6 Simple Ways to Improve Elearning Training Programs

While elearning training programs have proven to be a great success, there is always room for improvement. There’s never a time for an elearning course designer to merely rest on their laurels. Technology keeps advancing and businesses want their educational programs to be cutting edge to provide a high level learning experience for their employees!

As with most educational practices, there are good elearning programs and not-as-good programs. The design plays a crucial role in the efficacy of training courses. The changes to make in design don’t have to be on a large scale. Even some simple tweaks can make the difference between a mediocre learning experience and a great one.

Changes that make a difference

There is always room for improvement and conscientious course designers strive to create the most relevant and effective games that they can. Here are some tips and hints to do just that:

Keep it simple. When it comes to eLearning design, often less is more. Putting only one concept on each screen ensures that the main idea isn’t lost. The goal is to keep the employee focused on one important idea at a time.
Set time limits. Having a time limit encourages a designer to make sure they are zeroed in on just the most important concepts. It prevents extraneous slides that aren’t necessary and don’t directly tie to the learning objectives.
Separate graphics and text. It can be helpful to use the slides for graphics that clearly illustrate the concepts and put the text into a coordinating audio track. Expecting the learners to take in too much at one time can prevent them from comprehending the important content.
Give bullet points a makeover. Bullet points can get overused and become dull. Transforming the bullet point into a clickable graphic can add educational value to the slide and make it more exciting.
Encourage active learning. A poorly-designed elearning training program doesn’t engage the user in their own learning, rather allowing them to mentally check-out. A few good ideas for engaging the learner include placing interactive elements into the elearning activity and requiring open discussions between peers.
Rethink the quiz. Quizzes are usually viewed as part of a more traditional approach to training, commonly a component of classroom-type one-way instruction. They were normally given at the end of an activity to assess how well a learner understood the content. With a bit of a tweak, quizzes can be a great addition to an elearning activity. Think about putting the quiz at the beginning of the activity and integrating some drag and drop components. The purpose is not to assess but to spark learning, especially if the employee has to keep working on the activity until they successfully complete it.

A final hint that can be helpful to a designer is to ask themselves how they can improve their activities. As they hold themselves to a high standard, the companies they serve and the employees of the companies reap the benefits of effective training.

Contact Designing Digitally today and start designing the custom eLearning solution your organization has been waiting for!