Because employees can be trained remotely, students can learn from home, and countless other endeavors can happen digitally, it’s no surprise that eLearning courses are more popular today than ever before.

Businesses can capitalize on that popularity by making their eLearning courses accessible through localization. When they do choose to localize their eLearning content, they will not only have to consider the on-screen text and graphics, but also assess whether their course includes audio narrations or captions. They may decide to localize just voice-overs or subtitles to save time and money. Ideally, they’ll localize both, but if they feel they have to choose between the two, here’s what they need to know.

The Difference Between Voice-Over and Subtitles

These days, most eLearning courses combine both audio and visual text. They may have a narrator (on or off-screen) and slides or text graphics that highlight the main points of what the speaker is explaining.

When localizing eLearning courses that have audio material, this leaves you with the option of choosing to localize the voice-overs or subtitles of the audio content for the sake of speeding up the localization process and saving money. It’s always a good idea to localize any on-screen text.

Choosing to localize one element over the other will come down to the course content. If the course relies more heavily on audio narration than written content, then it may make more sense to localize the audio of the course. If the course features on-camera hosts who speak frequently, then the dubbing of the audio can be costly and you may find that localizing the subtitles gets the job done well. Localizing subtitles takes less time than localizing voice-over content, so this is usually the more affordable route to take.

Pros and Cons of Voice-Over Localization

Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons associated with focusing on voice-over localization.

Pros and Cons of Subtitle Localization

There are of course also advantages and disadvantages associated with localizing subtitles.

The Takeaway

Depending on the specifics of the course that needs localization, choosing to localize just subtitles or voice-overs may be the way to go. Which is the right fit will depend entirely on the unique needs of the project. For example, if there’s already a lot of text on screen that could make the use of subtitles confusing or if the narrator is off camera, then localizing voice-over content may be more important.

At times a combination of localizing both elements would be the best approach. In any case, it’s always advisable to talk to your eLearning localization partner and they will be able to provide advice and quotes for the different paths you can take to make your eLearning courses accessible in multiple languages.

The post Voice Over vs Subtitles in eLearning Localization appeared first on Terra Translations.

To better understand what TEL is and what its benefits are for students, keep reading.

What is Technology Enhanced Learning?

TEL is used to enhance the learning experience and how educators teach. Educators can turn to both analog and digital technologies to help their students learn more efficiently and effectively. Any technology that improves how someone learns can be considered TEL.

So, what does TEL look like exactly? Today, TEL can be found in the form of ebooks, video content, audiobooks, smartphone apps, computers, tablets, and video games. Virtual classrooms that make it possible to learn in group settings from the comfort of home are also an example of education opportunities that TEL can improve upon, as are e-learning courses.

The Benefits of Technology Enhanced Learning

Due to the pandemic shutting down schools and workplaces, TEL made a great impact on how many of us learned in the past few years. Thanks to TEL, it became possible to continue elementary, high school, college, and graduate-level education from home. Workplaces also embraced TEL to host employee trainings and many found that virtual trainings were both time and cost-effective.

TEL can be combined with more traditional learning techniques to meet a student’s needs. Other benefits include:

• Versatility. TEL can accommodate accessibility features to appeal to different audiences by allowing users to alter font sizes or to listen to the audio content in lieu of reading written content.
• Localization. It’s possible to localize TEL resources in a language that the user is most comfortable with.
• Flexibility. TEL gives students the option to learn where and when is best for them.
• Engaging. Many children find TEL style learning to be more engaging — this is especially true when gamification techniques come into play. Millennials who grew up with technology can also find TEL such as e-learning courses to be more engaging than attending an in-person lecture or reading a training manual.
• Customizable. Students have the ability to learn at their own pace when learning via TEL instead of a physical classroom environment.
• Less limiting. A textbook has a limit on how much information it can hold. Teachers now have the ability to get more creative and can turn to resources like video, audio, and interactive learning to help their students learn.

The Takeaway

Technology can be extremely beneficial in regard to providing quality learning experiences that adapt to each learner’s unique needs (whether those needs are related to a specific subject matter, a disability, or a preferred language for learning). Shying away from technology can do both teachers and students a disservice and it’s more than likely that TEL is here to stay.

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Before you launch your next L&D localization project, read on for some of the challenges associated with this process that you should be aware of.

Selecting the Language

Although English is the most widely spoken language throughout the world, that doesn’t mean that the majority of English speakers are native speakers. As tempting as it is to save time and money by only creating L&D content only in English, be careful here. If your audience is lower in proficiency, they may struggle to gain a lot from your learning materials. Localizing the content to their native language can greatly help with engagement and retainment.

