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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Explore effective learning programs with the father of e-learning Michael Allen's Guide to e-Learning: Building Interactive, Fun, and Effective Learning Programs for Any Company, Second Edition presents best practices for building interactive, fun, and effective online learning programs. This engaging text offers insight regarding what makes great e-learning, particularly from the perspectives of motivation and interactivity, and features history lessons that assist you in avoiding common pitfalls and guide you in the direction of e-learning success. This updated edition also considers changes in technology and tools that facilitate the implementation of the strategies, guidelines, and techniques it presents. E-learning has experienced a surge in popularity over the past ten years, with education professionals around the world leveraging technology to facilitate instruction. From hybrid courses that integrate technology into traditional classroom instruction to full online courses that are conducted solely on the internet, a range of e-learning models is available. The key to creating a successful e-learning program lies in understanding how to use the tools at your disposal to create an interactive, engaging, and effective learning experience. * Gain a new perspective on e-learning, and how technology can facilitate education * Explore updated content, including coverage regarding learner interface, gamification, mobile learning, and individualization * Discuss the experiences of others via targeted case studies, which cover good and not so good e-learning projects * Understand key concepts through new examples that reinforce essential ideas and demonstrate their practical application Michael Allen's Guide to e-Learning: Building Interactive, Fun, and Effective Learning Programs for Any Company, Second Edition is an essential resource if you are studying for the e-Learning Instructional Design Certificate Program.
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Seitenzahl: 556
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016
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“Quite simply, if you are designing e-learning, you should be following Michael's earned, respected, and apt advice. In this updated version of his classic, he points out the dearth of and need for, good e-learning, and then tells us succinctly how to get there.”
—Clark QuinnExecutive Director at Quinnovation
“Michael Allen's books have been the fundamental reasons for me to establish an e-learning development firm in Singapore.”
—Shamini ManikamFounder, TinkTank Talent Associates
“Our industry is littered with rapidly produced content and it's time we look back to one of our pioneers to learn where we went wrong. Dr. Allen speaks to the heart of the issues today with solutions designed to realign training to its business goals. With an unwavering focus on the science behind learning design, Dr. Allen's latest book is essential for anyone passionate about designing training to deliver tangible results.”
—Glenn BullFounder & CEO, Skilitics
“Michael Allen's Guide to e-Learning is one of the books I consider to be essential reading for any e-learning designer. It's full of useful design frameworks and vivid examples.”
—Julie DirksenAuthor of Design for How People Learn
“Michael's use of stories and missteps to add context elevates the experience of the learners. Learning becomes memorable. In this book Michael elegantly weaves boring fact-based content with realism, emotions and motivation. Read this book and breathe new life into your courses.”
—Ray Jimenez, Ph.D.Chief Learning Architect,Vignettes Learning Training Magazine Network
“I still remember the day I picked and started reading the first edition of Michael Allen's Guide to e-Learning. It completely changed my perspective and gave me practical ideas on creating engaging, interactive, and fun eLearning courses. Feeling the same joy reading the second edition today.”
—Pooja JaisinghSenior eLearning Evangelist, Adobe Systems
“There are experts, and then there are the people the experts talk to when they really want to know the truth. Michael Allen is one of those people. He was there at the start of the eLearning industry and has devoted his entire career to nurturing, shaping, growing and, sometimes, disciplining entire generations of learning professionals who seized on an approach to development that Michael helped to create. Michael Allen's Guide to e-Learning is a must read for anyone (ANYONE) who aspires to create meaningful, measurable and impactful e-learning.”
—Larry Israelite
“Being in the industry for many years, seeing the constant flux of change, it is refreshing to see professionals that remain adamant on certain qualities and still recognize the difference communicating ideas and concepts effectively can make in all these forces pulling the industry in every direction. As Michael recognizes, “learning begins by drawing the learner's attention. A meaningful task challenge takes the place of traditional learning objectives”. Indeed, creativity and the ability to write content that is meaningful, motivational, and memorable at the same time, however essential skills, are not to be taken for granted. I am re-assured that we do enter the next age still with a few great professionals to hold as beacons of quality and true essence in this constant changing.”
—Christopher Pappas, MBA, MEDFounder & Owner of the eLearning Industry Network
“Michael Allen, one of the ‘e-learning elite,’ has crafted a second edition that is more relevant and practical than ever. His ‘Seven Magic Keys to Motivational eLearning’ are worth the price of the book alone! This book is sure to be your go-to guide for everything ‘e.’”
—Elaine BiechAuthor Training and Development for Dummies and 101 Ways to Make Learning Active Beyond the Classroom Editor ATD Handbook
“This is an excellent example-filled update for the novice practitioner or the experienced one wanting to catch up – and brush up.”
—Dr. Jane BozarthAuthor of Better than Bullet Points and From Analysis to Evaluation eLearning Coordinator for the state of NC.
“Michael Allen nails it. This rework of classic is itself, an instant classic. He reminds us that creating meaningful, memorable, and motivational learning experiences is hard but critically important work. He presents tangible, accessible and highly impactful guidance for anyone designing instruction and crafts a stunning defense against those who want to create instruction by ‘taking the easy way out.’ His recommendations, examples and stories are based on rich intellectual knowledge of instructional design and vast experience in the field. If you want a book that will make you a better designer of instruction there is no other book.”
—Dr. Karl M. KappProfessor of Instructional Technology, Bloomsburg University Author of The Gamification of Learning and Instruction
“Over a decade after the first edition, Michael Allen does it again with his second edition—bringing practical, research-inspired wisdom to e-learning design. I can dive in anywhere in the book and find nugget after nugget of inspired practical insights.”
—Will Thalheimer, PhDPresident of Work-Learning Research, Inc
“It would be difficult to find any important topics regarding the e-learning industry that aren't covered in this amazing volume. It is both a primer for those new to the industry and a reminder of what really matters to anyone who is already working in this field.”
—Joe GanciPresident, eLearningJoe, LLC
“If you only read one book on eLearning and instructional design, let this be it. Full of updated and practical examples for today's generation of e-learning designers, you'll walk away inspired and more knowledgeable than before.”
