Instructional Design for eLearning Courses
Although online education has been around for only a relatively short time, it has garnered acceptance across the world as a reliable platform for both formal and informal learning.
It is this widespread adoption that has brought the need for instructional design in eLearning to the forefront, as its success drives innovation and improvements at an incredible rate.
According to the Online Learning Consortium, the number of students that have signed up for online courses in the last seven years has skyrocketed to include at least 25 per cent of students in conventional accredited college courses!
Even more incredibly, the study also revealed that millions of people are now enrolling in certificate programs, audited courses, and other eLearning programs provided by their employers. While these statistics are a welcome development, experts believe that they underscore the necessity for a few key elements to ensure the educational programs yield the maximum results and offer Learners the right opportunities.
One of these key elements is Instructional Design!
TheLearning LAB: Content Development Agency Geneva, Palo Alto, London and Paris.
What is instructional design?
Also known as instructional systems design, instructional design is the systematic process through which learning materials or modules are designed, developed, and delivered. In simpler terms, it is the way in which learning materials are created so they are perfect for the Learners.
The process aims to analyse the Learners' needs and defines the best methods that will facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills through the eLearning course. Developing instructional design begins by providing answers to four critical questions. Have a look below, where we’ve listed the four vital questions to ask during the Instructional Design process:
Who are the Learners, and what are their unique characteristics?
What knowledge or skills should the Learner acquire after the program?
What is the most effective method of transferring knowledge and skills to the Learner?
How best can the program be evaluated to ensure it will achieve its objectives?
Do you want to read a little more on Instructional Design? Have a look at our article on how it is used for Learner engagement or read through our Quick Guide! Or keep reading and learn about…
The four key factors
1) Understand the Learners
The first stage (and probably the hardest) of instructional design is to understand the Learners. The reason it is taxing is that Learners typically come from different backgrounds and have different interests as well as varying demographics. Despite the individual differences, groups of Learners often share a few characteristics that are common to all of them.
The purpose of identifying the traits of Learners is to help instructors know in advance the particular needs of some in the group, areas that may appeal to them, concepts that they may be unfamiliar with, and methods that are most suitable for delivery. A simple survey can help to provide the insights needed for this purpose, and it shouldn’t take much time or effort to gather the data you need.
It’s important to note that eLearning adopts several concepts: ease of access, and self-paced learning for adult education. One of them requires a firm grasp on the Learners' preferences for learning, which will then be deployed into designing educational programs. These preferences show you the exact nature of your Learners' needs, which will, in turn, inform the design and delivery system.
2) Objectives are vital
Every educational program has a set of objectives, and this should be the major determining factor of the content. The instructional designer must be aware of what the Learner should know or be able to demonstrate to build a logical structure that supports learning and retention.
Although there are various types of instructional methods, the Learner's needs must determine the ideal method for the program. This leads to another concern – how best to present the content. In this regard, the instructional designer also has a range of media to choose from, such as graphics, animation, and interactive applications, amongst several others.
Your objectives are key to the process, and they need to be properly defined before you move further along in the planning phase.
3) Choices, choices, choices!
It is quite possible that two or more types of approaches may be needed to make sure your Learners benefit to the fullest extent. Some educational programs require a combination of eLearning and face-to-face training for optimum results, using a method called Blended Learning.
Others may need to refer to additional online sources, and part of the instructional design will be creating forums for discussion among Learners, providing avenues to enlist the instructor's support, and other similar tools.
With a good elearning platform, the options are virtually endless, and choices need to be made. Arm yourself with the objectives, the Learners’ needs, and the principles of instructional design to determine which tools you need to incorporate into the course!
TheLearning LAB: Content Development Agency.
4) Evaluating the learning curve
Evaluating your Learner’s progress and how the course is impacting their abilities is vital; obviously helps assess the progress made so far, but the true benefit of the evaluation is that it will give you every opportunity to improve the course effectiveness. The ultimate aim, of course, is that the progress recorded will match the learning goals and that the results of the eLearning programme knocks it right out of the park. If this isn’t the case, don’t fret! The beauty of eLearning is also in its ability to adapt and improve.
An excellent way to evaluate learning is by conducting quizzes, setting projects, asking for the Learner’s reflections, and conducting surveys at the conclusion of each section. The outcome will enable the instructor to provide feedback to Learners - both if it indicates that they are on the right track, or that more work needs to be done for the learning goal to be fully achieved. Both positive and critical feedback offer your Learners a boost! And if your results show you a specific section is posing a problem for a large portion of the Learners, you can go back to make sure their issues are resolved and their learning of the related materials is successfully completed.
Now it’s your turn!
Instructional design helps develop learning experiences and create the right environment to transfer knowledge and skills to Learners. Seeing as it guides the creation and development of learning programs, it may take some time and require a few adjustments and changes to ensure the best outcome - but this a normal part of the process! It shouldn’t be rushed, and proper thought needs to be given to this part of the process. Your Learners will benefit, and, in the long run, your organisation will benefit!