5 Tips Every Upcoming Learning Designer Should Know

You can have the most interesting content in a course but true engagement relies on variety when it comes to learning design. Recent studies also suggest we might need to rethink how we teach and present in order to design better eLearning courses

It’s also important to remember that learning design is a framework that changes over time and new techniques and tools are always needed to remain effective. After all, learning design is nothing new but the concept has evolved immensely since the early 2000’s. In this article, we look at instructional design and some tips to improve the presentation and level of engagement of any eLearning course.

5 Tips Every Upcoming Learning Designer Should Know

1. Embrace the Power of Images, Videos and Other Multi-Media

A text-heavy eLearning course will eventually bore participants and have a negative impact on knowledge retention. Text-heavy courses lack variety and without this variety, a learner is likely to lose interest - especially if that person is a visual learner.

But what’s the alternative?

Video, audio and imagery is the best way to mix things up with learning design. These tools can not only improve learner engagement but also enable participants to actually enjoy/appreciate the course. While colorful images and other multimedia is recommended, it’s also important not to use stock photos etc that come across as cliche. Live lectures are another great asset for learning design and relevant illustrations can help transmit information much faster and more effectively than text.

2. Use White Space Instead of Filling-in All the Gaps

Ask any expert in learning design and you will better understand the importance of white space in an eLearning course. While some designers rush to fill in the gaps at every opportunity, experts are more likely to allow for more space. This is because white space can enable learners to know what information is most important and take time to process whatever information the presentation is trying to communicate.

It’s also just as easy to create white space than it is to fill in the gaps. What’s more, this process makes the content easier to digest and look better in general. For instance, instead of squeezing a large amount of content into one slide/page, you can simply divide this content across multiple slides to make the content easier to digest.

3. Create a Learner-Centered Setting for the Course

A learner-centered course will pay attention to the skills, attitudes and beliefs that learners might bring to an eLearning setting. Learning designers can use this process to discover what their participants think with regard to certain problems, ideas or types of content. Learning designers who recognize the benefits of a learner-centered course can help bring the students “into the classroom” and make them feel more involved. This approach can also translate nicely into the course itself.

For instance, asking open-ended questions and allowing for choice within a course can encourage problem-solving thinking. Also, this approach communicates to participants that their opinion and ideas are important and hence, increases overall engagement.

4. Give Freedom to Roam to Keep Learners Focused

While it’s necessary to keep students on track, a straight-line method isn’t always the best in terms of learning design. That is to say, variety is needed for high-engagement and a sense of freedom to roam will also help keep most learners engaged. This might mean allowing participants to study at a time of their own choosing or ensuring the course can be taken offline and without the need to be logged on to the internet.

It’s also possible to provide this sense of freedom by recording webinars or lectures as opposed to requiring students to be online at a specific time. This is also part of the reason why eLearning is so useful - it removes the need for sitting in a classroom!

5. Tell Stories Instead of Just Outlining the Facts

Stories have been told since the beginning of time and people never grow tired of listening to a decent story. In fact, the most popular companies/brands in the world mostly rely on storytelling to communicate with their customers as this is the best way to hold the attention of any audience. Studies also show that stories can cause neurochemical changes and make students more alert or engaged at the very least.

As for what this looks like in learning design, you might use mini-stories as opposed to dull examples or describe fictional plots instead of just outlining the statistics. Lessons can also be structured as dialogues and some learning designers even draw popular storylines in history or pop-culture to get their message across to the audience.