E-learning design can be better, Donald Clark of Ufi tells Kineo

Kineo, the leading rapid e-learning company, conducts regular podcast interviews with leaders in learning and technology. Donald Clark, an industry veteran and ex-CEO of Epic well known for his direct and uncompromising views, is as insightful and controversial as ever in this month’s podcast interview, available now on the Kineo website.

Why is so much of e-learning such a disappointment? That was just one of the questions posed by Stephen Walsh, Kineo partner, to Donald Clark. At the core of his answer: poor quality design. As he put it:

“Much e-learning is based on staid and outdated models…it’s a shame that so many e-learning designers have gotten stuck in a rut. Gagne, the man who said you have to have learning objectives at the start of every course? If that’s your view, you don’t deserve to be listened to. We know a lot about how the brain works: attention grabbing, cognitive overload, memory…but hardly any of that is taken seriously…instead the industry slavishly follows 50 year-old models.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Clark points out the risks of just letting subject matter experts loose on e-learning with authoring tools. “A lawyer will kill a compliance course stone dead. They may know a lot about their domain, but they know nothing about design and learning…you don’t just give someone a word processor and out pops a novel. The same is true with authoring tools. It takes skill to design it properly.”

So how to improve design, and work better with subject matter experts? Kineo will shortly launch a major new e-learning initiative which addresses both points. Kineo’s new rapid e-learning offering will provide structurally sound and engaging e-learning design models, to make it easier to produce high quality, engaging e-learning with or without subject matter experts, and make the most out of authoring tools. Look out for announcements in October.

You can hear the full podcast interview, and hear Donald rails against BBC, people who write to the Daily Telegraph and others, by visiting the Kineo website.

About Kineo

Kineo is a leading e-learning consultancy focused on accelerating performance through rapid e-learning.

Our services include: consultancy on how to incorporate rapid e-learning into organisations, rapid e-learning development to deliver effective e-learning in as little as three weeks, rapid capability building to bring design and development skills into teams, and rapid e-learning support services and hosting. Founded in November 2005 by Matthew Fox, Mark Harrison, Steve Rayson and Stephen Walsh, Kineo is a limited liability partnership with offices in Brighton. Our client list includes six FTSE 100 companies and some of the best public sector and voluntary organisations in the UK.

We have a press centre for journalists on our site and are always happy to help with stories and provide commentary on the latest developments in e-learning and blended learning. Our Knowledge Centre provides monthly updates on the latest in learning. More at the Kineo website.

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