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Eddie Lin, a staff data scientist for a global IT company, has spent more than 10 years in the areas of education technology, data science, artificial intelligence, and workforce development.

Eddie Lin

July 2024 - TD Magazine

Build a Learning Data Dream Team

Consider the following scenario: You’ve recently purchased a nice plot of land and are in the process of engaging a builder to construct your new home. During your first meeting with the builder, you let him know that you want a three-story house. He asks for additional details, of course, and learns that you would like the house to be approximately 3,500 square feet, modern design, and offer lots of light. In essence, you want “the most recent trends in modern homes, but not necessarily everything.” Then, you ask him for an estimated cost to build the home. He asks you to make more decisions on details about the types of materials you would like in the house (tile, hardwood, custom kitchen elements, and so forth). But you insist that he just give you a “ballpark estimate” on what it costs to build a three-story house—because you have not made those decisions yet. Sound familiar? Alas, this scenario is reminiscent of the headache that many of us encounter when we try to estimate the expense and time commitment of an e-learning project. If you plan to work with a vendor or contractor, there is the effort of finding the right person to design and develop it. Then, how do you effectively communicate the scope of your project? Is there something you could do to better prepare for your e-learning initiatives? Often, organizations will base the scope of their projects on the “run time” of the deliverable. For example, some may use this chart (derived from surveys in 2003 and 2009) as a guide to determine the number of hours it should take to develop one hour of e-learning. Although this information could be used as an extremely generic resource, there are many factors that could dramatically skew even those time estimates. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to prepare for a more accurate estimate. Let me share my “consultant’s view” to scoping a new project. To determine the real level of effort, I request some time to conduct an in-depth analysis before quoting design and development hours. Not only does this help me provide a more accurate estimate, it also allows me to partner with the project owner to ensure that we have a “blueprint” for the right training solution. This process includes the following steps: Interview the Project Owner I have a form that is chock-full of questions to help draw out the project description and goal, learning objectives, technical evaluation (operating system, screen resolution restrictions, LMS requirements, delivery method), and an existing content evaluation (to identify what source content is currently available as an input or resource for the project). Most importantly, this is when we work together to determine how we will define success. To make the most of this process, include all relevant stakeholders in the meeting.   Create a Content Map Not long before I began working in mobile learning, I started using mind maps over other visuals, such as an outline document or typical flow chart. Mapping a project helps me clearly visualize the components of the solution (as well as validate those components with the project owner). Here is an example of a content map for a recent project:Tie-In the Source Content Once I have mapped the project, I can connect the relevant content to each of the components of the solution by adding notes to each. This content has typically already been identified during the interview(s) with the project owner, so it only needs some paring-down at this point. Meet with Key Stakeholders You will want to meet with key stakeholders to validate the map, or blueprint, and present the solution(s). In this step, my goal is to ensure that we have included all relevant information and are in agreement for the type of solution that will best meet their needs. Bottom Line Not to go all “ADDIE” in here, but starting each project with a thorough analysis and a project “blueprint” will result in a more accurate estimate of the time necessary to move forward with design and full development of the project solution. And, much like with building a house, having a thoughtful plan helps mitigate the risk of getting deep into the project and not getting the results you had intended.

E-Learning Estimates Made Easy: Start With a Blueprint

July 2018 - ATD Links

Analyzing a need. In the case of a webinar, it certainly makes sense to analyze the need and overall goal and determine a topic focus. What problem is the webinar solving or addressing? Is the intent to garner more leads for the sales team?

Use ADDIE to Create Webinars

ATD Links Archive - ATD Links

The ADDIE Model is a design process used by instructional design and eLearning development professionals. This article dives into the five phases of ADDIE: analysis phase, design phase, development phase, implementation phase, and the evaluation phas

The ADDIE Model for Instructional Design Explained

The process of analysis in ADDIE model is the foundation for any instructional design project. Although it is the most often neglected aspect of ISD, analysis is not an option for the successful designer...

The ADDIE Model of ISD

Excerpted content from the May 2017 issue of TD at Work, ”Design Thinking Meets ADDIE,” presents an example of how you might use design thinking in your learning and development role.

Design Thinking and the Learning Function

Elliot Masie once said, “Bad education is bad education no matter how it is served.” He was referring to a trend in the education field at the time to turn everything into an automated PowerPoint and call it education. Healthcare has certainly been guilty of this. Prettying up our slides or automating them does not make them more educational. The basic premises of education and the research behind them are pretty universal across industries. However, each industry has unique drivers, standards, challenges, and constraints that must be addressed—and this certainly applies to the healthcare industry. If we fail to address those unique attributes, the education can be seen as irrelevant. As adults, we view our world through the lenses of our experiences and acquired knowledge. If something conflicts with our frame of reference, it can interrupt the learning process. For instance, if you are training neonatal nurses how to document patient care in an electronic health record system, but give them a scenario that has wrong drug doses for a neonate, they could be so distracted by the incorrect scenario that learning may not take place. Healthcare’s Challenges in Education Healthcare faces a continual state of change due to new research, government mandates, reimbursement models, and other issues. This creates a need for continual learning and changes to educational materials. So, in addition to the day-to-day educational needs of new hire orientation and mandatory refresher courses, new equipment, systems, medical breakthroughs, processes, and payer modules are increasing the responsibility of clinicians. In addition to all these tasks, we must also teach clinicians how to educate patients and deal with increasing cuts. Unfortunately, education teams are being reduced in size right when clinicians need more education and are incurring higher patient-to-clinician ratios. Response: Ask the Right Questions It is more important than ever to deliver and reinforce education in a manner that creates true results. Doing things as we have always done them will no longer cut it. We must be looking for ways to help clinicians learn with ease so they can spend more time providing care to patients. Questions to ask include: Is our new hire education model still effective?Are there new technologies that can be utilized?Are there new methods that create better outcomes?How do I measure the outcomes to ensure I am spending my time in the right areas?How do I make sure I am delivering relevant content to each healthcare role?Am I properly prioritizing my work to ensure I am delivering the content most important to my organization?What are other healthcare organizations doing to obtain greater learning outcomes in a shorter amount of time? Healthcare learners drive the work of healthcare learning professionals. However, organizational learning will always play a big role in achieving the outcomes that help manage the challenges of the healthcare sector. Therefore, organizational learning can increase satisfaction, recruitment, and retention, and promote healthy work environments. Bottom line: Asking the questions above will be paramount to your success.To learn more, read the February 2015 bonus issue of TD at Work, “Learning and Development in Healthcare.” This issue will explain how learning needs in the healthcare field differ from other professions, the ADDIE model can be modified for the healthcare sector, to align training with current reporting requirements, to choose the correct tools to evaluate the effectiveness of L&D programs.

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