How to balance between size, cost and time?

Why is balance important?

E-learning course types are determined by the level of skill-based interactivity and quality of multi-media used to build them. The higher the real-world simulations and immersive environment used to create the eLearning material, the longer it takes to be built and the higher the cost. The simpler the course design, the less time it needs and the less its development costs. The more complex the course design, the higher the cost. Generally, eLearning courses range from the simplest Level I, to Levels II, III and IV. Level II has some interactivity, for example embedding videos and audios in the course. Level III requires satisfactory user responses in order to proceed to the next slide. Level IV is an advanced simulation course, generally designed by software engineers.

The information will help you estimate the training costs and time required:

• Estimating eLearning costs

  Here are a couple of ideas on what can be the costs of various eLearning tasks:

  • Produce a professional video – $1,000 to $3,000 per-finished-minutes (PFM) depending upon concept, location, talent, special effects, etc.
  • With today’s small cameras and video recorders, such as the FLIP, videos can be produced at a much cheaper cost (about $200.00). While they may not look as professional, as the expensive ones, they can often do quite a satisfactory job.
  • Produce professional slides – $15 to $50 per slide.
  • Get photos from stockexchange (free), iStock ($1-$27 depending on size), Flickr (CLICK on the Creative Commons-licensed content button to search for free photos).
  • Produce professional audio tape – $25 to $150 per minute.
  • Make your own digital recording – Audacity (Mac & PC, free), Wiretap (Mac), Total Recorder (PC).
  • Learner guide – four to eight hours of development time to produce 1/2 to 2 pages depending on technical specifications.

• Estimating developer costs:

  • Instructional Designer – $28.00 hour
    (based on salary of $60,000 per year)
  • eLearning designer – $37.00 hour
    (based on salary of $78,000 per year)
  • Organizational Specialist – $38.46
    (based on salary of $80,000 per year)
  • Outside Consultant – $90.00 hour

• Development times to create one-hour of eLearning

  • Simple Asynchronous
    (static HTML pages with text & graphics):
    117 hours
  • Simple Synchronous
    (static HTML pages with text & graphics):
    86 hours
  • Average Asynchronous
    (above plus FLASH, JavaScript, animated GIF’s. etc):
    191 hours
  • Average Synchronous
    (above plus Flash, JavaScript, animated GIF’s. etc):
    147 hours
  • Complex Asynchronous
    (above plus audio, video, interactive simulations):
    276 hours
  • Complex Synchronous
    (above plus audio, video, interactive simulations):
    222 hours

Time

Using a great course development tool affects the time taken to complete the course. TalentLMS has amazing built-in tools to calculate the performance of your course. Analytics on various activities can show a rising rate of user engagement over a given period of time. If you see any negative performance, revise your materials according to the areas that are going downwards. If not, take snapshots of skyrocketing engagement to use for marketing your course internally. Never underestimate the power of positive visuals!

Ask employees how they have been applying their learning to their work context. Request for testimonials to be added in the course trailer. Develop courses according to industry standards. Does a certain course prepare learners for certifications? Announce that. Include tangible and specific skills that can be acquired and applied after completing a course. If possible, include an image of a happy employee! Another great idea is to include success in the form of numbers. How many customers were happy in a month? How many projects were acquired? What about the number of skillsets? What targets were achieved?