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In the dynamic landscape of today’s corporate world, honing personal and professional skills is more important than ever. Organizations pursuing L&D Maturity are increasingly investing in Learning and Development (L&D) for growth and a competitive edge. This necessitates a strategic approach. That’s where project management comes into play. 

The synergy of project management and L&D 

At its core, project management is about structured planning, organized execution, and meticulous monitoring. This aligns seamlessly with strategic L&D.  

When L&D programs are planned and executed in a streamlined way through good project management, it helps create structured training programs and a conducive learning environment. And as employees benefit from these programs and get equipped with skills that boost their job performance, the company gains a competitive advantage. It is this edge that sets the organization a cut apart from the rest, ultimately leading to increased ROI. 

Having explored the benefits of project management in L&D, let’s explore how you can leverage essential project management principles to deliver effective training programs.
 

1. Structured planning and execution: By having a structured framework for planning and executing L&D initiatives (clear objectives, scope, timelines, and budget constraints), all key aspects of the program can be defined and aligned with the organization’s strategic goals. 
2. Goal alignment: Project management aligns L&D objectives with broader organizational objectives to identify and prioritize the most critical skills and knowledge areas to meet the organization’s needs. 
3. Risk mitigation: Project management identifies potential risks (changes in content, technology, or learner needs, etc.) and creates strategies to mitigate them. This proactive approach minimizes disruptions and keeps the program on track. 
4. Resource optimization: By effectively allocating resources, including time, budget, and human resources, you ensure that the right people with the right expertise are involved in the project to optimize efficiency and effectiveness. 
5. Continuous improvement: One of the hallmarks of project management is “continuous improvement”. Project management methodologies, like the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, enable organizations to evaluate L&D programs regularly. This helps identify areas for improvement, leading to more effective training over time. 
6. Learning Experience Design (LXD): This is a crucial element in the success of L&D programs. Instructional designers and content creators are experts in designing engaging, learner-centric content. By collaborating with project managers, LXD experts ensure that the training materials align with project objectives and meet learner needs. 
7. Customization: Through effective project management, L&D programs can be tailored to the unique needs of the organization and its employees. Project management methodologies, like Agile, allow for flexibility and adaptation as learner needs and market conditions evolve. 

Conclusion 

In a world where talent development and skill enhancement are paramount, good project management in L&D is the driving force behind success. Embracing project management principles is no longer optional—it’s a competitive necessity. It’s a pathway to boosting ROI, creating powerful training programs, and gaining that coveted edge in today’s fast-paced corporate world. 

Constellar Consulting: Your partner in project management-driven L&D 

At Constellar Consulting, we understand the transformative power of project management in Learning and Development. Our consulting services have consistently demonstrated how a strategic approach to L&D can revolutionize your organization. From comprehensive needs analysis to curriculum design and learning experience design consulting, we are committed to helping you achieve excellence in L&D. 

Be sure to explore our additional resources and case studies. If you like what we have showcased, contact us today to explore how we can take your organization to the next level through customized L&D solutions. We’d love to collaborate with you to unleash your team’s potential and embark on a journey of growth and success! 

If you’ve been in L&D, you might be familiar with the term ‘authoring tool’. But what are authoring tools? They are software programs that provide a set of features so that you can create eLearning courses adhering to eLearning and Web standards (HTML5, Tin Can (xAPI), SCORM, AICC, cmi5, WCAG 2.1, etc.). 

Today, one can find several different authoring tools in the market – each with its unique set of features and area of application. Which one should you choose? Well, the correct answer (as always) is that your choice depends on your business needs and L&D budget.
 
Not entirely convincing? Need more detail? As a trusted L&D consultant and services provider, we’d be happy to help you decide this as we review some commonly used authoring tools.  
 
(Here’s us putting on our consulting hat …) 

1. Adobe Captivate 

Configuration: Installable on local machine, also available as part of Cloud package 

One of the earliest and most popular players in the game, Adobe Captivate is a power-packed rapid authoring tool that helps you create virtually everything in eLearning – from responsive courses and scenarios to Virtual Reality (VR) and software simulations.
 
