How to Improve Your eLearning Courses

Today’s Community Contributor is John Chavez. He is a Human Resources manager and training specialist at iBASEt, where he manages the business’s LMS. He has over six years of eLearning content and LMS management experience. Check out his in depth reviews on various LMS and other business tools.

Would you be surprised to learn that e-learning is now the fastest growing learning strategy for organizations? E-learning as a concept is a relatively new ideology that has grown by leaps and bounds both in the private and the public sector. It’s not surprising when you consider the value behind creating learning content online that an individual can take whenever and wherever they want. As e-learning continues to evolve the need to create better and more intuitive learning content is at an all time high, so how do organizations create better e-learning in a constantly changing world? Let’s read on.

1. UDL (Universal Design Learning) 

Universal Design Learning is an architectural term that means creating a homesite or building that can be used by multiple people. For instance, a new business may have an architect create ramps, not only for deliveries, but also for people with physical limitations to have access to the building. 

Learning and development needs to be built the same way. UDL argues that learning is not limited to the three learning styles i.e. visual, kinesthetic/tactile, and auditory. Instead, learning is as unique as a fingerprint. As such, it’s important when creating training content to add a variety of elements for everyone to learn. 

But what are those elements? Are you utilizing video for people who learn by watching? Are you adding captions for people who may be hard of hearing or may have a hard time understanding the actor? Are you creating labs or simulations that allow the learner to practice what is being taught? All these elements are necessary for taking your e-learning to the next level.

2. Leveraging third party images/audio

As previously mentioned, part of what it takes to bring your e-learning to the next level is adding high quality audio, video/images. How do you do this? Unless you have a marketing department, a graphic designer, or even a videographer, you may be limited in your ability to create and design such images/video and audio. 

Instead, there are many third-party organizations that will provide video/images at a low price. eLearning products like Articulate 360 also provide their own media libraries. Doing so will help create high quality content without breaking the bank.

3. Finding the right LMS 

E-learning content is only as effective as the platform launching it, and not all platforms are the right fit for everyone. Do you want gamification? Gamification is an award system where learners are awarded for training by receiving badges that, depending on the organization, can turn into tangible rewards. Does your content need to be high end, or can it be built within an LMS system? some LMS systems have built in authoring tools however, they don’t all necessarily create high end courses.

My point here is that you should do your research as an organization on what LMS will fit your learning needs based on your organization structure. The right LMS can add volumes to your e-learning content. 

These three tips will help you get started on the path to creating high end e-learning courses and training. As your organization continues to change and grow, so will your needs. If you ever have any questions or concerns you can always go to review sites like www.trustradius.com for help on e-Learning software and LMS systems from people in the industry who use the very same technology you are considering bringing into your organization.