TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Web-based training From:aschiff -at- factset -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 10 Dec 2001 13:23:04 -0500
Hi Nora,
It sounds like you need to clarify what the higher-ups actually want.
"Web-based training" is a very general term, encompassing anything from a
series of simple instructional web pages to fully interactive instruction
(with the requisite animations/soundtrack/streaming video) that tests each
user & publishes the results to a database.
Since your budget is limited, your WBT is probably going to look more like
the "simple web pages" scenario, which is fine -- this can make for
excellent Web-Based training. But make sure the higher-ups understand what
they're getting.... if everyone expects the "streaming video & Flash
animations" variety of WBT, your static web pages might seem a bit
underwhelming. ;-)
As for tools -- figure out what you want to do, then determine the best
tool within your budget to do it. You can make a fine website using
FrontPage 2000, and if that's what you have and your budget is nonexistent,
then you'll have to make it work. If you want more interactivity & you have
some $$ to spend, you might consider Macromedia Dreamweaver with the
instructional add-in (I believe it's called "CourseBuilder") -- this will
let you add quizzes and such to your Web pages without knowing how to
program.
If animation-type interactivity is important, consider Macromedia Flash.
It's easy to learn, relatively cheap, and the interactive pieces you create
fit right into an existing website. Plus, most users already have the Flash
plug-in required to view the animations, take the quizzes, etc.
An image of the WBT I worked on is available on my company's website, if
you'd like to check it out: http://www.factset.com/www_323.asp (click on
the graphic next to "E-Learning Suite.") It's not actually clickable, but
you can see what it looks like at least.
Final note - You might also look into "synchronous" WBT (i.e., WebEx) that
lets you do live training over the Internet. However, this option is not
the cheapest one you'll find.
Hope this helps,
Abby Schiff
FactSet Research Systems
<<I have been asked to do some web-based training for our sales people.
Initially, it will be available on the Intranet, with plans to expand it
later for resellers, technical services, and customers.>>
Collect Royalties, Not Rejection Letters! Tell us your rejection story when you
submit your manuscript to iUniverse Nov. 6 -Dec. 15 and get five free copies of
your book. What are you waiting for? http://www.iuniverse.com/media/techwr
Your monthly sponsorship message here reaches more than
5000 technical writers, providing 2,500,000+ monthly impressions.
Contact Eric (ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) for details and availability.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
