We are creatures of habit. We start with a great idea, then ponder, and either move forward or wait and hold back. We do this when we attend conferences. Listen to unique ideas (sometimes) or interesting approaches, write it all down, get enthralled about the idea, say to yourself, I am going to implement this, and then return back and do nothing.

OR we listen, listen, get on our laptop, or read our mobile, and stay at the session, as though we have to stay due to the school experience of you can’t leave. Perhaps it’s a sense of guilt; I mean, you decided to attend, and you do not want to offend the speaker, so you stay.

Is it of value? Unlikely because unless you are an auditory learner, who can multi-task, the information you receive goes in one ear and out the other.

I see this approach, well, not the goes in one ear and out the other, when I attended seminars at conferences. Half the time, the speaker/presenter knew what they were talking about, with examples and a straightforward approach for anyone; and the other half, you questioned how did this person pass the requirements to present? I remember attending a virtual world workshop where the expert didn’t know how to create a virtual place where virtual folks could attend to acquire information, attend sessions, and so forth. I figured it was a one-off, so the following year, that same “expert” had another workshop (it was part of the program), and I attended. Once again, they had no idea. I figured it out while they were busy talking nonsense and confusing those in attendance.

Another session was around ecosystems, which sounded like this would be amazing. The folks who provided it were from a large company in the tech space (name withheld). They were experts, but they talked way over anyone in attendance. When they started to show programming language, everyone was lost. Smart folks, but what they presented was something only large companies with a built-in programming team (not L&D or training folks) could replicate.

There are pre-assumptions in play if you attend a workshop or seminar on instructional design or course building. I’ve never seen a presentation where the basics, including all facets of the introductory course design, are provided, regardless of the authoring tool or lack thereof. I have yet to see, via a program, a session targeting people with zero background in L&D or Training and zero experience in anything related to effective course design.

If you want to find materials on creating an online course, the internet is the worst place to look. Books are no better because they ignore that times have changed, that an increased percentage of people have to create the content, typically not by choice, and terms such as Kirkpatrick are as foreign as the former members of the Warsaw Pact, let alone what was the Warsaw Pact?

I took a look at the Learning Technologies conference 2023 program. Besides the fact that they focused only on L&D (ignoring training, a large group of people who run this department/division), and ignored anything around customer education, not one of the sessions was about folks building a course for the first time, let alone understanding the trend of newbies with zero background. Yet, content drives learning. All those learning experiences, learning academies, cohort-based learning, and so forth, require effective courses and content. What is going in there, a picture of the Eiffel tower from 1889?

When I talk to learners, a constant message I often hear is terrible content. The content is boring, or all text (I see this often), ineffective, and so on. Many times, I have run into whatever the learning system is, it stinks, and when you do a deeper dive, you find the content is the culprit here.

If you use PowerPoint, I strongly recommend you don’t. Nor use Word as the driver of creating your content unless your content is only a document; in that case, convert it to a PDF, and recognize the probability someone is going to read the entire document is about the same as you reading the complete terms when you purchase any software. Toward the end of the post, I’ll provide a few SaaS authoring tools anyone can use. I won’t include Storyline because you need ID or course development skill sets to get amazing courses that are highly engaging and interactive. Many content developers I know use Storyline. And yet, you can do basics there, but the cost isn’t worth it.

What to Ignore

ADDIE. Sounds great, but it has passed its prime. When I started to create online courses with zero instructional design background, I took a deep look and then realized I had to go hybrid here. I never did a storyboard and stuff like that. Thus, ignore ADDIE unless you are an instructional designer/developer who still thinks storyboards and other stuff are a must. But this post isn’t about you, so, uh, yeah.

Kirkpatrick. I don’t and still don’t understand the love for Kirkpatrick, which was designed/created for ILT. Not web-based, online courses. I see that folks take this model for ILT, then shove them into the online course builds and go, “See, it is perfect for that.” Again, if you are an ID or e-learning developer, you are probably a fan of Kirkpatrick. If you have no background in the course builds, regardless if you are in L&D, Training, or any other department, what is the point of trying to do Kirkpatrick? Honestly, you can tap into the KP for online – via your learning system for some of the items. But is the learner happy? If you assign them courses, and they cannot pick their own – I can predict the answer is a huge no.

