authoring software being used by the organization. More Resources These are some of the most common job titles in the training and e-learning industry. Of course, plenty of jobs out there include a blend of the various roles. For instance, we see a lot of IDs who are also e-learning developers or trainers, and some training managers who act as directors, setting the training strategy. It really varies from one organization to another. Looking for some more insight into the day-to-day activities of e-learning pros? Check out these eye-opening articles: A Day in the Life of an Instructional Designer A Day in the Life of an E-Learning Freelancer A Day in the Life of an E-Learning Project Manager Is your job title listed here? Does the description above accurately reflect what you do and the skills you believe are required to do it? Leave us a comment below and let us know! Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.5 Ways You Can Advocate for Your Value to the Business as a Course Creator
In an ideal world, leadership would always have a clear view of the impact of your e-learning projects and your unique value to the organization. But that view can be much foggier in real life than we’d like it to be. When our company or leadership doesn’t get what course creators like us do or how it benefits them, we can end up on shaky ground. That lack of understanding makes it hard for us to push back against training cuts. It makes it tricky to get budget increases for tech investments or team expansion. And it can even lead to the mistaken belief that we can easily be replaced by new technology or people without e-learning expertise. Thankfully, many of these issues stem from an easy-to-address source—a lack of awareness. Tipping the balance back in your favor is often as easy as advocating for your work and yourself. Not sure how to do that? Here are a few good places to start. 1. Find your champions It’s possible to do this self-advocacy work on your own. But you’ll probably reach more ears and shift perceptions faster if other people are talking up your work too. Think of it like how you might decide where to eat when traveling to a new city. Intriguing social media posts from a restaurant might get your attention. But chances are a trusted friend telling you about their favorite dining spot in town is more likely to influence your decision. Who might step up to champion your work or team? Consider tapping into people like: Subject matter experts (SMEs) that you have a strong working relationship with. Learners who’ve given your e-learning glowing reviews. Stakeholders who’ve seen the impact your past projects made on the business. Trusted coworkers who know how great your work is—and why it should matter to others. If you’re feeling awkward about asking people to praise your work, just keep your requests small at first. For instance, if an SME emails you a compliment about how easy you’ve been to work with, ask them to forward it to your manager as well. 2. Be loud and proud about your successes We sometimes get siloed off in learning and development. As a result, other teams may have no idea what we’re working on and why it’s so important to the company. If you’re feeling a bit invisible, a good solution is to put on your marketing hat and pursue opportunities to share what you’re doing. This is a great time to tap into your manager and champions to help you find ways to share your work. Large-scale efforts—like presenting at a department meeting, sharing an eye-catching infographic about the impact of a course, or making a year-in-review video highlighting your team’s biggest wins—can all help. But even smaller actions—like asking someone who gave a glowing review of your course to tell their team why they should take it too—can get the word out there. While you’re doing this promo work, don’t just focus on the final project. Also talk up the unique skills and ideas you and your team contributed to make it succeed. That way people don’t just get excited about the finished content—they’ll also get excited about what you and your team bring to the table. 3. Share how what you do connects to broader business goals The people we work with may have a vague sense that e-learning benefits the company in some way. But they may not know precisely how. Or sometimes they understand the surface benefits of our e-learning—like how compliance training checks off a legal requirement—but may not see the deeper, more meaningful impacts it makes in the long run. The best way to turn this situation around is to help these colleagues make those connections. Look for opportunities to call out the specific ways your projects contribute to key company goals. For instance, maybe that compliance course also helped reduce workplace injuries or prevented costly fines. And be sure to be direct about these links so there’s no ambiguity about the impact of your work. 4. Talk to your audience in terms they care about While you’re talking up what you do, also think about how you’re framing that information. When you’re chatting with other learning professionals, eyes will often light up when you share how a project met your learning objectives, used a development tool in a creative way, or tied into learning research. But that likely won’t mean as much—or sometimes anything—to people outside our field. Instead, promote your work in ways that will speak to your audience. For instance, if they’ve complained to you about the boring and useless e-learning at their last job, tell them about all the ways you're making your courses interesting and practical. If your project can help with their team’s goals, tell them how it does that. Or, if you know they’re constantly feeling crunched for time, play up the key ways you’re streamlining your projects. That way, they’ll know you’re making a difference on things that matter to them personally. 