The e-learning platform you choose should be made to meet your needs, as an e-learning developer provides software development services for a company's entire infrastructure. There are off-the-shelf and custom e-learning platforms available. However, if you want a truly functional e-learning platform that meets your company’s needs, it could be a good idea to build one. Here are some steps to consider in how to build an e-learning platform from the ground up.
Define What You Want To Achieve
It is quite important to have an e-learning goal defined when starting your E-Learning software development project. A definition of these goals will serve as your road map to meet the specific objectives of your e-learning course. If you want your online training course to be successful, you need to first decide on the exact steps that learners are going to take in order to reach the goals.
Your e-learning goals should include the following three elements: pre-requisites, resources, and learners. The first item on the list should be your pre-requisites. These are the requirements needed before you can get started with the software development agency that you are going to work with. Remember that the developers working with you are not going to be curriculum designers. All they are going to be able to do is to execute the pre-requisites that were given to them by you.
Resources are also a very important part of the development project, as they will ensure that the software development agency that you are working with can complete the tasks that you have assigned to them. What background do they need to know? What resources need to be made available to learners in the course? The last one on the list is the learners. These are the people who will be participating in your training course. You need to make sure that your e-learning goals cover the learners and the resources that they will need during the duration of the project.
Outline The User Journey Map
There are many ways in which to build an e-learning platform. Your first step should be to determine your target audience and explore your software development budget. When you have a clearly defined requirement, it will be easier to choose the right software and the appropriate methods to reach out to your target audience. By doing so, you will increase productivity, enhance learning, and save money.
You will also need to decide on the overall user journey map. How do users find your software and how are they supposed to use it? Essentially, a user journey map is a visual representation of the e-learning content that describes a step by step process from beginning to end - how the learner progresses from A to B. This is a critical piece for two reasons. The first is simple enough. When you can visually see what users are seeing on the screen, you can ask them more detailed questions that they may not have thought of before about what is actually happening in the interaction.
Decide on the Platform’s Software
Selecting an e-learning software development is largely dependent upon whether one is using a classroom-based software application, which is primarily used by companies for training purposes or whether one wants to use e-learning software to design e-learning content for personal or corporate use. Most of the software development service providers have specialized in corporate and classroom-based e-learning software solutions. It is therefore natural that an agency that offers these services will also have a good knowledge of various e-learning software and how to choose the right platform software to fit any e-learning scenario.
Partner with an Agency to Build the Platform
When you start looking at how to build an e-learning platform, you will first need to consider the different software development agency options that are available. The choice of an e-learning developer is critical to your project, as a poor e-learning platform can lead to frustrating training and impede productivity. You want an e-learning developer who has a solid track record of providing top-notch e-learning platforms, that are easy to use, have a wide variety of resources, and are easy to update. Choosing a software development agency that provides the above characteristics will help ensure that your e-learning platform goes beyond what you initially envision, making your business more successful and allowing it to reach a wider audience.
Such a service ensures that the e-learning developer remains on top of the emerging software and technology trends and is aware of what tools and instructional material to use for which courses and programs in your industry are best adapted. The e-learning developer should work with you throughout the entire software development process to ensure a smooth and amicable transition from the current client list to your target customer.
Following steps in the development process, such as requirements analysis, the testing phase, and the migration into a live environment should be thoroughly communicated with your e-learning developer to ensure a smooth e-learning experience for everyone.
Looking for a developer to build an e-learning platform for you? Contact KitelyTech at (800) 274 2908 to schedule a consultation with a member of our team to discuss your e-learning platform needs. We can create a customized solution that integrates well with the rest of your company’s IT systems.
