eLearning Design Process

My Mosaic Learning Design Process is in Beta!

I am intrigued about the methods behind creative and effective eLearning. It seems as though everyone I admire and respect uses some sort of iterative process. Allen Interactions uses SAVVY, Cathy Moore suggests Action Mapping and many others are beginning to use Agile Design. This got me thinking about how important it is to develop learning through a technique that incorporates tweaking and testing along the way. For all of you (current and former) classroom teachers out there, have you ever designed a lesson and had it work perfectly the first time you taught it? I never did. Good instructional designers might argue that my lesson probably had some holes in it. I have to agree--it did, and testing it in front of a group of students was the fastest way to figure out the holes. When designing great eLearning (or any learning, in fact), if testing and iterations can be worked into the process, the client will have a much better idea of what the product will look like in the end. 
I've been playing around with an approach that I like to call Mosaic Learning Design. It came about when I realized that when I design a learning event or product, my process isn't always linear. In the background, I am moving toward completion, but all around that progression, there are spatters of thoughts, activities, and re-imaginings that amp up the end product. I didn't mean to call it a Mosaic process--when I began to put my ideas down on paper, it originally resembled a flow chart. As I began to brainstorm in different colors, however, it turned into a mosaic. Some of this has been tested, but I won't deny that it's in Beta right now! I also won't disagree that many of these ideas sound familiar because all of the leaders in this industry have proven that this is a good way to go. Mosaic Learning Design owes them a great debt.

eLearning Goes Mainstream?

Mainstream eLearning

I was messing around on my computer last night, and I came across a great example of self-directed, interactive eLearning from a surprising source: InStyle Magazine! What started off as a brief curiosity soon turned into an obsession to become a superstylist to the stars. Although I didn't agree with some of the style choices, this I soon found that I had jumped into this "game" and had been "playing" for at least twenty minutes. When I woke up this morning, I realized I had a better idea of how I should match my purse to my outfit. What was it about this simple game that made it successful? I think it followed most of my eLearning rules (stolen from Allen Interactions): Context, Challenge, Activity, Feedback). Yes, the context was a bit vague (become an "Fashion Pro!"), but the feedback was excellent, and the level of challenge was perfect for me--every time I thought I had figured out the answer, the "game" added another subtly like texture. Try it and see what you think!