As eLearning specialists, we always look for ways to make our courses fun and engaging. Many eLearning specialists find that by gamifying their courses they can achieve the desired outcome and increase content retention. In this article, we will look at some of the popular gamification techniques. Narrative – This is the key to successful gamification. Not only that narratives tell stories, but they also offer real life examples that help learners understand main concepts that games are trying to teach. The art of storytelling is the main challenge that instructional designers face here. Not only that they need to think of a plot relevant to what is being taught, but they also have to incorporate protagonists and antagonists to ensure proper flow of the game. Rules – Just like any other type of activity, games must have rules. Without rules, learners will not know what to do and what to expect. Instructional designers should make sure that all the instructions are clear … [Read more...] about ELearning Gamification Techniques That Work!
The ELearning Course Designer’s Blog
5 Suggestions For Designing Motivational ELearning Courses
We all know that motivation plays a very important role in learning. While motivating learners in a regular classroom setting is relatively easy, doing so in an eLearning course, may be challenging. In this post, I want to look at some ways you can motivate your learners. Always use more than one way to present instructions/directions- Remember, your learners will not have an instructor who will be able to provide further explanations. Therefore, when you want learners to do something, you need to be as clear as possible. When it comes to instructions, more is better than less. Be as specific as you can, and don’t forget that all people learn differently. In addition to written instructions, consider offering instructions in the audio format. Try to provide clear examples of what you want your learners to do. Lastly, always use plain language when writing instructions. Your learners should not spend too much time thinking about the assignment. In fact, your instructions should be … [Read more...] about 5 Suggestions For Designing Motivational ELearning Courses
How to Apply Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy to ELearning Courses
Oftentimes, when instructional designers are tasked with designing a course, one of the challenges that they face has to do with the design approach they take. While experienced instructional designers seem to have a better grasp of this, novices often struggle with selecting the right activities and exercises that truly reinforce learning. One of the best (and probably easiest) approaches to figure out the activities for the course is to use Bloom’s Taxonomy. Since Bloom’s taxonomy was created for traditional classroom training, there was a need to reconstruct it to fit modernized approaches to training. Therefore, in 2009, the Taxonomy was repackaged to reflect current needs. In this blog post, I want to take a brief look at the repackaged Taxonomy, and see how instructional designers can apply it to their eLearning and Blended learning courses. The best way to use Bloom’s taxonomy is to use the content of the course to develop measurable learning objectives. Then, categorize … [Read more...] about How to Apply Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy to ELearning Courses
Launch of Instructional Design for ELearning Course
If you are interested in designing effective and instructionally sound eLearning solutions, then I’ve got great news for you. I just published my brand new “Instructional Design for eLearning” course. The class is rich with videos, articles, templates, and exercises. Here is what one of the reviewers wrote about it: “I have been trying to transition into instructional design for a while and have looked at a few different courses including those from online colleges, but this course is by far the best, you will not be disappointed! Tons of useful information!” I’ve been working really hard on this class and I know you will get a lot out of it! Be sure to take advantage of this discount while it lasts through Friday, March 18th. Check out this video to get a better idea about the course! … [Read more...] about Launch of Instructional Design for ELearning Course
Conducting Needs Analysis: Is it Really Important?
Have you ever developed training that wasn't really needed? Unfortunately, it is not always easy to convince clients that what they have in mind may not be the best solution from the training perspective. However, good instructional designers must be able to recognize the ultimate reason the training is needed and seamlessly help the clients select the most appropriate training modality. To do that, it is crucial that instructional designers review the available information about the company and the current need. It may also be necessary to talk with some of the employees and managers to get their perspective about the situation in the organization. After conducting analysis, instructional designers should formulate a measurable business goal and create an action plan to reach that goal. During the initial research, instructional designers should determine why people are not doing what they should and whether the real problem has to do with work environment, motivation or lack of … [Read more...] about Conducting Needs Analysis: Is it Really Important?
How to Satisfy Different Generations of Learners
When instructional designers create eLearning courses, they do their best to address all learning styles. However, what many of us forget is that it is necessary to address learning styles across all generations. To do this, you should first conduct target audience analysis. If during the analysis phase, you discover that most of the learners are from Generation Y or Millennials, you should then gear your course towards these generations. In other words, you should make their learning as interactive as possible. You should also encourage collaboration by incorporating a wiki or a Facebook page. Additionally, as you design your course for younger audience, keep in mind that both Millennials and Gen Y don’t like to hear what they already know and they don’t like repetition. They just want to know what they need to know now! When younger generation signs up for training, the expectation is that the same course will be available in the eLearning and mLearning formats. So, to please a … [Read more...] about How to Satisfy Different Generations of Learners