[tremeex] How to Create Your Own Hand-Drawn Graphics

How to Create Your Own Hand-Drawn Graphics

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How to Create Your Own Hand-Drawn Graphics Posted: 07 Apr 2015 12:53 AM PDT Earlier we looked at the essential guide to visual thinking where we discussed how to communicate visually. Coupled with that post, we explored practical ways to apply visual thinking skills to elearning course design. One advantage of visual thinking is learning to see the concepts and how to express them to others. Another advantage is that you gain the skills to create real assets that can be used in your elearning courses. Today we'll look at ways to create your own hand-drawn graphics. And of course you can always download some free hand-drawn graphics in the community: 50 Stick figures 32 chalkboard graphics 21 hand-drawn circles 28 hand-drawn boxes 54 miscellaneous graphics 8 objects: books & notebooks Arrows & lines X-marks: red & black Check marks: red & green How to Practice Sketching Hand-Drawn Graphics Hand-drawn objects can create a personal and organic look. They are a stark contrast to the sterile corporate look that is so common in many courses. This contrast and the organic look can be used to craft an engaging look for the course. You don't have to be an artist to create and use hand-drawn images.  It just takes some practice. A couple of weeks ago, Blair Rorani facilitated a Twitter Draw-a-Thon. Each day a number of people submitted their sketch of that day's object. This was a good exercise to think about the objects and how to draw them. One thing I learned was to streamline my drawings and use less to communicate more. I also tried to practice different face styles. As you can see, I'm not going to sustain a career in graphic design, but with some practice, I can create a few usable objects. Start with Basic Shapes Most objects are basic shapes, so you need to learn to see the basic shapes in the objects. Then practice drawing them. The more you practice, the better you get. Once you recognize the basic shapes you'll get better at streamlining your drawings. I find that the less detail, the better. Practice Drawing Common Course Objects There are a few objects that are common to many elearning courses. Start by practicing to sketch them. Break them into basic shapes and then see what you can sketch. Here are a few common objects to get started. Feel free to add to the list in the comments section. File folder open and folder closed Piece of paper & a stack of paper Desktop & laptop computers Envelope Paper clip Phones: mobile & stationary Desk & overhead desktop File cabinet Whiteboard Cork board My Experience As I mentioned in this blog post on overcoming instructional design challenges, Blair Rorani live sketched my presentation. I liked what he did so I tried my hand at live sketching while at a workshop in Denver. You can see the results below. What I learned: Find inspiration from what you like and copy it. I liked Blair's style, so my first step was to mimic what he did. Now that I feel more comfortable I can begin to craft my own style. My initial sketches took too long between capturing the big idea and trying to make it work with the technology (I used the iPad and Adobe Ideas). However, once I completed a few of the sketches, I developed some basic procedures that helped make it faster. Spend some time practicing before doing it live or as you sketch for your elearning courses. One idea is to capture something going on at home. This would also probably produce a lot of laughs, too. Or just turn on the news and sketch what's being discussed. The main point is to practice and to apply the basic concepts introduced in the videos above: use basic shapes to create objects and then practice sketching ideas. Don't worry about everything being perfect. Just do it. They look nice as they are and there's something engaging about the organic look. However I do recommend that you practice writing text, especially if you're using an iPad. For the iPad I use the Cosmonaut stylus because the thicker pen helps me hold it more like I would on a  whiteboard than on a piece of paper. I feel like I have more control when I draw. The newer PC tablets have pen input and some come with a stylus. By the way, Blair has a new ebook, Everybody Draw Now, where he explains how to capture and communicate ideas. The book comes out April 15 and he gave me a code that will give you a 40% discount if you order prior to April 15. The code = rapidsavings. We're not all going to be artists who can crank out the best graphics. However, with some practice we can learn to communicate visually and streamline our graphics so they do work in our courses (assuming the proper context). I liked the way Jeff worked his drawings into a presentation. Another example of how they could be incorporated into an elearning course. Do you draw your own objects? Feel free to share some examples in the comments section. Download your free 46-page ebook: The Insider's Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro Upcoming Events (2015) April 15 & 16 (Chicago, IL). Updated! Register for one or both days.  Day 1: How to Build Interactive E-Learning  Day 2: Use Articulate Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning May 17-20 (Orlando, FL). ATD International Conference & Expo. Swing by the Articulate booth to say "Hello." June 3 & 4 (San Francisco, CA). Updated! Register for one or both days.  Day 1: Learn to Create Your Own E-Learning Assets Day 2: Use Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning June 12 (Austin, TX). Use Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning. Updated! Register here. Elearning Heroes Roadshows We're hosting a series of two-day elearning workshops that focus on practical tips and tricks. You can register for one day or two days. Complete this form if you're interested in presenting or want to submit an idea for a presentation. Presenters attend the workshop for free. Toronto: June 17 & 18 Seattle: August 4 & 5 Vancouver: September 23 & 24 Philadelphia: October 14 & 15 E-learning Community News Learn: Want to learn more about elearning? Check out these articles and free resources in the community. Get hired: Job board for elearning, instructional design, and training jobs Participate: Weekly challenges to sharpen your skills and show off what you've done. Great way to learn and get feedback. Resources: Free PowerPoint templates, free elearning templates, and free e-books. Updated all the time. Inspiration: Cool elearning examples. The post How to Create Your Own Hand-Drawn Graphics appeared first on The Rapid eLearning Blog.

