How To Make eLearning Relevant? 6 Effective Strategies

Increasing engagement is a never-ending battle in e-learning

Engaging online students is the ultimate goal, whether focusing on partners, customers, or employees because the learning process becomes much more complicated if the audience isn’t engaged.

“Tell me, and I forget; teach me, and I remember; involve me, and I learn,” Confucius once said, and you know he was correct.

Learning becomes simple, natural, and effortless when you create online courses that connect your learners with the content. But how to achieve that?

What is The Best eLearning Practice?

The modern learner has about 20 minutes per week for work-based learning (Bersin & Forbes). That is only 1% of their working week. This may be less than 20 minutes in one sitting or one location. 

So, one of the crucial parts of effective e-learning is that it respects its audience and makes good use of their time. After all, the effectiveness of e-learning is determined by whether it alters a person’s behavior or performance habits. It must be the catalyst for change!

“You must meet your learners where they are to engage them.” If they want quick and easy learning, provide it. And, most importantly, it must be timely and relevant – learners must be able to access learning at the point of need.”

Effective e-learning design considers modern learner trends as well as the needs and habits of its end users. Elearning that is long-term, click-through, and interactive? No, thank you. Elearning effectiveness stems from engaging, relevant, and personalized solutions.

So, how do you design an interesting online learning programme?

In this blog, we’ll share 6 effective e-learning strategies for developing learning programs that will pique your learners’ interest, motivate, and engage them, no matter who they are.

   1.Implement Scenario-Based Learning And Storytelling

The first and most important step in any educational setting is to clearly define a problem or concept, identify who the learners are and how the subject is important to them, and offer a solution to resolve or explain it. If your participants can’t see the importance of the subject matter, they’ll tune out before you get to the meat of the course.

Scenario-based learning immerses participants in a realistic setting that requires them to solve a problem or a case using information gathered and skills acquired during the session.

Scenario-based learning also allows students to apply what they’ve learned in previous sessions and assignments, assisting them in storing their knowledge in long-term memory. This active, practical application of learned materials also allows eLearners to see the course’s benefits quickly, making it more effective than a standalone theoretical study.

2. Make eLearning Engaging

Did you know that up to 45% of people (primarily Millennials) ranked interactive content as one of their top three preferred types of content to consume?

Incorporating interactivity into your learning programs is critical for retaining learners’ interest and keeping them focused throughout the course.

Both of these elements increase engagement, as boredom and distraction are the enemies of engagement.

There are several approaches to creating an interactive e-learning strategy, ranging from simple drag-and-drop interactions to transforming your content into an interactive online course and designing an interactive virtual classroom environment.

Remember that your aim is to keep your learners engaged; the better you know them, the easier it becomes to find the interactive elements that will keep them involved.

   3. Include Mobile Learning

A responsive design for your course can help your students access to content on various devices, including mobile phones. Smartphones have become essential to our daily lives, making mobile learning more important than ever.

Today’s students expect learning materials to be literally at their fingertips – and that they can complete an online course using a smartphone or tablet if they so desire. Mobile learning is the best practice for many on-the-go learners. 

According to research, 70% of learners are more motivated when studying via their mobile device (as opposed to a computer).

When designing modules, ensure they fit perfectly on a phone’s small screen and can adapt to different screen sizes.

Because these modules cover a single topic or learning level, they should be designed to provide on-demand support for any learner, regardless of device.

   4. Take Into Account Different Learning Styles

One of the challenges of developing eLearning content is creating a course that can cater to various learning styles across generations, genders, and personalities.

Many students may enroll in your course, but their learning styles may differ. To benefit each of them, you must provide content to which everyone can relate.

For example, most students prefer visual courses, while others prefer audio content. Furthermore, some people learn through movement.

Create a balance between your audio, video, and kinesthetic elements if you want to include them in your courses’ success.

You can present your topics using graphics and video. Simultaneously, provide written notes for all lectures, activities, and group assignments.

5. Conduct a Post-Course Evaluation Survey

This may seem obvious, but it is an important tip to remember! At the end of your eLearning course, ask your students to complete a quick 1-2 minute survey to get quality feedback. Here are three questions to ask to find out how they feel:

  • What stood out to you?
  • What was particularly interesting or engaging?
  • What could be done better?

Your participants are the most valuable advice in adult learning. Hearing it straight from them will give you a good idea of what to include in your course for the next time.

One excellent method is to automate the survey and include it in the course’s workflow. Look for an eLearning platform that integrates response data with your CRM (customer relationship management) system and other databases. This data can then be stored in a single convenient location and accessed by all relevant parties in your institution.

   6. Ensure a Positive User Experience

A seamless e-learning user experience is a must in 2023. There are no ifs, ends, or buts! The tools and technologies you use to facilitate content presentation should be simple and clear, but not at the center of attention.

The best user experience occurs when the impressive technology and design fade into the background to support the study material learners should absorb. Consider your LMS to be a stylish yet sturdy frame for your work of art.

So, what exactly is a “great user experience” in the context of eLearning? Here are a few highlights to consider:

Embrace Microlearning

Not all learners can sit down for several hours in a row and complete an entire online seminar. Sometimes, their jam-packed daily schedule simply doesn’t allow for it. 

As a result, you must plan lessons that students can attend in short bursts while also allowing content consumption to be paused and resumed later.

Create a Customized Dashboard

Your end-user should be able to access all the information required to complete a set of eLearning workflows. 

This can be housed in an easily navigable dashboard or home screen that also displays their completed module or course records, quizzes, test scores, any certificates they’ve earned, and so on.

Be Mobile-Friendly

All your content must be easily accessible and usable online. A larger proportion of people prefer to learn via smartphone and tablet, and it’s critical to keep up with this trend, which isn’t going away anytime soon.

We Can Assist You! 

With the Astria Learning LMS platform, you can create transformative e-learning in a smarter, faster manner.

If you’re ready to power up your institution with LMS, be sure your investment is purposeful by relying on our services: Here at Astria Learning, we provide the next generation of distance learning tools with a high emphasis on security and functionality. 

Request a demo today to start growing, or contact us with any questions you may have.

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