—Cammy BeanVP of Learning Design at Kineo Author of The Accidental Instructional Designer: Learning Design for the Digital Age
“When Michael Allen talks, I want to listen! While the book covers many of the basics that a new practitioner would need, Dr. Allen also uses humor to challenge even experienced practitioners so that we don't slip into bad habits or adopt hot trends just because they're hot. He helps us stay the course.”
—Diane ElkinsFounder, Artisan E-Learning
“I often close my critique of a student's work with the question “Are you having fun?” I often close my email with the axiom ‘Instructional Design is Fun!’ and Michael Allen provides a way for those assigned to design e-learning to have fun creating learning experiences that will help their learners have fun as they acquire the skills being taught. As he notes e-learning has become pervasive but, as he also correctly observes, way too much of this flood of online instruction is boring, ineffective, inefficient, and expensive because it wastes the student's time and does not accomplish the goals of the organization providing the training. Michael's Guide to e-Learning is a very pragmatic approach that attempts to provide a simple way to design instruction that is meaningful, motivating and motivational while painlessly implementing the best that research has to say about effective, efficient and engaging instruction. This guide is a must read for everyone who is tasked to design e-learning whether trained instructional designers or designers-by-assignment. You'll be glad you did. Keep smiling!”
—David Merrill
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword by Tony Bingham
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: What's New?
What's new in our field? What's new in this second edition of the
Guide
?
Nothing Has Changed
Everything Has Changed!
Can This Book Make Sense of It All?
Part I: The Business Perspective
Chapter 2: Plain Talk
Success is getting people to do the right thing at the right time!
The e-Learning Dream
Rationale for Reduced Quality
This Just In: Effective e-Learning Is Practical
Want Proof?
Chapter 3: What You Don't Know Can Kill (Your e-Learning)
To-Do-List Projects
Informal On-the-Job Training: A Toxic Elixir for Poor Training
An Example
The Takeaways
Chapter 4: Making Success Possible
Unrecognized Contextual Factors
Change Is Necessary
Prerequisites to Success
Is Performer Competency the Problem?
Throw Some Training at It
Nonperformance Problems
Just Do It—It's Easy
Disguised Competency Problems
Good Performance Is Possible
Incentives Exist for Good Performance
Use Training to Fix the Performance Environment
There Are No Penalties for Good Performance
Essential Resources for e-Learning Solutions Are Available
Why Do We Do Things That We Know Are Wrong?
How to Do the Right Thing
Design—The Means to Success
e-Learning or Bust
Quick and Easy
Learning Objects
Art or Science?
Problems Applying Research Results
A Pragmatic Approach
The Takeaways
Chapter 5: Executive's Guide to Good e-Learning
Design versus Technology
Three Priorities for Training Success
Chapter 6: Where Does e-Learning Fit?
Fitting Strategy to Targeted Outcomes
Type of Content
You Have Choices
Partnerships
The Takeaways
Part II: Great e-Learning Design
Chapter 7: Seven Simple Success Strategies
As Simple as Possible
The Takeaways
Chapter 8: The Serious e-Learning Manifesto
Quality Obligations
Page Turners
Basic Principles
Design Values
The Principles
A Goal to Strive For
The Takeaways
Chapter 9: Motivation in Learning
The e-Learning Equation
E-Learning Design Can Heighten as Well as Stifle Motivation
Chapter 10: Seven Magic Keys to Motivational e-Learning
Using the Magic Keys
Magic Key 1: Build on Anticipated Outcomes
Magic Key 2: Put the Learner at Risk
Magic Key 3: Select the Right Content for Each Learner
Magic Key 4: Use an Appealing Context
Magic Key 5: Have the Learner Perform Multistep Tasks
Magic Key 6: Provide Intrinsic Feedback
Magic Key 7: Delay Judgment
The Takeaways
Chapter 11: Navigation
Victim or Master?
Navigation Services
Reusable Navigation
Learning Management Systems
Navigation Imperatives
Additional Learner-Interface Ideas
Navigation Examples
Navigational Metaphors
The Takeaways
Chapter 12: CCAF and Interactive Instruction
Supernatural Powers
Instructional Interactivity Defined
Anatomy of Good Interactions
The Elusive Essence of Good Interactivity
Pseudo Interactivity
Questioning versus Interactivity
The Takeaways
Chapter 13: Interactivity Paradigms That Work
Trapdoor Hints
Task Model
Enhanced Drill and Practice
Problem-Solving Investigation
Discovery
Storytelling
The Takeaways
Chapter 14: Successive Approximation and SAM
A Multifaceted Challenge
Successive Approximation
Change Requires Leadership
Successive Approximation Model (SAM)
Three-Phase SAM
More Help
The Takeaways
Part III: Serious Learning Games
Chapter 15: Serious Learning Games: Where Rules Rule
Fun and Learning
The Essence of Serious Learning Games
The Fundamentals
Making a Serious Learning Game
The Takeaways
Chapter 16: Integrating Instructional Content and Games
Types of Games
Fun in Learning
Building Serious Learning Games
The Takeaways
Chapter 17: Learning Games, Serious or Not?
Selecting the Best Framework
Instructional Thinking
Theoretical Frameworks
Intrigue
The Takeaways
About the Author
References
Additional Resources
Index
End User License Agreement
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Guide
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
List of Illustrations
Chapter 2: Plain Talk
Figure 2.1 Circle 1— the success cycle.
Figure 2.2 Optimal training project budget.
Figure 2.3 Circle 2— failure cycle.
Figure 2.4 Boring instruction is too expensive.
Chapter 3: What You Don't Know Can Kill (Your e-Learning)
Figure 3.1 Transformed goals.
Figure 3.2 Stacked costs of poor training.
Figure 3.3 Page turner.
Figure 3.4 Page turner with question.
Figure 3.5 Learner activity in an authentic context.
Figure 3.6 Let the learner play.
Figure 3.7 Learner experience teaches the principle.
Figure 3.8 Confirming feedback is almost unnecessary.
