Introduction

This short book is a collection of some of the posts made on the Elearning Network
website, as part of our annual "24 tips" programme.
We have tried to select those that would be most useful to someone starting out on their
journey with elearning (in all its guises). But don't let that put you off if you've already got
some experience under your belt. There'll be something in here for you too.
We would like to thank all the authors and ELN board members who have put time into
crafting these posts. You'll find a full list of authors at the end of the book. They come from
across the elearning industry, and include users, vendors, consultants and even learners!
Where there are any errors or inconsistencies, please blame the editing process and not
the original authors.
We hope you enjoy reading the book, and find something useful. Please let us have any
feedback on the Elearning Network website.
The book starts with a two sets of rules from Charles Jennings and from Martin Baker that
probably apply to every learning intervention that we might want to design.

About this book

Editors
Mark & Sarah Berthelemy
Wyver Solutions Ltd

Reviewers
The ELN Board

Software used to produce this ebook

All these tools are free, or very low cost.
Wordpress - Used to author the original blog posts on the the ELN Insights blog
wp2epub - Wordpress plugin to convert blog posts to epub
Booktype - used to sort out which posts to keep, put them in order, and edit them. Being
browser-based and multi-user this allowed us to use a Chromebook for editing, whilst

sharing the workload

Google docs - For final, collaborative review of the content
Calibre - to convert the Google doc (via Word format) to ePub
Sigil - for last few bits of tweaking of the epub file
Scribus - title page creation

Lessons learned in producing this ebook

We tried a number of different production routes, which is why there are so many tools
listed above.
Booktype looked to be the ideal, since it could produce both ePub and PDF versions.
However, although the editing worked well, we had a few sticking points at the end of the
production process (small bugs like not coping with changing the name of the book), so
moved to a different route.
We exported to PDF and used Google Docs to review with the ELN Board - as its
commenting features are second-to-none.
Then converted back to ePub using Calibre, and did a final tidy up in Sigil, as the conversion
process from Google docs (.docx format) was not as clean as hoped.
There are still some things that we'd like to fix - like page breaks at odd points. But that's
for a future edition!
If we were doing this again then we'd probably take one of these three routes:
1. Use Booktype, but fixing the name of the book right at the beginning.
2. Paste the articles directly into Sigil as plain text and do the editing and formatting in
there. This would only work, though, in a single-user setting.
3. Build the content in Google Docs, collaboratively, and then upload to Lulu for
conversion to an ebook.

Copyright License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

4.0 International License.

Rules for effective learning

Charles Jennings
Here are four tips for effective learning support, based on the idea that there are four ways
in which we all learn:
Through the experiences we are exposed to
Through the opportunity to practice, especially in context
Through conversation and stories
Through having the opportunity for reflection

Support learning through ensuring exposure to rich and

challenging experiences
Make sure any learning intervention you design or develop - whether it involves elearning or
not is focused on gaining deep engagement with the learner. Experiential learning has far
greater impact than any other approach. If learning content is only informational it will wash
away faster than the receding tide.

Every learning experience should offer the opportunity to

practice
Practice is critical to learning. Practice in context works better than practice away from the
point-of-use. Supported practice in context works best of all. If you can see the opportunity
to provide support and the opportunity for learners to practice in context, then grasp it with
both hands.

Exploit the power of conversation

Rich conversations, sharing with colleagues and peers, are powerful tools for learning. The
social aspect of learning is critical. Good learning design has always included it. In todays
world we have many available options and tools to help us incorporate learning through
conversations, stories and simply sharing experiences so we should never think of
learning without thinking about how to weave conversations and stories into the process.

Provide plenty of time for reflection

The power and usefulness of reflection is something that can be easily forgotten in our fast
moving world. Yet reflection is essential in all learning. The power of reflection can be seen

in simple things, such as taking the time to stop, think and reflect on what went well, what
didnt work out and what youd do next time. As learning professionals, we need to design
learning environments, learning programmes, or elearning courses with plenty of time for
reflection preferably guided reflection built into them.

Ten Top tips for elearning success

Martin Baker
1. Manage eLearning as a professional project
Developing and agreeing the business case, working with stakeholders and
communicating throughout. Spending more time at the start clearly defining needs
and expectations saves time later on.
2. Keep in contact with your learners
Despite eLearning and virtual classrooms being popular, its vital to still have some face
to face learner interaction to keep abreast of their changing needs.
3. Dont underestimate the importance of marketing and communicating the service you
are offering to existing users
Getting people to register on a site is relatively easy; its much harder to get people
using it on a regular basis.
4. Be flexible and be prepared to adapt
Learn to change tack in order to achieve what you want.
5. Once you deliver the product, you have to work hard to get people to use it
Working with line managers is particularly beneficial.
6. Lack of time is often identified as a barrier to usage
Let learners know that the eLearning you are offering can save them time by quickly
and easily providing solutions to issues or concerns they may have.
7. Celebrate achievement
Even if your courses are not accredited, allowing learners to print out Certificates of
Completion provides the learner with evidence of CPD.
8. Immerse yourself in understanding new technologies
This allows your team to build up a toolkit of resources that can be used in any
combination to provide the right solutions.
9. Learn to walk before you run
Success comes in small chunks. Make your resources easy to find and quick to use.
10. Keep reviewing your progress
Plan for the future. The issues you need to deal with will change over time and you
need to be able to adapt to a range of challenges.

Supporting an online learning community

James McLuckie
Digital technology has reshaped the concept of community away from geographical
considerations, to one of relationships and shared interests. Many learning professionals
speak about building a community environment for their learners to collaborate and
communicate within. Such a learning community can be defined as:
A group of people who have a common interest in learning, innovating and exploring a
particular subject or topic. The emphasis is on collaborative discovery and understanding,
and knowledge creation. Through these exchanges the understanding and capability of the
group as a whole progresses.
So what are the core elements for supporting a learning community?

Create a central space

Think about some of the most successful TV programmes of recent years. Theres usually a
hub where the characters get together (e.g. coffee house or pub).
These spaces:
provide a safe environment where characters can be themselves
encourge structure and form to proceedings, created either by personal circumstances,
or by the logistics of the location
allow characters to step outside the community space, and return to share external
stories and experiences
facilitate conversation, allowing problems to be solved, issues debated, planning, and
support through interaction
Thats a robust model to replicate as the hub of your community. So think about a space
(on, say, Moodle, Facebook, or Bloomfire) where you can allow your learners to:
meet
easily navigate
get information
collaborate and share

Create member profiles

In any social situation its important to get to know the people. An effecive way to do that
online is to encourage members to compile a profile.

This helps community members discover common ground, and explore opportunities to work
together. It also provides a greater sense of where the community strengths and interests
lie.
Perhaps ask learners to record a video introduction and post this on YouTube. The key
outcome is to help people to build tangible relationships with each other.

Jointly develop guidelines

Encourage start-up interaction by running an activity where the community collaborate on a
set of guidelines (not rules!) on a wiki or a discussion board. This isnt a list of dos and
donts, but a set of principles for getting the most out of the community.
These principles might include parcipation, trust, purpose, and shared goals.

Include interactive activities

Online activites provide the potential to be creative and create dynamic learning
experiences. However, these activities should support the learning and performance
outcomes, not vice versa.
Additionally, the principles of good instruction are still valid is the activity going to enhance
the learning experience in a meaningful and purposeful way?
The focus needs to be on the purpose of the activity, not the tool. For example, less lets
run an activity on a wiki, more lets build a glossary and a wiki is the ideal tool.
Its not enough to give learners a discussion board and say go discuss. Create reasons
for them to go there: share links, start discussions, seek advice, and propose conundrums.
Learners will soon become more proactive.

