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Expert Insights into the world of E-Learning Content Development
28 August 2023
Thanks to technological advancements, the world of education has witnessed a seismic shift in how people learn. As a result, quality e-learning content development is in high demand.
Traditionally, education solutions have been targeted through brochures, product manuals, white pages, and one-on-one instruction. E-learning has become a popular choice for organizations seeking to develop and acquire high-skilled talent flexibly and cost-effectively.
E-learning development companies and e-learning development software are pivotal in creating content that is both highly effective and efficient. This includes things like designing learning modules to be interactive, implementing gamification tactics, and building immersive training scenarios.
IaaS provides a high-powered, flexible, and cost-effective solution for businesses, particularly for their training and HR departments. A study by International Data Group indicates well over 69% of businesses already use cloud technology. Another 18% say they plan to implement cloud-computing solutions at some point.
IaaS simplifies the management and deployment of IT resources, reducing the need for businesses to invest in and maintain their own physical infrastructure. Instead, these resources are outsourced to a service provider, freeing up time and capital for businesses to focus on what truly matters – growth and innovation.
For emerging enterprise corporations, IaaS holds the key to unlocking a plethora of benefits, such as enhanced learner outcomes, efficient data analytics, robust data security, and more.
Options for Building Training Materials
With so many opportunities opened by online learning, many organizations are looking to take their historical training literature and convert it into module-based content that engages learners and helps teams analyze interactions and learning results.
There isn’t a strict rule for who generates your organization’s training content. Depending on the bandwidth and capabilities of your team, training content could be generated in-house by internal development teams.
However, there are clear advantages to outsourcing content development.
While building internally may give project managers more control over content production, it will ultimately limit the quality and functionality of an end product. Outsourcing e-learning development puts projects into the hands of professionals with in-depth knowledge of best practices and access to the appropriate skills to execute the programming and design of any given type of content.
Creating Custom E-learning Content
So what does the e-learning content development process look like?
Developing e-learning content is a multi-faceted process that requires a combination of instructional design, multimedia production, programming skills, and AI and manual testing. E-learning development companies and software solutions play a vital role in streamlining this process, ensuring the delivery of exceptional e-learning experiences.
With so many different moving parts, establishing a clear vision of the content and keeping lines of communication open throughout these steps and between parties is a critical component to ensuring end products meet expectations.
Storyboarding for E-Learning Development
Regardless of the type or strategy of the content, the genesis of every e-learning course begins with the storyboarding process and “wireframing” of the content. This is where we generate a visual representation of the e-learning content’s structure and flow, providing a clear roadmap for the development of engaging and effective training modules.
The storyboarding phase should involve heavy collaboration with subject matter experts to grasp intended training goals and accurately understand the broader context of the material. For instance, if a course is training someone to input flight data, a flight engineer should be involved in order to precisely explain the steps involved and help determine course requirements and end goals. Experts give content developers first-person insights into what kind of content is relevant in a course and how training should be modeled.
Prototyping
To ensure the client understands the concept without getting bogged down by technical details, our team creates a quick prototype using design tools like Figma. Prototypes help clients visualize final course products and provide reactions without being inundated with technicalities. At this stage, they need to see something that appeals to them.
Template Selection
Once a prototype is approved, courses need to be fitted into a template. This is where partnering with a professional content production team is key. Content developers maintain entire libraries of course templates that have been successfully developed, tested, published, and delivered for other clients. Selecting a template is the launch point for content creators to begin to generate “dummy” content to provide a preview or trailer of the entire course.
Depending on the content and end goal of the client, courses could be best presented through images and visuals, VR simulation, drag-and-drop interactive elements, or simple A-B-C multiple-choice questions.
Development of E-Learning Content
1. Generating material – Content teams begin writing out the technical material for the course while software developers begin designing their initial rough draft of the program. The software development and content creation teams work in parallel, eventually meeting to combine their efforts into a cohesive course.
2. Editing & Revisions – When both content and development join their work together, there will almost inevitably be discrepancies between content and presentation. The editing and revision phases are crucial to ensuring major errors are quickly resolved and course products are harmonized.
Clients are given opportunities to review and provide feedback on the course throughout the development process. Open and clear communication with the client during this stage can help steer and course-correct material toward the client’s expectations.
3. Testing — In this stage, a quality assurance team tests the e-learning content modules feature by feature in an attempt to “break” them. The quality assurance team conducts both automated and manual testing to ensure the course functions as intended. The results of this phase will either result in changes or approval to deliver to the client.
How Data Builds E-Learning Content
One of the great opportunities in e-learning content is gathering and curating data. In many cases, the ability to track and analyze a module’s user performance results is as important as the module content itself.
Online and e-learning training modules have the ability to collect data on user experience, content performance, and device interoperability. This can give content developers and training managers critical insights into how many times a question was attempted, how many times content was reviewed, and which lessons are being failed, as well as how user demographics impact those trends
If done correctly, this data is then used to revisit e-learning training modules and sharpen them. These changes tend to result in content becoming more inclusive, making more connections with subject context, or even changing how test questions are asked.
This data generally comes in two forms: Interface and content feedback.
Interface feedback
Gathering feedback on a learning management system (LMS) interface shows the content host how the module is impacting the learner experience and is an essential step to ensuring its usability, accessibility, and effectiveness.
The harder a product is to use, the more frustrating it is for the learner, which could derail otherwise excellent e-learning content. Interfaces and websites should be accessible and simple to use for everyone.
Typically this data is more straightforward. For example, feedback may flag areas where buttons could be positioned awkwardly, where an LMS is difficult to navigate, and even user issues across devices.
Content feedback
Content feedback is more complicated and can help managers gauge the effectiveness and quality of the training material itself.
