Define your objectives.

The first step in developing an e-learning strategy is to define the objectives of the intiative. What knowledge do you need to transfer to your students? Determine what time frame you would like to develop your initiative in and you cost restraints. And ask yourself, how you will track the learner’s progress.

Who are your end users?

Think about who will be using the course. If the learner is older and less tech savvy, you may need to accommodate for additional support. If the learner is young, you may want to produce a course with animation.

What tools to use?

There is an abundance of e-learning tools to choose from and it can be overwhelming. You will need to decide what features you require and how you will use the application.

If you plan on creating a course with interaction and multimedia you may need to purchase a high end elearning tool. However, if it is a simple text based course there is no need to spend additional money on a fancy application.

Internally or externally develop.

You must determine whether you will develop content internally or engage an outside source to develop the content for you.

Engaging a professional content development company may seem expensive at first but could save you a lot of time and money in the long run, with a better final product.

Technical support.

Consideration must be given to support for the end user. This decision will be based on the quantity and capabilities of the end user. There are several options for support. You may choose a help desk or supply support files. However, don’t forget, even in this day and age, there are people unfamiliar with computers. Even the simplest computing tasks may need to be explained.

Measuring success.

Finally, indentify how you will measure if the initiative was successful. Was one of the objectives to decrease the cost in training? If so, make calculations on return on investment. Calculate how much your current method of training costs and compare with total cost of the e-learning initiative