Last week we finally managed to pull together a second DC-area association e-learning lunch. (The first one was way back in June of 2009 – see the follow-up notes.) A group of about 12 people from associations of various sizes and types got together to informally discuss challenges and opportunities they are seeing with e-learning. The time went fast – we didn’t get to cover nearly as much as it would have been good to – but some valuable insights came out of it. Here are a few notes from the meeting:
- Getting subject matter experts (SMEs) to contribute time for developing online courses or delivering Webinars has become increasingly difficult. With cutbacks at so many companies, time has become a more precious commodity than ever. Organizations that have not previously compensated SMEs may have to consider doing so going forward – though some group members noted that even compensation does not necessarily cure the problem. Another suggestion was to “lighten the load” on individual SMEs by taking a panel approach to Webinars (or perhaps a multi-author approach in the case of online courses). Finally, one of the group members offered up a simple documented process that she uses when working with SMEs. Just having a straightforward process in place can really help to clarify and streamline things.
- The SME problem also plays out when it comes to “refreshing” online course content. After committing a great deal of time initially to a course, the average SME is often not in a great position to commit more time 6 to 12 months later when parts of the content need to be updated. In addition to the suggestions above, one other suggestion from the group was to be sure that SMEs are given clear, visible credit for their work. Often this is as valuable or more valuable than other forms of compensation.
- Pricing of Webinars and online courses was another topic that was discussed by the group. One group member noted that for Webinars she weighs a blend of (a) level of difficulty, (b) popularity, (c) length, and (d) availability of CE credit. Her organization’s Webinars tend to sell at $150 to $300 for 60-90 minutes. For on-demand online courses, a couple of group members indicated pricing at around $25 per credit hour.
We discussed a number of other items, but perhaps the most important one to note here is that we are going to try to make the lunches a quarterly event and come up with a focused topic for each one. Along these lines, we’ve set up a LinkedIn group to help facilitate discussion before and after the lunches, but also more broadly among individuals leading managing, and supporting e-learning initiatives in the association sector. I encourage you to join the LinkedIn group if this description fits you.
We’ll announce upcoming lunches within the LinkedIn group and I also always announce them in the Association E-learning Newsletter. I hope to launch a similar lunch group in other areas in the near future. So, stay tuned.
Jeff
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