14 Tips For A More Effective Online Survey

By Dana Fine

Developing a useful, well-written online survey that extracts the information you need from your users can be a challenge. In this article, I will review 14 tips for creating a useful online survey.

1. Write a brief, concise survey. Start with a mental framework that focuses on only what is essential to know. Ask questions only if the answers will give you the data you need and can use. Try to envision each question as its own specific theory that you are testing. In addition, research has shown that people skim and skip on the web, so your online survey completion rate will be higher if the survey is short and succinct.
2. Try to begin the survey with interesting questions. Interesting questions will inspire the respondent to keep reading and complete the survey.
3. Develop questions with answers in the proper format for your purposes. For example, if you believe your students need more time to complete the questions in your lesson, ask, “How long did it take you to complete the unit and accompanying questions?” with various time intervals as possible answers.
4. Plan ahead of time how you and your company will analyze the information before you send out the final version of the survey. This may affect your questions and format when you realize that the statistical analysis you need to perform.
5. Use the simplest language possible and respect the respondent’s dignity when constructing questions. Your survey respondents will undoubtedly come from many different groups.
6. Use neutral language. The online survey is being developed to find out what your audience thinks and is not a forum for you to air your perceptions or opinions.
7. Relax your grammar a bit so your questions do not sound too formal.
8. Be sure to ask only one question at a time and put them in a logical order.
9. Avoid double negatives, difficult concepts, and specific recall questions. Respondents are easily perplexed when trying to interpret the meaning of a question that uses double negatives.
10. Try to use more closed-ended questions, with no more than one or two open-ended questions. Respondents usually have a better understanding of closed-ended questions because they are more straightforward and offer responses they can choose from. Open-ended questions require a written response.
11. Scaled response questions should have answers that are at balanced, comparable intervals. For example, offering choices of excellent, very good, good, and terrible would cause you to miss important information in between the values of good and terrible.
12. Whenever possible, responses should be developed as discrete amounts instead of general statements of quantities, with specific options from which to choose. It’s better to ask, “How many times a month do you go to the movies?” “0”, “1 to 3 times a month”, “3 to 5 times a month or more”, instead of “How often do you go to movies?” “almost never”, “once in a while”, “I am there at least once a week”, etc.
13. Name your survey and write a brief introduction. It prepares them for what is to come.
14. Craft a well-written subject line for the email you send with the survey to capture your respondents’ attention.

In summary, a well-written online survey has higher completion rates and is an effective method for gathering information.

About the Author:

Dana Fine is a Senior Instructional Designer at SyberWorks, Inc http://www.syberworks.com. SyberWorks is a custom e-Learning solutions company that specializes in Learning Management Systems, e-Learning solutions, and custom online course development. Dana is also a frequent contributor to the Online Training Content Journal.

eBooks and eLearning – Finally!

By E. Brown

Now, a group who “gets it!” CourseSmart has released this movie of how eBooks are going to change and adapt — they have to — for the next generation of reader and learner. Also, the rumors of the Apple “iSlate” make this reality a lot closer than you might think. So, where might this leave the Kindle? You be the judge.

Do you think there will be a market for this product? How do you think it will revolutionize learning?

Related Articles
- Kindles For Kids

Vodcasts Free Up Classroom Time and Raise Performance

Saw this. Loved it. Wanted to share.

35 Tips Toward An e-Learning Plan For Your Organization

I saw this, of all places, on the San Diego City College site under their military education department. It is really, quite a well put together list of tips, things to do, and think about when forging out into the world of online learning and training. Enjoy!

1: First Things First

The “e” in e-Learning stands for education — we too often forget that — it is not about bandwidth, servers, and cables. It is about education – first and foremost.

2: Find Your Roadmap

Do your homework understanding the basics of e-Learning — terminology, types of systems, resources available. The task seems daunting at first, but keep reading, asking questions and recognize that it is a cumulative process.

3: The Times They Are-a-Changing

Training organizations must rethink their mission, redesign their metrics, and retool their staff. From “We deliver classroom training that we think someone might need” to “We work with the entire company organization — senior management to individual learners — to provide whatever is needed at each stage of the learning life-cycle”; From “butts in seats” (or even “happy butts in seats”) to “discovered gaps addressed and met effectively as shown by multiple levels of assessment”; From “stand-up trainer” to “multi-modal consultant” (or from “a cadre of stand-up trainers” to “a team of learning specialists: analysts, assessors, designers, builders, and deliverers.”)

