Online education can be more effective if you insert a bit of humor into it. Some developers may advise you to avoid it because of two reasons: it can be offensive and it can keep the course from being serious. However, this can be avoided if you know how to use it appropriately.
It is not right to there are many benefits to be gained if your online course can provide a fun learning experience for the students. First of all, it keeps the lessons from being too boring. It helps keep the learners engaged and attentive to the concepts being discussed. It also helps them relax – which makes them more open to learn. And when they are open to accept what the course is teaching them, you can expect a high retention rate from the learners. This will eventually make them more productive when they apply the knowledge and skills learned.
Of course, online education will only benefit from humor if you can implement it correctly. With that, here are tips that will help you make your course humorous without compromising the effectivity.
- Understand who the learners are. This is how you can keep it from being offensive. Make sure the humor that you will use will be appropriate for the people who will read or listen to it. If you are teaching kids – do not use jokes for mature adults. And if you are using the course for professionals, do not insert sexual jokes either.
- Use it with a purpose. Although the humor is meant to keep the course from being boring, make sure its purpose is beyond that. It still has to have a point that will connect one concept to the next. It can be used as an intro for a new lesson in the online education or an assessment. Giving it a purpose will help you know where it should be placed and will keep it from being a distraction.
- Make it relevant. Apart from knowing the audience and giving it a purpose, you also have to make it relevant to the course. Whatever the subject is, you have to consider how the humor will be relevant to the subject that is being taught. This will help make the course more memorable for the learners.
It is important to check with someone else if the humor that you inserted in your online education is okay or not. Getting a second opinion will give you a fresh perspective about the humor you will use.
To give you a more rounded advice about making your online course fun, here are a couple of tips that will allow you to effectively insert humorous elements in it.
- Avoid using stereotype jokes and making fun of specific cultures, race, gender, or religious beliefs. There are some people who are very passionate about these so try not to offend anyone. There are many ways that you can insert a joke without offending anyone.
- Do not repeat jokes. Stick to the original jokes. You will be sure that your learners have not heard the joke yet. Repeated jokes may not be a hilarious as you think.
- Refrain from putting too many jokes. As mentioned, your jokes should have a purpose. Using too many jokes might undermine the serious content of the course. It will make the online education seem shallow and ineffective.
Follow these tips when you are inserting humor in your online course. A bit of joke here and there will make the online education experience more appealing for your learners.
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