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eLearning
1.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
July 2001
Been There, Done That: Notes on Developing WBT
Implementing e-learning can be a confusing and overwhelming process. Here are lessons learned from someone who's been there. When I think of
e-learners, I think of gardeners. The image might initially strike you
as odd--that was our reaction, too, when a recycling agency approached
us about developing an online composting course. But as we, if you'll
pardon the pun, dug deeper, we could see that e-learning would help
the agency meet some of its marketing and educational goals. The agency
wanted to
To meet those objectives, we developed a Web course with facilitated discussion groups that worked in combination with classroom training. The online course, which learners had two weeks to complete, focused on the theory of composting. Then, in a half-day classroom session, participants learned hands-on techniques and created a compost. Finally, learners were given two weeks to interact and network online, sharing information and asking questions that arose as they were working on their compost. Fifteen gardeners participated, ranging in age from 24 to 60. Their level of computer experience varied greatly, but they all knew how to use email and Web browsers. None had taken an online course previously. Since this was the agency's first foray into e-learning, we took a deliberate step-by-step approach to the development process and built in a great deal of testing. We also involved the client and potential users throughout the process. Their active participation allowed us to make small changes as we worked, rather than having to make major changes well into the process. As with any e-learning project, we got some things right and learned that we could improve others. Here are some of the key lessons we learned. Course Development It takes time. The development time for an online course is much longer than for a comparable classroom course. Some people have estimated it can take up to 10 times longer if you're developing new material rather than adapting existing content. So, your instructional design has to be tight. Also, because clients may be new to the process, you'll need to schedule frequent meetings to keep them up to speed. If your development team is virtual, like ours was, we highly recommend scheduling face-to-face meetings at the beginning and midpoint of the process. If that's not possible, use the phone or Web-conference often. Too much email creates confusion and makes it easy to miss things. Test frequently. In our design, we tried to follow the basic principles of usability as outlined by Jakob Nielsen and others. To ensure that our course content and navigation were clear, we pretested our template with nine users. They offered excellent comments and pointed out problems we had overlooked. As a result of their feedback, final users rated the site as extremely easy to navigate. Since the agency hoped to one day offer the course to a worldwide audience, we also tested the Website at a distance. We asked people in other countries to log onto the site; this testing alerted us to server speed problems. Instructional Design Rewrite material for the Web. We spent hours rewriting the print materials the agency used in classroom workshops to make it more Web-friendly, using short sentences, bullets, and judicious bolding. (See "Polishing Your E-Learning Prose" for more tips on writing and revising e-learning text.) The effort paid off: Users found the material easy to read on screen. To ensure that the Web version didn't introduce factual errors, we asked a subject matter expert to review the revised material. Graphics can help. Use graphics and photos to highlight key sections in your online materials. During the classroom session, we took photos of the steps for making compost. Adding the pictures to the Website greatly increased learner comprehension. Be careful, though, to keep the number of graphics reasonable. If you include too many, pages will load slowly for users with low bandwidth. Users may vary. Learners with little or no online experience may need tips on navigating through a course, in addition to technical help. Some users said they got frustrated having to go through lots of material before they found the section they wanted. It never occurred to them to click on the module that was of most interest. So, keep in mind that new online learners may take a linear approach to the material. Experienced learners did as we expected: They looked at the table of contents, then clicked on modules of interest in the order they preferred. People drop out. You can give some people two weeks to complete a four-hour course, but they'll still try to do everything at the last minute. Some participants left their online learning to the morning of the hands-on workshop. When they couldn't finish in time, they dropped out of the course. Plan for a certain amount of attrition in your numbers. A few extras never hurt, but?/b> In addition to the main modules, we developed extra resources for users. Although online quizzes can be a chore to create, our participants loved them, and they helped get people used to the online tools. Glossaries, Web links, and lists of books and local interest groups also went over well, as did a section offering technical tips and Netiquette basics. Developing extra learning assignments may not be worth the trouble. We offered three additional projects that participants could tackle; only one out of 15 people completed any. People are busy, so they're unlikely to take on extra assignments. Build a community. Take a few well-named discussion groups, mix in some judicious facilitation, give people something to talk about, and, voila, you have the beginnings of a viable online community. Since many people are initially uncomfortable in an online forum (there are few visual clues about how others are reacting to you), try to arrange for people to meet face-to-face before or during the course. Your learners will be more relaxed and online postings will increase. Administration and Evaluation Start with a familiar face. Although we were the course facilitators, we asked a staff member from the agency to act as the initial contact. Learners were familiar with her, and were initially more comfortable asking her questions about the course. Assign passwords yourself. We found it best to assign user names and passwords. Letting learners choose their own created confusion. Since many people didn't respond to the request to do so, we ended up assigning passwords anyway. Keep instructions short, but repeat them. People generally don't read instructions, so keep them to a minimum. We sent out extensive materials before the course started, but almost no one read them. Some participants said they forgot we had sent them. We found it much more effective to simply respond to questions or repeat administrative details on the course site. If possible, avoid asking participants to fiddle with their monitor or other hardware. Often, the program will work without those adjustments, and asking users to make even simple technical changes can create anxiety. Be proactive about technical help. We offered email technical support, followed by phone help if necessary, but only two people used those resources. Most users said they either had no problems or they read the "Tips on Using this Course" section online. Our thorough usability testing had revealed potential problem areas ahead of time, so we were able to either alert users to potential issues and how to solve them or work around problems. Talk to people. After the course, we asked learners to fill out a written evaluation. To encourage participation, we offered a gift draw to those who submitted their evaluations on time. We also went an extra step and conducted telephone interviews and a focus group. The information we gathered from those efforts was invaluable, and much more in-depth than we would have received through a written questionnaire alone. We asked participants how they felt about the online discussion groups, what their navigation approach to the course was (whether they proceeded linearly or skipped around), what they enjoyed in the material, and what should be added or deleted. So, how did it
go? Twelve of 15 participants completed the online and classroom sections
of the course. All 12 said that, based on their experience, they would
take an online course again. With spring coming to North America, we're
busy revising the course for the upcoming gardening season. Roses, anyone?
Ramona Materi is the president of Ingenia Training, an e-learning development firm based in Vancouver, Canada. She can be reached at rmateri@ingenia-training.com; www.ingenia-training.com.
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