Course Design Workbook Vsm

ELEARNING ID LLC

COURSE DESIGN MADE SIMPLE

WORKBOOK AUTHOR: SABINA LOVE M.ED

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ELEARNING ID LLC

COURSE DESIGN MADE SIMPLE

WORKBOOK Introduction to course design ………………………………………………………………. 3 Audience assessment and personas ……………………………………………………… 11 Content planning and organization ……………………………………………………….. 21 Write objectives ……………………………………………………………………………… 34 Create a wireframe …………………………………………………………………………… 38 Content strategies and visuals ……………………………………………………………… 40 Put it all together …………………………………………………………………………….. 61

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Step-by-step Workshop, Course or Presentation Design Perhaps you have been tasked with creating a course or presentation. No worries! This workbook contains the tools and templates you’ll need to make a top notch knowledge product. In this step-by-step approach you will discover how you can systematically assemble a course or presentation while you execute each step. You will spend time preparing, and planning your materials, but as you are preparing and planning you are also putting together a final product.

Introduction

2. A course built in Powerpoint or Keynote that you can also purpose for use on YouTube, or

Designing a training program, be it a seminar,

your Learning Management System (LMS).

online instruction, or instructor-led workshop

Note: If you are using another development

can be a rewarding experience if done systematically.

tool the process still applies.

Whether you are a seasoned

instructional designer who would like to add tools to enhance your current system, or someone new to course design, it is extremely

3. A system to apply to the creation of other workshops, online courses, or presentations.

important to be organized in the design and

What You Will Need:

development of your program so the creation

-

of content does not get out of control. Your ultimate goal should be to create a program that supports the learning process.

So many

times we create programs that actually do the opposite. Well thought out, organized materials provide a scaffold for your audience in their climb to higher order thinking where your audience moves from passive recipients, or consumers of your content, to active manipulators of the concepts you introduce thereby creatively applying what they learn.

What You Will Complete By the end of this program you will create: 1. A strategy for your workshop, online course, or presentation.

A Powerpoint or Keynote template to populate as you complete each step.

You can find templates within Powerpoint or Keynote, or purchase templates from a variety of stock presentation sellers.

How to Use this Book This is a workbook, it isn’t exhaustive in all that could be taught on the topic, and it isn’t meant to be.

It is meant to work as your guide

through a project you would like to complete. If you need additional coaching or training in addition to this workbook visit https:// elearningid.com/collections/live-onlinecourses/products/course-design-made-simplebootcamp-for-professionals to sign up for the course that goes with the workbook.

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What You Will Learn By the end of the program you will be able to:

craft, or a student putting together a class project, the course design and development process is basically the same. This program is

1. Assess your audience and create personas

an attempt to simplify the course design

that will allow you to keep your audience in

process while still designing high quality

mind during the design and development

learning materials.

process. 2. Identify strategies for meeting the needs of your audience. 3. Use brainstorming techniques to identify topic areas to cover in your program. 4. Gather and organize content that you can leverage in the creation of your instructional program. 5. Use tools to layout the structure of your program. 6. Use a variety of design strategies and techniques to create effective content. 7. Employ an agile method for developing your content.

What is Instructional Design? Instructional design might be defined as a systematic way to create learning materials based on well-researched learning theories. While I will mention some of popular theories, this program is not meant to replace a formal instructional design education. Rather, I know the reality is that many people don’t have the resources to hire a professional instructional designer, and will put together a program the best they can. I highly recommend you consult an instructional designer, but if you don’t , the pages ahead will give you the tools you need to create a well-organized course that will ideally enhance the learning ability of your audience.

You’ll walk away with the confidence to design and develop a curriculum you can turn into a knowledge product.

Who is This Program For? Whether you are an executive writing a course to better communication between your team members, a system manager writing technical software application training for end-users, a professional athlete writing motivational seminars, an artisan teaching others about your

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Course Design Model. There are a few well known models for course design. This system was created after working with a number of clients who needed a product yesterday. While jumping straight to the solution seems like a good idea when you have a deadline hanging over your head, not giving due diligence to the preparation and creative design elements of the process will result in a product that simply doesn’t meet the need. More than likely, you’ll end up right back at the beginning. Let’s do it better. In some models you move to the next step when the previous step is complete. This might seem logical, however you might find yourself getting stuck in analysis paralysis, and spend too much time working on the “perfect” design. When you get caught in a phase, you’ll find you’re rushing the development to get the product completed on time. In this model, you will be working on the development concurrent to the preparation, planning, and design. The development is iterative, so as you perfect the design your development takes shape as well.

eLearning ID Course Design System

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Course Design Process. Agile. Iterative. Rapid. The course design process is not linear it is agile. Which means that as you are creating pieces of your course you are also assembling it. Before you begin, acquire a course template in the format you will be delivering your course. Most people will begin with a Powerpoint slide deck and a word document. Make sure to have your branding in place as well. That way you won’t get to the end of your project and have a mishmash of font styles, sizes, and colors.

You might also want to define your logo, highlighting colors, and graphic styles

(cartoon vs. realistic.) In the following pages you will find a useful planning guide meant to help you keep the look and feel of your course consistent. Use this checklist to monitor the progress of your course design project.

(1) Determine the training need. (2) Create a branding or style guide. (3) Analyze your audience

(8) Organize your topics. - Organize your topics into a list of topics and sub-topics. - Apply a sequencing and chunking strategy to create your outline.

- Write an audience description.

(9) Write course objectives.

- Create audience personas.

(10) Create a wireframe.

(4) Map out the program.

(11) Apply content strategies.

(5) Create a title, and write the purpose of your course.

(12) Complete the development of your course.

(6) Brainstorm a topic list.

(13) Test and launch your course or workshop!

(7) Gather Content - Leverage existing material. - Perform a scribing session.

- Perform a brainstorming session and determine gaps.

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(1) What is the Training Need? Other Interventions. Often times training is sought after as a solution to a problem without careful consideration of the problem. Training may or may not be the best solution. Only a thorough training needs analysis will uncover the best interventions to pursue as a solution. What you usually end up with is training plus something else. The ‘Interventions in Addition or Instead of Training’ graphic depicts several ways to enhance your training with practical solutions that meet your learners at the intersection of the problem you’re attempting to solve and the solution.

