Setting up the course
The first step is to create the new Course file and name the course. (See Figure 6) We will name the course “Effective Search Fundamentals.”
Figure 6. Creating a new course starts with this screen
After clicking the OK button, you see the Select Introduction Page Stencil window (see Figure 2). The introduction for this course uses the collage graphic of various search sites that you see in Figure 5. For this purpose, the appropriate stencil is Standard – Image. Click the Add Picture… link on the stencil and select the collage image file.
Now you can build the course construct from the approved course outline. The course outline shows that there are three content lessons, a course summary, and an assessment. Before adding content, you should add the necessary pages to the Course Layout Pane. You insert course objects by selecting options from the Insert menu, by clicking a button on the Course toolbar, or by right-clicking on an item in the Course Layout Pane and selecting a course object to insert. Your preference is the only factor here. My own way to add objects is by clicking the appropriate buttons on the Course toolbar. Figure 5 shows what the Course Layout Pane will look like after you complete the steps that follow in this section of this article.
Before the first lesson I do want to add a screen that covers the basic details of the course including objectives, intended audience, prerequisites, and duration. Click the Insert Page button, select the Standard– Full stencil, and name the page “Course Overview.” This stencil is text only. Identify a content title to appear on the screen and the content text for the screen after you have completed adding the objects for the course.
The next step is to add a placeholder for each of the lessons in the course. The lessons I will add are titled, “Search Tools,” “Performing a Search,” and “Other Searching Considerations.” Each lesson is approximately five minutes long and includes a lesson introduction, three or four content screens, a knowledge check question, and a lesson summary. The course outline specifies the type of stencils to use for the lesson introductions, knowledge checks, and lesson summaries. For continuity the lesson introduction and lesson summary screens will use the Standard – Half – Left stencil. The client has communicated that all knowledge checks are to be multiple choice questions with no images. Based on that, you know you need to use the Multiple Choice stencil for these.
The names you give the pages are entirely up to you but for this course we will make all lesson introductions match the lesson title, name the lesson knowledge checks “Knowledge Check,” and name the lesson summaries “Summary” in the Course Layout Pane. When we have done this, we add an Assessment object. This serves as the content screen that appears before the learner takes the assessment. This is good for communicating the requirements of the assessment and any information the learner will need to successfully complete the assessment. Since this is an information screen, use the Standard – Full stencil again, for the most space for text.
Building a lesson
You have successfully constructed the shell of the course and are now ready to go back to the first lesson and flesh out the content and the stencils you will use. A glance at the course outline shows that there are three content screens in the first lesson that will need both static text and graphics. A graphic designer will have to make the graphics, but you need to communicate what the graphic designer needs to build. So before you begin adding content you want to add an annotation for the course, called “Graphic Notes.” This is where you will store information for the graphic designer so he knows what image to construct for each screen. Select View→View Annotations and then click the associated link to create a new annotation set. The Graphic Notes annotation set is now visible on all screens and you can add specific details for each screen.
Now refer back to the course outline, gather the pertinent details for this lesson and update the lesson introduction screen content for the Search Tools lesson. Each lesson introduction will consist of a few sentences about the value of the lesson, the objectives for the lesson, and the duration of the lesson. The course does not have audio for every screen but the outline asks for audio for each lesson introduction screen. Recording the audio will happen later, but it is your responsibility as the ID to provide a transcript that tells the audio talent what to say. The audio for this course will be a verbatim reading of the text on the screen. Begin by copying the text in the content area. Select Audio from the View menu. The Audio view allows you to upload and listen to an MP3 file and add transcript text. You can then paste the content screen text in the Transcript field. This is a plain text field with no formatting options. If instructions are necessary, I would suggest an Audio annotation set to provide detailed instructions for the audio talent.
Now that you have updated the audio details, select View→Editor to return to the course editing screen. There are three screens to add, and since the images will be much wider than they are tall, apply the Standard stencil type. This stencil allows for an image at the top and text beneath. Once you have entered the content for each page, you can go back through and clearly identify what you are looking for in the visual.
