You're looking to improve your e-learning courses. How can you make them more engaging?

As a designer of online courses, a great lesson I learned is the availability of “variety in learning materials” is what makes a great course. Add videos, text, audio, discussions, popups, games, and so on. People learn and absorb materials in different ways. You never know.

... and design those interactive elements well. Too often visual design is a missed opportunity in e-learning looks like it was created in 1998 on a TRS-80 (I'm exaggerating a bit, of course.) Digital learning is a subset of digital media, and the media we create as e-learning professionals isn't being judged against other e-learning. It's being judged against other online media– video games, YouTube, and the mobile web. If you're digital learning doesn't VISUALLY compare favorably, learners are going to make negative judgements about the content's credibility. Yes, use interactive elements, but ensure they are contemporary in their visual design and congruent with the ethos of current digital media.

As we do more of eLearning/asynchronous learning, there are couple of key aspects to consider: a) Enhancing learner engagement, b) Demonstrating measurable outcomes or ROI. There are multiple aspects through which we can achieve these, listing a few below: - Ensuring that eLearning courses are tied to competencies at an individual, team and org level. - Leveraging AI to create hyper personalized learning - Ensuring knowledge retention by implementing nudge learning - The content should connect with the learner, both instructionally and visually. Storytelling approach with clean visual design is a good starting point. - By bringing gamification into play we can generate intrinsic motivation and give a sense of achievement to the learners.

The E-learning sessions should be a Maximum of 20 minutes only. Prepare animated short videos always. Those animated images should wait for quiz answers

It is very important to allow students to apply their learning and viewpoints through forums. Discussion forums is an excellent tool available in all LMS which increase level of engagement and participation. Nevertheless, in order for discussion forums to work clear guidelines should be given to participants such as: number of required responses, word count, use of AI or not, involvement of instructor, and time frame.

Storytelling can also be used to provide relevant practice and assessment activities. Giving learners the opportunity to practice decision-making skills in realistic contexts can both improve engagement and shift the interactions from low-level recall and comprehension into higher-level application and analysis. Too often, we focus on behavioral engagement in elearning. That is, we focus on clicks or time watched. To truly improve elearning, we should also focus on cognitive engagement (how much mental effort we put into the elearning) and affective or emotional engagement (how much we care and are motivated by the elearning). Storytelling supports both cognitive and emotional engagement.

Storytelling is important when it comes to any course. Stories help users understand the context and concepts better. It does not matter whether you are technical person or not, but if those concepts are broken down into smaller chunks, with a flavour of story to it, I bet it will be remembered well. People learn with examples and relate to stories and why not, since our childhood we often rely on stories. And Storytelling with numbers, with concepts is by far the best way to incorporate knowledge and retain max information without much distraction in elearning these days.

To revolutionize eLearning, envision courses as captivating stories, each module a chapter in the adventure. Breathe life into content, crafting narratives that engage and inspire. Invite learners to be heroes, personalized and empowered. Embrace interactivity with simulations and gamification. Visuals enrich understanding, while real-world examples bridge theory and practice. Infuse mystery and foster community through dynamic discussions. Adapt content to individual learning styles and evolve continuously. Storytelling becomes the golden thread, binding knowledge and interaction, making learning a joyful journey.

I have discovered that integrating narratives into learning experiences significantly enhances their efficiency. Whenever I run out of ideas, I rely on tools like ChatGPT or Google Bard to assist me in finding the perfect stories for my eLearning content.

I enjoy integrating stories into eLearning, and there is a substantial body of scientific research demonstrating how stories enhance learning retention. Additionally, utilizing AI tools to create stories can be one of the easiest ways to improve the effectiveness of the learning experience.

It's important to note that VR is an emerging technology, which is costly to acquire and use at the moment. It requires high computing power as well as high end graphics technologies. However, efforts to bring down the technology to affordable levels are underway. It is my utmost hope that it may soon be available at very affordable costs like other existing technologies.

