I am hooked to Clark Quinn's blog posts on ID. When reading one such post, I came across another article, The Case Against Pre Testing for Online Courses by the same author. This had me thinking, when do I use pre-tests in courses? When there is a discrepancy between what the learner knows and what he/she thinks he knows. It is a dangerous situation when the learner thinks he/she already knows what you are about to teach him/her but from your research you know otherwise. To help the learner understand which areas need more focus. To help the learner understand more about themselves. MORE >>

A demotivated learner is any IDs nightmare. Don't we love it when learners are highly motivated, thirsty for knowledge, and realize the 'what is in it for me' even before the course begins? Symptoms of a demotivated learner: During interviews, they frown over the concept that you are going to teach. They do not appreciate the fact that HAVE to take the course. I can't blame them.) They try to convince you that they know everything they need to about the concept (you know otherwise through research). The situation is very, very dangerous if you spot all the five symptoms in your learner profile. MORE >>

Ros Aini posed a question in my previous post, "Online learning environment can demotivate online learners. What do you think are the aspects that contribute to this matter?" I am going to try an attempt answering this question based on my experience and what I have read/heard. If you think you disagree, please help me learn more by sharing your thoughts. If you agree and would like to add and give more clarity, please feel free to do so. First let me clarify, online learning environment can demotivate online learners is a generalization. You will be closer to getting it right. MORE >>

You would have interacted with several SMEs. have attempted to classify the SME. Five prominent personae emerged. These are based on my experiences. Please feel free to add your thoughts.) Temperamental SME: This SME loves to throw her weight around. She demands that things be done her way, else she will not cooperate. She dons the role of the boss and tells you when she expects things. She expects you to work only on her project and on nothing else. She throws a tantrum every time she thinks she has been let down. Easy Go Lucky SME: This SME agrees to everything you say. Go ahead.' MORE >>

You do not have access to learners or you are really short of time. However, you want to find out if your online course is easy to use and learn. What do you do? You can conduct an expert usability evaluation and expert learning audit. Both these evaluation techniques have their roots in usability inspection. Before I proceed further, these techniques have evolved from usability, but have been modified to suit the requirements of the learning field. If you use some other techniques, please do share. We are always eager to learn more effective ways of doing things. Is this intuitive enough? MORE >>