Top 10 ELearning Best Practices for Beginners
You might be surprised to learn that eLearning is the fastest growing segment of the global learning industry, with market growth predicted to reach USD 374.3 Billion by 2026.
But, as a newbie eLearning designer, there are a few best practices you must keep in mind while developing eLearning courses. Take a look at the top 10.
Use eLearning Videos
ELearning Videos allow people to access your content when they want it, where they want it, and on whatever device they want to consume it on. Research shows that people who watch videos are 75% more likely to buy a product than non-viewers.
That’s just one of many reasons why using video in your elearning programs is a must.
If you’re just getting started with eLearning. While using videos, remember that the first two minutes are critical because most learners abandon courses after two minutes if they aren’t compelled by what they see or read.
They need an urgent problem or real solution before continuing on—we call it having a 2-minute trigger. To make sure that happens, start every module with a 2 minute trigger video that outlines how your course will address their specific needs (with as much specificity as possible).
Keep it Simple
New users are often overwhelmed by e-learning systems. Experienced professionals don’t want to be forced to learn something new, and beginners want things to be as easy as possible.
Keep your LMS (learning management system) simple so that all of your users can accomplish their tasks without frustration or confusion. Remove unnecessary functionality in favor of functionality that will help both new and experienced elearners succeed.
A simpler LMS / elearning platform means less confusion for everyone involved and leads to a better experience overall. For example, remove advanced features such as multi-user real-time authoring when they aren’t needed in favor of keeping it simple with an easy drag-and-drop interface that anyone can use.
ELearning: Less Text, More Images
When it comes to e-learning, less text is more. In fact, studies have shown that retaining information conveyed through visuals (such as images and video) is easier than retaining information conveyed by text alone.
It makes sense when you think about how humans learn best – from real life experience, which involves everything from sounds to pictures and touch – not just words.
Additionally, many people read at a much slower pace online compared to on paper. This means that in order to keep your learners’ attention within your elearning platform, you need to supplement your written content with graphics that are easy on their eyes and keep them engaged throughout each page of your e-learning course.
For example, if you are providing an explanation of fundamental principles in a subject like math or science, consider including an illustration instead of writing out all sorts of equations. Images make materials more appealing to students and will retain their interest longer than plain text.
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Personalise your eLearning Content
Personalized learning is one of those trends that’s been around for a while, but doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Employers are looking to make learning more individualized, and you can too by sending out surveys asking questions about your learners—what they do on a day-to-day basis, what level of technical skill they have, what their professional elearning experience is, etc.
It’s also a good idea to add in videos that tell learners how your products or services can help them personally. Customers don’t buy because it’s faster; they buy because it helps them personally.
Adding personalization to any training will always increase learner engagement, which improves retention rates. And since analytics has become easier than ever to collect and interpret, there really isn’t a downside here.
Make sure you know where your customers want things personalized before adding anything extra though so as not to confuse them! A few simple survey questions will go a long way here.
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Don’t Overwhelm eLearners
This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s actually easy to forget that elearners need time to process information. If you try to jam too much into an e-learning course, they’ll feel overwhelmed and disengaged.
It’s better to give them less content and make sure they can thoroughly digest it before moving on than to have them rush through your course in an attempt to finish early.
Remember: give your learners short breaks between elearning lessons so they can reflect on what they’ve learned so far and come back energized for more.
Give your students responsibility over certain aspects of their elearning experience and they’ll begin taking ownership of their education.
Support Learner’s Attention Spans
On ELearning platform, Modern learners are presented with an abundance of information at any given time. That’s why it’s essential to make elearning as engaging as possible in order to support learners’ attention spans.
One way you can do that is by creating learning experiences that are goal-oriented. This means using a series of goals with explicit criteria, so each step of your elearning process has a clear purpose that is supported by elearning objectives and assessments.
For example, if you want your learner to learn how to use a particular piece of software, create a series of goals related to specific skills like typing in different commands and clicking on various icons.
Then, utilize real-world scenarios to help keep their attention focused on what matters most: elearning. The more engaged they are, the better chance they have at retaining new knowledge.
Finally, don’t forget about humor! It doesn’t matter whether you work in training or instructional design; adding a bit of levity from time to time will not only keep your learners engaged but will also help them retain new knowledge and build confidence through repetition.
Elearning rule: Be Memorable
As with any type of instructional design, elearning content is only as good as its learner experience. Research shows that 90% of employees using training programs say that a lack of consistent, high-quality elearning makes them feel disengaged from their company's training program.
The ability to engage your elearners and be memorable is critical in today's marketplace where everyone seems to have an app or an online course to teach people how to do everything.
If you want your elearning courses (or offline courses) to be successful, you have to first create an engaging elearning experience that keeps users interested and wanting more. Some ways to do that include make it Informative – people are turned off by fluff so get right to point and focus on quality rather than quantity. Include visuals – research shows that visuals increase learning retention by up to 65%. Make it interactive – giving users control over what they're learning will help keep them engaged and focused on your message.
Offer previews – lets new customers know what they'll get without having to buy anything first Get creative! Try things out yourself! Get inspired!
Break Up the Learning Journey
Just because people want to learn something in elearning doesn’t mean they’re going to be engaged by what you deliver. To keep learners from losing interest, break up their journey into bite-sized chunks.
According to experts, human beings have a tendency of giving up on things that aren’t immediately gratifying—which can be true even of learning. Simply put, if you bombard learners with too much content in one sitting, many are going to hit abort before completing all of it.
Even worse, some people will experience cognitive overload and miss important information altogether! This could spell disaster for your training program or certification exam results.
Instead, try breaking up those lessons over time so that each chunk is about 20 minutes long. Not only does this give your audience time to absorb and retain new information; it gives them non-dead time where they can reflect upon what they learned without being distracted by additional content.
Mix It Up (Interactive + Passive Learning)
The elearning industry is big. Really big. Some say it’s worth a trillion dollars, give or take a few hundred billion. There are over 250,000 elearning developers and nearly 1 million courses available on a variety of learning management systems (LMS).
By some estimates, around 75% of enterprises use some form of blended learning to train their employees—which also means that you will be competing with many established players and startups within your space.
Interactivity can help you stand out from competitors by enhancing learner engagement and providing personalized learning experiences that cater to different types of learners.
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ELearning: Show Not Tell
The best way to explain something is by demonstrating it, not explaining it. Similarly, when you’re e-learning a new practice or function, show learners how to do it.
The alternative is giving a long-winded explanation that will likely lead your audience to take notes but leave them confused and frustrated.
This ties back into show, don’t tell: To demonstrate an action, you must show not just tell how to do it. After they see and hear it, they can try doing what they saw on their own.
If they make a mistake? No worries—you haven’t gotten too far ahead of them! Rather than give learners three paragraphs worth of information that only confuses them more, focus on making one screen shot or sample recording that gives learners what they need to see in order to learn what needs to be learned.
Conclusion
In addition to following these best practices, it’s also important to remember that e-learning is here to stay.
As technology advances and online learning continues to be an integral part of our daily lives, we’ll be seeing more and more e-learning courses being created.
By following these best practices, you’ll make sure that your course helps grow your learners as they continue their lifelong journey towards success.