Speaker 1: After hundreds of consultations, I've realized that some people think they are ready to build an eLearning course, and as they realize all the stuff they've overlooked, they become overwhelmed. There are so many options, so much to think about. So I'm going to save you the headache of hours and hours of meetings or wasted time before you decide to hire an instructional designer or eLearning developer. First, you need to know the lingo. There are a lot of words and phrases you'll hear about, and it won't be long until you become uncomfortable and confused. It can be easy to freeze like a deer in headlights, leaving you worried and feeling like building a course just isn't for you. Fuck that. You're a badass, and you need to build your course. Here are the terms to know. SME, a subject matter expert. This is the expert, who knows what's up. ID, the instructional designer. The person who organizes what the expert knows into something that makes sense. They usually write the voiceover, design slides, and create activities and quizzes. Interactions, something that makes the student of the course do something, like click, drag, or get this, think. Storyboard or shot sheet. This is the outline of the course or video before it's built out. VO, the voiceover. This is that invisible narrator who explains what's going on and presents the content. SCORM, a shareable content object reference model. This is a file type, which allows all sorts of interactions and data collection. It's important to know that a SCORM file is only usable if you have an LMS that can read it. LMS, a learning management system. This is where a course is built or stored and allows students to be enrolled. They do all sorts of other stuff, too. E-learning software. These are the big players, like Articulate and Captivate. Both of them can build interactive presentations with reporting sent to an LMS. Both of them, and others, can be exported as a SCORM file or other types of e-learning files. Gamification, using avatars, points, badges, leaderboards, and other elements of gaming to motivate the players or students. In terms of videos, you might hear a few of these terms. An intro, this happens at the beginning and introduces a video. The outro, this happens at the end and concludes the video. Captions, text of what is being said in the VO. Call out, any text or image that pops up, which shows important information. A b-roll, any stock video footage that isn't unique to you, like someone mowing a lawn or a fish jumping out of water or a hand using a sponge. B-roll film footage is used to match a topic, like, right now I could have a video of someone with a camera to show you the meaning of what I'm saying, but the person with the camera has nothing to do with me or my business, he's a complete stranger. I just want to express an idea. Lights, camera, action. This is actually the order these items should be in when taking pictures or film. Lights behind you as you film what is in front of you. So now you're ready. Here's what you need to do next. Number one, where's your content? Is it a collection of videos? Is it sprinkled through your digital documents? Is it in your head? You need to know what content you want to produce and where it's at before you even think about creating a course. If it's disorganized or in your head, an ID can help you sort this out, as long as you have a basic outline. For example, you want to teach the five principles of mental health or you need employees to learn how to use the ten tabs in the software? A researcher can help you flesh out the details once you know the general outline. Number two, a lot of people don't think about where their course will be stored, but knowing this very important detail is a time and money saver. It lets you know what kind of files you'll need and how the course should be designed. There are two main options for hosting your course. You could host it on a company server where it's accessible but has very little reporting, like who took the course or whether or not they passed. Most people put it into an LMS where it tracks user scores and enrollment. Using an LMS can also save you money and time while building the course because much of it can be quickly created within the LMS instead of using expensive e-learning software. So you like the idea of an LMS? Well, now you've just opened up a new can of worms. Number three, choose an LMS. Once you know which LMS you'll use, your instructional designer and course developer will know what options and limitations they're working with. There are lots of learning management systems to work with, and I do have a preference, but it might not fit all of your needs. I like Talent LMS for six reasons. Number one, it's user-friendly and easy to learn. You could actually build the course yourself. Number two, it accepts SCORM files and allows self-builds. It's fully gamified with options for points, badges, and a leaderboard. It allows bulk enrollment by you, the administrator, or Talent will collect payments and enroll users for you. It issues a certificate. Finally, their cost is the best part of all. I've priced others and