Behind the scenes at ACDIS: E-learning producer brings back industry-leading tips

Editor’s note: From time to time, we like to take a moment to share a behind-the-scenes look at what the ACDIS and broader HCPro team has been working on. Today, we wanted to shed some light on one of our e-learning producers, Amanda Southworth. Amanda recently attended the Association of Talent Development International Conference and Exposition (ADT) in Atlanta and brought back a number of important lessons about education, training, and e-learning. To see the complete list of HCPro’s e-learning opportunities, click here.

I recently had the privilege of attending the ADT, a massive four-day educational and networking event that included 10,000 learning and development professionals from all over the world. While there, I learned about the latest trends in the training world as well as the specific struggles, challenges, and successes specifically related to providing continuing education to those working in the healthcare field.

As a training expert, I strive to ensure our learners are truly engaged. It starts with knowing who they are, what they need to learn, and how we can deliver the most relevant content in the most efficient manner. Working with subject matter experts ensures that our products are accurate and up-to-date with the latest healthcare information possible—whether it’s ICD-10 coding, anatomy and physiology, or the latest in CDI focus areas.

The use of images and video is also crucial as people process images up to 60,000 times faster than they process the written word. Pictures are more likely to be stored in long-term memory, thus making it much easier to recall the information later.

At the end of the day, though, studies show there are dozens of different learning styles. This is why it’s best to provide a variety of learning materials such as practice exercises, case studies, and video scenarios to meet everyone’s educational style. Learners want personalized information about their progress, such as knowledge checks and other types of assessments with instant correct/incorrect feedback. Using metrics and data to track learner behavior in a variety of ways is also essential, so we leverage user surveys, the learning management system, Google Analytics, and more.

I can’t wait to take these valuable tidbits learned at ATD and apply them to our e-learning courses—making each class accessible, memorable, and beneficial for all our learners.