Michael W. Allen - Michael Allens Online Learning Library: Successful E-Learning Interface: Making Learning Technology Polite, Effective, and Fun

Contents

About this book

Why is this topic important?

Much is written about user interface design. You know, when to use click and double-click gestures, how to allow users to sort lists, how to provide a clear screen layout, and so forth. And much is written about instructional design: how to write instructional objectives; when to use drill-and-practice, tutorials, and simulations; how to use text and narration; and so forth. But little is written specifically about how to bring it all together to create fantastic e-learning experiences. This needed synthesis is learner interface designthe topic of this book.

What can you achieve with this book?

This book will help you use your time and resources effectively to build the best e-learning experiences possible within your constraints. As with the other books in this series, this book is geared toward pragmatic application. Its direct and to the point: heres how to connect with your learners, how to empower learners to make the most of e-learnings capabilities, and how to orchestrate learning events for maximum impact: CEOconnect, empower, and orchestrate.

How is this book organized?

This book is divided into four parts. Part I describes the importance of excellent learner interface. Part II describes learner interface guidelines based on the CEO model: connect, empower, and orchestrate. Part III reviews common mistakes and provides guidelines to assist in focusing on the right things. Part IV provides examples of successful e-learning interfaces. The book also includes a series of challenge exercises and a reference guide of user interface design guidelines.

About the library series

After success with Authorware, Inc., and Macromedia, I felt that I had made a contribution to learning that would satisfy me through retirement. And retire Mary Ann and I did... for a few months.

But as my colleagues and I observed what happened with tools that made development of interactive learning systems so much easier to master, it was clear my job wasnt done. Instead of wondrously varied instructional paradigms burgeoning forth, offering more learning fun and effectiveness to the benefit of people and organizations everywhere, we found dry, boring, pedantic presentation of content followed by post-tests. The very model of instruction that was drudgery without technology was being replicated and inflicted on ever-greater numbers of captive audiences.

Making technology easier to use provided the means, but not the guidance, necessary to use it well. To atone for this gross oversight on my part, I formed Allen Interactions in 1993 with a few of my closest and most talented friends in e-learning. Our mission was and is to help everyone and anyone produce better technology-enhanced learning experiences. We established multiple studios within our company so that these teams of artisans could build long-term relationships with each other and their clients. Studios develop great internal efficiencies and, most importantly, get to understand their clients organizations and performance needs intimatelysometimes better than clients understand them themselves.

Although our studios compete in the custom development arena, we also share our best practices openly and freely. We exhibit our applications as openly as clients allow, hoping they will stimulate critique and discussion so we can all do better and so that successful ideas can be broadly applied. We teach and mentor in-house organizations that aspire to create great learning applications. And, in close association with the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), we offer certificate programs to help participants develop effective design and development skills.

This series of books is another way we are doing our best to help advance the field of technology-enhanced learning. Ive not intentionally held back any secrets in putting forth the best practices our studios are continually enhancing.

This, the third book in the series, presents a lacking and needed synthesis of user interface (UI) design principles used generally in software applications and of specific interface needs required by learning events. Learner interface and UI conflict at times, and learner interface must take precedence over UI in these cases. We expose in this book a number of sources of design influence that authors must be particularly wary of, as they frequently nullify learning impact.

Six books are planned for this library, each to be focused on one major aspect of the process of designing and developing great e-learning applications. When the series is compiled, I hope it will be a useful tool for developing great and valuable learning experiences.

Michael Allens e-Learning Library

Copyright 2011 by Michael W. Allen. All Rights Reserved.

Published by Pfeiffer

An Imprint of Wiley

989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741

www.pfeiffer.com

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