Working with Text, Audio and Video

One of the main challenges associated with localizing L&D content is the sheer scope of the project. You need to localize text, audio, and video content. Even design elements such as navigation buttons need to be taken into account during the localization process. After translating the file, the design team will need to make changes to the graphics and format of the content as the new language will present in varying lengths which can affect how the content looks and the timing of certain design elements.

Cultural Sensitivity

It’s important to find the balance between an effective e-learning course and the adaptation of particularities to accommodate the target audience. When you are adapting L&D content for a new audience, keep the following elements in mind and how they can best suit the needs and preferences of the culture you’re targeting.

• Colors
• Genders
• Humor
• Pop culture references
• Business hierarchies
• Dates and holidays

Cost Effectiveness

It’s understandable why the cost is often top of mind when planning any project, but it’s important to balance cost-effectiveness with the work needed to create successful L&D materials. These are a few ways to reduce costs during localization without sacrificing quality.

• Don’t localize until the source content is completely finalized. This will help you save time localizing edits made to the source content.
• Provide native editable files to your localization team. Extracting text from PDFs and images or converting .story files into .xliffs is time-consuming and requires extra formatting work.
• Choose between localizing subtitles or voice-over content. If you can’t afford to localize both, select whichever format plays a more prominent role.

Finding the Right Partner

Finding a partner that has the experience and the ability to advise as well as deliver a quality product is imperative to the success of a localization project. Localization requires a nuanced understanding of cultural differences and in the case of L&D content your project will benefit from the vast knowledge of e-learning best practices. Looking for a localization partner that can check off all these boxes can make a huge impact when it comes to the end result of your project.

The Takeaway

If possible, start thinking about your multilingual program from the very beginning. If you already have a monolingual course that you need to be localized into multiple languages, seek out expert advice. A localization partner with experience in localization of L&D content will help you determine how to proceed with each element of your training course.

The post The Challenges of Localizing L&D Content appeared first on Terra Translations.

Understandably, creating L&D materials in English is a popular choice for global organizations that feel they neither have the budget nor time for translations, but assuming people understand English is one thing and assuming they understand the cultural differences is another. The clash is inevitable.

While you’re likely to start with an English training program, there are a few things you can take into consideration and do in the development stage in order to make its localization easier and more cost-effective.

Choose Function over Form

Everyone loves a beautiful design, but when it comes to creating effective L&D training materials, the function must take priority over form. This is especially true when creating L&D content that requires localization. For example, adding animations can be visually appealing and add a fun flair to the L&D experience. However, when you have to localize complex design elements repeatedly, you may find those extra special touches don’t justify the cost of localization. Before choosing design elements, think about how they will affect your localization needs and if they provide enough value to justify localization.

Choose Your Layout Wisely

When you translate written content, this can affect the visuals of your L&D content greatly as other languages can take up much more or less space than written English text after translation. More often than not, other languages take up more space than English text. When choosing your initial layout, it helps to be strategic knowing that your space needs may change. Leaving a decent amount of white space in your original design can make a huge difference. While you can request that the localization specialist keep their new text concise and your designers can shrink the size of the text a bit, having more white space available to add expansive text can give you some much-needed breathing room.

Make the Choice Between Subtitles and Voice-Over

In an ideal world, you would localize all voice-over and subtitle content in your L&D materials, but this cannot be easy to pull off budget-wise as you would need to not only translate the subtitles and voice-over scripts, but hire a new narrator and record new audio content in all target languages. You may find that you need to choose between localization with just subtitles, voice-over, or dubbing to accommodate your budget. Think carefully about which format will best highlight your training materials.

Be Patient

The localization process is one that is best not to rush. To start, it can be helpful to wait until your source content is complete to provide the localization specialist with editable files. This will not only save you time, but money.

It’s also a good idea to coordinate timelines with your localization partner to ensure that the turnaround is viable and won’t require compromising quality to get the job done on time. Your localization partner will be able to advise which steps are needed to complete the project correctly and how long it should take.

The Takeaway

How can you make it easier to incorporate all of these tips into your L&D plans? Don’t leave planning the localization step for the end. If you keep localization needs in mind from day one, you’ll save money, time, and a headache.

The post How to Build an Effective Global L&D Training Program appeared first on Terra Translations.

These are some of the elements worth keeping in mind.

Mouse cursor movement captures

Most e-learning programs contain an instructional nature that include cursor movements. These movements may point to actions that the narrator is explaining. They play an important role and need to be taken into account during the localization process. This may seem odd since these are cursor movements not text, but the cursor movements need to properly time up with the accompanying narration and the timing may be off once the narration is localized into a new language.