Chapter 4: Making Success Possible
Figure 4.1 Partnership of responsibilities.
Figure 4.2 Specificity of RLOs versus applicability.
Chapter 5: Executive's Guide to Good e-Learning
Figure 5.1 Emphasis on learner motivation.
Chapter 6: Where Does e-Learning Fit?
Figure 6.1 Misaligned instructional strategies.
Figure 6.2 Adapting e-learning strategies to primary performance outcomes.
Figure 6.3 Appropriate e-learning strategies considering (1) desired outcomes, (2) nature of the task, and (3) learner readiness.
Figure 6.4 Success requires management support and performance-focused design.
Figure 6.5 Bridge over troubled e-learning.
Chapter 7: Seven Simple Success Strategies
Figure 7.1 Basic Successive Approximation Model (Simple SAM).
Chapter 9: Motivation in Learning
Figure 9.1 Effect of motivation on behavior.
Chapter 10: Seven Magic Keys to Motivational e-Learning
Figure 10.1 Prime motivators.
Figure 10.2 Components of instructional objectives.
Figure 10.3 A meaningful task challenge takes the place of traditional learning objectives.
Figure 10.4 Jumping right in: The initial activity is interesting and authentic.
Figure 10.5 Listening carefully: Learners need to take cues from the customer's profile and comments.
Figure 10.6 Consequences provide memorable feedback.
Figure 10.7 A personal thank-you provides effective rewards.
Figure 10.8 Computer games successfully teach hundreds of facts and procedures.
Figure 10.9 Learning through rehearsal
Figure 10.10 Alert to active learning appears even in the initial screen.
Figure 10.11 Active learning begins almost immediately.
Figure 10.12 A quick performance-monitored walkthrough leads to more detailed instruction only if needed.
Figure 10.13 Challenge levels advance to demand authentic skilled performance.
Figure 10.14 Feedback notes all errors specifically and indicates this learner can try this level again.
Figure 10.15 Challenge levels advance to demand authentic skilled performance.
Figure 10.16 The risk of dropping down a level is a constant motivator.
Figure 10.17 Common instruction paradigm.
Figure 10.18 Individualization rating for common instruction.
Figure 10.19 Selective instruction paradigm.
Figure 10.20 Individualization rating for selective instruction.
Figure 10.21 Remedial instruction paradigm.
Figure 10.22 Individualization rating for remedial instruction.
Figure 10.23 Individualized instruction paradigm.
Figure 10.24 Framework of individualized instruction adapts to job requirements.
Figure 10.25 Individualization rating for individualized instruction.
Figure 10.26 Tell and test.
Figure 10.27 Test and tell.
Figure 10.28
Do the Dip!
: Learners must decide whether or not it is appropriate to dip fruit when preparing a fresh fruit tray.
Figure 10.29 Correct responses are reinforced with a
Do the Dip!
stamp on selected fruit.
Figure 10.30 Incorrect responses result in brown, unappealing fruit.
Figure 10.31 Success results in a completed platter and reminders posted on each fruit.
Figure 10.32 IBM Selectric typewriter and type ball.
Figure 10.33 Partial skills hierarchy for playing poker.
Figure 10.34 Learning begins by drawing the learner's attention.
Figure 10.35 Story, art, and CCAF combine into a compelling context to make content interesting.
Figure 10.36 Key performance indicators (KPIs) provide authentic performance feedback.
Figure 10.37 Feedback comes primarily as consequences to learner decisions.
Figure 10.38 Real-world problems emerge as learners work to achieve their primary goals.
Figure 10.39 Weather, mechanical breakdowns, political unrest, and many more challenges crop up.
Figure 10.40 Help is always available, but the scenario clock presses on.
Figure 10.41 The learner chooses objects and glues to build a bridge to get the elephant from its glass ledge to the grassy cliff.
Figure 10.42 A successful combination: Super glue attached the saw blade to the glass platform!
Figure 10.43 An unsuccessful combination: Rubber cement didn't hold the phonebook to the sawblade and the elephant comes tumbling down.
Figure 10.44 Learners can explore the characteristics of adhesives in detail.
Figure 10.45 The task is completed successfully, allowing elephants to cross the bridge in glee.
Figure 10.46 Learning begins with an open challenge.
Figure 10.47 Learner-selected questions reveal information that may or may not be relevant.
Figure 10.48 Information accumulates as learners explore.
Figure 10.49 When learners signal they're done investigating, they're asked for their assessments.
Figure 10.50 Learners practice identifying concerning information.
Figure 10.51 Follow-up activities are taken based on learner-selected concerns.
Figure 10.52 Uncertainty and ambiguity are typical conditions learners must work with. Judgment is minimized in favor of consequences and delayed performance assessments.
Figure 10.53 Ask learners why their answers are correct.
Figure 10.54 The dialog may take many paths. Some messages are good at some times and not at others.
Figure 10.55 Intermediate consequences are evident in the customer replies.
Figure 10.56 The delayed final feedback is structured to reinforce the company's sales process.
Chapter 11: Navigation
Figure 11.1 ZebraZapps' Sneak Peek feature used here on a mobile device by International Dairy Queen to allow browsing through course contents.
Figure 11.2 ZebraZapps' Sneak Peek feature used by Hilton allows browsing, quick learner preview and access to course content.
Figure 11.3 A simple, informative progress indicator.
Figure 11.4 Helpful progress indication.
Figure 11.5 Templates ease development of helpful navigation.
Figure 11.6 ICIS navigation bar (split in two here for a better view)
Figure 11.7 WorldTutor screen layout with bottom navigation bar.The current section and the total number of sections in the current topic are displayed above the arrow buttons. Numbered tabs represent topics. The current topic is highlighted.
Figure 11.8 Topic titles appear on tab rollover. As shown, Topic 1 is the “Introduction.”
Figure 11.9 Topics listed along with content sections each contains.
Figure 11.10 Topic tabs show status and progress. Topic 5 is the current topic. Topics 1, 2, and 4 have been completed. Topics 2 and 4 are earmarked for review.
