eLearning is fast becoming the preferred method of learning by many students, and they prefer it for the following reasons:
eLearning course producers and professionals should keep these advantages in mind when creating new eLearning courses to maximise the benefits and advantages to keep the students focused and motivated in their learning pursuit.
However, as effective as it can be, developing an eLearning is not an easy feat. Here is a look at what is involved in developing an eLearning course:
1. Doing the prep work
Start by analysing the objectives. What are the learning objectives? What should the students learn and why? How will learning this help them grow? Moreover, knowing more about the learners, demographics, interests, and other relevant factors can help develop an appealing eLearning course. Lastly, prepare the research and sources of information about the subject that they should be learning.
This step can help create a more personalised learning experience for the students to remain engaged and focused on the course.
2. Planning
The planning phase involves analysing how to achieve the learning objectives best while considering the learners’ specific needs. It also involves developing compelling ideas on keeping the course relevant, meaningful, and motivating. The planning phase also involves defining the user experience, what type of visual style to use and how the users should feel. During this phase, define how flexible the course should be to maximise its appeal to the learners versus the level of complexity, which would impact the effort required in the production.
3. Designing
This phase will consider the learning objectives, all available materials, activities, and the learning checks and how to put them all together. The necessary resources must be put in place to make the course is visually appealing, engaging, and effective. All design elements should consider the factors that will keep the learners motivated.
4. Incorporating learning activities
As part of incorporating the learning activities, consider gamifying the modules to provide more interactivity to engage the learners. For example, add leaderboards and badges, or create interacting opportunities allowing the learners to share their opinions and ideas on some platform.
Now put it all together and create a cohesive course using the organisation’s preferred eLearning software and get ready to go live.
In conclusion, eLearning is appealing to students because of its flexibility, comfort, personalised learning, and growth opportunities. However, the development process can be complex, time-consuming and resource-intensive, but the effort is definitely worth the results it will bring.
Related: 7 Killer Examples of Gamification to Enhance Your eLearning