Transcript Slide 1

Instructional Design for e-Learning Workshop
Presentation to
MedBiquitous Annual Conference
Presented by
Nina Deibler
*
09 March 2011
Workshop Objectives

Design engaging and interactive e-learning
– What are the challenges?
– What learning strategies work?
– What techniques will make it faster and easier to achieve?

Describe best practices for creating reusable e-learning
– What exactly constitutes reusable e-learning?
– What considerations do you need to make for reusable content?
– How should you structure your content?
– How does the visual design impact learners’ experiences?
The Challenges
The Challenges
 Avoiding negative stereotypes about e-learning
 Making learning engaging, interactive, and impactful even when the
subject matter is mundane
 What other challenges have you faced with e-learning?
The Challenges: Negative Stereotypes
 Common symptoms
– Page-turners
– Excessive text
– Lack of interaction
 Most frequent uses
– Compliance
– Orientation/new hire
– Inexperienced designers
 Overcoming the challenge
– Move to higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy
– Use new learning strategies
The Challenges: Mundane Subject Matter
 Common symptoms
– Dry/boring topics
– Lack of perceived relevance
 Most frequent uses
– Compliance training
– Regulatory training
 Overcoming the challenge
– Use new learning strategies
Overcoming the Challenges
Use Higher Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy
 Write objective behaviors at higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy
– Strive to replicate real world, on-the-job tasking for learners

Avoid “recognize” when they actually have to “apply”
– Change objectives like “define,” “discuss,” and “explain” to “calculate,”
“diagnose” and “perform”
Knowledge
Comprehension
Knowing
Application
Analysis
Doing
Synthesis
Creating
Evaluation
Sample of Behaviors in Bloom’s Taxonomy
Knowledge Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
define
classify
act
inform
break down
adapt
incorporate
appraise
describe
cite
administer
instruct
correlate
anticipate
initiate
compare & contrast
enumerate
convert
articulate
participate
diagnose
categorize
integrate
conclude
identify
describe
assess
predict
diagram
collaborate
intervene
criticize
label
discuss
chart
prepare
differentiate
combine
model
critique
list
estimate
collect
preserve
discriminate
communicate
modify
decide
match
explain
compute
produce
distinguish
compare
negotiate
defend
name
generalize
construct
project
focus
compile
plan
interpret
read
give examples
contribute
provide
illustrate
compose
progress
judge
record
make sense of
control
relate
infer
contrast
rearrange
justify
reproduce
paraphrase
determine
report
limit
create
reconstruct
reframe
select
restate (in own words)
develop
show
outline
design
reinforce
support
state
summarize
discover
solve
point out
devise
reorganize
view
trace
establish
teach
prioritize
express
revise
understand
extend
transfer
recognize
facilitate
structure
implement
use
separate
formulate
substitute
subdivide
generate
validate
include
Use Different Learning Strategies
 Avoid plain old “narrative text” page turners and try
– Problem Solving
– Scenarios
– Storytelling
– Simulations/Games
 Use these strategies to automatically create engagement and
interaction so that learners
– Make decisions
– Think through actions
– Relate to others in similar situations
– Replicate real-world situations/tools/systems
Narrative Text (“Typical” e-Learning)
Problem Solving
 Forces learners to think through
a situation
 Relies on expert models
 Provides expert feedback
Examples: Problem Solving
 You order an X-ray for a soft mass on a 15 year-old male’s ankle
resulting from a soccer injury. The x-ray is inconclusive and the mass is
hardening. What is your next step?
 You see a co-worker take powerful medication from the drug cabinet and
slip it into his coat pocket. What should you do?
 A blood test indicates an elevated white cell count in an otherwise
healthy 52-year-old female. What could be causing this?
 You forgot your password and need to access an online patient records
system immediately. A colleague offers to let you use her password.
What should you do?
Strategy: Scenarios
 Present realistic job-related situations
 May guide learners through an expert path with feedback
 May allow learners to make mistakes and experience consequences
– Remember “Choose Your Own Adventure” books
 May be a single scenario or a series of scenarios that build into a story
 May also be used as a form of problem solving
 Work very well for “soft-skills” subject matter
Examples: Scenarios (1)
 “Choose Your Own Adventure” style (1)
SCREEN 1: A 19-year-old woman appears at the
pharmacy window with a bottle of Percocet from a
prescription you filled the previous day. The prescription
is in her name, and you remember filling it and verifying
the count. She shows you the contents of the bottle and
it contains two different pill types. The woman asks that
the prescription be corrected so she can get the
remainder of her Percocet. When you tell the woman
you remember verifying the prescription she becomes
agitated. You should:

