Designing Digitally
11/06/2018
Are you planning to introduce eLearning training in your workplace? Or perhaps, you want to improve the quality of the eLearning programs you are currently offering to your employees. ELearning has proven to be an effective means of enhancing the skills and knowledge of your employees and in the process, making them more productive and efficient. This has a positive impact on your bottom-line, which is why you should view eLearning training as an investment and not an expense. However, your efforts will only bear fruit, if you offer insightful and valuable content through user-friendly training courses.
Yes, you have to pay attention to the quality of the eLearning programs you want to offer for your employees. It takes considerable time, resources, and planning to create an effective eLearning training course. To make things easier for you, we have identified some ways for improving your future eLearning training course:
You have to start at the finish line and work your way backwards. Before creating an eLearning program, you have to be clear about the goals and objectives you want the learners to achieve from the training. Not only does this demonstrate the importance of the program, but fosters a sense of achievement for the employees. Plus, you will be able to create content in line with the goals and objectives when you have defined them at the outset. Conducting a thorough needs assessment will determine the goals and objectives for your training plan.
People hate clutter. The last thing you want is for the learners to be confused when they look at the screen. The eLearning course should have a clean and user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate and conveys a cohesive message. Otherwise, the learners will find it difficult to focus on the program.
Large blocks of text can get boring after a while. The effectiveness of an eLearning program depends on how it engages and holds the interest of the learners. This is why it is recommend that you incorporate visuals wherever possible and don’t rely solely on text. You can use rich media content or basic visual aids, such as flowcharts and diagrams.
You have to involve the learners in the learning process. For them, the program should not be a means of passive learning, or they will just go through the motions. You should add interactive features, such as questionnaires that require them to provide feedback, or set up a forum where all the participants of the program can talk to each other.
You might be tempted to share large volumes of data with the learners through visual aids, but this can backfire. It is true that visuals enable you to communicate complex information in a format that is understandable and easily digestible. However, if there are too many data points, there is a risk of the program being too complex for the learners. This is why you have to maintain a clear focus on the knowledge level of the participants and then design the program. This way, you will be better able to capture their interest and convince them to actively participate in eLearning training.
As mentioned above, the interface of the program should be clutter-free and made simple for the learners to understand and complete. In addition, you have to avoid making the design too complex. The ideal approach is to follow the basic design principles rather than going for high-end design concepts. The idea is to keep things easy and simple for the learners and a streamlined design goes a long way towards ensuring this. The basics to keep in mind include cohesion, consistency, no clutter, and effective use of white space. The program should also be aesthetically appealing.
Designing eLearning programs is not rocket science. Keep the design and content straightforward and concise and don’t include any element that only adds clutter rather than serving a tangible purpose. Sticking to these principles will enable you to improve the quality of your eLearning training programs and cater to your learners’ needs in a more effective, yet simple and hassle-free manner.
At Designing Digitally, Inc., we create custom eLearning based on the needs of your organization. Get in touch with our experts who can create solutions specific to your requirements.