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Posted By tremeex to tremeex at 4/07/2015 07:13:00 AM

How to Create Your Own Hand-Drawn Graphics

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How to Create Your Own Hand-Drawn Graphics Posted: 07 Apr 2015 12:53 AM PDT Earlier we looked at the essential guide to visual thinking where we discussed how to communicate visually. Coupled with that post, we explored practical ways to apply visual thinking skills to elearning course design. One advantage of visual thinking is learning to see the concepts and how to express them to others. Another advantage is that you gain the skills to create real assets that can be used in your elearning courses. Today we'll look at ways to create your own hand-drawn graphics. And of course you can always download some free hand-drawn graphics in the community: 50 Stick figures 32 chalkboard graphics 21 hand-drawn circles 28 hand-drawn boxes 54 miscellaneous graphics 8 objects: books & notebooks Arrows & lines X-marks: red & black Check marks: red & green How to Practice Sketching Hand-Drawn Graphics Hand-drawn objects can create a personal and organic look. They are a stark contrast to the sterile corporate look that is so common in many courses. This contrast and the organic look can be used to craft an engaging look for the course. You don't have to be an artist to create and use hand-drawn images.  It just takes some practice. A couple of weeks ago, Blair Rorani facilitated a Twitter Draw-a-Thon. Each day a number of people submitted their sketch of that day's object. This was a good exercise to think about the objects and how to draw them. One thing I learned was to streamline my drawings and use less to communicate more. I also tried to practice different face styles. As you can see, I'm not going to sustain a career in graphic design, but with some practice, I can create a few usable objects. Start with Basic Shapes Most objects are basic shapes, so you need to learn to see the basic shapes in the objects. Then practice drawing them. The more you practice, the better you get. Once you recognize the basic shapes you'll get better at streamlining your drawings. I find that the less detail, the better. Practice Drawing Common Course Objects There are a few objects that are common to many elearning courses. Start by practicing to sketch them. Break them into basic shapes and then see what you can sketch. Here are a few common objects to get started. Feel free to add to the list in the comments section. File folder open and folder closed Piece of paper & a stack of paper Desktop & laptop computers Envelope Paper clip Phones: mobile & stationary Desk & overhead desktop File cabinet Whiteboard Cork board My Experience As I mentioned in this blog post on overcoming instructional design challenges, Blair Rorani live sketched my presentation. I liked what he did so I tried my hand at live sketching while at a workshop in Denver. You can see the results below. What I learned: Find inspiration from what you like and copy it. I liked Blair's style, so my first step was to mimic what he did. Now that I feel more comfortable I can begin to craft my own style. My initial sketches took too long between capturing the big idea and trying to make it work with the technology (I used the iPad and Adobe Ideas). However, once I completed a few of the sketches, I developed some basic procedures that helped make it faster. Spend some time practicing before doing it live or as you sketch for your elearning courses. One idea is to capture something going on at home. This would also probably produce a lot of laughs, too. Or just turn on the news and sketch what's being discussed. The main point is to practice and to apply the basic concepts introduced in the videos above: use basic shapes to create objects and then practice sketching ideas. Don't worry about everything being perfect. Just do it. They look nice as they are and there's something engaging about the organic look. However I do recommend that you practice writing text, especially if you're using an iPad. For the iPad I use the Cosmonaut stylus because the thicker pen helps me hold it more like I would on a  whiteboard than on a piece of paper. I feel like I have more control when I draw. The newer PC tablets have pen input and some come with a stylus. By the way, Blair has a new ebook, Everybody Draw Now, where he explains how to capture and communicate ideas. The book comes out April 15 and he gave me a code that will give you a 40% discount if you order prior to April 15. The code = rapidsavings. We're not all going to be artists who can crank out the best graphics. However, with some practice we can learn to communicate visually and streamline our graphics so they do work in our courses (assuming the proper context). I liked the way Jeff worked his drawings into a presentation. Another example of how they could be incorporated into an elearning course. Do you draw your own objects? Feel free to share some examples in the comments section. Download your free 46-page ebook: The Insider's Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro Upcoming Events (2015) April 15 & 16 (Chicago, IL). Updated! Register for one or both days.  Day 1: How to Build Interactive E-Learning  Day 2: Use Articulate Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning May 17-20 (Orlando, FL). ATD International Conference & Expo. Swing by the Articulate booth to say "Hello." June 3 & 4 (San Francisco, CA). Updated! Register for one or both days.  Day 1: Learn to Create Your Own E-Learning Assets Day 2: Use Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning June 12 (Austin, TX). Use Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning. Updated! Register here. Elearning Heroes Roadshows We're hosting a series of two-day elearning workshops that focus on practical tips and tricks. You can register for one day or two days. Complete this form if you're interested in presenting or want to submit an idea for a presentation. Presenters attend the workshop for free. Toronto: June 17 & 18 Seattle: August 4 & 5 Vancouver: September 23 & 24 Philadelphia: October 14 & 15 E-learning Community News Learn: Want to learn more about elearning? Check out these articles and free resources in the community. Get hired: Job board for elearning, instructional design, and training jobs Participate: Weekly challenges to sharpen your skills and show off what you've done. Great way to learn and get feedback. Resources: Free PowerPoint templates, free elearning templates, and free e-books. Updated all the time. Inspiration: Cool elearning examples. The post How to Create Your Own Hand-Drawn Graphics appeared first on The Rapid eLearning Blog.

