tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post6591641832733080073..comments2023-11-03T06:03:50.388-07:00Comments on The Learning Circuits Blog: Working with Subject Matter Expertsjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16271633210993298646noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-582656794876905542009-11-14T14:55:14.569-08:002009-11-14T14:55:14.569-08:00I have only been designing for a short time; howev...I have only been designing for a short time; however, in my limited experience the most important thing that I have found about SMEs is below.<br /><br />One of the first things that I learned about working with SMEs is that you want them to understand why they have been selected beyond “You are the subject matter expert”; what type of time commitment is being asked of them; and what they will be doing (the process of design that will be used).<br />You cannot expect the SME to design the training. By this I mean, the ID has to drive the process. This takes questioning and cajoling, herding and sequestering SMEs as needed to get the initial information to answer the questions to meet the learning objectives.<br /><br />SMEs are usually super knowledgeable about their area of expertise. I have found that being such experts a SME finds difficulty in ensuring all aspects of the subject matter is conveyed in the learning. For example, an experienced Chef can create excellent dishes; however, it does not mean that they can teach someone else to create the same dish. They can provide a recipe, but even the best cook may not be able to follow the nuances needed to recreate the dish without ensuring all the nuances are incorporated in the recipe. <br />Of course a recipe can be recreated, but it may not taste the same without all of the information. <br /><br />It is the ID’s role to ensure all necessary information to understand how to recreate the recipe is included in the learning—particularly eLearning where the learning is more self-directed and the asking of questions can be limited.<br />When extracting and organizing information from SMEs, the thought and design process has to include an eye to whether or not the information can be used with social and informal learning; and if so, how. It does not change the way a SME is engaged.<br /><br />My favorite story was when working with a SME who was tapped to work with others on a project that had to include not only their expertise, but others. It took a great deal of energy and firm discussions to keep the one from overwhelming the process and making the entire project about their expertise. It made the process longer, more draining, but the end result was enough information to move to the next steps of the project, so the expending the energy was worth it.Alducatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08845566268211205007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-46018499303857818352009-09-28T18:19:47.578-07:002009-09-28T18:19:47.578-07:00Claudia Escribano: Working with SMEsClaudia Escribano: <a href="http://mylifeismylab.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/learning-circuits-big-question-working-with-subject-matter-experts/" rel="nofollow">Working with SMEs</a>ClaudiaEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11687195820717786387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-64045403289072217882009-09-22T06:18:23.929-07:002009-09-22T06:18:23.929-07:00Great question. It inspired me to write an article...Great question. It inspired me to write an article that I have wanted to write for some time:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ipov.net/blog/2009/09/macro-smeconomics-101/" rel="nofollow">Vic Uzumeri - Macro SMEconomics 101</a>Vic Uzumerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01692340278718694793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-27284093657114373512009-09-22T03:58:10.316-07:002009-09-22T03:58:10.316-07:00Hey Tony, I had written a blog to share my views o...Hey Tony, I had written a blog to share my views on how we can collaborate with SMEs and make them a partner in training. Catch the post <a href="http://tarunagoel.blogspot.com/2008/03/subject-matter-experts-perfect-partner.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.Taruna Goelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13838323858110552415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-61771223994754732952009-09-10T11:17:10.788-07:002009-09-10T11:17:10.788-07:00Here's an Instructional Design WebComic on wor...Here's an Instructional Design WebComic on working with SMEs on content:<br /><br />http://usablelearning.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/id-webcomic-1-working-with-smes-on-content/<br /><br />Thanks!Julie Dirksenhttp://usablelearning.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-58511317590398263962009-09-07T17:15:22.373-07:002009-09-07T17:15:22.373-07:00Ben Hamilton LDPI - September Big Question<a href="http://hamiltonnotes.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-big-question.html" rel="nofollow">Ben Hamilton LDPI - September Big Question</a>Benjamin Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16637850219807592885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-34722777265504085692009-09-05T18:58:32.636-07:002009-09-05T18:58:32.636-07:00@Guy W. Wallace
