Most of the visuals are contextual, and lend themselves to easy recall of information. That’s the learning aspect of this glossary.

Visit:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/05/21/web-design-industry-jargon-glossary-and-resources/

Contextual Visuals in Online Glossaries

It’s something I think about a great deal when asked to create/design a glossary for an e-learning course. I almost always feel a strong compulsion to create contextual visuals for every term to be defined. Sometimes, I want to create SWF animations (mini-movies) to better describe the term along with its written definition.

However, I don’t always get to indulge myself in this compulsion because (a) detailed design elements cost more than the client can afford to spend, and/or (b) the project timeline is too short and we don’t have the luxury of the time it takes to create these wonderful, visual elements.

How about you? If you have examples of visually compelling online glossaries, please post the URLs in this post’s Comments section.

Thanks, Smashing Magazine, for another “Always Learning” resource.

Why should I move some parts of my instructor-led training to e-learning? What are the benefits? What will be my return on investment (ROI)? How do I convert my instructor-led training to e-learning? These are some of the questions I’m fielding lately from prospective clients as they face the realities of the current economy. Loyal clients of theirs have canceled on-site training as they witness the slashing of their training dollars.

Steve Norris produced the video I’ve chosen for Video of the Month. We haven’t met (yet), and I liked his video for its brevity and how it goes straight to the point.

This video is only 56 seconds long, and reinforces what e-learning professionals already know. However, for those who are considering converting some (or all) of their instructor-led training programs to some form of asynchronous* learning, this video may open their eyes to wonderful, new opportunities.

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccS5L1ko45A

The one point Steve emphasizes in his video is one I believe we practitioners sometimes forget to emphasize with our clients:

Review and Increased Retention

Learners can go back to an e-learning course and review all or parts of it as needed, at their own pace.

The beauty of e-learning lies in the learner’s ability to review the course as many times as the learner needs to reinforce and retain knowledge and skills. That reinforced knowledge results in transfer of solid skills to the learner’s work tasks. This further enhances the learner’s job performance and then the organization’s performance as well.

I used to be a facilitator of instructor-led programs. Once the facilitator leaves the client’s site, the learners are on their own to review and apply what they learned to their jobs. (To be fair, sometimes ILT training vendors have a provision in their vendor contracts where learners can contact their facilitators for a six-month period once classroom instructions is finished.)

Thanks, Steve, for the brief reminder of one benefit of e-learning.

*Asynchronous: What does that mean?

June’s “The Big Question” at ASTD’s Learning Circuits blog is posed by Dr. Tony Karrer, from a question asked him by my colleague Robert Kennedy III.

What is your typical day like? How do you do all you do with elearning learning, elearning technology, techempower, work literacy and all the consulting and still remain profitable while having a LIFE? Ok, so that is more than one question, but hopefully you get the drift. What are your thoughts here?

I invite you to click the Learning Circuits blog link above, first, and then read my post. I have heard Dr. Tony Karrer speak in person at my local ASTD chapter. We all sat dumbfounded to hear how much he knows, calculating in our brains how much time he must spend online, on the WWW, each day. He has a family, so we bluntly asked him… “Do you spend time with your family?” He does, but we left the meeting wondering how he balances his work and his life. Robert Kennedy posed the same question on Tony’s blog, and now Tony would like to hear from us. (And, I can’t wait to read Tony’s answers.)

• How much time do you spend and how did you find time for all the relatively newer things like reading blogs, twitter, social networks, etc.?
• What are you doing less of today than you were 3-5 years ago?
• Do you have less of a life with all of these new things?

My Initial Responses and Thoughts

• A guess: Inhouse/corporate practitioners may not have much time at all to devote to new technology. Corporate policies and very strong firewalls keep them from experimenting and demonstrating to their management the learning potentials hidden in Learning 2.0. This may cause feelings of frustration.
• Another guess: Those who own technology and e-learning businesses (like Tony) do have the time to explore. They have time to set up, follow, and contribute to branded social networks, Twitter IDs, LinkedIn, Facebook pages, etc., because it’s a large part of marketing their company to the wider world. They may even have a greater need than most to stay ahead of the curve to keep that competitive edge in a highly competitive world. CEOs may be facing increasing “pressure” to Be The Online Brand of their company as it’s a great way to have direct contact with the people who matter the most to their business: their customers. Zappo CEO Tony is an amazing example on Twitter.
• My reality: Independent consultants/freelancers (like Robert and me) definitely have more freedom than corporate practitioners. We can schedule our time and set our daily priorities. For example, I’m online at 6:00 a.m. for my east coast clients, and I check my messages, the Twitter tweets from my tweeps, update my status on Facebook and LinkedIn, write a new blog post, etc. I love technology, and keep up with what’s new. Why? One day, a client might need me to create a branded wiki or social network for them. So, what I play around with today, can become a client product tomorrow. However, I’m certain that I don’t keep up with it all at the same pace that Tony does. I am a practitioner, and he’s a CEO with staff. He can hire e-learning designers, Flash developers, etc. I wear many of those hats and need to put my cost of business first and foremost. That’s a great transition to my next paragraph.

