There are a lot of authoring tools you can use to create mobile friendly eLearning. We use Articulate Rise as it is easy to use and gives you decent amount of flexibility when it comes to creating courses for smartphones & tablets.
We also develop our more advanced courses (in terms of interaction, not content!) in Articulate Storyline. So, it is cheaper to get Rise and Storyline in the Articulate 360 package.
The main thing to consider is that learners are using smaller screens, so you need to reduce the amount of information on the screen at any one time.
It is best to think of swiping and sliding to access more information, rather than having multiple graphics and complex interactions to tap on.
Traditional slide-based courses need to be made more bite-sized and simpler. If a learner is using a laptop/desktop to view the same course as someone on a mobile device, the text might look extra-large on the laptop/desktop.
Rise will auto-adjust and reformat the course depending on the device it is being viewed on.
There are a variety of eLearning authoring tools which vary in terms of cost and complexity. We author in lots of different tools but our main ones (the ones we use for our own courses) are Articulate Storyline 360 and Rise 360.
If branding, style and in-depth interactivity is required then Storyline is better. Its interface will seem familiar to anyone who has used PowerPoint, yet it can create complex interactions through its use of variables, layers, states and triggers. You also have complete control over how the course looks overall and on each slide.
On the other hand, Rise 360 excels at mobile learning because it doesn’t use slides so it can adjust the course to fit any sized screen. The downside to this ability is that the courses must be made up on templates which can limit the amount of interactivity and unique style that you can put into each course.
We would say that Rise 360 is even easier to use than Storyline 360 and you can make courses, which always look clean and smart, very quickly.
Some Learning Management Systems also have in built authoring tools. You tend to only be able to publish the courses in the LMS though. They do not let you download the files and use on any other LMS.
Our LMS has an inbuilt PowerPoint converter and assessment authoring tool. That means anyone in the company can create a basic course and assessment, you don’t need to be an IT developer.
Turning face to face training into eLearning may be easier than you think thanks to how intuitive eLearning authoring software can be. Most authoring tools have free trials however once these expire, you will not be able to amend your courses until you pay for the software
If your training already has a really good PowerPoint presentation then you are most of the way there, as Articulate Storyline also uses slides and can even import PowerPoint presentations to start you off quickly.
If your training does not have a PowerPoint presentation, then you’ll need to look through your content and try to split it up into slides or easily digestible chunks. Learners hate seeing huge amounts of text on screen at once so try to keep this in mind.
The next step is to think about different ways to present the information on a slide. Simple interactions such as drag and drops or click to reveal are good ways to break up information. Consider also adding video, audio or links to further reading online.
Finally, we find a liberal use of high-quality images really makes a course stand out!
If the DIY approach does not feel right to you, then there are some excellent eLearning Development companies out there, who would be able to create the courses for you (ahem!)
If you have spent time writing and deciding on training for your staff, then why would you want to give them a bland and dull experience when learning it? The enthusiasm and care you have taken should be passed on to them; that’s where custom online learning shines.
We can take your training, in PowerPoint or PDF form, and create an on brand and engaging piece of learning for your learners.
Nobody wants to sit and click for 30 minutes through a boring slide show and if it is not in your company colours, with your logo and language, it can completely turn off learners too.
You may as well ask us, “How long is a piece of string?” An eLearning course length should really depend on its content and audience.
For example, if the topic is legislation based, then you can’t afford to leave out any content. If you do, the consequences could be catastrophic. Also, the audience probably won’t be very interested or motivated to complete the course.
In this scenario, you course could be long, so you will need to break it into bite size chunks. This will help your audience feel they are progressing and give them smaller targets to achieve.
If the training topic is less formal, then maybe a less rigorous module would be best. You could use “sign posting” to help them skip areas they already have knowledge on and just focus on the areas they want to learn more about.
In summary, it depends on the topic, how much time learners have and what their motivation is.
When it comes to reporting, it needs to be a customised experience towards your needs, that is why it’s such a broad topic that could be talked about for hours.
Our LMS has the reporting functionality you need; it can stay as high level as you want, seeing completion records, for example. Or it can get really in depth and look at the granular levels of your system; with data based on Job Title, Department, Site, Line Manager. These are custom items you can add to the LMS to build your reports.
It can also be auto sent direct to your inbox at chosen dates/times so you can just wait for the info to come to you!
Depending on your LMS setup, the reporting tool can also send you a snapshot PDF of a specific learner, gamification reports of badges and leader boards. It can even show you analytical summaries of assessments so you can identify any skills gaps or superstar learners as part of your succession planning.
We have around 90 self-paced eLearning courses in our catalogue as well as access to live webinars with our subject matter experts. Often customers use our off the shelf catalogue of courses as a starting point for creating their own custom courses.
The main topics we cover in our catalogue are:
These are two powerful tools that can not only give you information on how your learners are doing but how your training is doing too.