5. Do the math to connect your successes to the bottom line Want a measure of success that’s easy to get people excited about? Focus on money. In some cases, financial numbers are easy to uncover—for instance, if you launched training on upselling a new product and the sales numbers immediately went up. Other times, though, you might need to break out your calculator to convert one kind of win into a financial one. For example, if you shaved ten minutes off of your company’s annual compliance training, that may not initially sound like a big deal. But if you have 60,000 employees that have to take it, that’s 10,000 hours of saved work time. If your company’s average hourly salary is $25, that ten-minute trim saved the company $250,000. And those are numbers that can impress! Have a situation where your training wasn’t the only factor at play? You can still frame the final savings or profits as something your work contributed to. That way, you’re acknowledging the other factors but not downplaying that your work had an important part to play in the mix. Wrap-Up Advocating for yourself and your work may not solve all the challenges you face in your professional life. But it’s a good first step toward boosting your visibility and ensuring your organization knows just how much you have to offer. Not only that, but it can even open doors for your career that you didn’t know were possible. Want more ideas on building buy-in for you and your work? Check out these articles: 2 Ways To Show the Value of Online Training Here’s How To Prove the Value of Training to Your Organization Use KPIs To Demonstrate the Value of E-Learning Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest e-learning inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). And if you have questions, please share them in the comments.Show Us What's in Your E-Learning Portfolio #451
E-Learning Portfolios for 2024 #451: Challenge | Recap Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to: Share a link to your e-learning portfolio or personal site Tell us your favorite portfolio, networking, or career tip 🧰 Resources What to Include in an E-Learning Portfolio How to Create an E-Learning Portfolio Here’s What Needs to be in Your E-Learning Portfolio Why You Need a Professional Portfolio ✨ Share Your E-Learning Work Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post. Forums: Start a new thread and share a link to your published example. Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We'll link to your posts so your great work gets even more exposure. Social media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can follow your e-learning coolness. 🙌 Last Week’s Challenge: Before you showcase your e-learning portfolio, check out the different ways to use design themes and slide masters to build custom templates: Design Themes in E-Learning RECAP #450: Challenge | Recap 👋 New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challengesanytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos. Learn more about the challenges in this Q&A post and why and how to participate in this helpful article. 📅 Next Week’s Challenge Challenge #452 (03.01): Using AI in e-learning. I last hosted a similar challenge nine months ago, but things are evolving quickly in this area. 🚨 Contact Information Just a quick heads up – if you want your blog, website, or LinkedIn included in our recap posts, could you do me a favor and add or update those links onto your ELH profile sometime this week? I found some broken links last week when I pulled the recap together. You spend a lot of time building creative examples, and your work deserves all the attention it can get. If you make changes, please let me know in the comments below. Thanks!Share Your E-Learning Portfolios and Interactive Resumes #438
Share Your E-Learning Portfolios & Resumes #438: Challenge | Recap 🏆 Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to share a link to your e-learning portfolio or create an interactive resume example. 🎁 Bonus: Share Your Favorite Portfolio Tip! Share your favorite portfolio tip or recommendation. What portfolio advice would you give to someone who is just getting started? What's your biggest lesson learned crafting your portfolios? Interactive Resume Example Here’s a creative resume example that Tim built with Storyline 360. The example features looping background audio and custom motion path animations and transitions. View the example | Tim Crowe Related E-Learning Challenges Build and Promote Your E-Learning Voice Over Portfolios #104: Challenge | Recap Audio Tips for E-Learning Portfolios #138: Challenge | Recap E-Learning Portfolios with Rise 360 #254: Challenge | Recap E-Learning Heroes Profiles #108: Challenge | Recap 🧰 Resources How to Build an E-Learning Portfolio One Challenge at a Time What to Include in an E-Learning Portfolio Why You Need an E-Learning Portfolio Here’s a Free Tool to Build an E-Learning Portfolio How to Create an E-Learning Portfolio Here’s What Needs to be in Your E-Learning Portfolio Why You Need a Professional Portfolio ✨ Share Your E-Learning Work Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post. Forums: Start a new thread and share a link to your published example. Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We'll link to your posts so your great work gets even more exposure. Social media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can follow your e-learning coolness. 📆 Last Week’s Challenge: Before you showcase your e-learning work, check out the examples course designers shared in last week’s e-learning challenge: E-Learning Challenge Examples RECAP #437: Challenge | Recap 👋 New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challengesanytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos. Learn more about the challenges in this Q&A post and why and how to participate in this helpful article. 📅 Next Week’s Challenge Next week's challenge #439 (11/03): Keep It or Trash It: Drag-and-Drop Sorting Activities. I try to include at least one drag-drop interaction each year. For this challenge, we'll focus on using drag-drops to sort items into two or more categories. Got an idea for a challenge? Are you interested in doing a webinar showcasing how you made one or more challenge demos? Or do you have some comments for your humble challenge host? Use this anonymous form to share your feedback: https://bit.ly/ElearningChallengeForm.How To Calculate the Cost-Benefit of E-Learning
