I was tempted to title this blog “eLearning for Dummies” in a nod to the popular book series, but I’ve been told insulting potential readers by calling them “dummies” doesn’t inspire them to read what you’ve written. Who knew?
Our clients and prospective clients aren’t dummies by any stretch.
They are almost uniformly incredibly busy professionals attempting to solve a problem, a problem that could be solved with eLearning. A problem that it is our business to help them solve.
Most of the time, they’re familiar with classroom training and Microsoft PowerPoint. They got unpleasantly familiar with virtual learning during the Covid shutdown. They are familiar with eLearning from taking a course or two which — my informal survey results show — didn’t impress them much.
Writing the proposal for the client is the easy part. Helping them understand the proposal, and the eLearning terminology behind it, that typically takes a moment to explain.
Here’s the quick and dirty:
eLearning = web-based training = online learning = computer-based learning
eLearning isn’t a virtual course, where learners log in via Zoom or Teams or another platform, to learn from a facilitator in real time.
It is not a video. It requires interaction from the learner.
It is self-paced. The learner decides how fast the course will go, with some guardrails.
It is asynchronous. The learners can login and participate in the eLearning at their own convenience.
It is built to be SCORM-compliant.
SCORM (which stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Model) is a set of technical standards used to create eLearning content that works across different platforms and systems.
It makes sure that things like your progress, quiz scores, and completion status are tracked and saved correctly, so you don’t have to start over every time you log in from a new device.
Instructional Designers
An instructional designer is someone who creates eLearning. They work behind the scenes, often collaborating with the client and SMEs (subject matter experts) and then with specially designed software programs to create SCORM-compliant files.
The instructional designer is the person who plans and builds what you need to learn, figures out the best way to teach it, and organizes the course so it’s relevant to your needs as the learner, interactive, and helps you remember the material. They are specialists in understanding how humans learn.
[I consider instructional designers to be magical wizards of creativity, but that is just an editorial comment.]
LMS/Learning Management System
A Learning Management System (LMS) is like an online classroom where you can access courses, track your progress, and interact with learning materials—all in one place. It’s the software system where a SCORM-compliant eLearning course lives after the instructional designer builds it, tests it, and publishes it.
Many companies have their own LMS; others utilize a LMS agreement to have a LMS set up, administered and managed by a third party.
For more about LMS selection and implementation, here’s a blog I wrote: One Luddite’s Guide to LMS
Let’s put it all together:
For several of our clients, our safety consultants and client team with our instructional designers to build customized SCORM-compliant eLearning for contractors who need to be oriented for large capital construction projects. The contractors receive a URL/link to get to the LMS, they follow that link from their computer or tablet or phone, register and complete the course, learn about all of our client’s project safety policies, pass the scenario-based quiz, and receive a certificate. Any day of the week, any time of the day.
So tell me about this terminology in my proposal and all of the legalese that is a part of the contract!
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property (or IP) refers to the ownership rights of the materials created for a course, such as videos, text, images, quizzes, and other learning resources.
It means that the person or company who creates the eLearning content has control over how it’s used, shared, or copied.
License Agreement
A license agreement is a legal contract that gives someone permission to use eLearning content (i.e., the IP) like a course or training materials, under certain conditions. The license agreement includes the details of how they can use the eLearning content —like how many people can access it, whether they can share it with others, or if they can modify it.
In simple terms, it’s the “rules” that explain how you can legally use the eLearning content without breaking any laws or violating the creator’s rights.
If you’re new to the eLearning world and a little dizzied by all the jargon, it’s my hope that this gives you a cheat sheet that helps you get started!
What did I miss? Did this help?
As always, reach out to me if you have questions, or suggestions for additional blogs.