4: There is a Place and a Time For Everything

Be assured that e-Learning is not a silver bullet. Refrain yourself from using e-Learning for every training/learning opportunity. There is a place for e-Learning, but it is not appropriate in every circumstance.

5: Know & Respect

Know your team/role expectations and then communicate effectively with the entire team. I suggest brainstorming with the team to determine the most effective way and including IT resources. Respect all team members.

6: Start Small, Grow Later

If you’re just starting out with e-Learning, target a course that is small but high visibility for your organization. After it is deployed successfully, developing future courses will become more easily acceptable.

7: Learning Is Learning Is Learning

e-Learning is just a media, a small “e” in front of learning. Thus, everything fundamental about learning applies as well.

8: e-Learning = Learning

Be sure to wrap the e-Learning experience with pre-work and/or communication (motivation and preparation), real-time support (either on-line or a point of contact), and post-learning transfer activities (further coaching from manager, follow up communications, post-learning reading and activities, etc.) Just because it’s e-Learning doesn’t mean we should forget all the things we know about adult learning, moving new skills to performance, and enhancing memory.

9: The e-Learner’s Pledge

Recognize the skills that serve e-Learners well: Self Advocacy : “I need to learn”; Self Sufficiency: “I am responsible for my learning”; Self Confidence : “I can Learn”; Learning Process: “I know how I learn” and Self Evaluation: “I know whether I am learning.” Without this recognition, e-Learning is at best acknowledged as difficult.

10: Put Your Toe Slowly In The Water

Be slow with the ‘e’ in e-Learning. It’s always about learning first.

11: Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken

Sometimes the classroom is the best solution. Keep an open mind and don’t create e-Learning just for the sake of having e-Learning.

12: The Rules Of The Game

Focus on people, then on corporate needs, then on technology.

13: Those That Can, DO

For e-Learning to be effective in business, it has to support “doing,” not only learning. Go back to a fundamental concept in education: behavioral objectives. After an e-Learning session, the student must be able to DO something, not just know something. If you can’t state a behavior that the student can do after the e-Learning session, you may have used the e-Learning tool as a hose to spray a thirsty student instead of as a glass.

14: Unite, Don’t Divide Your students

Before introducing e-Learning, find out more about the basic skills of the students. What proportion use a PC at work? What proportion have the required PC skills? What proportion are able to undertake e-Learning in the working day without prior clearance with a boss? The answers to these questions are critical in designing the overall strategy (and especially important at implementation time). If ignored, there is a possibility of creating or accentuating a digital divide in the students.

15: Show Me The Way

If the main reason you want to implement e-Learning is to save money … stop and ask for directions.

16: Do You e-Learn?

Make sure you experience being an e-Learner yourself before you attempt to deliver a course online.

17: Become an e-Learner

Experience e-Learning first hand to understand the student’s point of view in an e-Learning situation. What are the frustrations? What becomes easy? What do I, as the student, need to do differently? Do I have enough access to my instructor? Do I have access to the other learners? Do I feel connected to the class? Shut out and lonely? By putting oneself in this situation, trainers can begin to understand what they need to build into their design to assist the learners, who are also making the transition to e-Learning.

18: The “Hard Stuff’ Is The “Soft Stuff’

What’s hardest about e-Learning isn’t really the design, development, and technology. What’s hardest about e-Learning is getting learners motivated and organizations energized. Spending time on the “people-side” of e-Learning will pay great dividends.

19: Bottom Line

E-Learning is like any other benefit – staff will not use it if they (a) don’t know about it, (b) don’t understand it, or (c) don’t get it free.

20: First Time?

Consider blending e-Learning with classroom learning as a short mandatory component. This may help people to become comfortable with e-Learning if they haven’t tried it before.

21: Fill The Gap, Don’t Patch It

Do yourself, your organization, and/or your clients the favor of doing the preliminary footwork necessary to honestly determine whether the targeted reason for the proposed training will actually be affected by training. For example, is the “gap” something that can be narrowed via training, or does the underlying reason for the gap lie elsewhere (internal communication, company culture, management, tools, etc.)? Often times large efforts and budgets are expended building solutions to the wrong problems. Take a little time and money up front to properly analyze what should be done and why – it’s a step that will undoubtedly pay for itself several times over (either by preventing unnecessary training from being developed, or by focusing the purpose of the training that is needed).