Experiment
If you have an idea for an activity but no software to run it, dig around online for a free tool.
For instance, if you want to run a voting pool, a Google search for free voting poll
software produces dozens of results.
A positive about running your community online is that members can often be flexible in their
participation. They can record a screen cast using Screenr, or upload a presentation onto
SlideShare. Theyre not limited to just text.
Encourage reflection by promopting learners to keep a blog on Blogger or WordPress.

Encourage the outside in

Dont take an insular approach to your community. Some will argue for reasons of security
and privacy, but in the vast majority of cases there is no point working in silos or isolated
groups. An open approach to your community creates the conditions to grow collective
intelligence.
Social media tools put us in a fantastic position to tap into individuals, groups and networks
in a quick and easy way that wasnt possible before.
Exploit these possibilities by encouraging community members to tweet questions outside
the community, or to start discussions on LinkedIn about learning goals and findings.
This culture of sharing is very much in the spirit of community and social learning. Give
something to the wider world, and youll get it back in spades.

How to make social media work in

elearning
Laura Overton
Marketers and L&D professionals have very similar challenges as both are looking to
improve the way that they connect with their audience, drive engagement and influence
behaviour. And both are increasingly turning to social media to help address these
challenges.
What top tips can L&D learn from marketing colleagues successes and mistakes?

Master the art of conversation

Marketers have found out the hard way that social media is not just about broadcasting
your companys products and news; it is best used to engage consumers in conversations
that are of interest to them.
Lessons for L&D dont use social media to shout about your existing learning services.
Use social media to engage in new types of conversations between staff, so that
knowledge and understanding is shared and acted upon.

Understand your audience

When First Direct Bank wanted to win back consumer confidence following the banking
crisis, their marketers looked at how their customers appreciated the small things that the
bank did for them. They created a campaign to film reactions of their bank staff giving out
chocolates and flowers to members of the public. Thanks to a little bit of insight, the
programme resulted in over 1,600,0000 hits on their site.
Lessons for L&D this concept works in learning as well. For example, BT found out what
staff were doing naturally to learn in order to design their Dare2 Share platform. BT also
used the platform to monitor what learning conversations were taking place in the business
to identify new learning needs that werent currently being met.

Find where the conversations are happening and go there

A recent CIM report flagged up how consumers tend to stick to a few online villages such
as Facebook, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Skype and Twitter. Marketers are advised to set up a
presence in their customers village rather than to try and drive them to another unfamiliar
site.

Lessons for L&D do we actually know what online villages our staff are comfortable in?
Are we meeting them there, or creating new sites that contribute to information overload?

Sharing great content is at the heart of engagement

Continually sharing great content that is useful or informative is at the heart of good
marketing engagement. Content developers need to be generous with content it has to be
useful, relevant and has to keep the consumer wanting more.
Lessons for L&D are we looking to be generous in our sharing via social media? Busy
staff need practical ideas to help them in their job hints and tips, job aids, new
approaches, case studies, toolkits.

Master the tools to align to business strategy

Pete Caputa, blogging on Hubspot, flags up the importance of aligning the use of social
tools to business objectives but insists that marketers need to also master those tools if
they are going to be effective.
Lessons for L&D how do we build confidence in new tools? If you havent already done
so, check out Jane Harts Handbook on social learning tools, and Jane Bozarths book
Social Media for Trainers.
I have been intrigued for years about the lessons that marketing and learning and
development can explore with each other. The social media agenda has provided even
more overlap. Struggling with the same challenges, they may prove to be a useful ally for
organisations looking to embrace social learning more fully.
If you are interested in more marketing perspectives, here are some useful sites and
reports:
What hasnt happened yet the shape of things to come (Chartered Institute of
Marketing report)
Digital Disciplines Report by Rocket
Content Management Institute
Utalkmarketing.com

Avoiding webinar pitfalls

Kim George
Theres a lot of advice out there on how to run a slick and engaging webinar.
Top tips after top tips on what to do and how to do it and while thats incredibly useful, I
recently discovered that no matter how much you think you know about online learning and
no matter how much you prepare, theres a lot that can go wrong!
Read on for some advice on how to avoid the common pitfalls of running a webinar.

Check your content

Just because your presentation looks a dream in PowerPoint doesnt mean its going to look
the same once uploaded into your webinar programme.
Check everything dont trust that itll work just because it did once!

Test, test, and test again

Whatever technology youre using, test the life out of any web links and videos. Bear in mind
that online videos shown via a webinar may distort and pixelate, particularly for viewers
elsewhere in the world.
Most people are patient with this, but follow up your session with takeaway links so the
audience can view them in their own time, at a higher quality.

Get to grips with the audio

If youre linking webinar software with a conference line and need your audience to hear
presenters and videos over the line, there can be a lot of audio to manage. The obvious
thing to do is to ask everyone to mute their phones.
Dont forget to also mute your laptops and even the webinar programme itself the last
thing you want is a lot of echo and feedback making everyone sound like theyre in a time
warp.

Recruit a second pair of hands

Having someone behind the scenes for support takes the pressure off the presenters. They
can keep an eye on chat, control the slides, launch the videos and deal with any issues.

Whats also invaluable is having a separate laptop logged on as an attendee, giving you
insight into what your learners are seeingor not seeing!

Stick to your start time

Youve spent hours planning your webinar, invited 150 people and two minutes before its
due to start, only 14 people are online. It might be tempting to wait until more people join
but, if you do, youll end up rushing your presentation and will sound flustered.
Stay in control and start on time if people are late, they miss out and thats their problem,
not yours!

Relax!
Most people know to speak a little slower than usual when presenting. However, if youre
presenting online, particularly to groups of people at the end of a conference line, its even
more important to speak clearly.
Try to sound enthusiastic and positive, and let your personality shine through. Dont be
afraid of silence; pauses will help your listeners keep up and give them a chance to absorb
what youre saying.

Dont panic
Mistakes will be made, technical glitches will strike or the fire alarm may go off. It can be
stressful or downright baffling, so pause your presentation if you have to, keep your
audience informed, recover and move on.
No one will mind and it may even inject a bit of extra humour into the presentation.

Building your personal learning network

Mark Berthelemy
One of the most useful things you can do as a learning professional is build your own
network of people on whom you can call and who may call you.
This has both immediate and long term benefits:
Immediate:
Know who to call to support specific tasks
Be pointed to useful resources that will help you keep up-to-date
Long term:
When/if you decide to go it alone youll have a head start in gaining useful contacts
So, how do you do it?
Lets take the traditional face-to-face approach first
You walk into a conference room. Its your first time at this particular conference and
theres no welcome pack to sit and pretend to read. You can see quite a few people
standing around drinking coffee, talking and eating small pastries.
You have three options:
1. Turn around and walk out
2. Find someone you know and begin a conversation about one of the conference themes
3. Introduce yourself to someone you dont know and look for areas of common interest
remembering to make a note of who that person was afterwards!
After the conference, youll follow up some of those conversations, perhaps with a phone
call or an email. Remember to keep the contact fresh by dropping a note to them once
every six months or so (See: Manager Tools: Building a network for more on this).

Online networks
Building your network online follows a similar process, although, in this case, whilst the tools
can help build and maintain contacts, they can also make it too easy and we become overconnected with connections that have very little substance behind them.
Twitter and LinkedIn are probably the two most favoured locations for professional

networking. To the new person they can feel like a crowded conference room where you
dont know anyone, or the social norms.
Here are some simple steps to help you get the best out of them:
Introduce yourself via your profile. This is the way people will find you, or find out more
about you. If you dont write a little about who you are and what you do, then its
unlikely that anyone will connect with you unless they already know you.
Find people you already know and follow or connect with them.
Dip in to what your network is talking about at least once a week, if not more. Mobile
apps like Flipboard can help this. But, be careful they can be addictive!
If someone you are linked with posts something, consider replying. Networks are about
two way conversations. As soon as a network becomes reliant on a just a handful of
people pushing out ideas, then that network becomes very vulnerable. Strong networks
have multiple two-way connections.
Once a week or so, consider starting a conversation. Pose a question. Share a link to
something useful. Post a document. Think out loud. It doesnt have to be serious. It
could even be controversial. However, as in all contexts, the more useful and relevant
you are to other people in your network, the more likely they are to think of you next
time they need something doing.
LinkedIn, in particular, is very good at sending updates to prompt communication. So, if
someone gets a new job, send them a message to congratulate them.

