Eight Challenges to Template-Based E-Learning Creation

Challenge 3: Designing the “big picture” of the templates

After choosing the software to use to create the templates, and determining who will develop them, the next challenge is actually designing them. That happens in several phases.

The first phase addresses “big picture” issues. The person designing the template needs to consider which instructional design, layout, and programming decisions to incorporate into the templates, and which decisions to leave for the people developing e-learning programs. For example, in the government organization mentioned earlier, the template prompted the e-Learning program developers to decide whether to integrate a journaling function into the template (and thereby into the course content), so that learners could make and save notes online.

Next, the template designer needs to determine how to let learners navigate through the course, and which navigation options to include. Some of the specific issues that template designers must consider are:

• The general course structure, such as the hierarchy, and the names of different content types in the hierarchy. For example, do we call the major parts of a course units or lessons, and are major sections of these parts called sections, or units?
• How do we structure the navigation options to allow learners to work through the course? Should they be able to jump between modules, and go right to an assessment?
• Whether we let learners expand certain subject matter outlines and hide other elements, and if so, how do we handle this?

With the general course structure established, the template designer can then determine how many templates to create. Specifically, the designer will consider the types of situations that require templates, and then develop a template for each of those cases. For example, in the government organization, the designers prepared templates for:

• Courses on Human Resource Policy,
• Courses providing hands-on training,
• Courses providing employee orientation, and
• Courses providing personal development.

Afterwards, the template designer needs to identify the information that will appear in each template. For example, templates for personal development courses might include information about improving self-studying habits. Templates for courses on human resource policy could provide information about hiring new employees. The template designer will specify the information to appear on each screen in the template as well.

Challenge 4: Designing the look and feel of the templates

After designing the big picture, the template designer determines the visual appearance of the templates. This look and feel must capture and maintain the attention of learners. It can also ease the learning experience – or make it unnecessarily complicated. In addition, the visual appearance will “brand” the e-Learning. Specific decisions about the look and feel include:

• Organizing or laying out the content on the template screen. Layout refers to the planning, design, and arrangement of content. To determine the layout, the designer first needs to decide how to place content on e-Learning screens. Figure 3 provides an example of a layout.

Figure 3 Example of a layout for a template

• Determining how learners will navigate on specific screens. For example, how will learners move from one screen to another in a course? Where do the Next and Back buttons go? The template will automatically place this content on every screen, so determining where to locate it with a standardized overall look is a key design decision.
• Setting up the screen “real estate.” This includes:
  • The screen size
  • Whether the screen is fixed length or scrollable
  • The screen resolution (Is 800 by 600 pixels low enough to work on all the computer hardware learners will have available?)
  • Where recurring elements, such as the user-support tool bar, will be placed (vertical or horizontal orientation, left, right, top, or bottom of the screen)
  • How much space will be reserved for content
• Determining which fonts to use for body type, headings, sub-headings, and other recurring content. Font choice is both an aesthetic concern and a usability issue. In terms of aesthetics, some fonts catch the eye more readily than others, and some fonts better capture the organization’s image than others. Yet some fonts that are visually striking are difficult to read, as are some font sizes for readers over age 40 (when eyes begin to deteriorate). The ease with which learners can read a font is the primary usability issue to consider.
• Determining which colors to use for:
  • Navigation and header bars
  • Backgrounds of screens
  • Type fonts – body type, headings, and hyperlinks
  • Like font choice, you base a color choice decision partly on aesthetics. For example, different colors carry different messages (blue often indicates a conservative organization, and green represents both money and the environment). Color choice also affects usability, as the greater the contrast between the background colors and the type font, the easier it is for users to read.

The challenge in making these design decisions lies in balancing the sometimes-conflicting needs and interests of the different parties involved. To assist with these decisions, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) provides guidelines, as does the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, each at its Website. Both sets of guidelines also address the special needs of people with visual and physical impairment. (See Sidebar 1 at the end of this article for the URLs of these resources.)

Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 present images of content created with templates. Notice how the layout changes, depending on the purpose of the template.

Figure 4 Example of a template that includes text

Figure 5 Example of a template with media

Figure 6 Example of a template with content and images

Figure 7 Example of a template with content and interaction

Designers can save templates in either of two ways, depending on the type of software chosen.