22: One Step At A Time

First step: think about Learning. Second step: think about e-Learning.

23: Begin By Connecting The Dots

Always always always start with the business need the e-Learning is intended to meet. If you can’t draw a straight line from the course or Performance Support you are proposing to a bottom-line business result, then don’t do it. The only valid way to “make a business case” for e-Learning is to start with the needs of the business.

24: Training Is For Life

If you believe that your training is finished, you may be trained but you are finished.

25: Just Getting Started?

Making It Required May Lead To Success

Often an e-Learning course is successful because it is required. Associating a test with the completion of the e-Learning effort could lead to success especially in an environment new to this method of learning.

26: So Well Said!

On the road to e-Learning, make sure that Learning is in the driving seat, and Technology is in the passenger seat with the map. Learning decides the destination, Technology helps you get there.

27: Start From Square One

Analyze if/when online learning makes sense in your organization. Perform a needs analysis. Is there management buy-in? Do learners have access to the right equipment and software? Analyze which e-Learning delivery method is best: Blended/Hybrid Courses (part classroom, part online); Synchronous (online course, with instruction taking place in real-time via the Internet); Asynchronous (courses taken independently with minimal instructor support).

28: Don’t Get Myopic About e-Learning

E-Learning is only one of the many, many resources available to you to meet your organization’s learning needs. Use it appropriately. I got caught up in the hype until I was forced to step back and gain perspective about all the available tools and resources. As a result, my toolbox is now equipped to handle each job in a more effective and efficient manner.

29: e-Learning = Change

Treat e-Learning as a “Change Initiative,” not just another training program. E-Learning will represent a behavior change for most employees so you and your trainers need to act as “change agents.” If your organization has a Change Management discipline, use some of the techniques to guide you as you implement.

30: Look For Grants In All The Right Places

For associations and other non-profits, look for grants and other funding sources to get started in distance learning. We identified three curriculum development projects of key importance to the conservation profession and I was able to find funding for at least portions of all three, including assistance for our initial venture into distance learning. Once we gain experience, expertise, a body of courses, and (happy) learners, we anticipate that future projects will be more time and cost-effective.

31: Practice Safe e-Learning

For your first attempt to launch e-Learning in a slightly skeptical organization which has accepted the Business Case but is awaiting the outcome with interest, select a topic of enterprise wide significance which is needed by as many employees as possible and has to be delivered in a very short time. The message is to focus on an operational problem/challenge, see it as an opportunity to “‘sell” the e-Learning, produce something good but simple and practical, and go for it. Don’t begin with management development topics where the immediate gain may prove more difficult to specify to everyone’s satisfaction. Be safe, but effective.

32: Use e-Learning To Solve Specific “Pain Points”

Don’t go for an all-out Napoleonic attack with e-Learning, it might just result in your Waterloo. Rather, focus on a few pain points that can be best solved with e-Learning and just go after these.

33: Use e-Learning To “Info-Include”

e-Learning is a very good way to allow people to acquaint themselves with computers and the Internet. If you have “info-excluded” people that you want to involve and gain exposure to IT, try e-Learning with any content that helps this person to develop their competency on the job.

34: The Grandma Rule

If you are just starting out with e-Learning in your company, assume that your people know as much about computers as your grandmother. Then you won’t be too off base as you work towards changing their paradigms.

35: First Impressions Stick

Make sure a learner’s first experience of e-Learning is a good one or else they won’t try again.

Design Thinking (plus MIT Video)

My friend and co-worker, Craig Dockery, recently posted about an interesting article he read on Harvard Business Online.

Just a couple of weeks ago I read a great article called Design Thinking at Havard Business Online. In that article, Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, says, “Thinking like a designer can transform the way you develop products, services, processes—and even strategy.”
Read more…

This particular article above requires a nominal fee for downloading but there is a video (Real Video format) presentation on the same topic available at MIT World.

Some Guiding Questions To See If Your Organization Is Ready For Online Learning

By E. Brown

I was reminded of this just the other day while presenting to a client: Had they assessed their readiness to commit to online learning or had they derived a fanciful idea to move to e-Learning without counting the cost?

If you’re considering putting your content online for learning and training, I suggest you do a little homework and become familiar with what it will take to get there. Migrating to online learning is a journey, not a single event. Based on what your business and training goals are, you need to put together a plan or ask someone to help you put together a plan.

