Creating online learning materials isn’t always the easiest thing to do. That’s one reason a lot of Instructional Designers turn to cookie-cutter software and templates to churn out lessons that conform neatly to templates that were created to be as generic as possible. Unfortunately generic is seldom the best or most relevant approach to communicating the primary learning objectives of a given course module, so often times the end result looks at best dull and at worst is less than effective and engaging.

I also know from years working with Ph.D. students in Instructional Design and online Learning, that for the most part people don’t have much background in art or design, and often it makes us feel hesitant to color outside the box of templates because we don’t think we can get good results.

Last year I did a 10 part series all about the fundamentals of Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Design and Development for eLearning. It was quite popular and seemed to help many quickly ramp up on the major concepts in the field. I wanted to do a similar thing with Composition and Layout, so I’ve begun a similar series (it will also be at least 10 parts) that deals with the practical issues around media composition, design and development. So far I’ve presented four sessions on this topic. They’re listed below with the links to the recordings.

Composition & Layout for Online eLearning: Lesson 1 (Understanding Layout)

Join Dr. Allen Partridge for this exciting and unprecedented series for Instructional Designers, eLearning Content Authors and anyone who wants to produce higher quality eLearning content. Dr. Partridge will show you how to leverage the components in Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5 in order to create compelling, effective & engaging eLearning materials for online distribution. Throughout the series Dr. Partridge will provide a foundation in principles adopted from the principles of design combined with a deep understanding of educational theory & methodology to help you master the art of creating great designs for your online learning content. In this session the focus will be on composition and layout. This session will provide a foundation for the principles discussed in those sessions that follow.

Composition & Layout for Online eLearning: Lesson 2 (Understanding Navigation)

Join Dr. Allen Partridge for this exciting and unprecedented series for Instructional Designers, eLearning Content Authors and anyone who wants to produce higher quality eLearning content. Dr. Partridge will show you how to leverage the components in Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5 in order to create compelling, effective & engaging eLearning materials for online distribution. Throughout the series Dr. Partridge will provide a foundation in principles adopted from the principles of design combined with a deep understanding of educational theory & methodology to help you master the art of creating great designs for your online learning content. In this session the focus will be on the principles and methodology of UI design to optimize navigation, prepare navigational elements for ADA / 508 compliance and users will learn how to implement navigation that complements their interface design.

Composition & Layout for Online eLearning: Lesson 3 (Photoshop CS 5.5 Basics)

Join Dr. Allen Partridge for this exciting and unprecedented series for Instructional Designers, eLearning Content Authors and anyone who wants to produce higher quality eLearning content. Dr. Partridge will show you how to leverage the components in Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5 in order to create compelling, effective & engaging eLearning materials for online distribution. Throughout the series Dr. Partridge will provide a foundation in principles adopted from the principles of design combined with a deep understanding of educational theory & methodology to help you master the art of creating great designs for your online learning content. In this session the focus will be on creating interface elements with Adobe Photoshop. Attendees will learn basic methods to create interface elements from scratch with an emphasis on pragmatic solutions that are quick to produce, creative in practice and lead to aesthetically pleasing finished eLearning content.

Composition & Layout for Online eLearning: Lesson 4 (Adding Sound with Audition)

Join Dr. Allen Partridge for this exciting and unprecedented series for Instructional Designers, eLearning Content Authors and anyone who wants to produce higher quality eLearning content. Dr. Partridge will show you how to leverage the components in Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5 in order to create compelling, effective & engaging eLearning materials for online distribution. Throughout the series Dr. Partridge will provide a foundation in principles adopted from the principles of design combined with a deep understanding of educational theory & methodology to help you master the art of creating great designs for your online learning content. In this session the focus will be on creating and or acquiring audio effects that may be used to reinforce the overall navigation and user interface in your projects. Examples will use Adobe Audition CS 5.5 & Adobe Captivate 5.5.

I’ll also make a dedicated page for each series once all the recordings are done. There is another in this series (this one on Flash animations) coming up later this week and they continue every couple of weeks thereafter. You can always find the latest announcements about upcoming eSeminars by clicking the big black button at the bottom of the right hand column in the Captivate blog.