Pros:  

• Good for recording software simulations 
• Supports fluid content and accessibility 
• VR capabilities 
• iPad app for development on-the-go 

Cons: 

• Steep learning curve 
• Difficult to update 

Pricing: $33.99 (monthly) | $1299 (annual) | other options 

2. Articulate 360  

Configuration: Installable on local machine, also available as part of Cloud package 

The most popular rapid authoring solution, Articulate 360 is a collection or suite of 9 tools. Out of these, Storyline 360 (used for common eLearning) is installed locally, while Rise (for online responsive courses) is cloud-based.
 
Pros:  

• Supports the creation of most kinds of eLearning content 
• PowerPoint-inspired interface, moderately easy learning curve 
• Rise (cloud-based) allows you to create responsive courses easily using excellent GUI 
• Powerful asset library and excellent community support 

Cons: 

• No editing of responsive versions (not possible to increase text size on mobile screen) 
• Quite expensive 

Pricing: $549 (annual) | $1,399 (annual) | other options 

Check out some fabulous award-winning courses that we developed for our clients in Storyline as part of our custom learning and training support.
 

3. Elucidat

Configuration: Cloud-based 

In case you are looking to invest in a tool that makes it super-easy to design and update courses, collaborate, and distribute large-scale training, you could explore Elucidat, a cloud-based authoring tool. The learning curve is shallow, allowing non-designers the confidence to work with it. A point to be noted is that all Elucidat courses are fully responsive and Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART) compliant.
 
Pros:  

• Easy to use (especially for interactivities) 
• Excellent Graphical User Interface (UI) 
• Fully supports responsive content and accessibility 
• Provides analytics dashboards to easily monitor learner progress 

Cons: 

• No screen or video recording capabilities 
• Limited interactive elements 
• Lack of flexibility 
• Very expensive 

Pricing: Not listed on the website (reach out to the Elucidat pricing team | Generally on the higher side 

4. iSpring Suite 

Configuration: MS PowerPoint Plug-in 

If you are seeking a simple solution that allows you to create courseware quickly and easily, you should consider the iSpring Suite. Designers have multiple interactive and question templates to choose from, along with access to iSpring’s content library. This tool includes features for video editing, screen recording, online collaboration, and text-to-speech conversion. Importantly, all iSpring courses are adaptive, meaning, they can play seamlessly on any device.
 
Pros:  

• Easy to use 
• Inexpensively priced 
• Supports adaptive courses 

Cons: 

• Dependent on MS PowerPoint 
• Needs to be installed locally  

Pricing: $470 (annual)| $1970 (annual)| other options 

5. Lectora  

Configuration: Installable on local machine, also available as part of Cloud package 

A power-packed authoring tool that deserves mention is Lectora, by ELB. It allows for collaborative working and is fully WCAG-compliant and responsive. It supports numerous interactivities, conditional branching, and sequenced events, and works well with most LMSes.
 
Pros:  

• Access to numerous templates and assets by ELB 
• Good branching capability 
• Easy to collaborate 

Cons: 

• Steep learning curve 
• Average-looking GUI 
• Too expensive 

Pricing: $1,399 (annual) | other options 

 (…coming to our solutions…)
 
Each authoring tool has pros and cons, but some products are clearly better and more versatile than others. Based on the information in this article, it should be easy to pick the tool that works for you, and most importantly, solves your business and training needs, while giving you maximum ROI for your learning.
 
Besides the five popular products mentioned above, we suggest you explore other options such as GoMo,
Evolve, and Udutu, just to get an idea about their offerings and compare their features with the others.  
 
Last but not least, along with these technicalities, make sure you consult a one-stop learning services provider who ensures that the purpose and the content do not get lost!
 

Note: For the latest updates related to features and pricing, please refer to the official website of the respective authoring tool. 

