Showing My Work #3

The Showing My Work series of posts are what I’m using to ‘narrate’ the projects that I’m working on or have developed.

I believe that the visual design of an eLearning module is a really important part of the overall learning experience. After all, the look and feel of the course is the first thing that the learners see. It helps to catch their attention and draw them into the module. It can also add a great deal of interest to the module.

However, the visual design is an area that I really struggle with at times, trying to come up with ideas. I get there eventually but sometimes it takes a while and it doesn’t come easy to me. It’s also an area that I’m conscious that I need to work on and I want to.

Recently, I created a work health and safety (WHS) induction module for my organisation. When I started developing the look and feel, I defaulted to the yellow and black safety colours but I still found that it looked a bit PowerPointy as you can see by these mock-up designs that I came up with:

I didn’t really like any of them and I felt a bit stuck. Then one morning I went to our lunchroom to get a coffee and I saw this:

I’d walked past it every day, knowing it was there but not really seeing it. There’s a lot of safety notices on there and the boards in all the lunch areas so I figured people would be familiar with them and it would tie in nicely with the topic of module. It led me to come up with a design based on this theme:

The board is a common element for every screen. Then I used different combinations of notes and photos depending on what was needed for the screen. It goes to show that an idea can come from anywhere! What’s your impression of the visual design for this course?

I’ve found that the Articulate Community Showcase is a great place for some visual design inspiration.

Where do you get your ideas from when it comes to the look and feel of your course?

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Becoming an eLearning Professional

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Christopher Pappas via e-mail and he asked if I would be interested in contributing to an eBook he was putting together. I’ve been fortunate that Christopher’s eLearning Industry website has published a few articles that I’ve submitted over the past few months. At the time I didn’t know who else had been asked to contribute but I was thrilled that he asked me and of course I said yes!

I’d never been asked to do anything like this before so I put some time into thinking about the question, which was:

What are the most effective uses/tips to become an eLearning pro?

My tips are based on my experiences and what I’ve learned during my career to date as well as advice that I’ve been given that has served me well. I was also really pleased to see another Aussie, Ryan Tracey the E-Learning Provocateur giving some great advice in his post. In fact, all of the contributors have something to offer and while I didn’t know all of them there were several who I look up too and it was an honour to be included in this eBook with them.

I realise I still have lots more to learn but it’s good to know that through my blog and being involved with projects like this, I can share what I know, learn from others in the field and also assist new designers who are keen to improve their own practice.

To find out what I submitted, click on the image below which will take you to the eBook:

Here are the links to my other posts published on the eLearning Industry website:

5 Ways to Reduce Cognitive Load in eLearning

15 Tips to Improve Learners’ Motivation for eLearning Courses

20 Resources for New eLearning Professionals

25 Tips for Successful Online Course Facilitation

I hope you find some value in the eBook and the posts.

I’d also like to thank Christopher for asking me to participate in the eBook and for publishing my posts, I appreciate the support.

 

Letting go of Learning Styles

I’ve been thinking about writing this post about learning styles for a while now. It’s an area that I’m sure everyone in the training and learning industry has had contact with at some point. The idea of learning styles has been around for 40 years and I first came across them when completing my training and assessment qualification back in 2007. We discussed visual, auditory and kinaesthetic (VAK) learners and also Kolb’s learning styles. To me it made sense that people would have a preference for the way in which they like receive information. It’s equally logical that if we matched instruction to learning styles, it would result in better learning.

This all changed when I came across a journal article that said this:

How could this be after all this time? I was surprised, so I investigated further. I found that at last count there were over 70, yes 70, different learning styles models. These have been used in schools, higher education, vocational education and the workplace to categorise people as a particular type of learner. The popularity of learning styles shows no signs of slowing down. It seemed that the more I looked for evidence that supports learning styles, the more I found that the research just doesn’t support the theory. On reflection, there was a definite lack of critical thinking on my part.

I can see the appeal of learning the style movement:

• It sounds logical so it’s easy to understand
• It’s easy to teach
• It’s been marketed and sold very well

I like Steve Wheeler’s description of the learning styles myth as a convenient untruth.

What I also find troubling is that in Australia, the minimum qualification for trainers and assessors and many learning and development professionals is the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. Units within this qualification still refer to having knowledge of learning styles. This means that subsequent generations of learning practitioners are learning about something that has no evidence to back it up.

Given that learning styles isn’t helpful, we should as Jane Bozarth wrote, unlearn it. While it may be harder than learning, learning styles is something we need to unlearn. Yes, learners have different characteristics but we need to focus on evidence-based methods of instruction. Take Will Thalheimer’s Decisive Dozen as an example. These 12 factors are based a synthesis of years of research undertaken in learning and instruction.

We shouldn’t focus on things that sound logical or are popular or are just accepted. If we want to be taken seriously as learning professionals we need to use theories, methods and techniques that are grounded in research and actually get results.

References

Riener, C & Daniel Willingham, D. (2010): The myth of learning styles. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 42 (5), 32-35.

Rohrer, D, and Pashler H. (2012) Learning styles: where’s the evidence. Medical Education, 46. 630-635.

Scott, C. (2010) The enduring appeal of ‘learning styles’ Australian Journal of Education, 54 (1), 5-17.

Vorhaus, J. (2010) Learning styles in vocational education and training. Vocational Education and Training – Teaching and Learning, 376-382.