IDOL

Online learning should be enjoyable for the learner. Unfortunately, not all subjects easily lend themselves to this. However, above all, it must be engaging. 

It should be interesting enough to maintain the learner’s interest and attention.

While the company brand is important, it doesn’t always ensure a great learning experience. Hard-to-read typography or using a company template across multiple courses can create predictability and bore the learner. 

I prefer to focus on the tone and language to communicate the company brand and be creative with the rest to engage the learner in the experience.

Following on from the second point, if I’m building a learner journey, I have found that making each course a different design, based on a different theme or a different challenge, leads to favourable feedback. Sure, this doesn’t suit everyone, but the human brain likes to be challenged; we like to explore new things. 

Ultimately, this leads to a greater chance the information reaches the brain’s long-term memory.

Some of the most ‘out there’ content will trigger the biggest reactions from learners. Whether they love it or even dislike it, it’s going to stick with them for longer. 

It’s the mediocre content that suffers a steep decline in the retention curve and is quickly forgotten.

Let’s be clear, this is not how I manage projects! It’s actually about content accessibility. Content is most useful at the “moment of need,” also referred to as “just in time.” 

Use a format and delivery method that allows all learners easy access to the information they need, when they need it.

With the growing popularity of consuming content via mobile phones and the rise of platforms like YouTube and TikTok, attention spans are shortening, especially among younger generations. 

Keeping courses short and “chunking” larger pieces of content into bite-sized sessions of 10 to 15 minutes or less leads to better engagement and information retention. Include recaps and cliff-hangers, just like a mini Netflix series.

Sure, the client, sponsor, or SME are all customers, and they are probably picking up the cost, but it’s more important to focus on the learner’s needs - they are the real customers. 

Build the content around the learner’s needs, their demographic, age group, special requirements, accessibility needs, and terminology/language.

It’s a common phrase, and I agree it’s true, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth ten times that! If you can, keep onscreen words to a minimum and always accompany them with voice-over. 

Add context by using lots of relevant images or, better yet, use video or animation (with subtitles and a transcript). Preferably, use company-sourced rather than generic stock images.

Online learning can be a perfect match for the content, but it isn’t always the only approach. Each project needs to be assessed on its merit. I have consistently proven that a blended approach accelerates learning and knowledge retention. 

Utilising a mixture of online learning with facilitator-led training, discussions, and observations works best. This is particularly important where soft skills and behaviours are concerned; a course can teach a learner, scenarios, role-play, and quizzing can test knowledge, but observations will assess their ability to apply what they’ve learnt in the “real world.”

After completing a project, it’s important to evaluate the effectiveness of the content with the target audience. Has the learning objective been achieved? Has the behaviour change occurred? Has the learner retained the information weeks or even months down the line? 

Additionally, I evaluate myself - what I have learnt from the project, whether it’s a new design technique, theory, a new technology, or something else.