It is important to pay close attention to the online education design because it will help improve the elearning experience of the learners. While the content is the main reason why they will go through the course, it is the design that will help make the retention rate high. The design helps heighten the elearning experience and emotions felt during the lesson. That makes the course memorable and can even increase the retention rate. When retention is high, the implementation and application of the concepts learned will be more likely to happen.
There are 6 technical rules that will help make the design of your online education perfect.
Use interactive elements.
Interactive elements can help keep the learners engaged in the lesson. When you force them to act on activities within the course, their mind and attention are focused on whatever is being taught. When you get their full attention, that is how the learning is maximized. Of course, you need to choose the right activity that will heighten the concepts that are being taught. Not only that, you have to know where it should be applied in the lesson. Should it be before or after the actual discussion? Should you use gamification or a video simulation? There are various options and you need to make your choice carefully.
Keep the use of graphics reasonable.
The use of visuals in any course if beneficial – but only when you use it in moderation. Putting too many images or graphics might end up distracting the learner from the concepts that they need to learn. Use it to support important concepts without letting it take the spotlight. Try not to go overboard by putting graphics in every empty space. There is wisdom in leaving a white space as it helps rest the eyes of the learners.
Let users control the auditory elements.
Another rule that you need to follow is to let the users control the auditory elements in the course. Some people may want to pause or rewind any narration in the course. You have to let them do that. If you incorporated a video as part of the online education material, then you have to let them manipulate it according to the pace that they want to learn. Let them turn down the volume of any background music – it might be distracting for them. Learners have different preferences in learning and you need to give them the freedom to manipulate the different elements in the course – in case they end up being a distraction.
Ensure that all links lead somewhere.
Resource links are great tools to promote self-learning in the learners. However, these links sometimes end up getting lost. Some sites stop functioning and you need to make sure that all the links you use in your online education are still active. If it leads nowhere, you will waste the time of the learner and possibly turn them off from learning on their own.
Know when to use tables instead of text.
Text will always be a constant in any elearning course but there are better formats that will help make them easier to understand. For instance, using tables instead of paragraphs can help you highlight important keywords. There is no need to provide fillers that can take the attention of the learners from what they should be concentrating on. It will help make the course look more organized and clutter-free.
Make the course flexible across different devices.
The final technical rule that you need to look into is the flexibility of the online education. With the rise in demand for mobile learning, you may want to make your course flexible enough to be accessed through different devices. There are many platforms that you can use that makes this flexibility possible. There are learning management systems that can automatically change the layout so it can be viewed well through a big or small screen – whatever is applicable.
The online education design should be given careful thought so you can maximize the learning experience of the learners. When they have a good experience, you can boost the engagement and possibly encourage them to pursue more learning materials.
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