Virtual reality, when done well, can be an immense supporter of learning, engaging in practice in a controlled environment, and placing the learner in the context that they need to adjust to in the real world. However, the biggest gap I encounter with VR is when it is done poorly. If your learners are limited by your imagination, they'll feel frustrated and lose engagement with the scenario, as it will no longer feel realistic. If your learners are free to choose and can explore how their choices affect the story or experience (and there should be differences), they'll be much more engaged.

I agree utilizing this technology would require it to be done well due to the immersion into an environment. Flaws would be noticeably increased. With that said it opens the door to a floddgate of possibilities. Learning experiences could better simulate the environments where learners would be using it. High stress/ loud/ visually stimulating environments could be duplicated and present better opportunities to apply knowledge in the actual setting. Also tactile skills could be practiced in a "no stake" environment. One example, that would benefit society would be to offer law enforcement practice with different high stress scenarios so they can practice reacting accord to policies.

El uso de realidad virtual puede ser un gran apalancador para el aprendizaje, su uso debe ser intuitivo y amigable para el usuario, de lo contrario si se complica puede generar el efecto contrario al que queremos. Hay que identificar que temas, usuarios, conceptos son aplicables a realidad virtual. Temas de seguridad en el trabajo pueden ser una muy buena opción.

Not only is virtual reality important for engagement it can provide a great opportunity for practicing specific manual tasks with Hands-on precision. Really getting into the details of a project in a realistic learning experience. And because it is "virtual", there can be an unlimited number of scenarios and simulations to practice.

There is a mountain of evidence that students learn best when they get immediate feedback. There are plenty of online tools that make it easy to insert periodic formative assessments—either graded or ungraded - throughout the course. Formative assessments come in many forms, from multiple choice quizzes to demonstrate basic remembering and understanding, to problems that put the learning to work. When inserted into your learning management system, you can also provide an answer key and pre-written explanations, so that the students get feedback close in time to taking the assessment.

I like to offer learners what I call 'consequential feedback'. Create a decision point, offer up different options, invite the learner to choose then, if they choose a sub-optimal option, hit them with the consequences of that decision. I find this can have much more impact than just telling them if they were right or wrong. In a safe eLearning environment you can create all sorts of consequences, such that they realise 'I nearly did that myself!' It's more likely to change future behaviour.

For online classes, feedback is essential, especially timely feedback. I try to provide different types of feedback, written, short text, audio and video. Depending on the size of the class I am teaching, I aim for at least one video feedback, talking directly to the learner. But, as stated earlier, timely feedback is the most important element. If the learner waits too long, they may lose interest in the answer provided.

Regardless of the digital feedback tools you put in place, there is no substitute for direct contact with the teacher. One of the great advantages of e-learning is that it frees up time for the teacher who no longer needs to present the parts of the course that are available online. He/she can use this time to do personalized tutoring during the hours when the learners are working online, in the form of discussions of about 10-15 minutes one-on-one with each of them, face-to-face or remotely. This is a very efficient way of knowing your students and providing them affective feedback if needed. If some of them happen to be at-risk, you can assist them individually via a personalized curriculum.

Don't model good behavior only. Put the learners through a bad situation and give feedback to guide them to a successful conclusion.

Personalization and choice is one area that I feel is underutilized in e-learning, especially for mandatory learning. Many business leaders feel that they need to lock down the navigation and force learners through a prescribed path in order to ensure they learn every concept. However, this can lead to the opposite effect as learners stop listening and try to get through the training as quickly as possible. I believe the answer lies in providing options for how one prefers to learn the concepts (written, audio, video, interactive, etc) and then provide a knowledge check to confirm and reinforce what was learned.

There is some magic balance involved in connecting with an entire group of students and still providing a sense that each individual is seen and heard. The need to create and sustain a group or community identity is vital to build trust and relationships.

