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    Studies Confirm the Power of Visuals to Engage Your Audience in eLearning

    We are now in the age of visual information where visual content plays a role in every part of life. As 65 percent of the population are visual learners, graphics are key to engaging students in eLearning courses. 

    Visuals summarize content into smaller, and easier to process chunks, and when you select the right visuals, they offer more comprehensibility than text-based explanations or only audios. Also, students effortlessly relate emotions with visuals, which make what you’re eLearning courses more impactful and memorable than only adding text.

    In this post, we will dig deep into some statistics and facts to further convince of why eLearning creators should embrace visuals when creating their courses. 

    visuals-elearning-1

    1. Visuals Stick in Long-term Memory

    Both the short-term and long-term memory store information in chunks, but the former is limited. One of the easiest ways to ensure that learners store information in their long-term memory is to pair concepts with meaningful images. Visuals help students make sense out of the content and direct attention, increasing the possibilities that the learners will remember the material.

    According to Dr. Lynell Burmark, education consultant who writes and speaks about visual literacy: “…unless our words, concepts, ideas are hooked onto an image, they will go in one ear, sail through the brain, and go out the other ear. Words are processed by our short-term memory where we can only retain about seven bits of information (plus or minus 2) […]. Images, on the other hand, go directly into long-term memory where they are indelibly etched.”

    Furthermore, this effect increases over time. One study found that after three days, a user retained only 10-20 percent of written or spoken information but almost sixty five percent of visual information. Another study showed that an illustrated text was nine percent more effective than text alone when testing immediate comprehension and 83 percent more effective when the test was delayed. 

    Also read: Making the Most of Visuals in eLearning: 9 Tips and 5 Examples

    2. They Transmit Messages Faster

    According to the Visual Teaching Alliance: 

    • The brain can see images that last for just 13 milliseconds. 
    • Our eyes can register 36,000 visual messages per hour.
    • We can get the sense of a visual scene in less than 1/10 of a second.
    • 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual.
    • Visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text.
    • 40 percent of nerve fibers are linked to the retina 

    All this indicates human beings process visual information more efficiently than text. Just see it yourself: 

    visual eLearning

    Image source: Uberflip Blog

    Taking all these into consideration, eLearning developers can use this knowledge in their course design to their advantage by including effective graphics to support understanding.

    Think about it: What content would be better structured as an image or a video, rather than a bullet-list?

    3. Improve Comprehension

    Visuals have been found to improve learning by up to 400 percent. Also, they affect learners on a cognitive level and stimulate imagination, therefore, enabling users to process the information faster. Stanford University's Robert E. Horn, explained this relationship clearly "When words and visual elements are closely entwined, we create something new and we augment our communal intelligence ... visual language has the potential for increasing ‘human bandwidth'—the capacity to take in, comprehend, and more efficiently synthesize large amounts of new information." 

    Other studies have found that visuals such as graphic organizers improve performance in areas including:

        •    Reading comprehension

        •    Student achievement

        •    Organizing and communicating ideas

        •    Finding patterns and relationships

    This infographic shows how our brains are pre-wired to automatically interpret relationships between objects, allowing for almost instant comprehension with minimal effort:

    visuals in eLearning

    4. Visual Cues Trigger Emotions

    Visuals cause a faster and stronger reaction than words. They help users engage with the content, and such emotional reactions influence information retention. This is because the visual memory is encoded in the medial temporal lobe of the brain, the same place where emotions are processed. The brain is set up in a way that visual stimuli and emotional response is easily linked, and together the two form memories. Negative visual depictions are particularly useful for leaving a strong emotional impression.

    Even abstract concepts can benefit from images, when course creators use visual metaphors. Including visual metaphors in their eLearning course help express emotions to trigger a similar emotional response in students. See this example: 

    visualsImage Source: Visual Rhetoric Blog

    5. They Also Motivate Learners

    Around 40 percent of learners respond better to visual information than text alone. Simply seeing a picture allows users to recreate the experience in their mind. eLearning professionals can benefit from this by telling stories in their courses through entrancing images and compelling videos.

    6. Take note: Incorrect Use of Visuals Can Also Deter Learners 

    It is important to note that graphics can also negatively impact learning if they are used inappropriately. When off-topic graphics appear on the screen, such as those used for purely decorative purposes, learners will subconsciously try to figure out the message and reason for the image.

    The following are examples of images that course creators should always avoid in eLearning visual design:

    • Pictures that are obviously stock photographs.
    • Generic graphics that display a clear lack of imagination.
    • Poor quality images that are pixelated, low-resolution, over-compressed, or badly resized.

    On the other hand, well-selected images can improve comprehension and insight when developers strategically place such graphics within a course. Unlike text, pictures have the power to enrich communication and stimulate emotional response. In order to utilize visuals in a way that will reinforce course material and facilitate learning, it is necessary to use images that:

    • Represent actual objects, people, or places.
    • Simplify complex or abstract ideas.
    • Bridge already learned materials with the unfamiliar.

    eLearning designers should only use images that have a clear value, otherwise they are distractions at best and, at worst, give learners the wrong impression. This means omitting anything that does not directly support learning goals.

    visual design crash course

      

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    In the digital age where information is just a click away and training has become accessible thanks to online platforms, eLearning has emerged as a pivotal tool. But with a vast array of resources and methodologies, what sets an effective eLearning course apart from one that simply goes unnoticed? One of the distinguishing strategies is the use of immersive scenarios. These aren't just visual embellishments or interactive add-ons to make a course more engaging. In truth, they're foundational training tools with the potential to transport learners into environments mirroring their actual work settings, enabling them to learn from experience and practice. Especially in corporate training, the ability of a scenario to mimic real-world work situations can bridge the gap between theoretical learning and applied knowledge. However, like any tool, eLearning scenarios shouldn't be used haphazardly. It's more than just including them because they look flashy or are trendy. Each scenario type has a purpose, an ideal context, and specific features making them apt for certain topics or audiences. Deliberate and purposeful use of these scenarios can elevate an eLearning course from merely informative to a transformative learning experience. This article isn’t just an overview of the various types of scenarios that can be integrated into an eLearning course. It’s a guide to understanding when, how, and why to use each one. Through descriptions, examples, and practical advice, we’ll dive deep into what makes scenarios so potent and how they can be the key to unlocking online learning's true potential.

    5 Reasons Why Your eLearning Programs Aren’t Working

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    Are Your eLearning Courses Achieving Behavioral Change?

    Have you ever noticed how often employees sit through mandatory courses, but once it's over, nothing really changes? I bet we've all seen it – folks diligently taking notes but then... nada. No change in behavior, no improvement in work. Here's the thing: just ticking off a training box isn't enough. If there's no real goal or follow-up, it's like tossing our investment into the wind. Before diving into designing a course, let's pause and ask: What's our endgame? Hoping for a safer workspace? A boost in sales? Stellar customer service? If our courses aren't aimed at making tangible changes in performance and results, we're kind of just spinning our wheels. Here's a nugget of truth: Even if you have the snazziest, most engaging course materials, it won't matter much if it doesn’t spur any change in behavior. And sometimes, piling on more information isn't the solution. Many times, our teams know what to do; they just need a compelling why to actually do it.