I was so excited! I had just arrived at my first conference with America’s Second Harvest — The Nation’s Food Bank Network. I had not officially started working there. However, my manager thought it would be a good experience for me to attend the conference anyway, and of course it would only help.
The session had already started as I was taking my seat. They were discussing online courses, their availability through the Internet, and what a wonderful means of e-Learning this would turn out to be. It was a new venture, and you could feel the excitement about the technology the company was about to launch.
The speaker kept referring to the on-line learning specialist, the OLL, the person who would be heading up the project and all that was involved. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for this poor guy. He had his work cut out for him. The list of duties just snowballed. All I could say was “Whoa! This is huge. Where do you begin? What all do you need to do?” The list was endless and the tasks ahead were daunting. I just shook my head.
Again and again I kept hearing that the new OLL specialist will have to do this and have to do that and so on and so on. I must have sat there looking hopelessly naïve. A few minutes later the manager of technology sat next to me and said rather matter-of-factly, “You know they’re talking about you, right?”
I smiled one of those smiles that started with, “Oh, really,” and ended up with, “God help me now.” A daunting task indeed since I now knew that I would be the project manager, writer, business analyst, liaison between vendor and users, and whatever else might fall into the numerous hats I would be wearing, I was the e-Learning team — a team of one.
The good news — they had already purchased the software that I would need. The bad news — I had no experience with any of it. However, I had used similar software before and managed to create something relatively decent. So, not to worry, I had a whopping two months to learn RoboDemo (for screen captures and movies — RoboDemo is now Adobe® Captivate®; see http://www.adobe.com.), ReadyGo® (http://www.readygo.com) (authoring), and Isoph™ (http://www.isoph.com) (the learning management system, or LMS). Oh, did I say I had two months to learn the software? Correction — I had two months to learn the software, edit the courses in ReadyGo, create the screen captures and a video in RoboDemo, and upload the updated courses to the Isoph server.
YOU NEED A PLAN, STAN
The plan was quite simple — just do it! Anyway, it was not as if they hadn’t mentioned this during the interview process. I distinctly remember my response, “No, I haven’t used that software before, but anything can be learned.” So, it was me and tech support. Tech support and me. Thank God for the kindness of strangers, and also that I didn’t have to see the faces they would make when I asked my stupid questions. But I was cool. I pretended that it didn’t matter, and to be perfectly frank with you, it really didn’t. There were far greater things I had to do than be caught up in feelings. (It took a Myers-Briggs test to reveal that I didn’t actually have any feelings. But that’s another story.)
Rapid e-Learning
Now, after dealing with all that, I’m realizing I don’t have a lot of time to sit around and contemplate the future of electronic learning. But I have to kick it up a notch and make it rapid e-Learning. According to Jennifer DeVries, the following criteria define rapid e-Learning:
- Courseware can be developed in less than three weeks
- Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) act as the primary development resource
- A well-known tool (such as, PowerPoint) or user-friendly templates form the starting point for courseware
- Simple assessment, feedback, and tracking are usually provided
- Media elements that enhance learning but do not create technology barriers may be included (such as, voice)
- Learning modules can be taken in one hour or less, often in less than 30 minutes
- Synchronous (scheduled or live) and asynchronous (self-paced) models may be used.
My circumstances most definitely met all of the above criteria. I would even venture to add a few more, but since I am relatively new to the game, what DeVries stated raps golden to me.
Isoph First
I decided to focus on the learning management system — Isoph . This is where everything ends up. I thought I should at least get a feel for creating the pages, setting up the links, pulling in the graphics, and uploading the files. I needed some trial and error time. Fortunately, my manager and the technology manager had worked diligently to choose the LMS that would be best for our situation. We are a non-profit organization, and it is best to spend our monies on our mission, which is to feed the nation’s food insecure.
Our contract with Isoph included training, one-on-one, phone-to-phone. This actually worked well because I did not hesitate to pick up the phone when I needed additional assistance. That’s a major point: Persistence must be part of your makeup.
While you are in Isoph save early and save often. The system times you out if it perceives you as being idle. This can be very ugly. It was only at these times that moments of genius would occur.
