How To Improve Learner Retention In eLearning Courses
There is no doubt in saying that the internet has opened up many opportunities in the education field. In the past few years, eLearning has gained much popularity. Now anyone can share their knowledge and experience with people all around the world. The only problem is that with the rise in opportunities, competition has also increased. And, if you want to make your eLearning course more successful, then you should do something to improve retention rates.
So if you want to learn more about improving retention rates, then this article has everything you need. In this article, you will get the best tips to improve learner retention in eLearning courses. So if this sounds compelling, then stick to this article. Now without wasting a single minute, let us get started.
1. Make Courses Less Intimidating
One of the main things that everyone should do to improve retention rates is to make courses less intimidating. You have to make sure that your modules and lessons are manageable. The best way to do that is by breaking the entire course into small chunks with a microlearning approach. Avoid giving too much information in a single video. Frustration is a common reason why most learners drop out. If you put a lot of information in a single video, it may frustrate your enrollees, and they might feel that this eLearning course in too difficult. That is why every eLearning professional must break their courses into more manageable units.
To make your course more successful, you have to build self-confidence in your enrollees and make them believe that they can learn it. Divide your course into several parts and do not force your learners to complete the course in one sitting. Allow them to learn everything at their own pace. This will make them confident about their abilities, and the chances of dropouts will become less.
2. Start Strong
If you want to improve the retention rates and reduce dropouts, then you should start your course with full energy and enthusiasm. As you know, there are many options out there for the learners, and if you don't start strong, then the learners won't stay with you.
The majority of people judge the potential of any eLearning course within the first few videos, so if your first two lessons are not up to the mark or just slow, then the dropouts will increase. You have to think like an eLearner and figure out what they want and the reasons why they leave a course.
If you want more enrollees, then you have to build a connection with the learners within the first two videos. You have to give information that will attract the learners and make them watch more. Work on the introduction of the video as it will be the first thing that the learners will see, so it must be attractive, engaging, and knowledgeable.
3. Gamification
Another great way to gain your learners' attention and increase engagement is by adding gamified elements in your eLearning course. It doesn't matter what kind of course you are making or how much information you are providing, if your course is not fun to complete, then you won't get more learners. Gamification is the best way to improve the motivation levels of your learners and make them stay in the course.
Now some of you might be thinking: "What kind of gamified elements should we add?" Well, it depends on your choice and the information you are giving. There are different things you can do like you can create a leaderboard and rank your learners according to their performances. The badges system is prevalent in many courses these days. In this, you can give different badges to your learners when they reach a certain level or complete any achievement. You can use anything as per your choice and preferences.
4. Engage And Encourage
No eLearning course can become successful if it's not able to connect and engage with the learners. You have to be an involved educator to improve the retention rates of your eLearning course. Don't just focus on the students that learn fast, make sure to take everyone along with you.
Some eLearning professionals keep teaching and teaching and never listen to their learners, don't be like that. Listen to your learners and try to help them whenever they approach you. Apart from this, you should make sure that no learner is isolated and everyone is getting what you are teaching.
5. Storytelling
Storytelling is also a popular way to improve retention rates and a lot of successful eLearning professionals have used it. The idea behind this method is to tell engaging stories that are relevant to the content you are providing.
It is a great way to break up jargon and dry facts. You can make your lessons more engaging by starting a conversation with your learners and asking them questions from the stories. No matter if your class is small or big, you should try to pay proper attention to every student. Incorporate quizzes in between your lessons and try to make it relevant to the stories.
"Stories surprise and delight us. They put flesh on the dry bones of data. They add narrative to your messages and presentations, making them memorable. Stories give your business-to-business “solutions” a heartbeat and a pulse." – Ann Handley
Final Thoughts
So these were 5 tips that can help you improve the retention rates with eLearning and avoid dropouts. The eLearning industry is getting bigger day by day, and if you use the right methods, you can get amazing success with your eLearning courses. The main thing you should do is to develop a less intimidating course. Keep your videos short and fun, and rather than teaching everything in just one video, make different parts.
You should try to connect with the enrollees and encourage and motivate them. This will help you get to know them properly and they will feel familiar. Make sure to start your course with full energy and enthusiasm. And last, you have to keep your lessons interesting so your enrollees do not get bored.