How Much Time Do I Spend?

I haven’t formally tracked my time, but I’ll guess it’s at least two hours a day. When I am on a client project, the client comes first, so I dedicate my hours to getting the job done. If I have time at the end of the day, I’ll check all of my accounts and contribute if I have something of value to share. And, I’ll click on the bit.ly URLs to discover new things that both amaze and amuse me. If I don’t have time, I don’t do the above. Again, the client’s e-learning course comes first.

What Am I Doing Less of Today?

Sadly, my answer is reading books for fun. However, I’m scheduling book-reading time into my week. My husband is going to the library this afternoon, and I’ve asked him to pick up John Le Carre’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” for me. It’s a novel I’ve wanted to read for a very long time, and that’s my plan for June… “git her done!”.

I also place face-to-face (F2F), “people” time as a higher priority than online time. And, I schedule that in, too. Association meetings, networking groups, user SIGs…. Not everything is scheduled. I have a heart and mind open to serendipity and spontaneous events! One thing I won’t do is allow the online, digital/virtual life to take away from my analog, real world life. I’ve noticed something. When I’m inside SL (Second Life), more and more people are mentioning their RL (real lives).

To be authentic in the digital realm,
we must always cultivate our “analog” selves in the real world.

As much as I may love a Twitter colleague, I cannot shake his hand, nor give her a collegial hug, when needed. That may be why I see many Twitter tweeps creating networking groups in the real world. They meet at local restaurants or coffee houses so they can experience the F2F time we need as human beings.

The Real Answer to The Big Question for June

Priorities. That’s the answer to all of the questions, and to the third bullet point. Each one of us will have priorities different from the person we’re tweeting with or IM-ing. Not all of us can or will be like a Tony Karrer. That’s Tony’s amazing role and we all have different roles, gifts, and talents that we’ll share with others in a different way.

That said…I believe all of us in this brave, Learning 2.0 (or 3.0) world need to remind each other of the non-job things that we do. Tony does spend time with his family… he goes to his son’s athletic events, for example (he told us that after we grilled him at our ASTD chapter meeting). I believe we need to share a bit more of this with each other without going into details about our private lives (nor Tweeting every 15 minutes about personal things). For example, on Twitter Saturday morning, I tweeted that I was going out to pick fresh strawberries in my backyard garden. No one responded to that tweet, but for me, it was a subtle reminder to me and everyone that we need to log off, go outside, smell the roses, and savor the taste of a sweet, juicy, red strawberry on the tongue.

I cherish my colleagues and loved ones in both my real world and my virtual world. Together, they all add value to my life and profession. When Tony, Robert, or someone forwards a URL about a new technology, I’ll follow it to the end and try to create a demo to show my clients. If I don’t have the time at the moment, I’ll schedule it for later.

Priorities. Again, it’s about what we value and what’s urgent vs. what’s important in our lives. And, only you can answer that question for you, including how much time you dedicate online to new learning technologies. And, I can only determine for me what I’ll do with Learning 2.0 today and tomorrow.

How’s that for a long answer to The Big Question? Let me know your thoughts.

@jenisecook (on Twitter)

The result worked great! The learners reviewed the scenario by clicking the back and forward buttons on the Adobe Flash SWF file, and then the learners chose the one best answer… all on the same screen. Our budget did not include audio nor video, but the engaging Flash interactions really added to the learners’ experience (per their course evaluations).

Click to view the quiz demo.

For the original client, I developed the course and the quizzes in SumTotalSystem’s ToolBook Instructor. However, for the past two years, I’ve been using Articulate Studio’s suite of tools (Presenter, Engage, and Quizmaker). I also use Adobe Flash and Adobe Captivate to create additional animated, engaging elements to import into Articulate Presenter’s course player.

So, while a recent project was out for review with the client, I decided to have some fun! What would the old ToolBook Instructor quiz look like as an Articulate Quizmaker ‘09 assessment?

Curious? So was I, and I’m fairly pleased with the result. Click the image on the left to view the quiz demo in a new browser window.

In the learners’ eyes, assessments can be (a) intimidating, (b) dry, and (c) downright painful to complete. When we design and develop engaging online courses, it’s nice to know we can carry those same elements into quizzes.