Clyde K., co-founder and head of business and creative development at Techinnov, says for his teams, this requires in-house technology that can distill content performance based on a set of complex factors.
“Your courses may have great presentation, but there could be problems with the content inside,” Clyde said.
For example, a question could have a 60% pass-fail rate. Nothing special there. However, smart analytic tools are able to cross-reference factors and flag the fact 90% of the failed attempts were among women. This indicates there could be gender bias built within a question or training content and the module course could be much more successful if more inclusive.
SCORM-Compliant LMS
An important factor in delivering e-learning content is making sure clients’ tools are compatible with the learning. This is why SCORM standards are important for e-learning developers.
SCORM stands for “Sharable Content Object Reference Model” and is a guideline of technical standards for e-learning content to promote interoperability between various LMSs and content authoring tools.
Essentially, once an e-learning module is delivered for use on a client’s infrastructure, SCORM-compliant products ensure they are able to extract a list of standard, global metrics.
In order to comply with SCORM standards, it’s advised to contract content out to a reputable and certified e-learning development firm.
E-Learning Content Developer Insights
One key Techinnov has learned through its experience generating upskilling content is that a module that is complicated and aesthetically pleasing doesn’t necessarily make it strong e-learning content.
“Correlating module context with the best way template and format of delivery, that’s really the key that determines if training will be successful or not,” Clyde said.
The temptation to deliver decision-makers an impressive, overly technical product is real. It’s likely exciting to pitch to clients and exciting for them to see. But how will it perform with the audience and end-user?
There’s no need to construct an immersive virtual environment for training to put on a hazmat suit, for example. Instead, a brief instructional guide and a multiple-choice question about the process and order would probably suffice.
What determines a product’s success is being able to match together the proper module template, the kind of scenario, and the way your format questions — essentially, having the insight to pair context with delivery. In many cases, the simpler, the better.
Techinnov Case Study: Department of National Defense (DND) Bilingualism Training
The Canadian Department of National Defense (DND) recently looked to e-learning content development to solve upskilling and skill requirements. Techinnov’s e-learning content development process delivered a simple and high-impact solution.
The Problem
The DND faces unique challenges due to the need for technical French-English fluency within its ranks. Depending on mission assignment and location, a service member could be expected to interact with civilians and other members in either language.
Though the department has access to a vast array of traditional language resources and training options, they have ultimately failed to produce the desired outcomes in piquing interest and maintaining skills. To add to the challenge, each member is at a different stage in their capabilities, and each requires a different level of training.
Techinnov’s Solution
To address this issue, DND officials solicited e-learning content development for individualized training to personalize learning based on individual levels, generate highly efficient results, and offset fluency regression.
Considering the unique context and requirements, Techinnov developed a team that worked with DND officials to formulate a new way to present language training that simulated service members and encouraged participation. This resulted in Techinnov turning in an unexpected direction: gaming.
Techinnov’s development team developed a simple, gamified LMS and mobile app that implements persuasion techniques to prompt training intervals where users communicate and interact with an AI model in certain civil deployment scenarios, such as natural disaster response and the use of specific machinery and tools. The tool also adds a scoring mechanism, rank achievement, and daily “energy bar” allocation for completing scenarios.
The independent, third-party testing determined the LMS model was able to capture sessions between 10 and 20 minutes long. The model was ultimately accepted by the DND and is currently being implemented at a scaled level with plans to expand it throughout the department.
Popular E-Learning Development Software
E-learning development software allows development teams to create, edit, and manage content efficiently. Many of these tools simplify the development process by offering pre-built templates, interactive elements, and multimedia assets.
Articulate Storyline: This is a user-friendly e-learning development tool that enables instructional designers to create interactive and engaging online courses quickly. The software’s intuitive interface, rich multimedia capabilities, and pre-built templates simplify the course creation process.
Adobe Captivate: Known for its robust features and flexibility, Adobe Captivate enables creators to design immersive e-learning experiences that can be accessed on various devices.
iSpring Suite: This software combines the power of PowerPoint with interactive elements and assessments, making it ideal for creating engaging e-learning courses without requiring advanced programming skills.
Conclusion
With the rapid development of technology, the importance of high-quality e-learning content development cannot be overstated. Numerous e-learning development companies and robust e-learning development software have emerged in response to the growing demand in this arena of training.
Contact Techinnov’s sales team to see how our team can set your organization’s training infrastructure apart and produce high-impact e-learning content.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is e-learning content development?
E-learning content development is the process of creating high-quality and engaging educational materials in a digital format for online learning. This includes designing interactive learning modules, implementing gamification tactics, and building immersive training scenarios.
Why is e-learning content development important?
E-learning content development is important because it provides a flexible, cost-effective solution for organizations to develop and acquire highly skilled talent. It is also useful for educating audiences on products and how to take advantage of them.
Can an organization generate its own e-learning content in-house?
Yes, an organization can generate its own e-learning content in-house, depending on the bandwidth and capabilities of its team. However, outsourcing e-learning development to professionals with in-depth knowledge of best practices and access to the appropriate skills can exponentially improve the quality and functionality of the end product.
What is the process of e-learning content development?
The process of e-learning content development involves storyboarding, prototyping, template selection, content development, editing, revisions, and testing.
What role does data play in developing e-learning content?
Data builds e-learning content by tracking and analyzing user performance results to make changes that result in content becoming more inclusive, making more connections with subject context, or even changing how test questions are asked.
What is SCORM-Compliant LMS?
SCORM stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Model, a set of technical standards for e-learning content that promotes interoperability between various LMSs and content authoring tools.
What are popular e-learning development software tools?
Popular e-learning development software tools include Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, and iSpring Suite. These tools simplify development by offering pre-built templates, interactive elements, and multimedia assets.
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