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(1) Other Interventions (Tool) Training Instead of or Plus: Expert Database

Create a database of expert answers.

Work Evaluation

Verify the job description and skills match the work tasks.

Central Resources

Store resources where everyone can access them easily.

Job Aid

Print or create marketing materials with key processes.

Electronic Job Aid

Create electronic versions of common processes.

Collaboration

Schedule regular times to work together through tough tasks.

Just-in-Time Training

Make training available near the time it is needed.

Coaching

Provide senior or experienced people to create strategies for those who are on-boarding.

In-person classroom training

Sometimes you can’t beat the in-person classroom to build camaraderie or to teach a difficult concept.

Team Building Activities

Build in tasks that encourage people to work together as a team.

Common Communication System

Verify everyone is using the same method of communication and determine best practices.

Conflict Resolution

Hire a third-party to assess conflict and create a strategy to resolve conflict.

Mobile Apps

Develop or implement useful tools for mobile devices.

Role Play

Include authentic role plays for a problem you need to solve.

Work Area Evaluation

Evaluate the workspace and technology. Are the computers able to handle the work tasks? Is there a glare from the new windows that is making work more difficult?

Motivation/Encouragement

Depending on personality, encouragement and motivation might be what someone needs to give it their all.

incentives

Different incentives are effective for different people - money, position, gifts, impact are examples of incentives.

email

1:1 emails or emails with encouraging words might help change perspective.

plaques

Reminders posted in a workspace can help keep perspective.

Games

Games provide a relaxed environment where learning can occur more readily.

Organization Networking Opportunities

Work celebrations, coffee times with management, and learning lunches provide a place for lines of communication to be nurtured and grow.

Suggestion System

An anonymous way to provide suggestions might help you see the problem from a different perspective.

Competency Testing

Testing skills will help identify gaps so you can develop the best intervention.

Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS)

Use artificial intelligence, or help systems to guide people through a task.

Simulation

Simulations provide a risk-free way to navigate a problem with authenticity, but without consequence.

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(2) Branding Guidelines/Templates All too often people will dive into creating Powerpoints or online courses without first defining a style guide. As the project matures, what can happen is you have a jumbled assortment of colors, fonts, and graphics. You’ll see colors used in different sections to mean different things. You’ll see clip art combined with photos with many different looks and styles, and fonts of different sizes and style. The lack of consistency can be distracting to your audience because much of the time they are asking – why the change in font or size? something of importance?

Does it mean something?

Should I be grasping

Your course or presentation also lacks the professionalism you are

probably going for. The necessity for a branding guide in marketing has become essential and is considered a best practice.

Any company, organization, school, etc that has a well established brand will have a

branding guide. I’ve worked with a number of companies that have a branding guide for their sales and marketing materials, but they don’t have a guide for their eLearning courses. Sometimes they will try to leverage the guides from the marketing department, but the mistake here is that colors, fonts, and other visual assets can be great visual cues for learning. Where marketing is trying to keep things very consistent telling the same story, in learning the base should be consistent, but colors, fonts, and other visual assets can be used to enhance the learning by providing cues, and drawing the learner’s attention to the topic being taught. Some may utilize the sales and marketing powerpoint templates, but guess what?

The learning modules end up looking like a sales and

marketing pitch. Don’t throw that marketing guide out just yet – like I said, it’s a great base. What you need to be thinking about is how to add to it.

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(2) Branding Guidelines/Templates Tool Colors Choose 4-5 five colors you will use throughout your presentation, workbook, and other marketing collateral. Make one of the colors your accent color.

COLOR #

COLOR #

COLOR #

COLOR #

COLOR #

Fonts List of font styles and sizes:

Header 1: Font Size: Font Type: Font Color: Notes: Header 2: Header 3:

Graphics Explain what type of graphics and media are consistent with your brand:

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Now that you have a working style guide, go to your Powerpoint and make adjustments to the slide master. 10

(3) Audience Assessment and Personas Lesson Objectives:

Let’s take a moment to better understand why

By the end of this section you will be able to: - Explain why it is important to identify your target audience before creating content. - Perform an audience analysis, and identify your target audience.

overly simplified you might lose your audience’s attention. 

Maybe your audience

doesn’t have access to the technology they sessions are in the middle of the night because they are in a different time-zone.  Maybe your

for your project.

Audience Assessment One of the first things you’ll want to do before you begin putting together your online course, presentation, or workshop is discover your audience.  Okay – I know you think you know who they are, but stick with me on this one.  Nothing is more important than designing materials that meet the need of your audience.  So you need to discover both who they are, Don’t worry, I have a

couple of tools that will help you navigate this task.

you create materials that are too technical, or

need to view your materials, or all of your live

- Describe the purpose of personas, and create personas

and what they need. 

it’s important that you know your audience.  If

As you go through the process of

designing materials you need to stay focused

audience is of a different culture. 

audience might have very specific goals they want to accomplish – how can you be sure to meet those goals? The list goes on.    The answers to these questions will help you to determine the best delivery methods for your intervention, how to appeal to the demographics your audience represents, and it will help you to adjust content for the culture you are teaching to.  The types of questions you will need to answer about your audience are first and foremost:

on who they are.  I will be introducing you to

- Who is the target audience?

the concept of personas – something used in

- What do they already know?

marketing that we will re-purpose for our task of keeping our audience in our mind’s eye while creating materials.

Your

- What do they need to know? - How can you engage or appeal to your audience?

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(3) Audience Assessment and Personas Sample Questions:

Experience - What job experience do they have?

WHO Demographics - Where is the audience located? - What timezone are they in? - Are they working virtually with others or face to face? - What is the age range of your audience? - What is the age of the majority of your audience? - What generation do the learners fall into? Traditionals? GenX? GenY? Etc. - What gender is most of your audience? - What is the highest level of education attained by the learners?

- How many years of job experience does your audience have? New Hires? 2-5 years? 6-10 years? 10+ years? - What experience do they have with the topic you are creating content for? - What technology are they most comfortable using? - What hardware/software do they have? - Are the learners generally motivated to learn? - What medium will you use to communicate with your audience? Are they comfortable with this method of communication? - Is your audience from a similar trade or same organization?

