How To Create Iconic eLearning
Once dismissed for being too basic, rapid eLearning creation has lately taken on a whole new dimension. With corporate learning departments under increasing pressure to create engaging content that works quickly and effectively, rapid learning has come to the fore again with plenty of bells and whistles thanks to today’s intuitive HTML5 authoring tools. With learner expectations higher than ever, here are 6 trends for crafting super cool, iconic eLearning that will really appeal to today’s tech-savvy, self-driven corporate learners.
- Scrolling is the new "click next".
There is a number of good reasons for choosing scrolling for creating on-trend eLearning. Research from the Software Usability Research Laboratory [1] shows users can digest long, scrolling pages faster than paginated ones. People are also more immersed in learning when they have the freedom to move around. With touchscreen devices increasingly prevalent in the workplace, scrolling is an easy and natural interaction with touchscreens. Another benefit is that learners no longer have to be at the mercy of intermittent internet connections as scrolling removes the frustration of waiting for the "next" page to load. - Choose HTML5 over Flash.
Without doubt, the end is clearly in sight for Adobe Flash. While it has supported the delivery of multimedia content for nearly two decades, HTML5 is now way more efficient than Flash and it’s an absolute must for mobile learning given the Flash player doesn’t function on most mobile devices. Flash is now disabled by default on most desktop browsers, pushing an increase in the need for HTML5 content for eLearning. HTML5 has almost all of the capabilities you’d expect from Flash, but with multi-platform support. If you use an HTML5 authoring tool you won’t need to hand-code any elements of your course, making it easier than ever to produce media-rich content that will excite and resonate with today’s learners. - Think video.
Few could argue with the fact that good video is more engaging and memorable than text. Nothing draws us in or connects with us more than a good story. With the YouTube generation becoming increasingly prevalent in the workplace, there’s a growing expectation for a consumer-grade learning experience and the use of video provides a powerful tool. And it’s not just GenY that are onboard with video - 59% of senior executives prefer video over text when training (Forbes Insight [2]). Research from 3M Corporation and Zabisco [3] shows that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. In addition visual images are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. It’s not surprising then that 81% of learning professionals are planning to increase their use of video content (European Learning Technology Market Insights 2016, Fosway [4]). If you’re looking to integrate video in your eLearning, use an authoring tool that makes it really easy for you to create interactive branching questions so that learners are empowered to make choices and see the consequences of their actions. - Encourage play.
If you’re on a mission to make eLearning fun and boost course completion rates, then gamification provides a really powerful tool for inspiring and motivating learners. Not to be confused with game-based learning, gamification –which represents a global market set to reach $5.5 billion by 2018 (MarketsAndMarkets [5])– uses game mechanics and game design techniques to help learners achieve their goals. When we enjoy learning, we learn more. 80% of learners say they would be more productive if their learning was gamified; 60% are motivated by leader boards and increased competition with peers; and 89% of learners would be more engaged with an eLearning application with a points system (Talent LMS Survey [6]). From a design perspective, if you have gamification in mind from the outset you’ll be better placed to use points, badges, trophies, and leader boards to create an environment where learners are rewarded for genuine achievement. - Write once, run everywhere.
True responsive design is essential given some employees today are using or shuffling between up to seven different networked devices (Citrix [7]). It’s no longer efficient from a cost or time perspective to design courses for different devices or browsers. With the mobile learning industry set to grow to $37.6 billion by 2020 (MarketsandMarkets [8]) and with 67% of people now using mobile devices to access learning (Towards Maturity [9]), "write once, run everywhere" has become the most effective way to develop modern multi-platform eLearning content. - Create tasty microlearning.
Research shows we learn best in short, intensive bursts of activity. According to Microsoft [10], the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2015. Microlearning typically uses small bursts of information, making it an ideal intervention for on-the-job training and to teach specific tasks and build the skills of busy corporate learners. Microlearning in 3-7 minute chunks matches the brain’s working memory and attention span (Grovo [11]) making these small, digestible chunks of eLearning even tastier than bite-sized learning.
If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to do away with click-next, text-heavy slideware and switch to an HTML5 authoring tool to help you embrace the coolest and most effective iconic eLearning design trends that reflect the aspirations and needs of today’s learners.
References:
- [1]: The Impact of Paging vs. Scrolling on Reading Online Text Passages
- [2]: Video in the C-Suite: Executives Embrace the Non-Text Web
- [3]: 19 Reasons You Should Include Visual Content in Your Marketing [Data]
- [4]: http://www.fosway.com/learning-technology-market-2016-respondents/
- [5]: Gamification Market by Solution (Consumer driven and Enterprise driven), Applications (Sales and Marketing), Deployment Type (On-Premises and Cloud), User Type (Large Enterprise, SMBs), Industry and Region - Global Forecast to 2020
- [6]: Gamification Survey Results
- [7]: Citrix Global Mobile Workstyles Index, 2012
- [8]: Mobile Learning Market worth $37.60 Billion by 2020
- [9]: L&D Playing Catch-up as Workers Adopt New Ways of Working and Learning, Says New Towards Maturity Research
- [10]: Attention spans: Consumer Insights, Microsoft Canada (Pdf)
- [11]: Traditional Training vs the Bite Size Approach Infographic
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