When thinking about starting your eLearning journey it’s helpful to understand the initial steps to set the foundations for a successful eLearning solution. Having a well thought out plan reduces uncertainty as you start your journey.
Putting in place an eLearning solution is an exciting venture that requires careful consideration and planning.
This blog will look at what we believe are the top 10 things you need.
Clear Goals and Objectives
Clearly defining what you aim to achieve with your eLearning helps to establish its success and provides your training with direction and focus.
Understand your Audience
Understand your audience so that you know their needs, preferences, and learning styles This helps you tailor your training content to align with their expectations and ensures their learning experience is more effective and enjoyable.
Choice of LMS/LRS or hosting – Where will it be accessed from?
It is important to choose the right platform for your business. Take advantage of features such as analytics to track your learners’ progress, identify their strengths, and pinpoint areas for improvement. What features are imperative? Which features are just ‘nice to have’. This should help narrow down your choices. Sometimes you may not have a choice in this matter, due to budget or existing contracts in place. If this is the case make sure you can leverage the very best out of the options you do have, whilst building up evidence to support a bid for change.
Engaging Content
No matter the platform or the authoring tool, content is KING. Creating engaging content with the use of interactive elements and multimedia will enhance the experience for your learners. Accessibility options ensure your eLearning is suitable for your diverse team.
PLEASE consider visual design and UX whilst working on your content. Today’s audiences are sophisticated and are used to well designed and easy to use content on tap in their day to day lives. There is no reason eLearning should be of a lower standard. “It’s only for internal use” is not a valid excuse, employees are your brand ambassadors and should have the same consideration as your clients.
Responsive Design
Responsive design is essential to ensure that your eLearning can be viewed and taken on various devices, whether they’re using a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or phone.
Effective Assessments
Effective assessments play a role in understanding and measuring the progress of your learners. You should consider using both formative and summative assessments to provide a comprehensive view of your participants’ learning outcomes. These don’t have to be dry! They can be disguised as puzzles, scenarios, and games to drive the learning home.
Value Feedback
Creating ways for learners to provide you with feedback on their training allows for regular evaluation of the training’s effectiveness and makes updating the content based on their insights easier. Allowing you to continuously improve your training.
Consider Translation
Ensuring accurate translations that are culturally relevant will contribute to a more inclusive and globally accessible experience for your learners. Considering whether you may want or need to translate your course upfront will considerably reduce headaches and costs if you decide at a later stage to take the plunge.
Regular Updates
Regular content updates are essential for keeping your training relevant. Planning for ongoing maintenance and updates of your eLearning ensures that the content remains up to date.
Closing Thoughts
These elements together contribute to the effectiveness of your eLearning solution.
We can advise you to ensure you have a well thought out solution, reducing the uncertainty as you start your eLearning journey.
If you’re implementing a new eLearning strategy, looking to improve your existing eLearning, or just have a question, get in touch or click here to schedule a meeting.
