Do you know what the first step is to modernise your e-learning content?

Star IT Euro

Have you ever wondered why modernising your e-learning content is important? If you’re not sure if you need to modernise your content, this article can help you make your final decision.

Step 1: Describe

The first step in modernising your e-learning content for engagement is to define your modernisation project. The key components to defining your project are extending scope, speed, and success.

Describe extent, speed, and success:

Extent

This is asking the question: “How much content do I need to modernise?”. To answer it, consider your content in three categories:

1. Content that is not applicable anymore:

This type of content has genuinely lived its life and needs to be formally dated, retired, and archived. They should not show up in your inventory at all. This is what we call, the reduce phase. Reduce the scope of the project itself.

2. Content that may be partially usable:

In parts this type of content is fine, but in other parts, there is dated content that needs to be removed or minor updates that need to be done. This is what we call the reuse phase. This content provides quick wins to help you prove modernization to management.

3. Content that needs heavy updates:

This type of content needs updates from new content created from scratch but also has parts that can be reused. This is what we call, the recycle phase. These pieces of content are typically done in long-term projects, and if you are tackling them, we suggest not taking them all in one go.

Speed

For your modernisation project, it is imperative that you set a quick and strict pace for delivery. Nothing kills a modernisation project more than long delays.

Complete your first path as soon as possible and show benefits to stakeholders. To accomplish this, I recommended that you modernise the first two content categories detailed above first.

This will help you make your inventory smaller and reach modernisation goals, in turn leading to management buy-in and more budget for the third.

Success

Defining what success means for your project is very important. This is the most critical phase in the first step. There are three important considerations when defining your modernisation success:

Step 2:Budget constraints

It is very important to understand the budget you have today, and what can be approved in the short term for the first phase of your project. Although modernisation efforts save money in the long-term, there is an initial capital expenditure required. The amount of money you can secure today directly determines the amount of content you can modernise immediately.

Step 3: Skills gaps

Skills gaps are the number one challenge of clients that I have spoken to, and should not be overlooked when considering a modernisation project.

If you are going to modernise content, you need employees with modern skills. Many companies simply do not have this, which is why they choose to outsource. The team that you have might need different skill types for modernising content, such as reading, writing, newer technology, and newer designs. It’s important that you consider the skills of your team at this stage before you have committed to deadlines.

Step 4: Technology limitations

Technological limitations can be especially difficult because for a modernisation project they are typically dictated by IT policies.

Apart from these, there are many other smaller considerations you may need to keep in mind, such as legal, compliance, the latest technologies and learning techniques or marketing. Make sure you are aware of the limitations of your modernisation project ahead of time before they become an issue.

Also, with significant investments in content development, companies need to search for ways to repurpose content across various learning programs. Not only will this increase the return of investment (ROI), but it will also help increase engagement by modernising the look and feel of courses to match the changes in learner demographics.