Course

EDTEC 775: Directed Internship

Project Name

Web-based Training for a LMS

Picture of the WBT for the LMS

Files

Web-Based Training for a LMS

Project Description

As an intern at The UPS Store/Mail Boxes Etc. corporate office, one of my jobs was to create training for the new learning management system the company was implementing. I began this project by first completing a task analysis of the system. I worked with my supervisor and others in the department who had set up the system to determine which tasks the franchise owners would need to complete using the LMS. In addition, I created a list of features franchisees would need to use and understand within the system. Based on this analysis, I began creating an outline and storyboard for the web-based training. Once I completed the storyboard, I used Macromedia Captivate to collect short videos of different functionality in the system and SnagIt to collect screen shots of the system. Finally, I put all of this information into their current authoring tool to produce the web-based training.

EDTEC Standard

I learned about many interesting technologies while completing this project. First and foremost, I learned about the learning management system SumTotal. SumTotal is a very comprehensive system that helps users complete training and manage other employee’s training. While completing the analysis portion of the project I became very familiar with the system and its functionality. I also learned about configuring a learning management system for a franchise organization. In addition to the learning management system, I became skilled at using the programs Captivate and SnagIt. Both of these tools provide an important function within systems training. The user will retain more of the information when they can actually see the process instead of just reading the steps and these programs allow us to provide learners with those visual cues. Finally, I had the opportunity to learn about different authoring tools and how they work with a learning management system.

Problems and Opportunities

One of the biggest problems I faced within this project was the vastness of the content. I had to figure out exactly what the user needed to know and how much of that information should be included in a web-based training. By completing a task analysis, I had the opportunity to sit down with the system and those configuring the system to really learn exactly what the franchisees would be doing. In addition, I had very limited knowledge of learning management systems in general. Because of my lack of knowledge, I had to, not only figure out what tasks the franchisees would complete within the system, but also how to complete those tasks.

My Capabilities

Within this project, I exhibited my abilities to learn new technologies in a very short period of time. I had very limited knowledge of learning management systems and no knowledge of how to use authoring tools, Captivate, or SnagIt. However, despite my lack of knowledge, I jumped in and learned as I went along. If I came across a problem within one of the programs or if something did not make sense within the LMS, I would research the answer and find a solution. I became very resourceful at finding out things about these systems when a problem arose. I believe that learning how to be resourceful is almost more important than learning the programs themselves. It gave me the confidence that in the future, if I am approached with a technology I do not know how to use, I will be able to figure it out and complete the project.

Lessons Learned

Throughout this project, I struggled with the lack of knowledge about my audience. I did not have a long period of time to become oriented with how The UPS Store franchise network was set up. I had to learn about the business along the way. In hindsight, I believe I would have benefited from completing an audience analysis to find out more information about my learners and their needs. I now understand the importance of truly understanding your audience before creating the training in order to decrease the push back that comes with introducing a new system. It is much more difficult to put out fires after they have already started and an audience analysis can frequently prevent some of those fires from starting in the first place.

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