Content and narrative translation and formatting

E-learning content includes on-screen text that has to be localized when you want the content to appear in a new target language. When you localize text, it often changes drastically in length which can require formatting changes to make the design of the program flow as intended. Similar to the cursor movement captures we discussed earlier, you also need to make sure the timing of audio content is lining up with any written content in the e-learning materials—as well as any subtitles. The timing of slides can also be impacted by the length of audio and visual text.

Subtitles and voice-over recordings

How large a budget for a localization project is will determine whether or not you need to localize voice-over recording and subtitles or just subtitles—which is a more cost-effective option as you don’t have to hire a narrator and record new audio. That being said, this extra step does greatly enhance the quality of the end product and creates a better user experience for the person engaging with the e-learning product.

Graphics

On-screen graphics in e-learning courses and training materials can contain text. If the text is embedded into the graphic, that text will need to be translated in an external file and then the original graphic can be localized into the target language with the help of a graphic designer or DTP specialist.

Navigation and action buttons

Because e-learning content often incorporates navigational and action-related buttons that contain text (such as “next” or “submit”), these buttons require localization. If you fail to localize this important type of content, the user can end up confused and frustrated and not able to proceed with their learning opportunity. Authoring tools usually allow the creators to set up the UI language. By selecting the desired language, you can have localized buttons. However, it’s important to remember to do so. If the tool doesn’t allow it, then you can include this in the content that needs to be localized. There can be cases in which the instructional designer creates their own buttons. Depending on how these buttons are created, they may require separate localization as well.

The takeaway

It’s advisable to work with a localization partner who has experience with e-learning content and that has the capacity to work on each of these elements (since they require different professionals such as localization project managers, translators, DTP specialists, voice-over actors, and subtitlers). If they can provide a comprehensive solution, the end result has a high chance of being pretty seamless.

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There’s no time like the present for education to catch up with technological advancements to better serve and engage their users—aka learners. There is also a high percentage of teachers leaving traditional education institutions to work in the eLearning industry as of late, which is another factor the education system needs to take into account as they look to the future. Let’s take a closer look at why the education sector should embrace digital transformation.

What Does a Digital Transformation Look Like?

A digital transformation greatly surpasses typical software or hardware upgrades. A true digital transformation is just as philosophical as it is physical. For education institutions, a digital transformation may look like creating a learning environment that connects in-person education resources to digital ones so that students can belong to a robust ecosystem that combines security, technology, and education services.

A digital transformation can help create a more personalized, collaborative, and interactive learning experience.

How to Digitally Transform Education

So, how exactly can the education sector undergo a digital transformation? Let’s look at a few paths education institutions can take to enhance their digital presence in a meaningful way.

• Multimedia digital textbooks. Heavy textbooks will soon be a thing of the past, as students can now access source materials from their digital devices wherever they are whether that be at home, the library, or in the classroom.
• Bring your own device (BYOD). Enabling students to use the digital device they work on best in the classroom to take notes and work on their assignments can help foster engagement and retainment.
• Personalized curriculum. With artificial intelligence, it’s now possible to create customized learning experiences for students by using artificial intelligence.
• Game-based learning. Not only does game-based learning help encourage students to study, but it can actually help them better retain the information they’re being taught. This is a concept known as gamification and it’s very commonly used in e-learning materials.

The Benefits of Digital Transformation on Education

Why would education systems invest ample time and money in a digital transformation? To start, doing so actually increases access to education from students because the education experience becomes less reliant on one specific geographical location. This accessibility just adds to the convenience associated with a digital transformation. From being able to access source materials from any device, to collaborating and sharing notes digitally, to more spaces for interaction between teachers, students, and peers with their instructors and fellow students, there are tons of valuable benefits of a digital transformation for students.

The Takeaway

Through a digital transformation, educators can help enhance students’ learning experiences by fostering better communication and connecting them to more educational resources and materials.

Digital transformation in education is bringing down geographical barriers, allowing learners worldwide to choose what they want to learn regardless of location. Localization can help expand the target audience of whatever educational program that is already online. In addition, students can benefit greatly from localization as learning in their native language can greatly boost their engagement with the education materials, how they understand it, and how they retain the information.

The post Why the Education Sector Should Embrace Digital Transformation appeared first on Terra Translations.

Instructional design involves creating learning experiences and materials resulting in the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills. Even though instructional design encompasses all learning materials, it’s most frequently associated with corporate training and eLearning for universities or other educational institutions.

Let’s look at some tips that teachers can use to find a job in instructional design and to thrive in that role.

