From the Coleface

MARCH 21, 2016

As an experienced blended learning designer and judge of the e-learning Awards (recently rebranded as the Learning Technologies Awards), I was invited to appear on TV. As part of the learning designers series, I’ve shared three key tips on blended learning design on LNTV.

Blended Learning 100

Blended Learning Case Study Blended Analytics 100

From the Coleface

APRIL 12, 2021

Whether you use 5Di, ADDIE or another model for learning design, here are the 12 questions I’ve found most important to ask at the start of a learning and development project (and validated with my network via LinkedIn): 1. Who is the target audience? total numbers and segments) 2. What would success look like?

Consulting 100

Consulting Performance Metrics Instructional Design 100

From the Coleface

NOVEMBER 1, 2017

An update on a post about learning objectives which attracted a healthy amount of support and debate: refinements to that position and what it means in practice for learning designers. One of the richest compilations of high quality thinking is Will Thalheimer’s.

Learning Objects 100

Learning Objects Learning Objectives HTML Bloom 100

From the Coleface

JUNE 15, 2016

Formal: Job aids, self-paced e-learning, business process re-design. Please note that this table is designed in the spirit that there will be plenty of exceptions to the rule! Complicated. Good practices. Formal: Simulations, face to face training. Emergent solutions. Informal: social learning. Novel solutions.

Help 100

Help Simulations Forum vendor 100

From the Coleface

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Learning objectives are core tools of the trade in learning design. If you can state “By the end of this course/e-learning/other, a learner will be able to X”, you have a focus for your design and a means for reviewers to check that the learning journey will get to its intended destination.

Learning Objects 0

Learning Objects Learning Objectives Cognitive Asynchronous 0

From the Coleface

APRIL 17, 2019

As a learning designer who often creates mini games for business purposes, I’m always interested in the subtext of a game – the behaviours and tactics that get rewarded with points and hence the model of how the world works that the game is implicitly teaching. Easter holidays. A particular favourite is The Game of Life (published by Hasbro).

Games 100

Games Lesson Job Teach 100

From the Coleface

MARCH 31, 2022

Free up time for L&D to work on strategically important work – The LXP provides at least something helpful at point of need without L&D having to design or sherpa learning. Better reasons. This frees up L&D time to focus on closing the strategically important performance gaps which need more than a ‘shot of content’.

Long Tail 130

Long Tail Platform Organization Compliance Training 130

From the Coleface

MAY 9, 2013

The e-learnign company’s sales director loves the idea, but someone has to design it. The instructional designer is given a turgid pack of slides and is tasked with magically turning it into an engaging learning experience. L&D can’t answer any of the ID’s questions about the content.

e-learning company 124

e-learning company Version Budget Reputation 124

From the Coleface

AUGUST 2, 2012

The nature of using a mobile device for learning is that you’re likely to get interrupted – after all phones were designed primarily to be for phone calls (and are used primarily for text messages ).

Metrics 100

Metrics Mobile Learner Design 100

From the Coleface

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

The amount of learner time that you’ll save more than justifies paying for additional instructional design expertise if you need help to step up the quality of questioning. To make this viable, the questions in the pre-test need to be challenging and really robust. Use role filters.

Compliance Training 211

Compliance Training Compliance Policies Trust 211

From the Coleface

OCTOBER 3, 2012

One reason I wanted to speak was that this would give me the excuse to spend some focused time doing research: What scientific evidence can be used to ground day to day instructional design decisions? It’s many years since I was a Psychology undergraduate, so I relished the chance to see how science has moved on. .

Audio 100

Audio Cognitive Statistics Instructional Design 100

From the Coleface

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

This is a 10th to add to my 9 ways of designing better conferences. Consider whether you need a designated tweeter for the session who can prompt discussions and moderate anything that needs moderating – possibly also a major comfort factor for the presenter if the tweets are getting displayed on a screen in the conference.

Conference 100

Conference Virtual Classroom Twitter Lecture 100

From the Coleface

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

For many years I’ve designed practical e-learning to help explain the tricky technical intricacies of CPD topics to accountants. I thought I’d flip this around to invest some time demystifying the tricky technical intricacies of e-learning for accountants.

Learning 100

Learning Design Help 100

From the Coleface

JANUARY 29, 2012

Although Marketing and L&D departments tend to attract different types of people, in essence both roles involve communicating in a way that is designed to change people’s behaviour. And where two fields of expertise overlap there’s learning to be had… here’s 5 points to start with: . Brand is all important.

