eLearning Experience Design with Tim Slade

There is the old saying that ‘necessity is the mother of invention.’ This could be the slogan for education in the pandemic world. All educators were thrust into a situation that many vowed they would never do: teach online. But what could we do? It wasn’t like there were a lot of options. We had to make due with what we had, and hope that it worked better than we hoped. At the same time, it isn’t like learning online, or from videos, is new. We might even think that television shows that teach us how to make a recipe, build something, fix something, or do something new all are meant to bring learning to the masses. Today we can find the same kinds of content on YouTube, or TikTok, or a website. There is no shortage of online learning opportunities. The bigger challenge is how do educators create content that connects with changing audience preferences. What might work in a 80 minute class is not necessarily going to translate as an 80 minute video. Attention spans have shortened based on content that is consumed online, in 140 characters and 30 second increments. How do we then design educational materials that can maintain engagement and result in learning?To help us explore the creation of learning content in the age of distraction, we welcome Tim Slade. With a degree in criminal justice, Tim used to work catching shoplifters. Today, he works with educators and professional development leaders on how to create better learning experiences. We talk about the importance of microlearning, or chunking smaller bits of larger lessons. We also talk about how educators shouldn’t suffer from shiny key syndrome, meaning that we shouldn’t be taken in by new technologies just because they are new. We need to focus on what creates learning opportunities, while at the same time thinking about how to fit those opportunities into packaging that works. Finally, we talk about how we need friction in the learning process, and too much convenience and efficiency through technology can be bad for learning.