Figure 11.11 Handy navigation buttons.
Figure 11.12 More handy navigation services.
Chapter 12: CCAF and Interactive Instruction
Figure 12.1 Components of instructional interactivity.
Figure 12.2 Office context in
Supervisor Effectiveness
training for employee security.
Figure 12.3 Viewing thoughts of employees.
Figure 12.4 Learners drag the selected employee's icon into their office.
Figure 12.5 Feedback with instruction.
Figure 12.6 Feedback after correct threat identification.
Figure 12.7 Multistep activity continues with questioning the employee to gather more information.
Figure 12.8 The setup for OLI's
Railroad Safety for Professional Drivers
Figure 12.9 Animation provides an authentic context by making learners feel as though they are moving down the road.
Figure 12.10 Distractions, such as a helpful bystander, tempt drivers to abandon safety procedures.
Figure 12.11 Running a stop sign and other driving transgressions require, as in many games, the learner/player to start over.
Figure 12.12 As happens far too often on the road, learners in this simulation are reminded of severe consequences possible for poor performance.
Figure 12.13 A cognitive map.
Figure 12.14 Binary choice via key press.
Figure 12.15 The same binary choice via drag and drop.
Figure 12.16 The same binary choice via text entry.
Figure 12.17 The same binary choice via buttons.
Figure 12.18 Again, the same binary choice via clickable objects.
Chapter 13: Interactivity Paradigms That Work
Figure 13.1 Trapdoor hints.
Figure 13.2 A task model challenge starts the interaction.
Figure 13.3 Learners are encouraged to see whether they can meet challenges without help, although plenty of help is available.
Figure 13.4 Learners can request the form of help they prefer.
Figure 13.5 Spaced practice using the Corrective Feedback Paradigm.
Figure 13.6 Context screen of
Who Wants to Be a Miller
?
Figure 13.7 Learners click to open and close wheat supply chutes.
Figure 13.8 Reviewing the types of flour.
Figure 13.9 Learner errors trigger corrective feedback.
Figure 13.10 Problem-solving investigation in which learners first check behavioral notes on team members and identify a suspect.
Figure 13.11 Learner is asked to select and order actions to take.
Figure 13.12 Feedback reveals important information in context.
Figure 13.13 One of the situations learners assess while playing the role of an antiterrorism officer.
Figure 13.14 At a location of interest to the learner, there are many actions to chose from and a notepad to collect information on which to base later decisions.
Figure 13.15 Student must select prudent questions to ask.
Figure 13.16 Identifying evidence.
Figure 13.17 Final delayed feedback.
Figure 13.18 Photographic roster.
Figure 13.19 Unfolding stories present options.
Figure 13.20 Personal feedback is provided to learners after they draw personal conclusions and click to e-mail them to their instructor.
Chapter 14: Successive Approximation and SAM
Figure 14.1 The ADDIE method.
Figure 14.2 The Successive Approximation Model.
Figure 14.3 Storyboards typically include screen layout sketches and detailed written descriptions of how interactions should work.
Figure 14.4 Simple SAM iteration.
Figure 14.5 Three-phase SAM is useful for larger projects and outsourced development.
Figure 14.6 Iterative design phase.
Figure 14.7 Iterative development phase.
Chapter 15: Serious Learning Games: Where Rules Rule
Figure 15.1 SLGs merge instructional content and Outcome Rules.
Chapter 16: Integrating Instructional Content and Games
Figure 16.1 Types of games and value of player strategy.
Figure 16.2 Basic game rules comprise the learning content in games of chance.
Figure 16.3 Targeted learning content is external in memory games.
Figure 16.4 Learning content in strategic games.
Figure 16.5 Levels of learning in strategic games.
Figure 16.6 Initial Rules of Play.
Figure 16.7 Game board for Sunny Side Grill. This player dragged raw foods at top to grill and skillet, waited until properly cooked, and then dragged them to plates below, matching color-coded order tickets on the left.
Figure 16.8 Challenge levels increase as players demonstrate mastery.
Figure 16.9 Reference information available to players upon request.
Chapter 17: Learning Games, Serious or Not?
Figure 17.1 Expected return on investment.
Figure 17.2 Extrinsic game board.
Figure 17.3 Actions modify the situation and create the next challenge.
Figure 17.4 Context, situations, and actions in intrinsic games.
Figure 17.5 Compounding consequences of actions in intrinsic games.
List of Tables
Chapter 2: Plain Talk
Table 2.1 Good e-Learning
Table 2.2 Documented Benefits of e-Learning
Chapter 4: Making Success Possible
Table 4.1 e-Learning Opportunities
Table 4.2 Human Resources Needed for e-Learning Design
Table 4.3 Repurposing Content vs. Designing Interactive Learning
Table 4.4 Reusable Learning Objects
Chapter 6: Where Does e-Learning Fit?
Table 6.1 A Smart Approach to e-Learning
Chapter 7: Seven Simple Success Strategies
Table 7.1 Matching Instructional Strategies
Chapter 10: Seven Magic Keys to Motivational e-Learning
Table 10.1 Ways to Enhance Learning Motivation—the Seven Magic Keys
Table 10.2 Behavioral Objectives—AccepTable Verbs
Table 10.3 More Motivating Objective Statement
Table 10.4 Risk as a Motivator
Table 10.5 Learning Resource Selection
Table 10.6 Selecting Content to Match Learner Needs
Table 10.7 Motivating Contexts
Table 10.8 Examples of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Feedback
Chapter 11: Navigation
Table 11.1 Handy Learner-Interface Features
Chapter 12: CCAF and Interactive Instruction
Table 12.1 Characteristics of Good and Poor Interaction Components
Table 12.2 Good Instructional Interactions—A Three-Point Checklist
Table 12.3 Presentations versus Interactivity
Table 12.4 EPSS versus Interactivity
Chapter 14: Successive Approximation and SAM
Table 14.1 Brainstorming Techniques
Chapter 16: Integrating Instructional Content and Games
Table 16.1 Utility of Nonstrategic and Strategic Games for Learning
Table 16.2 Parallel Uses of CCAF for Entertainment Games and SLGs
Chapter 17: Learning Games, Serious or Not?