Think, however, about this model – Gagne

Gagne – Look at this model designed for ILT, and see how many of these items you tap into with your learning system and desire to achieve positive learning results.

• Capture learner’s attention – if your course is interactive/engaging and adds a real-world experience – which I always recommend – then you are onto something. Real-World, I’ll cover how to do that when you create your first course and more going forward. The rest captures the learner’s attention; I rarely see it in seminars for ILT. How many times have you seen someone dress as a clown and show up?
• Inform learners of objectives – This is a must when writing a course/content description they will see before selecting the content/course. I see many 3rd party courses/content that lack objectives OR the promise of objectives – I’ll explain shortly. As for folks who create their courses, it is a mixed bag. The plus of a blog is I will cover how to do it.
• Stimulate recall of prior learning – The repetition angle is part of this, but what people ignore is that checking says six months or 12 months is a far better way to ascertain if they can recall the information you are presenting. Don’t worry; I’ll explain how to do this – and yes, some learning systems can achieve this. Always remember that the goal of online learning is synthesis. Way too many people think it is comprehension. Trust me; it’s not.
• Present the content – Pretty obvious here – you are creating an online course, video course, or whatever. Engage the learner – always. There are ways to tap into knowledge. I’ll cover this.
• Provide the Learner Guidance – If you are going cohort-based learning, you are going to score big on this. As for an online course? Guess what? I’ll show you how – and BTW, I see a lot of off-the-shelf courses/content that lack the guidance angle.
• Elicit Performance (Practice) – Real-world is the key here with scenarios. Remember you are creating an online course/content for a reason – perhaps it is to develop this skill or that skill, or a required course around harassment, or a course on a product that you sell or provide. Just writing about it doesn’t work. Apply the real world with it.
• Provide Feedback – Can you achieve this with an online course? You bet. I’ll tell you how.
• Assess Performance – This is a challenge because the easy way out is to create an assessment/test to assess whether they learned the content. The problem with that is twofold – a. if I am good at memorizing, then I will do well, b. if I can take the assessment repeatedly, then what’s the point? And I will add a c – people can guess and have a 50-50 chance of passing. If your course is boring and just text, you have already lost the learner before the assessment. The way to honestly assess – real-world scenarios. And BTW, you can do this with micro-learning.
• Enhance retention and transfer – Synthesis is huge here. I retain the knowledge, then apply it, then from that, I can take said expertise and move forward, acquiring new knowledge based upon the previous to add new skills to the skill I just learned – Way too many people believe that it is a one-one approach – you are providing content to learn this skill – and then supposedly you learn this skill. However, multiple factors are involved here- and you must build upon that skill, tapping into other skills that may be inert. Think this way; I am writing this post – clearly, I have a skill for that, but I also have other skills tied around that, from a background in Journalism, using a form called New Journalism, to tapping into previous skills learned – when creating a course in this case, to analyzing what I am presenting: all skills, some inert.

This is why I recommend going with Gagne with tweaks. And yes, it was designed for ILT, but without following every step or approach, and instead, taking pieces that will work is the prime goal. Let’s build a course without using any templates (authoring tools today, and actually for the past 15 years, loved templates – they are easy to use and quick to build).

Assume nothing

Rule #1 – Never assume. Let’s say you are creating a course on how to use Microsoft Word. You may think, “well, everyone knows how to start,” or “everyone knows how to check the spelling.” The reality, though, is often different. I remember a former CEO who reached out to IT (at a company I worked at) because he had no idea how to access MS Word. They had to tell him what icon to look for on his desktop and what to do next. Then they had to cover a few basic steps.

