 Our Approach to Content Management
E-learning solutions involve the capture, organization and publishing
of a large volume of information obtained from a variety of different
sources, such as client-supplied documents and the client's subject matter
expert(s) knowledge base. Our strategy for content development makes
creation and management of large volumes of data more efficient and
allows for many manageable and timely edit cycles. It is also targeted
to produce the appropriate amount of content to support the client's
learning objectives.
One of Courses by Wire's objectives is to provide our
clients with the capability for self-sufficiency in the maintenance of
existing content and the development of any new content required.
The key components of our unique content management approach
include use of:
This strategy has several additional benefits:
- It supports the efficient and accurate translation of the
content;
- It enables multiple content owners to participate in the content
maintenance activity;
- It allows a content coordinator to manage input from multiple
sources and maintain a consistent look; and
- It supports rapid and accurate updates to large packages of
content.
A proven collaboration process for Content
Mapping
We use a proven collaborative approach (Simplex) with the project
participants to develop a Content Map, which outlines the target
audiences, the learning objectives and a detailed table of contents for
each training lesson. This Content Map is created using a Simplex
mapping procedure, which organizes a set of challenge statements into a
hierarchy using the Simplex "Why?, What's Stopping" technique.
This activity engages the client and the subject matter expert(s) in the
definition of a set of challenges that each lesson will address from the
student's point of view. 
A rapid content
development process
As courseware developers, one of our strengths is that we work
efficiently with subject matter expert(s), by leveraging their time. We employ
a unique collaborative strategy to handle any gaps in the content. We do
not ask the subject matter expert(s) to create the additional material;
instead, we videotape a structured interview with the subject matter
expert(s).
The use of this videotape is a highly efficient mechanism to capture
large volumes of content efficiently and integrate it with the existing
material already provided.
An efficient storyboard
process
All content is managed in a series of structured Word documents (one
document per lesson) using our proprietary content management tools. One
of these tools - the Lesson Content Manager (LCM) - is a set of
Word-based templates and macros that facilitates the creation and
maintenance of these structured Word documents. Graphics are created and
managed in appropriate tools. (Power Point is used for chart type
graphics, wherever possible, but other graphics tools may be employed as
appropriate.) All tools necessary for content creation are run on PCs
with Windows operating systems.
This series of Word documents constitutes a detailed storyboard,
which approximates the visual look of the final published lesson and
includes all of the text as well as references to graphics and
interactive links.
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