Designing E-learning
Have you ever watched a training video or viewed a PowerPoint in which you were positive that the design came straight out of the early 90's? That has always been a pet peeve of mine. We have such visually stimulating entertainment around us, from our social media outlets to whatever is on our television, that anything that is older than 5 years typically looks as outdated as a Mercury Topaz.
Companies simply cannot make an excuse like, "It's too expensive." Instructional designers never actually had an excuse; "death by PowerPoint" was an unfortunate sequel to its predecessor "death by overhead projector," both of which were consequences of poor discretion on the ID's part. There are resources at our finger tips that can create highly engaging and visually exciting programs for very little cost, other than the effort of the Instructional Designer to learn those programs and their best practices. And they don't have to drown the participants in colors, flashiness, or any other cause of sensory overload. (I really hate "death by E-learning" too, btw...)
Ultimately, I have a strong feeling that the occupation of Corporate Trainer will transform quite a bit over the next decade. E-learning is becoming prevalent in K-12 as well as Universities. In short time, the learners of this generation will have a strong predisposition to online learning environments, and they will thrive in that environment throughout their professional careers (and, in my estimation, church).
Trainers, instructors, adult educators, be prepared. Stay ahead of the curve. Anticipate that e-learning is something that you need to grasp and start learning how to effectively use it!
-Kyle