What are some of the best practices for engaging learners online?

Whenever I begin a new course, I prioritise conversation through a loosely scripted timeline. Getting participants to contribute early and establishing the learning environment as a comfortable, safe space is crucial to gaining insights into the community and this can be a really useful way to set the scene for an inclusive classroom experience.

When engaging learners online, start by knowing your audience. Understand their backgrounds, interests, and learning styles. Tailor your content to match their needs. For beginners, break down complex concepts. For experts, offer advanced insights. Interact with them – answer questions, create discussions. Adapting to your audience ensures your online learning experience resonates, making it effective, rewarding, and enjoyable.

Yes, you can do that - it's good on a personal level to develop oneself in areas of interest. If you, as a digital learning provider can offer a wide breadth of content across many functions and preferred learning styles, great. The issue is that sometimes learners don't know what they don't know and organisations need to guide them toward the skills that they will need for the future. Now, assessing who might be best placed to learn which skills would become an important use of surveys, personality assessments, etc. Organisations need to be looking to the future and deciding which skills are most impactful and then either hiring them in or upskilling those they already have. Start with the problem, then define the solution.

In my experience, the “why they need to learn it” is the most important piece to focus on here. Learners will naturally become more engaged if they feel that there is real and immediately applicable value in what they’re learning.

Clarity and relevance can help learners understand how they can demonstrate progress and mastery during the course of study. This may in turn lead to better engagement by learners.

Using a combination of words and graphics when designing online content is vital. Graphics should be placed alongside relevant text, as this aids in understanding. I believe that games should be used cautiously and only when they add educational value. Custom games that are designed to teach specific concepts can enhance learning.

I teach both history and law classes online, and I stimulate discussions using topics from the news to illustrate how the concepts learned in the class are relevant. Also, I like to divide the class into groups and have debates. Debates encourage students to see how someone's perspective shapes their interpretations and how solid historical interpretations and legal arguments are possible from varying perspectives, challenging students to look beyond their prior viewpoints. Such an exercise serves several purposes. Not only do debates in the online class spark a great deal of participation, but they also illustrate the complexity of subjects, and this helps students develop a sense of empathy and nuance in both law and history.

As a video creator, I always seek inspiration from other creators and different industries, and even see how other types of content (short ads, social media posts) communicate their stories. A mood board is always a great way to discover new styles and also helps think about how to combine different tools to create clear, engaging visuals while staying relatable.

I've done learning online and also delivered it to hundreds of thousands of learners. I believe that asynchronous learning has a great deal of value (no dependence on an intructor or even how he/she feels that day, can do it on one's own time etc.). However, they also need a check-in with a real person on occasion in order to answer questions and ensure the context is clear. Games are great and I've learnt that simple is better (and more profitable from a digital training company's perspective). Lots of fancy graphics, etc. just simply slow things down and add extra cost.

Incorporating collaborative learning into online learning can be highly effective especially for complex concepts. Integrating gamification elements that encourage learners to collaborate and compete in a friendly manner fosters a sense of communit. Leaderboards, team challenges and group achievements can motivate collaboration.

Only adding a forum/blog/wiki is likely to result in crickets, unless there is a clear reason why people should invest their valuable time/attention on it. One client of ours had a good idea that worked. They used to use our 'simulations' (we put learners in a real situation and asked them to solve a problem) during a workshop and asked the group to discuss possible solutions. The result was peer-to-peer learning.

Online can be so cold and factual without that interaction needed to bring a human aspect to online learning - how can we bring warmth?

In my experience, definition of skills and benchmarks is a critical part of developing learning that is both effective and impactful. What skills do you want your learners to have gained through the training? What benchmarks are good measures of those skills? These two questions are as important as knowing your intended destination when you plan a vacation. Very few learning experiences begin with perfect design. Therefore, it is important to know how well the online learning has satisfied the learner's desired purpose and how the module has effected necessary change to increase skills. This knowledge is key to tweaking the learning module and molding it into an exceptional resource.

I envision what I would expect the audience to engage in if I were in the same room with them, because I actually AM. I call on people, ask for insights, expect participation, small groups, input, and give opportunities for the audience to participate and engage.

Engagement alone is not enough for effective learning. Active participation, critical thinking, and a structured process are essential for learners to truly grasp and retain knowledge. Asking questions, practicing retrieval, receiving feedback, and maintaining commitment to the learning journey are key elements in the process of acquiring knowledge and skills. Engaging in various learning strategies, such as interleaving, can also enhance the learning experience. Ultimately, it's the combination of engagement and an effective learning process that leads to successful learning outcomes.

Simplify and personalize the learning experience. If it is a clinical perspective that spends a lot of time on definitions, classifications or regulatory/statutory citations, then it will likely not be well-received. Focus on why the learner needs the information and what they are expected to do with the information.

I believe that getting the students involved and engaged has to do with the very relationship the teacher builds with students. I've taught so many students who ftom different cultures and backgrounds, and I've always seen how much they care for being loved and cared for.Teaching with love is so magical, indeed.Teachers need to build bridges of positive relationships with their students before they start the actual teaching. One tool is Active Listening. 1-Listen by the mind to get the delivered content 2-Listen by the heart to get the accompanied feelings that come with the content. 3-Listen by the hand to get their needs. And finally, 4-Listen by foot to take the suitable action they need. A final thought: Touch the heart; teach the mind!

As a former teacher, I agree with everything here. Students need to understand WHY they are learning things and have room to share their thoughts and ideas as well as feel like they are part of a community. Changing up the delivery with different kinds of media is also really helpful. As a voice actor, I'd add that the voice over needs to be friendly, welcoming, and clear.

In my experience, employing opportunities for reflection supports teaching and learning: Provide opportunities for learners to reflect on their learning and connect it to their own experiences and goals. This promotes inclusivity and supports diverse learner needs. Similarly, I employ microlearning: Break down the course content into smaller, bite-sized chunks that can be easily consumed and retained by learners. Also, I have found that encouraging self-directed learning, afford learners to take ownership of their own learning by providing them with specific resources and tools to explore topics on her own and set their own learning goals.