Table 17.1 Pros and Cons of Extrinsic Learning Games
Table 17.2 Instructional Strategies for Each Type of Content
Table 17.3 Bloom's Taxonomy (Modified)
Table 17.4 Sugrue's Content-Performance Matrix
Table 17.5 Dimensions of Human Motivation (The ARCS Model)
Michael Allen’s Guide to e-Learning
SECOND EDITION
Building Interactive, Fun, and Effective Learning Programs for Any Company
Michael W. Allen
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Copyright © 2016 by Michael W. Allen. All rights reserved
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Cover Image: Scott Colehour, Solutions Architect at Allen Interactions
In Memoriam
This book is dedicated to my nieceRev. Kelly Allenwho was an inspiration to so many through herexemplary life andher tireless fight for the poor, discriminated, and defenseless.Taken from us far too soon, I know Kelly,an indefatigable scholar,would encourage all efforts to help people learn anddevelop their full potential.
Foreword
Meaningful. Memorable. Motivational. When was the last time you applied those three words to an e-learning course you took?
My guess is you might answer “never” or “rarely.” And that's a problem.
It's a problem Michael Allen masterfully tackles in the second edition of Michael Allen's Guide to e-Learning.
Nearly thirteen years ago, when Michael published the first edition of this work, the case was still being built for the viability of technology-enabled learning. The debates raged about whether e-learning was actually learning, and whether people could learn via computers. Classroom was king and Michael's work helped open eyes and minds to how technology could enable learning on a scale previously unimagined. These were the days before tablets and smartphones, before Facebook and Twitter, before MOOCs and the Khan Academy. And Michael's resounding call about the viability of e-learning rang loud and strong. But he also challenged us to understand that the value of e-learning wasn't about the technology—it was about designing for the technology and making e-learning something different, something powerful, and something meaningful.
Today, the conversation is a bit different. Learning via technology is pervasive. Online courses are offered to students in elementary schools, and most young people will tell you their #1 research tool is YouTube. Organizations continue to increase the use of technology to deliver learning. We know that people can and do learn via technology—and some prefer to learn that way. But e-learning still has not realized its full potential. There's more of it, yes. But that doesn't mean that what's available is making enough of a difference in the lives of learners.
Michael talks about the “3Ms” (meaningful, memorable, motivational) in Chapter 5 (Executive's Guide to Good e-Learning) and states, “What I value are meaningful, memorable, and motivational learning experiences because they have the best chance of enabling people to do what they want and need to do.” This is a powerful statement that extends well beyond the context of e-learning. In fact, I think it is a lens through which all of us in the talent development profession can evaluate what we do and how we do it.
It's critically important that we understand that the courses we design and deliver must be relevant to the learner. In organizations, learning's relevance means aligning to goals and strategies that are meaningful to stakeholders and to employees. Some of this is about the learning experience, certainly, but there's more to the story.
To be relevant and to create meaningful content, talent development professionals must partner with stakeholders to fully understand their needs, and then design courses and learning initiatives that address knowledge and performance needs, close skill gaps, and prepare pipelines of ready talent. This requires intentionality, preparation, and an investment of time—things that are often lacking because they are not valued as critical parts of the process.
We need to change how we think about what we do, why it's important, and what it can achieve. The power of learning should not be undervalued or underestimated. Learners must do their own learning, of course, but those in the talent development profession are uniquely positioned to make that learning meaningful, memorable, and motivational. When we rise to that challenge we have the ability to affect real change and growth.
And that is Michael's call to us. His passion for the “why” behind e-learning is evident in every page of this book. He's brought new thinking and new insights to this second edition. He's not only updated the content, he's updated the context. He helps us see that just because we're swimming in technology, doesn't mean we're using it well. He makes it very clear we're not reaching our potential when it comes to e-learning.
And then he offers us a road map. As only Michael Allen can, he's laid out examples and tactics and resources in a meaningful, memorable, and motivational way.
I encourage everyone with a passion for learning to read this book. It will inspire your work.
Tony BinghamATD President and CEOJune 2016
Preface
It seems like yesterday when the first edition of Michael Allen's Guide to e-Learning was published. But it was actually almost 13 years ago when the first copy was delivered to my doorstep on Christmas Day, even finding me vacationing with my family on Grand Cayman Island. Talk about your publisher pulling out all the stops to deliver a present at the best time and place!
When writing the first edition, I thought about how much I learned from very early endeavors in e-learning. Each undertaking was a serious event because expensive equipment was involved, programming took a lot of time and effort, and there were many skeptics ready to point out shortcomings. Disrupting sacred traditions of teaching, introducing cold insensitive machinery, and suggesting that teachers might better use their time as a resource to students rather than as presenters were bold and radical.
Nevertheless, there were inspiring achievements in that early work, along with many demonstrations of ineffective directions, too. The future promised meaningful, memorable, and motivational learning opportunities for all—if and when the barrier of delivery costs were overcome.
Not only have delivery costs dropped to negligible levels (something we honestly couldn't have contemplated), but the capabilities of the delivery systems are now also greatly expanded to include video, animation, instantaneous searches of live data, portability, and so much more. We now have none of the barriers we previously faced to provide excellent learning opportunities to all citizens of planet Earth—and at a very low cost, if any.
But what's happened?
Well, the situation flip-flopped. In centers where instructional technology was being developed and tested, researchers developed critical know-how regarding how to use technology effectively. But today, we have legions of people who are blithely confident that their abilities to use tools to present content and ask questions are sufficient. Instead of repeated evaluations to make certain instructional software is effective before going live on expensive delivery systems, e-learning courseware is now routinely delivered with no evaluation ever. Today, we're concerned about every minute of authoring time as opposed to the much more important volumes of hours learners spend, productively or not.
So, the mission of this book has not changed. I continue to look for simplifying methods of courseware design that can both reduce authoring time and, most importantly increase learning impact. I believe much of what I offered in the first edition remains valid, but I've gathered and share herein additional concepts and methods that are useful to my colleagues and me.
