Rapid E-Learning Grows Up

In a new article in ASTD’s Learning Circuits magazine, Joe Fournier, chief learning architect at Rapid e-Learning, LLC, writes about a paradigm shift that’s underway in the e-learning industry.

Rapid E-learning Paradigm Shift

There are a number of really great quotes from the article, Rapid E-Learning Grows Up, including this:

“The adoption of rapid e-learning is still in its infancy. By most estimates, we are just passing the early adopter stage, moving toward adoption by an early majority. Most estimates, however, are based on the notion that rapid e-learning’s primary value is in addressing learning problems, rather than as a communication alternative for flat content. If the latter premise holds true, the demand for rapid e-learning technology may far surpass expectations.”

Empowering Everyone to Create Compelling E-Learning

Joe then quotes Jennifer DeVries in this very exciting point that compares the early days of desktop publishing to our growing industry:

“Rapid e-learning pioneer Jennifer DeVries has an apt analogy: ‘I see rapid e-learning like the desktop publishing industry of 20 years ago, when desktop publishing was relegated to the one person with the big computer who knew the specialized software and laid out all of the documents. Then MS Word came along and it included many desktop publishing features, giving everyone the ability to create reasonably attractive material on a PC using this very simple software. I think rapid e-learning tools are going to transform the e-learning industry in much the same way, so that e-learning development will become more accessible to the general public.'”

“Raising the Bar on Design”

Finally, Joe uses Engage as an example of one of the products helping to lead this shift in the way we think about rapid e-learning:

“Articulate (the other major force in the rapid e-learning niche), recently released Engage, a product that introduces a new category of visually dynamic content. Engage won a Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award even before it was released because it creates visually engaging, instructionally smart interactions in just minutes. Engage is a great example of the paradigm shift in the rapid e-learning sector—tools geared toward raising the bar on design, not just addressing the time-to-learner issue.“

You’ll also see my colleague, Jack Makhlouf, quoted in the article about the people who are helping to drive the mass adoption of e-learning — workplace learning professionals and sales representatives.