Rule #2 – Write in LCD – LCD means lowest common denominator. Try to avoid jargon if possible. Write at a level that someone – regardless of schooling could understand. I’m not talking about, See Jane Kick the Ball stuff. Way too many people use SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) to create the courses. Let me tell you something – that is the WORST idea to ever do. They are experts in the subject, but they will talk using terminology with the expectation someone who is seeing this for the first time will know. The best way to utilize SMEs – is to speak to them and get the information you need/seek to create the course. You may need multiple SMEs, but still, follow that method. Then, you go back and decide what is relevant to what you are making and what isn’t. Nowadays, you can email the SME and ask them, OR some SaaS authoring tools have a collaboration component where an SME can add thoughts – you still review them. OR give them access to a Google Doc/Word Doc and have them answer some questions. I recommend that last one. Never take everything they say because it may not be relevant to the course/content you are creating.

Rule #3 – Micro-learning is misleading. What takes you 10 minutes to complete may take me an hour. Everyone learns at a different time angle, and let’s remember that the reason online learning was created was to allow the learner to drive – they decide how long it will take, and they can go back over and over again. I despise the duration angle because who decided it would take this long? How can they be sure that person has comprehended the information, let alone tapped into retention and synthesis? Plus, micro means short; it doesn’t mean good. It’s been around since 2000, by the way; nothing new. I always find it interesting that many micro courses have multiple mods under them, which I support, but then they say well, it is a micro-learning course (ignoring the other mods). I created a micro course with multiple modules, where folks could jump around between them (non-linear is the term) and go back as much as they wanted. The course/mods each had a real-world scenario at the end of them – could folks jump to it? Sure, but the gain is what exactly? None of the courses were required. What did I find with the data? Higher retention rates (via checkups) and higher usage of the courses. Feedback was high in a positive way. Adults like the real-world – and how it applies to them – always remember…

Rule #4 – WIFM – What is in it for me? If you remember anything, remember this when you create a course. Who is your target audience? New employees? Management – potential leaders? New customers? Existing customers taking a new course around a specific subject – i.e., macros, for example?

Rule #5 – Target Audience. Too many people say for onboarding, think, “okay, this course is for new employees.” Great. And what are all these folks going to do at your workplace? Are they all doing the same thing? Is there anything that is non-applicable to all of them? Are they right out of college or experienced? If right out of college, then what type of scenario can you tap into that they can relate to and still make it applicable to the information and knowledge you want to apply? If experienced – okay, where will they work, what department, and what will they do? Onboarding isn’t just about everyone learning about the company culture and how to find the kitchen. It isn’t about dress codes or a hybrid working environment where you must come into X days. You don’t need a course for that – just a PDF with that information. It reminds me of the days, where as part of your onboarding, you learned about the company, its goals, culture, and the CEO. How? They stuck you in a room, popped in a DVD, and left. I never watched the whole thing; it bored me. Then they would return and say something like, how was it? Response – great, I learned a lot. Ignoring that a lot meant I learned how the trees move on your property.

Rule #6 – Don’t be afraid to try new ways. You are unknown at this. You are going to make mistakes; that is natural. Remember the train; I think I can; I think I can thing? That is your mindset. I think I can; I think I can, then, I know I can. Nobody created an amazing course for the first time. It used to take weeks, to create a course, with rapid content authoring tools; are designed for someone to create a course in 10 minutes if you know how to do click and go. Now is that a good course? No, just a quick one.

Your first course may not be good, but it’s your first one. Launch it, then say, okay, I can create a better one by trying this or that. I know that all text is not what I should do.

Learning Objectives

Bounce around the internet, and you will find many examples of how to write learning objectives. Some go super in-depth, behind Bloom, or a comprehensive approach to truly dive deep into your audience. The good news is that you do not have to do that. There is one site that I recommend only for action verbs. That said, many folks select the tried and true ones such as “Identify, Explain, Compare, and Build/Create.”

How to Write the Description

After you have created your course and added it to the catalog or wherever you plan to post it on your learning system for learners to see, you need to include a brief description and no more than three learning objectives.