Most organizations create e-learning as a means to improve employee performance. Courses are supposed to deliver knowledge and skills that make workers better at their jobs. So if e-learning doesn’t improve job performance or the bottom line, most organizations don’t want to invest in it. That’s why it’s critical to calculate the cost-benefit of your e-learning course before you start to develop it. You want to show ahead of time that the benefits of creating and administering the e-learning course outweigh the development costs associated with it. Here are a few things to consider when you calculate the cost-benefit of your course: The Costs Design, Development, and Delivery A lot of factors go into calculating the costs associated with designing, developing, and delivering your e-learning course. You might need to see the HR department to help you figure hourly rates for various job titles, and then do some calculations to convert a salary into an hourly rate. Some costs to include are: Software/Hardware Costs: For example, you might need to purchase a new authoring tool, some stock photography, or a new microphone. Development Time: Calculate development time by multiplying developer’s hourly rate by number of hours needed to develop the course. To calculate an hourly rate from a yearly salary, you can use this formula: salary / 52 weeks / number of hours in a workweek. Meeting and Review Time: Include the value of the time of everyone involved with the project: meetings with a manager, the tech department, your SMEs, copyedit, graphic design, etc. Calculate the dollar value of the time spent in meetings with these people as well as the time they devote to the project. Lost Production Time: The time your participants spend taking your e-learning course is called lost production time. Calculate the lost production time using this formula: # of employees x hourly rate x # of hours the training lasts. These are some of the most obvious costs you need to consider. There might be others, such as organizational overhead and, the cost of setting up an LMS or webpage to host the course. Once you’ve identified and calculated the costs associated with developing and delivering your e-learning, you need to look at the second part of the equation: the dollar value associated with the benefits of your e-learning. The Benefits Benefit of Training The benefits of training can be tricky to identify and narrow down, but it is possible and very important to do so. To calculate the dollar value of the benefits, you need to identify 1) the specific task that is being taught in the training or e-learning, and 2) the average benefit, in dollars, of improving performance surrounding this task. Once you’ve done this, multiply the dollar value of the benefit by the number of employees, and multiply that by a time period. When you have both your total costs and your total benefits, you can calculate your Return on Investment (ROI) using this formula: Having flashbacks to math class? Let me share an example with you to illustrate this more clearly. Cost-Benefit Analysis Example: XYZ Delivery You work for XYZ Delivery as a training designer. Over the past few months, an increase in shipping label errors has caused more packages to be returned undelivered. To reduce the amount of errors, the Shipping Manager wants to create a one-hour e-learning module for 50 employees on the proper way to fill out shipping labels. They ask you, their in-house training designer, to do a cost-benefit analysis for designing this module. First you look at the costs associated with designing, developing and delivering this module: Now that you’ve looked at the total costs, you need to identify the benefits of training the employees at XYZ Delivery on how to fill out shipping labels properly. The specific task being taught: How to fill out a shipping label. The benefit of improving performance for filling out shipping labels: You investigate and identify that, currently, the 50 employees get an average of one error each per week on shipping labels. An error on a shipping label means a package is returned at an average cost to XYZ Delivery of $15 per returned package. Teaching the employees how to properly fill out the shipping label could save XYZ Delivery $750 per week (50 errors per week x $15 per error = $750). Multiply that by four weeks in a month and by 12 months in a year, and XYZ Delivery can potentially save $36,000 per year if they can reduce the rate of packages returned due to shipping label errors to zero. To calculate the net benefit, we’d then subtract the cost of training from the benefit, $36,000 - $4000 = $32,000 is the total net benefit. Now let’s plug these numbers into the ROI calculation shown above: XYZ Delivery can potentially get an 800% return on their money in a year if they invest in this one-hour e-learning module designed to reduce the error rate for shipping labels to zero. It may make sense to leave room for a few shipping label errors—that’s only normal human behavior—so you could edit your calculation to reflect this. Again, this is just a general example to illustrate the cost-benefit analysis more clearly. Hopefully this simple method for completing a cost-benefit analysis and calculating the ROI of your e-learning course will encourage you to do so for your next project. If you’ve done a cost-benefit analysis in the past and you’ve learned a thing or two that you’d like to share, please leave a comment below. We love to hear your feedback! You can always sign up for a fully functional, free trial of Articulate software. And don’t forget to post your questions and comments in the forums! We’re here to help. For more e-learning tips, examples, and downloads, follow us on Twitter.Freelancing 101: How to Talk Money with Your Clients
