Training Multimedia: Top 10 Tips for Managers

For more than 10 years Adrian Tayler has been producing training multimedia packages for numerous high profile clients. 

Here, he shares the benefits of his experience with us:

1. Talk to your IT department 

Adrian Tayler

You may not think IT know much about training and be wondering why they are my top tip. You may well be right and that is half the problem. 

Many people now have a more powerful, multimedia capable PC at home than they do on their desk at work. To save money and to prevent viruses, Trojans and other undesirables from getting into the network, IT departments issue PCs without CD/DVD drives and without soundcards. 

In fact, what you are looking at now may not be a PC but simply a terminal on a thin client network.

If you are going to embark on delivering training through multimedia, you need to get IT on your side from the beginning:

- Can they upgrade at least one PC per branch or site so that it is multimedia capable? 

- Would they be happier if it was a standalone machine, maybe a laptop, not connected to the network? 

- If you want to deliver e-Learning over your intranet, will they allow you the bandwidth – bearing in mind that training is going to get a lower priority than operational traffic, even though your application may be more bandwidth hungry? 

- Is there a specific piece of authoring/design software they want you to use for ease of future maintenance? 

- Is the browser Java enabled? 

- Is it OK to use Flash?

2. Choose the right medium

Intranet?

CD-ROM?

DVD?

USB Stick?

Even a traditional video and workbook may do the job. 

The deciding factors are, obviously:

• what’s possible in terms of your IT set up,
• organisation and budget,
• as well as your training objectives.

Don’t forget that material can readily be converted between media and also upgraded and extended as time and money permit.

Existing video can be recycled as part of a CD-ROM or streamed over your intranet, for example.

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