Establishing a strong, consistent design style is imperative for any project. The last thing we want are for our custom content development projects is to feel pieced together from multiple sources and developed by multiple designers who aren't on the same page. All of this is even more crucial for clients of ours who have on-going coursework lasting years and even decades.

For example, a series of supply chain courses for one of our oldest clients called for an infinite number of object-oriented illustrations. New drawings would need to be developed throughout the duration of the project and be used in accordance with and interchangeably with all previous illustrations. We knew that a specific, cohesive design style was especially critical to the project. Our solution was to develop, from the very beginning, a style using isometric projection. Let's look a little closer at what this means and why it is so useful.

Isometric projection is the method of graphical representation where the three coordinate axes appear equally foreshortened. There is no distortion of perspective as we experience with our own eyes. Objects far away appear just as large as objects up close and opposite sides are perfectly parallel. Let's look at the guidelines we use to instruct our custom content designers.

It is a continuing surprise to me to see that there is still an ongoing debate about the viability of online learning as compared to classroom training. How long are we going to beat this horse? Whether we are discussing  behavior -based training such as sales training or  technical training such as computer application training, the answer is still the same. Good training is good training no matter the delivery method.  Yes, individuals may respond better to training matching their particular learning style. But can they still learn from another delivery method? I will say absolutely! However, the training must be well-designed and executed. And, even further, why does one even have to choose between the delivery methods?

It is so amusing to read the learning discussion boards and have classroom advocates identify all the distractors for online training: surfing the web, responding to emails and on and on. I can recall so many times being in a classroom setting forced to listen to mind-numbing lectures or to watch dull, dull, dull Powerpoint presentations. Was I engaged? Was my mind wandering? Was I learning? NO! 

It still comes down to effective learning development and execution. You must know your audience and your content and effectively weave a compelling story. In most cases, this can be done in either a classroom setting or in online training. And, sometimes the best solution is a combination of the 2 delivery methodologies.

So be wild, look at all the learning delivery options, look at the needs of your audience, your business needs and learning objectives. And, for goodness sake, look at the type of content! Not all content is equal. Your required compliance training is very different from customer service skills training or sales training. Then, look at how you will communicate this training. Are experiential examples best suited for computer application training? Are real-life scenarios more effective for customer service skills or sales behavior training? Can these different instructional design models be effectively executed in a classroom setting or are they better suited for an online training solution? Or would you engage your audience best by a combination of delivery methodologies?

For example, I worked with a high-technology client who had a very sophisticated and complex custom sales process. They wanted a global program to share with their distribution partners. We assisted them in developing a program that included job aids, resource documents, marketing kits and an online video-based scenario narrative for role playing, followed by personal coaching and then online follow-ups. The program was so successful in generating new sales that the program was expanded to include the corporate direct sales force. It was a creative approach that included a wide-variety of learning tools and delivery methods.

At KMi we will explore and advise on all custom content development forms using our expertise and creativity to create the most compelling learning programs for all kinds of content. Additionally, our SCORM learning management system, eLMS, will provide training and events management, reporting and tracking and collaborative social networking tools.

Learn more about the KMi LMS, eLMS at http://www.kmionline.com/more_about_elms.htm. 

And if you need help with formal learning programs, review our custom course demos at http://www.kmionline.com/services.htm 
and take a look at the KMi Whitepaper on Custom eLearning at: http://www.kmionline.com/offer_whitepaper.htm
And for even more information, contact Margie Herron at mherron@kmionline.com.

Website ergonomics is a tough thing to pin down. Especially in a dynamic learning environment, such as eLMS. 

If ergonomics is matching user capabilities and limitations with their environment, then doing that within an ever evolving, learning landscape, can be even more difficult!

Even with a powerful set of eLearning Development Tools, administrators and learning directors need to take care that the scorm content and other learning material they present to their users, is accessible in an intuitive, easy to understand way (and even beyond that, how to catch and retain user attention, can be a study of website ergonomics).

Content categories have always been an important part of online learning. Obviously, computer compliance training is different from customer service skill training (i.e., two different categories). And on the surface, pondering these categories may lead to the notion the ergonomics is just common sense. 

This, I think, is an incorrect conclusion. 

Ergonomics is much more than "what feels right". It involves scientific study and observation.