WHAT

- What is their cultural background?

Expectations

- What languages do your audience speak?

- Why might they be interested in reading your

- Are there any euphemisms or metaphors your audience might not understand? - Are there traditions or examples you can use from the audiences’ background? - Do the audience members know each other?

content? - What do they gain by learning more about this topic? - What aspects of the content you are creating will your audience be most interested in? Least interested in?

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(3) Audience Assessment and Personas What

Attitude

Expectations (cont.)

- What is your audience’s attitude toward the

- What type of learners is your audience mostly made of? Audio? Visual? Kinesthetic? - How are they used to learning new things? - Does it make sense to customize your content for different audiences? - How participatory is your audience? - Is your content voluntary or required?

content? - Will the audience be naturally interested in your content? - What is the reputation or credibility of the moderator or content creator? - How can you decrease the resistance and increase the receptivity of your audience to your content?

Knowledge Environment - Are there any distractions in their environment? - How much time does your audience have to interact with your content? Snipets? Chunks? - Describe your audience’s work environment. - Does your audience have any accessibility considerations?

- What is the purpose of your content? - How familiar is your audience with the content? - What prerequisite knowledge will your audience need to fully understand your content? - How will you ensure your audience gets prerequisite knowledge? - Does the audience prefer a more formal or informal approach? - Does the audience have prior knowledge of your topic?

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(3) Audience Description Tool Use the following questions as a guide for writing your Audience Summary: 1. Based on your analysis: Who is your target audience? 2. Describe the audience in detail. (Who/ What/ Experience/Attitude/ Knowledge) 3. What do you already have in place that will meet the needs of your target audience? (Strengths) 4. What gaps did you identify in appealing to this audience? (Weaknesses) 5. Did you discover any new ways to appeal to the target audience that you had not thought of before? (Opportunities) 6. What challenges might you need to overcome to appeal to this audience? (Threats)

Project Name: Project Description: Audience Summary:

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Create a slide welcoming your audience. Tell them who you are, and who the class is for. 14

(3) Audience Assessment and Personas Personas

intervention. Some of you might be SMEs or

After you finish the audience assessment and you have written the description of your audience, and you know what performance intervention you will design for your audience, it is imperative that you keep your audience in mind.

As you dive into the details of the

project you might find yourself forgetting who you are designing the intervention for.

Subject Matter Experts. So keeping a persona in mind will keep you from falling into the trap of skipping over content that is familiar to you, but not your audience.

Determine Personas for Your Course Now that you know who your audience is, how can you keep them in your mind’s eye whilst you are designing and developing materials? 

One of my favorite ways to keep my audience

Don’t skip this step. 

In all my years of

in mind is by using something I borrowed from

developing courses I can tell you that as the

the world of marketing.

I create a variety of

materials become more complex, and you’re

personas to remember as I am creating the

trying to figure out how to explain a topic, this

design.

Personas are the characteristics or

could be by far one of the most useful tactics

behaviors that give us an impression of who

you’ll find in explaining your topic well, and in

someone is. Personas represent a major group

creating just the right materials for your

that will use your content. We will use personas

audience. 

to remind us who we are creating content for. It's a way for you to keep the typical target audience member in mind as you design your

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(3) Create Personas Tool Write a description of a typical audience member for your course or workshop. This can be a real or fictitious person. What is important is to choose someone who will help you see your course design through their perspective. Step into their shoes as you design and develop your course.

Persona #1 _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _________________________________________

Persona #2 _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _________________________________________

Persona #3 _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _________________________________________

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(4) Program Map Now that you have a grasp of what interventions you might use to solve the problem you identified, it’s time to come up with an initial sketch of your program map. This sketch should be in “pencil.” In other words, you are not committing to anything by writing it down, but it will serve as a springboard for what you would like to ultimately create. Draw a map:

START HERE PROGRAM NAME:

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(5) Purpose of the Course Now that you know who your audience is it is time to nail down the purpose of your course. You’ve defined the who, now think about the what, the how, and the why. In the space below answer briefly what your course will be about. Then explain how you will teach it, and finally explain why it is important. Compile your answers into a cohesive purpose statement. What?

How?

Why?

Purpose Statement:

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Add a slide outlining the purpose of the course. 18

(5) Create a Title How you devise your title will be dependent on who your audience is. If this course is part of a curriculum you’ll want to make sure that the title helps the user navigate a list of courses. If this title is meant to draw an audience in, you might use language that appeals to a desire or provides a solution to a problem the audience is having. Ideas:

Title for your course:

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Add a title slide. Include a sub-title with more detail. 19

(6) Topics Brainstorming Tool Now that you have a good understanding of the purpose of your course take a few minutes and list all of the topics you think you will cover in your course. We will refine this list later, but right now list every topic that comes to mind. Topic List:

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(7) Content Planning Content

  Content is gathered, organized, and

Whether you are trying to create a course, instructional book, or presentation, you need to design and develop rich content that is engaging to your audience.  I will guide you through the content creation process using a variety of tools to gather, organize, design, and develop content that will be effective.

You

have compiled a good list of topics for your course. Now let’s discover some of the content you can leverage to teach those topics. Lesson Objectives

developed to create everything from lesson p l a n s , m a r ke t i n g m a t e r i a l s , t e c h n i c a l documents, company presentations, job aids, websites, training courses, and many more.  The major difference from time past to now is the sheer amount of information we have to draw from and organize. 

The type of

information has also changed.  We have video, audio, pamphlets, blogs, and the list goes on.  It can be overwhelming, so the need to stay or get organized is all the more critical to your success.  I will guide you through the process

By the end of this section you will:

of gathering, organizing, and designing content with a set of tools I hope you will find

- Compile a list of content resources.

helpful. 

- Devise a list of possible topics and subtopics.

Why does content matter? Why do you need to

- Employ brainstorming as a way to complete content

understand who your audience is?

gathering and outlining tasks. - Write an initial outline for your course and course modules.

powerpoint to reach an audience and miss the mark? 

Creating content has been an art form for a very long time. 

Have you ever seen a professional use a

In the days of the printing

Have you seen an organization’s website that didn’t speak to the typical visitors?

press, reporters gathered content for

Have you heard of a great web tool or app that

newspapers. 

goes unused?

