When it comes to learning content, L&D teams have three basic choices: buy it off the shelf, have it custom-built, or build it themselves. The problem is there is a lot of grey area between these choices. For instance, subject matter experts within the organization are typically in the best position to know what people need to learn and how. But the L&D team may not have the time to speak to each individual subject matter experts (SMEs) and ensure the content they create is up to company standards. This forces companies to create something themselves, which might be of lower quality, plug in the gap with something that isn’t fit for purpose or create something which doesn’t address the learning need.
Brandon Hall Group Smartchoice® Bronze Preferred Provider Elucidat has an offering that may just bridge this gap. It is called Guided Authoring, and it seeks to empower SMEs (or any author) to confidently use Elucidat’s tool to create the best possible content. Their new workflow enables L&D professionals to create company-approved templates that anyone can work from. Allowing authors with any level of experience to access the knowledge of their L&D team and create impactful eLearning without handholding.
According to Brandon Hall Group research just about half of the content that companies use is sourced internally. This puts a lot of pressure on authors and SMEs to create experiences that will resonate with learners and drive performance and business outcomes. Additionally, 46% of companies say the ability for authors to collaborate in the cloud is something they will need to make them more agile and meet the future needs of the business. Guided Authoring makes it easier to ensure that all the right people have just what they need to produce quality content.
This means learning teams have the ability to create dedicated ready-to-go templates, by building them from scratch or converting an existing Elucidat course. One of the biggest pushbacks to the democratization of learning content has been that it is too difficult to ensure quality and standards when content is being built by people who are not instructional designers. With Guided Authoring, you can make even novice authors into eLearning content creation superstars.
Organizations are filled with knowledge that needs to be shared. Traditional single-user desktop authoring tools are very powerful but highly restrictive. Discussion groups and other social tools are great for informally sharing knowledge, but they can be a bit of a free-for-all. Elucidat’s Guided Authoring meets in the middle, allowing people to freely share their knowledge in a way that adheres to the norms and standards of the organization’s learning environment.