References: 

1. The Best eLearning Authoring Tools, PC Magazine (Updated: November 29, 2017) 
2. HTML5 Authoring Tools for eLearning: Top Picks for 2020, YouTube(Posted: Mar 23, 2020) 
3. Introducing the all-new Adobe Captivate  
4. Storyline 360 
5. Support and Onboarding 
6. Fast eLearning authoring toolkit 
7. Lectora®—the most powerful eLearning authoring tool for creating online learning  

If you are a Subject Matter Expert (SME) working with your Learning and Development (L&D) Team and responsible for your company’s training materials, you might have worked with Instructional Designers (IDs) – could be in-house IDs or from the training services provider’s team. Hopefully, you enjoyed the experience – because as many L&D people comment in their reviews, partnering with IDs is usually a fantastic experience – and different too, compared to working with other stakeholders… 

… or maybe it was a difficult experience and you sadly found it awkward. Phew! Things can be difficult at times… 

… but we can make this experience easier, smoother, and better. Here we present some time-tested tips that should help you and the IDs to not only have a great work relationship but also ensure the success of the training program. 

I. Understand the workflow and establish proper communication 

Any good relationship is based on mutual trust and understanding. Working with Instructional Designers is no different and you must have a proper channel of communication and are on the same page regarding expectations, responsibilities, delivery formats and timelines, and constraints. 

It is also essential to be acquainted with the common terminologies used by IDs and understand the workflow. Here is a list of terms you should be aware of: 

1. Storyboard: A document that serves as a blueprint for the learning module or course. IDs create it to plan, organize, and communicate the design and flow of the learning content. A storyboard details all the content featured in the module or course – this includes the voiceover (VO) text, the On-Screen Text (OST), and visualization information. It also specifies how developers/programmers should put it all together as a functioning deliverable. 

2. Design Document: A detailed plan that outlines the structure, content, objectives, and strategies for creating educational materials or courses. 

3. Turnaround time (TAT): The period it takes to complete a project, from its initiation to its delivery, including all design, development, and review stages. 

4. Seat time: the total duration a learner spends in a training session or course, usually computed by dividing the word count of the VO or OST (Whichever is more, by 120 – by assuming that learners process the information as the normal human reading rate of 120 words per minute) 

5. Gamification: The use of game elements, such as points, badges, and competition, in non-game contexts, like education or business, to engage users and motivate them to achieve goals or learn. 

6. Content augmentation: Enhancing existing content with additional information, multimedia elements, or updated material to improve its value, relevance, and overall quality for the audience or users. 

7. Authoring tools: Software used for creating digital content, like eLearning courses. They enable one to develop, edit, and organize multimedia materials for educational and informational purposes. 

8. Learning delivery format: The method or medium through which educational content is presented to learners, such as in-person, online, virtual, or blended formats. 

9. ADDIE: A widely used instructional design framework consisting of five stages: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation, from which it derives its name. It guides the creation of effective educational programs and materials. 

10. Bloom’s taxonomy of learning: Hierarchical framework to classify learning objectives and cognitive skills into six levels, ranging from lower-order thinking (remembering) to higher-order thinking (e.g., creating). It helps educators plan and assess learning outcomes effectively. 

11. Knowledge Checks and Assessments: Knowledge checks are brief, in-lesson assessments to gauge understanding. Assessments are comprehensive evaluations, used to measure overall learning outcomes and knowledge, often at the end of a course or unit. 

12. Learning experience: A subjective description of how users/learners feel while acquiring knowledge and skills, influenced by methods, content, interactions, and assessments, impacting the effectiveness of learning. 

II. Realize that IDs are special 

Instructional designers possess a distinct skill set, that includes reading comprehension, writing, creative, visual design, pedagogical, and quality control skills. They bring a fresh perspective and “out-of-the-box” thinking to training design. The specific responsibilities of IDs vary across organizations, so clear communication is essential for setting expectations. IDs are creative and consulting-oriented, and they may request more context or suggest content improvements to optimize course delivery. IDs are learning consultants, not necessarily subject matter experts. By effectively collaborating with them, you can together produce great instruction. 