They conducted interviews,

researched books, etc..

Have you heard of a great web tool or app that goes unused?

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(7) Content Planning A powerpoint, website, or app is only as good

A good step to gathering content from a SME

as the content it contains. The content is only

is to interview them, or to ask them for

effective if it is written for the target audience.

resources they have that will be useful in course

Subject Matter Experts - SMEs

design.

A subject matter expert or SME is a domain

Gathering Current Content

expert, specifically in the course or topic you

Part of executing a good design process is

are teaching on.

You might be the SME for

taking an inventory of your content that is

your course which is convenient on one hand,

already in existence. Some of the content or

but can be troublesome on the other.

pieces of content can be re-purposed. When

Convenient because you are capable of writing

we take a look at current content it also helps

all of the content for the course on your own,

us to determine training needs, and uncover

you don’t need to rely on someone else’s

any gaps.

knowledge or schedule to complete your project. Inconvenient because of something we term unconscious competence.

That’s a big

term for a somewhat simple phenomenon - you don’t realize what you know. You have so much experience in a skill you can complete a task easily without thinking about it - unconsciously. Or you know what you know, and you might forget that those you are teaching don’t know those things. This can lead to a great deal of confusion on behalf of your audience since you might be teaching a topic and they don’t have

There is no reason to re-invent the wheel. As much as you can leverage or re-purpose the content you have already created.

likely have gaps to fill, but gathering the resources you already have is a great start to organizing a content strategy. Use this tool to record all of the resources you can think of. We will organize the content in another tool (The Wireframe Tool.)  Ways to Generate or Gather Content

the foundational elements to build from. It is

- Re-purpose

useful to have a person typical of your target

- Scribe

helping you build

your course, so they can

bring up questions on topics they don’t

You will

- Brainstorm New Content

understand thereby uncovering unconscious competence the SME is unaware of.

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(7) Content Gathering Tool. About Content Collection Part of executing a good design process is taking an inventory of content that is already in existence. Some of the content or pieces of content can be re-purposed. When we take a look at current content it also helps us to determine training needs, and uncover any gaps. Topic Name: Subject Matter Expert (SME): SME Contact Info:

SME Role:

Call to mind the topic we are developing training for. Which of the current resource materials currently exist on this topic? Video

Manual

Job Aid

Online Course

Document

Flyer/Pamphlet

Infographic

Visuals

Audio Clips

Animation

Game

Podcast

Workbook

Tool

Other___________________ List the Resources Now list as many of the resource materials as possible, give a detailed description of each including how the materials were used, and the objectives they covered.

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(7) Scribing Tool What is Scribing? Have you ever noticed that when you talk to someone, teach in front of a class, or do a podcast you have no problem coming up with hours of content, but when you sit down to write something the words don’t flow as quickly? We’re all different, some of us find it easier to talk, and some find it easier to write. Writing and speaking come from two different parts of your brain. If you’re writing, and you find yourself stuck, give speaking a try, and consider scribing as a method for gathering content. Scribing allows you to talk through your material, then come back and transcribe it. Sure you will need to do some revision, but you will be amazed at how much material you will have to edit.

Transcription You can manually transcribe the audio you capture during your mock teaching session, or use a tool like VoiceBase where a machine will transcribe the audio for you. https://app.voicebase.com/login

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(7) Scribing Tool Use this tool to outline and bullet details. - Best - Teach or present online or to a class and record. - Next Best - Pretend you are teaching or presenting - record.

Topic/Sub-topic: SCRIBE TEXT:

NOTES:

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(7) Brainstorming Session Tool Now that you have determined what content you have available, you have probably also identified some of the gaps. Take time to list the areas where your content is weak. As you go along, pencil in ideas on how you might fill those gaps. Topic List:

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(8) Topics/Sub-topics Now it’s time to revisit the list of topics you came up with earlier. Add topics you might have missed, delete or scratch out topics that are unnecessary, and put topics and sub-topics together in categories. Next we’ll see how to organize those categories.

Sub-topic Sub-topic Topic

Sub-topic

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(8) Topics/Sub-topics

DEVELOPMENT NOTE

Add slides with your major topics.

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(8) Exercise: Chunking Content Why does it matter how you organize your content? That may seem obvious, but let’s do a little exercise to hit it home.

In the following demonstration, look at the list of words below for 10 seconds. Memorize as many words as you can in this amount of time. On a separate piece of paper, and without looking, write down as many words you can remember. Enter the number here _______

Nine

Lamp

Apple

Fire

Worm Clock

Baby

Desk

Bird

Rock

Phone Ball

Book

Tree

Tweet Meal

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(8) Exercise: Chunking Content Again. Let’s do it again. Only this time I’ll chunk the words into categories across the rows by animals, colors, fruit, and furniture.

Horse

Dog

Cat

Fish

Yellow

Blue

Green

Black

Apple

Banana

Grape

Mango

Table

Chair

Desk

Bed

On a separate piece of paper, without looking, write down as many words you can remember. Enter the number here _______

How did you do? You should have remembered more on the second list, and your recall should have felt more organized.

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(8) Sequencing Strategy

Ways to sequence your workshop, course, or presentation: By topic

When material can be taught in any order consider presenting by topic.

According to a process

When material follows a structure, or order consider sequencing by process.

Chronologically

When material follows a timeline consider sequencing chronologically.

By cause and effect

When one topic effects another topic consider cause and effect.

Simple to complex

When a topic builds consider going from simple to complex.

With a problem at the center

When a topic has something to solve put the problem in the center and build a scaffold around it.

Ideas:

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(8) Outline The best way to get organized is to create an outline. An outline will help you to to see some order to your content and see topics that might not necessarily fit into a structure and you can decide where to place them.

The outline will serve as a springboard for your course design and

development. It’s also a great communication tool if you’re working with a team. It’s a low risk, nonresource intensive way to make sure you’re all on the same page. After you complete your outline populate your Powerpoint template with headers.

Course Name: Module: SEQUENCE #

TOPIC / SUB-TOPIC

NOTES

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Organize your slides into a sequence. Add any sub-topic slides. 32

Unconscious Competence Check Ten Questions As you are going through this process ask yourself these ten questions of your major topics. In doing so you might uncover areas of unconscious competence. I’m talking about those areas you know so well, you don’t realize it was something your audience might need to delve into a little deeper, or in a different way.

