Frequently Asked Questions

This really depends on the project, but VMP eLearning can create something from as low as $50 + GST per slide. Of course, when creating custom eLearning solutions there are several things to take into consideration like will there be video involved? How much interactivity do you require? Is the design more informational or instructional? Will there be animation? Does it need to work on mobile phones? And so on.

If you have little experience with eLearning, it might seem a little overwhelming to get started, and feel intangible – but it is not as complicated as you might think. In fact, the biggest difference to organising face-to-face training is that you need an online platform to present your content instead of booking a meeting room or similar. The best way to get started with eLearning is to talk to someone! Our Director of Education and Learning Strategies (Dr. Ruth Schwarzenboeck) is a great place to begin. Contact her here today! Internet research also is always a good place to start if you’re thinking of creating an eLearning course. Several companies write blogs on eLearning in specific industries and look at current trends (VMP eLearning has heaps of articles like this on our blog page).

This can be anything from a basic, slide-by-slide presentation to an interactive, branched eLearning experience with video and animation or even a virtual reality world.

Regarding the overall design, all of VMP eLearning’s bespoke eLearning courses match branding guidelines as outlined by our clients. There is a comprehensive design process that happens before the course is even built where we collaborate with clients to develop a ‘look and feel’ they are happy with.

The timeline between beginning to build an eLearning course and it being published on an LMS greatly depends on the amount of content that needs to be presented. However, we can generally deliver a basic course within 4-6 weeks.

LMS is short for Learning Management System, it is basically a computer program that manages everything to do with learning, such as your courses, your trainers, your students and your reports. Everything you are used to having in folders or spreadsheets, such as course content, student names or grades, is automatically organised on the system – you just don’t have it sitting in your shelf or on your computer, but on a server. You, trainers, students and admins can access the appropriate functions via logging onto the system. Depending on who logs in, only specific information or courses will be visible. It will present like a website, and you can determine the look and design to match your company’s branding.

Not necessarily! Some eLearning developers (like VMP eLearning) have their own LMS solutions available to their clients so you can leave all the tech stuff to them. However, some organisations opt to set up their own to have everything in house.

This is a very common question among new eLearning clients. SCORM is essentially the end product output – your course, and you simply upload it to the LMS. It will be a zip file which contains all of the source information to your eLearning course. Everything that is part of the course, every exercise, interactivity, video etc. is stored and connected in that folder and once you upload it, it presents as the organised and structured course. Another output term you may have heard of (which is different to SCORM) is HTML5.

The great thing about an LMS is that it can tell you so much information! A well setup LMS will be able to tell you when your staff are completing the course, and how long it took them to do so.

If required, users can use web cams while they work on the course to prove identity, or you can work with specific staff logins.

Some people learn better through hearing, some through visuals, some through reading or writing or through learning by doing. As eLearning offers a wide variety of techniques, all four learner types can be addressed using a good mix of the methods – having the side effect that the course will be very diverse and therefore anything but boring! Using videos, case studies, or scenario-based learning, every individual’s needs can be addressed!

Sometimes your target group might seem too diverse for a one course approach – different social, educational and cultural backgrounds seem to make it hard to meet everyone’s needs. Using the right content presentation and techniques however help overcome this hurdle. Just one example – Presenting content with video doesn’t require literacy and supports understanding for people with a different native language. You still have the opportunity to include scripts for those who like to study more and re-read content.

Micro learning refers to the length of learning units – as the name says, rather small units and short-term activities as well as the context of skill-based learning. It describes a holistic approach that includes micro-perspectives of learning and skill development. It helps slow learners and puts learning into a day-to-day perspective to make it more relevant.

If you think of an eLearning course like a book, then a module is a chapter. Modules split up your eLearning course into different topics, so if you’re creating an OH&S compliance course, one module may cover correct lifting practices, while another will cover things like working at heights. Not every course clearly breaks down into modules, but they help to give a clear structure and outline of the course which is crucial for learner motivation. It is therefore important to spend some time and organise the course into modules.

Video production within eLearning not only provides the user with a more positive experience throughout the course but has also been proven to increase learner comprehension and information retention. Whether it be an animation, scenarios or instructional video, every little bit is helpful to increasing your learner’s engagement and motivation throughout the eLearning journey. Especially helpful are on-site videos, as using the learners’ day-to-day environment increases the learning process and makes the content a lot more relevant to the individual.

With adaptive design, your course looks the same on any device, whether it be a computer or a phone. As the screens of mobile devices such as phones and tablets have a different sizes than a laptop or computer screen, you might want to turn to responsive design if your content should be presented nicely and easy to use on mobile devices as well. It means that the content presentation is rearranged in a way that works best with the respective device that is used.

Synchronous learning means that participants of one course learn at the same time, I.e. log in for a live webinar or online course session when it comes to online learning, or have a face-2-face unit as part of their Blended Learning solution (face-2-face and online learning mix). Anything the participants learn at their own pace, whenever they want, is asynchronous learning. At the end of the course, everyone will still have covered the same content, just not at the same time.

How people stay motivated through any course – engaging, relevant content, well presented using diverse techniques. But eLearning offers more opportunities to support that, the use of gamification where appropriate can engage the users even more, the use of video, links to immediately available relevant self-study and a user-friendly design are only a few options you have to keep motivation up throughout the whole course!

Here at VMP eLearning, we understand that there will be a diverse range of people who have to undertake eLearning courses. We aim to produce content that is intuitive, stylish and accessible to a wide range of groups. For those who are not so familiar with computer use, eLearning courses which are built well and ensure a well guided and user-friendly experience, can actually increase their knowledge in computer usage and give them more confidence in new technology! We also work with each of our clients to determine whether or not there’s a specific device which is preferable for their students to work with, and tailor the course to suit their needs.