Last month I was at DevLearn in Las Vegas. As usual for a really good conference, I left with a stretched mind and new perspectives (and, as is regrettably common in a conference, there was little about documentation, or templates, or any of the other themes that I’ve recently been discussing). One thing that caught my eye was what seemed to be a recurring theme of technological determinism. That is,[…]
READ MORE about Technology Drivers & Elearning|Takeaways from DevLearn 2019The Positives of a ‘Foolish Consistency’
“A foolish consistency,” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” I have, it seems, a very little mind. I adore consistency. And documentation, especially documentation surrounding expectations, enables a consistent approach, not only in training design, but also in working with training teams. If team members know the expectations, they also know what they need to achieve. We use[…]
READ MORE about The Positives of a ‘Foolish Consistency’Effective Elearning and the Template Dilemma
Do you use templates when building elearning? I’m a big fan of templates (as I am of other methods of standardization). I love the idea of having a set of optimized formats for content. Plug and play, everything works with a minimum of fuss and bother. But templates can be problematic. Designers and developers want to develop new and more interesting ways to present information. They want to explore better[…]
READ MORE about Effective Elearning and the Template DilemmaShould My Training Team Use a Style Guide?
Yes. Until next time, Kevin Okay, perhaps a bit more explanation. A style guide is just one form of documentation that I talked about last month. And I’ve mentioned style guides here and there in the past. I’m a big believer in style guides. This admiration isn’t universal. Several people I’ve met think they’re too restrictive. Shouldn’t the designer have the ability to use whichever font, whichever color, whichever layout,[…]
READ MORE about Should My Training Team Use a Style Guide?This Month in Learning – Summer Edition
Every month, Microassist’s Learning Dispatch newsletter features commentary by our own Senior Learning Architect Kevin Gumienny. Each edition also features learning and development articles and blogs curated across the web. We have gathered his This Month in Learning (TMIL) June, July and August articles to add to your “must read” list. TMIL August Is it finally the time when augmented reality will enter the world of training? According to the[…]
READ MORE about This Month in Learning – Summer EditionThe Case for Documentation
Do you hate documentation? You have to create it, keep it up-to-date, use it, make sure that other people use it. And there’s always the risk that you spend more time maintaining it than you spend working on the actual project. And yet… I adore and (attempt to) follow the Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition—we’re a bit behind the times). I know it’s 1026 pages on topics like when[…]
READ MORE about The Case for DocumentationBe Alert for Unexpected Risk Points on the Training Development Journey
What are the unexpected points of risk in the training development process? When you’re managing a training team, it seems that any point in a process can present a risk. But the risks involved in these three areas are often under-appreciated. Transition Points Our instructional designers work with subject matter experts to develop storyboards; those storyboards are then handed off to course developers, who program the courses. We find that[…]
READ MORE about Be Alert for Unexpected Risk Points on the Training Development JourneyKevin Gumienny Commentary from CSUN
Three Key Accessibility Lessons This was my third year at CSUN, the premier conference on assistive technology. If you’re interested in accessibility, it’s the place to be. I presented (or was part of presenting) three sessions. (You can see more at my conference resource page.) This year there wasn’t a single big theme that I took away (like I did when I was thinking about making elearning accessible in 2017 and using pattern libraries[…]
READ MORE about Kevin Gumienny Commentary from CSUN2018: This Year in Learning– 109 Curated L&D Articles from 2018
Every month, Microassist’s Senior Learning Architect Kevin Gumienny curates 5-10 articles from various disciplines related to learning and discipline. This year’s roundup includes articles on accessible elearning, instructional, program and learning design, If 2018 flew by quickly for you and you missed some of Kevin’s articles, here’s your chance to catch up on some reading. Did you have a favorite L&D post from 2018 that you’d like to add? […]
READ MORE about 2018: This Year in Learning– 109 Curated L&D Articles from 20183 Big Takeaways from Last Year’s Learning Development Projects
We recently did a retrospective of our 2018 projects, which got me thinking about the lessons that I’d like to carry into 2019 (and beyond). Three big takeaways from last year’s learning development projects are: Processes exist for a reason. We had one project where we implemented a new storyboard. (Not using a storyboard? You should. Using a storyboard leads to quicker development.) In the short term, it made a lot[…]
READ MORE about 3 Big Takeaways from Last Year’s Learning Development Projects