A real benefit of e-learning is the one-on-one interaction courses have with the learner.
Before the course begins we know that the student has allocated this precious time to sit down and listen.
And for the student to truly benefit, the content needs to be not only accurate and informative but engaging. Really engaging. Who wants to sit through a dry, boring presentation? Not me.
Me Learning has been creating online courses for over 10 years and at the forefront of every lesson plan is ‘how is this going to engage and inspire the learner?’ Key in creating an optimum learning environment.
This month we spoke to Rachael Aisling, Project Development Lead at Me Learning about her top tips on learner engagement.
Navigation
Keep course navigation and instructions simple – and the less content on screen the better. Instructions should be short and clear so learners can immediately understand what is being asked of them. We want to make the experience as easy as possible.
Relevance
Break down what they’ll learn and how it will help them personally, especially important when a course is mandatory. Case studies and emotionally charged scenarios are an engaging format to bring content to life and really help learners relate to specific situations.
Interaction
Get the learner involved – drag and drop, click and reveal, videos, fill in the blanks, thought-provoking images all work well in an e-learning environment in different ways.
Videos break up the content by simply injecting a different media into the experience. Images are good too.
Any visuals we use here at Me Learning always aim to be emotive, explanatory and thought-provoking to support the content and keep the student engaged and interested.
And with many interactions, we encourage the learner to explore the topics themselves – we’re not just giving them information, we’re helping them to discover it and learn on their own too.
Structure
We carefully structure all our modules and courses so content is split into smaller modules, rather than one very long course to avoid cognitive overload. This helps us to tailor each module to a certain subject matter, and quiz and engage on a smaller, topic-by-topic basis.
Repetition
We use ‘learning points’ to repeat what the learner has just seen, this reinforces the message and helps the student to retain the information being taught.
Quizzes
We quiz, not test, the learner throughout the course, with easy, multiple choice options. Not only does this importantly reinforce the content, but engages the learner quickly and serves to break up screens with no interactivity. We also quiz at the end of most modules, to make sure the learner has understood the course and highlight any areas they might want to re-look at.
Aesthetics
A lot of thought goes into how we display the content – highlight key messages, pull out quotes, use different colours and visuals to illustrate a point. On-screen text is always kept to a minimum to make the content quick and easy to digest.
At Me Learning we ensure our courses are always interesting, relevant and engaging. If we can help with your training needs, please call one of our experts on 01273 499100 or email us.