An engaged, excited learner is “Always Learning”, like me, and will gain improved performance and increased knowledge as a result. That should translate to the business’s goals and objectives, improving its performance as well.

I love what I do. Thanks for reading!

Guy Kawasaki (The Art of the Start) has a venture called Alltop.com, and through Cammy Bean’s tweet on Twitter, I learned that Alltop.com has added the e-learning category at:

http://elearning.alltop.com

What is this? It’s all the top news about e-learning! In one place, on one Web page.

Twitter

You can follow me, Cammy, and Guy:

@jenisecook

@cammybean

@GuyKawasaki

The exchange below took place in the Adobe Captivate Group on LinkedIn.com, and I found it very helpful. I’m blogging it so it’s a reference I can refer back to, but if you find it helps you, too, even better!

<<>>

Can anyone tell me the difference between a Rollover Slidelet and a Rollover Image? They appear to do the same thing.

Thanks! Paula Butts
Training Design Specialist at Circles

<<>>

Hello Paula.

In looking through the Adobe Resource Center I found the following definitions. See http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Captivate/3.0/index.html

Rollover slidelet:
Area on a slide that respond to the mouse action by displaying a slidelet–a slide within a slide that has almost all the functionality of a regular slide.

Rollover images:
A rollover image consists of an image and a rollover area (the “hot” area). A rollover image appears when the user moves the mouse over the “hot” area.

Hope this helps.

Bruce E Richards
Research and Instructional Design Coordinator at Missouri State University

<<>>

The ’slide within a slide’ is the key aspect of a slidelet for me. A slidelet has it’s own timeline, separate from the main slide. I’ve used slidelets when I want to have a seaparet SWF file run as part of a rollover.

David Kelly, CPLP
VP, Director of Training at Carver Federal Savings Bank

<<>>

This is timely:
http://blogs.adobe.com/captivate/2009/04/get_ready_to_wear_that_creativ_1.html

Steve Wilhite
Senior Technical Curriculum Developer at iRise

It’s been a busy, first part of 2009. While searching for a Video of the Month on YouTube (yea, I know, I haven’t posted a video since January… hence this post), I found an amazing video. Currently, I am working on two freelance contracts for e-learning development in the health care sector. So, the video below resonated with me, especially because the message comes from the C-Level.

HANABI Company and Dokeos Studio worked with CEO Michel Taillet and his company to produce e-learning for medical professionals.

This video is 5 minutes 14 seconds long, and very much worth listening to, carefully.

I’m still searching for a link to HANABI, but you can read more about Dokeos; they’re in Europe.

However, if you’re in the U.S., I recommend you contact my client DLC Solutions as they, too, offer e-learning delivery solutions to the health care sector. Just tell Ezra Wolfe that Jenise Cook referred you.

I’m “Always Learning” about what others are doing, and so are the medical/health care sectors!

PowerPoint 2007 (2008 for the Mac) has many new design elements and features that allow you to create visually effective and nice-looking e-learning course formats. Tom Kuhlmann, Articulate’s VP of Community, blogs about his own PowerPoint tips-and-tricks quite often. I recommend you go to the Archives of his Rapid eLearning blog to read his PowerPoint-specific blog posts.

PowerPoint 2007 for e-Learning Template Design

I’ve been using PowerPoint for awhile, like you, I’m guessing. However, version 2007 (2008/Mac) blows me away! This blog post isn’t about the specific features that are new in 2007/2008… use your favorite search engine to find what others have said in their reviews. Better yet, visit Microsoft’s site!

In this post, I’m simply sharing some samples in hopes of inspiring you to Go Forth And Design! On Wednesday, March 11th, I gave a presentation on Articulate Studio ‘09 to my local ASTD chapter’s Training & Technology Special Interest Group for their “ToolFest 2009″. (Wow, that was a mouthful.) Many participants asked, “How can I make my e-learning modules look better than boring, bulleted lists?” After hearing their sincere questions, I decided to kick it up a notch using Web sites as inspiration… and as encouraged by Tom Kuhlmann.

My Samples On SlideShare

Here is my SlideShare.net mini-presentation on just a few samples. Please note that I respect Copyright issues, and the rights of designers. My mini-presentation simply shows what you can do using only PowerPoint 2007/2008 elements plus importing a few photo image files.

More samples to come in the future!

Beyond PowerPoint

As most of you know, there is much more to e-learning than an effective visual design, especially when you are converting PowerPoint slide decks from presentations and instructor-led courses into online learning. In the near future, I will be writing about that very topic: Converting PPTs into effective online courses.