General online networking rules

Remember that anything you write down may potentially become public.
Remember that the other names in the network are real people, with real feelings.
Text is a great communication medium, but it doesnt convey emotion easily. When
youre writing, be aware of how the words may be received. If necessary, use
emoticons (like for example). But dont overdo it.

Using the conference backchannel

Stephanie Dedhar
Many of us cite Twitter as our number one learning tool and perhaps one of the most
popular uses of Twitter in our community is to report from conferences. If youre in L&D and
you tweet, the likelihood is youve done one or more of the following at a conference and
felt like you were making good use of Twitter:
Followed the backchannel using a hashtag
Retweeted or replied to specific messages from the backchannel
Tweeted interesting points from a particular session
Uploaded photos of the speaker or session
But I bet youve also sometimes tried to follow the backchannel from a conference you
arent attending, struggling to understand the flow of a session, wishing you could get a bit
more detail, or seeing endless photos of generic lecture theatres with an indistinct figure in
front of a bullet-pointed PowerPoint slide.
So, what can we do to improve our use of Twitter at conferences and share really valuable
learning and insight with fellow L&D folk? Here are my top tips (gleaned through
constructive feedback from other people, observation of a few different backchannels, and
a bit of trial and error!).
On signing up for the conference:
The very first thing to do is to decide why you want to tweet, and who for.
Are you tweeting for yourself, as a way of taking notes? If so, you may want to
acknowledge this to people following the backchannel.
Are you tweeting in conversation with other delegates? If so, you might be more
focused on retweeting and replying to the backchannel than on your own original
contributions.
Are you tweeting for people who cant attend the conference? I would guess that most
people would put themselves in this camp, so the rest of the tips that follow are all
primarily aimed at these people.
Before the conference:
Prepare yourself with the key Twitter details: the conference hashtag (eg. #lt14uk for
the Learning Technologies conference), and the Twitter handle (@name) of any
speakers. I try to reference the speaker in every tweet that refers to, or is inspired by,
their session.

Review the summary for each session, and consider whether youre aware of any
related content: blog posts, infographics, videos etc. Equip yourself with a list of links
that you can easily pull into tweets at the event.
Let your Twitter followers know which sessions you plan to attend and invite them to
send you any burning questions they have.
During the conference:
Shortly before each session, send an opening, context-setting tweet. Provide the
session title, the speakers Twitter handle and a summary of what to expect (okay, you
may need two opening, context-setting tweets!). You could even prepare these tweets
in advance, save them as drafts, and send them at the right time.
Be prepared to commit! If you start tweeting a session, stick with it. Dont just send
sporadic, apropos-of-nothing quotes if you hear a good soundbite: make sure you send
at least one tweet for each point the speaker makes. If you read back your tweet
stream from the session, would it provide a good executive summary?
Take advantage of any visuals. For example, if a chart or diagram is shown, dont
struggle to translate it into 140 characters. Instead, take a photo and upload it to
Twitter with an accompanying caption.
Focus on sharing the speakers content first, and your opinions second. Other people
may disagree with this, but I feel that if Im tweeting for non-attendees I have a
responsibility to share as much of the speakers expertise as possible. I can always
share my own opinions later, on Twitter or my blog.
Engage with other backchannel contributors as much as possible. You might want to
retweet someone elses commentary, if theyve captured a point you didnt quite get, or
linked to a related website. Or you may want to respond to a question from someone
following the backchannel remotely.
Dont delete any tweets! For whatever reason, youll sometimes find yourself drafting
something that doesnt warrant publishing to the backchannel, but dont delete it save
it as a draft. Come back to it later: it might be something you can craft into a
meaningful tweet later, or it might just be a useful reminder to yourself to explore
something further.
After the conference:
Take the time to thank the people who engaged with you during the event.
Dont abandon the backchannel as soon as you walk out of the door. If you said youd
follow up on something, do it and tag it with the conference hashtag for continuity.

Budget-friendly first steps into elearning

Louise Talbot & Laura Layton-James
So youve decided to venture down the elearning route or maybe youve been pushed!
Youve done your research and know what makes great elearning. Maybe youve attended
some of the ELN events, national exhibitions or even attended a course or two. Now youre
ready to get hands on and create something. But, oh, where to start.
With so many providers and tools to choose from its very easy to quickly blow the budget
when creating online content. When taking your first uncertain steps into the shiny world of
online tools to create your first pieces of elearning, here are my tips to ease your way.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Think creatively
Check out free stuff
Experiment
Prove the concept

Think creatively
Remember that elearning is more than the interactive self-study tutorials we often think
about. Think of elearning under the wider definition to include: podcasts, video clips, forums,
web-conferencing, blogs, online search, wikipedia and many more! These work superbly
together to create effective, bite-size content which will support learning, bringing it to life.

Check out free stuff

There are numerous tools out there that you can use for free. Most of the free tools are
cut-down versions of the tools you would normally pay a licence for. You might even already
be using some yourself such as Skype or Google Hangouts. Skype can be used to run live
online events as part of your elearning using live chat, video call, and telephone.

Experiment
Be in a better position to buy and experiment with the free tools and software trials. You
might be surprised at how straightforward they can be to use and theres a good chance
youll find a how-to video on YouTube or Vimeo to get you started. You will then be in a
better position to choose the right tools for the job.

Prove the concept

Using these free tools will help you prove the concept without a big outlay upfront. By
creating a prototype of your idea without blowing the budget upfront you can help your

managers, your learners and the rest of your stakeholders share your vision. Its also a
great opportunity to get their feedback and allow them feel part of the process.
Check out:
Moodle for course websites
Audacity for recording podcasts
Screenr for recording IT screencasts
Jane Harts Top Tools for learning

Know your audience 1

Joan Keevil
In an ideal world, when creating elearning, well have the opportunity to do a needs analysis
to identify what kind of elearning solution will fit the bill. Is it awareness raising or
compliance? Is it to build knowledge or change attitudes and behaviour? Or is it a mix of all
of these?
Sadly, we dont live in an ideal world! Instead we inhabit a world of fast-moving change,
where instant solutions are required and time and budgets are short. So instead we might
given a brief (usually a long PowerPoint!) by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and asked to
create a programme very quickly, without really knowing our audience for the end product.
What are the pitfalls to working in this way?

Avoid unrealistic expectations

Firstly, SMEs often have unrealistic expectations about what can be incorporated into a
module or course. Most learners can only retain a small amount of new information. We
need to be able to prioritise this information, reducing the noise.
If people are learning about a new process, they will pick up the key elements very quickly
if they use it every day. So the learning should focus instead on systems critical elements,
or on areas that will be used only occasionally. Alternatively, make some or all of the
information available online, so that learners can access it when they need it (just in time).
The elearning can then deal with the really important aspects of motivation and attitudinal
change why something is changing, the benefits to the learner and the organisation of
changing the way they work and the risks if things stay the same.

What do they already know?

Secondly, we need to know what the audience already knows, what theyre currently doing
and the desired new state. We can then start where the learner is in our design or
treatment, making it easier for learners to bridge the gap between the old and the new, to
understand the behaviour changes required and to assimilate the new knowledge.
Why not relate the elearning to the workflow to make this assimilation easier? Another
option is to ask learners to do a quiz or assessment at the start and use this to filter the
content, so that they dont have to work through content they already know.

