Aesthetics in the Creation of High-impact e-learning Courseware
Like every other element of work-life, the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted companies to reconsider their approach to employee training as a process that is continually evolving. Industry experts have noted that today’s elearning content and development strategies must account for learning what, how, when, and how much.
It is necessary to ask these questions not only to cope with the changes that are happening today but also to prepare for any future changes to come in the form of new regulations and technologies.
The challenge for eLearning content developers today is multi-faceted as there is an abundance of superfluous content available. It may seem like a daunting task for the modern learner to select the right areas to focus on, read relevant content from multiple sources, assimilate the learning according to one’s learning style, and then assess the learning.
It is difficult to create content that can impact meaningful knowledge. With eLearning, this task becomes more critical as you do not have a teacher or instructor to fill in any knowledge gaps. In the absence of an instructor, it lies entirely within your digital learning content to stimulate learners’ interest, keep them engaged throughout, and ensure long-term knowledge retention. If your eLearning program is well designed, you are more likely to connect with your students and get the desired results.
Even though there is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating successful eLearning content, you should begin by making sure it is relevant and relatable. E-learning programs must be able to adapt to the ever-changing needs of today’s learners. Your employees should be able to access it at their own pace while still obtaining high-quality training.
How can you ensure that your eLearning content is engaging, meaningful, and leaves a lasting impression on learners? The following are a few good practices you can use in developing eLearning content:
Plan the Layout of your eLearning Content
It is important to create a concise and interesting program, especially when it is delivered as eLearning content. Start by defining clear learning objectives that leave no room for doubt about what your students will learn from the course.
Analyze the content learning objectives carefully and select only the “need to know” and some important “nice to know” information. By doing so, your learners will remain focused and avoid becoming confused by too much information.
Be Succinct
Content design is an essential component of eLearning. Your learners will be able to focus better on the content if you use a simple, clear style. Generally speaking, you should not cram too much information onto a page, and make sure headings are easily visible in the body text.
Clean layouts are easy to absorb in your learners’ eyes and encourage them to focus on the eLearning content. It also maximizes the amount of information on the page, making each piece of information count.
Integrate your Brand Image
Every business is unique. Why not reflect this in your courses? Your eLearning content should appear to be your organization’s intellectual property. It is essential that everything is consistent with your organization’s brand image, including color schemes, style guides, logo placement, tone of voice, and font.
Integrating your brand’s image into the development raises the seriousness with which your employees treat the training because they will be able to see the efforts you have made.
Use Fonts that are Easy to Read
A learner’s decision to stay and complete their eLearning program is influenced by the choice of typography and font. The right font in the right place might make the difference between a learner paying attention or dismissing the text completely. When you are trying to convey a key idea and when legibility is of the utmost importance, use basic fonts.
Use of a Variety of Mediums
It is difficult to hold your learners’ attention with plain text alone. Your eLearning must contain a variety of multimedia components, such as visuals, videos, infographics, animations, and audio clips, in order to replicate the classroom experience.
Compared with plain text, these engage learners more effectively and provide a more immersive learning experience. Additionally, multimedia features contribute to a shorter course duration by providing more information in less time.
Develop Interactive eLearning Content
Most of the content you publish will simply engage your audience in a passive manner during the learning process. Learners will remain spectators beyond the boundaries. By using interactive elements, you make a difference.
These features engage learners by requesting active responses before moving on to the next step in the process. A successful eLearning program should include game-based content, drag-and-drop activities, trigger-based actions, and other interactive components.
Incorporate Narratives into your eLearning Content
By using story-based modules, you will be able to connect with your learners immediately. The inclusion of situations and case studies in your content allows learners to relate to the real-world situation in which they will apply what they have learned.
It is usually recommended to include a story-based module with relatable characters and a situation or challenge that your learners will experience. Narratives can also be used to illustrate how employees can apply their acquired knowledge in their personal and professional lives.
Mobile Learning and API Integration
Would it be beneficial to make learning more accessible? Since mobile phones are ubiquitous in our lives, why should learning be any different? You should use a responsive course design to ensure that your eTraining works seamlessly across all devices.
Additionally, the implementation of a personalized Learning Management System (LMS) in an organization is recommended. Through API integration, eLearning programs can be easily processed across the organization to maintain data in sync and increase productivity.
Maintain Curiosity with Efficient CTA’s
Ordinary people are motivated to achieve extraordinary results by their curiosity. This is why it is vital to keep the Call-to-Actions fresh in your learners’ minds. Provide your students with external links and resources that will assist them in learning more about the topic.
The best practice would be to provide them with case studies about the most recent advancements in their field. They may not be immediately relevant to their day-to-day duties, but they would be an excellent addition for employees who are serious about their training.
Evaluate the Learning
Evaluation is an equally important component of any eLearning program. Using assessments, you can determine how well learners have responded to and learned from the eLearning content.
By using the latest authoring tools, you can move away from the traditional question-answer format and use more innovative techniques to measure learning. Use click and reveal, branching scenarios, drag, and drop, and other fun tactics for your assessments.
For an eLearning program to be successful, there must be an online environment that encourages continuous improvement and knowledge adoption. Content must adhere to the core principles of high-converting design to achieve this level of user retention, which is unique to each industry.
Users of eLearning programs expect to find the information or course they require immediately. Furthermore, they need to evaluate whether the eLearning content can be trusted and whether it provides quality information by examining aspects of social proof.
If you follow the above-discussed best practices for creating engaging, meaningful, and high-impacting eLearning content, you can ensure consistency, learning impact, and learner engagement.
Explore: how soft skills training helps managers
Contact us if you are interested in an eLearning training program that is tailored to the needs of your organization or team.
