Plain Talk strives to become an arm of your organization with one goal in mind...to analyze your individual situation, and then manage the process of moving you towards a technology-based solution. Here are just some of the services Plain Talk offers:
Remember that Plain Talk will never talk you into to an e-learning solution if it does not fit your business. If a traditional solution turns out to be the best answer, Plain Talk can recommend improvements in those areas, as well. So, if you think you may want to consider making the move towards a technological solution, call today at 410.271.2387.
Strategic Planning OK...you think you want to move into e-learning...are you ready? Plain Talk will closely examine your curriculum, your infrastructure, and your audience in order to make recommendations for next steps. Not everyone is as ready as they need to be, but Plain Talk will be able to recognize the pitfalls and put together a plan to generate success. Typical plans include strategies for both content and technology, and provide the perfect recipe for success.
Rapid Course Development Plain Talk has been developing online training for over a decade, and we can build e-learning modules for a fraction of the cost of larger development groups. Plain Talk subscribes to the rapid development model that utilizes the latest content authoring tools. Our consultants are hybrid e-learning professionals called instructional technologists, who act as both instructional designer and developer. Instructional Technologists allow customers to work with one person, limitted the hands involved in a project and the timelines associated with large team development projects. No matter if your company likes Lectora, Cativate, or Articulate, we can work directly with your Subject Matter Experts to quickly deploy training courses to your Learning Management System.
Training Gap Analysis During the training gap analysis, Plain Talk goes back to the basics. Plain Talk will look at your job descriptions, your skill standards, and then match them against your core curriculum training courses. Plain Talk will also take a good look at your audience and determine what is transferable to a technology-based solution.
Technical Review and Analysis of Infrastructure Let's get this out of the way right now. This will confuse the heck out of most of you, but it is vital to guarantee that your training will get to who you intend it to in the best possible way. Nothing is more frustrating to a student than training that is slow moving or buggy. There are two solutions...either design your infrastructure to run your training, or design your training to run on your infrastructure. Plain Talk will help you determine which is feasible for you and provide you a plan in order to make it happen.
SCORM Instruction Here is the short version. A pseudo-government group, Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL), developed a standard for developing on-line training courses. The whole idea is to break down training into reusable Sharable Content Objects (SCOs). These SCOs can then be used in multiple training programs, or be easily updated as training changes throughout time. This means that single objects can be updated, instead of repackaging entire training programs. There is a lot to this process, but the bottom line is that Plain Talk knows SCORM and we can assist you in getting SCORM compliant. We are also available for lecturing about SCORM for your company or school.
Curriculum and Courseware Design Are you just starting out and have no idea where to start? Many organizations have gotten by without a structured training program. Plain Talk can help you get organized, by assisting in designing both your overall curriculum or making recommendations in establishing a core curriculum and annual refresher training model. A strong curriculum, based on measurable learning objectives, needs to be in place prior to moving to a technology-based solution. Once your curriculum is in place, Plain Talk can transfer a traditional curriculum into an engaging course design. This is the next logical step in transferring to a technology-based solution. A strong design provides developers with a blueprint of how the courseware should be built. It should include technical specifications, learning objectives, design plans, content outlines, and interface design recommendations. These designs can get even more detailed with screen wireframing, design, and fully developed storyboarding. A solid design will allow your corporation to competitively bid out your development to vendors. Performing this task will reduce the cost of the bids and put your vendors on the same playing field. Plain Talk guarantees these steps will save you lots of money in the long run.
Request for Proposal (RFP) Support/Courseware Development Vendor Selection Now that you have this great design plan put together, what do you do with it? Once again, Plain Talk is here to help. Plain Talk will assist you in writing a RFP with the goal of optimizing both scope and development dollars. Nothing is more damaging to an organization then providing an elusive RFP to vendors where scope cannot be locked in. E-learning is expensive enough, don't lose any dollars due to creative vendor pricing. Plain Talk will help make sure your vendors are on the same page with your needs. If you need assistance in finding vendors, Plain Talk has a proven list of preferred developers who have created exceptional courses within scope and budget. Whether your RFP goes to a list of your vendors, or a Plain Talk preferred vendor, Plain Talk can help you select the vendor that will get you the best training solution for your individual needs.
Lifecycle Project Management Plain Talk knows the development lifecycle. Here is another short version of a long story. Development of e-learning falls into this methodology called the ADDIE model. This acronym stands for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. We covered the analysis and design phases in a couple of the other service descriptions Plain Talk provides. As mentioned, a detailed analysis and design will save your organization big bucks, but managing the development process is what can make or break a training program initiative. Many organizations do not know enough about the process to effectively determine the progress of the selected developer. The process can be long and taxing, including multiple reviews and constant attention to detail. Question - How can Plain Talk do this? Answer - The Plain Talk team has over a decade of development experience. We know how training needs to be built, how long it should take, and what actual project progress is. During the development process, Plain Talk will be able to tie the development back to the original design plan in order to guarantee true progress.
Implementation Support "It works on our server." Do not let your vendor tell you this. Let Plain Talk assist your organization with your training implementation. Plain Talk can work with your vendor and your internal IT to verify a seamless integration. When SCORM comes into the picture, it can get even more challenging. This adds Learning Management System (LMS) vendors, SCORM packages, and runtime environments to the equation. It is also very important to conduct complete testing of the system on your infrastructure prior to its deployment to your students. This is the home stretch in bringing a much more expandable training solution to your employees, but so many times this can become a huge hurdle. When a good project plan is put together, implementation problems should never happen. If a plan is not done and implementation problems do exist, Plain Talk can work with all parties and come up with a plan to get your training back on track.
Small Group Training Evaluations Initial feedback is very important prior to releasing your training to mass audiences. Small group evaluations and forums allow for an opportunity to track user experience and recommended product enhancements. Plain Talk can moderate these sessions with the goal of hammering out any user problems before it is released to the field. We will put all revisions into a database that allows us to track each request, which will be passed on to the developer. We also offer continuous evaluations in order to verify that your training is reaching its potential year in and year out.
A shoulder to lean on during this process The decision to move to e-learning is a smart one. It is a flexible, self-paced approach to training that organizes your certification process and gives you structure that you may not have had in the past. However, companies continue to make mistakes without a solid plan, or someone leading the way during the process. Plain Talk has been down the road many times in the last decade and will be your host, so you gain the best return on your investment dollars. Plain Talk promises to bring plain talk to the complex issues in e-learning development and will not let you go down the path if you are not ready. We will be a partner you can depend on during this quest to bring better training to your audience. Call us today at 410.271.2387.
Plain Talk will submit posts about real world scenarios which we have whitnessed through our years in the business. We will also comment on current trends in the technology-based learning community.
"I have had the opportunity to work with John on numerous occasions in the development of various Web Based Training (WBT) programs. Some of which have been award winning and nationally recognized by both Visteon Corporation and Ford Motor Company. John has been instrumental in the development of these programs in all aspects from the technical to the administrative and has always been efficient and proficient in meeting our timelines and guidelines."
