Month: September 2018

Posted on

LMS IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES Part 2: The Team

by Ann Crane

In part one of my Learning Management System (LMS) implementation strategies series I went over the importance of defining LMS and project expectations. This week, I’d like to go over the people you’ll need on your team before moving forward with implementation. 
 
Here are the primary roles necessary for any LMS implementation team: LMS Administrator, Project Manager, Authors/Content Developers, and IT/Web Integrators.
 
The LMS Administrator is the team quarterback, choosing and leading all of the other team members, driving forward the entire implementation process, as well as having responsibility for managing, setting up, tracking, and analyzing communication with the audience (the actual learners). 
 
Next is the Project Manager. In smaller scale organizations, the LMS administrator will have a dual-role on the team, responsible for the project management tasks as well as administrator tasks. However, if the scope of the implementation is large and/or very complex, it's best to have a Project Manager on the team.
 
 
 
Authors grapple with another immense component of the implementation: content. Often organizations have pre-existing learning content that needs to be blended into existing content. That's where the authors come in. Long after the LMS has been put into place, authors continue to build and add ongoing learning content. The LMS administrator can and should delegate some of the permissions to the authors to allow for, among other things, the ability to create, modify, and delete courses, upload content packages, and assign courses to learners (and reset the lesson as necessary). 
 
It’s important to have engaged Web Integrators early in the process, perhaps even before selecting your LMS. Integrators are responsible for identifying and mapping the processes that you want to implement, and ensure it will work in conjunction with other systems.
 
Next time: Distinguishing the Urgent from the Important. Prioritizing Requirements and Expectations.
 
***
 
Ann Crane, Engage Systems, LLC., is an Adobe Captivate Prime and Adobe Connect expert. Based in San Francisco, California, Ann serves as an eLearning consultant and virtual experience guide, quickly transitioning clients to digital collaboration concepts and technologies.
Posted on

TEACHING LIVE, ONLINE CLASSES: What You Need to Know About Your Online Platform, Part 1

by Jennie Ruby, COTP

Whether you use Adobe Connect, WebEx, GoToTraining, or another online training app, you need to know the same basic features of your platform. 
 
First, you need to know everything your students will need to know to get into your classroom and participate in your class. And when I say you need to know, I mean really know. Like, “I can describe it in my sleep” know. Like, “I can describe it blindfolded” know. Because the moment you’ll need to know it most is when a student is having trouble logging in, or finding the chat panel, or finding the arrow tool—and in that moment, you can’t see their screen.
 
On most of the online platforms, the instructor view is different from the participant view of the screen. This is least true of Adobe Connect, but even there, as the Host, you may have additional functionality your viewers do not have. 
 
So here is a checklist of what you need to know—from your students’ point of view.
 
Basics
  • How to log in
  • How to get on the audio
  • How to use Chat
  • How to raise your hand
Additional communication tools (some of these vary from one platform to another)
  • Agree or check mark
  • Disagree or x
  • Away from desk
  • Speed up/slow down
  • Emoticons
Other special functions
  • Share their screen
  • Write on the screen or whiteboard
  • Type on the screen or whiteboard
  • Function within a break-out room
  • Download materials
Once you know these functions—and can explain them to your learners without seeing their screens—you are part of the way there. In future articles we will take a look at what you need to know about the instructor’s view and when and why you might want to work with a producer.
 
***
If you'd like to learn how to effectively teach live, online classes, come join me online as I co-teach the Certified Online Training Professional course at www.iccotp.com. (The course is eligible for 1.2 CEUs.)
 
***
Jennie Ruby, CTT, COTP, is a veteran eLearning developer, trainer, and author. Jennie has an M.A. from George Washington University and is a Certified Technical Trainer and Certified Online Training Professional. She teaches both classroom and online courses, and has authored courseware, published training books, and developed content for countless eLearning projects. She is also a publishing professional with more than 30 years of experience in writing, editing, print publishing, and eLearning.
 
Posted on

TEACHING ONLINE: Don’t Let a Computer Crash During Class Cause Panic!

by Kevin Siegel, CTT, COTP

I've been teaching live online classes for years. And while I’ve had all sorts of technology challenges during that time, I’ve never had my main machine go down along with my backup–until yesterday! Even though I rebooted my machine in time for class, it froze again, and I couldn’t click anything.

