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Creating eLearning Content for the Online Reader

documentsThere’s a wealth of information on the Web providing advice about how to create eLearning content for the online reader. One of the best articles we’ve read recently, comes from SHIFT’s eLearning Blog.

Some of the practical tips to remember when creating content are listed below.

  • Some users can spend up to 69% of the time on the left side of the screen.
  • Less than 20% of content on an average web page is read!
  • It takes on average 2.6 seconds for web page visitors to form their first impressions of your content.
  • Dominant headlines capture attention faster.
  • Use graphics to reinforce text. We process visual information faster than text.
  • Use whitespace on a page generously.
  • Use a readable size and type of font.

And remember that we read online content more slowly than when reading articles or content on paper!

When you are next creating articles or content for online users, consider the points above. Rather than simply uploading paper based articles as online documents, why not edit the documents down, add graphics and make points of information succinct. Readers will remember more!

Seven Free Online Resources for SME’s and Not For Profits in Ireland

Directors, Trustees and managers of SME’s and Not For Profits are busy people. So any time that can be saved searching for online guides to best practice in governance and management is important. We are sharing CramdenTECH’s top five bookmarked topic specific Irish reference sites. Hopefully you’ll find them as valuable as we do!

Legal responsibilities of directors: General Publications section Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement …Read Here

SME Accounting resources from Certified Public Accountants …Read Here 

Guidance for Directors and Senior Managers on their Responsibilities for Workplace Safety and Health …Read Here

Data Protection Information for Organisations in Ireland …Read Here

Employer Resources – Best Practice for Non-Profits in Ireland…Read Here

If you are in the Not For Profit Sector, we’d also recommend KnowledgeNET from Carmichael Centre and Managing Better: tools for taking care of business from Pobal. But we’re biased in both cases, as CramdenTECH’s managing director Caroline Egan had a hand in providing content for each of these resources! 

6,000 Free Higher Education Places in Ireland

june studyingIn the third allocation of education places under the the Springboard programme, 6,000 free part-time higher education places will be made available for the unemployed. Over 200 Springboard courses will be provided by the 38 participating Institutes of Technology, universities and privately-run higher education colleges.

Participants will be able to develop marketable skill sets and acquire qualifications in the fields of information & communication technologies, financial services and international languages. The range of qualifications on offer include awards at certificate, degree and masters levels.

To see the full range of courses available and to check eligibility requirements, visit www.springboardcourses.ie.

New Online Maths Resource for Leaving Certificate Students

mathsGreat to see Galway Education Centre and Athenry Maths Academy linking up with online learning company ALISON, to launch a free interactive maths resource. Targeted at students of the Leaving Certificate (L.C.) maths curriculum, it covers ‘strand one’ of the L.C. Project Maths Syllabus – probability and statistics.

The online course offering is free to access and includes video lectures with interactive lessons from tutors and teachers. It is anticipated that if students find the resource valuable, then the remaining four strands of the syllabus will be available later in 2013.

Congratulations to all concerned! To access the maths resource, visit http://alison.com/maths/.

 

MOOCs of Interest!

Online MOOC If you are interested in learning some new skills (or brushing up on existing ones) this springtime, check out the range of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) available from providers in the USA and Australia. Starting with one of the best known MOOC platforms Coursera, some interesting offerings include:

Human Computer Interaction – started on March 31st and provided by Stanford University

An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python – starting April 15th and provided by Rice University

Introduction to Data Science – starting May 1st and provided by University of Washington

One of the latest MOOC platforms to join the virtual learning world comes from Australia. Check out Open2Study to participate in courses such as:

Principles of Project Management – starting April 22nd and provided by Polytechnic West

Financial Planning – starting April 22nd and provided by Sydney Institute

And don’t forget the range of courses available at Udacity. There’s never been a better opportunity to learn new skills online!

 

Interactive Design – What’s in Store for 2013

Instructional DesignIf you get a few minutes to spare, check out the Prophets Agency presentation on Slideshare.net titled “ID13: the 2013 trends in Interactive Design”. It presents some interesting facts, such as that 40 billion apps have been downloaded since 2008 (Apple Press Center.) But for those, like CramdenTECH, who are on the lookout for trends that are likely to impact on instructional design, it makes for very welcome reading! This quote from Richard Cracroft is a new favourite of ours:

“I have learned an important principle: simple things work, often to our dumbfounded surprise, for we tend to distrust the simple and strive for the complex.”

In CramdenTECH we’ve learned that in eLearning, the focus should be on delivering quality content with consistent service delivery, not on the technology that is used to provide the experience. Hence, we prefer the term “technology-enabled learning”. Or, to quote Jeff Bezos:

“People don’t want gadgets, they want services“