Examples are always valuable, so I've updated examples, retaining a few that seem to make some points as clear as can be and adding new ones for inspiration. Because the nature of interactive instructional designs can best be understood by describing the essential components of context, challenge, activity, and feedback (CCAF), many of the examples are presented through identification of these components.
Second Edition Examples
Chapter
Page
Concept
Example Title
3
36
Experiences vs. presentations
Locating an Earthquake's Epicenter
10
138
Building motivation through anticipated outcomes vs. learning objectives
Expedia Travel Planning
10
150
Using risk to increase learning motivation
Sunnyside Grill
10
166
Reversing traditional “tell and test” to measuring abilities first (testing) allows subsequent instruction to be tailored to individual needs
Cooking with Flair: Preparing Fruits, Salads, and Vegetables
10
183
A compelling story and novel are combine to make an engaging context
Manhattan Associates: Supply Chain Training
10
187
Using a novel context to make learning experiences memorable
Why Does Glue Stick?
10
193
Authentic multistep tasks engage learners more deeply and help transfer learning to performance
POST LERT First Responder
10
205
Delayed judgment is more representative of the performance feedback learners receive on the job
AutoNation: Customer Care
11
218
Allowing learners to browse and assess courseware as easily as they would a book
ZebraZapps “Sneak Peek” feature
11
227
Multifunction navigation bar provides controls and status information
NYI Medical Center: ICIS patient records
11
228
Reusable model implements all navigation imperatives
American Airlines WorldTutor
12
238
Primary components of instructional interactivity (CCAF)
Supervisor Effectiveness: Employee Security
12
244
Second example of CCAF
Railroad Safety for Professional Drivers
12
260
Varying complexity of user gestures doesn't equate to more effective learning experiences
Deciduous and Coniferous Trees
13
268
Models That Work
: Increased incentive to learn when available help takes more effort to access
Airline Reservations and Ticketing
13
271
Models That Work
: Task Model
NYU Medical: Integrated Clinical Information System
13
278
Models That Work
: Corrective Feedback Paradigm (CFP)
Who Wants to Be a Miller?
13
284
Models That Work
: Problem-Solving Investigation
Corning Substance Abuse
13
288
Models That Work
: Discovery learning
POST-LERT—Recognizing and Reporting
13
293
Models That Work
: Storytelling
In Their Virtual Shoes (Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
16
349
Integrating games and learning content
Sunnyside Grill
17
361
Using extrinsic games for drills and practice
Modified Jeopardy Board
I hope you'll agree this edition digs to the roots of excellent learning experiences, identifies and clarifies the critical components, shows how to match instructional strategies to identified types of targeted outcomes, and simplifies instructional design in valid, practical ways.
I'm so grateful for the great flood of feedback from the first edition. It has inspired me in countless ways, and I've learned so much from readers and their feedback. Please, do let me hear from you!
Michael AllenFebruary 2016
Acknowledgments
I am very much indebted to the many people who have cheerfully assisted in the production of this book and to those who inspired it by so enthusiastically sharing with me their experiences with the first edition—my first published book. What fun it has been to autograph copies and pose in selfies with my readers.
My appreciation goes to those who have educated, hired, and inspired me, those who have set the example of sharing objective evaluations and opinions of alternative approaches to e-learning, my employees who strive daily to design and produce the best learning experiences possible within given constraints, and my friends and family—without whose support there would be no second edition.
As in the first edition, the examples shown offer real, functional e-learning applications. There are no abstract mockups here. I am so proud to be able to share that first collection of work, not only because they are such fine accomplishments, but also because those who commissioned them are proud of them—and proud enough to share them publicly. This time around, I had many more candidate examples than I had space for. It was hard to choose. With our studios producing countless works for the most prestigious and demanding corporations, and achieving more awards than we can possibly display at one time, the library of examples has grown to immense proportions.
Steve Lee was invaluable in his assistance sorting through projects, recommending examples, and annotating their notable characteristics, just as Ethan Edwards was for the prior collection, some of which were retained because they so perfectly illustrate key concepts. Helpful editorial feedback came from Ellen Burns and Michelle Kenoyer.
My assistants, Sarah Bertram and Jose Benitez, worked tirelessly with document management, formatting, communicating, coordinating, and so much more. Try as I would to confuse things, they kept sorting things out and calming my hysterics.
Linda Rening, a talented writer, experienced editor, and the nicest, warmest person you'll ever meet, volunteered to edit my ramblings while also giving me helpful feedback on content. Her sharp and creative eye is responsible for whatever appeals to you in this text; the rest of it is my doing.
Chris Palm and Joslyn Schmitt did a fantastic job of providing a more modern aesthetic to the book through a redesign of old graphics and creation of new ones. They have tremendous talent, are spectacularly fast, and are really fun to work with. Thank you to Scott Colehour and Pete Lisowski for their efforts to produce a presentable cover photo.
I couldn't be more grateful to Tony Bingham for his encouragement of this work and ATD's promotion of the concepts through workshops, webinars, and bookstore events. Please note Tony's foreword herein. We're all so lucky to have his leadership in our industry. Special thanks also to Glenn Bull and [email protected] for their permission to use their great comic strips. It's important to keep good humor as we tackle the many diverse opinions on what makes good instruction and how to create it.
Special thanks to Martin Lipshutz, my business partner and a confident and steady rudder who keeps Allen Interactions functioning smoothly and efficiently while I devote so much time to works like this. And my hat goes off to all the others who somehow manage to devote the time and effort it takes to publish works of guidance on e-learning. I know how much time and energy it takes and the sacrifices involved, but I always learn so much when reading your publications, and I always try to integrate the contemporary thinking, knowledge, and experience of others into my work.
Again, my wife and family do so much to accommodate my mental fugues and sojourns, which happen so unpredictably. I always come back, and without having to ask “What did I miss?” I can count on an empathetic account to catch me up. They are the biggest supporters of my happiness and goals.
Thank you all.
Chapter 1What's New?
