eLearning has entered the domain of education, facilitation and training in a big way. Academia, corporate and professional industries have all incorporated and benefitted from it. As a result, companies that develop eLearning content have burgeoned, to cater to the rapidly-growing training needs of other companies. A big chunk of these companies in the eLearning space develop content for corporate training.
How is content for corporate training different from, say, eLearning content for school children? Companies catering to corporates understand that first and foremost, working professionals cannot afford to dedicate a large chunk of their time to learning, unlike students, whose primary occupation is studying. As a result, companies developing content for training recognise that their curriculum must focus on the application of certain concepts relevant to subject matter and meeting a client’s specific goals. They must also keep in mind that professionals are largely autonomous in their learning methods- they require facilitation, but not the continuous guidance that a student in school may benefit from.
Companies involved in training content development keep in mind that among professionals, learning is never really without an ulterior motive. Whether that motive is skill enhancement or acquiring a new skill altogether, there is usually an end goal in mind: to be diligent, effective and skilled employees and therefore, invaluable to their employers.
So, what does developing content for a training module entail?
Once a content development firm understands the profile of their audience, they must take into account the fact that different learners benefit from different methods of facilitation: some may grasp a lesson effectively by reading, others by listening to it or working on exercises pertaining to the topic. eLearning training modules must therefore provide multimedia content: a lesson must make use of audio, visual, graphic and text content.
How is content for training developed?
A content development firm assesses client profile and requirements. Based on this, a training module is designed. Experts design a program that anticipates design hurdles and challenges along the way. They also recommend the best-suited instructional tools for the curriculum, based on client profile and goals. Training content is then developed based on the design. This involves creating storyboards for all the multimedia elements, agreeing on appropriate page layouts and so on. Finally, the curriculum is subjected to rigorous quality assessments and implemented once it clears them all.
Developing content for training modules is a specialised skill, which requires the involvement of experts and personnel who are abreast of the latest learning technologies. Does this mean that training content development cannot be undertaken in-house by the firm with eLearning requirements? In theory, no. Content for training modules may be developed in-house, but it may be an impractical undertaking. Training content development requires the investment of a number of resources and access to latest industry practices.
In addition to being skilled in the field, companies involved in content development for training strive to meet global standards each time they deliver. Companies with learning requirements may be better off using the services of a company that will be able to deliver exactly what they are looking for.