9 Top Tips To Engage Your Learners in eLearning

9 Top Tips To Engage Your Learners in eLearning
Summary: At the following article you will find 9 Top eLearning Tips to engage your learners right to the end. Just Keep It...

Keep It…I wonder what the heading of this article would signify to someone who does not know what this article is about. Would you switch off, or will the incompleteness of the topic/heading compel you to read on?Chances are that I have lost a considerable number of readers already, because of my very unattractive heading. When it comes to eLearning - it’s just as easy to lose your learners, if your content is not attractive from the word ‘go’.

Listed below are The 9 Top eLearning Tips to engage your learners right to the end

  1. Keep It… Relevant
    The topics that are covered in an eLearning course should be relevant to the course itself. Headings and subheadings should clearly describe what the learner can expect to read, gather and gain from the content. So much for my heading!
  2. Keep It… Up-To-Date
    Knowledge changes at the speed of light. Every day there is something new - new theories are invented and old theories are disproved. What was new yesterday is old news today. We live in a fast-paced, ever-changing, highly competitive world, where keeping abreast with the latest global developments and happenings is crucial to learning. Your content must be up-to-date at all times if you don’t want your learners to leave.
  3. Keep It… Simple
    When creating an eLearning course, use clear and simple language and stay away from jargon: While there are some industries that require the use of jargon – like the medical field which requires the use of medical terminology, not everybody appreciates jargon. Corporate jargon is one such example – where very few employees appreciate the use of words that make little or no sense.
  4. Keep It… Light
    Don’t saturate your learners with text. Stick to matter that is relevant and necessary. Do away with unnecessary sentences - like this one. Keep the content fresh. If you are going to use multimedia, don’t fill your course with it.
  5. Keep It… Interesting
    It’s not just the written matter, but the design itself. The proper use of colors (the color of the background and the use of an appropriate color combination), and fonts (the type and the size of fonts), and the appropriate use of images and other multimedia, go a long way in keeping your learner’s interest level, high.
  6. Keep It… Neat
    Keep the screen clutter-free. A clean screen without distractions will keep concentration levels high for a longer period of time. What’s a distraction? Anything that takes the reader’s mind away from the study material and learning is termed a distraction – which brings me to the next principle.
  7. Keep It… Interactive
    While interaction is good, too much interaction can be distracting. By interaction, I mean everything that you ask your learner to do – whether it is clicking a link to go to another page, watching a video, or using any other multimedia … add only what is necessary and only that which is going to provide knowledge.
  8. Keep It… Blended
    Blended learning is a combination of online learning and face-to-face learning. Blended learning gives learners the best of both worlds – online learning and ILT (instructor-led training). A blended course provides a holistic approach to learning. For more on blended learning, you are more than welcome to read The Three I’s of Blended Learning.
  9. Keep It… Short
    Finally, the maximum attention of a human being is not quite as much as we would like it to be, therefore, keep your courses short. When you run out of relevant information to provide your learner, stop.
Originally published on March 10, 2014