Engage through design

The third key element is ensuring we engage learners through good interactive design.
Asking questions of the learner encourages them to think and reflect. Inviting them to review
choices and commit to a decision, eg through scenarios, helps them process the content
and evaluate different options.
Getting it wrong and reflecting on why is a powerful way of learning. Most of all, telling
stories rather than presenting facts is proven to be much more memorable some say we
dont remember what people say, we remember how they made us feel. The same can be
said of engaging elearning.

What is the wider context?

Lastly, we need to consider the wider context in which the elearning sits and help learners
to bridge the gap between learning and performance. Can we promote conversations about
the elearning and identify success stories?
Can we invite team leaders and managers to run so what discussions after the elearning,
to identify what each team has to do differently in their day-to-day work? This will make it
easier for learners to transfer the elearning into the workplace and achieve the holy grail of
impacting on performance.

Know your audience 2

Rob Hubbard
Users are the most important, but frequently neglected, stakeholders in an elearning
project. Those who will use the learning app, system, game, course or content we create,
hold the key to our success. Our role as learning experience designers is to empathise with
our users, to put ourselves in their shoes. The best way to do this is to work closely with
them from the start of the project.
A word of warning however dont take what they tell you as gospel. Why? Because they
may not know best.
I once led a huge project developing middle manager blended learning materials. At the
start of the project we ran a number of focus groups to learn about our audience and find
out the kind of material they responded best to. We created four styles of material and
gathered their opinions on it. The style they liked best was essentially glorified PowerPoint
presentations. The reason? This was considered the easiest form of learning and therefore
the best. It was also one of the least effective forms.
But its always a good idea to conduct user testing. This might be as simple as a handful of
users feeding back their comments via a shared spreadheet. Or it could be tens or even
hundreds of users interviewed in focus groups. The form that your user testing takes will
depend on your time and budget, but also how different this thing youre designing is,
compared to what theyre used to.
As you include your users in the design process, remember that their comments are useful,
but equally important is your skill and vision as a designer.
Users are the most important stakeholders in your project. Involve them in the design
process right from the start.
Dont assume that they always know best. Instead consider their views in the wider
context of the project.
Conduct thorough user testing. If youve involved them in the early design stage of the
project, there shouldnt be any nasty surprises

Designing engaging & effective resources

Gill Chester
Our aim when designing learning resources is to create something that engages our
learners and brings about change. So here are six tips for designing elearning that focus on
the learner.

Understand the learners' needs

Before you get too carried away with your designs, talk to the stakeholders. At minimum,
this should be your learners and those signing off the resource. Make sure you understand
what it is they want to achieve.
Theres no point spending weeks designing an amazing software simulation if all the users
need is a cheat sheet. We should take care to not inject our personal view on elearning
design, but instead focus on what will be most effective.
A simple but effective way to understand their requirements is to get a range of people to
just write down when they get stuck and what they couldnt do.

Resources not courses

Im not going to go into this area in detail, but you will no doubt see a shift to the
development of resources rather than closed courses.
Focusing on the identification and development of self-contained resources that can be
reused makes sense and allows you to use content in a number of ways (online and face to
face). Part of the resurgence of this model (made famous in the 90s) is the wealth of good
quality and free resources available online.
This model allows teams to develop learning paths using a library of materials (internal and
external). If there are gaps, you can just focus on filling these. This can cut down the time to
solve a performance problem from months to weeks.

Dream and design

When looking at a problem, use your imagination and try to identify the best possible
solution. Dont worry at this stage about how you will create it. It's better to pull back from
an ambitious plan than to stick to solutions you have already use.
If you decided to install a new kitchen, you wouldnt leave out the sink just because you

havent plumbed in a sink before. So make use of a range of techniques and technology.
This might include audio, video, screen recordings, quizzes and interactive diagrams.
The idea is not to throw all these different methods at every project, but to consider how
different media might enhance learning.
If youre using a rapid development tool, for part or the entire project, search for solutions
and inspiration from user forums, blogs and YouTube. The Articulate community is a great
source of design ideas and is open to everyone, not just those using Articulate products.

Simple but effective approaches

Consider different approaches such as storytelling. Ive just finished a project for a client
supporting the roll out of a new and internally developed project management process. It
made sense to present this as a journey through a project, rather than the dry facts of the
new procedure.
Another approach is problem solving. Give the learner authentic and realistic problems that
they have to respond to. For example instead of explaining a new policy, offer the learner a
situation where the policy might have been infringed and ask them to identify how.
This approach also doesnt force them to go through unnecessary content. Both these
solutions present the information in a relevant context and allow the learner to build their
own mental model.

Put the learner in the driving seat

Whether you are creating a number of short resources or a whole course, its a good idea
to let the learner take control and let them to decide on how they progress. In an ideal
world this would allow them to skip over content they dont believe is relevant, but this isnt
always possible, for example in the often cited compliance training.
In practical terms this might mean providing a main screen that then acts as a menu for the
learner to branch off and explore a topic before returning. Unless theres a good reason for
not allowing them to go back, dont restrict access to areas they have already visited.

Dont overload the learner

Finally, when designing screens, its important to consider how the learner will process the
information onscreen. Im not an expert here, but basically our sensory memory processes
words through our eyes and ears because we read the text in our mind.
Competing graphics, narration and on screen text will put unnecessary strain on the learners

working memory. So, for example, if you are using a narration track only provide (single)
words on screen to reinforce the message.

Balancing test and tell in your

storyboard design
Stephanie Dedhar
Its generally accepted that elearning should be interactive. In this article I will share one
approach to grouping different kinds of interactions, and also a tool for checking the use of
those interactions in a storyboard.
I find that most interactions fall into one of two categories.
Some interactions (like the humble click-to-reveal, rollover or click-through photo-story) are
perfect for enhancing engagement and improving the user journey. They help to break up
content into learner-friendly chunks and they start to turn a passive learning experience into
something more active. But they dont demand intellectual engagement.
You can click through the whole activity without necessarily putting any thought into it. I call
these telling interactions, and for me there are three main situations in which you might
decide to use one:
1. To make content more manageable and avoid information overload
2. To provide structure and improve focus when assimilating information
3. To bring facts to life by drawing on real-life incidents
Other interactions, such as a drag-and-drop, quiz question, or matching pairs activity,
demand a little more from the learner. This kind of interaction, when well designed, starts to
mirror reality and encourage exploration, focusing on the actions and behaviours learners
need to demonstrate in real life, and therefore making the learning more meaningful and
effective.
I call these testing interactions. They are best used:
1. Where its appropriate to challenge unhelpful attitudes or misconceptions
2. Where its necessary to enable proficiency, change behaviour or improve performance
So both telling and testing interactions have their place, helping to enhance the learning
experience, as long as the decision about which to use is considered and thought through.
However, as well as making the test or tell decision on a screen-by-screen basis, its also
important to keep an eye on the big picture and how each individual screen fits into the
context of the course.
The way I do this is to create what I call a screen type index, which is nothing more
complex than a couple of tables summarising the storyboard Ive just drafted.

The first table summarises each screen, setting out the screen type, title and key message.

This allows me to check that:

1. The flow of the content is logical
2. The testing interactions are focused on the key learning points
The second table provides an overview of the whole course, looking purely at screen types.

I use three colours (one for non-interactive text screens, one for telling interactions and one
for testing interactions) to create a patchwork representing the whole course. It's quick and
easy to see the balance of interactivity to non-interactivity, and of telling to testing.
Do you have far more telling interactions than testing interactions? If so, double check that
your key learning point screens test rather than tell. If you notice a constant stream of
interactions with no respite, consider whether theyre all needed interactivity for the sake
of interactivity has little value.

Use the screen type index to provide that little bit of distance and allow a degree of
objectivity in reviewing a storyboard youve authored yourself. Assess the balance and
spread of interactions and make any appropriate changes.
Of course, like any patchwork, theres no perfect design. Different courses justify different
combinations, but in every case the balance needs to be consciously considered, and the
screen type index encourages that thought process.

