For maximum access and scalability, clients often rely on eLearning as a key delivery strategy. It’s flexible and much more cost effective to deploy than traditional instructor-led training (ILT). Also, when designed well, eLearning can enable engaging learner experiences (LX) using video, simulation, and practice to make learning more effective. When we think of eLearning, we tend to think of online self-tutorials that are presentational. Today’s eLearning can be much more—including virtual instructor-led training, hybrid solutions, social learning, and experiential learning.
At AllenComm, we design eLearning to meet both organizational and learner needs. We focus on performance outcomes and prioritize the learner experiences that will have a real impact. Our solutions situate learning within the context of the organization and the specific use cases of teams or roles. We use menus, dashboards, and portals that orient learners on their journey. Our simulations and practice scenarios mimic real-world situations that engage the learner’s curiosity and critical thinking. An immersive digital Learning experience, from our perspective, is one whose relevance is immediately understood by learners.
What Experience Has Taught Us
At AllenComm, our award-winning instructional designers employ a systematic approach we call performance mapping to create impactful eLearning experiences tailored to your learners’ needs.
- All eLearning Is Not the Same: eLearning is a broad category that includes tutorials, microlearning, online assessment, and more. There isn’t one recipe to meet all needs. Templated solutions can be very efficient but using the right template to meet the learning need is essential.
- Focus on Performance: Through careful analysis, we identify performance gaps and design solutions using a mix of eLearning and other strategies to map out the learner journey. Our approach to learner experience design (LXD) focuses on scaffolding learners from learning to success on the job.
- Leverage What Works: Rather than starting from scratch, we want to take advantage of what your team and organization have already been doing. We look for opportunities to upgrade, elevate, and convert your existing learning. We’re experts at evaluating your existing program to recommend a rapid content revision or redesign.
Featured Work
See how we partnered with other clients to design and develop award-winning eLearning solutions that generated positive results.
eLearning FAQ
Why Do Organizations Use eLearning?
Organizations use eLearning primarily for scale. Depending on the number of learners in the organization, eLearning can decrease costs while providing consistent quality. It is used for leadership training, sales enablement, onboarding training, compliance training, and for skills development.
Organizations sometimes purchase off-the-shelf eLearning content libraries to meet general needs for employee professional development. For more strategic needs, however, they will design and develop their own eLearning solutions or engage custom eLearning developers.
The use cases for custom eLearning are often tied to key company initiatives such as digital transformation or to key pace with a demand for specialized skills. They are often aligned to the following outcomes: reducing the cost per learner, improving proficiency or productivity, reducing error or risk, enhancing the customer experience, or increasing employee loyalty.
How Do You Define eLearning?
eLearning is a broad term that includes various formats. It might feature asynchronous options like self-paced tutorials accessible at any time, or synchronous methods like live virtual instructor-led sessions that rely on Web technologies for real-time instruction.
Usually, the content and performance objectives of your training will help determine which eLearning modality will be most effective for your learners.
Most eLearning consists of modules that present key information in retainable, strategically chunked lessons. To increase engagement and increase the efficacy of the eLearning, these tutorials should be interactive experiences supported with visuals, realistic scenarios, and practice exercises. A learning path that sequences and times learning to optimize retention can improve the transfer of skills to the work environment. It’s helpful to expand our definition of eLearning beyond tutorials to include pre-work, assessment, reinforcement, etc.
What Tools Are Used to Create eLearning?
eLearning may be created with commercially available tools, called authoring platforms, through specialized apps (for gamification or microlearning), or through premium technologies like AllenComm’s DesignLab. Many LMS and LXP platforms also have basic tools for content creation.
AllenComm uses Articulate 360 including Storyline and Rise as well as a variety of other commercially available tools. To develop media, we may use the Adobe Creative Cloud and various specialized apps for audio, video, screen recordings, and animation. When consulting with you about which authoring tool to select, we discuss your objectives, any unique design requirements, maintenance needs, and data integration needs.
For advanced LX functionality, we may recommend our AllenComm DesignLab platform to provide greater accessibility, an improved UX, and more robust learning analytics.
How Do You Deploy or Host eLearning?
There are several options for deploying eLearning. These range from relatively simple portals and hosting environments to complex learning and HR platforms. The best option will depend on the needs of learners and the opportunities available within the organization’s existing technical environment.
Most large organizations use a learning management system (LMS), learning experience platform (LXP), or HR platform to track data, but there are also a number of alternative solutions available for smaller organizations that do not have access to these systems. Sometimes, in addition, an organization may require a solution for deploying training for their employees with a separate environment to deploy customer training. The various learning technologies available in your organization are sometimes referred to as a learning tech ecosystem or learning tech stack.
AllenComm provides tech services to help organizations optimize their learning tech ecosystem, saving money while maximizing functionality and value. We can also provide alternative hosting solutions.
How Much Time Does It Take to Develop One Hour of eLearning?
The short answer is that it depends on the level of complexity.
The time it takes to develop one hour of eLearning will depend on the content you’re working with, the type of interactivity desired, what media will be included, and even how many review cycles you want to see during the process. LX design can also lead to sequences of formal and informal experiences that span more calendar time but have less seat time, which can make it difficult to measure a general cost per hour.
As an average, however, let’s assume that you need a custom-designed, one-hour, mid-level eLearning course. The content will be based on source material from your organization. It can take anywhere from 6-12 weeks from analysis to delivery, depending on the design, the media creation, and the review process. This estimate includes all of the related work, including reviews and revisions—not just authoring. The actual authoring typically requires much less time than developing the content.
What Is Rapid Content Development?
Rapid content development focuses on developing the content you need using a streamlined approach based on existing templates. The goal is to be fast and efficient, on a more agile timeline.
Some projects may require a quick turnaround, such as to address an urgent need for eLearning uncovered by recent analysis or a change in the organization without losing too much time or productivity.
By leveraging modern technology as well as agile methodologies such as iterative design, the development process can be accelerated to produce a minimum viable product (MVP) that can continue to be refined over time while meeting the most important needs as soon as possible.
