Digital Transformation
Not a Copy and Paste Exercise
By Rochelle Liebenberg, Senior Instructional Designer for iOCO
Digital Transformation Bandwagon
Many organisations are jumping on the bandwagon of digital transformation. That applies to various business areas where technology is leveraged for digitisation. In the learning space, digital transformation refers to converting classroom- or paper-based training into digital or online learning.
Digitisation of Learning
Converting these to e-learning may seem like an easy enough task, especially for inexperienced instructional designers. They want to hit the ground running and simply build content into e-learning as is – the task of learning design is not given a second thought.
But digitising learning is not merely a copy-and-paste exercise. Consider the following questions: Will classroom-based content, taught by a facilitator, work for a self-paced learning environment? Can the content stand alone, without a facilitator’s guidance? Will learners be able to find clarification, fill gaps or derive context on their own? More often than not, the answer is no!
Some Context, Please
Still not convinced? Think of classroom sessions or workshops you’ve attended where the facilitator used presentation slides to assist with discussions or to summarise topics. Imagine receiving those slides without the workshop session or the facilitator’s assistance and being asked to study them. Then, you need to pass a knowledge or practical assessment. It’s not going to go well, is it?
That’s where content analysis and proper learning design play a crucial role. These tasks bridge the gap between classroom and self-paced, self-study online learning. The ability to successfully navigate content analysis and learning design sets an experienced instructional designer apart.
Case for Analysis and Design
As the name states, this analysis refers to unpacking the content, structuring it correctly and filling any gaps to ensure enough context and explanation are provided to take a specific target audience, consisting of various types of learners, to the point of comprehension. Put another way, content analysis and learning design are the foundation blocks used to build both a solid and exciting learning experience that enables learners to apply what they’ve learnt in the workplace.
That’s ultimately the goal, right? Copy and pasting builds a rocky foundation that will make an entire course come tumbling down.
