Whether you are new to eLearning or a seasoned professional, questions arise constantly. We have created this Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to answer the common questions we get asked. If you have any questions outside of what we list here, give us a call anytime. We would be happy to provide the answers you need. Keep an eye out for updates!
As you can see, an Instructional Designer wears a lot of hats and bridges of lot of gaps. A team of developers, often work from an Instructional Designer’s storyboards to produce the final module or interactive learning tool. A storyboard is a document that details out each chapter of information, what the audio needs to say, what text and images need to show up on screen, and what knowledge checks and interactive components can best benefit the user. An Instructional Designer will work with a Creative Director to define a look and feel and brainstorm all the ways to make the course content engaging.
Analytics | Refers to the analysis and derivation of data into usable information or statistics. Analytics are often presented visually or numerically and are used to understand your audience, where they are succeeding, where they are failing, your site’s use, and any other number of variables. |
Animation | Animation can be broken into two areas. First, it can be presented as 2d or 3d, and in a realistic or stylized representation of objects, people, and places. They take place over time and are often used to visually describe a story, a theory, an idea, a process, a feature, or a benefit. Second, animation can be used within a user interface to lead the user’s eye to focus on something specific or guide them to the next section within a course. The iPhone is a good example of this. |
Avatar | A virtual representation of a user. Avatars take on many styles such as cartoons, real photos, and even an image of a favorite sport, hobby, pet, or event. Avatars can help users customize their experience and interact with others. |
Audience | An audience is a group of users and often stands for a single user. A user can be a student, participant, and administrator. |
Blended Learning | A learning approach that blends or merges several different methods or types of learning together to form a cohesive experience. Blended learning could take a distance learning based course component, a live learning event, and an interactive virtual challenge and develop them into one user experience. |
Brand | Brands set the overall look and feel of a company, site, application, or other entity. They represent the values of the community, culture, and objectives through images, colors, shapes, logos, and layouts. Brand can go much deeper than visual ques alone and can effect how a company acts towards each other and other companies, how they develop ideas, etc. Brand recognition occurs when a company, like Apple, Nike, Google, and BMW are recognized by their brand and brand elements. |
CBT | Computer Based Training (CBT) is the use of the computer and in many cases the Internet to deliver and provide information and courses. |
CE & CME Accreditation | Continuing Education (CE) and Continuing Medical Education (CME) Accreditation is a form of educational credit determined and inforced by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). These terms are also often used as a general credit that can be determined by an internal body providing the credit. |
Chunking | Involves the development of content and other materials into short, brief, bite size pages and sections that can focus the user facts, theories, processes, and ideas to increase their understanding and retention. |
Content Management Systems (CMS) | Application for delivering, tracking, and managing content and communication. |
Engage and Engaging | Refers to a user’s favored interest in a website, component, and experience. An engaging experience often refers to an experience that immerses the user in materials or an environment. Engaging experiences often lead the user through text, video, animation, challenges, games, communication, or 3d environments. |
Facilitator | A course instructor, teacher, or helper who aids training and learning in an online, student based environment. |
Haptics | Input device that provides forced feedback to add a sense based approach to interaction. Haptics can range from a vibration pack in a game controller to a laparoscopic tool that hooks to a virtual 3d patient. |
Information Architecture | Deals with the structure, management, layout, organization, and categorization of content. It allows users to more efficiently and effectively find information and work through information. It also provides methods for loading information faster. |
Instructional Designer (ID) | Someone who practices instructional learning theories to streamline experiences and courses by tailoring them to a specific group of users and audiences. |
Interactive | A hands-on ability to change and explore an object within an environment. Interactivity usually provides feedback to an interaction. With interactivity users can play with an iPhone without buying one, click and drag a scalple to make a virtual incision to learn surgery, and can move sliders around to adjust colors on a website. |
Learning Management System (LMS) | Application for delivering, tracking, and managing content and assessments for training and education. An LMS acts as a foundation for information and materials that make up a course or curriculum. For the user, it provides for navigation, the process of learning, and assessment tools. For the administrator, it provides the ability to add/adjust content and review reports on all aspects of the user and the site’s use. SCORM is often used as a platform to plug-in 3rd party and custom made courses and tools. |
Metaphor | Is the virtual, often stylistic, representation of a real life thing or interaction. In a computer, windows on a desktop, file folders, painting in an image editor are all examples of navigational and interactive components that derived from their real life counterparts. Metaphors are used often as users often find them intuitive because they can quickly find a relationship to what they already know. |
Personas | Fictitious characters who represent unique groups of users. Personas are used to understand how different groups of users will use a website or application. By focusing on how a persona interacts with a website, navigates to content and through content, understands and retains the content, we can begin to understand the different user experiences that occur. |
Virtual | A non-physical representation of a person, environment, object, or situation. Virtual solutions allow users to interact or train with others in a simulated or made-up environment. Marketing uses virtual solutions often. If you want to buy a car you can visit their website, view and interact with the car, change it’s characteristics, and drive it without ever seeing or touching the real thing. |
User Experience (UX) | The experience a user receives when interacting with a product, service, or idea. It is how these interactions are perceived, how they are used, and how information is gathered. |