A lot has changed with the advent of the World Wide Web in general, and smartphones in particular. We now each have access to a mini-supercomputer in our pocket, with a vast potential for learning. This technology and the wealth of information it can provide by linking to the Internet has fundamentally changed the nature of education and training. Is it any wonder that learners can’t stay focused when the course being offered is a series of PowerPoint slides, delivered by an instructor in a darkened room? Something has got to change. And it’s not going to be the learners. It must be the fundamental nature of the training itself.

One of the most fundamental aspects of eLearning design is creating engaging content. Even with a captive audience, content that does not keep a learner cognitively and affectively engaged is not likely to leave an impact. Without this impact, any efforts to have learners apply what they have learned to new situations are likely to be minimal. It is tempting to create flashy animations and related multimedia. However, flashy without substance creates shallow content that is not engaging or likely to cause a demonstrable change in behavior. There are proven strategies for engagement and multiple roadblocks to engagement.

The strongest starting point for designing your online training programs is to understand the business needs and desired organizational results that underlie the training initiative, and then create your goals and tracking metrics accordingly.

You will be amazed what eLearning does besides presenting content online to your employees. Would you believe it if we said that eLearning would help you solve five of the most pressing business challenges you face today? In fact, we not only say this; we vouch for our claims. Learn about the most common challenges companies face today and how eLearning fixes them:

The world of eLearning is always evolving. Technology advances in the blink of an eye. Standards change continuously as learner expectations rise. You are also increasingly asked to perform dual duties as a designer and a developer. There’s always something new to learn that will make your life at work easier, and you, a more effective instructional designer.

eLearning is a popular way to train employees. Understanding how people process information will allow you to create effective learning programs using electronic means.

In today’s fast-changing environment and fast-paced lifestyle, technology has continually enabled us to keep up. It made our daily activities faster and more efficient; trade and commerce more fluid; and communication easier despite distance, among other things. However, technology’s greatest impact is on knowledge and information sharing, that with just a single click, the Internet can provide you with the data you are looking for. You need to share important documents to someone a hundred miles away in an instant? There’s e-mail. Sending over huge files? Not a problem with Airdrop, or WeTransfer, or Shareit.

As eLearning designers, we must all deal with dull, insipid content that brings out the yawns, both in you and the learners. And then there are those complex, technical topics that leave you and the learners overwhelmed. These are the topics you dread to tackle and your learners, loathe to go through. Yet, the onus is on you to create swashbuckling courses out of such dreary content. You must not only make learners sit through a course with such dull or complex content but also ensure they leave the training room wiser, more knowledgeable, and armed with a new skill.