Communication Strategies in eLearning and Instructional Design

Communication is critical in an eLearning environment

Clear communication is an essential strategy in eLearning and instructional design because the text is the most accepted form of communication in an online course. Although instructional designers know this, many still lose the way when they have to “communicate” to their audience. They fail to send the right message to the?right audience?using the most appropriate channel. The result: learners are confused, and ID folks are frustrated to see their efforts going to waste.

Why Is Communication So Important?

Of all the challenges in eLearning, lack of personal contact is probably on the top of the list.

Isolation, lack of support, and learner completion rates are frequent issues in the online learning environment.

The best way to solve this problem lies in better communication. Learners need access to their instructor to address questions and concerns and receive feedback.

Instructor or trainer communication with their learners is essential, and learner support must clearly be distinguished. This issue will help them feel more connected and engaged in their learning.

Instructional Designers, after all, are communicators. Therefore, they?must know how effective communication takes place online.

Following are the eight factors that are involved:

1) Sender

The sender (you) is the entity that transmits the message.

2) Encoding

This is the process by which the sender converts their thoughts into a set of symbols. The sender has to make sure that the receiver understands these symbols.?

3) Message

This is the set of symbols that the sender transmits to the receiver.

4) Media

This is the channel through which communication or the transfer of a message from the sender to the receiver occurs.

5) Decoding

Decoding is the act of converting the symbols into meaning by the receiver of the message.

6)?Receiver

The receiver (learner) is the entity that receives the message that was transmitted by the sender.

7)?Feedback

Feedback is a response to some information. It can be provided by both the sender and the receiver of the message. The relevance of the feedback depends on the receiver receiving and deciphering the message in the way the sender had intended for it to be understood.

8)?Noise

Noise is an unplanned and undesirable distortion of the message during the communication process. If there is noise, the receiver deciphers and interprets the message wrongly.?

Here’s how these eight elements of the communication process come together in eLearning:

• You (the sender) create or encode the message, so learners understand and can act on it.
• You transmit the message to your audience. The message should consist of symbols—words, images, references, and sounds—that the audience can decode. Communication or the transfer of meaning fails when the message's recipient is unable to understand and decipher it.
• The transmission can take place through channels like eLearning programs, podcasts, or videos.
• Your audience (the receiver) has to perceive your message. So you must make your message available to them in a physical format that they can see or listen to.
• Your audience decodes your message, which is a collection of symbols.
• Your audience interprets the symbols and assigns meaning to these.
• Your audience responds to your message by encoding or creating feedback. Depending on the learning environment, the input may be direct and immediate (in a face-to-face training session) or indirect and delayed (in the case of online training where learners may be asked to fill up a survey later). The feedback may consist of verbal or non-verbal symbols.
• Every stage and every action of the communication process may be affected by noise. Noise can be physical or psychological. Usually, physical noise stems from flaws in the communication and/or transmission equipment. Psychological noise can stem from cognitive or emotional dissonance. The learner may be distracted by something else that is going on in his life. He may dislike the trainer. The message might not resonate with his beliefs, or he may misinterpret it. He may be biased against the meaning that your message carries.

4 Learner?Communication Strategies

1. Provide Clearly Understood Contact Information

When the learners have a problem in the course, you don’t want to add to their struggles by making it difficult for them to reach the instructor.

Contact information needs to be displayed front and center.?If?the instructor?has a contact method that they prefer, highlight that.

2. Use Announcements

Communication with?the learners should be utilized through the announcements section of the course.

This will save?the instructor?time if they can anticipate questions the learners may ask. This will also help eliminate the flood of emails that may come their way if learners are confused.

3. Participate in the Discussion Forums

Instructor involvement can make a significant impact in an online learning environment. Of course, a healthy discussion forum should be led by the learners and shouldn’t rely on the instructors to stay alive.

But when?the learners?know their ideas are being read by the instructor, it encourages them to try harder and contribute to the discussion more thoughtfully.

4. Provide a Course Walkthrough

Consider including a course walkthrough at the beginning of the course. This is a great way to outline what the learners should expect from taking the course.

Another effective way to do this is by including a video tutorial that explains how to navigate through the course and the learning management system.

Designing effective communication in online learning can improve?learner outcomes and satisfaction.

Learn about communication strategies that will help you develop a strong connection with learners?via online learning.

If you would like to receive a complete list of communication strategies, consider joining the?eLearning and Instructional Design for Beginners Community.

If you wish to create a strong connection?between the learners and the instructor?via online learning, then you must take into consideration the suggestions mentioned in this post

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