You have now updated the lesson introduction, added and updated the content screens for the module, and added any graphic and audio details needed. To complete this module, you also need to complete the knowledge check and add the content for the lesson summary. This knowledge check will be multiple choice, with no image. As the ID, you can define the instruction text the learner sees, the question stem, and the distractors. The instructions default to “Select the best answer to the question.” My best practice is to typically include four distractors, in order from shortest to longest. The stencil allows you up to six distractors and the ID can determine how many are used. To identify the correct answer the ID selects a radio button.
To complete this lesson you need to add the content for the lesson summary. For this course the summaries will include a sentence letting the learners know they have completed the lesson, a review of the lesson objectives, and a sentence instructing them to click Next to continue the course.
Other things to consider
Each project is going to be different. Some will be as simple as converting an existing PowerPoint presentation quickly for distribution and tracking while others will include adding Flash development in the course and more elaborate rollovers and popups.
- PowerPoint Import: There is often a wealth of content within a company already written in PowerPoint. As part of your rapid development you can import PowerPoint slides directly into uPerform. This allows you to take an existing slide deck and quickly make it a more engaging e-Learning experience that can include interactions, audio, and assessments. You can store and track the results in a Learning Management System.
- Flash Import: The ability to import a single, self contained Flash file (.swf) into uPerform as a course page allows more advanced developers to work directly with SMEs to bring highly engaging content to the learner.
- Image Hotspots: The uPerform Hotspot feature allows you to specify portions of a graphic to create a rollover effect or a simple link to a Web site. The designer simply outlines the space for the hotspot, sets a few characteristics, and it is done.
- Publishing: Clicking the Publish button allows you to save and package your course materials into a folder. In that folder are all the files (such as the imsmanifest.xml) and course files you will need to add the course to your LMS.
SME review of the course
Once you have completed building the alpha version of a course, you will need to submit the course to the SME for review. In the past you might deliver a printed version of a storyboard to a SME or an electronic version in MS Word using “Track Changes” to document issues. How often does a single person know all aspects of the training material you are developing? Normally, there are multiple people reviewing these courses. In my experience even the best of intentions won’t get SMEs to consolidate their comments. There are inevitably comments that contradict another SME and three versions of the same storyboard after review. The online reviewer built into RWD uPerform eliminates these issues by allowing SMEs to enter comments electronically that directly link to the screen in question. You can then archive the comments and sort them by the name of the person who entered the comment.
A common mistake made during the review process is assuming your SME knows what you want. Clearly setting expectations with a SME is vital to a quality review. Communicating the amount of time available for the review, the areas of the course the SME should review, and what constitutes a quality review comment, are all critical expectations. Properly aligning with your SME can be the difference between getting a comment that says, “Replace this” and getting a comment that identifies the exact text to delete and the exact content the SME wants added.
These instructions do not have to be complicated. Instruct your reviewers to clearly identify the position of the error on the screen and a detailed action to take. If a SME wants an additional paragraph or a different title, ask him to add this content in the comment. The instructional designer can make sure the information provided by the SME is reviewed for instructional quality. Educate clients on how to manage multiple reviewers. If the client plans to have multiple people review the course it is best to let the person with final signoff review the course last, with knowledge of the comments that other reviewers have made. It can reduce the time it takes to complete the review and ensures that multiple points of view are considered.
Finally, make sure the SME understands what constitutes acceptance on his part. Many times we will ask our clients to refrain from sending us anything until they have completed their review. You could have an approval document for each course, or you could simply educate the SME that his e-mailed response, stating he has completely entered comments on the course, is his approval to build the course with those edits included. The important thing is that whatever you choose to do, the SME is aware of it and has agreed to the process.
Final thoughts
The speed with which one can create high quality content is obviously important. One of the primary inhibitors that many of us have been working on is eliminating the need to convert our storyboards to Flash. Regardless of the tool you are using, the need to copy and paste, or to apply a conversion to the storyboards, adds time and introduces errors into the process. I feel that uPerform improves the process for an ID because the content you write is not manipulated in any way. Time is not spent moving content into Flash or packaging the files for an LMS.
