The eLearning Coach Podcast

Design critiques, whether formal or informal, are an important tool to have in your toolbox. When they focus on the goal of meeting your objectives they may provide some of the most valuable feedback you can get.

Testing expert, Michael Rodriguez, PhD, gives advice, guidance and guidelines for effective test design and writing better test items.

Do you want to design learning games or improve your skills, but you're not sure where to go? I suggest listening to the learning game guru, Karl Kapp.

Many instructional designers are moving away from traditional L&D methods. We discuss how to apply Agile principles to eLearning.

Does technology rewire our brains? Can we use technology to enhance memory? We discuss strategies for effective online instruction.

In this episode, I speak with Kevin Thorn about eLearning storyboards. We compare our process for how to make elearning storyboards.

To change behavior, performance and attitudes, we must spend more time and effort thinking about the psychology of the audience.

How often do we look at the actions, thoughts and feelings of learners over time to better understand what they experience? In this episode I interview Jim Kalbach, about diagramming to understand experience.

You could be basing instructional strategies on learning myths. Find out if you're unintentionally accepting learning misconceptions.

Course evaluations should provide the instructional designer with feedback for improvement. Instead, they often provide useless information.

Organizing instructional content to facilitate learning and for easy access is a crucial part of instructional design. Here's how.

Use social media to improve learning through collaboration, sharing knowledge and staying current in learning and development.

You may think that accessible eLearning design is only for people with disabilities. Actually, accessible learning designs are for diverse groups, such as people who are limited to using low bandwidth, people who may not be fluent in the language, as well as people who are using a mobile phone to access the Internet. In this conversation with accessibility and usability specialists Sarah Horton and Whitney Quesenbery, they explain how all users win when we design for accessibility first. And how Universal Design is the path that provides the best access to digital products for the widest audience. We can apply their philosophy and principles to accessible eLearning design. Sarah is a consultant for strategic planning for websites and web applications. She also does accessibility and usability reviews. Sarah has written several books on topics from web design to accessibility for the web. Whitney brings user research insights to designing products where people matter. She has written two other books on user experience and is co-director of the non-profit Center for Civic Design, working with election officials on usability and design of ballots and other election materials. WE DISCUSS: The story behind A Web for Everyone Why accessibility should be part of design and not just a legal mandate Difference between accessibility and universal design Spectrum of accessibility strategies Common problems people have with web accessibility Designing with an "accessibility first" strategy How usability testing makes designs more effective Web standards and standards for authoring tools and authoring tool vendors Guidelines for visual presentation of content TIME: 35 minutes TRANSCRIPT: Download the [Download not found]. RATE: Rate this podcast in iTunes BOOKS: A Web for Everyone by Sarah Horton and Whitney Quesenbery (Use Code AWFE for 20% off when you buy from Rosenfeld Media) A Web for Everyone buy on Amazon Design for All Learners by Sarah Mercier RESOURCES: Sarah Horton Design (Sarah's website) WQUsability (Whitney's website) Web Accessibility Initiatives (WAI) Easy Checks Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) ON THIS SITE: Using Contrast to Improve Visual Accessibility in eLearning Getting Started with Inclusive Design

When designing interactions, attending to the small details can make a big difference. Listen to Dan Saffer talk about microinteractions.

Are you curious about the future of instructional technology and learning? These professors follow the trends and issues in our field—from the latest technologies to new research.

Jennifer Hofmann, author of What Works in Talent Development: Blended Learning, offers guidance on how to design blended learning.

If you want to know anything about eLearning authoring tools, ask eLearning Joe. He is adept at explaining eLearning development tools.

In this interview with Jane Bozarth, we discuss the benefits of showing or narrating your work to the individual, one's colleagues and the organization.

Digital badges may become increasingly important in workplace learning and higher ed. What do learning professionals need to know?

We know that mobile learning is more than eLearning on a phone. But what is mobile learning? Learn how you can use mobile learning.

Does your audience complain about boring eLearning or eLearning that is all glitz and no substance? Then listen to this.

Find out how to design a learning environment to fulfill a specific need. These have the potential for providing a rich and broad learning experience.

If you're interested in learning games or gamification, you'll like this insightful interview with the author of Playful Design, John Ferrera.

xAPI allows learning designers to track diverse types of data, whereas SCORM is limited to around four data points.

If you're looking for strategies to improve learner engagement, you'll want to listen to this interview with Dorian Peters.

Ellen Wagner Ph.D., explains big data and learning analytics and how it can be leveraged to improve learning and development and higher ed.

The learning industry isn’t improving as quickly as many practitioners would like. Closing the feedback loop will help us improve.

Interviewing your learners can have a big impact on the success of the learning experiences you design. Upgrade your interview skills here.

Best techniques, practices and tools for content curation, a skill for the 21st century.

Listen as Tom Kuhlmann discusses common issues eLearning designers and developers face and how to overcome them.

Learn how to plan, design and create information graphics you can use when designing infographics for learning.

You can learn how to make better explanations from Lee LeFever of Common Craft Videos.

How do we help companies create engaged employees? How do we improve the connections they feel? Dan Pontefact has answers to these questions.

By understanding more about learning and the brain, you can create more effective learning experiences.

How to adapt in-person classroom training to a virtual learning experience.

Jonathan Halls provides expert guidance on how to make training videos for employees that won't put them to sleep.

Learn to match your storytelling with the natural tendencies of the brain. Discover ways to write irresistible stories and scenarios.

How to use eLearning scenarios to impact learning and accelerate expertise.

Jane Bozarth, social media expert, reveals all.

In this first episode from 2013, you'll get a fresh perspective on job seeking, hiring and finding your career path as a learning experience designer.