What's new in our field? What's new in this second edition of the Guide?
Useful world knowledge continues to advance by leaps and bounds. Along with the growth of knowledge comes the need for more effective access, communication, and aids to learning these ever-more-complex understandings.
Similarly, brain research continues to inform conversations across multiple disciplines (Blakemore and Frith, 2005) and appears on the edge of providing valuable insights for teaching, although we remain short of transferring knowledge instantly and bioelectrically as forecast in the movie The Matrix:
Neo:
Trinity:
Tank:
Trinity:
As technology transforms in amazing ways, often with unexpected consequences, I'm ready to think we will find effortless ways to transfer knowledge and skills at some point. But as appealing as that is, we need to accept the fact we're just not there yet. In the meantime, the question should be: while it's still necessary for learners to do their own learning, how can we best facilitate the process?
My observation is that we continue to look for unrealistically easy answers. We even hope simple access to information may preclude the need for any instruction or learning at all. It seems we want to avoid the work of creating meaningful, memorable, motivational learning experiences, even though there's no doubt they provide the best way for people to learn and improve performance. There's no evidence the fundamentals of human brain function have changed recently and diminished the value of effective instruction. But we seem to keep looking for signs that has occurred as an excuse for not doing the admittedly challenging work of instructional design.
Although there are frequent claims that succeeding generations learn in different ways, most are myths (Bruyckere, Kirschner, and Hulshof, 2015). I've seen no foundational changes in what we know about how people learn or in what we know about effective instruction. The critical principles remain valid and, sadly, unheeded. And yet claims abound that, with advances in technology, everything has changed.
This edition of Michael Allen's Guide to e-Learning was created to respond to the assertions that everything has changed and quality instructional design is no longer critical. Responses are provided through:
New perspectives on the hyperbolical claims that everything has changed
Additional efforts to simplify and clarify foundational principles that haven't changed (and aren't likely ever to change)
A fresh, new, and expanded collection of examples of approaches that work
To get started, let's take a look at these opposing perspectives—that nothing fundamental has changed versus everything (or at least a whole lot) has changed.
Nothing Has Changed
Let's first consider the perspective that nothing has changed—at least not the most important aspects of learning and instruction. Take the process of human learning, for instance. The foundations of human learning have not changed, despite concerning attempts to excuse lack of instructional effectiveness by suggesting the human brain works differently now that we're in the digital age (Bruyckere et al., 2015, p. 142).
We're still quite certain that much of human learning is centralized in the brain and that information gets to the brain through our nervous system from our senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and through kinesthesia (awareness of the position and movement of body parts that is essential in coordinated activity).
We also remain confident that meaningful learning is a function of tying new information to existing, well-rooted knowledge and physical skills. And, we know most well-rooted knowledge and physical skills were established through experience and practiced application. We understand that it takes energy to learn and that learners must spend this energy themselves; we cannot learn for them. We know motivation behaves like a water hose to direct attention and release energy, and we know motivations fluctuate up and down in response to situations, such as rising scores in a game, an inspiring TED speaker, or boring e-learning.
We have considerable evidence that practice aids learning, and practice spaced over time leads to more enduring memory and behavior patterns. We also know:
Examples are more effective when paired with counterexamples
Worked problems provide clarity often missing from instruction
Consequences shown in response to specific learner behaviors elevate helpful emotional involvement as well as understanding and do so more effectively than simple, right/wrong feedback
For decades now, the Successive Approximations Model (SAM) has been a remarkably effective process and alternative approach to designing and building learner-centered learning experiences. It has been less widely known and applied than it is today, so perhaps there's been some change here. Its value is now even more certain. Coverage of SAM in the first edition of this book resulted in a flood of appreciative feedback, so it remains a centerpiece of this edition as well, updated a bit from the work we've done to prepare for workshops and webinars on the process and from feedback from countless applications.
In summary, we really know quite a lot about human learning, effective instruction, and instructional design. These long-standing foundational concepts continue to offer valuable guidance. That's why we can say: nothing critical has changed, including the need for us all to pay greater attention to validated fundamentals. And, in this second edition, foundational concepts remain in the spotlight. They are covered as straightforwardly as I could manage.
Everything Has Changed!
An alternate perspective—perhaps the more commonly held perspective—is that so much has changed in the world of e-learning, we are almost starting from a clean slate. The one correct aspect of that assertion is that today one might not even recognize what's going on in the field of e-learning as an outgrowth of its origins.
In its infancy, instructional design for e-learning was taken very seriously, the paradigms we used were an outgrowth of learning science, and we carefully evaluated courseware before launching it to larger populations of learners. Today, the prevalent notion is, “thank goodness, instructional design isn't that complicated. It's not really a profession. Everyone can develop good instruction. You just need to remember the six steps.”
Although I endeavor to help everyone attempting to design instruction to find ways to be effective, and I actually think many people complicate the process unnecessarily, it's very troublesome to see so many do-it-yourself lists presented as sufficient guidelines to genuine design integrity and excellence.
Let's look at some of the changes frequently noted—the good, the bad, and the very much unexpected.
Prevalence of e-Learning
One obvious change is that e-learning is no longer new or a novelty for most organizations and institutions. Its use has spread broadly, and there is a plethora of ways technology is used—all unfortunately lumped into the category e-learning. Today, 77 percent of U.S. companies offer e-learning in their professional development programs (Roland Berger, 2014). More than 80 percent of higher education institutions offer at least several courses online, and more than half offer a significant number of courses online (EDUCAUSE, 2013).
Low Expectations
In whatever capacity organizations have come to use e-learning, the way they use it defines what e-learning is and, very often, what they think it should and will be for them. In so many cases, initial unguided forays into e-learning reduce delivery costs in the short-term, but achieve little in terms of behavior change or performance improvement. e-Learning has so many more capabilities and advantages than most people ever recognize.