Highlight Adaptable Skills

Transitioning teachers are facing the challenge of adapting the skills they gained in classrooms into ones they can utilize in a new career in the learning and development (L&D) space. How they frame their skills during their job search can help them illustrate to potential employers just how adaptable their teaching skills are.

For example, teachers have experience trying different teaching approaches in order to see what works for their students and what doesn’t. They know how to adapt their content to suit “their audience”. They have also seen firsthand the challenge of having students in their classrooms who don’t speak English as their native language. In 2019, 10.4% of K-12 students were English-language learners (ELL) students and by 2025, an estimated 25% percent of public school students will be ELL students.

Expand Their Network

As teachers look for new horizons, it’s key that they find networking spaces that can help them enter the L&D space successfully. There are multiple non-profit organizations, like GLDC (Global Learning & Development Community), that offer resources and create an environment where they can connect with other professionals in the industry and can get career advice.

Mariana Horrisberger, eLearning localization specialist and business development manager at Terra, is one of the organizers of GLDC. She co-leads meetups every Wednesday and Friday, where they get together to meet peers from the industry, discuss L&D topics, and share their knowledge and experience with those making their first steps into this field. They also currently have a Project Club led by Russell Sweep, where they discuss the eLearning Heroes Challenge of the week and provide feedback to each other’s projects. In 2022, this organization hosted a Summer Break Room during the month of July to get transitioning teachers together to network and share information and advice about the industry. Another networking group that could be of interest is Teaching: A path to L&D led by Sara Stevick—where members share important information for teachers looking to transition to the eLearning industry.

Keep Localization In Mind

It’s essential that as teachers transition to this new space—and given the global aspect of the eLearning industry—they keep localization in mind. Meaning that while they work on creating courses, they remain aware of aspects of their work that could potentially present challenges during localization. Accessibility is a top priority nowadays, with students from all corners of the world trying to learn the abilities necessary to work and succeed in the modern world and being knowledgeable of internationalization is a skill that can help them land their first job in the industry.

The post Transitioning Teachers in the US Look at New Career Paths in Instructional Design appeared first on Terra Translations.

Standard VR systems tend to rely on VR headsets in order to generate the realistic sensations that create the immersive environment that VR is known for. VR headsets generally include what is known as a head-mounted display (HMD). This HMD is a wraparound headset that blocks light and real-world images so the user can focus on the virtual world they are entering. During 2022, it’s anticipated that consumer AR/VR headset shipments will reach 13.24 million units.

It’s also expected that over time as improvements to VR hardware are made (such as designing smaller and more stylish headsets) and as they become more affordable, that interest in this industry will continue to grow. For example, a less cumbersome device may increase popularity in healthcare training such as training simulations for surgeons.

Let’s take a closer look at the applications and industries that VR can apply to, as well as why localization for VR is becoming a growing need.

Applications and Industries

These are some of the industries that are embracing VR:

• Entertainment. VR is especially common in the gaming sector as VR can create an exceptional game experience for players who want to immerse themselves in the world the game takes place in.
• Training. The learning and development possibilities of VR are nearly endless—especially for providing a more hands-on corporate training experience.
• Tourism. Imagine being able to make someone feel like they are visiting your city and encourage them to visit by introducing them to your most exciting sites virtually.
• Well-being. A more immersive wellness experience can be found when you combine VR with apps that help guide meditation, workouts, mindfulness, and relaxation.
• E-learning. Many students engage with their learning materials and retain them better when using VR during the e-learning experience.

VR Localization

The fact that more industries are adopting VR and with headsets becoming more affordable, it is natural for this technology to reach new markets and people that speak different languages. This is where localization comes in.

When someone is engaging with an immersive experience, you don’t want them to become confused by language or prompts they don’t understand. Localization makes it possible to translate elements like prompts, buttons, in-app menus and messages, narration or voice-over cues in the app the consumer uses. Anything that requires interaction on the part of the user needs to be easily understood by them or else you risk your message not coming across clearly, or the user not being able to properly navigate the experience—all of which can lead to the user leaving a bad review of the app. Content in the app store also needs to be localized, as the app store description helps them select and decide to purchase the app. Making sure this text is in a language the user understands can make a difference in the total number of downloads.

As VR adoption continues to expand and more industries realize the potential it has, it’s only a matter of time before the localization needs in the industry also increase. This is key to ensure access to this technology and its applications are not restricted to English speakers only, making these virtual worlds into more inclusive and diverse spaces.

The post VR & Localization: The Key to an Immersive Experience for Users Worldwide appeared first on Terra Translations.

What is Microlearning?