Question 1

What are some of the areas that cause the most confusion?

2

What are some of the most common questions you will get about this

Notes

topic? 3

What are the common mistakes people make in this area?

4

What is the impact of making mistakes in this area?

5

What are the biggest gaps between what people should be doing and what they are actually doing?

6

Do you have any stories, info-graphics, or examples that help illustrate key points?

7

What content points might cause resistance or pushback?

8

Is there anything that might be considered new or revolutionary over what they previously did or thought?

9

Are there any points they should have memorized after the seminar? How can you emphasize these points?

10

Are there any points they should have reference to for later retrieval? Do you know of any, or can you create a checklist, to-do list, tool, or other job-aid?

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(9) Objectives Learning Objectives In this phase of our project we will identify specific performance criteria that can be measured both during and after the course. The Learning Objectives will provide us with a base on which to develop the course and assessment questions.

Purpose of Learning Objectives: • Give the attendees a clear understanding of what will be covered in the course and in each lesson. • Give the attendees a full understanding of what they will be expected to know or do when the course is complete.

• Help the instructional designer make sure all of the content has been included in the course. • Help the instructional designer determine which components of the content are necessary and which are not, then begin organizing and chunking the lessons.

• Provide a starting point for determining assessment of skills.

Objectives were devised with regard to Bloom’s taxonomy: Bloom’s Taxonomy is a way to classify learning objectives. There are six levels. (L1) – Knowledge: Recall facts and basic concepts. (L2) – Comprehension: Explain ideas or concepts. (L3) – Application: Use information in new situations. (L4) – Analysis: Draw connections between ideas or concepts. (L5) – Synthesis: Justify a stand using concepts. (L6) - Evaluation: Produce a new work using concepts.

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(9) Objectives Verb List Per Level KNOWLEDGE (L1)

COMPREHENSION (L2)

APPLICATION (L3)

Cite

Arrange

Adapt

Choose

Associate

Apply

Define

Clarify

Chart

Label

Classify

Demonstrate

List

Convert

Develop

Locate

Describe

Employ

Match

Diagram

Extend

Name

Draw

Extrapolate

Recall

Discuss

Illustrate

Recognize

Estimate

Infer

Record

Explain

Interpolate

Repeat

Express

Interpret

Select

Identify

Manipulate

State

Outline

Modify

Write

Paraphrase

Order

Restate

Predict

Sort

Prepare

Summarize

Produce

Translate

Relate Transcribe Use

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(9) Objectives Verb List Per Level (continued) ANALYSIS (L4)

SYNTHESIS (L5)

EVALUATION (L6)

Analyze

Assemble

Approve

Appraise

Build

Assess

Audit

Combine

Choose

Breakdown

Compile

Conclude

Calculate

Compose

Confirm

Categorize

Construct

Criticize

Certify

Create

Critique

compare

Design

Diagnose

Contrast

Devise

Evaluate

Correlate

Discover

Justify

Criticize

Formulate

Prioritize

Deduce

Generate

Prove

Defend

Integrate

Rank

Detect

Make

Rate

Discriminate

Organize

Recommend

Examine

Plan

Research

Inspect

Predict

Resolve

Investigate

Prepare

Revise

Question

Propose

Select

Solve

Reorganize

Support

Survey

Set up

Validate

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(9) Objectives Use this tool to identify the objectives for each lesson or module you will be teaching.

These

objectives will be general, and will give the learner a list of what to expect during the course. Assign each objective a level according to the key. Pick out the general objectives for each section of your course and populate your Powerpoint.

Then create objectives for each topic/sub-topic you

identified. You won’t present these objectives, but rather they will help you organize your course and help you to determine which strategy to use to cover each topic.

After you complete your

objectives explain how you will assess that the objective was completed successfully. Assessment might come in the form of activities, exercises, or tests. Here is a basic formula for objectives: A (Audience), B (Behavior), C (Condition), D (Degree) This is a formula a good recipe to follow, but you will know what objectives will best suit your audience. Lesson/Module: By the end of this lesson/module you will be able to: Objective __.__ (L#___) Assessment method: Topic/Sub-topic: By the end of this lesson/module you will be able to: Objective __.__ (L#___) Assessment method:

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Add an objectives slide to the beginning of the course, and to sections.

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(10) Wireframe What is a Wireframe? Now that you have a working outline, it’s time to get organized. This is the heavy hitting part of the design. Some Instructional Designers will create a design document to communicate the design to the person developing the course. Design documents come in different forms. Sometimes it looks like a Word document table,

a concept map,

a script, or even a Powerpoint.

Many software

developers begin their design process with a wireframe. A wireframe is basically an image or set of images which displays the functional elements of a website or page, typically used for planning a site's structure and functionality. Creating a visual structure of your course is a great way to see gaps in your design. It’s also a rapid way to visualize the course before you get too far down the road in development, losing precious time and money. How you organize is up to you. I have provided a couple of my favorite methods in this lesson, but the important part is to stay organized.

Lesson Objectives By the end of this section you will: ·

Employ effective training strategies to your course.

·

Settle on a sequencing strategy.

·

Create a Course Wireframe.

·

Visualize course and gaps.

Wireframing is a technique commonly used in the design and development of software apps and websites. eLearning courses are as complex in many cases, so I would like to introduce the concept to you where the purpose is to visualize and communicate the design and hierarchy of the course content giving you a rapid way to plan the way you would like your audience to consume the content. Use this tool to: - provide a visual overview of the potential design - work as a communication and collaboration tool - serve as a springboard to design - create an agile, easy way to make big changes before spending a lot of time and money on development.

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(10) Wireframe Begin with your topic/subtopics then decide which design elements to include per topic, and identify and denote any gaps.