• The designer can save it as a template, or as a style file. Some software, such as PowerPoint, lets users save a template file. When saving the file, users not only indicate the file name, but also choose a template file type. A template is one of the options in the “Save File as” dialog box. When e-Learning developers create a new course, they would “apply” the template. These types of templates primarily store visual design elements, along with a limited number of content elements.
• The designer can use an existing file, and save it under another name. In some cases, the system automatically loads the template when the e-Learning developer starts the course authoring application. In other cases, the developer needs to open it. These types of templates store recurring content as well as visual design elements. 

Challenge 5: Deciding which learner support tools to integrate

One of the decisions the template designer makes about look and feel is determining where to place the links to tools that support users. Deciding which ones to include is a separate decision.

Many tools are available. Generic tool types include:

• Bookmarks, which let learners easily come back to where they left, if they need to log out of a course temporarily. Most Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and LCMSs provide this tool.
• Chat rooms, which provide online “places” where learners, and others, can communicate synchronously through text. Some LMSs and LCMSs provide this tool. If not, free software for implementing chat rooms is readily available to integrate into e-learning.
• Course undocking, which opens course content in a new window, thus eliminating screen “clutter.” Some e-Learning software provides this tool; otherwise a Web developer can create it.
• FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Guides, which address questions about the learning program, and which can serve as documentation for troubleshooting problems that might arise. FAQs come in many forms, including text, and video. Portable Document Format (PDF) is also useful for FAQs, because it provides content that all viewers see as formatted, yet prevents learners from editing the document.
• Forums, which provide a space where learners and others can communicate asynchronously through text. The system organizes the discussions by topic. Like chat rooms, some LMSs and LCMSs provide this tool. If not, free software for implementing forums is available for download.
• Glossaries, which are dictionaries of terms and acronyms introduced in a course, and their definitions. Most e-Learning software provides this tool.
• Journals, which let learners write notes in a course, and then save those notes on the organization’s server. This tool works best when used as part of a Learning Management System (LMS), as LMSs offer tracking of user behavior.
• Language toggles, which let users switch between versions of a course in different languages. The government organization mentioned previously needed a unique version of this tool – one that would let learners receive a clarification of a single term or concept in another language. Because e-Learning software does not usually provide such a capability, the organization hired a Web developer to create this tool.
• Navigation controls, which let users move between modules, as well as between pages within modules. All template software includes this tool.
• Quizzes, which provide a means for assessing the extent to which learners mastered the content. Most LMSs, LCMSs, and other forms of template software offer this tool.

Making these choices is complex, for two reasons. First, support tool selection should depend on what learners need, as well as on the needs of the organization deploying the e-Learning. Second, as Nicole Buzzetto-More points out, having so many learner support tools available directly from the Web makes it harder to select those most appropriate to facilitate learning.

However, the support tools themselves, and the opportunities they offer learners, also drive the decision. If any organization really wants to provide a support tool that its template software does not include, the organization can always hire a programmer to write the required code, but this adds expense that many organizations seek to avoid by using templates.

Challenge 6: Preparing for the challenges of integrating a template-based approach into existing work processes

Even with careful consideration of design choices, implementing template-based technology presents another series of issues to consider when integrating them into work processes.

The first involves guiding instructional designers through the process of moving their content to templates. The government organization provided its instructional designers with guidelines for formatting content in a word processor, so they could easily use it in templates. The guidelines addressed when and how to apply different font sizes and styles, how to set margins, and how to lay out content. Without providing these guidelines in advance, importing the content into a template would have involved redundant work because the formatting would have been lost, and they would need to reformat text in the template software.

The second issue involves helping instructional designers understand how to properly manage their files. Managing files involves:

• Determining the amount of content to include in a single file. For example, the government agency limited files to one course module (or unit) to keep file sizes manageable. On the one hand, this allows storing a lot of content together. On the other hand, this prevents files from becoming so big that they cause software crashes and data loss, as might happen in word processing files. The agency determined that a single file would cover one module, or 40 pages of content.
• Establishing a naming convention for files, so members of the instructional design team, including the graphic designer and the Web developer, can look at a file name and immediately identify the content.
• Managing media, so video and sound files smoothly integrate with the rest of the course content. Placeholders, which are text-boxes that contain information regarding a media file, indicate where to integrate media such as video and sound. Placeholders let instructional designers pull content together quickly, avoid computer crashes, and minimize the size of files during development.

