SHIFT's eLearning Blog

Our blog provides the best practices, tips, and inspiration for corporate training, instructional design, eLearning and mLearning.

To visit the Spanish blog, click here
    All Posts

    Quick Take: 8 key points that will make the difference in your eLearning

    In this article, you'll learn...How to apply Robert Gagne's Learning Principles in your eLearning for a succesful development. As well, what to include in your eLearning courses for a more interactive, engaging and motivating learning experience. 

    make the difference elearningProbably you’ve once have had the opportunity to hear or read various information about eLearning best practices.

    If you do some research on the internet, books, magazines ... you will find information of all kinds, but without doubt, it requires further investigation to find those key points that will definitely make the difference.

    This time, we have undertaken the task of resuming the principles defined by Robert Gagne, and their application to create eLearning courses that motivate your employees (learners) and to achieve the expected results in your company. Take a close look at some successful key points that will make the difference: 

    1. Gain attention! 

    When developing eLearning, even though it’s necessary to keep the learners' attention throughout the entire course, engaging them at the beginning is essential. This can specially be achieved by auditory and visual resources, or with relevant data according to their learning needs. 

    Learn some common ways of adding visual interest to an e-Learning course. 

    2. Build objectives

    A well built and defined learning objective becomes a motivation and guidance tool for the employee. This means, learners must be aware of how the course will benefit them, what will they learn and what will they be able to do when they finish it. Some pointers you should consider: 

    • Objectives should be given early in the course.
    • Content must include all information necessary to fulfill the objectives.
    • Exercises should respond directly to goals. 

    3. Recover previous knowledge

    Encouraging employees to use knowledge they have acquired from past experiences in their workplace provides a sense of personal relevance and enhances motivation. When designing your eLearning courses integrate activities such as diagnostic exercises, summaries,simulations, among others to meet this goal.

    4. Guide the process

    Content assimilation is more effective when the learner is continuously guided in their training process. eLearning, for its interactive nature, is ideal for using different strategies, including:

    -  Examples and counterexamples.

    -  Analogies. 

    -  Simulations.

    -  Case studies.

    5. Reinforce knowledge

    Monitor progress and performance of your employees during their training through review activities to measure their level of assimilation and understanding. Take advantage of the dynamism and interactivity that eLearning represents, for:

    -  Games

    -  Simulations

    -  Exercises 

    Quick note: Don't forget that creating interactive content doesn't necessarily mean it's engaging or motivating, so be careful with that! 

    6. Provide Feedback

    Formative feedback to employees in the context of practicing new skills and behaviors is crucial to reaffirm the understanding of content. This is even more important in an eLearning environment, considering that there is no teacher or instructor.

    7. Evaluate

    Just as in traditional training methods, eLearning courses should give learners the opportunity to test their knowledge. It is very important that they are able to monitor their progress.

    We recommend the following points:

    1. Questions must align with course learning objectives.
    2. The evaluation should include options for the student to identify which areas to improve or topics to review.
    3. Questions should show the obtained score.
    4. At the end of the evaluation, there should be the option of obtaining a certificate.

    8. Encourage retention

    Improving retention allows employees to transfer their new knowledge and skills to their current job. To achieve this:

    -  Use simulations

    -  Or additional resources such as articles, tables, guides, references to related web sites, among others.

    We hope you can incorporate all these into your e-Learning courses! 

    "E-learning should look less like training and more like the outputs of the marketing and communications teams. They know how to grab people instantly and hold their attention..." Kineo

    Intrested in seeing an example of an eLearning course that follows the previouse 8 steps? Click here to see it

    Visual elearning
    View more documents from SHIFT eLearning.

    Click me

    Karla Gutierrez
    Karla Gutierrez
    Karla is an Inbound Marketer @Aura Interactiva, the developers of SHIFT. ES:Karla is an Inbound Marketer @Aura Interactiva, the developers of SHIFT.

    Related Posts

    The Science Behind What Makes an eLearning Design Effective

    Let's get real about design—sure, we all want our courses to look good. It feels great to pour our hearts into making something that catches the eye. But here's the thing: if your slick design isn't also crystal clear and easy to use, it's like a sports car with no engine. Looks great, but will it get you where you need to go? Nope. You know the drill. You click into a course full of excitement, only to get lost in flashy features that make it hard to find the actual content. Or maybe the text is so tiny or the colors so jarring that you're squinting two minutes in. Frustrating, right? That's why nailing eLearning design is more science than art. It's about knowing what makes your learners tick, what draws them in, and what drives the message home so that it sticks. Get this right, and you're not just sharing information; you're creating a learning experience that could change the way they see the world. Sounds powerful, doesn't it? That's because it is.

    Unlocking Learner Engagement: Psychological Techniques for eLearning Success

    Have you ever wondered why big brands pour so much money into market research before launching a single product? It's not just a high-stakes game of guesswork. Imagine this: a brand skips the research and dives headfirst into creating something. Sounds bold, right? But it's also a recipe for disaster. Here's the thing—brands exist for their customers. They're not just creating random products; they're crafting experiences tailored to what their customers crave, wrapped up in an irresistible package that delights the senses. Now, think about your role as an eLearning designer. It's not all that different, is it? Your mission is to craft learning experiences that pack a punch, sure, but they've also got to be eye candy for your learners. After all, you want them to enjoy the journey with you, to be engaged and eager for more.

    10 Golden Rules for eLearning Course Design Mastery

    Let's face it – nobody gets excited about a grainy movie or sticks with a book that's a minefield of typos. It's a no-brainer, right? So, let's talk about your eLearning courses. Shouldn't the same rules of engagement apply? Consider this: a course that's a maze of bad design, confusing navigation, or just crammed with too much info is like that movie or book – it’s going to turn your learners off. And we all know what happens next – they check out, and not in the 'mission accomplished' kind of way. Now, think about your team. They’re curious, they’re hungry for knowledge, but let's be real – no one's keen on drudging through dull, time-consuming content that feels like a throwback to school days. The modern workforce wants learning that’s not just informative, but also engaging and fits into their fast-paced lifestyle. That's the puzzle we're solving together.