How To Create Custom eLearning In A Budget-Friendly Way
Online learners need to feel like the eLearning course is made just for them. It must help them achieve their goals and impart all of the essentials, preferably in a way they can fully understand and absorb the information. This is the basis of custom eLearning. It’s a common misconception that personalized equals pricey. However, these 7 tips can help you design eLearning courses that connect with online learners on a deeper level in a budget-friendly way.
1. Cater To Different Learning Preferences
Some online learners absorb more information by watching eLearning videos, while others prefer to read text-based stories and case studies. Everyone has their own distinct learning preferences, and it’s important to include a good mix of eLearning activities, multimedia, and eLearning assessments. In fact, it’s one of the most wallet-friendly ways to create custom eLearning if you follow this tip from day one. Research your audience to determine their learning preferences and use this information during the eLearning storyboarding process. This allows you to integrate the perfect balance of visual, auditory, and tactile eLearning content to suit the needs of every online learner.
2. Create Personal Learning Paths
Personal learning paths give online learners the power to choose their own online training activities, goals, and resources. Instead of following the linear menu, they're able to create a customized route that works best for them. You can achieve this by incorporating a clickable course map that online learners can access whenever it's most convenient. You can also take this one step further by creating personalized learning contracts, which outline personal goals, available resources, and milestones. These personalized learning contracts hold online learners accountable and provide an individualized plan for them to follow.
3. Provide Targeted Feedback
This tip doesn't cost a dime, but it can significantly increase learner engagement and eLearning course effectiveness. Assess your online learners early and often, then follow it up with targeted feedback and personalized praise. Be specific about their strengths, what they still need to work on, and which online resources they can use. Individuals who are struggling will appreciate constructive criticism, as they get more from the eLearning experience.
Self-assessments are also an option, especially in asynchronous learning environments. Be sure you automate your LMS so that it redirects online learners to eLearning activities, modules, and online resources based on their results. It's essential to move beyond simple test scores and give each online learner personalized feedback based on their specific needs.
4. Incorporate An Online Training Library
Online training libraries can contain everything from microlearning online training tutorials to interactive branching scenarios and job aids. They give online learners round-the-clock access to the information they need, so that they can focus on personal knowledge gaps. Create a list of online training resources and share it with your online learners. Include links to online articles, videos, webinars, podcasts, and websites. If possible, break it down by category so that online learners can quickly find the topic they're looking for.
5. Foster A Supportive Online Learning Community
There are times when online learners need individualized support and online instructors or facilitators aren't available. This is when a supportive online learning community becomes a valuable resource. It gives online learners the power to reach out to their peers and benefit from one another's experience. Online discussions, social media sites, and blogs are just some of the online collaboration tools that are available. You can also encourage online learners to use a Project Management platform when they are working on group collaboration projects. To keep everything in order, set some ground rules in advance and define expectations. For example, clarify how often online learners should participate in the online discussion and what they should do if a problem arises.
6. Get Your Online Learners Involved
Creating their own online training materials is the epitome of custom eLearning. It won't take a bite out of your eLearning budget or your schedule. Assign each online learner a topic or allow them to choose their own, then ask them to create a learning aid using the available resources. This can be anything from free video production software to quiz creation authoring tools.
Online learners are only able to talk about the topic and create eLearning materials if they know the key concepts and ideas. Thus, you can use this eLearning activity to assess their knowledge and identify gaps. Once they've finished the eLearning assignment, encourage them to share it with their peers by uploading it to the eLearning course blog. The mere act of creating the eLearning content will improve their comprehension and retention. Peer-based feedback is an added bonus. In addition, other online learners in your eLearning course will be able to expand their understanding of the topic by viewing their peer-generated feedback.
7. Develop Online Group Collaboration Activities
This combines the previous 2 tips by taking learner-generated eLearning content to a social level. Ask online learners to divide into groups and then choose a sub-topic or idea. Each team works together to create a blog, website, or an online presentation that explores the subject matter. Alternatively, assign each group a case study and then invite them to produce an online video or a branching scenario. They must integrate the eLearning characters and challenges, and then share their own conclusions.
Online group collaboration activities give online learners the ability to engage with their peers and explore the topic in a more dynamic and personal way. They can explore all of their assumptions and beliefs, and then see things from a different viewpoint. There is even the opportunity to expand their online network and become more comfortable with their virtual learning community.
Custom eLearning doesn’t have to put you over budget. In fact, these 7 tips offer you the opportunity to personalize your eLearning courses using limited resources. Also, bear in mind that audience research is of the upmost importance. So, survey, interview, and observe your online learners beforehand to identify their needs.
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