For instance, if you desired to build a house, what would you do? You would not buy a truckload of lumber and expect to have a house built in 2 weeks. No — first you would need a plan. During this phase of the project you must ask and answer a lot of questions that allow you to assess your readiness to build. It is much the same with online learning.

Here are some guiding questions to ask of yourself and your team as you get started:

Is your leadership willing to explore this innovative approach? You will need the support of your organization’s leaders to obtain the funding, technology, staffing, and other resources necessary to begin and maintain any new approach to education.

Is your competition already taking advantage of this new option on the corporate training menu? Although most new ideas take time to gain wide acceptance, some –online learning, for example–take off like a rocket. If your organization hasn’t yet made the leap, you may not be alone, but you soon will be.

Is your workforce ready to buy in? A Readiness Assessment may be the way to find out. This usually covers audience expectations, technology requirements, policies and processes, change management, and end-user support.

Is your workforce prepared to commit the time? The amount of development time will depend on your technology needs, the sophistication of your current training programs, the interest and comfort level of your leadership and workforce, and other factors.

Does your workforce have the literacy level and writing skills needed to contribute in a meaningful way to online dialog? Sure, cyberspace has pictures and sound, but it is primarily a world of written communication. Online learning for adults is mostly a matter of interaction via the written word, and online classes consist mostly of “living letters” written back and forth among students and facilitators. Is your workforce up to it?

Do you and your team have a rudimentary understanding of how online learning works? This is usually a basic introduction to the equipment and procedures involved in online education.

- Source: These particular sample questions came from FutureU

These are only a few of the questions to get you thinking. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me for more information or visit TiER1 Performance.

Related Articles
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Need A Blogging Strategy For Your Business?

My friend, Justin, published a nice little article on strategies he has been developing for clients. Many companies have Marketing Strategies, PR Strategies, Technology Strategies, Business Strategies, and Learning Strategies, but I do not know any that have Blogging Strategies. This would fit nicely within a Learning Strategy… don’t you think, Justin?

Recently I have been turning my attention to blogging strategy for business. And there are some interesting things to observe out of the process that are a tweak on good old fashioned communications planning.

1. If multiple blogs are a part of the strategy, you must decide on who the audience is for each one.
2. Decide who the author/s should be
3. Determine the appropriate tone of voice
4. Provide a guide to general direction of the posts and content. If you can outline 50 potential posts before you start you might be onto something – if not, rethink
5. Consider frequency and quality of posts
6. Integrity of the blog is very important

Read More…

In Learning Strategies we often talk about leveraging Web 2.0 technologies. We often recommend using Blogs, Wikis, Message boards, Chat sessions, and Social Networking. Yet, the idea of a complete strategy around blogging is intriguing.

What do you think?

Are You Creative?

By E. Brown

It’s funny how many people I speak with that say things like, “I am not creative,” or “I wish I was creative,” or the ever popular, “I do not have a creative bone in my body!” To which I respond, “You’re full of it!…”

…Creativity, that is.

I am a firm believer that everyone IS CREATIVE. Don’t let any art snob tell you differently. Just because you may not play music, perform, paint, draw, or sculpt does not mean you’re not creative. You exhibit creativity every day of your life.

I must say at this point that I do not in anyway endorse illegal forms of creativity. Yet, you must admit, some folks can be very creative in their attempts to break the law.

At WeirdGuy blog we talk a lot about learning, leadership, technology, and more — through the lens of creativity and fun. Solving any problem is a creative process whether it’s a business issue, people issue, technical issue, or any issue for that matter.

Learning
How do you teach, train, or communicate? In order to get in touch with your audience you look for creative ways to engage the “student” in learning. You look for creative ways to make learning stick. You want learning to be fun and memorable and to solve performance related problems so you need to use your creativity. There are many others ways too — tell me how you do it in your line of work.

Leadership
How do you generate income, protect your brand, or market your products? You may hire a creative firm, but the final say is yours, right? You know your audience and you know your culture. How do you keep employees excited and engaged? You allow them to exercise their creativity. How do you use creativity in your business or where you work? Share your ideas here.

Technology
How do you scale your technical infrastructure, protect your digital data, or enhance your online environment? I.T. folk rarely see themselves as creative, yet I see incredible forms of creativity in solving many coding and back-end related issues. For example, a UI designer may come up with a hip and cool look for a Web site, but unless the technology supports the graphics, it’s only eye-candy or a pretty picture. What are additional ways your technology team demonstrates creativity? Share with others here.

