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5 Ways to Jump Into Rapid E-learning

Looking back at the first course I took this year, IPT 525 – E-Learning Principles & Practices, we had the opportunity to explore some applications used in authoring e-learning courses and the idea of Rapid E-Learning.

Articulate is a software company that produces e-learning authorware to create your own media-rich, interactive e-learning courses.  The term Rapid E-learning is used quite often throughout their website and supporting Rapid E-Learning Blog written and managed by Tom Kuhlmann.

Here are 5 of my favorite posts at the Rapid E-Learning Blog that I think will help explain Rapid E-learning and show how you may take advantage of this development methodology within the e-learning space.

BONUS: Don’t let the term “Rapid E-learning” fool you.  While it is possible to build quality e-learning quickly, Jon Lloyd at VMG doesn’t believe so. He outlines why in his post, There’s nothing rapid about Rapid eLearning.

I happen to believe it is possible to create quality courses quickly, however the expectations between the developer and the client should be measured and within reason.  Developing e-learning is a craft and you can’t rush the creation of a quality learning experience at the expense of the learner’s needs.  Remember, that is where it should all begin and end.

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    4 comments

    By Justin Beller – October 11, 2009

    • http://www.velocitymg.com/ jon

      Hi Justin – I do agree with you that ‘developing e-learning is a craft and you can’t rush the creation of a quality learning experience at the expense of the learner’s needs.’ Well said!

      The additional point is that few people create elearning as a critical part of a business need and measure it as such. Our ‘less with less’ webinar ( http://bit.ly/ZNixl) through Training Industry tried to get people to get back to thinking about business planning and strategy – of which actionable metrics are a core part.

      Back to ‘rapid’ (or rabid?), I wrote the first RoboDemo course (and most of those folks from eHelp are now part of the Articulate team), so I cut my teeth on these tools (graduating from Dreamweaver, Flash, and Director). Most people interpret ‘rapid’ inappropriately, assuming a 2:1 or 5:1 development ratio. While it can be done, it usually does not end up as quality work. When you start talking about 100 or 200:1 development ratios, people are in disbelief. Obviously, these numbers include storyboarding, scripting, assessment, collaborative feedback, audio, etc.

      Having people install these tools and start cranking out ‘show me’ demos is as bad as importing a bunch of ppts into a talking head show. Especially without validation of alignment to the business.

      Great site, and great links there – Tom does a fantastic job and I’m a subscriber to his insights.

      All the best,
      jon

    • http://www.velocitymg.com jon

      Hi Justin – I do agree with you that ‘developing e-learning is a craft and you can’t rush the creation of a quality learning experience at the expense of the learner’s needs.’ Well said!

      The additional point is that few people create elearning as a critical part of a business need and measure it as such. Our ‘less with less’ webinar ( http://bit.ly/ZNixl) through Training Industry tried to get people to get back to thinking about business planning and strategy – of which actionable metrics are a core part.

      Back to ‘rapid’ (or rabid?), I wrote the first RoboDemo course (and most of those folks from eHelp are now part of the Articulate team), so I cut my teeth on these tools (graduating from Dreamweaver, Flash, and Director). Most people interpret ‘rapid’ inappropriately, assuming a 2:1 or 5:1 development ratio. While it can be done, it usually does not end up as quality work. When you start talking about 100 or 200:1 development ratios, people are in disbelief. Obviously, these numbers include storyboarding, scripting, assessment, collaborative feedback, audio, etc.

      Having people install these tools and start cranking out ‘show me’ demos is as bad as importing a bunch of ppts into a talking head show. Especially without validation of alignment to the business.

      Great site, and great links there – Tom does a fantastic job and I’m a subscriber to his insights.

      All the best,
      jon

    • http://www.pinpointperformance.net/blog Justin Beller

      Thank you for your insightful comment, Jon. I think you pretty much summed up what I intended to say. Quality instruction does not come without proper planning. That planning is strong instructional design. In instructional design, one way transfer knowledge and skills is to make the learning as concrete or as real as possible. Though scenarios (which I made sure to include in my links), you make the learning experience relatable thus ensuring retention.

      A “speedy” development process is great, but attention to detail when it comes to the quality of instruction can never be ignored.

    • http://www.pinpointperformance.net/ Justin Beller

      Thank you for your insightful comment, Jon. I think you pretty much summed up what I intended to say. Quality instruction does not come without proper planning. That planning is strong instructional design. In instructional design, one way transfer knowledge and skills is to make the learning as concrete or as real as possible. Though scenarios (which I made sure to include in my links), you make the learning experience relatable thus ensuring retention.

      A “speedy” development process is great, but attention to detail when it comes to the quality of instruction can never be ignored.

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