Involve the pharmacy manager immediately

Report her to the police

Check the pharmacy logs to see if this has
happened before
Examples: Scenarios (2)
 “Choose Your Own Adventure” style (2)
SCREEN 2: The pharmacy manager
approaches the woman and shakes her
hand. She tells the woman that she will
personally check the system to verify
that all protocols were followed. The
woman becomes more agitated. You
should…

Example
Examples: Scenarios
 Expert feedback style
– A 19-year-old woman appears at the pharmacy window with a bottle of
Percocet from a prescription you filled the previous day. The prescription is
in her name, and you remember filling it and verifying the count. She shows
you the contents of the bottle and it contains two different pill types. The
woman asks that the prescription be corrected so she can get the
remainder of her Percocet. When you tell the woman you remember
verifying the prescription she becomes agitated. You should:

Involve the pharmacy manager immediately

Report her to the police

Check the pharmacy logs to see if this has happened before
EXPERT FEEDBACK: While calling the police may seem like the appropriate
action to take when someone seems to be scheming to acquire narcotics, the best
course of action would have been to involve the pharmacy manager immediately.
Strategy: Storytelling (1)
 Uses engaging and compelling stories to immersive learners in
– Scenarios where they play an active role and solve problems as their
learning progresses
– On-going stories where they can impact the outcome through their thoughts
and actions as they learn
– Models, examples, and situations that demonstrate cause and effect
relationships and make them want to take action
 Goals
– Touch the hearts of your learners
– Place them in a position where events profoundly impact them

Take some action to change how they do things

Avoid or repeat the outcome of the story
Strategy: Storytelling (2)

Stories do not need to be long, but they do need
– Beginning – middle – ending
– Protagonist (good guy) and antagonist (bad guy or obstacle)
– Descriptions of people in the stories
– Goals (what protagonist is trying to surmount)
– Timeline (distant past, recent past, present, future…)
– Location where the story takes place (pharmacy, operating room, patient
exam room, nurses station…)
 Focus on details that move story along and create vivid images
 Make outcome positive or negative; people can learn from their
mistakes and the mistakes of others
From: Harvard Business School Publishing Company. (2003) Storytelling that Moves People: A Conversation with Screenwriting Coach Robert McKee
Strategy: Storytelling (3)
 To tell better stories, ask SMEs questions about THEIR stories like
– What will need to happen to “make things right” for the protagonist (the
“good guy” or “hero”) of the story?
– What obstacles (antagonists) prevent the protagonist from obtaining their
goal or objective?
– What can the protagonist do to overcome these obstacles?
– Is this story believable, even though it’s true?
 Example
From: Harvard Business School Publishing Company. (2003) Storytelling that Moves People: A Conversation with Screenwriting Coach Robert McKee
Suggestions for Story Writing (1)
1.
Start with a dramatic opening or a heroic deed. Few listeners can
resist a story with a good beginning.
2.
The best teaching stories are usually true. Try to verify your facts.
3.
Expand on the anecdote and develop it into an extended story. But
keep it succinct and short, something you could tell in two or three
minutes.
4.
Try to have your story illustrate one theme or idea.
5.
Have your story unfold according to events, not explanations,
descriptions, or summations.
6.
Keep plot details simple and easy to remember.
From: Stone, R. Story Workbook IDEAS www.integrityarts.com
Suggestions for Story Writing (2)
7.
Remember that a character is best revealed through his or her
actions. Also, use real names.
8.
Remember that the story itself is the important thing—let events speak
for themselves.
9.
Give the anecdote an ending that satisfies the listener’s sense of
justice.
10. Give it a good title.
11. Project the image like a film in your imagination.
12. Share the story with a friend or colleague and evaluate what worked
and why. What didn’t work? Why?
13. Refine the story based on these evaluations.
From: Stone, R. Story Workbook IDEAS www.integrityarts.com
Simulations/Games
 Replicate an actual experience, activity, or environment
 Goal is for learners to see it (in a demonstration), practice it (with step-
by-step guidance), and do it (exactly as they would in the real world)
 Examples of content types in which simulations work well include:
– Software training (complete an action, create/save a file)
– System operations (operate panels, switches, gears)
– Visual recognition applications/systems (identify items, recognize images)
– Soft skills training (leadership, management, problem solving, ethics)
 Should always have consequences
– Positive: promotions, earning points, and advancing to new levels
– Negative: losing points, failure to advance, or a downward spiral during a
scenario in a simulation
 Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Simulations/Games
Pros
Cons
 Replicate real-world activities in
 Can be timely and costly to
a safe environment
– Servers won’t crash
– Software doesn’t “hang up”
– No one is injured
produce
 Require more time to program
 May require unique skills for
your team
ACTIVITY
1. Think about a situation in your workplace where you had to make a difficult decision that
impacted other people. What kind of message can you send from this story? Working with a
partner, ask your partner the questions on the Storytelling Questionnaire. (10 minutes)
2. Using your answers from Storytelling Questionnaire, create a 2 minute story from the situation
you discussed. (10 minutes)
3. Review the story you created with your partner. (10 minutes)
4. Optional: Share your stories with the class. (20 minutes)
TIPS: Trying New Strategies
 Start slowly if new strategies seem intimidating
– Try a few simple expert-based scenarios as knowledge checks or
assessment items before attempting a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style
scenario/story that is threaded through the content
– Integrate a story within the instruction to reinforce key points

