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e-Instructional Design Modules

Discover how to revolutionise your e-learning design approaches.

 

About the e-instructional design modules

The fundamentals of instructional design apply as equally to e-learning as they do to the classroom. But that's where the similarities end. Creating e-learning requires an entirely different way of thinking. It also requires knowledge of new, more complex guidelines and principles. The modules in this content stream help you get to grips with e-learning development by focusing on:

  • effective approaches to instructional and learner interface design
  • creative methods for developing practice activities and feedback, and
  • innovative, rapid development processes that get positive results.
 

What are the available modules?

There are five modules for you to choose from in our e-Instructional Design content stream:

 

EID01: Boredom-busting e-learning that works

When a Sunday Times book critic praises a page-turner, be delighted. When your learners use it about your e-learning, start worrying.

Page-turning e-learning is easy to create. But churn it out at your peril. Your learners won't thank you. And when performance doesn't improve, nor will your boss.

This module turns the standard, content hierarchy-driven view of e-learning on its head. It introduces a holistic, three-pronged approach to development which always focuses you on:

  • using a learner-centred, context-driven approach to your design
  • creating relevant, meaningful practice activities for your learners, and
  • providing timely support and feedback within those activities.

Module length: 2 hours

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EID02: From Sketch to Prototype

This module:

  • Uses an example project to introduce our recommended design flow for creating a piece of e-learning
  • Explains two simple review frameworks to use at key points in the flow to keep your design on track
  • Provides detailed worksheets to enable you to capture key information and decisions through the design flow, and
  • Explores two different aspects of interface design for your e-learning.

Module length: 2 hours

Sketching
 

EID03: More than multiple choice -  effective practice fundamentals

Most e-learning authoring software makes quizzes, questions and interactions dead easy to create. You can churn them out quickly and efficiently. So what's the problem?

Well, just because the authoring software lets you do it, doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea. And anyway, practice activities in e-learning need to be about more than just multiple choice, true-false and abstract drag and drop.

In acknowledgement of this, the module focuses on:

  • The key underpinning principles and approaches involved in creating, relevant, challenging and realistic practice activities and scenarios
  • The essential skill areas that most typically need practising in work-based e-learning
  • The six key ingredients needed to build effective practice activities
  • The three types of meaningful feedback which consolidate learning and encourage transfer, and
  • How to ensure that any post practice test questions you create are valid and reliable.

Module length: 2 hours

Quiz questions

EID01 and EID03 Module Variations

We have a number of variations for modules EID01 and EID03. If you only create e-learning for one of the content types listed below, we can tailor modules EID01 and EID03 to better fit your specific content needs and requirements. The available content-focused variations are as follows:
  1. Sales, marketing and product knowledge
  2. IT, systems and technical content
  3. Policy and compliance content
  4. Soft skills content
  5. Higher education content
With the exception of higher education content, if your are creating e-learning for more than one of the content types A to E above, you should choose the standard versions of EID01 and EID03.
 
If you are working in higher education, choose variation E, regardless of content type.
 
Note: these variations are only available for in-house delivery. Scheduled public courses always include the standard versions of EID01 and EID03.
 

EID04: A design blueprint for high impact practice activities

This comprehensive and very hands-on three and a half hours is part module, part workshop. It extends and consolidates the key ideas and concepts already introduced and explored in modules EID01-03 and digs deep into the practical steps and the ‘how to’ of implementing design tools and principles previously introduced. 

The module is split into three segments and covers the following:

 

A.  Under the hood

This segment covers:

  • The anatomy of a typical high impact practice activity
  • How to define and/or validate the specific procedures and/or strategic skills for inclusion in your activity
  • How to ensure your activity aligns with your objectives/outcomes

 

B.  Defining and setting the scene

This segment covers how to:

  • Establish an authentic and job-realistic context for your practice activity
  • Identify a relevant event trigger to start the activity and motivate your learners to engage with it
  • Define and apply a suitable visual style
  • Use a blend of visuals and descriptive text to help bring your activity to life

 

C.  Designing your core activity

This final segment covers how to:

  • Build out an appropriate narrative/event sequence from your previously identified setting
  • Define an appropriate success path (or paths) through that sequence
  • Profile and create authentic and relatable characters into your activity, if appropriate
  • Identify and approximate the use of any job specific tools and/or skill-based techniques
  • Identify and build in any required data or other inputs
  • Manage and reflect real-world timespans within the constraints of your activity to increase authenticity and realism
  • Build in valid and reliable testing of both procedural and strategic skills

Module length: 3.5 hours

Designing high impact e-learning practice activities
 

EID05: A design blueprint for effective feedback and supporting knowledge

Continuing the part module, part workshop style of EID04, this module completes the design blueprint started in EID04 by answering questions about when, where and how frequently the following should be provided:

  • Help
  • Feedback
  • Reflection, and
  • Supporting knowledge

Central to the approach we cover in all of the EID modules is the concept of ‘guided discovery’. 

This is absolutely not about learning by random trial and error but it is about carefully calibrating a preferred success path through a practice activity, while still allowing room for your learners to make errors and to learn from their mistakes.

In this kind of ‘guided discovery’ environment the effective and appropriate use of help, feedback, reflection and supporting knowledge is critical. 

This module covers the specifics of how to:

  • Calibrate feedback by working within 4 key feedback parameters
  • Apply a consistent, success framework for providing your instructional feedback
  • Embed appropriate opportunities for learner reflection on feedback received
  • Encourage learners to apply critical thinking to skills and knowledge being practised
  • Use a coach or other support avatars to enable and encourage guided discovery and reflection
  • Embed the right levels of supporting knowledge in the right places, within your practice activity
  • Apply clear and consistent placement and visual styles, when presenting learners with help and support options

Module length: 2.5 hours

Designing effective e-learning feedback and supporting knowledge
 

Available Delivery Mediums

All of the modules in the e-Instructional Design content stream are available in the following delivery mediums:

Download A Learning Impact and Instructional Design Brochure...

If you need more information about our learning impact and instructional design training in-house programme (or our public courses) download one of the comprehensive training brochures shown below:

 

Browse More Modules?

Ready to take a look at the modules in other content streams? Use the links below or the main site menu above.

 

Ready to put together a course or just need some help?

 

Get some help

If you have any questions, or need some help with any aspect of the programme:
 
Click on the button below to use our help form; call us on 0845 122 7102 or email us at: enquiry@pacificblue.co.uk 
 
 
Click to ask your question or get help
 

Putting it all together

If you are ready to put your modules together into a customised in-house course, take a look at the How does it all work? page.

This explains how you can put together the modules you want into a customised programme.

  • The minimum length for a programme is half a day face-to-face or 3 hours of virtual classroom time
  • The maximum length is determined by however many modules you want to include
 

Get Your Effective E-Learning Toolkit

 

Sick to death of boring, page-turning e-learning?

Our free Effective E-Learning Toolkit helps you avoid deathly dull e-learning. It consists of:

Bored to Death by E-Learning? A concise guide explaing how to create e-learning that gets results and that your learners will actually enjoy.

Fill in the form below and you can be downloading your your free copy of the toolkit, in seconds.

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