udutu is free.  Or so their website says.  From what I can tell, it’s free to create your own trainings, zip them up and unpack/host them in your own LMS.  They even offer a moodle module to make the process easier if you are using moodle, which we do.  You can host the training on their system, but there is a watermark.  If you pay, you can have the watermark removed.

So far, udutu looks to have a lot of potential.  If there are any experienced users out there I would love to hear your likes and dislikes

We’ve heard forever that a picture is worth a thousand words.  We also know from research (and common sense) that’s it’s not the best idea to fill a slide with words in front of an audience and just stand there and read it to them.  So the question becomes, how do we use pictures to relay the information we need our audience to know.  I’ll give you a hint… it’s not with random clip art scattered throughout your presentation.

This is where The Back of the Napkin comes in.  According the book, there are 6 questions that can help with almost any problem.  You’ve heard them all before: Who/What, How Much, Where, When, How, and Why.  Where the book goes a step further is by identifying pictures you can use to relay the answers to your audience.  It is as follows:

• Who/What – Portrait (or a stick figure)
• How Much – Chart
• Where – Map
• When – Timeline
• How – Flowchart
• Why – Plot

One important point here is to not get caught up in your ability to draw.  These are all things that you should be able to do in a simple way with chart paper or a more elaborate way with PowerPoint, Keynote, or other presentation software.  Also, the author brings up that there are certain “versions” of the pictures you draw depending on a number of factors.  His book lays it all out.  Check out the website and www.thebackofthenapkin.com.  For more information on this particular section, click on “D. The 6 Way we See and Show” on the interactive picture of a napkin on the homepage.

In a recent online software training package we developed, the modules were created using the principle of errorless learning.  Errorless learning is one example of a design procedure that has been validated by a large volume of quantitative research across diverse populations (you mean we should consider people with disabilities when designing a training??? — YES!).  We were approached to developed a series of training to teach users how to use a software application.  To do this, we incorporated guided practice for the features throughout each module.  Using errorless learning meant that the user could only provide the correct responses during this time.    Here is how the guided practice was structured:  (a) the user was asked to complete a task using the software; (b) only the correct responses were allowed; and (c) if the user did not respond correctly within 4 seconds a visual prompt was provided that cued the user to engage in the correct response.

Here are 2 practical reasons for you to consider this design tip:

1.  The user does not constantly practice incorrect responses. What we know is that if we are allowed to do the incorrect thing repeatedly, we learn that incorrect response pretty well.
2.  Users remain engaged.  Repeated incorrect responses tend to reduce the likelihood that a user will continue on with training.  This is especially important to consider for the trainings that are not required, but are important for staff development.

This concept worked great for this project because the client wanted their participants to be able to USE the software rather than being able to just ANSWER questions about it.  So when working with your designer or developing your next training, consider errorless learning.

I just finished up doing a year long educational cadre on the use of Universal Design for Learning strategies in a classroom.  Part of the deal was that in return for strategies and software or devices to use in the classroom, participants would meet with me in person at least 3-4 times a year in addition to doing some web based stuff.  Sounds simple enough, but I’ve been in the game long enough to know things don’t always work out as planned.  The last thing I wanted was a project that started with 30 people and ended with five.  This can happen for a variety of reasons, so to help prevent it from happening this time around I created a contract that not only the participants had to sign, but they’re administrators (and sometimes their administrator’s administrator) had to sign.  No one could register before signing and returning this contract to me.  On the contract I included what the expectations of the participants were and what they would receive in return.  If someone did not show up, they would not receive the support and devices that everyone else received.  Also, if for some reason they were told they could not attend a training, I simply pulled out the contract for the administrator so they would realize this had been agreed upon some time ago.  Overall it was a huge success.

The purpose of this post is to get you to think out of the box and take this a step further.  It’s easy to use contracts if you are meeting face to face with people over a the course of several months, but what about using this in your online courses or trainings as well (even if it’s only a one time thing).  A contract immediately provides clear expectations of what is expected of the learner.  They know how much time it requires and have the opportunity to say no (or choose a different time to take the course/training) up front.  This will also help the learner understand what they will be gaining in return for taking the course (a certificate, mandatory training satisfied, a gift card, etc…)

I recommend giving a contract a try during your next training.  If nothing else, the simple act of signing an agreement is likely to increase the completion rate of any of your courses.