compared them at a top tier of around 1,000 users. Some systems, like Lessonly or Adobe Captivate Prime, will run you from $25,000 to $40,000 a year. On the other hand, there are cheaper options like Moodle, Teachable, or Kajabi, but you'll find they are clunky, difficult to learn, or too limited in what they offer. Talent LMS will run you about $5,000 a year for 1,000 users and can cost as little as absolutely nothing depending on how many courses or users you have. By the way, I am not affiliated with Talent in any possible way. It really is my preference. Number four, now you must decide how to package your course. There are two options. Put it all into one SCORM file or use a variety of building features within your LMS. That's what I call the self-build. A SCORM file is one large collection of your course, and it's nice because it's portable if you change your mind about an LMS. The great thing about SCORM is that most programs that can build SCORM files have the ability to build in all kinds of interactivity, clicks, drag-and-drop, drag-and-snap, games, branching or scenarios, graphic novel style scenarios, video clips, and more. But SCORM has a downside because in order to edit it in the future, you have to own and be able to use the program that was used to create it. A SCORM file is not editable unless you have the original file that corresponds to a program like Articulate or Captivate. The original file is called a source file. The other option is to build a course within an LMS. This is nice because your content is easily updated, modified, and moved around. Plus, you can add in small SCORM files for select activities in order to make it more engaging. You could also insert graded open-ended assignments and synchronous meets and discussions. The downside is that if you change to a new LMS, you'll have to rebuild most of your content. Number 5. You're almost ready to talk to an instructional designer. Just a few more things. You need to consider how much quizzing, gamification, and interaction you want. The more fun, the more money it's going to cost you. You should also think about supplemental content. Do you need a workbook or a glossary or a syllabus to go with the course? Number 6. You need to have your logo and branding colors and theme ready to go. If you aren't sure about branding and colors, watch my other video about branding so you're prepared. Number 7. So now you're ready to hire an ID. The ID will take all of your content and instructions and develop a storyboard. They'll start with whatever you've got, even if you're unorganized, and they'll get it chunked out with objectives, suggested content to be added or researched, ideas for interactions, sample VO scripts, and quiz questions. Number 8. You have to be prepared to look over that storyboard over and over and give feedback. This is when you'll make important decisions that will affect the final build, as well as your budget. Once you have a plan nailed down, your ID will polish up the content and then it'll be ready for a graphic artist, videographer, and voice artist. Number 9. Creating the media. Most of the projects I've worked on have not required a graphic designer because simple designs and stock graphics and photos are enough. Generally, the video production is minimal as well, but usually includes one of the following. GIFs, screencasts, whiteboard, animated, or lectures. If you're planning to do the videos yourself, just be prepared to have a nice intro and outro. And if you're filming, then remember lights, camera, action. The VO is probably where you're going to run into trouble. A lot of clients shrug off the VO and don't want to pay extra for it. They say, oh, that's easy. I can do that. But can you? You'll need to learn how to edit your audio to remove deep breaths, interruptions, and mistakes. You'll need to know how to speak in such a way that the meaning of a sentence is clear. You'll also need quality equipment and a room well-designed for audio recording. Then, of course, you'll need a naming convention for each file and an efficient method of transporting all your MP3s to your developer. So unless you have a lot of extra time to practice and then edit, just hire someone. If you insist on doing it yourself, then I suggest buying a Blue Yeti microphone. Install some free audio recording software that allows you to cut out segments. I use Audacity, but it can be intimidating for new users. And finally, you'll need to record in a carpeted room with curtains and furniture, things that can absorb echoes. Number 10. Now you'll send everything to your e-learning developer who will take the content and build it into an e-learning course. Yep, it's a lot of work, but it's worth it. E-learning courses are more engaging, user-friendly, have a minimal carbon footprint, and are convenient for you and your employees and customers. If you're ready to get started and you want someone who can help you from start to finish, contact MindGarden Media. We can do the full course, from the storyboard to the media creation to the voiceover and the final development. We're a one-stop shop for all of your e-learning needs.