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[tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training

Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training

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Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training Posted: 31 Mar 2015 12:27 AM PDT There's often a big disconnect between the training that is delivered and the training that has impact. It's because training is commissioned by someone who doesn't take the training like a manager or subject matter expert. What happens is that while the training has all of the right information it doesn't frame it in a perspective that is true or relevant to the learner; and that's because the end-user usually doesn't have a seat at the table when the training is being developed. Here are a few ways to change that. Build Better Online Training by Interviewing Your Learners Someone asks you to build the training but it's usually not the end-user. The client has all sorts of content and it's your job to figure out what content is appropriate to meet the learning objectives. However, you also have to craft a learning experience that is effective. One way to do that is by spending some time with your learners. Share the content and objectives and then get their feedback. Ask them what content is most meaningful and useful to them. Ask how they'd structure the training. From the conversations with them you'll get a better sense of what they do and how the course content is relevant to their performance needs. They'll often give you some really good use cases that can be used for simulations and interactive scenarios. Keep in mind that what the end-user thinks is important isn't always the priority. Often the organization has regulatory requirements that may not be relevant from a performance perspective but still a requirement for delivered training. They key point is that you're getting another perspective. Build Better Online Training Through Observation Course content doesn't always address the nuances of real work. That's why spending time with your learners and seeing how they perform in a real environment is critical for successful training. And you'll learn things that aren't addressed by the content. For example, I once built training for a production facility. The new hires had to learn how to operate some large and complex machines. I spend some time on the floor and learned that many were intimidated by the machines. This made it hard for them to learn. Because of this, the first part of their training was to learn the parts of the machine and focus on a lot of preventive maintenance. We wanted them to get their hands on the machine and feel really comfortable with it. It worked because their familiarity with the machines helped them feel comfortable and the end result was that they out performed those who didn't go through that part of the training. We would never have even considered this part of the training had we not spent time on the floor observing how they did their jobs. There are additional tips in this post on how to avoid needs analysis paralysis. Build Better Online Training with Rapid Prototypes As you interview your learners build a quick prototype of how the course would work. It doesn't have to be perfect. I used to use PowerPoint and hyperlinks to do this. It's a quick way to get an idea of how to structure the course content especially for interactive scenarios. Today it's even easier than in the past. You can shoot digital photos or videos and insert them in slides. The elearning software is getting so easy to use that rapid prototyping only take a few minutes. I do this all the time at conferences when I'm at the booth. People come up and ask how to do specific things and in minutes we can build a quick interactive scenario. Don't worry about everything being perfect. I'm famous for using stick people and blue boxes. The point is that a quick prototype helps you understand the flow and expose potential issues. Build Better Online Training with Pilot Sessions to Get Feedback The reality is that sometimes you don't get access to the learners. This happened to me a few years back when I worked for a bank. I was building training for loan officers and wanted to talk to some to get a sense of how things worked in their work environment. The organization thought it would be a waste of time so I didn't get permission to spend time with them. If that's your situation then build the course and prior to final approval have some of the end-users take it. If you can, try to observe how they go through the course. Often this will expose so user experience issues like navigation or improper instructions. Try to solicit as much feedback as you can so that you can make adjustments prior to the launch date. It's not ideal, but it's better than launching a course that has issues. Plus, once you have something more complete, your client may not have an issue with you spending time with the end-user. Even if you can't get a lot to pilot the course, try to get at least one person. I outlined some things to do in this post on what do to before your course goes live. The main point in all of this is that the goal is to create a successful course and one way to do so is to spend sometime with your learners to understand their needs and how to design a course that both meets your learning objectives and the needs of the learner. What tips do you have when it comes interacting with your learners as you build the course? Feel free to share them in the comments. Download your free 46-page ebook: The Insider's Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro Upcoming Events (2015) April 15 & 16 (Chicago, IL). Updated! Register for one or both days.  Day 1: How to Build Interactive E-Learning  Day 2: Use Articulate Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning May 17-20 (Orlando, FL). ATD International Conference & Expo. Swing by the Articulate booth to say "Hello." June 3 & 4 (San Francisco, CA). Updated! Register for one or both days.  Day 1: Learn to Create Your Own E-Learning Assets Day 2: Use Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning June 12 (Austin, TX). Use Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning. Registration page coming soon. Elearning Heroes Roadshows We'll be hosting a series of two-day elearning workshops that focus on practical tips and tricks. You'll be able to register for one day or two. Complete this form if you're interested in presenting or want to submit an idea for a presentation. Registration pages coming soon. Toronto: June 17 & 18 Seattle: August 4 & 5 Vancouver: September 23 & 24 Philadelphia: October 14 & 15 Austin: November 4 & 5 Atlanta: Details coming. E-learning Community News Learn: Want to learn more about elearning? Check out these articles and free resources in the community. Get hired: Job board for elearning, instructional design, and training jobs (updated weekly) Participate: Weekly challenges to sharpen your skills and show off what you've done. Great way to learn and get feedback. Resources: Free PowerPoint templates, free elearning templates, and free e-books. Updated all the time. Inspiration: Cool elearning examples. The post Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training appeared first on The Rapid eLearning Blog.

