What do you do if your e-learning course lacks creativity while adhering to instructional design principles?

If an e-learning course lacks creativity while adhering to instructional design principles, it's essential to reassess the course content and delivery methods. Introducing creative elements such as interactive activities, multimedia enhancements, storytelling approaches, or gamification techniques can inject excitement and engagement without compromising instructional integrity. Collaboration with instructional designers, subject matter experts, and creative professionals can generate innovative ideas to revitalize the course while maintaining its educational effectiveness. Regular feedback loops from learners can also help identify areas for improvement.

Think of the course as a narrative, not just a course. There needs to be a progression where the next thing is connected to the previous thing, and at the end, loose ends are tied together. The course cannot just be a collection of non connected bits and pieces.

Right now, there are so many tools that can help enhance e-learning courses, and many of these are very affordable when you have instructional design staff who are well-trained to use them. Exploring options of what best fits your needs is a wise use of time. These tools can help enhance the central goal of telling a story within the course, and staying on theme with that story. This is especially important in survey courses, which can easily become a jumble of information being pushed at students. Storyboarding the narrative and then identifying which tools are being used at different points of the story (using a variety of methods to meet universal design principles) is a good beginning approach.

I find randomly throwing interactive elements into a course doesn't really make it more creative. Every good eLearning course is a story. You can add as many details or subplots as you want, but if your main storyline is not engaging, none of the rest will be. Often, we start from a very linear informational outline, and it's rare that those will turn into a good story--especially when we are low on time to get that first draft out. But if we go back to the outline and reexamine it, remembering that narrative is how humans make sense of most of their world, we can often find that narrative, the analogies and imagery that will help fire our learners imaginations. After that, the interactions/videos/etc will suggest themselves.

If time permits, I like to incorporate activities that foster the e-learner's creativity. Activities such as demonstrating the e-learners understanding of a topic by creating a comic strip (by hand or via a comic strip generator), storyboard, or short video recorded on the e-learners phone and then sharing it in a forum. It is important to specify how long the e-learner should spend on the activity and put a cap on it, because the intention is not perfection, rather a playful storytelling platform that demonstrates key learning outcomes.

Enhancing your e-learning with multimedia also involves ensuring accessibility for all learners, including those with disabilities. This means selecting media that is compatible with screen readers and providing alternative text for images. Furthermore, integrating multimedia quizzes or interactive scenarios can boost engagement and provide instant feedback, facilitating a more personalized learning experience. Remember, the goal of incorporating multimedia is not just to decorate your course but to support and enrich the learning journey, making complex information more digestible and engaging.

Enriquecer el curso con una variedad de recursos visuales y auditivos, desde videos interactivos hasta infografías animadas, para ofrecer una experiencia de aprendizaje más dinámica y multisensorial. (haciéndola, además, más inclusiva)

It depends upon the content being disseminated. For some disciplines, application of multimedia may be distracting or irrelevant. However, when I’m creating a course for learners of CAD software (which is what I do) then multimedia tools are invaluable to demonstrate authoring workflows. Bottom line. Know your audience. Know your content. Then pick your tools.

There are different types of learners, and using one type of multimedia elements can help us convey the information effectively for one type of learner (for example visual cues for visual learners), whilst not necessarily hitting the mark for other types (such as kinesthetic learners). Incorporating a mix of visual, audio, and interactive elements can help us cover a wide range of learning styles, and will keep the learners engaged and curious.

Incorporating multimedia can seem overwhelming, but it could be as easy as inserting transition videos of you on a walk or demonstrating a skill between sets of slides of the content. You want to make sure you are quick in and out, transcribe any words you use and have fun. The cameras on cell phones are so good now, they can be your go to for video content creation. Keep it short and to the point. Practice what you are going to say before you say it. I had one instructor have his wife give him a haircut while he was recording a presentation and showed images of his head during the different stages of the haircut. It was fun and they remembered the content based upon the stage of the cut.

Una de las ventajas que ofrece la tecnología es poder aplicar sin restricción es la lógica del juego en el proceso de aprendizaje. Y el contar con software que te ofrezca esa posibilidad es una enorme oportunidad que debe de ser explorada por todos los que generamos o dise?amos procesos de aprendizaje.

When thinking of "gamification elements", many might get the idea of a lone-wolf character, immersed in an alternate reality. If we take a closer look at the world of e-sports, there is an underlying principle of teamwork, communication, collaboration and cooperation. Taking a cue from the idea of the team, learning stops being individual and becomes collective. We, together, face challenges. We, together, find solutions. We, together, gain knowledge. We, together, develop.

Pro Tip Play video games. Integrating video game strategies into eLearning can transform accessibility and engagement: Video Games as Tools: Not just for entertainment; they inspire eLearning enhancements. Superior Accessibility: Adopting gaming principles introduces unmatched accessibility features. Key Elements: Immediate feedback Adaptive challenges Customizable interfaces Outcome: These elements elevate eLearning, making content universally accessible and engaging. Impact: Enhances learner satisfaction, sets new standards for eLearning design, and promotes inclusivity. This approach leverages gaming's best practices to revolutionize eLearning experiences, ensuring materials are engaging and accessible to all learners.

Transformar el aprendizaje en una experiencia lúdica e interactiva mediante desafíos ahora es muy fácil si el docente se lo propone, gracias a la tecnologia podemos agregar gamificacion de manera progresiva, cambiando niveles de dificultad y recompensas, estimulando la motivación intrínseca del estudiante y fomentando su participación activa.

