This course covers basic adult learning theory and how to apply it. Learners discuss Knowles, Keller, Drucker, Merrill, Gagne and other legends in the world of learning and instruction. Topics covered include: Adult Learning Theory, The ARCS Model of Motivation, Life Learning, Pebble in the Pond and The Nine Events of Instruction. In this interactive and engaging course, learners will apply theory to case studies and scenarios to create learning environments and instruction for adult learners.
Five Easy Ways to Help Adults Learn
Adults learn by being actively engaged in the learning process. This course explores in depth the methods for creating and applying five popular techniques: Problem-Based Learning (PBL), Scenario-Based Learning, Case Studies, Question-and-Answer Discussions and Role Playing. Through immersive- learning techniques learners will actually create instruction with each of the five techniques and then present to, and be evaluated by, their peers. This course emphasizes how to use the five different techniques to create interesting and effective learning experiences.
Needs Analysis and the Gap
In this course learners participate in setting goals, creating learner profiles, setting objectives and determining instructional needs. Based on an interactive case study, role play and scenarios, learners analyze a variety of training and educational needs. Learners conduct performance-gap analysis; determine the need for instruction, skills hierarchies and prerequisites; and select a delivery platform(s) or technology(s) to match learning needs. This course includes target-population analysis for multigenerational learning.
Hollywood Storytelling 101
How do you write a story that is memorable and unforgettable? In this course you will learn to create interesting, compelling, informative and exciting stories for instructional purposes using these 10 Golden Rules: Know Your Audience, Appeal to Emotions, Show Don’t Tell, Know the Stakes, Plot from Premise, Open with Tension, Keep it Moving, Up the Ante, Build to the Turning Point and Resolve Tension. Through a highly immersive group project, learners develop and write stories that will be effective in training and learning environments.
Direct Instruction for Mobile Learning
You have the SDK for the iPad and now what? This course explores a method of instruction that is tailor-made for mobile devices. It looks at chunking and levels of mastery to produce highly effective learning materials. Direct instruction begins with an assessment of current performance or knowledge and then proceeds through small but ever increasingly difficult steps to levels of mastery. This is deal for those subjects or content areas where foundations are critical, such as language, mathematics, engineering, etc. Direct instruction assesses and rewards the learner by design.
Designing Instruction Online
Going Online 101
This course explores how to create and use PowerPoint conversion tools, basic graphic editing tools and other simple templates to create really good instruction while focusing on branding, using symbols, determining cognitive load, positioning, and creating basic layouts for optimal learning. The learners evaluate content to create extremely interesting and effective Level 1, e-Learning products. This also includes the basics of screen design and layout, chunking, writing learning and performance objectives and using assessments. This course is perfect for learners interested in capturing or converting Subject Matter Expert (SME) content to e-Learning.
Writing Learning Objectives
You can’t hit the target if you don’t have a target. This course will cover how to begin each of your training endeavors by creating good learning objectives. Learners will write and align learning, performance, and visual objectives with assessments. Learners will practice distinguishing knowledge types including: declarative, procedural, attitudinal and emotional. Finally, they will write outcomes with objectives and create short instructional exercises that practice these principles.
Designing Technical and Software Training
Most of the training done in corporations is software and technical training. This course defines technical training and discusses levels of mastery. Following a direct-instruction model, this course emphasizes structuring, segmenting and reinforcing “need-to-know” and “just-in-time” knowledge and offers ways to spice up even the driest content using humor and other methods to create interest and attention. The implications and ability to implement “just-in-time learning” with small chunks of content and levels of mastery will be explored. The importance of opening and closing segments and creating value will be investigated.
Curriculum Design for Corporate Universities
This course covers designing the overall curriculum for your organization to eliminate redundancy and determine prerequisites. While many corporate universities just evolve, this course approaches the overall learning architecture from a top-down and a bottom-up strategy. Learners will discuss how and when to use social software and networks to solicit the input. Formal and planned informal learning is also explored. Finally, by examining a corporate university case study and redoing the architecture, learners determine what, when and how to optimally keep Corporate U functioning.
Authentic Assessment
Learners will sign and develop authentic assessments including real experiences, projects, interactive jigsaws, dyads, fishbowls and others. Authentic learning plays an important part in online learning because of authentication and anonymity. By participating in and exploring a variety of techniques, learners will create examples and rubrics for scoring authentic assessments.
Production
You Listen With Your Eyes
This course covers the visual design basics that are so important to learning online. Learners will discuss attention, perception, visualization and imagination as well as how to use visual images to support learning. This course also covers prior knowledge, expectations and ways to position learning in context. Basic best practices of visual design including fonts, color, chunking and the CRAP principle are demonstrated. The implications of emotions and cognitive load will be integrated with good design principles. Learners will examine real examples of training and learning templates to recognize and make suggestions for improvements in the design.
Synchronous Sizzle
This course covers creating online training experiences that are enjoyable and effective using synchronous platforms. In this course learners use the four interactions: learner to learner, learner to content, learner to instructor and learner to the interface; learners will design engaging presentations to optimize learner attention. The length, format, style, interactions, backchannel and assessment of synchronous delivery is addressed.
Project Management
This course covers how to create a work breakdown structure that makes sense for the project, how to write a meaningful Request for Proposal (RFP), when to use a Proof of Concept and how to write one, how to define the Scope of Work (SOW), how to determine the critical path, and how to prevent scope creep. The use of many tools including check lists for SMEs and videotaping conversations in order to make projects move more quickly are discussed. The learner will create a simple project and participate in a team experience as it unfolds using role playing and scenario-based learning.
