Do you have an online course that’s falling short of your KPIs? When you’ve got content in place, it can be tricky to know where to begin making improvements. 

Over the 20+ years we’ve spent in online learning, we’ve seen a few pitfalls crop up that are common to clients across the board — in higher education, healthcare, and in the private sector. 

In this blog, we’ll explore the top five things course creators tend to forget when putting together their online learning experiences. By the end of this blog, you’ll have a checklist that you can reference when making improvements to maximise engagement with your course. 

 

“What’s my eLearning missing?”

 

1) Clarity 

Clarity is a huge factor when it comes to creating an engaging (and accessible) online course. You need to aim for clarity not just in your written content, but also in the way it’s structured. 

Learners should be able to see a clear path towards their goal, with each step signposted to remind them of the content’s relevance and how it will help them to achieve their learning objectives. 

It’s also important to include clear framing copy — whether that be in the form of section introductions and conclusions, next steps, or as instructions for activities and interactive elements. 

At no point should your learners be stuck wondering what’s next, or why the section they’ve just completed was relevant. 

2) Purpose 

Not only does your content need to be clear, but learners should be able to see why it’s been included, too. 

Without understanding its relevance, learners may lack a sense of purpose when working through your course, which can harm motivation, engagement, and retention. 

To build with clarity and purpose, you’ll need to take a close look at the learning objectives you’ve outlined for your course: 

 

• Are they relevant? 

 

• Do they assume any existing level of knowledge? If so, why? 

(For example, the course you’re working on may be the second in a series of modules. At this point, it’s safe to assume a certain level of existing knowledge given that your learners will have already completed the introductory module. But even so, it’s important to make clear the links between module 1 and module 2, highlighting what’s already been covered and how it links with what’t to come). 

 

• Do they align with where your learners are now, and outline where they’ll be by the end of the course? 

 

• Do they leave any room for interpretation? 

 

When drafting your learning outcomes, precision is key. You’ll want to keep them targeted and to-the-point, explaining clearly the intended end-point and the milestones that will be met along the way. This is the best way to make sure you give your learners objectives that actually mean something. 

3) Chunks 

Endless scrolling is what brings a lot of eLearning experiences down! 

If you’re looking to create an online course that delivers real impact, taking your learning materials and uploading them onto an authoring platform simply isn’t enough. This not only assumes everyone learns in the same way (by reading a load of text), but it’s also boring, and allowing your learners to become stranded in an endless scroll is the best way to make them switch off. 

To display your content in a way that’s accessible and help your learners get to the heart of the topic, it’s all about chunking. 

In the world of digital learning design, chunking is everything. Here’s how it goes: 

 

• Step 1 

You gather all of the information you need to share as part of your course and think big-picture — where’s the logical starting point? What should your learners feel or know or be able to do by the end? What order should your key learning points appear in? 

 

• Step 2 

With a structure in place, you think about how you can break it down into smaller sections, with chapter/section breaks in between. 

 

• Step 3 

Now you have all your chapters outlined, it’s time to get into the nitty gritty. Start thinking about the concepts and lessons you’re delivering in each chapter, and how you’re going to measure understanding; for example, with activities or interactive scenarios.  

Some information may be best shared as an illustration or diagram, or even an animation or audiogram, whilst other information is better off as a block of text or a bulleted list. 

 

Whatever method of delivery your content lends itself to, be sure to include plenty of variation, but remember to always design with purpose. 

Breaking your content down into bitesize chunks helps to alleviate overwhelm. It will also give your learners a better indication of their progress — both in terms of understanding, and in their literal, linear progression through the course. 

 

4) Opportunities for practice 

Expecting learners to passively absorb information is where a lot of eLearning falls short. 

Whilst passive absorption might work for a short-term tick-box exercise, it’s almost guaranteed that whatever your learner reads will be forgotten within 24 hours if they don’t have the opportunity to put it into practice. 

We’re all about creating safe spaces for our learners to practice, experience failure, and learn from their mistakes — these are the lessons that stick! 

And it can be achieved with relative ease. By incorporating quizzes, scenario-based activities, and opportunities for your learners to put their knowledge to the test, you can provide immediate, constructive, and relevant feedback and empower them to take their learning into the real world (which is really what any eLearning is all about!).  

5) Accessible features  

Where we often see eLearning go wrong is when it fails to meet even the most basic accessibility standards. 

A lot of the time, this is the result of designing and developing a full course, then shoe-horning in an accessibility check just before it goes live.

The key thing to remember about building accessible online courses is that accessibility should be something you consider from the very earliest stages, keeping it front of mind throughout design, development, and testing. 

This is especially key if, like the WELLKNOWN team, you take an activity-first approach. After all, if your activities are what give your learners the opportunity to test their knowledge, and they’re not developed with accessibility in mind, it can cause quite the headache when you come to test for different access needs pre-launch  — you may need to rethink, or even start over! 

Prioritising accessibility at every stage will help you to create an online course that offers the same experience for every learner. 

Don’t let your online learning fall flat. 

Whether you’re aiming to improve student engagement, increase assessment performance, advance subject area understanding, or boost confidence in your topic, eLearning consultancy can help you to assess which parts of your online learning experience aren’t hitting the mark, so you can make targeted improvements. 

Read our other blogs for more tips on making effective and engaging eLearning, or get in touch with our team to learn more about how we can help you deliver online lessons that delight your learners!