After deciding that eLearning is the way forward for your staff training needs, you may need to decide what production value your eLearning should have as well.  Often the production value is heavily influenced by the budget.  It’s also good to have your expectations of what the eLearning will look like at the end, aligned with the pre-determined production level.

The following article is a summary of Chapmans research report where 3 947 eLearning development professionals participated in the research where they calculated the average time taken to created eLearning projects.

There are many factors that determine how long it takes to develop eLearning.  These articles deal with some of the impacting factors: Costs Involved in eLearning; eLearning Development Process; eLearning Team Assembly Line; What you Should Know About Instructional Design.

The report shows the average amount of time it took to develop eLearning in relation to one hour of eLearning output that a student will work through.

Instructor-Led Training

Including front end analysis, design, lesson plans, handouts, workbooks, PowerPoint, SME reviews of content to be used during live, face-to-face learning events.

22:1 - ILT training, Simple learning content, possible repurposing of learning source material, with minimal learning support materials.

43:1 - ILT training, Average project for creating corporate ILT class with well documented deliverables (Lesson Plan, Handouts, Workbooks, PowerPoint Visuals).

82:1 - ILT training, Complex subject matter, very custom, extended time spent on formatting classroom deliverables.

Level 1 eLearning (Basic)

Including content pages, text, graphics, perhaps simple audio, perhaps simple video, test questions. NOTE: PowerPoint-to-eLearning often falls into this category. Basically pages with assessment.

49:1 - eLearning output, Rapid Development, Simple Content, Specialized Authoring Tools (i.e. PowerPoint to eLearning tools).

79:1 - eLearning output, Most typical (average) Level 1 eLearning Content.

125:1 - eLearning output, Complex projects, difficult to produce, more media production.

Level 2 eLearning (Interactive)

Level 1 eLearning content plus 25% (or more) interactive exercises, allowing learners to perform virtual "try it" exercises, liberal use of multimedia (audio, video, and animations).

127:1 - eLearning output, Rapid development through templated interactions, simple animation, efficient or low-end media production.

184:1 - eLearning output, Most typical (average) Level 2 projects.

267:1 - eLearning output, Advanced and custom interactions, embedded simulation activities and lots of media.

Level 3 eLearning (Advanced)

Highly interactive, possibly simulation or serious game-based, use of avatars, custom interactions, award-winning calibre courseware.

217:1 - eLearning output, Templated interactions, templated games and simulations, efficient simulation development practices (rapid development).

490:1 - eLearning output, Most typical (average) Level 3 projects.

716:1 - eLearning output, Complex projects, advanced learning simulations and games, extensive media production.  NOTE: Several respondents listed times greater than 2000+ hours of development per finished hour (very advanced learning simulations and games)

When you are deciding on the level of production value for your next eLearning project, consider the above levels and be aware of the estimated time it takes.

Sound Idea Digital specialises in Learning Management Systems and eLearning development | soundidealearningmanagement.co.za
Sandra is an eLearning Specialist & Content Editor for Sound Idea Digital | sandra@soundidea.co.za

To cite this blog article:
Slabbert, S. 2016, July 22. Levels of Production Value in eLearning. <ideas> the official Sound Idea Digital blog [Web log post]. Available: http://blog.soundidea.co.za/articles/Levels_of_Production_Value_in_eLearning-480.html

Sources used:
Chapman, B. 2010. How Long Does it Take to Create Learning?. Available: http://www.chapmanalliance.com/howlong/ [2016 , April 14].