E–Learning Solutions on a Shoestring: Help for the Chronically Underfunded Trainer

e–Learning Solutions on a Shoestring

No matter how limited your training budget may be, e–Learning Solutions on a Shoestring is filled with the nuts–and–bolts information needed to incorporate e–learning solutions into your organization at minimal cost. The book offers myriad strategies for recycling, reusing, and repurposing resources; negotiating reasonable expenses for "store bought" e–learning products; and incorporating real–world ideas for assembling tools, techniques, and strategies into workplace solutions.

"Effective training is key to preparing our workforce for the demands and challenges of the global economy. This book highlights the fact that, even on a limited budget, there are many tools available online that will increase efficiency and improve productivity in businesses, government agencies, and other organizations."
Michael F. Easley, governor, State of North Carolina

"I adore bargains and this book points the way to online learning bargains that help folks learn! Others would have you think you need expensive vendors and infrastructure from the get–go, but Jane Bozarth shows you how to get started on a shoestring."
Patti Shank, managing partner, Learning Peaks, and coauthor, Making Sense of Online Learning

"Jane Bozarth finally provides us with a guide to understanding what e–learning technologies can do for us without breaking the bank. The realization that you can do e–learning for pennies per participant shows us what we should have always known: the focus isn′t the technology, it′s the learning."
Jennifer Hofmann, founder, InSync Training, and author, Live and Online!

List of Tables and Figures.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction: Getting the Most from This Resource.

Chapter 1: e–Learning: Some Basics.

What Is e–Learning?

Why Use e–Learning?

Moving from Classroom to Online.

Some New Ways of Thinking.

Avoiding Costly Mistakes.

Using e–Learning: Buy Off–the–Shelf or Build It Yourself?

Summary.

PART ONE: DOING IT YOURSELF.

Chapter 2: Getting Started with Doing It Yourself.

Take Inventory: You Probably Have More Than You Think.

What Else Should You Have?

User Considerations.

Want versus Need: What Will Meet Your Objectives?

Summary.

Chapter 3: Building Simple Pages and Programs.

Using What You Already Have: MS Office Products and MS Paint.

Time to Move Up? More Advanced Design Tools.

Summary.

Chapter 4: Enhancing Basic Programs.

Free Clip Art and Other Media.

Free Design Templates.

Free Interactivity Tools.

Free Microsoft Downloads.

Macromedia Coursebuilder.

Design Tips and Tricks.

Summary.

Chapter 5: Creating Inexpensive Quizzes, Games, Searches, Puzzles, and Simulations.

Quizzes.

Games.

Searches: Treasure Hunts and Web Quests.

Puzzles.

Simulations.

Summary.

Chapter 6: Creating Low–Cost Collaboration.

Synchronous or Asynchronous Collaboration?

Synchronous Tools.

Asynchronous Tools.

Creating Collaborative Activities.

Summary.

Chapter 7: Creating Performance Support Tools on a Shoestring.

When to Use Performance Support Tools.

Which Tool to Use.

Performance Support Tools: Some Examples.

Summary.

Chapter 8: Leveraging Resources.

Sharing.

Networking.

Bartering.

Inexpensive and Possibly Free Help.

Repurposing and Reusing.

Summary.

PART TWO: BUYING YOUR SOLUTIONS.

Chapter 9: Paying Someone Else to Build for You.

What Are You Buying?

How Much Does It Cost?

What Affects Costs?

How to Save on Costs.

Beware of Hidden Costs.

Doing Business: The Bid and Request for Proposal Process.

Choosing a Vendor for Developing Custom Content.

Summary.

Chapter 10: Buying Off–the–Shelf Courses.

Déjà Vu: Buy or Build?

Know Your Criteria.

Customizing OTS Products by Adding On, Not Renovating.

Tips for Working with Vendors of OTS Products.

The Portal Alternative.

Summary.

PART THREE: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER.

Chapter 11: Hosting Your Programs and Tracking Learner Data.

Hosting.

Tracking Learner Data.

Moving Up: Do You Need a Learning Management System?

Tracking: A Recap.

Summary.

Chapter 12: Application.

Mixing It Up: Matching Approaches to Learners and Learning Styles.

Cases: The Buy–or–Build Decision.

Cases: Assembling Tools and Approaches to Create e–Learning Programs.

Summary.

References and Other Sources.

Additional Resources.

Index.

About the Author.

Jane Bozarth is the e–learning coordinator for the North Carolina Office of State Personnel′s Human Resource Development Group and has been a training practitioner since 1989. She is a columnist for Training Magazine and has written for numerous publications including Creative Training Techniques Newsletter and the Journal of Educational Technology and Society.