aside from this post, thanks also...@Guy W. Wallace<br /><br />aside from this post, thanks also for sharing...sirvanhttp://get-infoz.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-59586640001941908112009-09-05T12:58:09.058-07:002009-09-05T12:58:09.058-07:00This is perhaps a different perspective as I have ...This is perhaps a <a href="http://connecting2theworld.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-am-subject-matter-expert.html" rel="nofollow">different perspective</a> as I have been both a SME and ID (more the former than the later, and always also the SME when I did Instructional Design)V Yonkershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11910904367068063554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-47387812909075420412009-09-04T04:19:27.693-07:002009-09-04T04:19:27.693-07:00From Adventures in Corporate EducationFrom <a href="http://gminks.edublogs.org/2009/09/04/astd-big-question-working-effectively-with-subject-matter-experts/" rel="nofollow">Adventures in Corporate Education</a>gminkshttp://gminks.edublogs.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-46149535432964153682009-09-03T08:44:19.249-07:002009-09-03T08:44:19.249-07:00I've posted my thoughts on Subject Matter Expe...I've posted my thoughts on Subject Matter Experts and Instructional Designers working together on my Steppling onto the eLearning Path blog: http://elearningpath.blogspot.com/2009/09/subject-matter-expertssme-instructional.htmlKim Worthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233981258154873877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-8342387891642627262009-09-02T15:25:30.435-07:002009-09-02T15:25:30.435-07:00Guy W. Wallace - Pursuing Performance http://pursu...Guy W. Wallace - Pursuing Performance http://pursuingperformanceblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/blog-post.html<br /><br />My thoughts.<br /><br />GuyGuy W. Wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01462952681694155575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-9848450407650624282009-09-02T04:58:50.278-07:002009-09-02T04:58:50.278-07:00I had blogged about this earlier. Sharing the link...I had blogged about this earlier. Sharing the link: <a href="http://archiespeaksout.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-important-is-sme.html" rel="nofollow">How Important is the SME?</a><br /><br />Given below are my responses to the other questions:<br /><br />Does it work to have SMEs create rapid eLearning?<br />Most SMEs (and almost every other non-ID) thinks it is fairly simple to design instruction and storyboard. But, in reality instructional design involves a lot more. Instructional design is about effective teaching. Teaching can be effective only when you have the learner and their realities in mind. In my experience, very few SMEs see the design from the learner's perspective. SMEs design based on their experiences, while IDs based on the learner's experiences. SMEs tend to generalize situations. Have you ever heard a SME say let's make this more interesting? Or lets make this more practical than theoretical?<br /><br />Therefore, my answer is no. It does not work to have SMEs create rapid eLearning. Unless the SME thinks like an ID, I do not think the product will be an effective one.<br /><br />What's your favorite instructive story of working with a SME?<br />The SME shared a really huge content dump. The content was highly theoretical and the learner profile demanded practical examples. I started searching the Internet for examples which I could use to simply the content. I requested the SME to share links to informative sites if he happened to come across them. The SME responded by saying 'I have given you pages of information, all you need to do now is present it in a 'learnable' format.' If only my work was that easy! The content dump was incredibly useful for me as an ID to grasp the content and identify the instructional flow. But, I had to translate the theory into practical examples that the learner can relate to.Archana Narayanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10829385743095581970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-994105501187238022009-09-02T04:58:45.513-07:002009-09-02T04:58:45.513-07:00Hi Tony,
I'd like to suggest 2 of my older po...Hi Tony,<br /><br />I'd like to suggest 2 of my older posts as both have some answers to questions you raise. The first one is quite generic:<br /><a href="http://road-to-learning.blogspot.com/2008/04/role-of-ids-vs-smes.html" rel="nofollow">The Role of IDs Vs SMEs</a><br />The 2nd one is:<br /><a href="http://road-to-learning.blogspot.com/2009/01/challenge-i-had-previously-worked-with.html" rel="nofollow">Challenges and solutions to technical software product training: Gathering Information</a><br /><br />The only thing is a lot of my focus is on technical software products as that has been my primary focus area in recent times. I hope the information will be useful to many.<br /><br />SreyaSreya Duttahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01192430690556080322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-88626547960440179402009-09-01T20:14:56.537-07:002009-09-01T20:14:56.537-07:00Thank you for using my suggestion as this month...Thank you for using my suggestion as this month's Big Question. <br /><a href="http://minutebio.com/blog/2009/09/01/big-question-working-with-smes/" rel="nofollow">MinuteBio's Response to September's Big Question</a>Jeff Goldmanhttp://www.minutebio.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10313978.post-64237026670428454702009-09-01T15:38:11.719-07:002009-09-01T15:38:11.719-07:00Find my tips on handling subject matter experts at...Find my tips on handling subject matter experts at my Managing eLearning blog:<br />http://www.webcourseworks.com/blog/tips-on-handling-subject-mater-expertsJon Alecksonhttp://www.webcourseworks.com/blog/tips-on-handling-subject-mater-expertsnoreply@blogger.com