Panic? Not me. As a certified online training professional, you’re taught to handle these kinds of bumps in the training road. In this instance, other students in the class were using Captivate (it was a hands-on session) and I simply made a participant the presenter (or leader). Class went off without a hitch after that.

What are your most embarrassing online (or in-person) training debacles? Share them here! Did you recover? Tell me how!

P.S. Learn to teach live, online classes at www.iccotp.com

Posted on

ADOBE CAPTIVATE 2019: Virtual Reality Is Literally Here!

by Kevin Siegel, CTT, COTP
 
Perhaps the biggest innovation you’ll find in the recently released Adobe Captivate 2019 is the ability to easily (and I mean easily) create virtual reality projects using 360-degree photos or videos. While this is just Adobe’s first attempt at virtual reality eLearning, it's pretty awesome.
 
To create a virtual reality project, click Virtual Reality Project on the New tab (you can also insert Virtual Reality slides into existing 2019 projects via Slides > 360 slide).
 
 
Once the Virtual Reality Project is open, click in the middle of the slide to import a 360 image or video. If you have Captivate 2019, you can create 360 projects without having to first find your own 360 assets because Adobe includes a few sample 360 images in the Gallery (within the 360BGAssets folder).
 
 
 
After adding the 360 asset to the slide, you can immediately see how cool this is going to be… you can move around the virtual space by dragging your mouse up, down, left, right… there's no need to Preview the project.
 
You can add static (non-interactive) text to the slide via Text > Label. To add interactivity to the slide, visit the Hotspots menu and select an icon (or import your own icon images).
 
  
 
With the icon selected, go to the Properties Inspector and choose an Action. Beyond the usual "Go to" actions, you can also add quiz question overlays (Multiple Choice or True/False).
 
 
I created this sample Virtual Reality project in about 30 minutes. A few limitations that I’d love to see resolved down the road are a lack of customization options for the hotspot icons (in the current release of Captivate 2019, the only options are to use the supplied icons as-is or use your own images as hotspots). I’d also love to see more Actions.
 
You publish VR projects just like any other project. When publishing VR content, keep in mind that desktop and laptop learners can access and use the content, but VR projects are best when viewed with VR headsets. (If you try the link above with a smart phone, you’ll be prompted to use VR headsets and the interactivity I added won’t work as expected without them.)
 
***
Kevin Siegel, CTT, COTP, is the founder and president of IconLogic. Following a career in Public Affairs with the U.S. Coast Guard and in private industry, Kevin has spent decades as a technical communicator, classroom and online trainer, public speaker, and has written hundreds of computer training books for adult learners. He has been recognized by Adobe as one of the top trainers world-wide.
 
Posted on

eLEARNING & TRAINING DESIGN: It Just Takes a Spark to Light a Design Fire

by AJ Walther, COTP

Even the most seasoned designers can hit a design plateau. It’s hard to be inspired all the time! Here’s a tool that might help light an, ahem, spark. I played around with Adobe Spark this week. The obvious use case for Adobe Spark is to create stunning graphics, videos, and websites. If you have such needs, you should absolutely investigate the tool. But here’s maybe a less obvious use for the tool: design inspiration! 
 
Let’s say you have some “stuff” for your design. You have some text, a logo, and a graphic. Maybe you have this specific stuff and you’re creating an eLearning module or an online class about online training:
 
“ONLINE TRAINING CAN BE GREAT TRAINING”
 
 

There are, of course, endless ways one could design some training around these assets. But what isn’t endless is time, and sometimes, creative juices. Here’s where Adobe Spark can help. Start a new project at http://spark.adobe.com by clicking the plus sign and selecting Post.

You can either start with a template or from scratch. It doesn’t really matter what layout you choose, but you’ll probably want to choose a page layout that roughly resembles the proportions of your slide you’ll eventually be designing. I started from scratch. If you chose a template, you’ll want to delete all the stuff you won’t be using. 

Next, add an image.

Use the ADD button on the right to load your logo (add it as an Image, unless you have paid for the subscription—then choose Logo). 

Add your text. 

Format the text by exploring the Type, Color, Shape, and Style categories at the right. 

Voila! That already doesn’t look half bad. But what’s really exciting and impressive here is how quick and easy it is to see your assets rearranged in different fresh and modern design layouts.
 
