Why Oh Why..
September 20, 2011
Our studio has had the opportunity to work on a several e-learning design projects which we enjoyed, but led us to ask the question “Why is eLearning design so bad?! “
In a word, Powerpoint. Yes, the content and design creation vehicle of choice for instructional designers is Powerpoint. Will relying on Powerpoint be the answer for a market projected to rise globally to $107 billion by 2015? The learning and development (L&D) segment will play an increasingly important role not only in corporations, but our secondary and post-secondary learning environments as well. Currently, there is little to no standardization regarding learning management systems (LMS’s), content-creation platforms, analytics and learning outcomes capture, or UI/UX best practices. In fact, large LMS systems like Blackboard and WebACT may have contributed to the stagnation of eLearning over the last decade as they have created large web-based distribution systems that warehouse textual information and offer limited capacities for interactive learning material.
Building a successful eLearning program is a complex process usually involving many actors, including instructional designers (ID’s), graphic designers, UI/UX designers, subject-matter experts, project managers and programmers. Having a set of tools or a system of practice that do not easily work with one another (for example, ID’s using Powerpoint and graphic designers using Adobe Illustrator) can create a constant workflow push and pull between technical capability and desired outcome, which to0 often ends in a compromise where no one is particularly satisfied.
This represents a wonderful opportunity for designers and studios to take a more active lead and help change the face of eLearning. We must encourage subject-matter experts and ID’s to step away from Powerpoint and articulate the needed learning outcomes more like a creative brief. Visual design cannot be separated from learning outcome; with visually savvy constituencies learning will be adversely affected if visual design and delivery is inconsistent. This is a good comprehensive discussion of the visual importance of design in eLearning; make your 50 milliseconds count!!
Interested in exploring how your eLearning can have greater impact?, let us know. We love learning!