e-Learning Leadership Blog

posted by M.Garret on August 13, 2009 
POSSIBLE 2ND EDITION GUIDE 
The original guide is so helpful, but perhaps the second edition could include information regarding SCORM in order to comply with the format of a learning management system (like UniversitySite). I had been designing, recording and publishing videos for over a year before we brought the LMS on board and started to integrate our videos with it.

posted by galyer on August 13, 2009  
FEEDBACK FOR NEXT EDITIONS  
As a new e- learning learner, the book series was very helpful. The tools,e.g. checklists, concrete examples, printable tables of key information from the CD were the most helpful. More of the same would be good. There was so much good info threaded throughout the books that I created my own charts of key components/content.

posted byjrdeffendall on August 14, 2009 
SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT EDITION(s) 
First, the CD contained excellent examples. The book also contained thought provoking material that supported the points expressed. 
 
What appeared to be missing (at least for me) was discussion of what tools were used to create the material. Or, ways to apply the methods on a limited budget. 
 
For your material, I could enjoy an account of how to apply your principles in simple presentations. Or, why Flash or a Flash designer is a must for your efforts. Since Adobe sadly appears to be letting Authorware wither on the vine, could that free you to discuss what tools are a must (as a starting place for discussion), and then even expand on the subject by showing what ways various tools can be used to support the very important concepts you expressed in the first book? 
 
For example, I enjoy Tom Kuhlman's "Rapid eLearning Blog" because of his discussion on how to use free or other sourced tools like PowerPoint to support the design process on a limited budget.

posted by vivek on August 23, 2009 
Michael Allen Second Edition: VivekPadubidri's Expectionation 
I would be interested to see if you can provide detailed templates to focus the discussion before, during and after prototypes are created. You can consider looking at the create, design and develop stages at each stage of the prototype and suggest in your template, how we must focus the discussion/meetings and what to decide, how to decide and get acceptance of the group. This is a critical area. The other area where I saw difficulty in 2003, was in getting my core team to accept rapid prototyping. The first few times I tried rapid prototyping, I had to demonstrate, pursuade people around me to work differently, quickly and without having to produce great assets upfront. We surely got better results with rapid prototyping as we went along. Thanks. The final area where I think you must emphasize is the difference between a rapid elearning tool vs. rapid prototyping as we have come to understand as a process. The vendors selling rapid elearning tools just overwhelm and try to confuse the SMEs. Thanks very much. Vivek Padubidri

There isn't anything about the guide that needs updating. All of the information is just as useful today as it was 6 years ago. I suspect it will continue to be useful many years into the future.  
 
I've read lots of books that approach the same subject matter and not a one does it better. 
 
If you're asking me, I'd say keep going with the e-learning library. There are many useful things to be said about interfaces that support learning, practical thinking behind prototyping (*read* lots of examples), and implementing a project management system around an iterative design methodology. 
 
Let the first book continue to stand on its own. New stuff...that's what we need! 

I appreciate these thoughtful (and often much too flattering) comments. I understand publishers want about 20% new material to quality for a new edition, so I'd have to add something pretty substantial. 
 
The tools issue is a perennial one, and extremely hard to address. For example, the best tool to use is often the tool you know how to use. If you didn't know how to use any, there would still be the question of what type of content and instructional model you're using, what background skills you have, whether you'd be working solo as a team, and so forth. And even then, if you could come up with answers to all the combinations of major factors, technology is changing rapidly and the recommendations would go out of date relatively fast. 
 
What I would have recommended for tools when I wrote the book is not what I'd recommend today. And again, making recommendations without a situational analysis is really difficult. 
 
Vivek makes a good point about the distinction between rapid authoring and rapid prototyping. I'm sure many are confused by these very different things. It would certainly be a good addition to the book to address this. 
 
In the mean time, I guess I'll stay focused on the library series. Having actually completed a draft of the next one (it's on learner interface design), I've scrapped it completely and started over. I think this next approach is going to be very interesting. Hope so! 
 
MWA

Yay for new stuff!

The first edition was fabulous! I would love to see three things in the second edition:  
 
1) Discussion and examples of simulated dialog using a series of videos or stills and branching.  
 
2) Examples of how designers integrated small training vignettes into an e-learning course to support the larger simulation (where additional knowledge/skills are needed). 
 
3) Low budget examples of highly effective e-learning.

Hi, 
 
 
 
I am finding the current edition a truly inspirational resource. What I would love to see is enhanced summmary sections with bullets etc to help me remember better! I am making my own notes but to have them in the book would be great.  
 
 
 
Best Wishes, 
 
 
 
Richard

Hello! 
 
I am a great fan of the first edition and have used to help me develop a hybrid Elementary Algebra course. I used Camtasia to produce 3 to 5 to 8 minute QuickTime movies and Podcasts for iTunes. I had previously prototyped using a different format which apparently slowed the college server down and was instructed to move my content to a streaming server (on campus access only). Simply did not work for me to be on an already overloaded server. Became part of an iTunes project. In the last 4 weeks of semester, 1649 hits on iTunes for my students. Represents at least 75 hours of viewing, if viewed once. Students can customize their playlist to review and work assingments, study for quizzes and tests. Designed movies and podcasts to identify content in first 30 seconds (kind of like previewing music) to determine if they needed to use the whole video. Used, prototyping, quick and dirty (although the semester's content took over 1000 hours to do), learner control, etc. All from your book.

Thank you, Mr. Allen! I just got to page 10 of the book after all the good stuff at the beginning and I am completely hooked. I almost missed so many subway stops because of that book! It is so engaging. I had the pleasure of meeting you at the Chicago ASTD conference. It was such a transforming experience! I appreciate that you come from the two worlds of training as well as design. Not everyone involved in elearning understands those two. I also appreciate your uncanny sense of humor! I never thought I would find a book about elearning funny! I am a FAN!