Rapid E-learning

The recently attended eLN conference on Rapid Development(RD) - Dumbing down or Gearing up? was an interesting event all through. The event started off by an hour discussion by Clive Shepherd on RD and an exercise of what should be important when designing content in a rapid way.

Case studies of successful implementation of rapid development were presented by Nick Shackleton-Jones from BBC, Benjamin Short from PWC and Hanif Sazen from Safforn Interactive. They shared best practices and few methods and points to remember. The important tips mentioned included deciding the structure of the course/ module/ program, a well planned project sheet, working out the format & quality and having a clearer picture of the process.

Steve Rayson from Kineo talked about the most commonly used tools which were - Mohive, Atlantic Link,Breeze, Lectora, Flash, Captivate and Articulate. He also mentioned that there were many tools being developed every minute and any tool can be used to create content depending on the availability and requirement. This was followed by a healthy debate - the motion before the conference was " We believe that rapid design and development processes represent as much a threat to the eLearning community as they do an opportunity." Arguing against the motion were Steve Rayson and Mike Alcock. Arguing for were Phil Green and Richard Naish. The debate culminated with the delegates votes and it went in favour of against the motion.

A fascinating argument throughout the day was that for rapid development you don't always require IDs, the SME is equally efficient and sometimes even better. A point, which concerned me.

Finally the icing on the cake was a pre recorded webcam conversation with Tom Kuhlmaan followed by a live interview. He discussed how rapid development is gaining importance and the success of his blog amongst many other topics. The point worth considering was his mention to be cautious that the e-learning community doesn't become an elitest group but a group which mingles with the other processes of creating effective learning.

My conclusion: RD is definitely useful for creating certain content and in certain situations however it is not an answer for all e-learning. SME's are very important people in driving the project forward but to say that an ID is not necessary is a point I would have liked to seek some more clarification into.