TOPIC/SUB-TOPICS

TOPIC/SUB-TOPICS

TOPIC/SUB-TOPICS

TOPIC/SUB-TOPICS

Objective #

Objective #

Objective #

Objective #

Resource #s

Resource #s

Resource #s

Resource #s

Screen Text

Screen Text

Screen Text

Screen Text

Screen Media

Screen Media

Screen Media

Screen Media

Screen Graphics

Screen Graphics

Screen Graphics

Screen Graphics

Script

Script

Script

Script

Activity/ Assessment

Activity/ Assessment

Activity/ Assessment

Activity/ Assessment

SME Questions

SME Questions

SME Questions

SME Questions

DEVELOPMENT NOTE For every topic/subtopic begin building a visual of what to include on each slide using the wireframe. Populate your deck as you go along.

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(11) Content Strategies All to often we encounter online courses that are bulleted lists of text highlights coupled with stock graphics. The only engagement the learners experience is click...click.. clicking to the next page. Or we force our learners to sit through instructor-led courses that leave their brains largely unstimulated. A stimulated brain is actively working on organizing and storing what is coming its way - your content! It’s time to get creative and apply content strategies that will transform your content into an engaging learning experience.

Lesson Objectives By the end of this section you will: ·

Apply content methods to your course.

·

Add more content to your wireframe.

·

Populate your course templates.

Think of the best and worst course you’ve ever completed. What did you like or dislike about the course?

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(11) Content Strategy: Case Study What is a Case Study? In a case study you are taking a particular instance and analyzing it to illustrate a principle. You are giving the learner the opportunity to solve a problem, or to see how a problem was solved. They need to use what they learned and apply it in order to understand or solve the case. Application of a principle helps the learner to recall and use the principle later and under different circumstances.

What makes a good case study?

Your case study should include someone your audience can relate to. It should include real data. Typically, you set up the case from beginning to end, and give the audience the opportunity to weigh in on the strategy for solving the case before the solution is revealed.

Now it’s your turn. Go through your presentation, course, or your wireframe plan for the course. Are there opportunities to include a case study? Ideas:

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Go back to your wireframe and identify topics that are good candidates for a case study. If you’re ready , begin building them in your Powerpoint.

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(11) Content Strategy: Stories Stories I love using stories when I design courses. Sometimes the stories are real, and sometimes they are made up in order to make a point. I like to carry the story through the length of the course. In one instance, I designed a course on Identity Theft. I invented a character named Bob, and we followed him through the process of having his identity stolen. By the end of the course we saw him resolve most of the issues, but along the way we watched what he had to go through to remedy the problem. Stories provide the learner an easy way to remember how a character used the learning principles in a practical way. How do you write an educational story? You should begin by explaining a little about the character and his/her circumstances. The character will encounter an obstacle, this is the pivotal moment of the story where your audience will begin wondering what is next, and how the story will resolve. Next your story will explain the ways in which the obstacle was overcome, and finally the story will resolve with the lesson that was learned. This is just one way to approach storytelling for instructional purposes.

Now it’s your turn. Go through your presentation, course, or your wireframe plan for the course. Are there opportunities to include a story? Ideas:

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(11) Content Strategy: Stories (continued) Can you come up with an engaging story that will support the point you are trying to teach?

What are the circumstances?

What is the obstacle and pivotal moment?

How does the story resolve?

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(11) Content Strategy: Stories (continued) Topic or Objective:

Write the story:

DEVELOPMENT NOTE

Go back to your wireframe and identify topics that are good candidates for including a story. Add stories to your Powerpoint when you are ready. 44

(11) Content Strategy: Scenarios What is a Scenario? Scenarios are situations where you allow your audience to postulate on the possible outcomes based on the decisions the characters make. For one client I used scenarios to help managers understand what workplace harassment is and what it is not. I set up the scenarios, and asked the managers to determine what would happen based on the different decisions each of the characters made. Based on their response, I provided the appropriate feedback.

Now it’s your turn. Go through your presentation, course, or your wireframe plan for the course. Are there opportunities to include scenarios?

Topic or Objective:

Possible Scenario:

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Go back to your wireframe and identify topics that are good candidates for including scenarios. Add scenarios to your Powerpoint when you are ready.

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(11) Content Strategy: Experiments Give Them Something to Do Experiments are procedures executed to make a discovery and to test a hypothesis. Experiments put the learning in the learner’s court. Experiments will appeal to your hands-on learners, a group that is largely ignored in online education. When you are creating online materials you are not limited to only creating experiences online. What I mean is that you can create applications that will simulate real life for use online, but you can also blend the learning by using tangible items in the learner’s environment. Experiments can be used in both technical or soft skill courses. In a class on setting up printers, you might have the learner experiment with different settings or setups. In a communication class, you might ask the learner to experiment with saying things a different way. In a social media course, the learner might experiment with posting to different platforms.

Now it’s your turn. Go through your presentation, course, or your wireframe plan for the course. Are there opportunities to include an experiment? Ideas:

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Go back to your wireframe and identify topics that are good candidates for including an experiment. Add experiments to your Powerpoint when you are ready. 46

(11) Content Strategy: Eavesdrop Eavesdropping I think there must be something in human nature that makes us want to listen in on the conversation next door, but we know we shouldn’t. In this activity we give the learner permission to eavesdrop. Here is a secret, (don’t say anything) we are motivating them to listen. This approach is particularly useful in soft skill training. For example, ask the learner to click on or roll over a button to listen in on a manager as he gives his first performance review. This is also a good method for customer service, and technical support training.

Now it’s your turn. Go through your presentation, course, or your wireframe plan for the course. Are there opportunities to include eavesdropping? Ideas:

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Go back to your wireframe and identify topics that are good candidates for eavesdropping. Add slides to your Powerpoint when you are ready. Note: This activity might require a higher level of tech savvy. Add audio to each visual for people to listen in on.

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(11) Content Strategy: Cartooning Include Humor They say laughter is the best medicine. But did you know that laughter also helps your audience to relax so they can learn? You don’t have to be a comedian. You want to be sure the humor is appropriate and relevant to what you are teaching. Include a joke here and there to break the content up into digestible pieces. The element of humor might be what you need to engage or reengage your audience. Before you begin creating your cartoon, try reading a funny blog, or watching a humorous show. See if that helps you get the creative juices flowing.

Make a cartoon. If this isn’t your talent, draw it out and ask a graphic designer to complete it.

DEVELOPMENT NOTE

Go back to your wireframe and identify topics that would lend themselves well to a piece of humor. Add to your slide deck.