Story tells part of the instruction and serves as examples

Instruction reinforces key concepts and points, rather than story
– Try “demonstration animations” followed by simulations in a knowledge
check before trying to do a full-scale simulation in instruction
 Bounce ideas off of colleagues or have a brain-storming session to
make stories better, shorter, and believable
Keys to Making Reusable e-Learning
Reuse Categories
 Redeploy
– Running the same content, without modification, in multiple LMSs
 Rearrange
– Reordering the same content for new uses or new contexts
 Repurpose
– Using the same piece of content in new contexts or in different ways
 Rewrite
– Taking relevant materials and changing the examples, imagery, or writing
style, or removing irrelevant information
Reused from “ADL Guidelines for Creating Reusable Content with SCORM 2004” available at www.ADLNet.gov
Reuse Categories Example - Courses
Reused from “ADL Guidelines for Creating Reusable Content with SCORM 2004” available at www.ADLNet.gov
Reuse Categories Example - Asset
Hospital
Personnel
Use extreme caution when
entering an area where you
see this placard. Radioactive
equipment may be in active
use.
First
Responders
Radioactive materials are
packaged in durable
materials, so the release of
radiation would probably
only occur in very severe
accidents.
Reused from “ADL Guidelines for Creating Reusable Content with SCORM 2004” available at www.ADLNet.gov
Truck
Drivers
Never load, transport, or
store Class 7 and Class 1.1
materials in the same
transport vehicle or storage
facility while in transit.
Design Considerations for Reusability (1)
 How will you optimize the potential for your content to be redeployed,
rearranged, repurposed, and rewritten?
 Will your content objects cover a single learning objective or multiple
learning objectives?
 Will your content objects include an assessment or will the assessment
be a separate content object?
 How will you divide, structure, chunk, and sequence the content
objects?
 What media types will you incorporate in the e-learning?
 What organizational policies and practices do you have to comply with
(Ex: Section 508)
Reused from “ADL Guidelines for Creating Reusable Content with SCORM 2004” available at www.ADLNet.gov
Design Considerations for Reusability (2)
 What navigation options will be provided inside the content object
versus the standard navigation options provided by a typical LMS?
 What colors and layouts will work best in the target LMS and in other
LMSs?
 Will templates and cascading style sheets (CSS) facilitate rearranging,
repurposing, and rewriting the content?
Reused from “ADL Guidelines for Creating Reusable Content with SCORM 2004” available at www.ADLNet.gov
Navigation Element Considerations
 Web-based training introduces the potential to have numerous
navigational elements
 Controls should perform the same from one screen to another
Reused from ADL Visual Design webinar available at www.ADLNet.gov
Other Navigation Elements
 Use a pop-up window to provide learners with auxiliary resources,
such as a PDF
 Never use a popup
window for images
or information that are
critical for learners’
understanding of the
content
Reused from ADL Visual Design webinar available at www.ADLNet.gov
Enabling Reusability in Content Objects
 Determine what information is required for formal reporting
 Define data collection and tracking requirements
 Create content structure/flow chart and rules for sequencing
 Design smaller SCOs to enable
– Tracking and sequencing at a more detailed level
– Greater flexibility in

