Every design begins with a blank page unless, of course, you have a template. Starting with a blank page can intimidate even the most creative people, but every designer must begin somewhere. When I begin a design, I find myself drawing from my frame of reference. My designs are limited or empowered by what I’ve seen and can imagine.
E-Learning designs change over time, and to remain relevant in the field, eLearning Developers must keep abreast of trends and incorporate them to improve the learner’s experiences. I am always excited to find concepts and designs that are completely different from anything in my mind’s eye or frame of reference. Learning what works and doesn’t from other designs reminds me, ‘”genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
Genuis is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
Thomas Edision
Inspiration rarely strikes unannounced. You have to be deliberate about looking for it, at least in the beginning. Here are some tips I use to prepare for inspiration to strike:
Look for Inspiration.
Do a Google search. You will find lots of examples to learn from. When performing a Google search, think of keywords related to your search term. If you don’t get your desired results, use a couple of synonyms or try grouping the keywords with quotation marks.
For instance, a search for scenario-based eLearning examples will yield different results if you search for it in multiple ways. Take a look at the different ways it’s written in this list.
- Scenario-based e-learning examples
- Scenario based e-learning examples
- Scenario-based elearning examples
When I found Broken Co-workers at www.brokencoworkers.com, I searched with this exact text: Best ‘scenario-based e-learning’ examples.
A search for scenario-based learning object examples led me to another great example of a doctor-patient scenario at
https://www.syniadlearning.com/portfolio/branching-scenario-example/.
Adding additional terms related to a search such as linear or branching scenarios could yield different results.
Create a Filing System
Your search will likely yield more results than you can review in one go. Save any links you can’t review along with the search term the search terms you find in a spreadsheet.
For easy referral, create a folder or Pinterest board. Title it ‘Design Inspiration’ or anything you desire and save it for future reference.
In my folder, I included this screenshot from ‘Broken Co-worker.’
I’m inspired by the comic-like design and speech bubbles in this learning object. Some of the slides include short videos and audio. It was quite engaging for me from a learner’s perspective.
Review your Results.
It is easy to go down a rabbit hole searching for inspiration. At some point, you have to stop to review your results. Don’t spend too much time searching for inspiration. Try setting a time limit for your searches.
When you are ready to review the examples, pick one to deconstruct. What this means is you take the object of your inspiration apart. Make notes as you figure out what works well and what doesn’t. Try to look at the example through different lenses.
To prompt you to think deeply about the design, ask yourself these questions:
- What is great from an end user’s perspective?
- What is it about the model that will make for a bad user experience?
Then, look at it from the designer’s perspective and ask more questions:
- How can I improve on this design?
- What is different from other designs?
Save your answers to refer to when you find yourself running low on inspiration.
Get to Work
Don’t wait until you need to design something for a client or employer before working on your inspiration. Work on incorporating what you have learned into one or two slides practice slides
Take the limits off impossible.
When you work with clients or a design team, you may find that budgets or SMEs constrain your designing potential. Some of the developers of the models you looked at may have had such constraining factors hence the need for the changes you’ve decided to make
The good thing is that your imagination can’t be curtailed.
Until you get your dream project, keep finding ways to create incredible designs that translate to great learning experiences for end-users.
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