Quality Standards for Evaluating Multimedia & Online Training
Multimedia and online training is defined as text, graphics, animation, audio and video presented together to provide instruction. Also known as e-learning, this type of virtual learning is typically part of a learning management system. Emerging standards for quality are usually related to ensuring learning achievement, improved performance and cost effectiveness. Use quality standards to measure your training program's success.
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History
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In 1960, the PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations) system was built at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The APRANET was established by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1969. By 1992, Tim Berners-Lee was credited with creating an online document sharing system that evolved into the World Wide Web, accessed via the global computer network we now know as the Internet. Training on every conceivable topic is now easily accessible across the world. Emerging quality standards ensure that the value of global multimedia and online training programs by mandating testing during development rather than waiting until the end.
Function
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Quality standards function as a way to ensure that training is developed according to predefined specifications. Most companies develop their own quality standards for internally developed training programs. When it comes to providing commercially available training to their staff, most companies buy learning solutions endorsed by or affiliated with established reputable vendors. Ensuring that quality standards are met also ensures that training achieves its intended purpose.
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Types
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Types of quality deliverables include policies, procedures and rules that define requirements, and tools and checklists verify compliance. E-learning quality strategies typically use standards such as the International Organization for Standardization 9000 (the family of standards for quality management systems including procedures, processes, record keeping, defect checking, monitoring and improving) or Total Quality Management (TQM) developed by William Edward Deming in the 1950s.
Benefits
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Holding multimedia and online training programs to quality standards ensures that training is developed in the right context, for the right purpose, for the right people and in the right format. Without this formal methodology, training can be developed without regard for actual usage. Developing training without a defined purpose is often a costly mistake you can avoid.
Considerations
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Standards are accepted and adopted widely when they are measurable. To develop internal quality standards for multimedia and online training, an organization needs participation from all levels of the organization, ranging from sponsors down to actual students. Standards should be transparent, meaning that established requirements should be clearly communicated in a timely way to training developers. These standards should also scale, meaning that they apply to more than one training program. Cultivate quality standards to ensure that all of your activities are worth your investment.
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