UX & UI
User Interface (UI) addresses the look and feel of an elearning solution. User Experience (UX) focuses on how users interact with and navigate an eLearning solution.
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Research: What Is the Learning Effect of a Course Map on Advanced Learners?
Course navigation, and how to best manage the limited resources of working memory and the computer screen, are key considerations in eLearning design. The effect of course maps on learning is difficult to assess, as the research findings are mixed. This study examined whether a course map affected the length of time to complete a training course and the achievement results of 846 adult learners.
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Review: Michael Allen’s Successful e-Learning Interface
While User Interface (UI) guidelines help designers solve usability issues on Web sites, eLearning must satisfy a different set of needs in order to provide an effective experience for learners. This learner interface can be at odds with the UI requirements. The latest volume in Michael Allen’s e-Learning Library will guide you and your team safely through resolution of these conflicts.
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Marc My Words: The Best eLearning Demo I Have Ever Seen
Early adopters of eLearning more than 15 years ago – before the mass adoption of the Internet and the Web – were already producing innovative programs that can still serve as models for us today. Great design and production values went a long way to overcome the primitive technology. Marc reviews the most successful example, and what it takes to be that effective.
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Almost Human (But Not Quite): Evaluating Text-to-Speech for eLearning Narration
Text-to-speech (TTS) software has been available for many years, as a substitute for human narrators. Until recently, however, instructional designers and learners alike tended to reject TTS because of the “mechanical” quality of the resulting narration. Has anything changed? Here’s a look at one small department’s study of today’s TTS.
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Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: This Crazy Gamification Craze
Gamification – adding game elements to applications for business and education – is a hot trend. But does this dumb down the transformative nature of games? Anne examines the question.
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Marc My Words: What Can We Learn from Bartender School?
High-level simulations, an interactive student guide, student-created job aids, simple memory aids, substantial realistic practice, and a competency-based assessment. Where are you… in a military training center? Medical school? Nope. It’s Bartending 101. Pull up a stool.
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Putting People First: Human Issues in Instructional Technology, by Anastasia Marie Trekles
“ … a readable, solid, extensive, exhaustive, approachable work tightly focused on the position and needs of the learner in the learning experience. Much content focuses on accessibility as it relates to assorted permanent or temporary impairments … but a good deal more of the book is germane to the user-first perspective of any learner.”
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Seeing is Believing: Simple Graphic Design Tips To Improve Online Courses
You’ve reviewed your content, but it seems like something is missing. You can’t quite put your finger on it. The information is great, but everything looks just a little bit … drab. The problem? You’ve overlooked the importance of keeping your e-Learning visually interesting. Here are some tips to make your content “pop.”
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Beta Testing an Online Course
Beta Testing is a key step in creating insanely great e-Learning applications. Often overlooked or omitted out of concern for budget and schedule, it is actually simple and cheap to do, and when planned with care it takes little time to execute. Done before development is 100% complete, it ensures faultless releases. Here’s a step-by-step guide from an experienced developer.
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Visual Language for Designers: Principles for creating graphics that people understand, by Connie Malamed
How to design visuals that will totally engage your learners and add value to your e-Learning applications!