Gamification is a great way to make your course more attractive. At least in my case and the courses I teach, students spend a lot of time reading and doing activities/ practical cases online. So introducing gamification contributes to make the course more enjoyable at the same time students progress. It can be something simple or more complex depending on the subject.

As an instructional designer and product manager, we launched a highly technical compliance training course. It was rock-solid on the instructional design front, but it was also dull. The feedback was brutal – in the MVP group, learners were clicking through mindlessly, not absorbing anything. We were so focused on the "instructional" side, we'd forgotten the human element. Here's what we did for the launch: We added a short intro for each module, not teaching content, but answering the "why should I care?". Instead of endless bullet points on rules, we created quick "what would you do?" decision points. It wasn't about abandoning sound design. Rather, it was about remembering our audience were people, not robots.

I experimented with using riddles to aid language learning and discovered they captivated learners even more. Riddles create an enjoyable and memorable learning experience, making language learning more engaging and effective. Learners are more likely to retain and recall vocabulary, grammar rules, and idiomatic expressions when they are presented in a fun and intriguing way.

Quizá una de los caminos para desbloquear el potencial del curso implica efectivamente la experimentación en formas, formatos, incluso en el desarrollo de dinámicas de clase. Es, en el fondo, abrirse al error del ensayo y error que permita que en versiones sucesivamente aplicadas poder ser capaz de encontrar en la combinatoria de soluciones que nos ofrece la tecnología encontrar nuestra voz o nuestro otro yo en el dise?o del curso que manifieste con mayor claridad o fidelidad lo que queremos lograr con nuestros estudiantes a lo largo del tiempo que se nos es dado como experiencia de aprendizaje.

Adapting various learning formats such as microlearning, scenarios, and simulations can cater to the varied preferences of learners. In my view, this diversity not only respects individual learning styles but also enriches the overall educational experience. Each format has its strengths, and choosing the right one depends on the specific learning outcomes desired.

Any learning & teaching scientist will tell you that learning styles is not actually a thing (though you may have preferences). We all need to learn in a variety of ways as it stimulates the brain. If you are struggling a little bit, that is actually a good thing!

Collaboration with peers is always the key for me. Feedback allows me to see the content from a different angle and pushes me to improve and innovate. Collaboration is the spark that creates magic in any creative venture.

Teaching online can sometimes feel like you are shouting in a void. Open yourself up for critique from your students and your fellow faculty. Don't wait until the end of the semester, do an anonymous survey at the half way point in the semester, then share the responses. If you get a good suggestion, use it right away. The students appreciate the fact you heard them and respected them enough to implement their suggestions. See if other faculty will let you into their online classes and see what they do and then ask why they do it. These "yes and" conversations build respect and community that is so important among faculty in education.

You may have to dig deep to find creative solutions. Most of the time, if you get the tone right your faculty or subject matter experts will get behind what you prototype. To get the tone right I like to ask my learning partner these two questions. 1. What are three good adjectives to describe this program/course/lesson/activity. 2. What are four bad adjectives that we should avoid.

For sure if you hit a creativity roadblock seek the support of a neutral audience. Roll out on a test platform and ask for honest feedback.Use a poll, storyboard to obtain said feedback. Or better yet host a F2F review session to brainstorm key failings. Personally e-learning modules need a high level of interactivity aides to gain audience participation BUT keeping that high level is no mean feat.

To me, it is essential to get feedback from the students. They are the best testers so you can check if there is something that can be improved during the course ( mail, call, small surveys) and also give them a final survey at the end. This way you can have the possibility to apply small changes since the very beginning of the course.

Engagement and learning are not the same thing. You can be highly engaged and not be progressing on the desired learning outcomes. So the first question to ask, before you add "creativity" is whether the learners are reaching the desired outcomes or not. Next question is why that is the case. Next question is whether they are satisfied with the experience. If they are reaching the outcomes, and they are satisfied with the experience, save your dollars and their time. If they are reaching the outcomes but its because they have a work mandate to do so, and they are unsatisfied with the experience, then you need to find out what isn't working for them. Let their feedback guide you to the needed changes.

If your e-learning course lacks creativity but adheres to instructional design principles, enhance engagement by incorporating interactive elements such as quizzes, simulations, or gamified activities. Use multimedia, including infographics, videos, and animations, to present content dynamically. Integrate real-life scenarios and storytelling to make learning more relatable. Encourage social learning through discussion forums or group projects. Regularly update content with fresh examples and emerging trends. Seek feedback from learners to identify areas for improvement. Balancing creativity with instructional design enhances the learning experience, making it more effective and enjoyable. #eLearning #LearningDesign #LearningStrategy

Purpose and outcomes are the most important factors here. If the lack of creativity is leading to low outcomes and students are not completing the course, then there is reason to include more creative variables. Creativity takes more work than a straight forward course. Creative methods of teaching also often require creative methods of assessment, which takes even more time. So although it could be enticing to make every course creative, it might not be efficient or serve the purpose of the course. AI of course, has increased our options for efficiency. But it shouldn’t change our need for purpose.

Leveraging the "What's In It For Me" (WIFM) principle combats the challenge of uncreative e-learning materials by aligning content with the real needs and interests of both stakeholders and learners. By focusing on the tangible benefits each party seeks, creativity naturally flows into the design, making e-learning compelling and effective. WIFIM ensures content not only engages but also resonates, fulfilling expectations across the board.

An important component of a course that can easily be forgotten is the WIIFM (what's in it for me). We've all been through training where the relevance to us is not immediately apparent. Including WIIFM lets the learner know exactly what the purpose of going through the course is and what they can expect to get out of the course.