E-Learning Courses – Designing An Instructional Strategy

The success of an e-learning course depends on the instructional strategy adopted in the creation of the training programme. The task of defining instructional strategy is different from creating course content. It involves using all information collected through task analysis, audience analysis, performance analysis and context analysis, to generate an effective plan for presenting the training material to learners.

Instructional strategy for e-learning courses can be divided into four elements. They are:

Element 1 - Content Sequencing and Clustering: This involves deciding how the modules and lessons will be grouped. Some common forms of grouping are simple to complex, general to specific, chronological order and alphabetical order. While clustering content, one would also need to consider various factors such as the age level of the learners, the complexity of the material, and the time required to learn each cluster of content.

Element 2 - Learning Components: Successful e-learning courses usually include the ‘Nine Events of Instruction’ proposed by Gagne, a renowned educational theorist. These events help in faster transfer of knowledge, and are one of the first things teachers are taught as part of their teacher's training courses. These nine actions are:

1. Getting the attention of the learner: The best way to do this is to ask the learner a question that gets them wondering, or mentioning a surprising fact related to the topic. Ensure that this question or fact is something the learner relates to, and would be interested in. 
2. Informing the learner about the objectives: This step involves telling the learner what they will learn in a particular lesson, and on what they will be assessed. 
3. Getting the learner to recall prior learning: This is done by asking recognition or recall questions, to get the learner to relate the new things to be learnt with something they already know. For example, ‘do you remember when you learned about…..in the second module?’ 
4. Presenting the study material: This involves teaching the new material to the learner. Study material could include pictures, animations, shapes, interactivity, hyperlinks, audio clips and video clips. It may also include case studies, examples and non-examples. 
5. Providing guidance: This is the crucial trainer-learner communication. It involves stimulating a line of thought and making sure that the learner is on the right track. The amount of guidance required by each learner is different. 
6. Eliciting performance: This involves testing the understanding of the student with practice exercises, which can include multiple choice questions, matching, fill-in-the-blanks and so on. 
7. Providing feedback: This feedback should tell the learner about the correctness of their answer, help them understand where they went wrong, and if possible, give them a chance to rectify their answer. 
8. Assessing performance: This is the final test and evaluation. It is conducted to check if the learning goals of the e-learning course have been met, and the learners have learnt what was meant to be taught.
9. Enhancing retention and transfer: The last step involves thinking of ways to help the learner use the training in the real world. Some methods to improve retention are job aids, templates and posters.

Element 3 - Student Groupings: While individual learning is suitable for most online courses, sometimes, it may be useful to divide students into groups for certain interactive exercises, role plays or simulations. Whether you assign a partner for each student, or divide them into groups of five or ten, or split the class in two sections; it all depends on the needs of the course. Some e-learning courses where student grouping is encouraged are language courses, management courses and soft skills courses.

Element 4 - Selecting Media and Delivery Systems: Not all online e-learning courses are delivered through the Internet or through CD-Roms. Some e-learning courses are blended programmes, which include a combination of lectures, classroom delivery, videoconferencing, videotapes and book-based correspondence. The instructional designer will select a delivery method based on the needs of the course, and then choose various media to deliver the instruction (like books, CD-Roms, videotapes, audio CDs, photos, Internet, hyperlinks, learning management systems etc.).

StarEdits.com creates high quality e-learning courses, according to defined instructional design principles, strategies and models, which are sure to guarantee success. If you require a well-designed e-learning course, just email us at info@staredits.com or fill in our Contact Us form now!

Paid Blog Posts For Business - Why Product Blogging?

In today’s connected world, the combination of Internet-enabled smartphones, the Web and social networking tools, have transformed the way people communicate. This communication shift has also changed the way how people learn about a product, conduct market research, and make purchase decisions.

As a result, we have moved from the traditional sales-driven cycle to a more buyer-driven cycle. Think of it like this:

Imagine a sold-out sports arena packed with fans. In the traditional sales-driven cycle, you were standing in the middle of the field hawking your wares, while the people in the stands were your prospects, waving to get your attention. In today’s buyer-driven cycle, the person standing in the middle of the field is the buyer, while you are just one of the many sellers in the stands, trying to attract the distracted buyer’s attention.

As just a tiny dot in the crowd of sellers, you’ll have to use the right online marketing tools to stand out from the crowd, earn the customer’s trust and win their business. This is where product blogging can help you.