The description should get to the point and be short. This is not the time to write extensive paragraphs or use lexicon that confuses folks. One item to remember about descriptions, as it leads into the learning objectives is to avoid “you will be able to.”

Example of a Good Description

Writing a blog post isn’t as simple as writing a column or creating a short paper. It requires analysis of the topic of choice, methodology on the approach of writing, and a perspective that presents information in a manner that offers readers insight.

In this course, you should be able to (Okay, did you see what I wrote here – “You Should be Able to”) – I see a lot of examples where they note, “You will learn how to” – this is a bad objective approach because what you are saying, is that by taking this course/content or webinar/seminar you will know how to do something – which there isn’t a true way for you to know that. And what happens when they don’t?

The best example I ever heard around the “You will learn how to” is around golf. What would you think if you saw the following:

Upon completing this course, you will learn how to hit a hole-in-one.

Now, the learner will think – okay, this course is going to give me the tools and guarantee that by using those specific tools/ideas, I will hit a hole in one.

The probability of hitting a hole-in-one is extremely low – if you are an average golfer, the odds are 48,000 to one. And it will, on average, require 20,000 rounds of golf.

Thus, the “you should be able to” provides enough leeway in saying maybe you will, maybe you won’t. Still, you will be provided with the information in the course (content), webinar/seminar to demonstrate a basic understanding.

Using my description

Writing a blog post isn’t as simple as writing a column or creating a short paper. It requires analysis of the topic of choice, methodology on the approach of writing, and a perspective that presents information in a manner that offers readers insight.

In this course, you should be able to

• Identify three ways to present actionable results for your readers
• Compare the differences between effective blogs and ineffective blogs when writing on a specific topic
• Create one short blog post around your favorite topic

The goal of effective learning objectives IMO is to provide the learner with direct specific results. – Think actionable. Now, this doesn’t mean they have to complete the entire course to do so; rather, by picking and choosing what is relevant or of interest to them, let’s say they go to the chapter or module on differences of effective blog writing, the course presents a various explanations/examples.

If I, as the learner, were interested in blog writing but didn’t know how to start, then I likely would go linear – start at the beginning and go right to the end. If, however, I had a basic understanding, then my interest might be around actionable results.

A great course hits the WIFM angle. In the above, I would have scenarios – by showing recordings of blog writing – with step by step. Step 1 do this, step 2… Because another secret for great, even good courses, is the approach of – show me, tell me, let me do it. This is the approach you should take for folks learning software or, in my example, a blog post. Show me – Step by step; web recording software will do this, and you use your cursor. Tell me- Many folks ignore this step, but think of it as a way to have that helper if you will. A lot of people utilize this by adding audio to the show me. Of course, in show me, you can include audio or not. For software, I always did two – Show me, Let me Do it.

The third is let me – As in, let me do it. With your screen recording software, you create areas within the course that allow the learner to enter the information, use the cursor to go into fields, or whatever. Learners love the let me angle. If you are doing “how to interview,” they let me know where the learner actually types within the course. In the interview example, one section covers effective questions -providing examples – this can be where the folks are asking the questions, and the other person responds OR, in brief text with visuals, with a listing of some effective questions – let’s go with three or four. I say this because data has shown that people tend to recall the first and last of whatever list you present, and short is always better. Hence the top three or four.

A few screens/pages later, in our listing of effective questions, a scenario can say, “Nancy is interviewing for X (job); what do you think is the best question to ask her, to see initially her background?” The learner now types in the question within the course. OR enters multiple depending on how you have inquired.

Here the learner has been provided with the previous information and, further into the course, is now asked to recall it. Maybe they get them right, maybe not – but it gives you a quick insight into what they recalled. Perhaps if they post a question, that will work too. The key here is not to penalize nor say, “no, this is wrong.” The learner will want to return if done correctly throughout the course’s modules or chapters.

I often placed my scenarios at the end of each chapter or module. The scenario/scenarios were tied to the information presented for that specific chapter. Engaging works.

How much do I shove into my course?

