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

    How Usable is Your eLearning Course? Follow the 5 E’s For Best Results

    Usability applies to any user interface, from a door handle to an airplane cockpit - or an eLearning course. It means, simply, how easy it is for users to get what they need out of the device. How usable your eLearning course is, is one of the most important factors that make or break your entire program. Usability is so critical in eLearning because every minute students spend learning to use the software is a minute out of their time spent learning the content.

    What is Usability?

    Usability is a measure of how well a specific user in a specific context can use a product/design to achieve a defined goal effectively, efficiently and satisfactorily.

     

    If you are in the middle or just starting an eLearning course, before you go any further, ask yourself if you have covered the 5 E's of usability. Use these as guidelines or standards to make sure your course is as easy to use as you can make it.


    1) Effectiveness

    This first item sounds simple: does the content convey everything it needs to, fully and accurately? Is the eLearning course doing what it is designed to do?

    As basic as it sounds, it's easy for eLearning developers to miss an intermediate step that seems obvious to them, or, more commonly, they just focus on making the design attractive at a cost to content clarity. If a learner can't complete their task, it doesn't matter whether the rest of the experience was good or bad.

    Rather than test only at the end, check throughout development that every course element works well, matches the storyboard, and is easy to follow. Chunked and easy to read content, as well as clear instructions all help learners get what they need out of a course. Also, check for relevance: does the content solve the users' main needs and questions?

    Also read: 

    5 Essential Tips If You've Just Started Creating Your First eLearning Course

    Maximize the Success of Your eLearning Course: 10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting


    2) Efficiency

    While effectiveness describes whether tasks were able to be completed, efficiency describes instead ease of use, how quickly in time or actions a task can be completed.

    As Susan Dray says, "If the user can't use it, it doesn't work." 

    Learners should use your material without difficulty. Efficient learning experiences respect the user’s intention. It encourages users to engage, discover, find, read or do whatever relevant action is necessary to accomplish learning goals. Common tasks should take only one or two keystrokes, or else they become unnecessarily time-consuming (and frustrating - see #3).

    The key to efficiency is precision. Figure out what single goal your course is intended to achieve, and then pare off everything that doesn't directly contribute to that goal. Clear, easily navigable content groupings that follow a logical sequence are key, as is focus whenever possible on common, non-technical vocabulary.

    Expert tip by Dmitry FadeyevWhat you really really need to do to make an interface efficient is to figure out what exactly the user is trying to achieve, and then let them do exactly that without any fuss. 

    3) Engagement

    Does the course appeal to the learner’s emotions? Does it grab AND KEEP their attention? 

    An eLearning course qualifies as engaging if it is enjoyable, interesting, or at least satisfying. It's how we can drive learners to take action through designStudies show that people find a program easier to use if it is more aesthetically pleasing - even compared to an otherwise identical one.

    It's important not to impair efficiency, of course, so focus instead on how you use design elements to boost engagement, for instance: fonts, color schemes, and white space. The goal is a clean and uncluttered visual design.

    Make your course more desirable by paying attention to detail—from the language used to the effects produced by visual elements. In the text, strike a balance between formal and informal tone: "you" and "we" are more engaging than "customers" and "the Department of An Excruciatingly Long Name".  The readability of content also influences in creating an engaging relationship between the learners and the interface.

    Expert tip by Steven Bradley: "How a thing works is more important than how it looks, but how it looks will affect your perception about how it works." 

    Also read: Five Rules of Engagement All eLearning Designers Should Live By

    4) Error Tolerance

    The unattainable dream is for all courses to run perfectly and all learners to respond perfectly; however, human (and computer) errors continue to have their way. In a world where handling errors consumes 25-50% of a typical user's time, it is important to help students recover from errors more than to prevent them from ever making any. For example, simply adding a clear back button can assist learners.

    Evaluations should explain not only that an answer is wrong, but why. On a more technical level, any error messages should be in plain language, clearly explaining the nature of the problem and a recommended solution. Avoid making errors irreversible; students should be able to return and correct their mistakes at any time. And always maintain flexibility.

    5) Ease of Learning

    In an ideal world, a well-designed eLearning course would be such that you use it once and then remember the process forever. Failing that, remembering it next time is a solid goal to set. It's important to make interfaces intuitive because the energy learners expend on a difficult interface is the energy they won't have to expend on the difficult topic; they're here to learn.

    The goal is maximum learnability: each screen should help people learn. More than just being usable, a course should encourage students to learn by presenting material in a compelling manner. Build on students' interests or prior knowledge to create content that is easy to learn.

    Focus on the familiar: don't add much at once, and give a clear explanation every time you do. Keep all options visible to reduce the number of things a student has to remember. Above all, don't change interface input: the same action should always have the same effect.

     

    responsive elearning

     


     

    Related Posts

    4 Types of Immersive Scenarios: When and How to Use Them in eLearning

    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

    Ever found yourself standing at the crossroads of ambition and reality, particularly when it comes to eLearning? You took that leap of faith, fueled by the latest buzz or perhaps a compelling article you chanced upon, and decided to introduce eLearning in your organization. But, instead of the applause and triumphant results you envisioned, there was a whisper of disappointment and a lingering question: “Why isn’t this working?” Let’s get one thing straight: eLearning isn’t just a trendy box to check off or a badge to wear. It’s a strategic, potentially transformative tool that, when wielded correctly, can revolutionize how your team learns and grows. But if you're feeling a tad disheartened, thinking you've bitten off more than you can chew, fret not! We're here to demystify the maze of eLearning. If you’ve been looking at your program, scratching your head and feeling a tad helpless, you're in the right place. Let’s dive into the heart of the matter and explore the reasons why your eLearning programs might be missing the mark.

    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.