Rapid e-Learning Development: Why, How and When to Use

Why is Rapid eLearning Development Becoming Popular?

Previously, the course development tools available to instructional designers and developers were limited in their capacity to create rapid learning courses. They took time and proficiency to work with. Now, multiple tools can be used, which helps organizations spend less and gain more outputs.

Some of the standard course development tools have rapid e-learning variants. These tools:

• Take lesser time to develop
• Reduce costs associated with the development
• Allow easier revisions
• Include new and gamified design techniques

Articulate Rise, Adapt Learning, dominKnow ONE, Evolve Authoring, and Gomo Learning are famous tools. However, even more complicated tools like Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, and Lectora Inspire can be adapted for developing rapid learning courses.

One thing that is important to remember is that rapid e-learning development does not mean compromising the quality of the course. Rapid only stands for fast development and reduced costs. The quality remains according to the content provided by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).

The technique used by rapid learning courses differs from that used by other e-learning courses. The tools used are different, the strategies adopted, and the type of content that the course contains.

Steps for Rapid e-Learning Development?

The process of rapid e-learning development ideally looks as follows:

Step 1 – The instructional designer collaborates with SMEs to procure content that is already available. Similarly, the SME works on quickly drafting the course content.

Step 2 – The instructional designer creates a template for the course.

Step 3 – The SME reviews and finalizes the content. The stakeholders send their feedbacks. The instructional designer incorporates these. The process is repeated until all parties are on board.

Step 4 – The finalized storyboard is then sent for development. Using the rapid e-learning course development tool the learning courses are developed. This is an iterative process, where the stakeholder feedback is captured and included in the course.

Step 5 – Once the course is finalized, the output of the courses can be SCORM (1.2, or 2004), AICC, xAPI (TinCan API), cmi5. Once the course has been developed, this output can directly be uploaded to the Learning Management System.

How Does Rapid e-Learning Development Work?

Let’s now understand how Rapid e-Learning Development Work works:

1. Working with Available Content:

Often organizations have some content prepared beforehand which they wish to incorporate into a course. These can be class lectures, audio recordings, videos, presentations, or similar content. Content already available reduces the time to curate content for the course.

2. Collaborating with SMEs:

It needs to be remembered that SMEs are experts in the course, but they do not know how to train. This is why after procuring the content from SMEs, instructional designers work on the visual presentation of the course. When you work on rapid e-learning development, the SMEs provide the content at the beginning of course development. This reduces the number of reviews and edits that need to be made.

3. Using Faster Course Development Tools:

As mentioned above, there are separate tools for developing rapid learning courses. These assure quicker development and help publish the course faster.

4. No Compromise on Quality:

Faster development does not mean a compromise in quality or content. These e-learning courses keep the organization’s business goals and learning objectives. These are confirmed with all the stakeholders in the course right at the beginning so that there is no difference in opinion at a later stage of development.

5. Levels of Interactivity:

Given the different approaches taken to develop courses rapidly, the stakeholders also decided on specific elements that will go into the course beforehand. How interactive should the course be? Should there be assessments? Where will these assessments be in the course? Similar questions are addressed at the beginning to make the design and development process faster. If there are fewer complex interactivities, that is only because these require time and higher costs to be developed. Based on the interactivity and functionality there are four levels of eLearning courses.

6. Engaging the Learner:

Rapid does not mean plain and boring. It is still an e-learning course and will be strategized and made engaging. Some of the ways you can do that are:

• Adding personalizations. You can ask the learner to enter their name or choose an avatar. You could also give them the option to change the font or theme colors.
• Start the course with a video. This video can either introduce the course or ask a thought-provoking question. This will interest the learner in learning more through the course.
• Using scenarios and case studies. Scenarios help the learner associate with the course content better. The examples and situations give their learnings a practical example. Similarly, case studies are real examples, so learners find it easier to understand with instances from reality.
• Gamify the assessments. For courses that are otherwise linear, gamified assessments can add the interactive and fun element. The learners will engage better with the content when their knowledge is tested in a game format.
• Gamify the entire course. Through this, the entire content is delivered to the learner in a gamified manner.

Want to see some samples of the Rapid eLearning Courses

You can view these Rapid eLearning Courses and interact with the content to see the various functionalities.

Why and Where Does Rapid eLearning Work for an Organisation?

When developing an e-learning course becomes faster, it facilitates quicker changes to the course. There are many benefits that organizations get through rapid e-learning development. These benefits include:

• Reduces development costs
• Completing development within 2-3 weeks
• Adhering to strict deadlines for training employees
• Translating the course to different languages to reach a wider audience
• Updating the course content

However, one must note that rapid course development does not suit all kinds of courses. There will be courses that require time to be developed for either its content length or the increased level of interactivities. Some of the areas where organizations can look to opt for rapid e-learning development are:

1. Limited Budgets

Organizations that have low budgets can look at rapid course development options. This will get their work delivered, keeping the learning objectives in mind, and at the same time does not compromise on the quality of content.

2. Quicker Deadlines

Often organizations have a strict deadline that they need to adhere to. By this deadline, their employees might require urgent training. In such cases, the quick turnaround of rapid courses helps organizations meet their needs.

3. Inputs by SMEs

When building an e-learning course, the SME is consulted at the beginning. After that, instructional designers and developers handle the rest of the course. They might not have the expertise in the subject they are working on. Rapid courses let the SME be involved and provide their valuable inputs.

4. Short Shelf-Life

If the organization knows that the course will not be used for an extended period, they can opt for rapid courses. They can then use fewer resources and reduced costs for making a course. At the same time, they can later improvise on the course and ask to use the same template while creating a new course. This helps increase the usage of the course.

5. Changing Content

If constant revisions and updates are required in a course, rapid courses can incorporate these faster. In a more extensive and traditional e-learning course, there will be a lot of components that need to be changed when the course is developed. This makes it difficult to make changes quickly. Rapid courses make the process easier.

Does your course need to match the areas that suit rapid course development? Choose rapid e-learning for faster turnarounds at lower costs! We at Learning Everest specialize in the creation of Rapid e-learning course creation.

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