Working as an instructional design freelancer can be both fun and financially rewarding. Coordinating with clients directly, being your own boss, and getting paid well are all big advantages of going this route. But some parts of freelancing can feel kind of high stakes—like negotiating with clients. If talking about money feels scary to you—don’t worry. In this article, I’ll walk you through some tips that’ll help you feel more comfortable with it so you can ensure you’re paid fairly. 1. Do Your Research Some clients will contact you about work and lead with an hourly rate they want to pay. This is actually super helpful because it lets you rule out work that doesn’t fall within your hourly rate range from the get-go. But what if they don’t immediately share a number with you? In that case, do a little research on your own to see if you can find out what they usually pay. For example, you could try checking their company job board to see if they mention an hourly rate. LinkedIn and Glassdoor are also great places to check to find out what that client is paying people in similar roles. These websites have areas where companies can share what comparable positions are making. And Glassdoor even lets former and current employees and contractors report actual numbers—which is super helpful for you as a potential freelancer! While both Glassdoor and LinkedIn have areas to share hourly rates, salaries are a little more common. But if a position shows a salary instead of an hourly rate, you can easily convert it with some quick math. A standard work year consists of around 2,000 hours. So just take any salary and divide that by 2,000 to get the hourly rate. For example, here’s what that calculation would look like for a yearly salary of $80,000: 80,000/2,000=$40 per hour. If this seems low, that’s because it is! Salaried employees are usually paid less than freelancers since they have job security and other benefits, so I usually add 50% to the hourly rate. Going back to the example, if a company has comparable positions paying $80,000, you could reasonably ask for an hourly rate of $60 or more as a freelancer. If the client doesn’t share a number and you can’t find anything online, don’t worry! That’s where tip number two comes in. 2. Get the Client to Name a Number I don’t know about you, but my heart rate always kicks up a few notches when clients lead conversations with “what do you charge per hour.” If this happens, don’t panic—and don’t automatically share your hourly rate either. Try to get the client to share a number first, as this will put you in a better position to negotiate. Sometimes, you’ll be thinking of a number and the client will say something much higher. In that case, if you had already shared your lower number, you could be losing out on a big chunk of change. So next time a client asks what you charge per hour, counter with a question of your own instead of answering straight away. Here are some examples: Do you have a rate in mind we need to work within? What have you paid someone similarly qualified in the past? What’s your budget for this project? Hopefully, asking these questions will get the client to share the number they have in mind. Once you have that information, you can decide whether to counter with your own offer or accept what they’ve offered. 3. Get the Details First Another good practice is to make sure you have enough details about the project before giving a rate. You don’t want to jump into negotiations without understanding the specifics. Some examples of question to ask are: When do you need the project completed by? Will I be the only person working on this project, or will I be part of a team? Is the content already written, or will I be writing it and developing the e-learning course? How many hours per week would you like me to dedicate to this project? If during the course of this conversation the client still won’t share a specific number, at least you’ll be armed with all the information you need to come up with a rate that makes sense on your end. Wrap-Up Remember, all conversations around pay are a negotiation, and it doesn’t hurt to ask for more money. The worst thing they can say is no! And while negotiating with clients can feel intimidating at first, it’s a skill that gets easier with practice. By following the tips we covered in this article, you can be confident you’re in a good position to negotiate the best price for your work. For more information on freelancing or other career tips, check out the articles below. 5 Factors to Consider When Deciding on an Hourly Rate Rounding Up Resources for E-Learning Freelancers 5 Tips for Landing Your Next E-Learning Job Answering Your Top Questions on Becoming an Instructional Designer Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest e-learning inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and X (Formerly Twitter).30+ Best E-Learning Portfolio Examples for Inspiration in 2024 #451
