Rapid eLearning Design

Rapid Learning Design

Rapid learning design, thanks to eLearning authoring tools, has been widely adopted by organizations to expedite online training process in today's learning and development setups. Some characteristics of rapid learning are:

• Course-ware that can be developed in less than a month,

• Subject matter experts act as the primary source for development,

• User friendly simple authoring tools are used to integrate content and media,

• Learning duration is normally between 20 minutes to an hour

• It requires lower level of investment,

• Course-ware has short shelf-life,

• It can use existing or available media from other sources

• Complete content is available in the form of PowerPoint slides or PDF

• Assessment with feedback and tracking capabilities are present

One of the most obvious advantages of using rapid eLearning tool is decreased development time, which translates to stress-free updates allowing opportunity to create relevant learning experience for learners.

By taking care of time consuming work, such as finding third-party images and templates, rapid eLearning model needs only a few key players' expertise to create core online content. This streamlines project management and the instructional designer's expertise is central in the learning development process. IDs have a lot to offer in this step set and can function with increased level of autonomy.

From the perspective of instructional designer, rapid e Learning provides an exciting opportunity to utilize a lot of skills (particularly because key roles of a project manger, graphic artists and additional consultants are removed) to deliver a quality product. Often SMEs, however, are part of rapid learning development. Their direct involvement, combined with removal of middlemen, not only preserves the integrity of content but also ensures timeliness of product delivery with cheaper budget.

On the other hand, there are some downsides to this rapid eLearning model. Learner attentiveness is hard to sustain through the use of pre-made (and overused) graphics and templates, which become dull over time. Similarly, lack of input from essential roles is certain to affect the quality of product (often with unforeseen issues of use) resulting in a less effective learning experience. Clearly, the rushed process does not allow all the steps of instructional design models to be carried out fully.

To illustrate this, I will develop my own rapid resolution document based on the ADDIE Model below. After summarizing action steps in the ADDIE model, I will describe how those same steps would be executed in the Rapid model. While doing so, I will address timeliness, quality effectiveness, and roles/responsibilities in particular. As you will notice, rapid eLearning model encompasses the same processes as other models, such as ADDIE, but each step is not as thorough and detailed but rapid. Hence, the name 'Rapid Learning Model'. This post (https://www.talentlms.com/blog/7-steps-towards-rapid-elearning/ ) details rapid steps to Rapid Learning design.

This post (https://www.dashe.com/blog/instructional-design/rapid-instructional-design-for-accelerated-learning/ ) proposes 7 principles of Rapid Learning Design but is critical of ADDIE and quotes Dave Meier's (2000) observation of ADDIE as being “too slow, cumbersome, stiff, linear, and emotionally dull…to get the job done today.”

References:

J.Vries, J. Bersin, (2005) “Rapid E-learning: Groundbreaking New Research”, Bersin & Associates, 2005

Boulet, G. (2012). Rapid eLearning: Building a house without an architect. http://elearnmag.acm.org/archive.cfm?aid=2135884.

How Rapid eLearning Development Provides Additional Value to an eLearning Project: https://elearningindustry.com/how-rapid-elearning-development-provides-additional-value-to-an-elearning-project

How to create courses using Rapid eLearning Design: https://www.talentlms.com/blog/7-steps-towards-rapid-elearning/

Meier, D. (2000). The accelerated learning handbook: A creative guide to designing and delivering faster, more effective training programs. New York: McGraw Hill.

6 Facts about Rapid eLearning: https://elearning.adobe.com/2017/09/6-facts-about-rapid-elearning-development-that-will-impress-your-boss/