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Learning from Failure
In designing and delivering an
asynchronous online training for teachers in my district, I failed to
understand the importance of several key factors to the successful launch of a
course. The first training launched in
the spring of 2012, and I used my MacBook Pro© and Google Chrome© to build the
course in our district LMS, Blackboard©.
When teachers began taking the course, there were a lot of complaints
that the system was difficult, that videos did not play, or that links
mentioned in the course were not appearing on the screen. As I researched these issues, I discovered the
following:
1. Google Chrome© is not a supported
browser for Blackboard©.
2. Internet Explorer© 7 was an obsolete
browser for Blackboard©, but was the predominant default browser on all teacher
use computers at the time of launch.
3. Participant computers needed updated
Flash© plug-ins to play videos.
Needless to say, these issues greatly
frustrated the participants, many of whom were not confident in their abilities
to use technology and therefore felt defeated by the training.
Fast-forward one year and the latest
roll-out of the training contains some useful introductory information
concerning expectations for the course, navigation directions, and technical
requirements. I have used familiar
symbols to guide my learners through the course since many of them are new to
online learning. Similarly, images of
the log-in page with browser check requirements are posted. Our Blackboard© Administrator actually added
the browser compliance check after feedback from me in the first training roll out.
Content from Blended Learning Training: Roadsigns to Point the Way
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| (USDT, 2009) |
Throughout
this online course you will see signs and directions similar to the
question mark sign to the left. A guide for all the signs in the course
is shown below. Note that some signs point out the direction you will
need to scroll to see the next piece of the training, some point out
informational text, others show where a particular action is needed on
your part, and finally there are signs to indicate the end of a portion
or the end of the course.
Read through the information below to note the method for directing you through what you should do each step of the way.
Roadsigns used in this course.
Make your first impression a good one!
In an online course, there is only one
chance at a first impression. As I
designed this course, careful consideration was taken to address the analyzed
needs of my learners. As an added level
of review, I asked my neighbor who is retired, aged 69, and not a computer user
(except for looking up motorcycles on Craigslist) to navigate the course and
provide constructive criticism. His
honest thoughts as he test-drove the course helped show me areas that were
unclear to an objective participant.
This new and improved version launched in April 2013 and has received
reviews that clearly show that learners are engaging with the content instead
of the helpdesk!
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| Screen shot of the landing page of the orientation, a fun character greets the learner, directions are provided on next steps, and narrative text is available to support universal design for learning. |
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Excellent summary. We get so used to the tools we use that we sometimes don't think...for example, when I was going through the course materials prior to the start of the class, I just couldn't get access to the videos in the Resources. I was using Chrome. I emailed Mark (who is my supervisor) and asked about it. His quick response - "Which browser?" It worked in Firefox. Of course I knew to check the browser, but I was comfortable with Chrome and it slipped my mind.
ReplyDeleteI like your Road Sign approach. Really provides clarity.
Mitch
Thank you for your comment and shared experience, Mitch. I was a die-hard Chrome© user prior to Blackboard©. But now that most of my work is in Blackboard© for grad school and career, Firefox© has become my go to browser. One other thing I discovered when I had some coworkers test the course on their district supplied Dell© laptops was that some of the learning objects displayed differently because of the security settings on the teacher computers. So knowing all the parameters and testing out the course within all those parameters is essential to remove barriers. Thankfully I work with a terrific team who gladly ran through everything in the course trying to make it not work so that we could prevent issues for the end user.
ReplyDeleteMan Tisch, your post is probably one of the most eye-opening ones that I have read. As I am still in the classroom and have not had the opportunity to actually design a course. I NEVER would have taken factors such as browser compatibility etc. into consideration. As Dr. Pratt pointed out, even our own course site is temperamental. I find myself switching between the three big browsers, depending on what task I am trying to accomplish. Forget trying to work with Walden on iOS or on Android without a Flash apk. Great insight, thanks!
ReplyDeleteCJ,
DeleteThank you for the positive reply, I have learned so much from the last year of launching blended learning in my district and it has been painful at times! The amazing thing to me is that this degree program from Walden has been a terrific help (although some courses, like Project Management I wish I had had a year ago.)
Tisch,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your fantastic post and detailed account of your experiences relating to launching a course. Compatibility issues can be a big challenge particularly when trying to use a new application. Besides browser compatibility issues, I have encountered problems working with Windows 7 operating system because there are two different versions, 32 bit version and 64 bit version. Some applications that run on the 32 bit version would not run on the 64 bit version. Moreover, the 32 bit version of Windows 7 recognizes a maximum of 3 GB of RAM even if more RAM is installed.
One thing you should consider when rolling out a new application or course is the possibility that some end users might have older equipment that might bring compatibility issues to the fore. I like the pro-active steps that you took when you asked your district co-workers to test the course using their Dell laptops. Before rolling out a new course, it would be ideal to select some users to be involved in testing the course. It is important to ask the participants to supply details of their equipment and installed software (eg. operating system, browser, RAM, Flash Player version, etc.) to help you in diagnosing any possible problems they might encounter.
Hilary,
DeleteGreat ideas and suggestions concerning the testing phase of the course. It sounds like part of the analysis phase of the A.D.D.I.E. model would be to analyze the learner, and their equipment!
Hi Tish
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing some of your experiences early in your practice. When you were speaking about using only Chrome, I remember in the text it talks about learning the capabilities of the course management system. In your case would be to learn which tools work well with the ones you have and asking questions on how to make things work. I worked as ID for a company that uses Articulate and I had to take a crash course to learn what Captivate does. This leads me to understand that IDs need to be constantly learning and trying different technologies and not stick with what we like. I used to hate IE and in that job it is all they used, I preferred Firefox and Chrome. I appreciate your choice of visuals, they really help send the message across. I noticed that you also asked for constructive feedback from your neighbor, someone who is not much a computer person and those are the best test students you can find. You have encouraged me to include visual stimulation to my future projects when I work as a designer. This blog was an absolute joy to read!