Way too many people think their content should contain a lot of information in a short period or period of time. The more the merry! Wrong. Focus on one specific area – and that becomes your course. Think actionable results here. Nowadays, people place multiple modules under the topic, and then rather than focusing on one specific section/topic – they go all over the place. If my module covers “Vernacular you can use when presenting,” then the module/chapter should only cover those specifics. Nobody needs lengthy verbiage of stuff to get there. Get to the point. Remember your goal is to present the information/knowledge in a manner that doesn’t bore someone or confuse them.

There are folks who still use manuals or written materials, and believe that by taking all the material from a chapter per se, is the best route. NO. Go thru the chapter and extract one or two key principles you want someone to know. Then create the course. It shouldn’t be more than a few pages.

The Format – Outline

When you create a course, whether it is a RCAT or ugh, PowerPoint (I do not recommend this), the proper format is Chapter-Pages-Lesson/Assignment. Nowadays, folks have turned to a wild angle that doesn’t benefit the learner. It creates a poor way to learn, with penalties no less. This is because the new approach is (and I will use the proper terminology here), Chapter-Pages-Assessment. Think about the perk here. Hey, you finished the course, now here is a test to see if you can remember what you just learned (supposedly). I’d love to know who a test with matching or short answer or whatever is truly going to ascertain, comprehension, let alone synthesis. This approach is dated.

I should add that some folks shove that assessment/test every few pages, as though, to pass go, you have to pass this.

If you use an RCAT (Rapid Content Authoring Tool), you will probably see either “Chapter”, “Header”, “Module” and then the term slides. What bothers me here about this approach is

• The majority of people who are behind creating these authoring tools have a background in instructional design, e-learning development, or instructional technologist. They know the correct terms and lexicon and even design approaches for effective courses. And yet, they decided to go “slides.”
• Slides – is telling me, and clearly, you, that you use PowerPoint, and thus you know what slides mean.
• It isn’t effective in the long term. If you want to expand your skills (and you should want to), and move up to other, more advanced tools, then the slide angle will be an impediment. I know those folks and others out there will disagree, but when you see an authoring tool using the term ‘layers’ do you know what that means?

RCATs utilize templates, and that is fine. It helps folks to build courses quickly, and some RCATs now include simulations as an option. I say great. Because the terminology I want you always to remember is the following

Chapter – Pages-Scenario

Regardless of what the RCAT uses, it would help if you remembered CPS. Always utilize scenarios with ideally, let me do it. Bring in Real-World, especially if the course/content is around a skill or skills for them to learn or know. You can make the scenarios easy – perhaps to start, and then for the last chapter, let’s say it is a review chapter, a challenging scenario. OR if you are creating courses/content for say, beginners, then intermediate and advanced, the scenarios align, as in beginner- easy, intermediate- challenging, advanced challenging to difficult (without them giving up). You want your learners to think. To utilize what they are learning and applying. To challenge them. Heck, I’d go with some gamification here – depending on your learners. But that won’t be for everyone.

The Last Bits to Remember

• TOC – (Table of Contents) – It is a must. Even with short courses/content, you can do this. Using a video? Include a TOC. This allows folks to see the chapters-pages- scenarios (by name), and be able to jump around (non-linear btw, is the most effective method for comprehension, retention, and synthesis). If you choose to go linear, as in A to B to C (like you are reading a book), you can lockdown various chapters/pages until the person completes the previous. Still, after completing the entire course, they can go back to multiple pages and chapters.
• If you are doing Video or including video in your course – you must provide a guide ahead of time. The guide tells folks how to navigate the course/video/content. If you are using an RCAT, this is easy to do. Too many course providers (off-the-shelf), ignore this and jump right in. You see the back navigation and front navigation. There isn’t a how-to-use, how-to-navigate, or how-to-download attachment (if you use one).
• The guide btw is excellent to have at the start of your content/course (regardless of whether it is video). Let’s say that within your course, you have hints or tips. And let’s say you decided that the icon for this is a light bulb. How would someone know this if they are taking the course and you haven’t identified what the light bulb means? Or let’s say you have the option to go in a different direction within the course (think, paths), and to get there; you have a special clue. You choose a horse icon. Again, how do I know this? Be clear when providing an introduction to the course, which is what you are doing, and identify any icons, navigation methods, and so forth. If you have an attachment and it is a PDF, do not assume everyone knows what a PDF is or how to view it, let alone have the software. I always added a link to Adobe Acrobat Viewer, so someone could click and go and even provided basic directions.