Before looking at the benefits of utilizing microlearning in training, it’s important to understand what microlearning is. Microlearning is a short format for content that is intended to drive a specific learning outcome. Most often, microlearning is seen in e-learning platforms hosted on smartphones, computers, and tablets. One of the goals of microlearning is to make the content learner-centric, easily accessible, and quick to consume. 

Essentially, this is an educational approach that focuses on providing small learning units that only include the necessary amount of information required to help the user meet a certain learning goal. 

What are the Benefits of Microlearning?

Before adapting microlearning techniques for e-learning content creation, you may want to know what the benefits are. The three main benefits are better engagement, retention, and saving time and money. 

Regarding engagement benefits, the numbers don’t lie. From the get-go, employees are more likely to be engaged in microlearning. According to Software Advice survey, 58% of employees stated they would be more likely to utilize online learning tools provided by their company if the content was broken up into multiple smaller lessons. 

When it comes to engaging with the content, shorter e-learning modules can help take advantage of an employee’s focus limitations. The University of California Irvine found that on average, employees work for just 11 minutes before they typically become distracted by outside stimuli such as emails or phone calls. During those 11 minutes, employees tend to work on very short and quick tasks that last about three minutes. Microlearning can provide busy employees with the option of making e-learning work for their hectic schedules and environment. Not only can microlearning allow the user to engage fully in a lesson for a short period of time, but because the lessons are easier to complete, they can retain the content better. 

Saving time and money on e-learning content is a nice perk. According to the author of 3-Minute E-Learning, learning architect Ray Jimenez, PhD, microlearning can actually decrease development costs for training courses by 50% and can increase the speed of developing them by 300%. This is because this digital form of digestible content is much easier to reuse and refresh than more traditional in-person training. Another benefit of having shorter bits of content is that it can make it faster, easier, and more cost effective to localize your training to your employees’ native languages. Being able to adapt e-learning content to different languages and cultures through localization can create a better and more effective e-learning experience.

The post Microlearning 101: What It Is and What the Benefits Are appeared first on Terra Translations.

What is Mobile Learning?

The term mobile learning, also known as m-learning or mLearning, refers to educational content that the user can access on a mobile device like their smartphone or tablet. This may be a blog post, podcast episode, or a full-blown e-learning course.

Mobile learning has so much potential, the convenience and ease of access being one of the main benefits for consumers. There are 3.5 billion smartphone users in the world, which means that mobile learning resonates on a global scale. 

Mobile learning works well in tandem with microlearning. This technique can offer both formal and informal educational training. Where does the micro in microlearning come into play? Microlearning presents smaller blocks of content, which allows the user to quickly and easily access information. This is an ideal format for those utilizing a mobile device. Microlearning can come in the form of a video, social post, email, or any type of content that is quick and digestible and easy to access on a mobile device. 

The Benefits of Mobile Learning

Before diving into the benefits of mobile learning, take a look at some interesting statistics. 72% of mobile users reported increased engagement, 45% of smartphone users completed their courses faster than those who used a computer, and 70% of people felt more motivated to learn when they were able to utilize mobile based learning. 

These numbers are pretty impressive, so let’s break down the benefits of mobile learning further:

• Convenience: The user can access their e-learning materials anywhere at any time. 
• Engaging: Creators can personalize content interactions in a way that is motivating and engaging for users. 
• Collaborative: Users can utilize online communities to communicate with other learners.
• Digestible: When using microlearning in tandem with mobile learning, the information presented can be digestible and easier to retain.

Why Design Matters

When it comes to mobile learning, proper design is of the utmost importance. When creating e-learning content, it’s key to design the content using a mobile-first approach. It’s no longer enough to make it mobile friendly or mobile responsive. It has to feel like it was always meant to be consumed from a mobile device. A course with faulty buttons or media that doesn’t work properly could have a counterproductive effect. Mobile users who try to consume content that was not designed specifically for mobile devices can get frustrated and may drop the course altogether.

Developing designs that adapt to a variety of device sizes may take more effort upfront, but the rewards will be worth it if you can attract users on a desktop, smartphone, or tablet. Creating content that is compatible for mobile devices will allow the users to access the e-learning content whenever and wherever they please and will give the creator the opportunity to take advantage of gamification techniques and video-based content.Another step worth taking now rather than later is to create content with internationalization best practices in mind. If the course will be later localized into multiple languages, course developers should follow internationalization best practices from the get-go to prevent having to do extensive work later on. Internationalization falls under globalization and can help adapt a product to a new market with ease. Similar to keeping design in mind up front, internationalization should be prioritized early on as well.

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