What is a product blog post?

A product blog post is a short promotional article about a product or service, which is posted on an Internet blog. Product blog posts are designed to generate publicity and get your targeted audience talking. They are also designed to give information about a product, and usually include details about a product’s features, specifications, uses, advantages, price and availability. In addition, some product blog posts may also contain photos and ‘follow’ links, to boost search engine rankings.

Product blog posts are usually written in three styles:

• The Review Style (I vs Their): This sort of product blogging uses the ‘first person’, and usually involves a positive review of the product/service from the ‘satisfied customer’ angle. 
• The Seller Style (You vs Our): This type of product blogging uses the ‘second person’, and generally involves convincing a customer to buy a product, from the seller’s perspective. 
• The Media Style (Company ABC): This form of product blogging uses the ‘third person’, and talks about the product from the ‘news media’ standpoint. This is the most preferred form of product blogging, for most businesses.

A product blog post is especially needed when you are launching a new product or service, and require strong exposure to get noticed by your targeted audience. A product blog post will help you pass on product information, generate publicity, and get people to talk about you online.

StarEdits.com offers high quality professional product blogging services. If you require a well-written product blog post, just email us at info@staredits.com or fill in our Contact Us form now!

Eight Different Types of Marketing Headlines

One of the first things your readers will notice is the headline of your article. A headline is like a virtual handshake. It provides readers with a glimpse of what your article is all about. If your headline is cold or lacklustre, you could make a poor first impression. As a headline can be a great tool for attracting people’s attention, make sure that it is interesting and stands-out. If you can't get them written by yourself, you can always hire a professional content writing services company to help you out.

Online content writers use different headline styles for marketing a product, service or even an idea. In this article, we'll look at eight kinds of headlines for marketing a home theatre system.

1. Direct Headlines: This approach may seem dull, but there are some people who may be looking for such plain statements. A good example of a direct headline is ‘Home Theatre Systems on Sale’. Anyone who is looking to purchase a home theatre system on sale would be pleased to see such a headline, and say “Oh, that's exactly what I wanted”.
2. News Headlines: Such headlines convey authority, and are clear-cut without being too plain. A good example of a news headline is ‘Soundbar Home Theatre System to be Introduced in October”
3. How-To Headlines: When searchers wish to learn something, they usually enter a search phrase, beginning with the words ‘how to’. Headlines that start with ‘how to’ tell the searcher that there is someone out there who is willing to teach them what they want to learn. A good example of a how-to headline is ‘How to Install a Home Theatre System’.
4. List Headlines: An alternative approach to a how-to headline is a list headline. If you check article directory sites, you’ll see that a large number of articles begin with a number. People like browsing through items enumerated in a list, as such lists assure them of countable results from their reading experience. A good list headline is ‘Five Ways to Improve Your Home Theatre System’.
5. Question Headlines: A query-based headline acts like an invitation, promising the reader that they’ll get a surprising answer if they click on the URL, and read the article. A good example of a question headline is ‘Is Your Home Theatre System Right for Your Home?’
6. Command Headlines: You don’t have to be in military service to know that a direct command can get quick action. Of course, in the marketing world, such direct commands are more likely to succeed if the pitch supports the desires of the targeted audience. A good example of a command headline is ‘Go to Television Central for the Best Home Theatre Deals’.
7. Testimonial Headlines: Whether authentic or fictional, a testimonial is a time-proven marketing strategy to promote a product or service. People are attracted towards sketchy user descriptions, especially if such content includes a photo of a celebrity or a good-looking model. While most testimonials are considered to be unreliable, if you routinely write trustworthy descriptions, it won’t be long before even the most sceptical readers begin to find them engaging. A good example of a testimonial headline is ‘I Got a Great Deal on a Home Theatre System’.
8. Teaser headlines: Use such headlines carefully, as you can easily go too far with them. A good example of a teaser headline is ‘The Best Investment You’ll Make This Year’. When a reader reads this, he or she will undoubtedly ask themselves, “Really, how can a home theatre system be the best investment I’ll make?”  Hence, you’ll have to back up the tease with surveys or industry statements about why buying a home theatre would pay rich dividends, such as savings gained from not having to go to a stadium for a game. Remember, unproven teaser headlines can drive away readers forever.

StarEdits.com offers high quality web copywriting services and corporate communications services. If you require well-written marketing copy and articles, just email us at info@staredits.com or fill in our Contact Us form today.