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Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States

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Posted By tremeex to tremeex at 3/31/2015 07:35:00 AM

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[tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training

Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training

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Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training Posted: 31 Mar 2015 12:27 AM PDT There's often a big disconnect between the training that is delivered and the training that has impact. It's because training is commissioned by someone who doesn't take the training like a manager or subject matter expert. What happens is that while the training has all of the right information it doesn't frame it in a perspective that is true or relevant to the learner; and that's because the end-user usually doesn't have a seat at the table when the training is being developed. Here are a few ways to change that. Build Better Online Training by Interviewing Your Learners Someone asks you to build the training but it's usually not the end-user. The client has all sorts of content and it's your job to figure out what content is appropriate to meet the learning objectives. However, you also have to craft a learning experience that is effective. One way to do that is by spending some time with your learners. Share the content and objectives and then get their feedback. Ask them what content is most meaningful and useful to them. Ask how they'd structure the training. From the conversations with them you'll get a better sense of what they do and how the course content is relevant to their performance needs. They'll often give you some really good use cases that can be used for simulations and interactive scenarios. Keep in mind that what the end-user thinks is important isn't always the priority. Often the organization has regulatory requirements that may not be relevant from a performance perspective but still a requirement for delivered training. They key point is that you're getting another perspective. Build Better Online Training Through Observation Course content doesn't always address the nuances of real work. That's why spending time with your learners and seeing how they perform in a real environment is critical for successful training. And you'll learn things that aren't addressed by the content. For example, I once built training for a production facility. The new hires had to learn how to operate some large and complex machines. I spend some time on the floor and learned that many were intimidated by the machines. This made it hard for them to learn. Because of this, the first part of their training was to learn the parts of the machine and focus on a lot of preventive maintenance. We wanted them to get their hands on the machine and feel really comfortable with it. It worked because their familiarity with the machines helped them feel comfortable and the end result was that they out performed those who didn't go through that part of the training. We would never have even considered this part of the training had we not spent time on the floor observing how they did their jobs. There are additional tips in this post on how to avoid needs analysis paralysis. Build Better Online Training with Rapid Prototypes As you interview your learners build a quick prototype of how the course would work. It doesn't have to be perfect. I used to use PowerPoint and hyperlinks to do this. It's a quick way to get an idea of how to structure the course content especially for interactive scenarios. Today it's even easier than in the past. You can shoot digital photos or videos and insert them in slides. The elearning software is getting so easy to use that rapid prototyping only take a few minutes. I do this all the time at conferences when I'm at the booth. People come up and ask how to do specific things and in minutes we can build a quick interactive scenario. Don't worry about everything being perfect. I'm famous for using stick people and blue boxes. The point is