Continuing with the idea of content categories, here is one simple example of how to apply a more scientific method to your ergonomic efforts. This method is good for defining learning content categories:

1. For best results, use 15-20 people; however, this process is also reasonably effective in the 8-15 person range.
    
2. Take the name and short description of the top 20 pieces of learning content you have and write each name and description on its own note card. Repeat this so each participant has a full set of content cards.
    
3. Ask each person to divide the content into what they think are the best categories.
    
4. Record how each user breaks down the content and look for patterns or similarities in the subject matter that you might not have yet considered.
    
5. Then, ask each participant to name each category

I bet you'll be pretty surprised - and will have some powerful new knowledge - about how users view and think of your content.

So you finally have a budget for training and development. As part of the learning program, you want to incorporate custom online training and you have no idea where to turn for a qualified online training provider. The learning program will encompass a variety of topics and content areas from HR standrads like onboarding to highly technical subjects such as computer compliance training and sales skills training. Just how do you go about finding the best vendor partner? Oh, and it would be nice to find someone who can provide a SCORM conformant hosted learning management system as well!

There are a number of ways you can find excellent potential custom eLearning/ LMS company partners. But there are a few things you should do first:

1. Identify your stakeholders and key decision makers
2. Obtain approval for and quantify your budget for the key elements.
3. Identify exactly what your requirements and objectives are.
   • Use many of the tools available such as
     • eLearning Discovery/Scoping Tools
     • LMS Requirements Checklists
     • ROI Tools
4. Identify your timelines for the implementation of any SCORM LMS and development of the courseware.
   • Confirm that these are realistic

After you have completed your internal due diligence, then you can proceed to vendor research. And, yes, this can be an overwhelming task but it certainly is easier today with all the tools available through the internet. Use those tools! And use your connections, whether it is through industry associations, training and development organizations, personal connections, or tools like LinkedIn and Plaxo. And find out who created the eLearning that you have taken and found compelling. People are usually very willing to share this information.

Once you have identified potential parters, ask them to assist you. If a potential partner is hesitant to offer that help, spend time with you, share helpful tools and information with you, cross them off your list. Implementing a learning management system and creating custom eLearning courseware is a "high touch" process. You want a partner who will provide that support and views it as a core competency, core value and core service.

You have found just such a partner in KMi! 
Learn more about the KMi LMS, eLMS at http://www.kmionline.com/more_about_elms.htm. Also, review our custom course demos at http://www.kmionline.com/services.htm  and take a look at the KMi Whitepaper on Custom eLearning at: http://www.kmionline.com/offer_whitepaper.htm
And for even more information, contact Margie Herron at mherron@kmionline.com.

Recently, a client came to us with a challenge. They not only had a a very cutting edge program in sustainability but had a corporate philosophy and culture around sustainability. They wanted the impact of this carefully constructed program to change employee behaviors, not only in the office environment, but in their everyday life. Unfortunately, it was evident that even some of the basic recycling behaviors were not exemplified routinely or across the global population. To encourage these behaviors, excite the population and to instill a "natural" compliance with the sustainability guidelines, the client and KMi decided to produce some simple game-like interactivities. These activities would be tracked with registration and scores recorded through our SCORM compliant LMS, eLMS.  And, the daily results of the "games" would be posted with the daily high scorer being entered in a raffle.

Games or learning activities can be as complicated as multi-media with branching scenarios or built simply on a drag-and-drop exercise. Each can be compelling and incite the competitive nature of your audience. And, further, these interactivities can be applied to almost any content. Do you want to make a lasting effect on behavior change? Then it may be time to consider a contest -based learning activity for your online customer service course, your computer application training,  customer service skill training and even sales training.

Do you want to provide online application training? Then , perhaps, you should consider a  learning activity for the training. Not all training needs to be contained in a lengthy module. Sometimes the best approach is a learning activity that demonstrates by doing:
 

Do you have a need for training for a specific skill? Then try a game-based online solution:


But even if you have more complex behaviors and concepts for which your audience needs education, you can still use a learning activity. For example, online sales and customer  service courses, usually require a more rigorous style of interactivity. Simulations and role plays are a terrific way to provide this training that is engaging and memorable:


So whatever your content, learning activities can be incorporated in your training. They provide your audience with an opportunity not only to learn skills, behaviors and concepts, but, they make the learning fun! And, with a SCORM ( Or AICC) based learning management system, you can create a competitive environment with rewards attached. Who doesn't love to win something!

