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7 Technical Pitfalls to Avoid when Creating eLearning Content

Creating high end eLearning content is a time consuming process. Therefore, it’s important not to undermine the final results by making mistakes during the design and development phase. Some of the more easily avoidable mistakes are:

1. Omitting interactive eLearning elements

2. Under-utilising tables when organising information and text

3. Not designing a logical or intuitive navigational flow

4. Not providing learners with control over auditory elements

5. Overdoing the graphical content!

6. Not having a responsive design

7. Including obsolete resource links

Read the full article exploring each of technical mistakes listed above at http://elearningindustry.com/7-technical-pitfalls-can-ruin-elearning-experience.

Ten fun eLearning Facts this Friday!

As it’s Friday, we are sharing our favourite eLearning facts from the list compiled by Talent LMS:

 

  1. The term ‘eLearning’ has only been in existence since 1999, when the word was first utilised at a CBT system seminar.
  2. eLearning is one of the fastest growing industries in the world today and it will continue to grow quickly.
  3. 25% of all employees leave their jobs mainly due to lack of training and learning opportunities. While companies who do provide eLearning opportunities, generate about 26% more revenue per employee.
  4. The Internet is widely and increasingly used for self-directed learning. In 2010 32% of the total population in the EU has consulted Internet for the purpose of self-directed learning. This is an increase by 9% compared to 2007.
  5. By 2020, the global mobile learning market is projected to be $37.8 billion.
  6. eLearning is good for the environment. Britain’s Open University’s study found that producing and providing eLearning courses consumes an average of 90% less energy and produces 85% fewer CO2 emissions per student than conventional face-to-face.
  7. 77% of U.S. corporations report using online learning to enhance their employees training and educational programs.
  8. 52% of people using mobile learning do so in bed after waking up and 46% do so in bed before they go to sleep.
  9. The eLearning market has grown an incredible 900% since the year 2000.
  10. Networked devices will grow from 15B to 21B by 2018. Of these, 57% will be mobile devices. eLearning will benefit from faster Internet access everywhere and availability on any device.

 

View these fun facts and more in infographic form at https://www.talentlms.com/blog/20-facts-elearning-infographic/

 

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“