As you may know, I’ve been co-chairing ATD NYC’s eLearning Special Interest Group (SIG) for a few years now; first with Enid Crystal of BlackRock, and now with Mark Cassetta of RBC. We put a lot of work into our sessions, and attendees tell us they get a lot out of them.
In March, we hosted one of our popular roundtable discussions on the topic Making eLearning Interactions Meaningful. As a group, we put together a list of common types of eLearning interactions, and then had a lively (and illustrated) discussion about how we might use each of those types of interaction in a way that adds relevance and resonance for a particular project. After all, not every type of interaction is an easy match with every learning topic. We looked at and discussed samples brought in by some of our creative SIG members–it’s always great to see ideas in action, hands-on. Attendees told us afterward they left with their heads full of new ideas for how to choose an interaction type based on their topic and what they’re trying to say. That’s what we love to hear!
In May, we held a session called Video 101: Lights! Camera! eLearning! which was very well attended both in person and online. Video is becoming more and more popular as a teaching tool, as it becomes easier and easier to for us all to create. Look at YouTube, after all. It’s become a great, global training resource. We talked about when it’s a good idea to consider adding video, and about the common challenges that arise when you decide to include video clips as part of your eLearning (like file size and formats). We spent a good amount of time looking at a wide variety of sample video clips being used for different types of micro-training moments: endorsement, informational, step-by-step training, role-play, guided tour, quizzing, and more. We also talked about the basic gear you need if you want to shoot your own video clips, and examined a typical lighting setup for a good-looking “talking head” clip. Once again, attendees told us they left armed with a lot of great ideas for enhancing their own elearning back on the job. We recorded this session, so if you’re an ATD NYC member, it will be available soon on the member web site.
If you’re in the NYC area, don’t miss out! We only hold six eLearning SIG meetings a year, and every one of them is crammed with great ideas and great discussion. If you’re not already a member of ATD NYC, consider joining. The annual cost is quite low, and while there are many great Chapter events, and other SIGs, the eLearning SIG meetings alone are worth the price of admission.
Our next eLearning SIG meeting will be on Wednesday, July 26th. Mark your calendar, and watch the ATD NYC web site for details and registration. Our topic will be The Rise of Web-based eLearning Development Tools, and it promises to be another great session. In fact, I have a new blog post coming up in which I’ll share an example of a course built with Articulate Rise (see what I did there?), a great new web-based development tool that offers fully responsive design. Stay tuned!