Professional Media Production
This course presents current audio-video practices used in corporate and institutional communications. Learners implement pre-production, production and post-production best practices in developing messages for corporate and institutional audiences. Learners gain a general understanding of script-writing, lighting, audio, and editing tools. Learners plan, design, produce and create dynamic instructional videos. Through conversations with professional videographers and audio technicians, learners incorporate tricks of the trade and best practices to create professional videos that are exciting and educational.
Script Writing for Screens
This course teaches the learner how to write scripts for professional audio talent or for in-house audio production. Professional, informative and engaging scripts can make all the difference in learner attention and retention. Because many simulation and Power Point conversion tools incorporate audio, language for e-Learning should be engaging, grounding, symbolic and hypnotic. Through immersive exercises and scenarios, learners construct and share scripts while explore the impact of descriptives, humor and other writing tools.
Assessment and Evaluation
Assessment 101
Assessment is of the most important and often overlooked aspects of designing and creating workplace instruction. Learners will learn some question-construction basics for true and false, multiple choice, matching and short-answer questions. Alternatives to traditional testing, peer-to-peer assessment, basic formative and summative assessments, and authentic assessment are investigated. Learners design and align assessments to learning objectives and create a course assessment plan.
Evaluation 101
Evaluation is also one of the most imortant and overlooked aspects of training and learning. This course covers how to define outcomes and measure the impact of training. Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation are discussed, and you designs evaluations of each level. Beyond the basics, this course covers 360 Evlauations, whether to do the evluation in-house or not and ROI approaches.
Criterion-Based Testing
Many organizations have to use compliance-based criteria to establish certification. This course looks at what your tools should have as part of their repertoire. Learners also examine fundamental testing concepts and the CRDT model. Each of the three steps in the CRTD model is examined and the legal issues surrounding them discussed. Through practice, examples and exercises, learners gain proficiency in the CRDT process. Highly interactive, this course allows learners to construct and critique a variety of tests including a prerequisite test, entry test, diagnostic test, post-test equivalency test and certification test.
Measures and Metrics
This course examines several models and principles for measuring training. Training is often evaluated based on impact or as a support function or investment. Learners will implement a Seven-Step Process for measuring training including: Business Sign Off, Performance Consulting, Pre Assessment, Evaluation 1 for the Learner, Evaluation 1 for the Manager, Follow-up Evaluation for the Learner and Follow-up Evaluation for the Manager. The role of the LMS will be discussed. Case studies are used to explore and evaluate several different evaluation situations.
ROI Basics
This course explores making a case for using return-on-investment evaluation in the short and long term within an organization. Learners discuss what ROI is and define ROI objectives. Principles and practices for isolating the impact of training, determining data collection, applying methods and getting it done are compared. Learners will use a case-based example to work in groups to design and deliver an ROI evaluation, present the data and overcome resistance to implementation. Through hands-on experience, learners design, develop and deliver an ROI evaluation.
Trends and Tools
Instructional Design for SMEs
This course is a primer in instructional design for Subject Matter Experts who are using synchronous and asynchronous tools to deliver instruction. The ADDIE Model: analyze, design, develop, implement and evaluate is examined as an approach for designing instruction in today’s fast-paced environment. Bloom’s taxonomy and its implications for developing learning objectives and chunking content is evaluated and applied. Simple and easy design principles are incorporated so that an understanding of learner interactions, visual learning and assessment become part of the SMEs design repertoire.
Trilogy of the Mind
How do you learn? Explore through stories and shared experiences the three domains of the mind: affective (feeling), cognitive (thinking) and conative (instinctual). Learners will discover the emotional scale of engagement and the impact of cognitive load. This course also presents reasons why and how to recognize when you are pushing against your instincts. Learners will be able to evaluate instructional design and discern which domain of the mind is being stimulated and how that impacts learning.
Crystal Ball Gazing
This course is a highly interactive exploration of current research on metatrends in e-Learning. It seems like just yesterday that everyone was expounding the virtues of web 2.0, and SCROM compliance was the thing.Now we tweet—and we are Linkedin, Plaxoed, Facebooked, YouTubed, and Google Grouped to death; in fact, the dead blog graveyard has more entries than YouTube, and they get about 67,000 a day. While people may have had enough and are moving on, social software isn’t going away. The power of being a contributor, the status of being an amateur expert and the ability to tap into the collective intelligence is here to stay and is continuing to grow.
Multicultural and Global
This course explores the current globalization and market forces that will affect training and development in future multi-national corporations. Students will learn how to use communication tools to meet with a global team and to gain knowledge about cultural differences that may affect how training is designed and implemented. Learners gain a rich understanding of the barriers that still impact training global employees and customers. Through discussions and class presentations, learners participate in several dynamic scenarios that incorporate educating a global workforce and working on virtual multinational teams.
Innovation and Creativity in Corporate E-Learning
Are your e-Learning courses as exciting as staring at ceiling tiles? This course explores several ways to spark creativity and innovation through designing exciting and interesting e-Learning modules. Learners will explore changing perspective, placing things out of context, and using emotional appeal, humor, and other methods to position boring content so that it is exciting and interesting. Several interactive exercises and presentations will help the learner create
