visual - Blogs - DPG Community2024-03-29T01:54:50Zhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/feed/tag/visualTweaking the Sliders of Digital Learning Contenthttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/tweaking-the-sliders-of-digital-learning-content2015-08-21T11:07:51.000Z2015-08-21T11:07:51.000ZAdy Howeshttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/AdyHowes<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2216581?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=289"></div><div><p>It was late into last night, almost the hours of today, when I finally turned off the digital learning production here. I haven’t been a 9-5 type guy for years and if creativity is flowing, who am I to stop it in its tracks?</p>
<p>It was around 8pm, just after tea, when I settled down for the final session. The little people were in bed, rubbish was on the tele and my working day still felt quite young. I was on a roll! Here in my working space, the funky visual coloured wall lighting was on, I was kinaesthetically touching, clicking and tapping a variety of buttons and gadgets, tasting the coffee and smelling the recently re-filled room freshener. Sandalwood. I was engaged with my senses.</p>
<p>With sight, smell, taste and touch all accommodated for, I realised there had been a deafening silence around all day during the daylight hours. Some tunes were needed. A quick Tweet asking for recommendations of tunes to put on whilst working soon filled that audio gap and had me exploring a whole range of genres!</p>
<p>So there I was, fully engaged in my environment, with all senses amused. It all contributed to the work I was doing and creativity flowed nicely.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until later when I finished, that I stopped to think how relevant the multi-sensory environment I was in was to the work I was doing. My work to create digital learning. That’s what it’s all about. Of course in digital, we’ve just got the three senses to work with in the absence of smellovision and tastovision. We work with; audio, visual and kinaesthetic. I like to think of these as ‘channels’.</p>
<p>Now, I don’t agree that we as learners are one type or another and fit into just one of those particular boxes. I believe we tune into all three of those ‘channels’. Sometimes one at a time, sometimes all at the same time, all very much dependent on what we’re doing, where we are, what we’re trying to learn and how engaged we are. These channels to me are like volume sliders that digital learning producers tweak. Set any one of them too high and content is distracting. Set any one of them too low and content becomes dis-engaging.</p>
<p>In answer to the question that often comes up as to how we make digital content more engaging, that’s it in a nutshell. What do you need to do to turn the slider up (or down) on visuals? Is the audio deafeningly silent? Is that right for your content? Does it need narration, music or both? Or is it more relevant to have nothing? What about the touch and feel of your content? How are learners going to interact with it? Will they click or will they tap? Is it beautifully intuitively easy to do so? Or is it going to be a complete pain for them as they try to line the smallest surface area of their fingertip up with the two or three pixels that trigger the desired action?</p>
<p>So a question for you. Where are the sliders in your learning material, be it digital or not? Think presentations, handouts, even the learning environment? What sliders need turning on? Or off? Or up or down?</p>
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</div>The future of eLearning is now - the bar continues to risehttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/the-future-of-elearning-is-now-the-bar-continues-to-rise2014-03-12T20:51:23.000Z2014-03-12T20:51:23.000ZAdy Howeshttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/AdyHowes<div><p><strong><span class="font-size-4" style="color: #008000;">What's your perception of eLearning right now?<a href="http://community.dpgplc.co.uk/video/food-safety-intro" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1357401?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="276" class="align-right"></a></span></strong></p>
<p>I would imagine the majority of the population when asked this question would cringe and think back to that moment when they first experienced eLearning. I remember it well. Half asleep, listening to the most boring narration of a million words on the screen. The most exciting part was the "click next to continue" phrase, exciting only because it meant I was one step closer to the finish line and the pain would soon be over. At least in 473 pages time! (I love exaggerating sometimes!)</p>
<p>Then the end of course test came along, and by process of elimination often with some rubbish multiple choice questions with some obviously incorrect answers I would fudge my way through to a pass mark. Maybe I learned some things along the way. How much content slipped past me however I have no idea.</p>
<p>Sound familiar?</p>
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<p><strong><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-4">The reason I got into eLearning is I despised it so much!</span></strong></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2" style="color: #000000;">Yep that's right. Despite my slightly geeky nature and love of technology that's exactly the reason I got into eLearning. I just hated it so much. It's probably because whilst I love technology, I also love people too. That's where the issue was. On one side of the scale you have technology and on the other you have people. The scales can't tip too much towards technology at the cost of dis-engaging people; that's not right by the standards of any sane L&D professional I feel. But historically, that's what eLearning has done. All we have had across every industry has been mind-numbingly boring and disengaging eLearning.</span> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">I figured all those years ago there had to be some better, more engaging ways of delivering eLearning. After all, we can't really ignore the COST, TIME, CONSISTENCY benefits that eLearning brings about. There had to be a better way... L&D professionals working in collaboration with the clever technical developers had to be the way forward.</span></p>
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<p><font color="#008000"><span style="font-size: 19px;"><b>Ten Years Later...</b></span></font></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">That was almost ten years ago now and my view hasn't changed. Actually, neither has <em>most</em> eLearning. It's seems to be <em>slowly</em> creeping in the right direction, but not at a pace that is quick enough to keep up. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Ok, learning from a computer is never going to be as engaging as learning face to face, I get that. But if we're seriously going to continue using eLearning, particularly for future generations, the production of it needs to be so much better than it has been and on a whole different level. Better visuals, better sound and much better interaction. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">If you can see it on TV that's the standard of video production eLearning producers should be aiming for. If you can hear it on the radio that's the standard of audio production that eLearning should contain. If you can play it on a games console that's the standard of interaction eLearning producers strive to reach. All of these elements working together to deliver a modern, stunning, relevant and cutting edge experience for our much more demanding generation of learners.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">And at the heart of this production and at every stage of every course development should be an L&D professional who guides the entire production on the learning aspect and learner experience. </span></p>
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<p><strong style="font-size: 10pt; color: #008000;"><span class="font-size-4">The future of eLearning now?<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1357427?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1357427?profile=original" width="295" class="align-right" height="161"></a></span></strong></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2" style="color: #000000;">Over the past couple of years, I've been fortunate enough to direct the production of several eLearning packages. I've worked with professional broadcasters to raise the bar on audio production. I've worked with video directors and animators to raise the production of visuals. I've worked with creative designers to raise the bar on interactivity. It's been about finding the right expertise and learning from the best and I'll continue to do so.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2" style="color: #000000;">It's all been really interesting and I've been pleased with the output of each course. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">But keeping my critical eyes and ears open, there's always one question we ask.</span> <strong style="font-size: 10pt;">How can we make this better next time?</strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> How can we make the next course the best ever? And that is what keeps the bar moving higher and higher.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2" style="color: #000000;">Most eLearning producers are still very old school. Most are playing catchup up. I'm just lucky enough to be working with the best. And when you do work with the best, <strong>the future of eLearning really is now....</strong></span></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://community.dpgplc.co.uk/video/food-safety-intro" target="_self">Click here and watch this video</a> - </strong><span class="font-size-2">It's a short introduction to a course, but when you consider this is the style that features throughout, you'll see exactly what I mean.</span></span><strong><br></strong></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-4"><span class="font-size-2">Let me know what questions you have.....</span></span></p></div>