Community
How do you create community, drive involvement, and foster interaction? You look for creative ways to create and spur dialog. You open the community to forms of creative expression through customization. You look for way to creatively set yourself apart from the other social networks and communities. You look for creative interchange between you and the community members. And, there are more ways to creatively leverage community — share how you do it.

Creativity
Yes, creativity. How do you foster, manage, and incorporate creativity into your life (work and personal)? What do you do to stay motivated, captivated, and innovative? What kinds of books do you read, music do you listen to, podcasts do you subscribe to, programs and movies do you watch? How do you capture your thoughts and ideas for further inspiration and creative development? Share you examples here.

Bottom line, YOU ARE CREATIVE. Celebrate it. Exercise it. Look for new and fresh approaches to all that you do and above all, have fun while doing so. You’ll find it’s a natural by-product.

Related Reading
- Creativity In The Process
- Mandatory Ping Pong In The Workplace
- Peter Pan and Willy Wonka On Creative Thinking
- New Children’s Book Idea – Creative Learning is Fun!
- Creative Ways To Make Complex Information Simple
- Doctor Doctor Makes Learning Fun

Hall Davidson Talks About Cell Phones In Education – NECC 2008

By Mark van’t Hooft

It’s in your pocket: teaching spectacularly with cell phones. Great speech by Hall Davidson from Discovery Education Network about using mobile phones in education, the kind of talk many teachers and administrators need to hear. The first thing Hall said was to take out and turn on our cell phones

There is a large potential for cell phones in education, but current best practices are small. Mobiles have lots of functionality, including:

• Telephone
• Text messenger
• Still camera
• Video camera
• Video player
• GPS device
• Podcaster
• Music player

Are we really going to ignore a device this powerful? Can we, when it has all kinds of applications for teaching, learning, school-to-home, administration?

In general, we still take cell phones away, and school districts ban them (e.g. during school hours). However, if this is a tool for adults, we need to teach kids how to use it.

Read more…

Related Articles
- Jeffrey Veen Taps Into eLearning For Start Conference
- Twitter Is For The ADD Generation – Part 1

Kevin Kelly of WIRED Talks At TED About The Web’s Next 5000 Days

Kevin Kelly is one of those guys I could listen to for a time and then have to walk away and ponder on all the implications of the information I have just received. He is one of a handful of people I greatly admire. At the “5000 Day” mark, Kevin talks about the next 5000 days of the Worldwide Web and makes some interesting predictions. The clip is about 20 minutes long, but well worth the time. Sit back and listen to what Kevin has to say.

Jeffrey Veen Taps Into eLearning For Start Conference

By E. Brown

While on a recent panel discussion, Jeffrey Veen noticed something…

I was on a panel at this year’s South by Southwest talking about the role of analytics in design. With me were two veterans of the advertising industry who’s work included some of the biggest ad campaigns of the past few years – some really amazing stuff. I started the conversation by saying how the remarkable amount of audience data available to us gives designers tremendous power to affect user experiences. My collegues suggested my approach sucked the creativity out of design. I countered that they were mistaking preferential research from behavioral. The argument heated up.

While this was happening, my phone was buzzing non-stop. I slipped it out of my pocket to discretely turn it off, but noticed a stream of Twitters going by – many from audience members in the room. So I set the phone down on the table in front of me and kept an eye on it. I’m so glad I did.

As the conversation on stage continued, the stream of questions and comments from the audience intensified. I changed my tactics based on what I saw. I asked questions the audience was asking, and I immediately felt the tenor of the room shift towards my favor. It felt a bit like cheating on an exam.

I guess it really wasn’t cheating, but it does illustrate one of the frustrations I’ve had at conferences lately. Most of the events I attend have a rich conversation happening in the room, yet the only people not able to participate are those on stage. A couple times, I’ve seen organizers project a live IRC channel, but that usually bring out the worst in people (“First!!!111″) – and is terribly distracting. So I’ve been wondering for a while if there was something smart we could do at our conference.

Apparently, Bryan had the same idea. As we were planning Start, he said, “We should have someone onstage the whole time to represent the audience. Like an ombudsman does for a newspaper.” (for more visit Jeffrey’s blog)

This is community driven synchronous learning at it’s best! Why do we often think learning has to be limited to traditional “learning environments”? Learning happens every moment of every day. Unfortunately, there is often a monologue going on inside each of our heads as we learn new things about ourselves, others, and the world around us. Yet now, with the social networking and collaborative tools available, we no longer have to settle for a monologue — we can have a dialog. And, the fact is, we are!