Redeploying

Rearranging

Repurposing

Rewriting
Reused from “ADL Guidelines for Creating Reusable Content with SCORM 2004” available at www.ADLNet.gov
TIPS: Designing Context-neutral Content (1)
 Avoid numbers that refer to a specific location
– Call lesson “Facility Overview” not “Lesson 3”
 Avoid references to previous course material or put them in separate
objects that can be swapped out or deleted
– Move statements like “In the previous lesson, you learned…” in a separate
object
 Remove contextual information from the background of media assets
– Show a piece of equipment without extraneous items in the background
that may make it apply only to that context
 Avoid contextual information or put it into separate object that can be
swapped out or deleted
– Repurpose course to replace the “Recognizing meningitis” object with
“Recognizing meningitis in children”
Reused from “ADL Guidelines for Creating Reusable Content with SCORM 2004” available at www.ADLNet.gov
TIPS: Designing Context-neutral Content (2)
 Use sequencing to deliver appropriate context-specific SCOs to the
learner
– Use sequencing to deliver the “Recognizing meningitis in children” object
instead of “Recognizing meningitis” based on a user profile specifying the
type of physician
 Avoid references to specific features or names of your organization or
environment
– “PHP is an effective way to create web applications” not “The Acme IT
Department uses PHP to create web applications because it is so effective”
 Avoid file naming conventions that use numbers
– Use “XSLT-TransformingXML.html” not“M4L5.html”
Reused from “ADL Guidelines for Creating Reusable Content with SCORM 2004” available at www.ADLNet.gov
REUSABILITY DISCUSSION
Hospital
Personnel
First
Responders
Truck
Drivers
TIPS: Standardize (1)
 Create a style guide and stick to it (essential in team environment)
– Enables “freedom from choice” for designers and developers

No more debates about button color and font size
– Provides an “authoritative source” for quality assurance personnel
– Guarantees writing style, navigation elements, and screen layouts work
together
– Allows flexibility for some visual elements
– Puts focus back on INSTRUCTIONAL design
 The time invested in creating a style guide will pay for itself after a
couple of projects
TIPS: Standardize (2)
 Use templates
– Serve as a pattern or model for screen layout
– Provide common content, structural, and navigational elements
– Save development time by reducing focus on common elements
– Provide some degree of flexibility and customizability
– Facilitate reuse across projects

Everything is located in the same area (navigation, content, images,
etc.)

Easy to change look and feel
Visual Design Considerations for Reusability
Visual Design and Instructional Effectiveness
 Learners are more receptive to e-learning that is visually pleasing and
learner-friendly
– Provides cues to what parts of the content are important
– Creates interest
 User anxiety and confusion will impact learning
 Different, beautiful, and original isn’t better if it undermines learning and
reusability
 Never sacrifice usability for visual impact. Account for
– Navigation ease
– Download time
 Proper design can facilitate Section 508 accessibility and
internationalization
Visual Design and Instructional Effectiveness
 Aesthetics should not interfere with
– Keeping users focused on content
– Learner comfort
 Effects of poor visual design
– Distracts user’s attention
– Makes text difficult to read and graphics ineffective
– Causes users to access or learn the wrong information
– Confuses learners about their progress
– Makes learning activities too bothersome to complete
Visual Design Framework (1)
 Who is your target audience?
 What is the impression you want to convey?
– Importance of correct performance of tasks?
– Positive attitude towards the subject matter?
 What are repeating elements or themes?
 What are the physical and fiscal limits to your design?
– Screen real estate
– Media (static vs. dynamic)
 Producing original media vs. acquiring found media
Visual Design Framework (2)
 The more robust the design, the more reusable
– Adhering to universal design principles

