Loved these posts. They provide a great insight into some of the problems we face as e-learning professionals daily. Just about captures all of my pet peeves!
Every time I work on a project that involves simply documenting information in text pages that seem to go on and on (yes, we have a client that wants it like that!), I wonder if the learners will really have the patience to read through it all and even if they do, how much will they retain or more importantly how much will they finally use in their workplace?
Short capsules of information such as lists, diagrams, rollovers, etc. should be an integral part of instructional design. Listing key points, for example, is a great way to capture attention and enhance retention. Even text books and other references use lists, different formatting styles etc. to call attention to important points on a page or in a topic. This will not dilute the learning if these strategies are backed up with enough detailed information. At the very least, we should give the learner the option and ways of getting more information about the relevant topics.
The biggest hurdle will be to first convince organizations that these tools are in fact beneficial and maybe even essential to learning. Then, there's the need to convince people to add a few more minutes to the time they spend reading and start adding their own view points. I know I don't do much of these myself although I would love to. I've been trying to change it but the process has been slow. Something or the other always comes up that seems to be more important. I'm also a bit wary of these tools because it's very easy to get carried away and end up spending hours instead of minutes in reading and contributing because there's so much good stuff out there!
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