Get in the GAME! We are the real professionals when it comes to training content development and learning management systems. Learn more about  KMi eLMS at http://www.kmionline.com/more_about_elms.htm. Also, review our custom course demos at http://www.kmionline.com/services.htm  and take a look at the KMi Whitepaper on Custom eLearning at: http://www.kmionline.com/offer_whitepaper.htm
And for even more information, contact Margie Herron at mherron@kmionline.com.

Sometime, I surprise even myself. Talk about foresight:I mentioned last week, that we'll next talk about all the access points users have in their digitally connected lives - and in the meantime, Apple releases their iPad!

Now, I'm not going to run out and buy an iPad - but it makes an excellent point about the number of ways users can access various content. Just think about how many different ways you can view YouTube or update your Facebook status: from your mobile phone app, your mobile phone internet browser, your laptop, (if you're like me) your work computer plus, any of thethousands of sites that have 'Share' links pointing directly to your social networking account. How can this level of saturation be applied to a SCORM learning management system?

iPhone apps are a good start. But is this entirely useful? Would you want to stare at your phone for an hour learning about statistic models used in determining warehousing costs? Probably not. However, I would be willing to listen to a lecture in MP3 format on my iPhone. 

Do I really need to take a computer compliance training courses while riding the bus to work? Probably not, but I can save myself a few minutes if I were able to review my LMS training agenda for the day.

It's a tired point to iterate through all of the ways we connect to our social outlets (networks, sms, rss, websites specifically designed for mobile access, etc). And the apparent need to utilize these tools should also be pretty obvious. What's not entirely obvious, at least not to me, is what level of content should be available through each of these access points?

If I log into Facebook, do I want to take my learning in that interface or do I just want to use that interface to see what learning my peers are taking and perhaps find some new courses?

I think the answer to the multi-access point question, is formats. How many formats can you make the same content available in? What formats can accommodate more than one device (for example, a great flash course displayed in Internet Explorer on your home PC, is totally incompatible with the Safari browser on an iPhone).

Beyond formats, which is really just a issue of technical compatibility, there is the issue of personalization. People like having myriad access points, because they can fully customize the experience they have via that access point. This, I think, is also very important.

LMS providers need to allow users (or at least their employers, or whoever is requiring the user to take the end training) options to customize and personalize their interactions with an LMS infrastructure as well as the learning content. This will motivate users to an enjoyable and easily repeatable experience. In short, we need the learning interface, no matter what access point it comes from, to be easy and friendly enough, that the user wants to return and take more learning. 

This is where the converging trends of LMS utilization, social networking and multi-point access, come together. And luckily, for anyone seeking an LMS, this too, is where I think KMi fits into provide the worlds best learning management system and learning experience.

Last week, we enjoyed a visit from one of my favorite clients. They are a leading provider of surgical tools, nurse attire and medical supplies; they supply scores of hospitals with the necessary supplies every day and have dozens of distribution centers around the country.

For KMi's part, we provide online compliance courses, computer compliance training, marketing material and sales training material for a large portion of the company; and hopefully, eventually, the entire company. 

What we did this week, was to provide computerapplication training for the client administrators. I think everyone agrees, that the training was very successful. Admittedly, the KMi eLMS sometimes battles the "website" misnomer. eLMS isnot a "website". It is an online application. And this is where I think much of the success of the past week comes from. In training the client administrators to use the application, they are able to more clearly understand how the application works. More importantly, they understand, and can communicate back home, that eLMS blows any possible "website" out of the water.

Hmmm...so you have a custom eLearning development project. Do you want it to set the mood of Old Blue Eyes or do you want the modernity of a Lady GaGa performance? Had you even considered the " mood" of your eLearning project? Believe it or not, the mood or tone of your eLearning piece can be as important and compelling as the content.  And the tone is impacted by the design approach, the music, the illustration or photo style and the many other other subtle details of the custom elearning project design. It is critical to the training content development discovery and scoping process to really develop a description of the tone you wish the piece to express.

And it can help your eLearning development partner to know if you want it to feel more like Frank than Lady GaGa. In fact, pop culture references can really provide cues to the overall feel of any custom development project. Using these references, which are readily available and relateable for most people, can greatly enhance a design brief. For example, a client wanted a very engaging, thematic module series for a youthful, diverse sales team. The creative brainstorming session with the client revealed that:
 

• they loved a "cartoon" illustration approach
• they wanted it to be "hip" like This American Life
• they wanted custom music to reflect a lively and relevant sales team
• they wanted the characters to be realistic but stylized
• they wanted the series to represent their diverse employees, global locations and wide range of clients