Yesterday we held the first e-learning networking lunch in the DC area at the offices of America’s Health Insurance Plans. This is something we hope to do on an ongoing basis in the DC and Chicago areas – and possibly other areas, depending upon interest.
The following bullets are from e-mails received from meeting attendees in response to a request for topics for the meeting. The focus of this first meeting was purposely broad in order to unearth the range of issues important to attendees. In future lunches we will narrow the agenda to one or two topics. We managed to discuss most of the following items to at least some extent in this first lunch.
Marketing
- Marketing Effectively
- Marketing strategies for e-learning, including research findings
- …marketing is a challenge. We have no marketing department or communications department anymore, so we’re on our own for that type of activity.
- How to run a successful distance education (e-learning) program without undercutting our association’s already well known programs (conferences, manuals of practice). Our annual conference is what really determines our association’s finances for the whole year and I know we don’t want people to stop attending it… or our specialty conferences
Design and Development
- strategic selection of content, whether people use content partnerships, whether they develop it all in-house, whether that’s different depending on the topic (e.g. focused clinical medicine topic vs. general policy topic), whether they impose standards on educational content they receive, whether they reformat those pieces afterward to suit their standards.
- Designing Programs
- Best Practices in online course development
- ….program design is always a challenge. We’re never sure how much design is too much and how much is too little
- a cost analysis of distance-web-based learning. Having put this out there I know it will run the gamut from X per hour to Y per hour depending on the platform, media and structure of the coursework
- Bringing the lack of that “face-to-face” element in our courses
- What are some lessons learned from other folks who have an e-learning program already in place? Mistakes? Do’s and don’ts?
- Articulate [Presenter from Articulate.com] and Best practices in course development
Technology
- Selecting Technology
- …selecting technology, both for creating the educational modules and for delivering them
- Cheap tools/equipment that still provide good quality products (to make videos, etc.)
- Articulate Specific
- Trouble shooting when publishing articulate courses (for example exit button issues)
- ….a short presentation on authoring tools – and see if anyone has an alternative to articulate presenter
- Articulate and Best practices in course development
Facilitation/SMEs
- the role/skills of the session facilitator
- Training SME’s
If you work for an association and are interested in being notified of future e-learning networking lunches, I encourage you to sign up for the Association E-learning Newsletter.
JTC