Challenge 7: Providing technical support for the templates

Although templates are supposed to be intuitive for the instructional designers using them, and to minimize the need to develop in-depth technical knowledge of the underlying authoring software, e-Learning developers still need support in using them. Consider the following support initiatives the government organization gave:

• The group prepared a presentation, developed in the template, to introduce the template-based approach to other instructional designers. The organization also provided online resources for the instructional designers to access afterwards, which demonstrated how the template software works, who uses it, and gave examples of final products from companies and organizations.

• To guide e-Learning developers when they first used templates, the agency made classroom training, printed documentation, and one-on-one coaching available. The classroom training, provided over a two-day period for four hours per day, covered the template software interface, modifying an existing template, and accessing help resources. The printed documentation came with the software, and covered topics such as using the template software interface, and how to create and design a new template. One-on-one coaching for four hours per user answered questions that the designers had about the software. Coaching also reinforced crucial actions for successfully using the template software. E-Learning developers had access to the online resources described earlier. The organization created video tutorials to support this initial training, as well as to strengthen skills using templates. In order to assist with troubleshooting, the organization created additional online tools.

• To further support e-Learning developers in making the transition, the organization created an Internet forum where e-Learning developers could discuss issues that arose, and scheduled periodic meetings for e-Learning developers to tutor each another.

• When unanticipated problems arose in the implementation process, the most technically experienced instructional designer, graphic designer, or Web developer would consult the company offering the template-based software, and report solutions to the other e-Learning developers.

Challenge 8: Addressing the human challenges of a template-based approach

Although a template-based approach is ultimately supposed to improve the entire e-Learning experience by simplifying the process of entering content and making the resulting courses more consistent for learners, not everyone sees it that way.

Because some might see a template-based approach as a means of taking away decisions and limiting creativity, anyone implementing this approach should prepare for resistance. Some of the objections that e-Learning developers might express include:

• A template-based approach severely limits creativity
• Templates can’t produce anything original, intuitive, or helpful
• Content might not conform to the template
• Managing content is stressful enough, and having to learn new software is just too much work

Effective communication during the introduction of a template-based approach can address these concerns. Specifically, consider:

• Providing formal demonstrations showing the capabilities and the ease of use of the template software. The company that produced the software the templates are based on can demonstrate it; as well as demonstrate templates developed for other organizations.
• At the time of launch, providing e-Learning developers with examples of what the template software can produce.
• Providing additional examples of use for a period of time after the templates go into wide use.
• Providing a forum, in which e-Learning developers can share their knowledge, experience, and feelings about the templates.
• Scheduling periodic meetings on using the template software, in which e-Learning developers give brief presentations on their experiences.

Clients also have concerns about templates. Here are some problems you might anticipate, together with my suggestions for handling them:

• Problem: Clients want a specific look and feel that is not supported through the template software. To deal with this, offer to create or modify a template for the client. Because this adds costs, let the client know that you will be passing the additional cost through. The client can then decide whether they want to pay for customized templates.
• Problem: A client wants to change the look and feel midway through development. Ensure that the original templates have some flexibility, so clients have some level of customization available without significantly adding work for the e-Learning development team. Generally, this flexibility is enough so that e-Learning developers can change colors and fonts, but leaves the layout and icons for learner support tools.
• Problem: A client requests additional learner support tools, or wants you to produce a version on CD-ROM or in print. Offer to help the client, but advise them that these add to the time and expense of the project, and the client needs to bear those costs.

In other words

Implementing a template-based approach can, in the end, simplify the design and development of e-Learning, and can make the resulting courses far more consistent with one another. However, Saul Carliner has pointed out that, because a template-based approach puts more emphasis on production work, instructional designers may quickly find they are not using their strongest skill sets (formulating and designing content). This could create friction in the organization, or worse, cause the quality of work to diminish. As such, it’s the responsibility of both the organization and the instructional designer to balance development and production work in a template-based approach. Other than this concern, preparing templates and introducing an organization to them carries a lot of potential, if used right. Such an approach is as complex a project both technically and philosophically as any e-Learning project.

References

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