Learning from games-based design

practices 1
Cat Oxley
We all talk about escaping the click next button elearning design, and we all know that can
be a challenge at times. Therefore, as instructional designers, we are always looking to
improve our learning design and how we can make learning more exciting and more fun.
Hopefully these tips, drawn from the world of games design, will help you to get started...
1. Start with action Draw the learner in and encourage engagement. NOT with a page
of objectives, they arent fun! Start a challenge right away. Then ask the learner a
series of questions related to the objectives.
2. Mastery - If you just give the learners information they arent learning! Think about
something you had to do at work and how you mastered it. Learners need a sense of
accomplishment.
3. Dont make it too easy! - But not too hard either, as the learner may become bored, or
frustrated. Things that are too easy will be boring and the attention will be lost.
4. Include an air of risk! - Putting the learner at risk can make them more invested in what
they have to do. A simple way is through timing. You have 5 mins to do this Go!
5. Nine lives? - Ok may be five lives is enough. But giving the learner more lives provides
them with more play and practice.
6. Its ok to fail! - Give the learner the sense its ok to do something wrong and
accommodate failure learn from mistakes.
7. Experience! - The learner needs to experience something to know what it means.
8. Give the learner choices - Have different characters, with more simple challenges for
some characters and harder ones for others.
9. Give the learner control of their learning - When you do this, they invest more and
attempt more complex strategies.

Learning from games-based design

practices 2
Peter Phillips
Most of us, whether a teenager or of an age where we really should know better, have
succumbed to the temptation to just try one more level, to blast one more screen of pigs or
zombies, to find that last missing coin.
Video games can be irresistible. I cannot claim to have seen many elearning courses that
command such devotion from their users.
Of course, most video games are nowadays developed with budgets that we in elearning
can only dream of. However, the underlying principles of engagement, immersion and
design excellence could hardly be more relevant, and are often simple to apply.
So here are my tips for bringing gaming ideas and principles to your elearning.
1. Dump the linear, in favour of hub design. Let the learner explore, make choices and feel
like they have some control.
2. In at the deep end. Encourage learners to dive into a scenario or case study before
they have all the facts, then make the facts available in context when they are needed.
3. Grab them by the lapels. Dont make the user wade through bullet lists of learning
objectives, or those dreaded user instructions where you point out that the X in the top
corner closes the window, the right facing arrow means Next and the left facing arrow
means Back. We already know! Get on with it!
4. Games let you know how you are doing. Try to find engaging graphical ways of
measuring progress. You can also have more than one progress indicator.
5. Dont be afraid to let your learners fail. Think how long it took you to get 3 stars on
every level of Angry Birds. Users dont mind losing so long as they are encouraged,
get positive feedback on their progress, and get challenged to try again. Build in risk of
failure having to go back and start the case study again is a strong motivator to
focus, especially if you lose a life in the process.
6. Include the elements of humour and surprise. Many of the best and most successful
video games include the elements of humour and surprise. Why not elearning? It may
not seem easy to bring a good laugh into a course on, say, money laundering but
actually it is. Use your imagination, and remember you dont need to be ROFL funny.
Even the mildest play on words can come as blessed light relief to the poor, benighted
compliance student.
7. Give them an incentive to explore. There is not a lot of scope for randomness in most
elearning projects, but if you create blind alleys, make sure they add to the learning
and then encourage the learner to explore them. Remember this when designing

branched case studies all that creative effort and no-one ever goes down the wrong
route because the right route is too obvious.
8. Use high quality graphics and sound. The YouTube generation has made us remarkably
tolerant of low quality video, but this is not the case with audio or with the overall user
experience. Poor quality audio can be worse than none at all. We are all now so used
to high quality intuitive UX from our home and mobile technology that even with our
limited budgets, the quality of the graphic design is increasingly important to attracting
and retaining the learners attention.
9. Use peer motivation. We may not be able to compete with World of Warcraft, but we
can integrate simple social media tools into our elearning, add league tables in the
LMS, or show the learner the last five answers to an open question.
_________________________________

The science behind writing persuasive

content
Richard Hyde
As a learning designer, I often look at parallel industries for creative ideas. Ive long thought
that marketing offers many ideas for writing persuasive copy. These people know how to
convince us to buy products and services by changing our behaviour. Theres an established
psychology behind web marketing that works it makes us feel so good about what were
seeing that we just have to have it!
With the move towards informal learning based increasingly on less media rich resources,
the need for great persuasive copy is more important than ever.
Ive just come across a presentation called The secret psychology behind persuasive
content by Nathalie Nahai. This perfectly illustrates what we can learn from the masters of
marketing. Nathalie shows how web psychology can be used to influence attitudes and
behaviours in an online environment.
Id like to summarise the main points of this presentation in my tip for learning designers.
Get the complete presentation here: http://tinyurl.com/onrxlxl.

Its all about context

Writing persuasive content has to be perfectly tuned to the readers current situation. They
have to recognise themselves in what theyre reading, hearing and seeing to maximise the
chance of them buying into it. So keep it in context and dont stray off the point.

Three secrets to online success

The benchmark to great online communication can be summarised in three points:
Know who youre targeting we know this as learning designers!
Communicate persuasively copy should be convincing and professional
Sell with integrity often we are trying to subtly change behaviour by selling a new
way of thinking, which needs to come across as realistic.

Seductive headlines are under-rated

Do you pay enough attention to headlines in your copy? Do learners actually read them?

A headline could be the first thing a learner sees and it can make them want to read on.
So get seduction in your headlines and hook learners in with great titles:
Write to one person
Use psychological trigger words like secret, absolute, essential and free
Pick a benefit for the headline
Write a totally wacky headline

Be audacious
Why not stick your neck out a bit and really challenge the norm? elearning copy doesnt
have to be riddled with business-speak. Try some of these ideas:
Promise your reader something valuable
Dare them to read your article
Be bold, seductive and provocative
But make sure you can deliver!

Follow the formula

Theres even a formula to improve your headlines:
Trigger word + adjective + keyword + promise = killer headline
So instead of writing this:
Our new Porsche is a high powered car for rich business people
Try this:
A Porsche is not a car, its the most exciting executive toy in the world
Well, thats my top of the head example Im sure you can do better.

Key takeaways
So, whether youre writing copy for online learning or designing a static resource for casual
readers, the quality of your copy is critical. So have in mind:
Who youre targeting and write for a single person
Use web psychology to optimise your content
Make sure you elicit emotions in your users

Accessible learning is also better learning

Sam Taylor
When many of us talk about accessible elearning, we think of low-res, text only versions, or
separate word documents. There are no real defined, accessible elearning standards, so
many of us may feel that we want to make something accessible, but dont know what that
entails, or what to ask for.

Whats it all about

Accessibility is about making learning content available to everyone. For many years the
Learning department has provided the accessibility document to support those learners
with a visual, learning, physical or auditory impairment. Until recently, thats been deemed
enough for many organisations, but the Accessibility Technology Charter from BTAT, and
Saffrons 2012 article on a need for a common standard are challenging organisations (and
developers too) to say, lets do more.
Many of the things we can do to make our learning accessible can also serve to make our
learning more usable.
Heres my list of simple, practical things you can do to create accessible and great learning:

Think legibility
The easier it is to read, the more all learners can focus and pay attention to the content.
Do not use text effects do not add shadow, reflection etc. It makes it harder to read
the text.
Do not use images to convey large amounts of text. They pixelate easily and are hard
to read. Buttons are okay, but dont use a text box to hold more than a couple of
words.
Dont use watermarks or images as backgrounds. This impacts legibility and may
distort words.
Ensure you use a good font size 12-14pt (or equivalent ems) and a sans serif font
preferably Verdana. These are easier to read onscreen.
Ensure that there is a good contrast between text and colours used on screen.e.g.
black on white is good, but white on light blue isnt a great contrast. The less the
contrast, the harder it is to read. You can use contrast checkers such as
http://juicystudio.com/services/luminositycontrastratio.php.

