Contents of Government Elearning! Magazine - NOV-DEC 2011

Elearning! Magazine: Building Smarter Companies via Learning & Workplace Technologies.

Page 42 of 52

TipsOnline Training Top 5
Basic training courses with the traditional, page-turner flow of information from start to fin- ish are no longer enough for successful e-learning imple- mentation. In order for train- ing to grasp learner attention, engage them and keep them engaged, courses and training should come highly equipped with interactivity. Flash-based content allows developers to include virtually any interac- tive element in their content and wraps it up in one robust rapid e-learning package. That said, finding the bal-
ance between engaging e-learn- ing content that meets an orga- nization's goals but also remains within the financial and time restraints of the organization is a challenge. To meet all of these needs, success- ful training implementation requires five must-haves for creating and deploying Flash- based rapid e-learning content:
1REACH LEARNERS ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
Mobile learning in organiza- tions is growing at a rapid rate. eLearning Guild research data
Must-Haves for Rapid E-learning Flash Development
shows that of those who have implemented mobile learning, 50% are seeing positive returns. In order to deploy mobile learn- ing, the Flash development tool must have the capability to pub- lish content to HTML5 format, viewable on all mobile devices including smartphones and tablets. With this accessibility, instructors now have a direct portal for learning and commu- nication held directly in the hands of learners.
2HIGH-IMPACT INTERACTIVITY
Flash-based rapid e-learning content excites learners with dynamic training that moti- vates them to learn, engage and retain information. Flash con- tent developed with the right tool keeps learners engaged in a way that merely delivering tex- tual information alone will not. Rather than simply completing the steps of a training course, high-impact, interactive ele- ments provide a robust e-learn- ing experience that transcends a basic course, promoting deeper understanding and retention of information.
42 November / December 2011 Elearning!
Rapid e-learning promotes fur- ther engagement for learners by providing them with direct access to share with their fellow peers by interacting on social media. Pushing e-learning con- tent out to social media sites provides learners with a highly functioning platform for engag- ing with others including post- ing and answering questions, providing and accessing addi- tional resources and network- ing. This capability, referred to as crowdsourcing, promotes the exchange of information, which is an extremely valuable resource among learners in organizations.
3INTERACT THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA 4LOW LEARNING CURVE FOR DEVELOPMENT
With ever-changing organiza- tional needs, just-in-time training and rapid develop- ment are gaining more ground. In order to develop e-learning quickly, it is key to take advan- tage of tools that require a low learning curve. This means that not only can e-learning developers jump right into projects, but they no longer require extensive development time. The best rapid e-learning tool will meet both the novice and the expert needs β€” whether the developer wants professional templates to easily customize or if they prefer to create content from scratch.
5LOW COST OF DEVELOPMENT
A simple tool not only makes development much faster, but
quick content creation ulti- mately impacts the bottom line. Without the need for extensive training or the need to hire or contract a special- ized Flash developer, Flash development costs stay low and decrease financial restraints and limitations. The key to creating highly interac- tive rapid e-learning Flash content for learners at low costs is to utilize easy-to-use, innovative tools to remain ahead of the curve.
THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB It no longer requires large sums of money to develop rapid e- learning content with an inno- vative, robust Flash content creation tool. Snap! Empower is not only affordable at just $99, but it is the only tool of its kind that can publish to HTML5 viewable on mobile devices and offers one-click publishing to social media net- works. In addition, Snap! Empower comes full of hun- dreds of templates, dozens of Flash components, video capa- bilities and much more for high-impact, engaging Flash content for learners β€” all with zero programming knowledge necessary. Snap! Empower is extremely easy to use, extreme- ly affordable and extremely powerful – hitting all of the five must-haves for rapid e-learning Flash development.
β€”For more information about Snap! Empower Flash interac- tions builder, please visit www.SnapEmpower.com.