5 ways you can improve eLearning engagement and results

It’s completely revolutionized how companies Thanks to the Internet and “the cloud”, sharing training material is now much easier than ever before and this has been a huge boon for HR departments.

As convenient as eLearning materials can be, though, it is still very important to get the right material so it is as effective as it can be. All too often, those that design eLearning materials fail to design courses that maintain the learner’s interest and engagement. Obviously, if the students aren’t engaged fully with the course, the effectiveness of the course will be low.

Below are some simple ways that you can ensure that your eLearning material is as effective as possible:

1.   Have a Plan. 

When creating any eLearning course it’s essential that you first create a plan so that you know just what you need to create. You will need to take into account the goals that you are trying to achieve before deciding on how you will proceed. By all means, look for ideas and inspiration from other eLearning sources, just remember to make sure that they are directly relevant to your specific training needs.

When you are absolutely clear on what goals you are trying to achieve it becomes easy to identify what needs to be included in your eLearning program.

2.   Keep it Interesting.

As necessary as it is, training can be dull and if you don’t keep it interesting then your trainees are likely to simply “check out” for the day. Walls of text or long rambling speeches are not going to help maintain their attention so remember to break up passages where possible. Doing so

Text that has been broken up into easily digestible passages is also less intimidating and is far more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Infographics in particular are very useful in training material because as well as looking good, they make the material more appealing and easy to digest.

It’s fine to use humor where possible provided the training remains professional and on track. Indeed, humor could help to improve the effectiveness of training by helping to maintain the attention of those that are taking the course.  Strike the right balance between education and humor and you can create excellent material that will have a lasting impact on the learner.

3.   Make it Interactive.

One very effective way of ensuring that people are engaging with your eLearning material is to try and make it as interactive as possible. In doing so, you’ll make sure that your participants are actually following the course and paying attention to what’s being taught. Also, interactions are more likely to keep the mind engaged, helping to make the course material a lot more effective and easy to retain than it otherwise would be.

To make eLearning courses interactive, you can include things such as questions that need to be answered before moving on. Encouraging interactivity on courses that involve software can be particularly productive because you can ask the participants to carry out certain tasks for themselves, which is a great way of getting the material to “stick.”

4.   Keep it Relevant. 

If any part of an eLearning course is not relevant to those taking part then it will only cause confusion and poor engagement. if something does seem otherwise interesting and you think it might be a good addition, it could just lead to confusion if it’s not relevant to the training modules at hand. Don’t forget also that just because you find something to be interesting, it does not mean that everybody else will.

One way to ensure that you are keeping it relative is to follow the plan. If something doesn’t fit in with the plan, then it won’t be relative to your goals. If you are using 3rd party material then make sure you watch the material yourself first to be sure that it is what you need to be. Also, titles can be misleading so make sure your modules clearly convey what will be covered.

5.   Allow Breaks. 

Studies show that sustained periods of working without breaks impairs peoples’ ability to remain focused throughout the duration of the task. When people do begin switching off mentally, the effectiveness of training w

Follow the simple tips above and you will enhance the effectiveness of your eLearning strategies, helping to ensure that your personnel has received all the necessary training they need. eLearning is not only a more effective way of training, it’s also a very cost effective method in the long run. Keep it engaging and you’re guaranteed to improve employee performance.