Lost Perspective
At the conception of e-learning, we tried to determine how effective instruction could be delivered via computer technology (Allen, 2008). Missing some of the capabilities of live instructors, but having its own unique capabilities—such as the ability to accommodate needs of any number of learners individually—we asked, Can e-learning be as effective as typical classroom instruction? Could the e-learning experience be even more effective than that delivered by an instructor? The exciting answers, proven now through decades of experiments and applications, are yes and yes.
There was another important observation, too—a broadly evidenced fact: There are many forms of e-learning that are not only poor substitutes for live instruction, but also painfully ineffective and wasteful. Not everything called e-learning has the same utility or capability. Just as not all instructors are effective with the techniques they employ, not all e-learning is effective with the instructional techniques implemented in it. And complicating matters, some forms of e-learning are effective in some circumstances for some goals but not in other circumstances for other goals.
What's changed? The change is that, many years after its conception, people now think of e-learning as an instructional approach, whereas e-learning is actually a delivery platform with an interesting set of capabilities. The instructional design of experiences delivered through e-learning reflects the instructional strategy or pedagogy and determines effectiveness. Because e-learning can provide a wide variety of instructional experiences, it's inappropriate to speak in terms of whether or not e-learning is effective. A specific design must be evaluated in light of the goals for which the e-learning was deployed. And then the results, good or bad, must be attributed only to the design, not to e-learning as a whole. Yet we now deal with the problematic perception that e-learning is a singular and often rather simplistic method of instruction, which is nothing close to its potential.
Lost Expertise
Perhaps the most significant change is the number of people saddled with the responsibility of creating e-learning having so little knowledge of prior work. Whether enthusiastically delving into the field with the confidence—I can do that!—or with the ambition to create better e-learning than they've seen—or having been given the task because no one else was available, many people today have to produce e-learning in shorter and shorter time frames. They simply don't have the time needed to learn fundamentals of good design let alone become proficient at it.
Catering to the demand for instant training, providers of courseware development tools suggest that building courseware is mostly about implementation as opposed to design. Anyone can build great instruction, “just click here.” And people go for it. As a result, much invaluable knowledge about appropriate and effective instructional design is ignored or buried in the past, lost and forgotten.
New (Mobile) Delivery Options
Today, we further complicate the landscape by adding into the mix an expanded variety of delivery technologies of which mobile devices are presently receiving prominent attention. Because a delivery device is mobile, do people learn differently? No, of course not. Despite the fact that some developers of mobile applications claim mobility changes everything, it doesn't. And, excuse me, our reluctance to go along with the new world stance isn't because we're not open to new possibilities; it's because mobility is just one new opportunity technology provides. It's not a panacea for all instruction.
Mobility does offer new possibilities that have great value for certain goals and situations (for an overview of options and carefully considered viewpoints on m-learning, see Quinn, 2011), but it doesn't change the most important factor: the instructional design, not the delivery technology, determines effectiveness.
Mobility provides valuable conveniences and the ability to deliver some learning experiences in real-life contexts, which is sometimes desirable and sometimes very dangerous. We recognize the importance of context—the critical importance of context for learning—but we also prize the possibility of placing learners in multiple contexts and adjusting those contexts to provide a range of examples and challenges that enrich learning. Real-life contexts cannot often be manipulated at practical speeds and costs just for the purpose of instruction, or to meet the needs of each learner.
Questions About Mobile Delivery
With mobility, do we have a different array of instructional approaches to choose from?
To a degree, yes.
Are there more options to create ineffective e-learning?
Unfortunately, yes. (Although, we had plenty of ways to fall short already.)
Does mobility offer additional ways e-learning can be of value?
Yes.
Is making the right instructional design choice more important than ever?
Absolutely. With mobility, there are even more ways to look clever and smart while wasting time, money, and opportunity.
Could we ask the same questions of online video, social learning, serious learning games, real-time simulations, and massive open online courses (MOOCS)? For sure, yes.
And the answers? The same as above.
Mobile Performance Support versus m-Learning
The value of mobility is not to be understated. It can, in fact, bring great value by making other kinds of learning unnecessary. Used as an on-the-spot source of reference material, such as a checklist or a video demonstration, it can make it unnecessary to memorize the same information through learning. The performer need only remember how to access the guidelines or job aids needed to perform to expectations. Even in this, the technology can assist by using either or both global positioning data (GPS) and photographic recognition to look up relevant resources.
This is, indeed, a change to the instructional landscape and a welcome opportunity. But when mobile devices are used for various types of reference access and performance support, these uses should not be called m-learning or any kind of learning. Something more like m-help or m-guidance would be more accurate. This is a different domain with its own challenges and opportunities and can be a welcome complement to instructional systems.
Learning Games
Since the emergence of video games with their avid users and explosive market, we stalwarts in e-learning have witnessed the fact that engaged users will spend long sessions at the keyboard, and learn facts, skills, and strategies for simply the satisfaction of conquest and touting all the fun they've had doing it. This flies in the face of what too many pundits claim: Today's digital learners don't have patience for anything beyond short snippets of information. In many cases, what's learned from entertainment games has some general utility, such as problem recognition, problem solving, and quick keyboard/controller skills. The major skills acquired are, however, typically pertinent only to the game at hand. Yet the time and effort is worth it to the millions of people who build and proudly demonstrate superior game skills. If only we witnessed the same behavior, outcome, and fun reported by e-learners.
e-Learning designers haven't been blind to the coveted attributes of computer games. In the early 1990s, a flood of “edutainment” products hit the market, boasting fun learning. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these products, delivered via CD-ROMs, were neither instructional nor fun. A few succeeded, but what many designers thought would be fun wasn't. It was clear they didn't understand what makes games tick.
Our understanding of games has advanced immeasurably, although groundwork was actually laid for game-based instructional design long ago. The concept of applying the engaging and motivating aspects of games to digital learning experiences, is even older than the work of the 1990s, although you'd think from recent hyperbole the idea has just dawned on us. For a bit of very interesting history, watch the videos at the Computer History Museum covering work done in the 1970s on the PLATO system, much of it looking and feeling like a game, and all of it providing fun immersive and even addictive learning experiences. Here's the link to one: https://youtu.be/rdDwoUk4ojY.
