eLearning Development & Tools - A Different Metaphor
Archive Post (11-Mar-2009)
For most, the eLearning development is best expressed with the metaphor of a skilled craftsman (e.g., a carpenter). That craftsman has tools (e.g., saws, hammers, etc.), skills, and procedures to construct a particular item. The craftsman is a subject-matter expert (SME) in the tools and the item. The customer is an SME in the item’s intended use. In most cases, the craftsman’s expertise overrides the customer’s expertise, unless the customer is willing to pay large sums to get precisely what they want (i.e., a custom-crafted item). Replace the eLearning developer as the craftman in the metaphor, and you have a good example of exactly how it is done.
The BIG problem is our metaphor. If you want to change eLearning, you need to change your metaphor. I would like to propose the metaphor of a movie production. I will further subdivide the metaphor into big studio and independent film makers. In the big studio model, creation of eLearning is a group effort. There are specialists who bring their particular skills to the project. Amongst the two most important are the producer and the director. The director has the artistic vision … the story. The producer keeps the movie going by providing the funding and the fiscal constraint. In fact, some of the biggest success stories are movies where the director was constrained by the budget, and was required to come up with creative solutions to be able to tell the story. Likewise, some of the biggest flops have been movies with unlimited budgets. Some, maybe even most, eLearning projects should fall into this category. They should be cooperative efforts with a team of specialists working together for a common outcome.
The other model I suggested was that of an independent film maker. Here is a case where you have one person, or a very small group dedicated to that one person’s vision, who is driven with a creative need to express a story. That one person is a jack-of-all-trades and master of at least one. The one person continually pushes the boundaries, finding solutions to tell the story. Finding creative work-arounds to the lack of money. And when necessary, finding the money that is absolutely essential to move the film forward. That one person is also driven to develop the skills that would otherwise be purchased. They aren’t necessarily concerned with skill mastery, but with having enough skill to complete the project. Most eLearning projects could definitely use this metaphor.
Notice that throughout the discussion of the metaphors, I never dealt with tools. There are film makers who make 8mm films along with 35mm and even 70mm IMAX films. They may use film or digital. They may use live action or animation. They could have experienced actors or just their friends they’ve dragged into the film. They may wish for different tools, but they use the tools that they have. There success is not driven by the tools; it is driven by the story.
eLearning developers should take note. Find the passion to tell your story. If you have the budget, use the better tools. But, better tools are no guarantee of a better eLearning product, any more than better cameras are a guarantee of a blockbuster movie.
In fact, look at a blog posting from Michael Allen. In the post, Michael almost apologizes for the fact that he and his company have a high-powered studio approach to eLearning development. YET! The stuff that they do develop is, by and large, outstanding. Michael and team should not apologize. He should re-emphasize something that he said. Michael wrote, “A common question we get when we demonstrate what we think e-learning should be today is, ‘What tool did you use to develop that?’ When we reveal the expertise it took …” Read that carefully. Michael didn’t talk about the price of the eLearning development tool. He spoke about the expertise. Whether your expertise comes from a large production team with a diverse set of talents or it comes from a single creative talent driven to express a vision, the common fact is expertise. Buy it or learn it, but you need it either way.
Now, quit whining about the tools you don’t have or don’t know, and go tell the stories you can tell with the technologies you do have and know.