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(11) Content Strategy: Social Media Be Social. Social media has given us another tool to use for educational or informational purposes. Collaborative learning is nothing new, but how we use social media to encourage participants to interact with each other is a more recent development. If you are teaching a course where there is a final product, have the participants share a picture of the final product on one of the social media platforms of your choice. Many people are already on Facebook and Twitter. Facebook You might have the participants go to your Facebook page or group an post screenshots of the product they created. For instance as a result of going through this workbook, you might post screenshots or photos of the courses you came up with. Twitter You could also moderate a chat on Twitter. Choose a hashtag for everyone to use at a given time. For instance you might tell your audience to meet on Twitter every Thursday at 5pm PDT and use a particular hashtag.

Now it’s your turn. Go through your presentation, course, or your wireframe plan for the course. Are there opportunities to include social media activities?

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Go back to your wireframe and identify topics that are good candidates for including social media. Add slides to your Powerpoint when you are ready. 49

(11) Content Strategy: Quotes Good quotes can be inspirational and pack a lot of wisdom in a small space. Use quotes throughout your presentation or course, but don’t overdo it. Less is more in this case. Give your audience a quote they can hold on to throughout your presentation to keep them focused and motivated to listen and learn.

Now it’s your turn. Go through your presentation, course, or your wireframe plan for the course. Are there opportunities to include the wisdom of a quote?

Topic: Quote Idea:

Topic: Quote Idea:

Topic: Quote Idea:

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Go back to your wireframe and identify places where a quote would have an impact. Add quotes to your Powerpoint when you are ready. 50

(11) Content Strategy: Choose an Adventure Let them Choose an Adventure When I was little I used to love reading Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. After I completed one adventure, I would go back and see where a different choice would have taken me. I was curious to see what the consequences were of the decisions I made. Use natural curiosity to engage your audience. I used this element in a course I designed on financial literacy. We gave college students the opportunity to choose if they wanted to go on Spring Break or stay home and pick-up a side job. There were many decisions they made along the way that led to different paths. They were able to see what the advantages and disadvantages were of the choices they made.

Now it’s your turn. Go through your presentation, course, or your wireframe plan for the course. Are there opportunities to include choose your own adventure? Final Outcomes/Destinations

Decisions to get there

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Where you might include a choose-yourown-adventure? Note: This activity might require a higher level of tech savvy. Add branching to your slides.

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(11) Content Strategy: Interview Act Like a Broadcaster One skill broadcasters must have is the ability to ask good questions while they are performing interviews. Interview-style broadcasting is a good way to engage your audience because they can see the conversation unfold. In many cases, you might have a subject matter expert (SME) who is nervous about talking in front of a camera or in front of a group - your audience. Try interviewing your subject instead. This takes a lot of pressure off your SME and the content flows.

Now it’s your turn. Go through your course or presentation. Is there an opportunity to interview a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on one of the topics? Write down possible interview questions and a rundown.

DEVELOPMENT NOTE

Interview Questions:

Go back to your wireframe and identify places where you might include an interview. Add to your Powerpoint.

Rundown:

Interview Rundown for 00:00 - 00:00 (Time)

Question or what you want to cover:

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(11) Content Strategy: Brainstorming Create a Storm in Your Brain Brainstorming can be used to aid you in the creative process when you are devising activities, but it can also be used as an activity for your audience in creating knowledge at a higher level of competency. You are giving them the opportunity to move from comprehension to synthesis and application. There are a number of ways to approach brainstorming, but like creativity you need to give yourself and your audience the chance to let judgement go. So, anything goes in brainstorming. Sometimes individual brainstorming is more effective than group brainstorming because in a group not everyone is playing by the no judgement rules. However, when you get a few people together to brainstorm, you can overcome some of the hurdles you encounter because another person’s perspective spurs you to think differently, or entertain ideas you might not have thought of. My suggestion? Do both and when you pull together the group, try to choose people who are on board. Set expectations up front that this is a safe place to be creative.

Ways to Brainstorm 1. Group Brainstorming: Leverage the ingenuity of several people. Create a risk-free environment where individuals can feel it’s safe to share their ideas. 2. Individual Brainstorming: Brainstorming on your own can be very effective because you don’t have to worry about what others think. 3. Reverse Brainstorming: This one can puzzle the brain as you are trying to do the opposite of your goal. If you want to solve a problem, try figuring out ways to create the problem. 4. Rolestorming: Pretend to be someone else while you brainstorm to remove the obstacle of fearing what others think. 5. Brainwriting:

Have individuals write their ideas and avoid having anyone dominate the

conversation.

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Go back to your wireframe and identify places where you might include a brainstorming session. Add to your Powerpoint.

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(11) Content Strategy: Checklists Check it Off Adult learners are task driven, so checklists are not only a great way to give your audience an overview of what will be covered in your class, but also give them the satisfaction of completing something and seeing progress which may keep them motivated. The flip side of that is if you overwhelm them with tasks, they may quit altogether because they aren’t able to complete all of the tasks. So be reasonable when deciding what to include on your checklist.

Now it’s your turn. Go through your presentation, course, or your wireframe plan for the course. Are there opportunities to include checklists?

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Go back to your wireframe and identify places where you can compile a list of action items. Add to your Powerpoint. 54

(11) Content Strategy: Tips Tips Sometimes we need to use long passages of text to convey the information we need our audience to learn. In many cases, this can cause overload and brain fatigue to the point that your audience isn’t paying attention to what they are reading. You can insert tip notes and icons as a way for your readers to take a short brain break. Tips and icons break up the text in your course or presentation so that your audience does not experience brain fatigue.

Tip:

Tip:

Tip:

Now it’s your turn. Go through your presentation, course, or your wireframe plan for the course. Are there opportunities to include tips?

DEVELOPMENT NOTE

Go back to your wireframe and identify places where you want to highlight a specific piece of knowledge. Add tip notes to your powerpoint.