E-Learning Portfolios for 2024 RECAP #451: Challenge | Recap Are you looking for fresh, visually engaging ways to showcase your e-learning projects? Or perhaps you're looking to hire talented e-learning designers to help with your next project. Either way, we've got you covered with 30+ e-learning portfolio examples. From simple portfolios using E-Learning Heroes profile pages to custom-designed websites, this week's roundup features a range of creative ways to present your best e-learning work. Jonathan Hill Portfolio Tip: Share your E-Learning Heroes profile page to showcase examples of your work. Example | Jonathan Hill | Website | @DevByPowerPoint Jeniffer Brubaker Example | Jeniffer Brubaker Christine Vadovszki Portfolio Tip: Networking is so important! I think it's really important to talk to people, build relationships and connections as I often find these one-to-one interactions are what often land jobs rather than sending a resume or portfolio into the oblivion. Example | Christine Vadovszki Anel Albertao Example | Anel Albertao | Website Kari Edmonds Example | Kari Edmonds | Website Ayla Blacklaw Example | Ayla Blacklaw | Website Cherisse Lipps Example | Cherisse Lipps | Website Joanne Chen Example | Joanne Chen | Website Jodi M. Sansone Example | Jodi M. Sansone | Website | @jodimsansone Teo Karageorgakis Example | Teo Karageorgakis | Website Michael Schleicher Example | Michael Schleicher Alexander Salas Example | Alexander Salas | Website | @stylelearn Thaddaeus Smith Portfolio Tip: Portfolios are living documents and grow and change with the person they represent. As existing skills are sharpened, new skills are obtained, new technologies are incorporated, and new practices are implemented, the portfolio should be modified to reflect those changes. Example | Thaddaeus Smith | Website Ilona Winnemore Example | Ilona Winnemore | Website Samuel Apata Portfolio Tip: Before having a dedicated portfolio, I used to share my demos through the community page which is still a free and viable option. Example | ELH Portfolio | Samuel Apata | Website | @afrostem Thierry EMMANUEL Example | Thierry EMMANUEL | Website Michelle Susar Example | Michelle Susar Amar Kulshreshtha Portfolio Tip: I create articles on my LinkedIn profile Example | Amar Kulshreshtha | Website | @AmarShreshtha Julie BIGOT Example | Julie BIGOT | Website Laura Hansen Portfolio Tip: Set achievable and measurable goals for your own development. This year I have created a goal for myself to submit at least one E-Learning Heroes challenge a month and have two virtual networking calls a month. Example | Laura Hansen Silver Echo77 Portfolio Tip: Showcase a variety of projects that highlight different skills and strengths. It's all about demonstrating versatility! Silver Echo77 Missy Hovland Example | Missy Hovland Maria Munoz Portfolio Tip: Every day is a new opportunity to learn something new. Set realistic and achievable goals that will help you grow. Example | Maria Munoz Tracy Carroll Example | Learn more | Tracy Carroll | Website | @1tracycarroll Emma B Portfolio Tip: Curate! Don't put everything in there and ensure your portfolio really is a demonstration of your best work. Try to include a variety of examples and put in some good quality images / screenshots of your work. Focus on how you solved problems or tackled challenges, to achieve your end result. Also take a look at what other people are doing and learn from them. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to get it perfect and remember you can always change things as you, your skills and your style changes. Example | Emma B | Website Logan Monday Portfolio Tip: Keep showing your work and network with people that can support you as well as inspire you. Example | Logan Monday Wrenn Corcoran Example | Wrenn Corcoran Courtney Roberts Portfolio Tip: Have fun building your portfolio. Do what you like and what inspires YOU! Example | Courtney Roberts Kate Golomshtok Portfolio Tip: Learn how to be inspired by the world around you. Inspiration can come from a variety of sources: films, music, advertising, books, and many others. It’s important to see the ideas around you and use them to create interesting and helpful courses. Example | Kate Golomshtok | Website Anne-Marie Fiore Example | Anne-Marie Fiore | Website Jared Speight Portfolio Tip: Have a flagship project where you include design documents, discuss accessibility features, and show the results of your course/job aid if possible. Jared Speight Jayashree Ravi Networking Tip: Be genuine and proactive in building relationships. Connect with fellow professionals through online communities like LinkedIn, engage in meaningful conversations, and offer value. Authentic relationships can lead to collaborations and opportunities. Career Tip: Never stop learning. The digital learning landscape evolves rapidly. Stay curious, invest in continuous learning, and embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. Committing to lifelong learning sets you apart and fuels success in your career journey. Example | Jayashree Ravi | LinkedIn Teammate Learning and Development Example | Teammate Learning and Development | Website New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I'll update the recap posts to include your demos. If you have a blog, please write about your challenge example. I'll add links to your blog post so your examples get even more exposure. And for those who share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, please include #ELHChallenge so your network (and Articulate!) can track your e-learning coolness. Share Your E-Learning Portfolio Examples! The e-learning portfolio challenge is still open! If you have one or more ideas you'd like to share, please jump over to the original challenge and post your links in the comments section. I'll update this recap page to include your examples.