III. Identify other stakeholders that you might need to work with 

One needs to realize that things sometimes go wrong – and they will when you work with IDs. But it surely does not mean the end of the road! You can leverage these setbacks as learning experiences (what else!) or stepping stones towards a fantastic work relationship. One thing that would work in your favor is that most IDs are receptive to feedback (“Feedback is the breakfast of champions”, as they say!). Secondly, know that other vendor stakeholders – this could be the ID Manager, the Project Manager, or any Reporting Manager is likely to have your back. So, make it a point to have proper communication with the common Point of Contact (PoC) and the appropriate escalation channels. Remember that documents like the Statement of Work, Design document, and Storyboard serve are your go-to documents in case of any controversy or disagreement. 

With the right smarts, you should surely be able to nail your working relationship with IDs. Best of luck then! 

Conclusion: 

While experience and common wisdom play a huge role in establishing smooth working with IDs, it always helps if you get to work with a reliable services provider/vendor. Check out our portfolio – with our experienced team of IDs, we hope it would be a great partnership.

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CONSTELLAR TIPS

At Constellar Consulting, we usually propose the following strategies to help achieve the learning objectives of a compliance course, thereby helping our clients to ensure the best ethical practices. We hope these tips prove to be handy for you too.

1. INCLUDE PRE-ASSESSMENTS

Begin the course with a pre-assessment to gauge employees’ existing knowledge and awareness of anti-corruption and anti-bribery practices. This helps to identify knowledge gaps and tailor the course content accordingly.

2. ENSURE RIVETING STORYTELLING

Develop a compelling narrative that captures learners’ attention and creates an emotional connection to the topic. Use storytelling techniques to present real-life examples, highlighting the negative impact of corruption and bribery on individuals, organizations, and society.

3. ADD INTERACTIVE SCENARIOS

Incorporate interactive scenarios where learners can make decisions and witness the consequences of their actions in a realistic but safe context. Provide branching scenarios that offer different outcomes based on the choices made, encouraging critical thinking and decision-making skills.

4. PROVIDE MICROLEARNING MODULES

Break down the course content into bite-sized modules to enable readily available learning content, promote better knowledge retention, and accommodate busy schedules. Each module should focus on specific topics related to anti-corruption and anti-bribery practices, allowing learners to progress at their own pace.

5. INCORPORATE MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS

Utilize a variety of multimedia elements such as videos, audio clips, animations, and graphics to enhance engagement and cater to different learning styles. These elements can be used to explain complex concepts, provide visual representations, and deliver information in an engaging manner.

6. BUILD GAMIFIED ASSESSMENTS

Incorporate gamification elements into the assessments to make them exciting and competitive. Use game-based mechanics like point systems, badges, and levels to incentivize learners and induce a sense of achievement.

7. CREATE PERSONALIZED LEARNING PATHS

Offer personalized learning paths based on learners’ roles and responsibilities within the organization. Tailor the content to address specific challenges and ethical dilemmas they may encounter in their day-to-day operations, ensuring practical applicability.

8. OFFER JUST-IN-TIME RESOURCES

Provide quick-reference resources, job aids, and checklists that employees can access as needed during their day-to-day operations. These resources serve as reminders of best practices, helping employees make ethical decisions in real-time.

9. ACCOMMODATE EXPERT INSIGHTS AND INTERVIEWS

Include interviews with subject matter experts, industry professionals, or whistleblowers who can provide firsthand insights and experiences related to corruption and bribery. These interviews add credibility to the course content and offer real-world perspectives.

10. INTEGRATE POST-COURSE REINFORCEMENT

Implement post-course reinforcement strategies such as follow-up quizzes, discussion forums, or workplace assignments. These activities reinforce learning and encourage employees to apply their acquired knowledge in their day-to-day work.

