Join us for the the Lights, Camera, Action! Exploring Video Basics for Non-Production Professionals webinar with Darcy Beery and Stacy Barton.
10:30 am Pacific / 11:30 am Mountain / 12:30 pm Central / 1:30 pm Eastern
Monday, August 13, 2018
About the webinar
Given the choice between finding the user manual or googling a short video on YouTube, many users would prefer to both hear and see the information being presented, especially younger generations who have been raised with technology. The basic concepts of video production need no longer be shrouded in the the mysterious aura of Hollywood as consumer technology has become both cost effective and highly professional. If you or your company have been toying with the idea of producing videos for clients or customers, but have fretted about the costs or effectiveness of this method, take heart it is now easier and more anticipated than ever before.
We will be recording the webinar, so feel free to enjoy the presentation knowing that you can see the recording at a later date.
Intended Audience
The content will be introductory (e.g., > “101 level”) and will also be valuable to practitioner level attendees.
About the Speakers:
Stacy Barton
Feature and short film producer & director, award-winning scriptwriter, I’ve worked in various genres & screened in film festivals and on TV, at home and abroad. Holding an MFA from Syracuse University in film production, there I settled into higher-education, now proudly at MSU Denver.
Darcy Beery
After moving to Los Angeles, California Darcy worked in production management on a variety of projects including Paramount/CBS’ primetime series “JAG”, the independent feature film “Baggage” and Disney/Miramax’ “Clerks, the Animated Series” by independent filmmaker Kevin Smith.
In 2010, Darcy began teaching Technical Writing at Metropolitan State University of Denver in Denver, Colorado and became a full time Assistant Professor of Technical Writing and Editing in 2015.
The Instructional Design and Learning SIG is holding its annual business meeting on Monday, May 21, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM.
Come hear about what we offer our members, what we’ve accomplished during the past year, and learn how you can get involved. Get the most out of your STC membership: meet fellow SIG members face-to-face. Wondering how a SIG works, why people belong to them? Come check us out!
Location:
Celebration 4, Hyatt Orlando Hotel 9801 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819
Time:
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EDT
Cost:
Free (but you must pre-register as we need firm numbers on May 19)
Menu:
Cream of tomato and basil soup, oyster crackers, shaved parmesan
Build your own salad bar to include: sliced grilled chicken, chopped egg, kidney beans, and diced ham, mixed field greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, carrots and peppers, chef’s selection of dressings
Freshly baked rolls
Assorted cookies
Fudge brownies
Freshly brewed iced tea
Come join us for soup, salad, and schmoozing at our honest-to-goodness face-to-face business meeting and lunch buffet!
In this issue, we continue harvesting rich material from our student outreach competition. You know the saying, plant a seed, tend it well and…enjoy the fruit. We are thrilled to publish another winning submission.
Maria Peter, who has just completed a programme in Technical Communication at Seneca, provides a comprehensive review of usability heuristics as they apply to e-learning, distributed learning and websites in general . This is a great resource for students of IDL and a refresher for practitioners.Read More
Lori Meyer, in her co-manager’s column, reviews our 2017 successes . Invigorated by those success, she recommends many ways for you to contribute to and enjoy being part of our awarding winning team. Read more
Marcia Shannon, in her Secretary’s Column, shares six easy, doable ways to stay in touch with your SIG and reap the rewards of your SIG membership. Read more
Meet Viqui Dill in our Member Spotlight. You may already know the venerable Ms. Dill. She is a well-recognised STC face, having been an active member for over 11 years (a fact that belies her youthful vim and vigour). Viqui is her usual frank sharing-self: she does not hold back on how she has grown and how the STC has figured in her professional development. Read more
Crista Mohammed reminds us that SUMMIT TIME is at hand. In her Editor’s picks she shares her plans for Summit 2018–plans that revolve around staying abreast of the field; nurturing the professional within; and friending face-to-face (as opposed to virtually). Read More
Viqui Dill, thoughtful as ever,has extracted all of the key SUMMIT 2018 events for the IDL SIG. Included in Viqui’s list are all the presentations that will be made by IDLers. Read More
Marcia Shannon reviews Cammy Bean’s The Accidental Instructional Designer. The title of the book is relatable. So it is when you work in an emerging field: the needs of the market precede the discipline. Many of our careers are thus “accidental”. Marcia finds the book deserving of careful reading as it is information dense, but that density does not burden the reader in the least. Marcia reports that Bean’s light breezy writing is enjoyable and easy to read. Read more
O*NET program, the most comprehensive source of occupational data in the USA, is seeking experienced Instructional Designers and Technologists to add their career information to the O*NET database. Read more
Have your ever felt that an eLearning course or a website is difficult to use and quit trying as it is time consuming and not serving its purpose? For any eLearning course, distributed learning material, or website usability determines its success.
