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It May Have Gone Viral, But Is it Learning Content?

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At ATD ICE 2015, I had the experience of having a video go viral and it was intriguing to me.

viral
I did not set out to create a video that got almost 100% viewership and deeply connected with my viewers. It just happened by happy accident.

I had been part of a team that was planning an Instructional Systems Design program for our local ATD chapter and one of my discussions was around the topic “ISD is Dead”.

I love doing stuff like this! It ruffles feathers, gets people defensive, and starts a real conversation about a topic. My true purpose was to discuss how traditional ISD has evolved to meet the various types of media in which we deliver eLearning content.

As this situation played through, it seemed that it was a prime example of what I was trying to describe and intended to use it as a case study.

This video is obviously a piece of informational content, so let’s start there.

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My Experience With Viral Video at ATD ICE 2015

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On the Thursday of Pre-conference certification programs for ATD ICE 2015, I was working with my Volunteer Co-Chair to set up the Volunteer Office to be ready for volunteers from around the world, who would be showing up, starting on Saturday. We had about 200 Volunteers registered to assist us.

As Kristina Grant and I were walking the conference center once again to get to some remote location to deliver something or check on our volunteers working in the certification program events, I made an off-handed remark to her.

“We should do a video showing how far of a walk it is from the parking area to the volunteer office.”

Her response was “Really? I don’t want to do that.”

After some convincing that it would be fun, her and I set forth to create the simple video that would make me a viral sensation to our 200 volunteers.

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AUDIO INTERVIEW – Barry Discusses Nano-Learning and Mobile With Shauna Vaughn

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In this 40-minute audio interview, Barry Nadler discusses mobile learning, nano-learning and microlearning, and how an instructional designer should think about these concepts with Shauna Vaughn, Lead Instructional Designer at Sweet Rush.

This interview is part of a larger discussion related to her article for the eLearning Industry blog – 2015 Instructional Design Trends Compass: Calling IDs to Action.

WHAT IS NANO-LEARNING?

Nano-learning is the act of making learning convenient. Today, we are on the go more and more and have an intimate relationship with our mobile devices. Therefore, as we consider how we develop modern learning programs, we should be considering how learners interact with their devices.

This is chunked content that was designed with mobile delivery in mind. This is also termed bite-sized learning.

WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE?

For the corporate world, you might see nano-learning as job aids, reference materials, tutorials, how-to guides, or videos.

Examples:

WHAT IS MINI-ELEARNING?

This is the act of taking something that was originally eLearning and simply converted to mobile. This is simply a bad idea and as Instructional Designers, we should not do this. Nobody wants to watch a one-hour, PowerPoint presentation on their mobile device.

WHERE CAN I SEE SHAUNA SPEAK?

mLearnCon 2015 – Austin, TX

Session 505 – One Step Ahead: Consulting on Mobile Learning Strategy

RESOURCES SHAUNA RECOMMENDS

Mobile Learning Decision Path (MLDP) – Published by ADL (Creators of SCORM and XAPI)

 

Visual Design Trend – Sensory Immersion

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I am a huge fan of fast food. I know that is not a popular opinion. I probably spend way too much time in these establishments. I think it is safe to say I have seen a few fast food menus in my time. I recently noticed a change in the design of these menus. They now have videos and photos of extreme close-ups of the food. Once I noticed this, I started seeing it in other places.

I have seen it in commercials, print ads, YouTube videos, and so on.

Two of the fast food menus it was very obvious in were these:

  • McDonald’s is using close ups of their burgers.

Hamburger

  • Wendy’s is also using this style

Wendys

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Visual Design Trend – Point of View Style

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One of the more popular styles for visual design you will find has occurred due to the increased use of mobile device phones and the emergence of the “selfie” as a common photographic style. The other innovation that has triggered this style of photography is the wearable camera. Think along the lines of a GoPro-style of camera that puts you right in the action.

Did you know that there are 93,000,000 selfies taken EVERY DAY! That’s a lot of selfies.

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Lessons in Localization Using Adobe Captivate 8

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Recently, a client asked me if I would be willing to perform the localization process on a course I had been working on for them using Adobe Captivate 8. Given that I had never been involved with this type of process, I said “of course!”

I had no idea what I was signing up to do or the challenges it presented. I don’t think I even realized how many things the localization process touched during the conversion.

This course was created in English and being translated into Spanish. The source material was built in Adobe Captivate 8.

I was NOT involved with the communication between my client and the localization vendor. I simply received direction and files from my client on what to build with the components they provided. I was solely wearing my Developer hat for this project.

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Learning Solutions – Use of Video – Steve Haskin

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My clients are starting to expect more and more videos of software demonstrations. Interestingly enough, the sales teams are also asking for videos, but of a different type. Lastly, my department is also starting to ask for marketing-style videos that introduce clients to our various services.

VIDEO IS BECOMING EXPECTED

It should be fairly obvious to most Instructional Designers and eLearning developers that video is becoming a desired content medium because our capability to deliver various types of media has become stronger and sites like YouTube become a more prevalent as a way to deliver training content. Learners like seeing faces, watching processes, and being entertained.

At Learning Solutions, this was one of the primary discussions that was happening. When should you use video? How do you create these videos? How long should these videos be? What role does “interactive video” play in your training delivery?

We can’t really ignore this medium for much longer. Development costs used to be one of the primary barriers. Another barrier was the skills needed to edit video. A third barrier might be how to deliver these videos to your customers. Most of these barriers have now been removed.

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Learning Solutions 2015 – Mastery Roadmap

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LearningSolutions logoI sat in a Learning Stage event that I wasn’t sure if it was going to be of interest or not and it ended up being something that was very simple, yet changed how I looked at a possible tool. It was about the concept of taking a person from the point of not having any experience around a skill and getting that person to a point of competency in about half the time you might normally take. They called it a Learning Mastery Roadmap.

The normal process usually involves first providing the learner with the fundamental basics. Then, you introduce the systems and processes with which they need to be familiar. Lastly, you offer activities and review the results of those activities. This design model can take a little bit of time – typically time the corporate world does not offer to learners.

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