Sunday, November 16, 2014

And the last element of #IMPS... Streamline

Streamline the content, language and course interface.

Here is where prioritizing the must, good and nice to knows pays off. 
  • That "must" content is front and center - your emphasis.
  • The “good” is still accessible but may not be up front - a bit deeper into sections, appear in interactive assets, pop-ups, etc.
  • The "Nice to knows" - We are not using up real estate on these. These are:
    • Things that people who really want to learn more - curiosity or using the info at a higher level than the target audience. 
    • Things we told the SME we would fit it in when we were compromising. 
    • Great for pop-ups, an additional resources page, links to other sites, supporting materials, social media, informal learning resources or in additional interactive elements,etc.
  • Navigation - The course does not need to be linear - especially if audience has diverse learning needs, for example they may not need all the content. This will allow them to pick and chose what may be relevant to their learning needs and not make the course unnecessarily long for them.
  • Games - Lot of content, but not thrown at you all at once and a game can simultaneously put it in context - can be more "show" not "tell."
  • Cartoons - Simple scenario showing concept that brings it home instead of in-depth explanation of the concept.
  • Use analogies - Quicker and easier to understand if has similarities to the familiar - Remember, the audience brings knowledge to the table, tap into it.
  • Job Aids – Sometimes a job aid can be a better route, especially if it is something learners have to remember specific steps and apply on a less than regular basis (e.g., a task in software application). These are also good for a "Nice to Know" task that may not apply to all – Open it if you need it. Infographics may also suffice if the content is more informative than step-by-step.
  • Grammar & Style – Don’t make them read “War & Peace!” Trim the prose down as much as possible (i.e., eliminate passive sentences, successive propositional phrases, wordiness, etc.). 
Here is a quick IMPS guide for you. A link is also available under "Jeff's Links" on the right. 

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Prioritize - #IMPS

The third element of IMPS is Prioritize. 
IMPS Logo
Prioritize your content into  must know,” “good to know” and “nice to know” levels.

  • Must know - Look back at your objectives - What MUST they learn to reach those objectives. That's your top level/emphasis - As newspaper journalists would say "above the fold."
  • Good to know - Those things not imperative, but still of value in accomplishing the task to be learned. Maybe not emphasized but still accessible in the course. 
  • Nice to know - They can still do the job without this info, but it has value in understanding the subject in greater depth. It can often add more context around the topic or be information that will be of value as the learners progress and grow - ongoing learning. These will be topics that may be accessible in the course, but not distracting attention away from higher priority content. 
In the next post, Streamline, I will discuss how we use the above prioritization in the course design.