If you’re dipping your toe into the eLearning water, maybe now’s the time to jump in! Ditch the water wings and think about instructional design. If the idea of creating an eLearning program from scratch makes you feel like you’re drowning, take a deep breath and remember: Take it slow and test the waters.
Test the Waters Before Diving into eLearning
If you’re planning on utilizing eLearning as an educational method for your organization, you’ll first need to test the interest when compared to more traditional training methods. Talk to learners and see what they liked – and didn’t like – about heritage programs. Feedback helps focus on how and when your learners take in new information and gauge interest levels for changing to a different approach.
Start Small with Blended eLearning
Jumping right into the deep end can be an overwhelming way to learn how to swim. Start small. You can implement different types of eLearning without fully committing to just one. You could try a week’s worth of microlearning lessons, for instance, by sending your learners a video series or engaging them on Twitter. Or, try a blended learning approach at your next training meeting to gauge results before contemplating a complete change.
Use Instructional Design to Create an eLearning Structure
What works for one organization may not for yours: It’s all about experimenting with instructional design concepts. If learners seem lackluster about one of the learning methods you bring on board, tweak your delivery and see if it helps. You may find that what seems like a complete failure is only a blip in the full picture. eLearning isn’t a sink-or-swim educational method. Instead, experiment with methods, media and delivery to find out what works.
