MLMultimedia

The e-learning transformation is a design or creative process we use as part of creating e-learning. It’s a re-thinking of the client’s subject matter, not to change its content, but to change its medium from thoughts on paper to experiences in color, 3D, motion, sound, time and feedback – and it generally requires simulating some real-world situation or device.

E-learning has a lot of definitions but, to me, it is not really e-learning if you simply put text on a website or CDROM course and ask someone to read it. This passive style of learning will not work. It’s transferring the material from one medium where it is appropriate for learning (a book) to another (an e-learning interface on a website) where it’s not. Why not? I don’t think adults will read just to learn what you want them to learn. The difference is motivation. If the motivation is there, then any form will do including text. In e-learning theory, which is based on adult learning theory, we assume low motivation, or rather we assume it’s our job as course designer/developer to motivate them.

So take a look at the panel below. I’ve shown three steps in the transformation of material on ‘AP42′ which is a complex technical regulation about factory emissions that’s been evolving for over 40 years! Talk about hard to motivate about. What the three panels show is how we transformed material on AP42 to a little factory that was spewing smoke.

The transformation is about how the material in book form becomes a learning experience. In the physical world, it’s easy enough to see. If you’re teaching someone how to repair a washing machine, you can easily imagine turning the e-learning experience from a series of procedures in a a book to a ‘virtual washing machine.’ This machine might have all the moving parts and a series of alarms or hot spots that will help guide the student.