11. ENSURE COMPLIANCE TRACKING AND REPORTING

Integrate a learning management system (LMS) that allows tracking of employees’ progress, completion rates, and assessment scores. This provides valuable data for compliance reporting and enables organizations to identify areas that may require additional training or support.

12. PLAN FOR REGULAR UPDATES AND REFRESHERS

Commit to regularly updating the course content to reflect new regulations, case studies, and best practices in the field of anti-corruption and anti-bribery. Additionally, offer periodic refresher modules to reinforce the key concepts and ensure continued awareness among employees.

 

Traditional learning, as the name suggests is the age-old method of classroom teaching where content is delivered to learners in live and in-person sessions. It continues to be the norm as far as the education of children is concerned. It offers an important advantage by providing young children ample opportunities to interact with their teachers and peers and allows teachers to simultaneously assess learner progress.

Adults too, learn better in classroom sessions. However, training adults in business organisations requires the trainings to be scalable as well as time- and cost-efficient. eLearning is both scalable and efficient in terms of time and cost. It also allows learners control over the learning pace which is vital when it comes to training adults. Clearly, eLearning seems to be the better choice for dispensing learning content in business organisations. Should we even consider classroom training when we can opt for eLearning?

CHOOSING A SUITABLE LEARNING METHOD

While eLearning may look like the most obvious option, it is not always the most appropriate one. Web-based trainings are not efficient for training learners on interpersonal skills. And though they may be cost-efficient, creating a web-based module for a small group of people within an organisation is not exactly budget-friendly.

A web-based training module is most suited for an organisation-wide compliance training. When it comes to onboarding new members within a team though, an instructor-led training offers a chance for new team members to not only understand the intricacies of their role within the team but also allows them to interact with their teammates in a safe environment.

IN CONCLUSION

Both eLearning and traditional learning come with their own pros and cons and remain relevant in their specific contexts. It is always advisable to choose a learning modality based on learning requirements. Remember that it is possible to avail the benefits of both these training methods (along with some other learning bits) in what is known as a blended learning experience. Learn more about blended learning here.

WHAT IS SCORM?

If you are in the eLearning industry, you must have often heard this word “SCORM”, used by your technical team or developers in the organization. SCORM is an abbreviation for Sharable Content Object Reference Model. It is a set of technical standards for e-learning software products that allows for the creation of reusable learning objects, enables the tracking of learner progress and performance, and facilitates development of content that can be easily updated and modified.

SCORM defines how eLearning content should be packaged and presented to ensure compatibility across different platforms. It is a very useful tool for organisations to create and distribute eLearning content across different systems. Many might even consider it as one of the foundational elements in the field of eLearning.

PARTS OF SCORM

SCORM includes three parts: Design, Packaging, and Communication.

• Design refers to how a course is structured and sequenced.
• Packaging involves bundling course materials in a way that the LMS can understand.
• Communication ensures that the course and LMS can work together.

THE UPSIDE

SCORM offers a multitude of advantages, the most important being compatibility with a range of learning management systems (LMSs). Apart from technological convenience, this allows organizations to save time and money on training and development initiatives.

SCORM also enables the creation of reusable learning objects (RLOs) – developed pieces of content that can be reused in multiple courses or programs – again contributing to time and cost efficiency.

It is easier to update and modify SCORM-compliant content helping to keep learning programs relevant and ensuring that learners are meeting their learning objectives.

SCORM-complaint courses can communicate with a learning management system to record important data such as time spent on the course and assessment scores, allowing for easy tracking and reporting of learner progress.

THE FLIPSIDE

SCORM compliance involves significant time and cost investment. SCORM-compliant authoring tools are expensive and involve a considerable learning curve.

Not all authoring tools are SCORM-compliant. Also, SCORM compliance does not assure a smooth functional performance of the compliant content.

The advent of mobile learning and its widening use poses a challenge to the SCORM set of standards. Modern forms of learning like mobile-based or app-based learning are not compliant with SCORM.