Think ease

The easier it is to understand or navigate, the more the learner can concentrate on the
content.
Enable keyboard navigation for all screen elements not everyone uses a mouse, and
sometimes its easier to move around the page using a tab key.
Ensure consistent navigation throughout the content, e.g. key buttons should remain in
the same place. Its easier to move through the learning, and your learner isnt
distracted by having to work out what they need to do next.
Dont use colour to convey meaning alone, or to identify any elements on the screen
(e.g. click on the green box). Learners who are colour blind wont necessarily know
what you are referring to. (Theres some great guidance on how colour blindness
affects web users here: http://wearecolorblind.com/).
Write in plain English, using simple, clear wording. Keep sentences short and to the
point.
Limit the use of acronyms or abbreviations where possible.

Think choice
Is there an alternative to audio, image or text? As well as supporting learners with
disabilities, it presents learners with an alternative too.
Provide a Transcript of Audio/Video clips. Not only does this aid the hearing impaired,
other learners may not have audio enabled, be unable to use it in open plan offices, or
just prefer to read content.
Label your key images using the alt attribute this enables understanding through
screen readers, or if a page is slow to load. This is really important for a summary of
graphs or process flows.
Ensure that the learner can control the speed at which text builds in animations or
teasers. Theres nothing more annoying than being half way through a sentence and it
.(moves on before you can complete it). As well as being irritating for
most learners, its not an easy or positive experience for those with visual or learning
difficulties.
Create an accessible document. These are still useful. Use properly formatted
headings in MS Word or equivalent, so that screen readers can put the right emphasis
on content. Use images wisely to support content, and ensure images are meaningful,
not just there for effect. Accessible docs work well for those with Learning Difficulties,
or who simply struggle reading content online.
Accessible learning doesnt have to mean reducing the effectiveness or quality of your
learning. By making these changes you can make your learning more effective for all
learners. Content will be better presented, easier to navigate and simpler to take in.
But finally, a word of common sense. Whilst we should make our materials as accessible as

possible, elearning is a delivery method, not the learning itself. It may still be a better
learning experience to have a 1:2:1 session with a line manager to support the learner
further.

How to review elearning content

Sam Taylor
I often work with SMEs to review content as it's being designed. There are always a
number of areas that I feed back on which can improve the experience, if addressed. I also
try to get them to consider them when writing future content.
Heres a list of the top things I look for:

In the scripts:
Any objectives which mention understand.
I work on the principle that if it says the learner should understand, it should be a piece of
comms, not learning. Make the objectives more active what will learners be able to do at
the end?

Is it relevant?
Make sure the content fits the objectives it keeps to the point. If it dilutes the message or
doesnt even belong, it shouldnt be there.

Does it make sense?

Can you read the sentence without thinking you have stumbled into an episode of 'Yes,
Prime Minister'? Could it be said in a shorter, clearer way? Remember to review the
learning as an expert and as a learner. Dont make assumptions with jargon add a
glossary if necessary.

Redundant padding words or phrases

This has to be my biggest pet peeve when reviewing content:
It is essential to remember, or, it is important to remember that. If it wasnt, it
shouldnt be in the elearning!
"Therefore" - just padding.
As you are aware or, as you may be aware Youre going to tell them anyway, so
why include that phrase?
Hopefully, you should doesnt inspire confidence. Ditch the hopefully.
"It is mandatory" (in a mandatory module. Said several times).
"Inter alia", or other Latin phrases which wont suit your audience!

"In this regard"

When you are ready, click 'next' to continue delete the first part.
You get the picture! Just delete them itll save space. Space and a learners attention are
precious dont lose it unnecessarily.

In the elearning module:

The visual stuff
Does the text sit right on the page? Is there too much, or not enough? Are you running off
the page, or is there just a sentence on the page? Too little content on the page is just as
bad as too much on the page before.

Does the next button work?

Were providing learning for adults. Give them the choice - they may know some of the
content already. Dont force them to complete anything.

Colour
Is the contrast right? Use white text on black backgrounds sparingly some people get
migraines from this. Have you used too many colours on the page? Does it just feel too
much? Do you need a pair of sunglasses to read the page?
As I said, this is just a starter for ten, there are many other things to consider. You might
have a brand guidelines checklist you can use that directs font or imagery. From the content
perspective, youll develop a feel for what will work with your learners. Spend the time and
be thorough. Youll get better content as a result.

Rolling out elearning that works

Chloe Weatherhead

Dont make elearning a gimmick

It is important that elearning is seen with the same seriousness as any form of training
within your organisation. If people are to trust it and feel that it is useful, it must be made
clear that elearning is as important as any face-to-face training and is all part of a blended
learning approach.

Involve managers at every stage

Managers should be trained up on elearning initially, as it is important that they are seen to
be taking part. Managers can be made accountable for the uptake of elearning in their
department, which generally leads to a higher rate of course completion. Managers can be
used as role models and rewarded for good elearning results.

Make expectations clear from the start

It is a good idea to try and get all employees who will be taking part together for an initial
short meeting/presentation to explain elearning and get across the importance of completing
the courses. This meeting can also be used to hand out information on elearning, take any
questions that employees may have and explain any schemes to do with elearning that you
plan to implement

Familiarise employees
To make elearning appear more accessible and less scary you could create an online
advert, an online guided tour, or set up a live demo so that people can have a look at it and
familiarise themselves with the system before they try it on their own.

Create a communication campaign

It is important to take the solitude out of elearning. This can be done by creating a
newsletter, or online blog to showcase new courses and student achievements. An online
forum or lunchtime meeting is also a good way to get employees discussing and interacting
around elearning.

Add some incentive

Using incentives and formal recognition for elearning is a great way to encourage prolonged
take up amongst staff.

Track performance
There are many ways to track performance using Learning Management systems. It is
important that you know how many people are utilising elearning so you can adapt the way
it is used. This also enables you to track performance across departments. Individual
comparisons can be made among students and the results, perhaps suitably anonymised,
can be published for all to see to encourage better take up.

Get learners involved in courses

Ask learners what else they would like to see in an elearning course. If many people are
asking for training in a certain area you can tailor your course list to suit their needs.

Provide excellent learner support

If a learner feels they arent getting the support they need then they will soon tire of
attempting elearning. A dedicated support system is vital to a successful roll out. This could
include a dedicated helpdesk or email address. Make sure that queries are answered
quickly and accurately.

Ask for feedback

One of the most important tips is to ask for feedback from your learners. You could send
out questionnaires, or have a dedicated elearning comments box in staff areas. You could
receive feedback through focus groups, or ask people individually about their thoughts
towards elearning. You can then shape future delivery of elearning using learners ideas.

Finding images with an impact

Sam Burrough
Most elearning courses are essentially a visual medium, but how much time do you spend
sourcing and creating images?
Few of us can call on an in-house graphic designer to lend their expertise. But getting the
look and feel right is a crucial factor in crafting a credible, engaging experience. People
have high expectations of what they see online these days. If you give them a bunch of clip
art, or ill-fitting, poorly edited images, theyll judge the rest of your content before theyve
even read a word.
Searching for images is laborious on a good day and its all too easy to settle for something
thats just ok when youve been looking for hours and deadlines are looming. So what can
you do to speed up the process and collect images that match the look and feel of the rest
of your course?

Decide on a theme or style before you start looking for the

images
Consider creating a design map (http://community.articulate.com/tutorials/courses/usingthe-mind-map-template.aspx). It will help you to focus on exactly what you are looking for
and save you time. You could look for a cool website design to get inspiration. Personally, I
get most of my design ideas from trawling galleries of lush websites like these:
siteInspire: http://siteinspire.net/
Best Web Gallery: http://bestwebgallery.com/
Design Bombs: http://www.designbombs.com/
Now you know (roughly) what youre looking for, you can start your search.