If you are new to technical or instructional writing, here’s an important concept: ask early and ask often — meaning as often as it takes for you to get it. Feel foolish? Tough. Get over it. You have a deadline, and your precious ego has to take a back seat.
After spending more than 15 years in the technical writing field, I still recall leaving my feelings in a project manager’s office. There was so much red ink on my draft, I thought he was bleeding. To top it off, he told me I did a great job. Of course, this was while I was looking on the floor of his office for my feelings.
No, Not Ready Or Not, ReadyGo
I muddled through Isoph and had a clue. That’s all the luxury I had at this point, and then it was time to tackle the authoring software, ReadyGo. The blessing was that it was there for the using. Again, tech support is your friend. Remember there are no stupid questions, only stupid people who forgot when they were on the learning end of something totally new and foreign. Fortunately, the tech support staffs for both Isoph and ReadyGo were very responsive, even when I had to ask the same question at least three times.
I recall when I was working for a global software company and I was trying to learn about a system for which I was creating online help. English was a second language for the developer and he had not been in this country very long — not to mention that I just was not getting it. After having to go back for a third explanation for a specific piece, my approach was to take full responsibility for the breakdown in the teaching/learning process. He knew what he was doing and he had almost finished it. I had to get that information and convey it to others. Remember, I had lost my feelings in another office some years before. I went over to him with the biggest, widest grin I could muster and said, “Hey, I am just stupid. I am not getting this, and I’m going to have to keep coming over here until I get it right in my head.” He appreciated my candor and the fourth time was more fluid for both of us.
One of the reasons they chose ReadyGo for the authoring software was because the author doesn’t have to know HTML to use it. My knowledge of HTML is to Google it for the thing I am trying to do and simply copy the code. If that sounds crazy, there I am. I learned that ReadyGo was pretty easy to use. It took a while for me to figure this out.
ReadyGo has a simple way for you to insert Web links. However, you may want your e-Learners to click a word in the body of the text and open a Web page in a separate browser. To do this, you need to insert Page Name
After working on about 20 courses, it has come to me now. I was feeling very pleased with myself as I had tackled two of the three pieces of software and managed to keep my job during this time. But smugness is always short-lived in my brain, and for good reason.
Rolling the Video With RoboDemo
I had figured out enough about Isoph to get a few pages up and running, and managed to get the links right too. ReadyGo became easier to work with as I trudged through the courses. But my deadline was pending and I needed screen shots and a movie for my courses. My logic for tackling RoboDemo last was quite basic.
What do I need to do to get the courses up and running? First, Isoph. I had to have a command of the LMS, because that’s where the user goes first. Once that was accomplished I tackled ReadyGo to make sure I knew how to create and edit the courses to be uploaded to Isoph. The final tool to tackle had to be RoboDemo. And the reason why was that, if push came to shove, everything would be in place. It would merely lack the bells and whistles. Never mind these were some pretty significant bells and whistles. Nonetheless, I had something to show the Powers-That-Be in a pinch.
However, this is where impressions are most lasting. The Powers-That-Be are usually impressed with the bells and whistles the most because they are what really catches their eye in the presentation of what you have accomplished thus far. You can have Web page upon Web page and course on top of course. If it ain’t pretty, if it doesn’t reach out and grab — BAM! You’re done, son.
Therefore, RoboDemo was necessary. So, I spent quite a bit of time creating and destroying videos. It wasn’t that the software intimidated me, I had used a similar product before. Nonetheless, the final phase of pulling it all together before D-Day, which was fast approaching, probably dropped my learning curve down a notch or two.
I remember the start was quite tedious as I tried to create a smoother transition from screen to screen. And as luck would have it, this did not get any simpler for me the second time around. You have to play around with the features too: figuring the right position for the screen captures, positioning the call-outs, and making sure they display at the right time. Also, you have to consider what would be the best display setting for all your users. As I mentioned, a diverse group of people all over the nation will access these courses and some may have limited technology. After all, we are in the not-for-profit business. Plain and simple, “You gotta work with what you got.” So, it’s important that one of the first things your users see is what the system requirements are. And even if you post it front and center, there may still be questions about it.
