Creating custom eLearning content can be intensely interesting or insanely frustrating. Armed with the right tools, information, and SMEs, creating custom content can be a great thing. You can stretch your creativity and learn new things. Or you can crash and burn, churning out a course that no one likes or uses. How do you tilt the odds in favor of succeeding? Keep reading.
1. Know What Success Looks Like
Ask your SMEs and stakeholders: “What is the ideal outcome? What does success look like to them after the course is launched?” If everyone is not on the same page with a clear vision of where the project is going, you won’t get anywhere anytime soon.
2. Actively Use The 80/20 Rule
Despite what your SME may say, learners don’t really need to know absolutely every tiny detail about the content. Really, they don’t. What learners need to know is how to do their job. Every piece of content must prove its value and purpose in order to be included. Cull the extras and include them as downloadable resources. If the learner simply must know what is on every single page of the software manual, let them download and read it later.
3. Use A Mind Map To Organize Content
A mind map visually arranges the information. It allows you to see how everything fits together and quickly identifies extra bits of information that may not belong. As a bonus, it can serve as a potential content map in the course.
4. Use Visuals To Convey Information
People consume information with their eyes. Clear, well-designed graphics representing meaningful content are a beautiful thing. Infographics are quick hits of content that work well in a lot of situations. Short videos make the content come to life. When done well and used appropriately, all of these visuals break up the course and make content more palatable and digestible.
5. Create Engaging Scenarios
Everyone loves a good story. Present realistic scenarios that show actual applications of the content, both good and bad. Encourage critical thinking, exploration, and decision making regarding the content. People tend to remember stories long after specific facts and figures have faded away.
6. Respect The Adult Learner
Explain what’s in it for them. Don’t lock navigation. Show how the content fits together and how it can be used in a real-world situation. Above all else, don’t waste the learner’s time. Just like you, they are busy and have a lot to do. Make sure the content is worth their while. Your odds of succeeding just went way up.