Learning On The Road
Mobile devices incorporate much of the new social networking technology. Whether you’re a tweeter, yelper, IM’er, ichatter, texter, blogger, vlogger, or whatever, there is a conversation going on. It is constantly going on around us. You see people talking and texting in cars, trains, buses, and planes. Even during meetings there are other conversations going on (some related to the meeting, some related to the speaker, and some totally unrelated).

Those of us in the learning profession have seen synchronous and asynchronous learning happening for years. Utilizing the latest tools and technologies to further equip learners is what good trainers do.

Speakers Do The Same
Who is my audience? What do I want them to learn? Is it practical? What is the best way(s) to communicate and transfer information to them? How can I make it “stick”? How can the audience take and apply what they learn?

These are questions any good communicator/trainer should be asking. So, what have you learned today?

Related Articles
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What The Heck Is A Cartoon Doing On This Blog?

By E. Brown

If you noticed the recent addition of the Jaggedsmile widget in the sidebar, you may be wondering what the heck is going on? Need I remind you, this blog is dedicated to:

…common sense leadership/management, innovative developments in training, creativity, out-of-the-box ideas and business solutions, fun in learning and at work, tips and how-to’s, community building, and personal change. My desire is to present information that inspires readers to apply what they learn — and to have fun while doing so.

Call me optimistic, or as some, call me weird, but I believe that these areas (common sense leadership, creativity, fun learning, and personal change), working together, have untapped potential for impacting the future.
- From the WG page

Need I say more?

WeirdGuy Blog Needs You!

Message From Eric - a.k.a. the WeirdGuy

As a reader of WeirdGuy blog I’d like to humbly ask you to help me. I have a short 10 question survey running from August 28 – September 7, 2008 on Zoomerang.  The survey should take 2-3 minutes to run through. Your thoughtful responses will aid me in future developments for this blog.

I realize I am asking you to volunteer your time, but I value your opinion. Please follow the link provided today — the survey is only available for 10 days.

And, if the survey takes longer than 2-3 minutes then you can feel free to spam me with your hate mail.

Thank you for your patronage…can I say “patronage”?…whatever, you know what I mean.

By the way, I’ll reveal the findings here on WeirdGuy when the survey is up, so if you want your response to count, now is the time to act…now! If you do not care, then what are you doing here at WeirdGuy blog to begin with?

Visual Literacy – Cool Learning Tools

By E. Brown

If the visual display of content is something that you ponder over on a regular basis (and what good e-Learning developer or Instructional Designer doesn’t?), be sure to visit Visual Literacy today. There are all kinds of fun things to discover. One of my favorites was the Periodic Table of Visualization Methods. Check it out!

Intuition vs. Logic

Phil Cooke, Producer/Director, recently posted this on his blog. This applies to many areas of life and work. I thought it was interesting…very interesting. Where do you see application in your life?

When people ask me why I use a Mac, my usual response is that it’s more “intuitive.”  A PC is logical, but a Mac’s interface and software is more like the way I think.  I’ve also noticed it in how quickly young kids adapt to a Mac in contrast to a PC.  They just seem to “get it.”  It’s similar to the GPS systems on my car.  A few years ago I had a Lexus and I loved the GPS.  It just made sense.  It thought the way I did.  But now I have a Land Rover and I hate it.  The Land Rover GPS is good, and it’s very logical – but I find it’s very difficult to use.

Read more…

How To Create Engaging Learning – Copywrite With Your 5 Senses

When designing and writing courses, descriptive and sensory language can often be lacking. Informational and factual verbiage is more the norm. Karon’s article relates to copywriting and should be heeded by marketing writers as well as instructional designers to create a truly immersive learning experience.

By Karon Thackston

In its most basic form, copywriting is, among other things, the art of conveying a message in writing for the purpose of persuading someone to do something. This is especially true when writing descriptive copy.

Why? Because your customer’s five senses don’t work on paper, they only work in person. That’s why we, as copywriters, have to create a sensory experience for our customers through our words.

Have you ever stopped to consider copywriting as a sensory activity? You should. In order to see, hear, smell, taste, or feel a product, we have to be in the presence of that product. All too often, when copywriters create descriptions, they leave a lot to be desired. There is no excitement, no interaction, no experience.