Means better chance of visual consistency with other content

Makes your content more desirable for reuse
 Requires consistent use of “standardizing elements”
– Style Guide
– Templates
– Cascading style sheets (CSS)
– Widely-accepted fonts
– Adequate spacing
– Proper alignment of screen elements
– More
TIPS: Strong Visual Designs
 Make extensive use of “white” or “empty” space
 Are left-aligned with proper margins between edges and other
elements
 Balance the placement of information on the page
– Use an invisible grid to align various elements with each other
– Place related items close together
 Repeat common elements
– Descriptive boxes, styles, formats, treatments
 Use symbols whose meaning cannot be questioned
Types of Media Elements
 Static graphics
– Photographs
– Line drawings
– Colored drawings
or illustrations
 Motion graphics
– Video
– Animation
Key Design Principles for Media
 Composition
– Placement of objects in the graphic
– Foreground or background
– Single object or multiple objects
 Style
– Illustrations, photos, animations
– Colors, lines, and patterns used in the graphic
Composition
 Ensure that key object(s) are prominent by
– Including only one object
– Placing the critical object in the foreground
 Ensure that key object is large enough to be
seen and understood
What do you see?
Composition Examples
This composition is effective if the
purpose is to show how a coffee
cup is used. The cup is in the
foreground and has just enough
context, a close-up of the woman’s
face, to show how the cup is used.
A full body view of the woman
would distract viewers from the
intended context.
This composition is effective if the
purpose is to understand the features of
a coffee cup — its shape, parts,
materials and color. The cup is the only
object. It has a simple, solid background
color, and the features of the cup are
easily distinguishable. Since there is no
context for the cup, this graphic could
be reused in many different contexts.
Style
 Photographs may be full color or black and white
 Illustrations may be a technical line drawing or a realistic 3-D rendering
 Colors may be subdued or vibrant
 Never use two different styles of media on the same page of instruction
Style Examples (1)
A black and white photograph may be just
as effective as a color photograph,
depending on the purpose. If the purpose is
to show how a cup fits with a saucer, color is
not critical so black and white works. Since
there is no context for the cup, this graphic
could also be reused in many different
contexts.
This photograph has a very specific,
abstract style. This kind of artistic, stylized
photography is generally not effective in
instructional materials.
Never use this style in e-learning.
Style Examples (2)
This style uses gradients, shading, and
perspective for a 3-D effect which brings
some realism to the drawing. 3-D drawings
can be effective for illustrations like a
cutaway view of the human body.
This drawing style uses clean lines to
show a technically accurate view of an
object. The image is simpler than the 3-D
drawing style and can show alternate
perspectives, such as the ghosted lines
of the “hidden” part of the saucer. This
style is effective for technical drawings.
Style Examples (3)
The thick lines, flat colors, and simple
shapes give this illustration an iconic style.
This style can be effective for illustrations
which show simple, direct images. This style
may be effective for content like icons, but
its use should be limited.
The imperfect, hand-drawn effect of the
lines, the playful, angled perspective, and
the abstract color blocks in the
background produce a whimsical style in
this illustration. While it may be artistically
pleasing to some people, this style is not
effective in materials where accuracy is
important.
Using People in Media (1)
 Consider using illustrations to
avoid
– “Dating” material
– Creating stereotypes
– Focusing learner on details
rather than concepts
 Use photo-realistic images or
cartoons
Using People in Media (2)
 Diversity matters
– Strive to include people of
many ethnicities
OR
– Use women with dark hair
and medium skin tones; they
are most often attributed with
people’s own expectations
Describing Media
 Descriptions should include
– Object or concept being depicted
– Type of media
– Style/composition of media
– View of the object

Extreme long shot, long shot, medium shot, close-up or extreme
close-up
– Object layout

Horizontal, vertical
Messages from Media
ACTIVITY
Describe 5 still images you could use to visually tell the story you wrote
in the last activity. Think about how these images will help to further or
“tell” your story. (10 minutes)
Using Audio Media
 Sound Effects
 Narration
– Should further desired
learning outcomes
 Buzzer
 Fire
warnings
alarms
– Should not provide
entertainment value
– Use professional narrator
– Use same narrator as often as
possible
– Can hinder learning if learners
are
 Struggling
 Disturbed
to hear
by the narrator’s
accent
 Lulled
into sleep-like state
by narrator’s voice
Workshop Summary

Design engaging and interactive e-learning
– Work around the challenges
– Try new learning strategies
– Follow the tips here to make it faster and easier

Describe best practices for creating reusable e-learning
– Reuse includes redeploy, rearrange, repurpose, and rewrite
– Think through the considerations before you begin
– Keep your content objects small to enable reuse
– Remember that visual design does matter
Questions and Wrap-Up
Instructional Design for e-Learning Workshop
Presentation to
MedBiquitous Annual Conference
Presented by
Nina Deibler
[email protected]
*
09 March 2011