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(11) Content Strategy: Ask the Expert Ask the Expert Mentoring is an effective way to learn a job or task quickly. Mentors go beyond the theoretical to the practical. When learners see how an expert approaches a problem, they are given new tools to use in solving problems of their own, but in an expert way. A mentor is not always available or affordable, so allowing learners to compare their response to an expert response can be a good approach, and the next best thing. For example, a group of managers needed to know when to escalate issues brought to them by their subordinates, the expert answers were the ideal responses for each situation. This activity helped new managers avoid making costly mistakes because they knew how an experienced manager would handle it. This approach is effective in technical training as well. A learner would simply compare answers to an expert answer. It is also a good way to gauge if learning is occurring. When these exercises are used throughout your course you should see the learner making progress in his approach to new problems. You could keep it as simple as revealing the answer on a click in Powerpoint. But better yet, capture the answer from the expert on video. Video adds an additional level of engagement on the part of the learner. I used this method to relay wisdom to the learner with videos strategically placed throughout the learning experience. As the learner was grappling with the decision of how to handle a problem, a video of a coach would display with timely wisdom on the topic, specifically how he would handle the scenario.

Now it’s your turn. Go through your course or presentation. Look through your topics. List experts on each of the topics. Can you contact any of them to provide wisdom for use in your course or presentation?

DEVELOPMENT NOTE Go back to your wireframe and identify places where you can infuse wisdom from an expert. Add expert advice to your Powerpoint. 56

(11) Content Strategy: Additional Resources Additional Resources Once upon a time we called the act of visiting different websites a “webquest.” It might be time for a new name, but the activity is still valid. Allowing your audience to visit applicable websites, videos, apps, etc. gives them the freedom to discover more about your topic out on the world wide web. A good practice is to provide them with initial resources or links, then let them explore. List a few of the resources your audience might find valuable:

Now it’s your turn. Go through your presentation, course, or your wireframe plan for the course. Are there any other opportunities to include additional resources for your audience to explore?

DEVELOPMENT NOTE

Go back to your wireframe and identify places where you want to provide additional resources. Add links to your Powerpoint. 57

(11) Content Strategy: Visual Enhancements Visual enhancements give your course that added flair. They break up the content so that your audience doesn’t experience text fatigue. Visuals also serve to cue your audience in to important things to remember, action items, and much more. Be careful not to use visuals just to fill a space, or to create eye candy.

Visuals should serve a purpose, and should enhance the learning

experience.

EXAMPLE OF VISUALS

DESCRIPTION Provide visuals throughout your course to give

Visual Cues

your audience an indication of what to expect. For instance, add a tab to show you’re moving to a new section.

Use a visual as a springboard for a concept, and Graphic Organizers

refer to it throughout your course. Graphic organizers help some learners to store a concept in their memory.

Colors

Use color not only for flare, but to bring meaning to your content. For instance when they see yellow they will know it’s a concept they should write down.

Include numbers for your sections, chapters, or Numbers

titles. It will help the learner monitor progress and expectations.

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EXAMPLE OF VISUALS

Lower Thirds

Notes

DESCRIPTION Include a bio page with your information and background. It helps you establish yourself as an expert on the topic, include a graphic with your name, title, and vision for the course.

Provide cues to your learners that something is important and might be worth noting. This can be as simple as an offset plaque with the summary of the important note.

Icons are a great way to give your learners a Icons

cue. A pencil might mean that there is an activity coming up, or a book might mean they need to read something, etc.

Images

When you are looking for images to include in your course look not only for consistency, but for educational value. Images can be a great way to get a point across.

Background images are often overlooked, but Backgrounds

can be a subconscious way to cue your audience or relay a point subtly.

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EXAMPLE OF VISUALS

DESCRIPTION

Arrows

Add arrows throughout your course where you want to point the learner’s attention .

Conversation bubbles

Add conversation bubbles in places where you want to say something without actually saying it.

People connect or engage with a course where Characters

a person is visible, it’s one reason why video is much more effective than static slides. If you aren't connecting personally, try adding a character - real or animated to your course to provide that point of connection.

DEVELOPMENT NOTE

Go back to your wireframe and/or Powerpoint and identify and add visual components or placeholders.

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(12 & 13) Complete, Test, and Launch You might go through two or three rounds of rough drafts before you complete and launch your course. The first draft is what you’ve been putting together up to this point. You should have what is close to complete. As you continue to add pieces, present it to your team or to potential audience members. This is so you don't get far down the road only to find out you completely missed the mark. The process is iterative. Present the close to completed version to a mock audience, make final changes, then launch your course.

Lesson Objectives: By the end of this section you will: ·

Revise your draft course to completion.

·

Test your course for usability.

·

Compile your course.

·

Launch your course.

·

Set up an evaluation plan.

Congratulations! You are almost finished! But don’t stop here. It’s important to end well and be sure that the materials you created resonate with your audience.

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(12 &13) Complete, Test, and Launch

RECORD AUDIO/ VIDEO

FINAL DRAFT

Go through your course and tie up loose ends, and add final pieces. This is also a good time to get another pair of eyes on your course or ask and editor to verify your work.

If you are putting your course online you will use a tool like Camtasia to record your slideshow with audio and video. In some cases you can record and compile within Powerpoint or Keynote.

COMPILE Compile your course so that everyone will be able to watch it. Those fonts might not show up the same on someone else's computer. Consider exporting to a PDF or .MP4

MONITOR

LAUNCH!

USABILITY TEST

Create a strategy for monitoring your course, look at assessment activities to see if your course is effective, and survey results for general reaction to your course.

Get your marketing initiatives in order for the big launch. Build some excitement. You did it! Great Job!

Ask a sample audience to go through your course or to watch you present the course. Make careful note of stumbling blocks.

Since this process is iterative, you are never really done, but the changes you make as a result of going through the process should be minimal. What’s best is now that you understand the process you can apply it to your next project with ease. Great job completing your first course!

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Workbook Author SABINA

LOVE

M.ED

Sabina Love is the owner of eLearning ID LLC., a company specializing in Learning Management System (LMS) implementation, instructional design, and development of online and instructor-led courseware specifically for corporations, non-profits, and small business.

Sabina Love is an expert in instructional design and technology. She has been instrumental in helping various teams develop significant online programs that allow her clients to compete in the marketplace. Her programs are educationally sound and engaging. Her 15+ years of experience in information system implementation, training delivery, eLearning design and development make her a well-rounded education specialist skilled in the application of eLearning technologies to a variety of industries including healthcare, IT, banking, business, broadcast journalism, and education.

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