Ensure none of the assets on your post are selected and choose the Design category on the right. Notice all the available Variations. These selections will vary based upon how many images or text boxes you have in your post and what sort of post you originally selected.
 
 
Clicking each Variation will quickly and easily reformat your content to that design style—with minimal tweaking needed on your part. And, if you pay for the service, you can automatically have your preferred or corporate color scheme preloaded and apply it with a click, as well as eliminate the Adobe Spark logo. 
 
Check out these variations I was able to quickly spin up. Imagine the time this would save if you were trying to show a client some design options!
 
 

Here I’ve quickly mocked up a training template based upon one of the quick layouts I made with Adobe Spark.
 

Remember that using the post you create isn’t really the objective here (although you certainly could use it!) —it’s to help you get out of a design rut and see your assets arranged in design formats that perhaps you would not have thought of on your own. And perhaps it will spark an idea for the rest of your training layout. Have fun playing with your new designs!

***

AJ Walther, COTP, is IconLogic's Chief Creative Officer (CCO), a seasoned online trainer, eLearning graphic designer, and author of both "PowerPoint 2007: The Essentials" and "PowerPoint 2008 for the Macintosh: The Essentials." AJ made her own interdisciplinary studies major, focusing on writing and art. Her combined expertise in PowerPoint, graphic design, and writing allows her to bring a unique skillset to the eLearning community.

 
Posted on

LMS IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES, Part 1: The Plan

by Ann Crane

Corporate learning initiatives almost always include the need for a Learning Management System (LMS). Given that LMSs run the gamut from free to tens of thousands of dollars, a little prior planning is in order before running out and purchasing the first LMS you find.
 
In this series, I’m going to share some of the top LMS implementation strategies provided by LMS experts from across the globe. 
 
Sharath Ramaswamy is an LMS implementation expert who has helped more than 100 companies, each with their own unique challenges and expectations, successfully set up their LMSs. 
 
According to Ramaswamy, one of the most important first steps to implementing an LMS is defining the expectations for the learning initiative. 
 
Defining expectations is crucial because those expectations are the scaffolding that binds the learning program goals to measurable business goals,” said Ramaswamy.
 
Ramaswamy went on to say that “one must review the business strategies which motivated the purchase of the LMS in the first place, identify the overall business objectives, identify the key stakeholders and draft a plan with an intent to illustrate how the learning plan objectives match with and contribute to the business objectives.” 
 
“This will determine your definition of success,” exclaimed Ramaswamy. “If you want to be considered a partner in the business, and not just seen as part of a support function, it is crucial to tie your learning program goals as tightly as possible to the pre-defined business goals.” 
 
Business goals can be vast in scope. Perhaps your company plans to double its annual profits worldwide by leveraging a fast-growing innovation in the industry. How do you, as a member of the Learning and Development team, take a large corporate goal and break it down? For starters, identify the stakeholders and understand what, exactly, they have defined as success. 
 
For example, a manager has a business goal of adding new products to the corporate portfolio. One appropriately mapped learning program goal would be to offer role-based certifications on the new products. 
 
Here’s another example: The head of Global Sales has a goal to sell into new markets. The learning program goal would be to ensure an online learning model supports a globally-distributed workforce and offers localized training
 
Another crucial pre-implementation strategy is to identify organizational roadblocks that have hindered learning in the past and develop supportive strategies offset them. For example, if a known obstacle to learning has been “no time,” ensure that short eLearning modules are used in the course (lessons that don’t play for more than a few minutes). If the criticism “no communication” was voiced, define an internal marketing plan and a communication strategy in advance of the roll-out.
 
Next time: Learn how to build exactly the right team for your implementation, who to choose, and why! 
 
***
Note: Join Ann on Thursday, September 25, 2018, 2 p.m. Eastern live online and see the power, flexibility, and ease of use of Adobe Captivate Prime. Ann will also be showcasing some of the assets in the new Content Library (where you can find courses on Business Skills, Workplace Compliance, and more).
 
***
Ann Crane, Engage Systems, LLC., is an Adobe Captivate Prime and Adobe Connect expert. Based in San Francisco, California, Ann serves as an eLearning consultant and virtual experience guide, quickly transitioning clients to digital collaboration concepts and technologies.