Learning Lectora

We are just beginning to get into developing eLearning. The first project we tackled was huge for not having done it before. It has nine modules, along with an intro and wrap-up. We worked with an outside vendor to do the development with plans for us to purchase the same software so that we can make future changes, along with doing new development of eLearning.

The software the eLearning vendor recommended for the project was Lectora by Trivantis. I had heard of Lectora, but had never worked it before, so I took the free training provided by Trivantis. It was quite a few months later before we were at the point where development was done and we were planning to go live. Just before going live, we had one last review by our Quality Assurance Manager, who found many errors (our fault, not the vendors). 

Since I was going to have to make the changes, I started to look around for whatever help I could find on Lectora, since I still really didn't know it very well. I bought all the books I could find and one of the authors has a site that has a lot of helpful hints and information as well. I noticed that he also offered training/coaching. I requested 13 hours of training/coaching time to be paid for by my organization and be considered professional development. The organization approved the time and I set-up some coaching time to get me through making the changes. There are still a few changes to make on the original course, so I'm still in the process of being coached when needed. We also have a new project coming in within the next few weeks, which I'm sure will require some coaching time for me to know exactly how to develop the new project. 

Having a coach available to help me to work through various issues in completing the original project has been invaluable. Our sessions haven't been very long; they usually run about 1/2 hour to 1 hour. We usually set up a time, driven by my need for coaching. I zip the files and send them or upload them to an FTP site he has provided and then I call him or he calls me, depending upon what we have decided upon and we work through the issue over the phone, with the course open on both ends. Although working through it where I could see his desktop or he could see mine, might would be easier, so far, we have managed fairly well. 

We have covered organizing the book, chapters and pages within Lectora, along with syncing, editing audio, editing/replacing images, and editing some actions. I expect we will need to go over syncing and actions in more detail in the upcoming project. 

Professional Development Questions:

• Did it go well? Why or why not?
• Yes, it has gone well. Although it takes some time to get used to how the coach works, once I got used to it, the process became much easier. Each of know what to expect. 
• What did I learn? 
• I'm learning Lectora, which is key to performing some of my objectives. It also provides me with better understanding of what goes into building eLearning courses. 
• The coach tries to always identify best practices to me as he coaches, which is important for overall improvement of knowledge, skills, and ability to develop eLearning.
• Does it relate to my work? If yes, how does it relate or how can I use the knowledge/information? If not, what would have made it better or more effective and what would I do differently for future learning?
• Yes! Learning Lectora, and eventually other eLearning software is very important for my work and future aspirations. The more I learn about building eLearning courses, the more valuable I'll become to the company and the greater chance I have for obtaining work in the future, as needed.