“Always learning….”, and I welcome your Comments below!

Update 3/19/2009: Tom Kuhlmann has a great post with wonderful PPT 2007 tips/tricks at:

http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/powerpoint-2007-for-better-elearning

Craig of HelpScribe has an April 2008 post that I found fascinating:

Why We Become Technical Writers

http://www.helpscribe.com/2008/04/why-we-become-technical-writers.html

Although I posted a comment on how I entered the technical communication field, it’s one-dimensional. My favorite topic is to talk about those of us I call “Hybrids”… that is, professionals who demonstrate proven success in both the training/learning and technical writing fields.

Yes, it’s true: Some of us do both, we love both, and we’re successful in both. To help others who feel the “tug” into both professions, I’ve revised my comment posted at Craig’s blog to capture my “Hybrid” journey.

My Journey

Craig, I found your message on Techwr-L, and I enjoy hearing the stories of how people started their technical writing careers.

Me? I have been writing and teaching since I was a child. As a volunteer, I started “teaching” when I was in high school, and I come from an extended family of educators. In college, where I majored in Spanish and French, the Engineering Department offered a course in Technical Writing. I completed it with all As. When I approached my professor for her help in starting my technical communication career, she replied:

“You can’t be a technical writer, you’re a humanities major!”

I believed her. Although I lived in an area surrounded by IT companies and government contractors, I limped into financial services after graduating with my B.A. My new managers noticed my writing and training talents. They helped me transition into writing policies and procedures, then into various Training Departments where they mentored me in both instructional design and ILT facilitation skills.

After some time, the Training gigs transitioned into writing print and online documentation for intranets, extranets, and Web-based applications. I felt a tremendous enjoyment with working “on the Web”, so I added some Web development skills (HTML, Dreamweaver) to my tool box. To make a long story short, through blessings and being in the right place at the right time, I am now a happy e-learning designer and developer, and I still use my technical writing skills to create job aids, quick-start guides, manuals, and more.

I love what I do, and taking “the path less traveled” only added to my knowledge, skills, and abilities or achievements. And my clients benefit from my “Hybrid” skills.

One word of advice to “Hybrid” career seekers: follow your heart. Invite learning specialists and technical communicators out for coffee, lunch, or dinner and interview them. Attend local ASTD and STC chapter meetings and ask the members about their jobs.

Stay away from the “anti-Hybrid” nay-sayers who discourage you, and build a personal community of career cheerleaders and supporters. Some of us are born to be “Hybrids”.

If what you read and hear about our professions gets your heart pumping, do everything you can to get your first instructional design and/or technical writer job.

You’ll be so glad you did, and you’ll never look back.

Good luck!

Welcome to “The L-Files”, and the first post in a future series where I’ll discuss my role as “The Liaison” on various project teams. It’s common for instructional designers, technical communicators, business analysts, and others to find they are acting as diplomatic liaisons as well as doing their assigned tasks on a project team. I’ll not only post my own stories, I’ll share others’ great adventures when I find them.

Today’s Post

I was assigned to an e-learning course project as the client-side Instructional Designer to work with a virtual e-learning design and development vendor. The client’s required Compliance/Code of Conduct course was deployed to about 3,000 in-house and field staff.

The Vendor’s Storyboard

Previous client-side instructional designers struggled with working in the vendor’s storyboard format. However, when I began working with the vendor team, I found their MS Word, Detailed Design Document easy to use. I let the vendor know I would use their storyboard document, and they immediately expressed their appreciation.

My ability to adapt encouraged a very positive business relationship between the project manager at the vendor site and the remote Instructional Designer. It also greatly shortened the course development life cycle, and increased the vendor’s effectiveness during their internal QA phase.

The client trusted my ability and my decision, and the internal project sponsor benefited as well. We deployed the course on time.

The Client’s Design

I’m used to using PowerPoint storyboards for rapid design of e-learning courses. So, when the Sponsor of this Compliance course had a unique format that he wanted developed, I first designed it in PowerPoint so he could see the potential interactivity.

This PowerPoint storyboard also helped the vendor understand the unique interactivities the Sponsor wanted. We clearly saw how many image files would be needed, and how the potential learner activities would (or would not) work. I then worked with the vendor to “translate” this PowerPoint storyboard into their preferred Word storyboard.

It didn’t take very long at all! Sadly, I no longer have my project log. So, I can’t give you the total hours it took for me to use two storyboard formats as The Liaison between the client and the remote vendor. My process did save project time, and it eliminated the frustrations the team members felt in the past.

I’m “Always Learning…” how to build good will and facilitate the processes in a project team.

And, I invite you to share your experiences as well in this post’s Comments section.