This is part 2 of a 3 part blog series on creating engaging eLearning. In part 1 , I talked of Purpose. In this part I’ll be discussing about Motivation.
If you have spent time watching kids, you must have observed that most things fascinate them. They have a high level of curiosity that drives their learning. However, with us adults, we need motivation to even lift a finger.
Motivation is extremely crucial for any eLearning to happen. Ethan Edwards from Allen Interactions has rightly said that, “eLearning is an isolated activity – So motivation is crucial. It comes from within the learner OR from instructional design.”
Intrinsic motivation, when it comes to adults in corporate environment, is commonly uncommon. We as learning designers need to ensure motivation through Instructional Design. Here are a few things we can do:
a) WIIFM
What’s In It For Me?
We adults evaluate this almost instinctively before doing any task. The same is true for any training or eLearning you wish your staff to undergo. It is absolutely crucial to answer that question for our learners and preferably upfront. Doing it as part of objectives of the course is probably too late. It would be best to do this in your roll out/ communication plan.
b) Make it Purposeful & Conversational
We need to appreciate that our staff is busy. They have jobs to do and are probably looking to get over with any assigned eLearning ASAP. Support their desire by making the course purposeful and conversational. For instance, putting 3 screens with welcome, structure of the course, navigation, objectives etc. will only turn them off. So, keeping it short and sweet works better, leaving the choice of course progression to the learner.
c) Keep it Byte-Sized & Searchable
Chances are that some of our eLearning is beginning to be accessed on mobile devices (smartphones and tablets). It is important then to design our eLearning keeping in mind how we use our mobile devices – in short bursts. Hence, designing shorter nuggets which can be searched and consumed on-the-go adds to the motivation of your staff. They will appreciate that these nuggets are helping them get the stuff done.
d) Free Up the Navigation
Nothing annoys learners more than a locked navigation. They feel disrespected when we do that. Free it up and give them control.
e) Build for the Multi-device World
Again if we are indeed targeting delivery on multiple devices, we have to consciously build for multiple devices. It should be responsive, accessible on all devices, and include gestures for touch devices. It is always a good idea to go Mobile-First.
I believe if we can take care of the above points we would be ensuring higher motivation levels in our staff. Hope you find these useful.
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