Good e-learning requires an instructional design process but you don't have to follow a long drawn out traditional systematic process. You can shorten the cycle, particularly if you are converting existing classroom materials to e-learning.
Always ensure that you have solid learning objectives and have clearly identified your outcomes. Don't rely on your classroom materials necessarily having these, go over the objectives and outcomes, they may need to be redefined or adjusted for online. Shorten the cycle: review the work as you build the online version, don't wait for a beta product. As you finish screens and small sections, have the Subject Matter Expert (SME) reviewing for accuracy, the Instructional Designer for clarity and learning objectives and editors to catch grammar, spelling, alignment issues. You can continue working on the next screens while these are being reviewed.
Eliminate or shorten the pilot phase by having your pilot group review sections, rather than the whole course.
Use templates (see below)
2 . Don't go fancy
Unless you are a gaming company, your e-learning does not have to look like a sleek video game to meet education standards and engage your learner. Yes, we'd all love to have that budget and time but you can create some pretty great e-learning using simpler and cleaner methods.
Use pre-built, easily modified Flash inserts. This will save you time and dollars.
Design a branching process. Use clip art, stockphotos, shadow characters and modify them so they become your own.
3. Blended learning
Blended learning can be a great learning tool and education process. It cuts your in-class training time down, sometimes significantly. You can have your learners use e-learning in advance of a classroom session or after attending a classroom session.
Rather than converting the whole course, you convert the sections that will work well on-line and have your learners attend classroom sessions for those sections of the material that are better facilitated in a face to face interaction.
By using blended learning you save in two ways - your e-learning development costs are lower as you are only developing sections not the entire course and your in-class hours attendance hours are reduced without sacrificing quality. A win-win.
4. Use Templates
Standardize your look and feel. This is sound practice regardless as it lets your learners become comfortable with the navigation, how to find attachments etc. But it also saves you money - the cost of developing a new template design for each new e-learning course.
Consider using point and click e-learning tools rather than developing from 'scratch'. Many of these tools allow you to customize, and if you're strong in HTML, Javascript, XML, and flash you can go even further with modifications while still using their time saving advantages. Combined with good instructional design skills, your own design templates, possibly video and/or audio clips you can develop some effective e-learning.
5 . Hire an External Consultant
If your organization doesn't have the budget for a full time e-learning developer or your developer is swamped with work, hire an external consultant to help you out. With the right consultant you can save dollars, having them develop on a course by course basis.
The consultant can work virtually using your templates, with access to your Subject Matter Experts, saving you office, computer and software setup costs.
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