7 Pro Tips To Create Top-Tier eLearning

Modern day eLearning is a carefully balanced amalgam of nifty technology and precise pedagogy. Thus, eLearning professionals and designers always have to be on their A-game if they want they want their eLearning courses to be successful.

Although there is no room left for the one-size-fits-all approach in our modern eLearning world, there are certain tips that almost all successful instructional designers in the past decade have been using to churn out top-tier learning. In this article, we discuss pro tips that will help you craft eLearning courses that make learners curious to learn, engage them and ensure that they absorb and retain information easily.

1. Always Begin With A Pre-Assessment

Most people think that pre-assessment is a performance metric. It’s not. Instead, it is a great way to engage learners before the course even begins. Pre-assessments trigger the existing knowledge learners have, helping them recognize any knowledge gaps they might have, and give them a confidence boost, as it is always good to know what you do know. To test your learner’s knowledge, you can check this list of free online test maker or create assessments and courses for free with SC Training (formerly EdApp) authoring software.

2. Keep Everything Clear Cut

Ambiguities come in the way of learning, and anything that obstructs learning is not welcome in an eLearning course. Thus, it is imperative that you keep your eLearning courses as clear-cut as possible, keeping redundancies to a minimum. Begin by clearly defining the learning objectives at the commencement of the course, followed by an accurate presentation of what learners can expect after the completion of the course. Then, the bulk of the course should have “need to know” content, interspersed with some “good to know” information at regular intervals.

3. Use A Visually-Consistent Style

Visuals play an important role in keeping learners engaged and in their seats, thus ensuring that everything learners see from the start to finish is visually appealing and consistent. When designing your course, decide on a visual theme, and follow it to the end of the course. Use consistent fonts, shapes, colors as well as color combinations. However, you can use deviations from such a theme to attract the attention of learners to an important point; say, a bullet point that is red in colour unlike others which are all blue.

4. Be Ready To Provide Additional Support

The point of eLearning is to ensure that learners learn to the best of their abilities. Organizations should leave no stone unturned to fully support learners with their training, sometimes meaning providing them with additional support. Always have a resource, like a tutor or an expert to answer any questions learners might have before or after the completion of their courses. You’ll be shocked at how this works wonders for employee confidence, engagement as well as the willingness to complete courses.

5. Gamify Your Courses To Boost Engagement

Unlike what many people believe, gamification does not mean turning your courses into games. The purpose of eLearning is not to entertain learners or distract them from learning, it is to ensure that they absorb the information provided to them. To do that, sometimes certain tactics need to employed to keep them engaged, to inspire the element of “fun” in the learning activity. Gamification is such a tactic. Gamification means adding elements usually found in games in your eLearning course. Points, leaderboards, badges and rewards are among the best gamification elements to use in your eLearning course.

6. Build Each Course Around A Goal Learners Want To Achieve

You’ve got to keep the courses learner-centred. That means that the goal of the eLearning course should be something a learner wants to achieve, either personally, or professionally. When learners see that the goal of a learning objective is the development of a skill or quality that will help them get ahead in their careers, or be a better person, they will be more invested in the course.

7. Give Learners Full Access

Ideally, there should be a portal or repository of some sort from where learners can access any eLearning course ever created in the organization. Giving learners the power to choose their own learning paths can have tremendous effects on their skills, as they know best what they want. It gives them control, and they’ll be learning on their own time. Ensure that they can access this repository as well as all eLearning via smartphones to make this process even smoother and more flexible. This is available when utilising LMS’s such as SC Training (formerly EdApp), which uses a central cloud-based delivery system, whereby all courses are available to learners at their fingertips.

Remember, we have curated these tips as guidelines to help you and your organization move in the direction of success. Designing eLearning courses is about understanding the learner and helping them learn as easily as possible. Think wisely to perhaps come up with some of your own pro-tips!

If you would like to learn more about how to build the most effective employee training strategy!

If you’d like to know more about how SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s mlearning platform can help your internal training practices, get in touch at enquiries@edapp.com. You can also try SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s Mobile LMS and authoring tool for free by signing up here.

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