In this session we will look at how to begin an e-learning project, defining what you want to achieve and how you will know if you’ve met your goal. At this stage, let’s keep our options open – maybe you have a training need, maybe not; maybe e-learning is the solution, maybe not.
Most learning projects are started to help people do something better, or to demonstrate compliance with a specific process, procedural or legal requirement. When organisations think about e-learning it’s often in the context of health and safety or financial compliance. Why? Because e-learning is a simple way to deliver identical training to large numbers of people and it allows organisations to measure outcomes. The key is to be 100% sure at the outset what you need to measure, and how to make sure that the training helps learners to succeed.
The first question you need to answer is ‘What specific issue are we trying to address?’ This sounds simple, but it can be complex to get to the bottom of the need.
For example, ‘We need to make sure everyone is aware of the IT security policy’ is a common start to an e-learning project. At this point, instead of going on to describe the IT security policy, the next question should be ‘What is happening to make you believe that people aren’t aware of it?’.
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