e-learning design: how to inspire better learning

In eLearning, beauty should be non-negotiable

We all remember a favorite teacher who inspired us to learn, but what exactly made them so memorable? The answer lies in the way they presented their material. They were able to create an atmosphere that encouraged students to think critically and creatively. They were able to connect with the audience on a personal level and inspire them to want more.

It is no surprise that you can use similar techniques to engage learners and increase their retention of your content. After all, the COVID-19 pandemic has driven exponential growth in the e-learning industry. But it also made learners “more hungry” for content that was modern, beautiful, relevant and engaging. This article discusses how eLearning designs can better inspire learning. It also provides some tips and strategies to help you create e-learning designs that will lead to better learning experiences for your learners.

What do we mean by eLearning Design?

e-learning design is the process of planning how to present information to learners in a way that will be most effective for them. It has two main components: Instructional Design and Visual Design. Teaching design is the process of deciding what content should be included, how it should be presented and when it should be presented to learners. Visual design (or graphic design) refers to the actual look and feel of a course — its colors, fonts, layout, images, animation, and so on.

What is essential in e-learning design?

Simply put, e-learning design is a way to create learning experiences that are more effective and engaging. A good eLearning design must be made in such a way that learners pay attention and learn effectively from beginning to end. Effective e-learning designs must be built with elements that can ensure that learners retain what they have learned for longer. In essence, there are ways to design an online course to maximize the retention of information by your learners. It’s not just about good teaching; it is also about making sure that learners can remember the content after you have finished teaching them!

1. An interactive environment is a big part of e-learning

This makes it more exciting and easier for learners to stay focused. An interactive design will also help make learning more fun, which increases retention. By adding interactivity, your e-learning course can be so much more than a regular video training course. You can add self-assessments, quizzes, games, simulations and animation to your courses [1].

2. Keep your e-learning simple but interactive

eLearning is an excellent tool for disseminating knowledge to employees. However, if your e-learning course is too complicated and challenging, it may not be beneficial. For example, if you have a 10-step process to complete a task and each step has 10 sub-steps, it will be difficult for learners to remember all those steps and they may get lost along the way.

Rather, try to keep your e-learning simple but interactive so that learners can focus on learning the core concepts instead of worrying about remembering all the details of each step. Here are some ways to make sure your eLearning courses are easy to follow:

• Use short videos or animations instead of long videos. A short video will attract attention better than a longer one, as it will keep the learners engaged throughout if it is engaging enough.
• Keep instructions in bullet points or numbered steps so that they are easier to follow and learners do not feel the need to remember the details of each step before moving on to the next one (which can be overwhelming).
• Keep it short and sweet. Complexity is a natural byproduct of features and many features, but when it comes to e-learning, simplicity is your best option.

Keep in mind that your main goal is to involve learners so that they can learn new information. The more interactive you make your course, the easier it will be for learners to do so! Visual aids and audio / video content will go a long way in helping your audience maintain essential learning.

3. Choose the right colors, font size and background

A big part of your course’s aesthetics is what it looks like, and fortunately there are some principles that can help. People make judgments based on color and whether or not they can read the information on a screen. However, eLearning allows for flexibility in design as long as you use colors that can be easily distinguished from each other.

Some font sizes are easy for learners to read (including enlarging your text if needed) and have an attractive background. Make sure the colors are not so bright that it hurts the learner’s eyes after a while, make sure the text is legible and try different options until you find what works best.

4. Be consistent in presentation, but not in style

Make sure you are consistent in your visual presentation of your eLearning course, but that does not mean you have to be bound by uniformity. One way to do this is to create a single design template that can be edited and expanded, depending on how it fits into each course. It can save you from rediscovering a whole look and feel every time.

Consistency is essential, but do not become predictable or boring — your learners have expected some variation in course content over time, and changes in style will actually keep them involved in your course content.

5. Add an element of gamification where possible

If you offer your participants rewards or motivate them in some way, gamification is a great option. Gamification focuses on the use of games and game design techniques to help people get involved in certain activities. After all, studies have shown that 95% of employees enjoy using game elements.

Ultimately, gamification is a great way to increase user engagement, but it is also an excellent method to learn. If you’re looking for new ways to improve your eLearning content, think about how gamification can help and how it will fit your goals. A good place to start is with role-playing scenarios that guide users through actual tasks and decisions based on probable situations they may encounter at work.

The best e-learning designs should be able to attract a learner’s attention

Because the process of creating an effective e-learning course can be so difficult when you balance all the knowledge that needs to be transferred with the desire to engage learners, it is easy to forget the importance of entertaining learners. Fortunately, game elements and images can help drive your e-learning process and make it more appealing to your users.

From graphic images and colors to catchy audio and text, there are many ways an online course can be inspired by amazing artwork or images – just make sure you do not steal anything! Apart from taste issues, the most effective eLearning designs should be able to grab, hold and retain learners’ attention with ease. Prolonged interaction is the best approach to ensure that the lesson content is conveyed effectively in an environment where learners control how carefully they will pay attention.

References:

[1] How does the use of animation help with e-learning?