In this post we look at the fast deployment of projects using off-the-shelf courses! Let’s start with the most common cause of elearning project failure!
How do elearning projects fail?
It’s incredible to realize that one of the most common reasons for elearning project failure is that the project never started at all!
Project failure may mean that a manager could well face the situation where his/her company doesn’t want to assign a new budget for a second year for the same project. This can be frustrating especially when we are certain that once the project has been launched it will be a success.
Both common sense and online analyst data suggest that if a project doesn’t start it is generally because the learning objects – i.e. the course – are not ready!
Customized vs Off-the-shelf courses
In my point of view, and after 10 years working in the elearning market, it is absolutely clear that in the end a customized course is more effective than an off-the-shelf course. However off-the-shelf courses are nowadays an incredible resource for new elearning projects and serve a purpose when you need them. Even if we know customized courses are best in terms of quality there is no reason not to start with off the shelf courses when it comes to test projects or soft skills projects (i.e. not related to core competencies), or just to get a project off the ground. In fact we really have no excuse if we don’t find something suitable for our needs – there are so many vendors in the Content Market, both generalist and verticalized, that it’s just a matter of doing thorough research to find the best fit.
Off-the shelf courses: a good starting point
The main goal of an elearning project is not building an effective course, but deploying an effective training programme. The focus is on what the learners have learnt (and how much of this they will retain in the future), not on how the course was designed. This implies that we ought to focus on the deployment process, and aiming to eliminate all the possible causes of project failure.
Of course with time, money and a good team we can produce both a well-designed, engaging course and an effective training program. But if we lack resources we can focus on the training program and save both time and budget by adopting an off-the-shelf course.
Focus on the training program
What does that actually mean in practical terms? Basically you have to ensure that from the go live of a project to the final reporting the achievements everything goes smoothly. Your project will be a success if you will obtain:
- 100% completion
- good feedback from learners regarding satisfaction
- high learning results
And to reach these goals you have to spend time and effort managing the virtual classroom. Elearning afterall is not just about uploading contents and enrolling people!
5 tips to follow
- ensure that technically all is fine and don’t forget to check the final user workstation!
- create an engaging, culturally appropriate background for final users (learners need to be engaged and committed to begin with)
- design an engaging learning environment for your course (why not using gamification?)
- follow the class/classes very closely (no one needs to drop out the course)
- be sure to include all the aspects of the project in your final report (not only numbers and dates!)
We recommend you start exploring big marketplaces such as OpenSesame to see how simple it is to find the right course! You could also check out Docebo Marketplace elearning content provider Vado.
Look out for my upcoming post on best strategies to use off the shelf courses within your learning management system!