Choose the right image search tool

Most people jump straight into Google images. Although it has improved, the search options
are still relatively limited. You cant create lightboxes and you have to wade through an
awful lot of rubbish to find anything decent. Then when you do find the one, it's probably
not legal to use it anyway (although you can now use the Advanced Search to restrict by
license). So, instead I recommend using a reasonably priced commercial site, like one of
the following:
Istockphoto

Shutterstock
Bigstock
It doesnt cost much to buy a few credits - particularly if you are only using the smaller
photos. Youll save time by searching through higher quality images that you can legally use,
so the extra cost is easily justified. These sites also give you more detailed search options.
Search by colour, search by copy space, filter by categories and you can create lightboxes,
which well come on to in a second.
If you really cant afford to pay there are other options:
Creative Commons Many images on the web are available under a Creative
Commons license. This means that you can legally use them for free as long as you
give credit to the people that created them. The Creative Commons portal makes it
easier to search a wide range of sites containing CC images.
Free stock sites these combine the powerful search tools and lightboxes of the
commercial sites above, but they contain images that you can legally use for free:
Stock Exchange
Morguefile
Always remember to check the license agreement!

Create lightboxes
While youre searching, you will inevitably find great images which dont fit what you are
looking for, but could still be useful in the future. Make sure you save them, or bookmark
them for another day. If you use a paid site you can create themed lightboxes to build up
your own library of quality images. Alternatively, you could use a social bookmarking tool
like diigo for Creative Commons images.

Make bold choices

Try to avoid 'cheese'. Dont go for obvious images, go for pictures with impact. Controversy
is memorable (within the bounds of taste and decency of course). If youre stuck for ideas,
try using synonyms of key words to vary your search. Use the built in tools on Word, or try
a site like thesaurus.com, which tends to come up with more suggestions.

Make it easy on yourself

Try to find images that work together, but remember, its easy to apply simple filters and
effects on Photoshop to create harmony. Not sure how to do that on Photoshop? Try these
excellent free tutorials on Tutsplus . If you cant afford Photoshop, try GIMP which is free to
download (here are some tutorials), or just use the tools in PowerPoint 2010, described on

the Articulate site.

Whichever editing tool you use, dont bite off more than you can chew. On some sites like
istockphoto, you can filter images that are isolated, i.e. they have a blank, usually white
background. This makes it very easy to remove them from the background.

Trust your instincts

When youre looking through hundreds of pictures you need to do it quickly, so chances are
your first impressions of an image will be similar to the majority of your audience. Ask
yourself, Does the image have the emotional effect I am looking for?

Be patient
If you get fed up looking, have a break and do something else for a bit. Remember, getting
the right images is important, so dont settle for second best.

DIY
Alternatively, stop moaning about the cost of stock photos and take your own!

Effective use of audio in elearning

Peter Phillips
Audio can add an extra dimension to your courseware and increase both user engagement
and retention. However, like every other aspect of instructional design, it needs skill to do it
well. The following tips will help you to do just that:

Quality matters
The Youtube generation has made us remarkably tolerant of low quality video, but this is
not the case with audio. Poor quality audio can be worse than none at all.

Use professionals
There will be occasions where you want the genuine voices of colleagues, or an
inspirational opening address from the CEO. However, where you are asking the speaker to
play a role, professional actors will give you a far better outcome. The voice of a
professional can add depth, richness and character to your course. They are not expensive
and even when budgets are tight, this is not the place to economise.

Mix it up
Try using more than one audio character. If your content doesnt lend itself to dialogue and
scenarios, you can still add variety with different experts, or the man or woman in the
street. Use your imagination.

Shhh! Recording in process

Background sounds are fine if they are planned and not intrusive bird song, traffic noise or
office background sounds can all add to the sense of realism. But unplanned footsteps,
slamming doors and pinging microwaves can ruin a recording.
The best solution is to use a professional studio, but if the budget or timescales dont allow,
then heres a tip; stick a decent directional mike in your laptop and do the recording in your
car for a sound proofed temporary studio.

Ding dong
Sound effects are not used much in elearning, but can be very effective. Note how sound
effects are used in video games to give auditory clues. There are many familiar sounds all

around us that can be a quick and even amusing alternative to narration or text an
incoming email, ringing phone, knock on a door, alarm clock, the gentle thwack of leather on
willow but, dont overdo it!

Script for audio

People dont speak the way they write. So when writing an audio script you will usually want
a more informal and human tone. Dont ask the narrator to read out bullet lists. Dont let
your narrator lecture the user or talk down to them and avoid management speak. A friendly
tone will typically be the aim.

Keep it short
There is a temptation, particularly if you are trying to fit a lot of content into a 30 minute
elearning course, to give the narrator more to say just to keep the text off the screen. But
beware, audio takes control of the pace of the course away from the learner, and if the
clips are too long or too many, the user will tune out.

Dont read the screen

While it is usually essential to give the user a text alternative to the audio, you should give
them the choice of whether to view the text, and at what pace to read it.

Screen reading software

Most operating systems these days come with built-in software to read what is on screen.
This can then provide your narration, particularly if your content is going to change
frequently.
It will save the expense of bringing in actors and recording studios each time. Although the
quality of the output might not be up to the standard that will keep people interested.
This is largely used as an accessibility tool, but can have other uses. For example, if your
content is going to change frequently, then using screen reader software to create your
audio can save you the trouble of return trips to the studio.

Developing an elearning narration script

Tim Drewitt
Getting your audio narration correct is not only easier on the ears of your learner, its easier
on their eyes too. In his top tips for developing a narration script, Tim Drewitt shows you
how.

Narration style
Generally, for an internally-developed course, a more informal style of narration is
preferred. Remember that how you say things is just as important as what you say and as
its likely that many of the users will know you personally. They will expect you to sound like
you, not a professional voiceover artist.

Duration
When you design your on-screen content, its recommended that there be no more than five
bullet points on a screen. Not only does this make the content more legible, it also
encourages you to keep the narration short.
To maintain the concentration levels of the average learner, you should try to avoid
spending too long on any single screen. You can actually say a lot in 60 seconds and this is
a good average time when planning what you say.
As a rough guide, 150 to 175 words will typically take about one minute to narrate.
If you type your narration into the Notes View within PowerPoint, with a standard font size
of 12pt, once you have filled the available space, this is approximately a minute of audio.
On a practical level, when it comes to recording the audio, the longer your narration per
screen, the greater the risk that you will make more mistakes and have to repeat the take.
Generally, if you have a lot to say on a certain topic then consider:
How many topics you should include in a single course.
How you can divide up what you need to say, so that you spread your commentary
across multiple screens, but keep a good pace. Its acceptable to increase the number
of screens to facilitate this.

Scripting your narration

Although an informal narration style is preferred, you will still need to write out your
narration. This ensures that your recorded commentary is delivered in a slick manner. There
is nothing more frustrating for a learner having to listen to someone narrating off the cuff.
Unless youve delivered the same talk off-pat for years, the pauses and more frequent
stumbles will be soon become annoying. There is also a heightened risk of going off-tangent
and repeating oneself. If you then lose your train of thought, its very difficult to pick things
up, usually meaning you have to start all over again.
As you write, remember that we dont generally speak as we write, so its acceptable to
ignore the usual grammar rules, especially if they would make the narration sound too
formal.
Once you have typed your script, if youve already created your screen content, doublecheck that the bullet points still match the flow of your narration. Also consider if, based on
what you have said in the narration, you can further shorten or even remove some of the
existing bullet points.

