2. Who am I – part 1, the basics
Name: Julian Weiss
Employer: Zerto Ltd. (a great little-ish startup)
Years as TW: Too many (around 25 years)
Years as Trainer: Quite a few (over 15 years)
Previous work: Analyst/Programmer (many, many years ago)
Blog: Semi-comatose
(www.wisedocumentation.wordpress.com)
Basic characteristics: A picture paints a 1000 words
Or (depending on
my mood)
3. What I want to talk about
Why consider adding training to resume
Who needs to be here
Skillset: documentation vs. training materials
Content: from manual to training materials
4. Why you should care
Our jobs are threatened by downsizing and/or
outsourcing. A simple way to add another string to
your bow is by adding training capabilities to your
resume. You know how to produce great
documentation, but how can you convert it into
training materials to make you that little bit more
wanted/sellable.
5. Is this session for me?
Yes
Looking to add training capabilities
No or little previous training experience
No
Already doing it
Want to move 80-100% into training
Looking for tips about training for different
cultures/languages
Not sure
Some previous training experience
6. Who am I – part 2, why I’m standing here
Work for companies without real training budget
Companies want/need to provide training
I want/need to be part of it
Previous positions
Started by converting documentation into training
material
Ended by presenting material
Ended by hosting webinars
Presently
Pushing to create training program
Tasked with creating eLearning training material/tutorials
7. The required skillset
Documentation Training
Ability to digest technical Ability to digest technical
information information
Ability to filter information Ability to filter information
Ability to effectively transfer Ability to effectively transfer
required information to required information to
paper/help formats training template
Framemaker/Word/Author- PowerPoint/Captivate/…
It/…
Videos of procedures/features
8. The similarities and differences
Similarities Differences
Content Official content vs. unofficial
Audience content
Structure Use of graphics
Video Xref vs. Serial approach
Non-interactive vs. interactive
Structure
9. Step 1: Considerations
Audience
Technical ability
Amount of time/budget for training
Age
Delivery
Classroom
Going the way of the dodo
Webinar (online)
Time consideration – attention span of audience
eLearning (offline)
10. Step 2a: Tools: Slides (PowerPoint/…)
Powerpoint
Simple to use
Everyone has it
PDF requires additional work setting up slide like
template
Provides advantage of PDF – consistent across platforms
Prezi is good for non-serial presentations
Good for other things, like collaborative projects
Can be annoying and epilepsy inducing
Prezi example
My preference:
PowerPoint unless non-serial, constantly returning to fixed
point, then Prezi
11. Step 2b: Tools: Videos (Camtasia/Snap!/…)
Make presentation more dynamic
Voice – can be done with PowerPoint
Interactive – classroom training interactive by definition
Camtasia
Video only – needs to be included in something else – or for
youtube type training
I don’t like newer versions editing abilities
BrainShark/Snap!
Convert static slide show into something dynamic (flash)
Nisht eher nisht ahin
Captivate
Mix of slide and video
Lousy slide creation
My preference:
Captivate
12. Step 3: Output media
Youtube
Wiki/website
Can be passively interactive
Classroom
Major advantage of active interaction/immediate
feedback
Major disadvantages of time and cost
13. Step 4: What content
Mix of theory and practice
More practice means better subject reinforcement
For technical audiences, practice is more important
Slide style
Graphics vs. text
Text is graphic
More graphics if localization required (but even this is not
absolute)
My preference: text and demos instead of graphics
Static vs. effects
My preference: very few effects – they distract (OK for
marketing)
14. Amount of content (rules of thumb)
Slide
1-3 minutes content
Less than 1 minute and slide becomes more important than
content
More than 3 minutes audience attention span lost
Videos
1-6/6 minutes
Less than 1 minute and not enough content for video
More than 6/7 minutes and audience attention span lost
eLearning requires approximately half the time
required by classroom training
15. Creating content
Agenda
Look at documentation set
Look at parts and chapters
Content
Look at topic headings
For slides
Take key points (often headings)
For videos
Look at procedures
16.
17.
18.
19. Converting documentation to a presentation
Theory
Short bullets
Crutch to help presenter – not whole story
Procedures
Live or canned demos
No screenshots
20.
