Too often when I explain to people what I do for a living – namely create custom eLearning – people respond with, “Oh I hate eLearning – it’s so boring!” Think about it – how many eLearning courses have you taken that you can honestly say you really enjoyed, let alone loved As long as people continue to create eLearning that people loath to take our industry and profession will suffer. Love eLearning
Personally, I love eLearning because (done properly) it has the power to positively impact learners faster, cheaper, and better than other training modalities.
Here’s a short list of types of qualities and characteristics we try to infuse in the eLearning we create so that our clients and members will proudly say, “I love eLearning!”
I love eLearning that…
- Gets to the point quickly with focused narration. Brevity is the essence of wit.
- Is clean and elegant without a lot of unnecessary fluff, cheesy sound effects, and flashing objects. Don’t distract me – teach me! The flashier the media, the weaker the content.
- Has meaningful activities that helps me better retain the information I am learning. It’s time to move beyond true/false, multiple choice question types.
- Was created with a solid understanding of instructional design and how learners learn best.
- Clearly shows that someone with an artist’s touch took the time to make the content look nice and have a user-friendly layout.
- Can easily be accessed from my mobile devices as well as my desktop computer/laptop.
- Is easy to find within the Learning Management System and easy to reference whenever I want.
- Is searchable within the course so I can jump or return to the sections I know I need to review.
- Is easy to navigate without unnecessary or confusing branching.
- Includes relevant and useful scenarios, tells a story, or otherwise includes some creativity in the narration writing.
The eLearning Network is on a mission to help empower eLearning developers of all skill levels to produce eLearning that people love because the content is solid, the course looks and sounds great, and people leave the course with the knowledge and skill they need in order to be more effective on the job or in their lives. By creating eLearning that truly delivers high quality learning experiences and results, companies will make more investments in this growing field, more professionals will enter the training profession, more learning technologies will evolve, and a snowball effect will take over. Love eLearning
If you have not already joined, we encourage you to do so. From free training and job aids to a professional team of eLearning artists and programmers ready to support you and your project, the eLearning Network’s mission is nothing short of helping our members produce their best work ever. If you want to approach every job like it’s your masterpiece, know that we are here to help you achieve that level and beyond.