Market 124

Market Instructional Design ADDIE News 124

From the Coleface

OCTOBER 15, 2012

At last week’s eLearning Network conference I led a practical instructional design session on audio and e-learning. Here’s a lightly edited summary of the groups top ten tips on using audio.

Audio 100

Audio Tips Voiceover Summary 100

From the Coleface

JULY 30, 2015

The training course that you are converting has been designed with a specific context and content. If you are selling via a partner/reseller, how will you make that work? How will you balance target audience size against relevance of your content?

Companies 100

Companies Content Online Portfolio 100

From the Coleface

JANUARY 29, 2009

” I will have the chance to expand on the points made in 9 ways to design better conferences and add in a certain extra je ne sais quoi. IofAM is the professional association for professional associations…at last, an answer to one of those many infinite regress questions like “who audits the auditors?”

Association 100

Association Conference Design Management 100

From the Coleface

JULY 27, 2007

I could get in a bespoke kitchen specialist to design something. Although in real life I do dabble in the kitchen, for the sake of keeping the analogy afloat, lets assume that I am the budget holder and my wife is the user.

Specialist 100

Specialist Budget Standards Consulting 100

From the Coleface

JUNE 25, 2013

In the same way as for instructional designers, being fresh to the subject helps you address questions that typical learners would have. From my first experience of curation, here are my top five curation issues to think through: 1. Do you need to be a subject matter expert to curate effectively?

Photoshop 153

Photoshop Photography Search Resources 153

From the Coleface

DECEMBER 18, 2007

In the posting Corporate eLearning’s Dirty little Secret , the results from a survey of instructional designers and developers show that using web-based training to learn about how to use authoring tools is the least popular method of learning.

Delicious 100

Delicious eLearning Guild Coaching Survey 100

From the Coleface

APRIL 28, 2008

Are there any improvements that you can design into the content and the process surrounding it? Although it’s far too early to tell whether Wii Fit will have an impact on the nation’s wellbeing, it’s worth pausing to think how many of the above ingredients you have incorporated into your compliance e-learning.

Compliance Training 100

Compliance Training Compliance Exercise Budget 100

From the Coleface

DECEMBER 6, 2009

My unscientifically tested belief, backed up by years of facilitating and instructional design experience, is that the more that you provide a variety of activities aimed at generating associations and meanings, the greater the impact of the learning intervention. By all means follow Justin’s advice…but in moderation is best. . .

Cognitive 100

Cognitive Effectiveness Module Association 100

From the Coleface

AUGUST 28, 2007

It seems completely obvious to me that above a pretty low threshold, the quality of e-learning produced is down to the skills of the instructional designer and the quality of content that they can elicit from the subject matter experts. What a splendid waste of taxpayers’ money- that’s your money and my money.

Authoring 100

Authoring Search Brandon Hall Tools 100

From the Coleface

JULY 10, 2007

The designer of the course ascribed this success to it being a “bog standard e-learning course, but well communicated” So how come this e-learning was so successful?

Adoption 100

Adoption Adopt Communication Budget 100

From the Coleface

MARCH 24, 2008

The approach of segmenting a target audience e.g. by Honey & Mumford learning styles, MBTI, learner maturity or other models has typically been done in an over simplistic way e.g. If I self-report as a Pragmatist will doing modules designed for Pragmatists be the best learning experience for me?

Personal Learning 100

Personal Learning Personal Personalization Wikipedia 100

From the Coleface

NOVEMBER 16, 2007

And just like the old days of helping people improve their PowerPoint presentations, I spend a good chunk of time coaching in-house L&D staff how to improve the instructional design of their e-learning.

Wiki 100

Wiki Harbinger PowerPoint Expert 100

From the Coleface

JUNE 23, 2009

A kitchen that is designed and kitted out from scratch to satisfy Jamie Oliver (and his allegedly rented social circle) is always going to cost more than an existing bachelor kitchen that’s given a quick lick of paint and some new lino. The cost of a kitchen is driven by 1) what purpose it needs to fulfil and 2) what it contains.

Content 100

Content Budget Cost PowerPoint 100

From the Coleface

JUNE 10, 2013

Whilst this is a useful metaphor that helps designers strive to make learning interactive, it’s got no basis in science! And, • 90% of what they see, hear, say and do*. Source: Accelerated Learning For The 21 st Century by Colin Rose and Malcolm J. Nicholl published by Dell Publishing 1997. e.g. [link].

Compliance Training 140

Compliance Training Learning Reference Integrate 140