How to Make your eLearning Courses Worth Taking Infographic

Our job as eLearning designers is to FASCINATE the learner from beginning to end. In the excitement of launching a new course, it’s easy to overlook details. Therefore, it can be very useful to have a checklist for last minute touches. Ask yourself: Would I read/watch this course? If the answer is “no,” then you know you are doing something wrong. Before you publish your course, review these items to make sure it is worth taking:

1. Are you telling your learners a story? Or are you drowning them in facts?

Avoid text-heavy material that is lengthy and overly factual because learners will quickly get bored. As an alternative, weave the facts throughout a story. Story-based learning connects the audience emotionally to the content and in turn motivates them to become more involved in the training.

2. Does the course contain real world scenarios? Or is it simply theoretical without any meaningful context?

Trigger thinking by guiding the audience through reality-based learning scenarios. Ask the learners to solve a problem that they may encounter during their daily activities.

3. Are the interactions mentally stimulating? Or did you include interactions just for the sake of including them?

Effective interactivity makes the learners think, unlike a series of arbitrary clicking on the screen. Make sure your training is interactive by presenting learners with opportunities to explore.

4. Are you speaking your learners language? Or is it full of jargon?

Review the course to eliminate overly technical terms. Keep learners interested by using a conversational tone throughout the course.

5. Is the design visually appealing? Or is the design so off-putting and overloaded that it pushes the learners away?

Graphics can be a great way to illustrate a point provided that's relevant to the material. Put thought into the aesthetics of the course and chose a color palette that is visually pleasing.

6. Are the activities interesting and relevant to your target audience?

Any interactions you build into the course should be based on the objectives and not the other way around. Always identify what the learners will get out of your course. If the content is not delivered in a way that has personal relevance, then it is not likely to stick.