Descriptions should be, well, descriptive.
Effective descriptions should fill the gap of what customers would see, hear, smell, taste, or feel if they were standing in the presence of the product. Effective descriptions should draw customers in and create an actual event… as if they were able to be right there with you.

Do you make cinnamon rolls? You wouldn’t want to describe them simply as “delicious” or say they “smell great.” Instead, you’d want to bring your customers into the experience of enjoying your cinnamon rolls. Think of which of their five senses would be most in tune with your product and write to those.

Try this…

Definitely NOT grandma’s cinnamon rolls! Bake them fresh right in your own oven. As the aroma of these gourmet rolls begins to waft through the air, your nose will start to tingle and you’ll immediately know they are worth the wait.

The scents of freshly ground cinnamon and yeast begin to merge as the dough rises and the cinnamon, sugar and butter begin to bubble. Open your oven door to reveal one of the largest sweets you’ve ever seen.

Drizzle the homemade frosting over the top to complete your warm, gooey treasure. Your taste buds will praise you with every bite!

Can you smell the cinnamon? Can you visualize the dough rising in the oven with the cinnamon and sugar bubbling on the top of each roll?

Are you remembering the times you’ve glazed cinnamon rolls in the past and, with sticky fingers, taken that first bite out of a freshly baked, warm, gooey pastry? This copy brings it all back, doesn’t it?

Do you rent private, Jamaican beachfront condos? Taking a basic route and falling back on the phrases “ocean view” and “sunsets are included” will leave your reader lacking a truly intriguing experience.

Something like this will work better…

As your day begins, enjoy a gourmet breakfast prepared by your own private staff who is at your disposal 24 hours a day. A gorgeous view overlooking your own crystal blue freshwater pool welcomes you to another exciting adventure in Jamaica.

A morning stroll along your private, white sand beach is the perfect way to welcome the day. A fun-filled outing can consist of splashing in the surf, sunning on the beach or napping in an authentic hand-woven hammock that cuddles every curve of your body. At the end of the day, you’ll have sun-kissed shoulders, a glowing bronze tan, and a phenomenal appetite.

Unwind at the poolside gazebo as you prepare for a world-class dinner that rivals any five-star restaurant. Refreshing after-dinner cocktails are especially enjoyable when sipped on the terrace as nature provides an amazing display of sunsets and a soft, caressing breeze you won’t soon forget.

Let’s go! “Splashing in the surf, sunning on the beach, or napping in an authentic hand-woven hammock that cuddles every curve of your body.” Can you just imagine? How about “sun-kissed shoulders, a glowing bronze tan”? That paints a picture, doesn’t it? Can you feel that warm tingling you always get after spending a day in the sun?

“Nature provides an amazing display of sunsets and a soft, caressing breeze.” I’m ready! Where do I sign up?

Are you beginning to see the importance of writing truly descriptive descriptions? Your customers aren’t there.

They can’t see, hear, feel, taste, or smell what you can. You have to do the next best thing and vividly depict what their sensory experiences will be like so they’ll want to buy what you have or do what you’ve done.

When you write descriptive copy, choose the senses that are most appropriate and focus on them. If you’re describing food, of course you’ll want to think about what you’re tasting but also what you smell and see. (Presentation is just as important as taste.) If you’re writing travel copy, you’ll want to focus on sights and sounds plus feelings (relaxation, enjoyment, excitement, etc.).

Your goal is to have your readers close their eyes and genuinely, vividly imagine they are in the midst of the same experience you are. When you accomplish that, you’ll find your sales increase as will your bank account balance!

-Source: Karon Thackston of the Marketing Words.

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Rapid Course Outlining With Large Groups

My friend and co-worker, Anna, put this together. Good tips for eLearning and course designers. Enjoy!

By Anna Oskorus

I had a recent experience working with a large group of subject matter experts (approximately 17 teachers, curriculum writers, and program specialists). The goal was to create a course outline in one 7-hour design session. As you can imagine, gaining consensus with a group of this size can be quite a challenge. It was by far the largest group I’ve worked with for this purpose. By structuring the day carefully, applying strategies to engage the group, and using design templates, I was able to keep the group focused and productive, and I felt some of the methods I used would be beneficial to share.