that a quick prototype helps you understand the flow and expose potential issues. Build Better Online Training with Pilot Sessions to Get Feedback The reality is that sometimes you don't get access to the learners. This happened to me a few years back when I worked for a bank. I was building training for loan officers and wanted to talk to some to get a sense of how things worked in their work environment. The organization thought it would be a waste of time so I didn't get permission to spend time with them. If that's your situation then build the course and prior to final approval have some of the end-users take it. If you can, try to observe how they go through the course. Often this will expose so user experience issues like navigation or improper instructions. Try to solicit as much feedback as you can so that you can make adjustments prior to the launch date. It's not ideal, but it's better than launching a course that has issues. Plus, once you have something more complete, your client may not have an issue with you spending time with the end-user. Even if you can't get a lot to pilot the course, try to get at least one person. I outlined some things to do in this post on what do to before your course goes live. The main point in all of this is that the goal is to create a successful course and one way to do so is to spend sometime with your learners to understand their needs and how to design a course that both meets your learning objectives and the needs of the learner. What tips do you have when it comes interacting with your learners as you build the course? Feel free to share them in the comments. Download your free 46-page ebook: The Insider's Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro Upcoming Events (2015) April 15 & 16 (Chicago, IL). Updated! Register for one or both days.  Day 1: How to Build Interactive E-Learning  Day 2: Use Articulate Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning May 17-20 (Orlando, FL). ATD International Conference & Expo. Swing by the Articulate booth to say "Hello." June 3 & 4 (San Francisco, CA). Updated! Register for one or both days.  Day 1: Learn to Create Your Own E-Learning Assets Day 2: Use Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning June 12 (Austin, TX). Use Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning. Registration page coming soon. Elearning Heroes Roadshows We'll be hosting a series of two-day elearning workshops that focus on practical tips and tricks. You'll be able to register for one day or two. Complete this form if you're interested in presenting or want to submit an idea for a presentation. Registration pages coming soon. Toronto: June 17 & 18 Seattle: August 4 & 5 Vancouver: September 23 & 24 Philadelphia: October 14 & 15 Austin: November 4 & 5 Atlanta: Details coming. E-learning Community News Learn: Want to learn more about elearning? Check out these articles and free resources in the community. Get hired: Job board for elearning, instructional design, and training jobs (updated weekly) Participate: Weekly challenges to sharpen your skills and show off what you've done. Great way to learn and get feedback. Resources: Free PowerPoint templates, free elearning templates, and free e-books. Updated all the time. Inspiration: Cool elearning examples. The post Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training appeared first on The Rapid eLearning Blog.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Rapid eLearning Blog To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States

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Posted By tremeex to tremeex at 3/31/2015 07:35:00 AM

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Posted By tremeex to tremeex at 3/31/2015 07:35:00 AM

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Posted By tremeex to tremeex at 3/31/2015 07:35:00 AM

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Posted By tremeex to tremeex at 3/31/2015 07:37:00 AM

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[tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] [tremeex] Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training

Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training

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Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training Posted: 31 Mar 2015 12:27 AM PDT There's often a big disconnect between the training that is delivered and the training that has impact. It's because training is commissioned by someone who doesn't take the training like a manager or subject matter expert. What happens is that while the training has all of the right information it doesn't frame it in a perspective that is true or relevant to the learner; and that's because the end-user usually doesn't have a seat at the table when the training is being developed. Here are a few ways to change that. Build Better Online Training by Interviewing Your Learners Someone asks you to build the training but it's usually not the end-user. The client has all sorts of content and it's your job to figure out what content is appropriate to meet the learning objectives. However, you also have to craft a learning experience that is effective. One way to do that is by spending some time with your learners. Share the content and objectives and then get their feedback. Ask them what content is most meaningful and useful to them. Ask how they'd structure the training. From the conversations with them you'll get a better sense of what they do and how the course content is relevant to their performance needs. They'll often give you some really good use cases that can be used for simulations and interactive scenarios. Keep in mind that what the end-user thinks is important isn't always the priority. Often the organization has regulatory requirements that may not be relevant from a performance perspective but still a requirement for delivered training. They key point is that you're getting another perspective. Build Better Online Training Through Observation Course content doesn't always address the nuances of real work. That's why spending time with your learners and seeing how they perform in a real environment is critical for successful training. And you'll learn things that aren't addressed by the content. For example, I once built training for a production facility. The new hires had to learn how to operate some large and complex machines. I spend some time on the floor and learned that many were intimidated by the machines. This made it hard for them to learn. Because of this, the first part of their training was to learn the parts of the machine and focus on a lot of preventive maintenance. We wanted them to get their hands on the machine and feel really comfortable with it. It worked because their familiarity with the machines helped them feel comfortable and the end result was that they out performed those who didn't go through that part of the training. We would never have even considered this part of the training had we not spent time on the floor observing how they did their jobs. There are additional tips in this post on how to avoid needs analysis paralysis. Build Better Online Training with Rapid Prototypes As you interview your learners build a quick prototype of how the course would work. It doesn't have to be perfect. I used to use PowerPoint and hyperlinks to do this. It's a quick way to get an idea of how to structure the course content especially for interactive scenarios. Today it's even easier than in the past. You can shoot digital photos or videos and insert them in slides. The elearning software is getting so easy to use that rapid prototyping only take a few minutes. I do this all the time at conferences when I'm at the booth. People come up and ask how to do specific things and in minutes we can build a quick interactive scenario. Don't worry about everything being perfect. I'm famous for using stick people and blue boxes. The point is that a quick prototype helps you understand the flow and expose potential issues. Build Better Online Training with Pilot Sessions to Get Feedback The reality is that sometimes you don't get access to the learners. This happened to me a few years back when I worked for a bank. I was building training for loan officers and wanted to talk to some to get a sense of how things worked in their work environment. The organization thought it would be a waste of time so I didn't get permission to spend time with them. If that's your situation then build the course and prior to final approval have some of the end-users take it. If you can, try to observe how they go through the course. Often this will expose so user experience issues like navigation or improper instructions. Try to solicit as much feedback as you can so that you can make adjustments prior to the launch date. It's not ideal, but it's better than launching a course that has issues. Plus, once you have something more complete, your client may not have an issue with you spending time with the end-user. Even if you can't get a lot to pilot the course, try to get at least one person. I outlined some things to do in this post on what do to before your course goes live. The main point in all of this is that the goal is to create a successful course and one way to do so is to spend sometime with your learners to understand their needs and how to design a course that both meets your learning objectives and the needs of the learner. What tips do you have when it comes interacting with your learners as you build the course? Feel free to share them in the comments. Download your free 46-page ebook: The Insider's Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro Upcoming Events (2015) April 15 & 16 (Chicago, IL). Updated! Register for one or both days.  Day 1: How to Build Interactive E-Learning  Day 2: Use Articulate Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning May 17-20 (Orlando, FL). ATD International Conference & Expo. Swing by the Articulate booth to say "Hello." June 3 & 4 (San Francisco, CA). Updated! Register for one or both days.  Day 1: Learn to Create Your Own E-Learning Assets Day 2: Use Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning June 12 (Austin, TX). Use Storyline to Build Interactive E-Learning. Registration page coming soon. Elearning Heroes Roadshows We'll be hosting a series of two-day elearning workshops that focus on practical tips and tricks. You'll be able to register for one day or two. Complete this form if you're interested in presenting or want to submit an idea for a presentation. Registration pages coming soon. Toronto: June 17 & 18 Seattle: August 4 & 5 Vancouver: September 23 & 24 Philadelphia: October 14 & 15 Austin: November 4 & 5 Atlanta: Details coming. E-learning Community News Learn: Want to learn more about elearning? Check out these articles and free resources in the community. Get hired: Job board for elearning, instructional design, and training jobs (updated weekly) Participate: Weekly challenges to sharpen your skills and show off what you've done. Great way to learn and get feedback. Resources: Free PowerPoint templates, free elearning templates, and free e-books. Updated all the time. Inspiration: Cool elearning examples. The post Four Ways Your Learners Can Help Build Better Online Training appeared first on The Rapid eLearning Blog.

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