SHIFT's eLearning Blog

Our blog provides the best practices, tips, and inspiration for corporate training, instructional design, eLearning and mLearning.

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    The Secret Jedi Formula for Communicating with SMEs

    The specialized and in-depth knowledge subject matter experts have is a treasure trove for their organization. If leveraged with a learning initiative and transferred properly, it can significantly boost overall performance within that organization.

    Instructional Designers: How to Pick Your SME's Brain in an Interview

    INTRODUCTION: You may be an eLearning professional, but the subject matter expert or the SME actually flags off your course by providing the all-important content for you and your team to sculpt on. The SME may be a software programmer or a marketing analyst in your company, a professor, doctor, or a best-selling author who has penned books of encyclopedic proportions on the course matter. Whoever may be the SME, it is likely he is not your cubicle mate. You will probably get just a few opportunities to glean relevant content from him. So take the smart route to make the most of an SME interview. Here we will review the key steps you can take before and during, the interview to maximize its effectiveness.

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      10 Things That Learners Pay Attention To (And How to Use Them in eLearning)

      In today's fast-paced digital age, the human attention span is often compared to that of a goldfish, famously pegged at just eight seconds. However, a 2015 Microsoft study suggests this number might be a little more nuanced, pointing out that while our initial attention spans are short, our selective sustained attention abilities are stronger than ever. This insight is crucial for training leaders and eLearning developers tasked with capturing and maintaining learner engagement in a world brimming with distractions.

      Humanize Your eLearning Courses or Risk Losing Learners

      Have you ever found yourself lost in an eLearning course that feels more like wandering through a never-ending digital desert than a useful classroom experience? You're definitely not the only one. Too often, these courses end up as lengthy, dull PDFs. Here's what we need to remember: While it’s great to use new tech like AI, we can’t forget about the real people using these courses. In our excitement to share a wealth of information and tap into cutting-edge technology, it's easy to lose sight of the human aspect of learning.

      How Color Psychology Influences Learning in eLearning Environments

      What if we told you that color is more than just a visual element—it's a crucial factor that can make or break the effectiveness of your eLearning courses? Too often, eLearning courses fail to engage learners effectively because they don't tap into the strategic use of color. Research by Dr. Robert Gerard dives deep into this subject, revealing that colors are not merely visuals but wavelengths of energy that can significantly impact our neurological pathways and biochemical responses.