Prior to the Session
Before meeting with the group, I talked with key stakeholders for the project to collect as much background information as possible about the proposed course, including course goals, targeted audience, and technology requirements. Understanding the targeted audience, teachers, helped to determine what form this course should take. Also, I reviewed any available content prior to the design session and read an evaluation report relating to the curriculum upon which the course would be based. By gathering this information beforehand, I was able to ramp up and was well positioned to guide the design meeting, using the course goals as my guide.

Read more…

Time Off WeirdGuy Blog – Just One Week

By E. Brown

I’ll be taking a week off to focus on closing out a project (July 28-August 1). More to come from the lessons learned during this engagement. It’s a really cool online course with custom hooks into a client app. The back-end was designed as “plug and play” so content can quickly and easily be swapped out while still being applicable to the course testing and grading scenarios.

See you in a week.

The HUGE Value Of A Learning Strategy

Maybe it’s because I recently completed an eighty page e-Learning Strategy for a client, but this article by my good friend Kevin Moore succinctly spells out the value of creating a learning strategy. Many companies forgo this exercise because they see it as a waste of time and/or money. My experience has shown this saves money and time in the long run — it also saves a lot of grief and headaches. Check it out.

By Kevin Moore

Recently I’ve had the opportunity to work with some very large organizations (large to me = billion or more in revenue and 10 to 20 thousand people) who are wonderfully talented and really smart but fail to have a strategy in place to help them navigate this learning and performance world. Taking time to develop a strategy is one of the most thoughtful, professional, and organizationally responsible things any leader can do for their organization. Simply put, it allows you to make better decisions and align and link your group’s achievements to the rest of the organization. This makes everything you do within your group more effective and efficient, rather than unorganized and uncoordinated. These are not hard to do….really! However, I will recommend using a consultant organization as they can set up and run meetings, interviews, and group data collection activities across organizations that are sometimes limited by politics and positions from folks who are within the organization. Also, I wouldn’t pay for a lengthy engagement but I would hire a group who has done learning strategy analysis, has a methodology, can show you some past successes, and can get in and get out in a limited amount of time. This article is taken from an opening chapter in an eBook that was published by the eLearning Guild earlier this year. I wrote the opening chapter but you should also take a look at some of the other chapters as they are written by some folks who I consider pretty accomplished and credible. You decide….

You can go download the entire book from our website. Look on the left side menu there is a download button. What I’ve taken from the chapter for this article is some of the background information, intent of the strategy, and what it should encompass.

Learning Strategy
A learning strategy describes the input, output, and measures of the system and should have organizational, departmental, business unit, and individual references. This should be a far reaching document that details how the organization is going to facilitate continuous improvement in its employees. This implies a focus on the development of a learning culture. To achieve this goal, the utility of knowledge must be increased through three key components:

1. Capture/creation of data, information and knowledge assets in support of each individual’s performance functions across the organization. Links to knowledge management and document management practices.
2. Intelligent storage leveraging useful taxonomies, search, and retrieve capability that better manages and improves access to content.
3. Dissemination/access practices, including but not limited to: e-Learning, instructor-led training, documentation, mentoring/coaching, and outside sources.

Read more…

Using Social Networks To Support Learning And Training

My friend and co-worker wrote this great article on the use of Web 2.0 technologies and their support of training and competencies. You really need to read this!

By Rod Ford

In a previous post, I asked the question: How can social network environments be used to support competency models that include attitudes and behaviors?

With the variety of social network environments (SNEs) available in today’s Web 2.0 milieu, the possibilities for leveraging them in the support of competency models and training initiatives may be infinite. In this post, I will focus on two or three of the SNEs and may choose to write about some of the others later. That said, I would encourage you to comment to this post about your ideas for these and other SNEs.

Weblogs and Blogging
Weblogs (blogs) are easy to implement but are challenging to leverage in support of competency models and training initiatives. I say “challenging” because blogging requires an individual or small group of knowledge experts to write content and keep it up to date. I think they are a very valuable tool, but when using them to support training initiatives, it is important to:

* Identify potential authors
* Create a writing schedule
* Remind authors when its time to write
* Link relevant courses to the blog
* Encourage readers to comment
* Assign someone to identify comments that need a response from an expert

Wikis
I’ve personally worked with at least 9 different wiki tools. Some of them I’ve simply written inside of, others I’ve implemented for clients or simply for my own understanding of their usefulness. While these tools are a bit more challenging to implement than a blog, I believe they are enormously important for supporting competency models and training initiatives.

Read more…