E-learning Instructional Desiger

E-learning Instructional Desiger - Part 2

In the previous post we looked at an e-learning ID job posting. I didn't publish the entire job posting so that we could look at a few components.

Here's the tools section for this same job post with Blue Sky software:

Proficiency in eLearning development software, such as Articulate 360
Proficiency in communication software, such as Outlook and Slack
Proficiency in project management software, such as Asana or Trello

Let's look at each of the tools. Articulate 360 is an e-learning development tool to create tutorials. The original tool was called Storyline. There were versions 1, 2 and 3. I used version 2 and 3 to create about 40 microlearning modules. There was a bit of a learning curve, but once I used it everyday I didn't have to think much about the details. Last month I received notice that Storyline 3 would no longer be supported. Articulate 360 isn't much different accept that it's a subscription. The biggest impediment with Articulate's (and Adobe's) apps is the expense. They're prohibitively expensive to use making if difficult to practice and learn them. Further, if you were to become a consultant you would need to factor in the cost of the monthly subscription for your deliverables to the client.

Outlook goes without saying as an email app. Slack is commonly used in teams and is something we should all be familiar with. It's not difficult to use.

Project management software like Asana may be harder to learn if you can't get a trial. Trello typically offers a trial version. Its' something you may end up liking that you use it for personal projects as well.

What is your experience with these tools? Have you had challenges getting training on these or access to a free trial?

Comments

Smartsheet: an alternative to Microsoft Project

For years Microsoft Project dominated the market for project management software. It has a steep learning curve and is an expensive per seat cost. I was a technical writer for a small software company that used MS Project for the three project managers and myself. While I enjoyed learning about the science of project management from them in our meetings, I discovered that using the software was not that intuitive. I plugged in the tasks and timelines for several projects only to discover how challenging it was to have to refactor dates. It seemed to mess up the entire project such that I just stopped using it. It was more time consuming setting it up and refactoring it than just inputting status to show our progress. It looks like a better option is SmartSheet which is used by many major companies. You can sign up for a free trial to get familiar with it. The more you can learn about tools to manage instructional design projects, the more likely you are to be considered for the team. T

How much do apps matter in Instructional Design?

https://www.aura.com/learn/social-media-privacy-risks This week in my graduate course we discussed social media tools - Web 2.0 - that are useful in learning environments. My disclosure is that I typically don't use social media for personal use, and this makes it a bigger jump to think about using it for learning purposes. The irony is that I enrolled in this elective class because I am intrigued about using social media for learning environments. The points I vacillate on are data security and time commitment. With data security I would need to ensure that learners' data, user profiles, etc. are protected. This isn't the same thing if it's higher education and the university is using an LMS. FERPA and a contract protect student data and how it's used. With free social media apps there's more risk to a learner's content. I'm still exploring these tools to determine if there are settings to protects our learner's identities and content. One thing th

Easygenerator content authoring app

Here's another newer app that I just discovered. Maybe you already know about this one? Easygenerator sounds like its name. Like many apps it can convert PowerPoint slide decks to e-learning. https://www.easygenerator.com/en/features/powerpoint-import/ The thing with these content authoring apps is always the price. If you work on a team it's more likely your manager would approve of subscribing to some sort of app. It's not cheap, though. Take a look at the pricing below. Also, if you work independently either for a small business or as a contractor, the $1000 annual fee needs to be factored into the ROI of your projects. Do you think these prices are reasonable or a bit out of reach?

Dzine2learn

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