In his review of the elearning solutions from First Media, David learned more about the digital learning development company that has in-house talent excelling across multiple disciplines.
I have always been interested in the intersection between elearning and digital marketing, so I very much enjoyed talking to Shane Traill of First Media.
First Media is an elearning development company that has evolved from a traditional marketing and communications agency specialising in the elearning sector. They are not the first to come into our industry from that route, but they are proving to be very good at developing elearning solutions that resonate and engage with learners.
They have an array of in-house talent which has seen them produce some excellent elearning for sport and a variety of other sectors and events, including COP26.
To begin our review of First Media, let’s take a dive into one very interesting project where First Media were able to combine marketing and digital learning development to excellent effect. That was with their project for Breast Cancer UK.
Impressive eLearning for a Leading Non-Profit
The most impressive element was the use of a quiz to encourage engagement and start capturing data to send to the client’s CRM. Alongside the quiz comes an action plan element, enabling site visitors to spend time reflecting on their own habits.
They then go on to commence some very high-quality elearning designed to support lifestyle changes, encapsulated in one effective website. The site really synthesises education and a call to action in a visually appealing manner, emphasising First Media’s understanding of elearning marketing perfectly.
This deep understanding of aligning marketing and elearning comes from experience of course, but it also evolves from the approach First Media takes in working with its clients to develop the materials.
Holistic Approach to Understanding Client Needs
The approach starts with the exploration phase, which takes a holistic approach to learning about the client’s organisation. This includes looking at who the target audience are, what their learning needs are, and both the requirements and desires of the organisation. Time is also taken to assess the technical landscape, including the LMS that is to be used.
An important point to note is that First Media has developed considerable expertise in building content in-LMS. This is an increasingly emerging trend with many LMS now, allowing for content to be built in-platform.
First Media can build in-platform using H5P and has a library of interactions such as accordions that can be added in LMS. This enables them to really squeeze out every ounce of quality possible from in-platform content. By using the LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) protocol, the content First Media creates in LMS is easily editable.
The second element of First Media’s approach is the design phase. Visuals are produced in Adobe XD, a UX design tool, where the levels of interactivity are decided upon and the tone of voice is worked on.
First Media will offer options and above all, experienced advice coming from their deep understanding of what works. First Media offers a very personal approach for every client. The client has direct access to the creative teams who are designing the course, allowing for consistent communication. There are no layers of account managers acting as interfering interlocutors in the development process with First Media.
The final phase is the production phase, beginning with prototyping, full scripting and relentless testing. Tests are conducted on different devices, as well as tests for usability and tests in the LMS – both for SCORM conformance and reporting. Any branching scenarios are thoroughly tested as well.
First Media produce beautiful elearning that really reflects web-based experiences, and their passion for design in learning and engagement shines through……totally bespoke. First Media have an exceptional ability to understand the audience and deliver elearning projects that reflect the audience’s demographic.
This understanding is manifested in the asset-based elearning approach that First Media has used to very good effect, producing a learning experience that is greater than the sum of its parts.
The assets created to make up a course include innovative use of social media, micro-learning assets, scenarios and in several cases printed assets as well, such as posters and flyers. This is what Shane calls stepping beyond the storyline to speak, explain and reassure the learner, keeping a consistent open dialogue to see how they are feeling with this learning.
Learn more about this excellent digital learning development company at firstmedia.co.uk/elearning/
