By Rick Nigol
 We ran another in our continuing
series of webinars on Thursday. I think we struck a chord out there,
as 43 individuals from across North America, and as far away as
South Africa, logged in and participated in an event centred on
creative ways to break free of various technological constraints
when designing and delivering eLearning. The title - Don't Box Me
In! - summed up the theme of the webinar.
In relating their own experiences in eLearning,
various participants lamented limited functionality in the
technology they are using, lack of interaction it affords, differing
technologies not able to "talk" to each other, lack of proper user
tracking, and limited IT support for learning technologies. These
are familiar refrains that hear from clients every day. Our
response, and the one we delivered today, is as follows:
1. There is No "One"
Way to do eLearning
The possibilities are virtually limitless. A
learning management system (LMS) is not always necessary. Vendors
will have you believing that an LMS is the be all and end all. There
are so many creative things that can be done without an LMS by
mixing and matching various technologies (e.g. Flash modules /
discussion board software / back-end recording keeping database)
that can deliver your required functionality without a huge up-front
investment required in a packaged system.
2. Technology Choices
Abound
We are living in an age of abundance in terms of
the range of easy-to-use technologies that we can deploy in the
service of eLearning. There is a plethora of choice, from open
source courseware, to free Web 2.0 social networking software (blogs
and wikis), to open source downloadable plug-and-play widgets. It
doesn't have to be a one system, one-size-fits-all approach. You can
take a flexible approach and grow as you learn. Some day you may
require an LMS, but if you are starting small and experimenting,
keep it simple.
3. Get IT Folks on
Side
The IT people can make your life a joy or
complete hell, depending on the extent to which they help or hinder
you in reaching your goals for your eLearning. If possible, get your
own IT person or team right in the training / learning function.
That way, they work for you and are less likely to be
obstructionist. This is especially true in very large organizations,
where the IT function is quite often uniform and rigid.
4. Technology Should
Not be Your Starting Point
Our mantra hasn't changed over many years.
Strategy should drive technology, not the other way around. Too many
organizations think the first thing they have to do when starting
eLearning is to buy a "system." Wrong. The first thing you should do
is determine why you want to do eLearning, what results will define
success, and the particular situation of your organization and the
nature of the learners you will be reaching. Then, and only then,
should you start thinking about the types of technology that will
help get you there.
For those who missed the webinar, here is a link
to the recording.
Rick
Nigol is Co-Founder and Director
of Education for eLearn Campus.
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