Les études le prouvent, le elearning standardisé sans contact humain est voué à l'échec des apprenants. Aujourd'hui plus que jamais, le tutorat permet de remettre l'humain au c?ur des formations et de personnaliser davantage les parcours pour une meilleure complétion.

Sin duda la personalización del aprendizaje es clave para poder tener un impacto significativo, esto va desde que la persona pueda avanzar a su ritmo y tiempo y en los horarios que pueda, siempre planteando objetivos de aprendizaje. También actualmente se habla del aprendizaje liquido que es combinar el presencial con el e-learning, con lectura a su ritmo, entre otros elementos. Puede también elegir entre el formato o dise?o de la experiencia, un avatar, etc.

Beyond just using script to insert their name, content has to be authentically aligned to the audience’s context. I believe the majority of a designers time should be spent in scenario creation - from interviews and research through to considered design and branching.

E learning can be interactive if you add personalised content for the participants that keep his or her interest alive during the training. Bite sized learning is another element that can keep the participants engaged during the session and invoke them to complete the session. Interactive engaging activities is another important tool to keep e learning interesting.

Permite que el propio alumno aporte su punto de vista, y sobretodo los logros que puede conseguir con el contenido elearning y destaque las partes más interesantes para que el propio contenido siga enriqueciéndose

A great way to strengthen social connections during a teaching session is to ask learners to complete assignments in small groups and then present them to their peers, especially in the form of a short oral presentation and a small written report that will be taken into account for the final assessment. In addition, it is preferable to assess them orally individually, face-to-face or remotely, in order to monitor their progress and verify their involvement in the group. It is recommended that you keep a record of these assessments, which can be used in the event that the student disputes the grade.

Le social learning est certainement la solution pour permettre une bonne complétion d'un parcours de formation à distance, si on ajoute un bon tutorat.

Lo más importante en el aprendizaje en línea es, a mi criterio, comprender dos cosas: 1- No es algo como llevar una clase que dictaba presencial y ahora hacerlo frente a una cámara. Requiere incorporar otras herramientas y habilidades para mantener la atención y la "llegada" al alumno o participante. 2- Es necesario mantener siempre el aspecto de conexión personal, de cercanía entre personas. Para ello hay muchas formas, pero a mi criterio lo mejor es que siempre exista una última instancia de interacción en vivo y con cámaras encendidas para que podamos incorporar todos los aspectos de la comunicación.

Make it as short as possible. Get to the point - no fluff. Provide realistic examples. Ground your content in real world practices. Focus on a specific problem and related knowledge and behaviors. Make it clear how spending time with this content will help people do their jobs better. Make the content accessible and equitable. Test your content with the people who do the job.

To offer guidance through communication that breathes truth into another person’s life so that they may become willing to be more than they’ve been being.

Ensure the interactions and stories are relevant to your audience. Add an element of surprise at the very beginning of the course to hook the learner. Once you’ve hooked them, ensure you’re drawing the learner back to that feeling you first evoked. It could be humor or empathy depending on the tone of the course. For example, open with an intriguing life or death scenario. Use music and sound effects to really grab their attention and draw them in. Introduce the problem here. As the learner works through the course, bring them back to the scenario as new content is reviewed. Keep telling the story and allow your audience the opportunity to practice applying what they’ve just learned.

All the methods you mentioned indeed make eLearning more effective. Additionally, I suggest two more approaches to further enhance its effectiveness: 1) Gamification: Applying game-design elements like points, badges, and leaderboards can motivate learners and make learning fun. 2) Collaborative Learning: Promoting discussion forums, group projects, and peer reviews can build a sense of community and improve learning through collaborative efforts

In my perspective the attention span of the participants in eLearning courses is often less then 15 minutes on an average. Hence I would suggest instead of making long duration eLearning programs better the program can be divided into smaller bit sizes learning modules. This will help the users to use these bit size modules as per their convenience. Also the bit size eLearning module becomes more interesting as it is easy to grasp them.