Assessments are great because it reinforces the content for the learner; it also shows you any gaps in learning or any superstar members of your team.
Our LMS has the following assessment capabilities:
A survey is great because it allows you to get gold level information from your users as to what is or isn’t working from the training or delivery.
Our LMS has the following survey capabilities:
We prefer to act as an extension of your internal L&D team. Whether that is developer to create digital courses, a colleague to discuss the best ways to achieve your L&D goals or simply your lead LMS administrator.
If you use our LMS then the cost of account management, client service support and LMS admin support is included in our licence costs.
That means we can do it all for you, teach you how to do it all yourself and something in between the two.
We follow these 8 clear steps for successfully implementing a new LMS. It is imperative you follow them in the correct order.
1.Set clear goals and desired changes in attitude: Doing this will help you choose your partner based on their ability to achieve your goals, rather than their expertise as software providers.
2. Understand what your network wants: Before introducing your LMS, you should talk to high performers in your network and ask them what they want in terms of access to training and personal development.
3. Find your champions: You can’t successfully change an entire work force’s attitude by yourself, you will need other people to champion your new LMS.
4. Only use features you need: You should customise the features of your LMS and get rid of the features that won’t deliver the benefits you want. Keeping them visible only distracts a learner.
5. Get it right before you go BIG: Now is a good time to have your product champions test out your LMS. If you fail to do this properly your network will soon lose faith in your new LMS when it doesn’t work properly for them.
6. Keep it in the news: Keep the topic high on your champion’s and line manager’s radar as they in turn will start to talk positively about it to the rest of the network, who will soon be using it.
7. Let your leaders access the LMS first: Leaders are the key to changing behaviour. For the project to succeed you must have your line managers or leaders leading by example and being positive about the system.
8. Finally launch with your wider network: Now you are ready to roll out to the rest of the network. You should only roll out to employees whose managers have been involved in the launch.
To find out more about these stages, please contact us
It is the five-letter acronym that motivates everyone to learn “WIIFM”, What’s In It For Me!
You can create fancy looking online courses, have enigmatic speakers or give learners the option to learn when they want to. It will all come to nothing if they don’t understand what’s in it for them.
So, what could be in it for them?
Pretty much anything APART from making them feel it is MANDATORY…even if it is!
The key is to get the message across BEFORE you start asking people to focus on learning & development.
We focus on strengthening 4 pillars, when helping companies make L&D the beating heart of their beliefs and values.
Executive Level Champions: The higher up the food chain you go, the better. If the CEO is frequently communicating and sharing their recent learning experiences, highlighting the development of others within the business then it has a trickledown effect on the behaviours of others.
In truth though, you need your line managers to be equally as engaged in L&D if you want to create a successful learning culture. You need to be communicating what is in it for them, how would they benefit from learning and development.
Proactive Learners: Suppose you have 2 children who both have music lessons at school. One wants to play and enjoys practicing; the other is only playing an instrument because you have said they have to. Which child is going to practice and improve the quickest?
Again, the trick here is to communicate what is in it for them, how would they benefit from learning and development. Also, focus on rewarding them and recognising their L&D achievements.
Sharing Expertise: It is all very good giving someone knowledge, but it isn’t very effective unless they can share it. You need to make it easy for them to share and reward them for doing so.
The easier you make it for people to share thoughts and new skills, the sooner you see the benefits.
Measurable Performance Targets: This pillar is intrinsically linked to pillar 1, you cannot expect to have executive level champions if you aren’t prepared to measure the success of your L&D initiatives against key company KPI’s.
If you don’t show you are working towards a common goal, you will never get anywhere.
It isn’t to do with teaching you how to use kitchen appliances!
Blended learning is a teaching method that combines online learning resources with live webinar and/or live face to face training.
It is typically delivered via a Learning Management System (LMS) helping learners navigate through a structured training plan. Which means some elements are self-paced, giving the learner control over where and when they learn, whilst other elements are time and location specific.
The theory is it gives learners the chance to learn in a variety of ways, so they are kept more interested and more engaged. Learning in groups with a tutor helps build rapport and sharing of ideas, whilst learning by yourself in your own time helps you to learn at the pace best suited to you.
Off the shelf content has its place; it provides exact information that is standardised across the world. It is also cheaper than custom content, but it comes with limitations.
The 2 things a learner needs to access digital learning are a screen and an internet connection.
Firstly, digital learning can be accessed on a desktop PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone.
Secondly, you need access to the internet via your router or mobile internet if you want to access learning on the go!
Once your employer has a Learning Management System (LMS) set up and a catalogue of courses then all you need is an account to access them.
It is as easy as that.
LMS stands for Learning Management System, and it is many things, but it is what it can do for you that matters.
The main goal of an LMS is to deliver training and make life easier for L&D managers, training providers and people who want to learn and develop their skills.
Below are just some of the key aspects of and LMS.
