Top Three Reasons to Hire a Professional Team for Web-Based Training Development

As a business owner, trainer, human resource manager and busy professional you have no doubt toyed with the idea of getting some type of online training going within your company, organization or agency. You have probably also thought about saving money and doing it on your own after buying one of the many different software programs available that reportedly can give you all the support you need to develop a very professional looking eLearning module. While there are some good software programs out there, unless you have specific skills and experience in eLearning development is it virtually impossible to develop your own web-based learning that stacks up against those developed by professional companies.

There are three very important considerations when trying to decide between a do-it-yourself web-based design program and hiring the professionals. At Designing Digitally, Inc. we have seen many people spend hundreds of hours in trying to create the perfect online learning experience for their audience. Before you spend time and money stop and consider these three reasons why it is best to let our professional eLearning developers use the virtual training tools we have developed to provide you with just the experience you want for your target audience.

Hands On Experience with All Types of Businesses

We have worked with nearly every type of company, agency, organization and business out there to create serious games, eLearning modules, virtual worlds, 3D simulations and gamed based training. This includes designing everything from virtual campus tours to simulations that allow the learner to practice protocols and procedures as well as management scenarios that stress problem solving and leadership abilities. This experience means that we have already developed a proven set of virtual learning protocols and designs that work without the need to keep recreating everything from scratch.

The software packages that you buy aren't going to be able to give you tips, ideas, and expertise like our virtual world design staff and eLearning developers can. There are many different tools and techniques that can be transferred from one type of eLearning to another, but there are some that really don't transfer well. If you do not have the experience with different options you can find yourself spending hours in developing one aspect of the eLearning program that just won't work.

In addition you may not realize the steep learning curve you will have just to use those software packages. In many cases this learning curve is going to drastically increase the amount of time it takes for you to complete your development in comparison to your expected completion time. This is time you have to take out of your own work schedule or put in on top of your existing 40 hour work week. Most people find that the pressure to get the program complete is overwhelming and extremely time consuming. Working with experienced professionals that can give you an overall design, modify it based on your feedback and then implement the development is going to take all the pressure off you to try to work through the program with little or no experience.

Team Based Approach

There is much more to developing games-based training, virtual training tools or eLearning simulations than just adding some text, a few animations and some sound effects. It is important to incorporate three different components, the Three E's, into each and every online learning experience. The Three E's include:

1. Educational – developing a gaming experience that incorporates the specific learning objectives required is not an easy feat to accomplish. It requires specific skills in understanding learning and teaching methodologies that can accomplish these objectives.
    
2. Engaging – the program needs to capture the attention of the learner and keep them interested in the learning process. This can be done through serious games, 3D simulations, game based training or the use of virtual worlds to allow the learners to participate actively in the experience.
    
3. Entertaining – if the web-based learning experience is not entertaining there is no benefit for the user to be engaged in the learning process. Entertainment value is what differentiates an eLearning experience from a traditional 19th century classroom based learning experience.

Having a team of professionals that can address the Three E's of web based learning development ensures that your training requirements will meet the standards necessary. Since no one person can specialize in all aspects, the team approach really does make sense. The team approach also ensures that there is quality assurance, testing, high quality interface design and input from experienced professionals all along the development process.

Time and Money Savings

When you hire the professional team at Designing Digitally, Inc. to handle your eLearning development for designing virtual training that is customized to your company, business or organization you will be saving yourself both time and money. Time saving will occur because you don't have to do the work yourself; you can provide ideas and input, but the professionals will actually implement your plans to create the eLearning experience you want for the target audience.

The finished product will also save you money since it will be ready to implement without the need for tweaking, changing and modifying. Testing is all done before the eLearning goes live online as part of the program development. If you use a software package you will have to pay for all that plus the cost of an eLearning developer to come in and tweak the program. In some cases you may actually find that the time and money you spent to develop your web based training ends up getting scrapped and you have to hire a professional anyway.

Since our focus at Designing Digitally, Inc. is providing high quality online learning through virtual worlds, simulations and eLearning we can assure you that the final product will be just what you want. We can incorporate your theme, branding and the use of your particular learning objectives into the game so it is completely unique and customized to your specifications. You won't have to take time out of your already busy schedule and you can continue to focus on your job while we do ours.