21. The complete training package
Agenda
Order what you think correct
Add timing
Average training day is 6 hours
Maximum webinar is maximum 2 hours
Average session for eLearning is 15-45 minutes
Presenter manual
Slides with notes
Labs with solutions
Student manual
PowerPoint: print 3 slides per page
Webinar: provide recording
eLearning: part of package
Workbook
22. Budgeting for training
Ball in your court
Produce something in your own (copious) spare time
Push it
Know who to push it to
Cf outsourcing
$15K per hour
From experience
Don’t expect training to become profit center and
also keep control of it
23. My personal preferences
Short statements (remove a, the, etc.)
Slides are crutch to help not to take over
Prevents just reading what’s written
Very little, if any, animation
Live/canned demos instead of screenshots
Lots of labs – at least 50%
Word-based, not graphics-based
Slide itself is picture
Use indentation to strengthen picture
Variety is spice of life
Agenda headings not same as slide headings
From documentation to training materials=========================The skillsets requiredSimilarities and differences
Also, documentation and training are two sides of the same coin.
Not going to talk about localization. Also not going to talk about tools very much except for the basic tools you need.What I am going to do is get you started on the way. After that you can start digging and expanding on your own.Lots of previous experience – might be too simplistic (or not!)Extensive use of training tools – PDF for slides, video/flash tools (like Camtasia, BrainShark) or combination (Captivate)Not considering translation (creating material that will be translated is another ball game – e.g. better to use more graphics)
started because lecturer’s father died while I was QAing a courseWhat I can’t give is exact breakdowns of what you should look for, but ideas to consider
Again, able to see that documentation and training are two sides of the same coin.Only the skillset is different.Since this session is aimed at tech writers expanding their skillset to produce something new for their companies, I am not looking at basic tools that you quite possibly already have and not tools like Articulate ($1400), Moodle, Courselab or Composica (many of which are aimed at collaborative course development).
Structure – not the same structure, but still requires structureOfficial content vs. unofficial content – training can include material that can’t be added to the documentation (especially in classroom training with tips and tricks that might be an embarrassment to put in a manual)Xref vs. Serial approach – training materials must build on previous material. Cannot expect the participant to jump to another place for more information. This impacts on structure (Prezi provides a partial answer to this).Non-interactive vs. interactive – also true (to a lesser extent) with eLearning
These considerations are also important when deciding on the tools and output media.I have always created materials for programmers/administrators (code examples etc.). Therefore older audience – therefore PowerPoints were appropriate.Monthly intro webinar planned whether had participants or not (via wiki, email, …)When limited time (and sometimes budget), webinars and eLearning are preferred. Older generation still prefer classroom training (even if they can’t because the paymasters don’t want to pay for it).
PDF vs PowerPoint – how many times does the version of PowerPoint not match?Prezi is good for non-serial presentations – wheel with content in the center and at each spoke, or bits of one slide used in next (http://prezi.com/giwpfsdfpz0h/the-magical-theory-of-relativity/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=prezi_landing_related_solr&utm_campaign=prezi_landing_related_popular, http://prezi.com/sxpls96sdx5a/copy-of-final-superhuman-ai-promise-and-peril/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=prezi_landing_related_solr&utm_campaign=prezi_landing_related_popular)Good for other things that don’t interest us – like collaborationEase of use arguments are irrelevant – you have to spend the time to get to know the tool you want t o use. This is not a one-off but ongoing work.Interactive – great for videos but no place as slideshow – that is, the slide show can include videos but converting a slideshow into a video creates tedious training.Captivate is designed to be a complete answer – but slide part is very weak (and I don’t like the import from PowerPoint – but I am using Captivate 5 not the latest version)
Again, ease of use arguments are irrelevant – you have to spend the time to get to know the tool you want t o use. This is not a one-off but ongoing work.Captivate Lousy slide creation – (and I don’t like the import from PowerPoint – but I am using Captivate 5 not the latest version).Sidebar – Adobe-Apple war!!
Youtube – How many get cheesed off having to go through a 5 minute video for one line of text?Can be passively interactive – not in your hands when to stop or start as mostly you don’t see the audience. How many have sat through a webinar/webex and gone for coffee in the middle or answered the phone, read emails, etc.
Story of Visual C vs. Visual Basic
More than 3 minutes audience attention span lost – audience can read the slide and wants to move on.
Go through live example with Zerto doc.
Always push the documentation
Slide itself is picture – gemara analogyLots of labs – even with webex as homework.