The first of our new look workshops was a prestigious affair, despite being absolutely free! With the new eLearning Network model, members now join for just £29 per annum and can attend our workshops throughout the year at no extra charge. The first one was held at none other than the BT Tower . The topic was a perennially popular one for the eLN, exploring the secrets and best practice of what makes award-winning eLearning.
We are incredibly proud to be the judging partner of the annual Elearning Awards. Our judges hold the privileged position of seeing the very best eLearning projects from around the world and we are always keen to share these stories to encourage best practice across the industry. This year’s event included some cracking insights and innovative uses of technology to deliver great learning experiences.
Here are some of the key takeaways from each session.
Judging awards
To set the scene, Tony Frascina talked us through the ins and outs of the judging process and helped the audience understand what goes into writing an award-winning submission. It is a robust process with three judges in each category and a nominated chair. All entries first go through shortlisting before a final presentation stage. Each category is judged on individual criteria and the major takeaway from Tony’s session is to make sure you follow the criteria exactly. When writing a submission ensure you really answer what the judges are looking for. Tell your story, back-up your claims with evidence and showcase your work so the judges can see what the fuss is about. Oh, and stick to the word count!
Video in learning
Next up was our host for the day Martyn Stevenson-Read, explaining what happened behind the scenes on his project using video for social learning. It was inspiring to hear that even a large organisation like BT has created a model that uses short, low cost videos as part of their approach. A useful takeaway is how Martyn and his team have segmented the different types of video they use:
- Interviews
- Presentations
- Screencasts
- Drama
- Explainers
- Documentaries
- Demonstrations
Simply appending their content to certain video styles opens up different opportunities and learning resources to suit every budget. Drama videos might be more high-end whilst screencasts can be done with hardly any spend at all. This model is something that could be applied in any organisation.
Mobile learning in action (even at sea!)
The Royal Yachting Association and Mind Click then took us through a truly innovative approach to mobile learning content that won them a Gold award in 2014. RYA wanted its learners to attain their Short Range Marine Radio certification with either eLearning and classroom training, depending on their preference. In the classroom, learners get hands on with the radio itself so they can use the kit and practice the communications and terminology. But how to bring that into an eLearning course? The course was installed locally onto learner devices, within which they could access a radio simulation that let them record practice calls and mimic the classroom experience even if they were completing the training on board their boat at sea. The point for reflection here is that the sky (or sea) really is the limit where technology in learning is concerned! Read more in the case study here.
Instructional designer of the year
Sam Yates from Unicorn Training shared her journey with us as someone who never set out to be an ID. But since discovering it as a career path, she now relishes the role and even creates content on a pro bono basis for Give Back UK. She shared several practical pieces of advice including an immortal quote from Albert Einstein, ‘If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.’ It has also become quite trendy these days to talk about storytelling in eLearning, but her approach truly does put the learner at the heart of the story and takes them on a journey through their learning experience. Reality can be complex – stories give it form. As Sam summed up: ‘People respond to people, not things. Find the story!’ You can see a demo of the content Sam created for Give Back UK here.
Compliance eLearning with a twist
Another inspiring project was brought to us by Channel 4 and Acteon. Channel 4 has a strong brand and ethos when it comes to taking risks and pushing boundaries with its broadcast content. It is also a creative organisation. None of these traits necessarily lend themselves to delivering effective compliance training! But Acteon helped them translate their culture to a new eLearning programme designed to reinforce compliance around their codes of conduct. ‘Learning To Take Risks’ has created real engagement amongst Channel 4 learners and delivered measurable behaviour change within the organisation. There is a video case study here and the almost joyous lesson we can all take from this is a quote from Channel 4 that in finding their authentic voice, ‘we can be bold, brave and courageous – whilst maintaining our accountability and our reputation’. Who says compliance eLearning has to be boring?!
Excellence in content production
Steve Finch from CSDM rounded off the presentations with an overview of their project with Honda that scooped the Gold award for ‘Excellence in the production of learning content – Private sector’. During the project, CDSM worked incredibly closely with Honda and the involvement enabled them to employ an iterative feedback process. Each module was amended according to Honda’s feedback within a two week time period and this ‘nail it and scale it’ style approach kept the project timescales on track and ensured the client was delighted with the content when it was delivered. Read more here.
All in all, it was a great day, packed with interesting content, practical tips and networking with old faces and new. We always use the hashtag #elnevents on Twitter during our events so you can follow the back channel if you can’t make it in person. But don’t miss out! Join us at our next event New Directions In Elearning on 10th July – free for members and just £29 to join today!
Useful links
Many of our attendees share some useful, related resources to the topics discussed on the day. We thought we’d share this for your perusal and additional reading if you’re interested in finding out more.