In fact, theres a lot or merit in first of all writing out your script and only then deciding what
appears on each screen. This way, with the audio narration providing the primary channel of
delivery, you can ensure that what appears on the screen precisely provides the on-screen
visuals required. A common mistake is to write a bullet one way, but then to paraphrase it in
too different a way in the audio narration. Its very hard for a learner to hear something
different to what they are seeing.
Writing your narration first helps to ensure that your supporting bullets use the same
extracted words. Of course, you must never break golden rule number one never put full
sentences on a screen that you then read out verbatim, unless its a quote that would
benefit from being read out aloud.

Practice makes perfect

Writing out your narration also allows you to practice delivering it and determining the
overall running time.
Its essential that you rehearse reading your narration out loud before the recording session,
as its only when you do that that you actually find out if you do naturally say things the way
you write them. Hearing things out loud will also confirm to your brain that what youve
written actually makes sense.

During the recording session itself, its very off-putting to be reading something and then find
you are saying something different, when you realise its not making sense,or youve made
a fundamental mistake. This is one of the most common causes of stumbling, resulting in
the need for a retake.

Contributors
Martin Baker
Martin is the founder and CEO of The Charity Learning Consortium, the largest group of
charities in the UK collaborating to make elearning affordable.
Twitter: @martincbaker & @charitylearning
Website: http://www.charitylearning.org/

Mark Berthelemy
Mark was elected to the eLearning Network board in November 2012. He is a learning and
communications technology professional with many years experience across the
educational, corporate, and public sectors.
He runs a consultancy, Wyver Solutions Ltd, specialising in advising clients on the selection,
implementation and use of learning & communication technologies from learning content
management, through learning design, to social media and formal training administration.
Twitter: @berthelemy
Website: www.wyversolutions.co.uk

Sam Burrough
Sam Burrough gave up trying to be a professional DJ/snowboarder/bum about 5 years ago
when he became a dad. Since then hes turned himself into an Online Learning Consultant at
Unum, where hes responsible for pretty much anything that involves learning and
technology,from compliance training and LMS maintenance, to finding ways to use social
media and improving digital literacy.
Hes also partly responsible for WEElearning Bristols very own elearning social.
Twitter:@burrough
Website: http://www.weelearning.co.uk/

Gill Chester
Gill is a learning designer at Little Man Project, the company she founded in 2010. Prior to

this she ran a busy training department, which delivered a portfolio of courses across the
UK.
She has a Masters in Networked Learning, which was one of the first masters programmes
in this field (and it was only 12 years ago!).
Web site: www.littlemanproject.com
Blog: www.littlemanproject/blog
Contact: www.about.me/gillchester

Stephanie Dedhar
Stephanie spent the first four years of her working life on the supplier side, project
managing and designing bespoke elearning solutions on many and varied topics for a range
of organisations.
Along the way she developed a passion for online learning design, being named
Instructional Designer of the Year at the IT Training Awards 2010. In 2011 Stephanie made
the leap to an in-house role and now works as a learning and performance consultant within
leadership development at BP.
Blog: www.stephaniededhar.wordpress.com
Twitter: @StephanieDedhar

Tim Drewitt
Tim, a longstanding eLN member, has 17 years experience in learning technologies within
the leadership and management development, financial services and legal fields.
He coaches subject matter experts in rapid development and virtual facilitation techniques.
Tim also steers the evolution of the firms LMS and has recently implemented a mobile
learning pilot, alongside initiatives in social media, learning transfer and evaluation.
Twitter:@timdrewitt
Web: http://timdrewitt.typepad.com/tech4learning/

Kim George
Kim is a learning and development manager at Getty Images. At work, her favourite thing to
do is help new starters settle in, learn about the organisation and discover how they want to

develop their careers; outside work, shes reigniting her love for Pinterest, eating her way
around London, and playing netball.
Twitter: @KimSGeorge

Rob Hubbard
Rob is the founder of LearningAge Solutions the vehicle for his ongoing deep exploration
into technology and learning.
Rob loves the intersection of creativity and technology wherever that occurs. Video,
transmedia and low-budget filmmaking are some of current passions.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RobHubbard
Website: http://www.learningagesolutions.com/

Richard Hyde
Richard is a Director the eLearning Network. An elearning specialist with significant
experience of bespoke elearning development over the past 15 years, he is a Director at
Mind-click.
Website:http://www.mind-click.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/richardthyde

Joan Keevil
Joan is director of Designs on Learning, a consultancy specialising in elearning design,
leadership development and facilitation. She has produced and scripted many compliance
elearning courses for clients including the BBC and various blue-chip companies, and has
recently delivered a series of anti-corruption workshops for a global high-tech company, in
the Far East, India and the US.
Joan was a judge in the 2011 Elearning Age Awards in the rapid and compliance
categories. She is also a virtual tutor at Henley Business School and an enthusiastic
supporter of social media for learning.
Twitter: @Designs_JoanK
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/joankeevill
Website: www.designsonlearning.co.uk

Charles Jennings
Learning and Working Smarter specialist/consultant. Work globally. Internet Time Alliance
team member. When working is learning, then learning is working
Website: http://www.duntroon.com
Twitter:@charlesjennings

Laura Layton-James
Laura has worked in Learning and Development for over 15 years and delivers classroom
workshops and online programmes on the topics of blended learning, elearning design,
elearning facilitation and elearning implementation. She is passionate about how technology
can help deliver and support learning more efficiently and yet still ensure effective learning
takes place by maintaining the human element.

James McLuckie
James is Learning Engagement Manager at Eden Tree, a resource bank for learning and
development professionals. He has worked in the field for over ten years, and has a
particular interest in online technology for learning. James recently completed his Masters in
E-Learning from the University of Edinburgh. He also manages the LDG (Learning and
Development Group) LinkedIn community.
Website: http://www.edentree.co.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JamesMcLuckie

Laura Overton
Laura is MD of benchmarking company, Towards Maturity, a provider of independent expert
advice and support.
Towards Maturity helps organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business
performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the UKs largest
learning technology benchmark, gathered by Towards Maturity over 8 years with over 1800
organisations.
Website: www.towardsmaturity.org
Twitter:@lauraoverton

Cat Oxley
Cat has been working in learning and development for eight years as the Learning
Innovations Lead at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
(GOSH).
Her role has been an exciting journey, from starting out with a pile of CDRoms on her desk
when she arrived, developing and implementing the Trusts first LMS, leading on technologyenhanced learning projects across the Trust for all levels of staff, to launching GOSHs first
ever Learning Innovations Conference 2013.

Peter Phillips
Peter is Chairman of the award winning Unicorn Training Group, which he founded with his
brother Andy in 1988. He led Unicorn to become a world leader in the development and use
of strategic business simulations, and major provider of elearning services to the UK
insurance and financial services sector.
In August 2002, he was appointed Chairman of AFC Bournemouth football club, but has
now returned full time to the calmer waters of Unicorn. In 2008 he was presented with the
elearning industry award for outstanding achievement.
Website: http://www.unicorntraining.com/

Louise Talbot
Louise has worked in Learning and Development for over 15 years and delivers classroom
workshops and online programmes on the topics of blended learning, elearning design,
elearning facilitation and elearning implementation.
She is passionate about how technology can help deliver and support learning more
efficiently and yet still ensure effective learning takes place by maintaining the human
element.

Sam Taylor
Sam is an elearning manager and self confessed social networking addict. She has been on
the board of the eLN since 2010 and was elected as Chair in 2013.
Website: http://www.elearningnetwork.org/users/sam-taylor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/samt_el

Chloe Weatherhead
Chloe is Head of the Housing e-Academy, which is part of Virtual College one of the UKs
leading providers of total solutions within the elearning arena.
The Housing e-Academy works specifically with the social housing sector and Chloe is
passionate about the benefits of elearning for both staff and tenants. She successfully uses
webinars, e-books, video, conferences and social media to spread the elearning message.
Website: http://www.virtual-college.co.uk/