Tag Archives: ideas

Learning Agents Part 3: Learning Agents, Done Poorly

Posted on by Judy Unrein
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Recently I received a sample e-learning course on preparing for a pandemic. It was primarily presentation of factual content, and it included an on-screen, animated agent with voice narration. It’s a counter-example to the one we saw yesterday. Here are the issues I had with it:

  • The narrator introduces the topic but doesn’t reappear after that first screen (within the first lesson), so she doesn’t provide any sense of continuity.
  • She doesn’t have a name or personality, or any emotional impact on the course.
  • The animation doesn’t add anything compared to just using images; in fact it adds movement, which distracts from the onscreen text.

At least it was short. That sounds facetious, but it’s a virtue that many courses don’t have… particularly when they’re showing off cool toys like animated characters.

Stay tuned: Another Agent To Learn From

Learning Agents Part 2: Learning Agents, Done Well

Posted on by Judy Unrein
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The best example I’ve seen of a learning agent in action (Course Demo — free account creation required):

learningagent2

The learning agent from Allen Interactions' anti-terrorism course

The course teaches police officers and dispatchers how to identify and respond to terrorism threats. The initial content presentation is made by a learning agent.

Why I think it’s effective:

1) The agent’s appearance and voice are spot-on authentic; I suspect the developers used a real cop. Good call… I couldn’t see a namby-pamby voice talent impressing this audience.

2) Images and narration are used, which are every bit as effective as video, without the hefty bandwidth requirement. Also, making changes will be much easier than with video.

3) Since it feels like we’re in a classroom, the designers gave the agent good presentation skills. It’s not super-thrilling, but he’s not merely reading his slides to us.

Your thoughts? More examples?

Stay tuned: Learning Agents, Done Poorly

Learning Agents Part 1: Why Learning Agents?

Posted on by Judy Unrein
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It seems like I’m seeing more and more courses with learning agents these days, so all this week, I’ll share some examples and thoughts.learningagent1

Learning agents are characters that reside on the screen and deliver course material, much the way an instructor would in instructor-led training.

They can bring life and energy to a dry, boring topic. They can provide an authoritative look and feel when the audience or material calls for it. Or they can provide a “touchstone” and make the course more personal for learners who otherwise may not enjoy computer-based training.

Have you ever taken or created a course with a learning agent? What was the agent’s purpose? Did using it achieve the goal?

Stay tuned: Learning Agents, Done Well

Building Your Portfolio

Posted on by Judy Unrein
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Great post from The Rapid E-Learning Blog, on why job-seekers should have an elearning portfolio.

rapidelearningblog

Here, thoughts to help get it done…

Ideas. Instructional designers generally don’t create because they get thunderbolts of inspiration; they create because they get assignments. A friend of mine who offered her talents pro bono to a local charity now has a portfolio piece and a great client recommendation.

Also, consider redeveloping old work projects — without proprietary info and with the cool ideas your budget/timeline/boss wouldn’t allow the first time.

Software. You know about educational discounts and trials. If those won’t work, record a PowerPoint presentation that simulates branching or invest in one application that you can use to create several kinds of projects.

If you focus more on design than development anyway, partner with a student/out-of-work multimedia developer. Violà, portfolio pieces for both of you!