Steps To Create A Rapid eLearning Development Plan Today
There are a few things that a rapid eLearning development plan is not. Firstly, it’s not a sloppy shortcut to achieve your L&D goals. It’s also not a cheap way to develop low-quality content because you’re racing the clock. However, rapid eLearning can help you repurpose existing materials and convert them to HTLM5 without spending a small fortune. It also allows you to deploy high-quality content in a fraction of the time thanks to streamlined development tasks. Follow these 8 steps to devise a rapid eLearning development plan that works best for your organization.
eBook Release
Always Relevant, Never Outdated: Your Rapid eLearning Guide
Should your L&D department implement a rapid eLearning strategy? This rapid eLearning guide will help you answer that question based on your objectives and use case.
1. Create A Plan Of Action Based On L&D Pain Points
Every successful rapid eLearning design project starts with a game plan. Namely, a strategy that focuses on your current pain points and employee preferences. What’s missing from your L&D program? Are there any skill or performance gaps you need to address right away? Survey your team to see what they think of courses, JIT resources, and certification paths. After all, they’re the ones who need to use online training tools to improve performance and achieve their full potential.
2. Evaluate Your Asset Library
A quintessential part of rapid eLearning is reusing assets, whether you’ve created them yourself or you’ve curated them online. As such, you need to evaluate your resource library to look for hidden gems. Maybe it’s a template you can use for your new compliance module or a recorded presentation that you can break into podcast episodes. It’s best to have some criteria on hand when taking stock. For instance, a checklist of objectives, skills, or performance behaviors you need to reinforce. You may have to think outside the box and get creative with context. That safety demo may be outdated, but does it have images or sound clips you can use for your current compliance course?
3. Gather A Rapid eLearning Dream Team
Which team members are involved in the development process and where do their strengths lie? You need a rapid eLearning dream team with diverse skill sets. They should also know how to use the tools to create meaningful content and repurpose those existing assets. Bear in mind that rapid eLearning calls for SMEs, instructional designers, and other key players. If you don’t have anyone on your staff who fits the bill, you might consider outsourcing.
4. Develop An Implementation Timeline
Once you have all your assets ready, create an implementation timeline. How much time can you allocate for each task? When will you be ready to launch? It’s also important to throw prototyping, feedback, revisions, and marketing into the mix, as these are all crucial aspects of your rapid eLearning development plan and storyboarding. In fact, this should be the focus of your rapid eLearning plan at this point since it provides a solid foundation for your project and sets the expectation for everyone on your team. They know which tasks they need to complete and how that fits into the overall strategy. Finally, leave a little room for the unexpected. You never know when software issues, evolving objectives, and sick days will pop up, and you don’t want them to derail your rapid eLearning program.
5. Set A Realistic Rapid eLearning Budget
In a perfect world, the company coffers would be bottomless. Unfortunately, you only have so much to work with. So, set a realistic budget that includes payroll, software, and ongoing maintenance. For example, how many hours does it take to create one rapid eLearning activity for the customer service department? Which tasks are involved in this phase of the rapid eLearning development process? Does your team need additional resources to get the job done?
6. Choose The Right Tools For The Task
We’ve already covered assets. But you also need to consider rapid eLearning tools and LMSs, as well as any other software that your organization needs to improve ROI and employee engagement. For example, video conferencing platforms to host VILT events and mini-workshop, which you can then repurpose for your rapid eLearning development plan. If you already have a rapid eLearning authoring tool, ensure that it has all the essential features. For instance, does the asset library have templates and themes for interactive online training resources such as simulations, serious games, or pop quizzes?
7. Leave Room For Revisions
You may want to launch your content on a limited scale before the big launch just to see how employees react and if there’s room for improvement. For instance, invite a select group of staffers to try the rapid eLearning library and make suggestions. You should also do a thorough edit before hosting your first focus group. In fact, many organizations host team meetings to brainstorm additional ideas and make revision notes.
8. Collect Feedback, Refine, And Repeat
An effective rapid eLearning design plan is never truly complete. It’s always a work in progress because your needs and objectives evolve, as do tech tools and rapid eLearning techniques. As such, you should gather feedback from your team, refine your strategy, and re-evaluate periodically. For instance, every month do a quick survey of your current approach to see if it’s still on point.
Conclusion
A final tip I’d like to leave you with is to consider hiring an outsourcing partner to cut costs and expedite the process. There are many eLearning content providers that specialize in rapid eLearning, translation, and conversions. For example, they can help you convert Flash to HTML5 and modernize your online training program. Our exclusive directory has the top vendors for your industry and use case. There are even performance overviews and client reviews to get max value for money and evaluate the providers’ CX.
Are you looking for the best rapid eLearning content provider for your SMB? Our eBook has all the insider info you need to choose the right online training solutions company. Always Relevant, Never Outdated: Your Rapid eLearning Guide also features steps to launch a successful rapid eLearning plan for your organization.
Homebase
Make work easier. Running a small business has never been harder. Homebase helps with free tools to track time and manage your team.