Issa et al. defines ‘Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object such as a tool or device.’ Usability can be measured by the quality of users’ experiences. The quality is determined by the effectiveness/ease of use, efficiency/less time to accomplish, and the overall satisfaction level of the users. Multiple properties are combined during the design and development stages to increase usability standards. The key properties recommended by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services are:
Intuitive Design Layout: When users can effortlessly navigate to accomplish their tasks.
Efficiency of Use: When experienced users can accomplish their tasks quickly.
Easy to Observe and Use: When new users can accomplish their tasks with ease.
Easy to Recall: When users can remember actions to use in their future visits.
Fewer Errors and Reduced Severity: When errors are less frequent and less serious.
Increased Satisfaction: When users feel happy to visit the website again.
Why Following Usability Standards is Essential
Usability standards serve as guidelines during the design and development phases of eLearning courses, distributed learning materials, or websites that are meant to serve a wide range of audience profile.
Usability Standards for eLearning Courses or Distributed Learning Materials
Usability is the core of eLearning courses and it determines the satisfaction level of users. Essentially, it enables learners to achieve their objectives successfully. Most of the eLearning courses have a Help file to help new learners to understand the purpose of various user interface buttons, title bar area, content area, and others, see Image 1.
Image 1: An eLearning Course − User Interface
Here are some key usability standards that are based on Nielson’s 10 usability heuristics and Hetsevich’s adaptation of the heuristics to improvise eLearning courseware design:
User Interface Buttons: Include clearly defined navigational buttons such as Previous, Next, Play, Pause, Rewind, Audio mute/unmute, Exit, etc. to enhance learners’ experiences
Learning Path: Ensure the structure of the course or the logical learning path is streamlined, for example: Course > Topic > Pages.
Consistency and Standards ensure uniformity in page layout, graphics style, fonts style, color theme, etc., across a course so the users will not be distracted by variations. To enhance learners’ experiences, use suitable font type, style, and size. Here are some thoughts on key design principles:
Information Recall: Ensure all primary information are displayed on the screen always and the representation of the secondary information such as Trivia, Did You Know, etc. are standardized across a course.
Flexibility and Efficiency of Use: Include different learning paths as per audience profile – experienced and novice. For example, pre-assessment can be used to help novices understand the knowledge gap and experts to confirm their knowledge level and move on to the next level.
Focussed Approach: Ensure you have a defined objective for every page to avoid irrelevant information.
Feedback: Provide feedback to help learners understand the reason for an error that may have occurred. For example, if a learner’s response is incorrect for a knowledge check question provide descriptive feedback that suggests the required changes.
Content Development: Create compelling, meaningful, cohesive, engaging, and sustainable content that enables learners to attain the expected goal.
Graphics: Use graphics to complement content and help learners to grasp content quickly.
Transcript and Caption: Provide full transcript and caption when audio narration is used.
Autonomy: Ensure that users have control over videos play, pause, and mute function.
Usability Standards for Websites
There are many factors that contribute to the success of a website. For instance, in a website, the layout, and architecture should be easy to understand and use, navigational elements should be obvious and easy to follow, and homepage should clearly state its purpose and how it will benefit the user, see Image 2.
Image 2: An eCommerce Website − User Interface
To retain users on websites, we can apply several usability standards. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has conducted extensive research on web design and provides elaborate usability guidelines. Now, let’s take a look at some of the key guidelines that you can follow when creating a website:
Goals
Define and document the primary goals before initiating the design and development process.
Set performance goals to identify success rates and the time it takes to find specific information.
Visual Design and Development
Use personas to help design team focused on the requirements.
Ensure visual consistency of the website elements such as company logo, graphics, titles, clickables, etc.
Design for monitors with the screen resolution set at 1024×768 pixels and test for the most common browsers and operating systems.
Navigation/Interaction
Clearly differentiate navigational elements.
Use breadcrumb or other means to help users know their location.
Avoid horizontal scroll bars.
Use color changes to indicate visited and unvisited links.
Content
Do not require users to enter the same information more than once.
Do not require users to remember information from place to place on a website.
Assistive Technology
Ensure the website supports assistive technologies so people with disabilities can use it effectively − Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Search Engine Optimization
Ensure the website is optimized to appear in the first page of all major search engines’ result pages.
Final Words
Give your users what they want to see and know. Empower them to accomplish their tasks efficiently, effectively, and satisfactorily. You can visit different eLearning courses or websites and analyze them based on the standards outlined above. When designing and developing an eLearning course or a website, this experience will direct you appropriately.
Maria Peter has been an Instructional Designer for almost a decade. She likes conceptualizing learning solutions using scenarios, case studies, stories, serious games, etc. She recently completed her studies in Technical Communication at Seneca, where she had ample opportunity to acquire hands-on experience. Lately, she has been writing about the use of virtual reality, augmented reality and serious games in learning. She was awarded “You’ve Earned It Award” at Fidelity Investments for handling multiple eLearning projects and training writers who aspired to be instructional designers.
