Learning design is key if you want to engage learners, improve knowledge retention – and really make an impact. As education and technology has evolved rapidly over the last few years, so has the approach to instructional design. To create effective and engaging online learning experiences, it’s essential to employ strategies that cater to modern learners – and make sure you are using the right tools for the job.
In this blog, we will explore five key tips to optimising your learning design for the digital age.
In an ideal world, which anyone working in L&D knows is not always the reality, before embarking on developing your learning content, you will have a good understanding of the overall learning objectives, what you are hoping to achieve and, if needed, you will have dynamic access to input from the appropriate subject matter experts.
This is always a good place to start and can help inform the design approach you adopt. Once you know what your setting out to achieve adopting one, or more, of the following approaches can help make your content more engaging and memorable:
1. Add gamification to your learning
Gamification is a powerful tool in learning design that can turn a mundane experience into an exciting adventure.
By integrating game elements like story and narrative, scores, unlocking achievements and adding time-based pressure, you can motivate learners and make the content more enjoyable. Gamified learning helps maintain interest and drive engagement and research backs it up. This approach is particularly effective when used in training scenarios that require retention of complex information or skills.
There are various platforms that can help you design your gamified learning. Again knowing what you want to achieve will help you pick the right one.
2. Make your learning immersive
Creating immersive learning experiences is all about engrossing learners in the content.
Immersive learning can be achieved through various methods, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, or even well-designed simulations that use interactive video or even just interactive slides – narrative immersion can often work as well as ‘system’ immersion. Immersive learning enables learners to interact with the content on a deeper level, enhancing retention and understanding.
Immersive learning is especially beneficial for subjects that benefit from ‘real world’ scenarios – it offers a chance to make decisions, experience the consequences but in an environment where it is safe to fail. This style of learning is very popular in healthcare and emergency response training but is also valuable for soft skills and technical training. If you’re looking to adopt VR for learning – you should consider budget and understand issues like where you’ll be sharing the content. Many XR solutions provide ‘gated’ access – so you need to plan ahead if you want to embed your learning in your LMS. Web VR or Web XR solutions might be the way to go.
3. Incorporate micro-learning and short simulations
Micro-learning is a technique that involves delivering content in small, easily digestible units.
This approach is ideal for today’s busy learners who often have limited time and shorter attention spans. By breaking down complex topics into bite-sized modules, you can facilitate learning at the learner’s own pace. Micro-learning is particularly effective for just-in-time training, where learners can quickly access the information they need when faced with specific tasks or challenges.
Author and speaker Clark Aldrich has done a lot of work on the use of Short Sims for those interested in finding out more.
4. Create branching scenarios
Branching scenarios are an effective way to make learning interactive and personalised.
In a branching scenario, learners are presented with a situation and must make decisions that impact the course of the learning experience. Depending on their choices, the scenario branches out into different paths, leading to various outcomes. This approach fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as learners must weigh the consequences of their choices.
One challenge with branching scenarios is they can be complex to design and share but new software, such as Near-Life’s CREATOR authoring tool, have made the process much simpler.
Learning Design Consultant Christy Tucker has established herself as one of the leading authorities in the use of branching scenarios.
5. Track learner’s choices
Assessment and tracking are critical aspects of learning design.
By monitoring learners’ choices and progress, you can tailor the learning experience to their individual needs. Learning management systems (LMS) and analytics tools allow you to collect valuable data on learner performance. This data can be used to identify areas where learners may struggle and to offer additional support or resources. And the evolution of interactive video learning and other gamified content, because of its focus on interaction, offers more opportunity to track interactions.
The ongoing interest generated by xAPI is illustrative of how people are grappling with the desire to track more than simple metrics such as pass/ fail and score. More detailed tracking helps identify the effectiveness of your learning design. By analysing the outcomes of your courses, you can make data-driven decisions to continually improve and refine the learning experience.
Improving your learning design
Effective learning design is crucial for creating engaging and successful learning experiences.
The tips provided here are just some of the proven strategies that can significantly enhance your approach to instructional design. By implementing these methods, you can create more engaging, interactive, and effective learning materials that cater to the diverse needs and preferences of modern learners.
Remember, the goal is not just to transfer knowledge but to facilitate true understanding and application of the subject matter.
If you’d like to learn more about how Near-Life can support your adoption of these learning design tips: book a demo now.