CLOSING

Following SCORM guidelines is important to create SCORM-compliant eLearning content, but there are many authoring tools available that make it easy to do so. SCORM has made eLearning content accessible and easy to use makes it an inseparable part of the process.

While it remains to be seen is how SCORM takes on the challenge of new-age learning, SCORM continues to be the ruling norm of the eLearning industry.

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Introduction  

In this learner-centric industry, research mostly revolves around conceiving novel techniques to create immersive and intuitive courses to help bridge the gaps in professional knowledge and skills. Moreover, the design is always influenced by characteristics of the audience to help adhere to inclusive and localization requirements. 

But it is equally important for organizations and institutions to arrange for courses that accommodate learners with disabilities, be it visual, auditory, motor, or even cognitive impairments. The learning imparted should be “accessible” and by that, we mean eLearning that adheres to standards for compliance set by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This act requires federal agencies and their contractors to provide software and website accessibility to people with disabilities. With its enforcement, it impelled optimization of authoring tools to help learners with disabilities receive courses with little compromise on the quality and strategy as designed for their peers. 

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Tips for Authoring

Apart from the expertise of the tool and the developers, Instructional Designers also play a significant role in authoring these courses to create a comfortable, effective, and “accessible” environment. The goal is to ensure provision of alternate ways to access the content to cater to all forms of disability and not allow a single mode of instruction to dominate.

Here are some tips that you can bear in mind while designing all the pedagogical elements in your course. 

Content

• Provide a blend of text, audio, video, graphics, and images to avoid overload of a single mode of presentation. 

 Layout

• Build a linear, structured, and uncluttered layout that is simple to peruse and comprehend. 
• Ensure that you maintain consistency across all the pages. 

 Navigation

• Plan a simple navigation across pages and avoid auto-jumps and drop-down menus as they might confuse the learner. 
• Provide descriptive and informative headings to buttons and links to facilitate learners with reading difficulties.

 Text Elements

• Avoid complex sentences and instead adopt a clear and crisp way of communication. Information presented as tables can be intimidating and hence it is advisable to split the content into smaller sections. 
• Ensure that the font size is optimum and if possible, incorporate a mechanism within the course itself, to easily resize the text on screen. 
• Pay equal attention to the style of fonts used as people with conditions like dyslexia may struggle to read complex fonts.
• Avoid color coding as a distinguisher for the elements on screen with regard to actions or assessments as it not beneficial to learners with visual impairments (especially color blindness). However, use effective color contrasts to enhance readability.

Non-Text Elements

Images/Graphics: Add narrations (called “Alt Text” descriptions) for every image, graphic, or chart used in the course. Provide a text-equivalent form for heavily illustrated or complex graphics. Identify decorative images which can be tagged as artifacts for which no description is required.

Audio/Video: Incorporate appropriate voice-overs on every page to explain all the information on screen. Include transcripts for all audio elements and enable closed captioning for all video elements. Avoid use of sound elements as a distinguishing factor while presenting content or as a background music as it may distract people with auditory deficits. 

Animation

Avoid progressive animation and instruct for content to be presented all at once and retained on the screen as content that is not visible initially may not be picked up by a screen reader. Moreover, complex animations could confuse people with cognitive disabilities. 

Interactivities

• Design simple interactivities and avoid interactions like drag-and-drop or hotspot interactions that cannot be controlled by the keyboard. 
• Avoid any timed interactivities or at least provide sufficient time to complete tasks to facilitate learners with cognitive difficulties.

Additional Resources

Ensure that you adhere to all instructions provided with respect to layout, text, and non-text elements across any form of document that may be provided as additional reading material. Reference links that may open third-party sites also need to be accessible. 

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Conclusion

Accessible learning offers an unfettered environment for all learners alike to imbibe the training offered through eLearning courses. Ensure that rigorous testing is performed across all the screens of the course before it is released. Apart from familiarizing with the tips, it is important to incorporate them right at the design stage to avoid unfavorable repercussions that would entail re-work or re-strategizing