Bottom Line

Chapters-Pages-Scenario

Real World – Real Life approach for skill development, upskilling, learning whatever topic you are covering.

Think like the learner – the adult learner. WIFM. Remember WIFM.

Show me Let me do it. When training on software, even within scenarios.

Focus. Right to the Point.

Table of Contents

Descriptions that explain what is being presented.

Objectives that list “should be able”, and not “you will learn”

Make mistakes. It’s okay, nobody created amazing the first time out, let alone the fifth or sixth.

Buy an RCAT. I will provide you a list, of which I believe are the easiest to use, and get you going.

Ignore what garbage is on the internet, when it comes to course design – most is dated, and others seem more interested in an actual course you are teaching at a school/university. Some are applicable to corporate learning, but even then they are using approaches that are not for 2024, nor understand that many people today, do not have a background in instructional design, let alone e-learning development.

Personally I believe that there are folks overseeing L&D, T&D and Training, are not experts in instructional design. And that is because, unless you have built courses for online in the past, using the more advanced authoring tools out there, OR were around during the days of Flash and course building, knowing ID wouldn’t be at the forefront of your skills.

Heck, I self-taught myself. It wasn’t easy. Then, I had to learn how to use the authoring software that was available back then. My first course was without an authoring tool. It was built with HTML and had to have two different versions, one of Netscape, the other for Internet Explorer. This was because Sun (who made javascript) was not allowing Microsoft to use it, due to some whatever. Thus, you as the course developer needed to have two versions, and a cookie sniffer, which would recognize which browser your learner was using, when the went into the course, via the browser. I built the LMS – Never do this, so folks could enter. That was in 2000.

As the red engine book said, “I think I can, I think I can”

And soon, you

Will.

E-Learning 24/7

The Best and easiest authoring tools to get started (in no particular order, okay the first one is – I listed three) – be aware that some SaaS RCAT’s include data similar to basic learning platform. Ignore that. Focus on the course. Plus you publish right into the learning system you are using, as long as the tool supports the learning system course standards. Many of the tools support all , or nearly all (excluding PENS). But check. I also added the authoring tool, I consider the best in the market.

Elucidat – Also offers templates for customer education/training in various sectors. Easy to use. I have always liked this SaaS tool, and recommend it to folks seeking a RCAT.

iSpring – Current version is Suite 11. Super easy authoring tool. Lots of options.

EasyGenerator – Compared to Elucidat or even iSpring Suite, the others are better, nevertheless, a lot of folks like EG, and I have found it to be another RCAT ideal for beginners.

dominKnow – This authoring tool, honestly, is super robust. As a beginner, you can build some stuff, I love the built-in simulation, and a variety of options including Print (yes, there are people who want to print out the online course, which is why in my guide – introduction to the course, I always had a print option), and every course standard, including xAPI. If you are someone who gets pass the beginning level and wants to take it up a notch, this is the offering. Is it the best authoring tool on the market – I say yes. But it is complex, and you have a learning curve. I added them, because people do ask me what is the best authoring tool on the market – so here it is.

What I am working on

I reached out to each vendor to see what they could offer folks who are curious about their authoring tool, but don’t want to buy yet. I am NOT RECEIVING ANY REFFERAL FEES OR ANY FEE for doing so. Trying out an authoring tool is essential, and many RCATs today, have either no trial, or limited 14 days. As if you have nothing else going on. I will post this information via my LinkedIn thread (so follow me), and on the Learning Library version, that will be published next week.