How to Develop E-Learning Content That Captivates and Educates With Gamification

One can attribute the popularity of e-learning to several key factors. Online learning is highly flexible regarding timing and location, and it’s accessible and affordable for a wide variety of learners.

In fact, more than 75% of students say that e-learning has made them more interested in their studies. That said, the lack of in-person interaction can hamper its effectiveness.

When creating e-learning courses, it’s important to make the content as engaging as possible, while also achieving concrete goals. Too often, e-learning content is rushed out the door without proper planning, resulting in modules that fail to connect with learners meaningfully.

By following a straightforward, five-step process, you can develop e-learning content that’s as effective as — and significantly more convenient than — in-person training.

Determine your needs and set measurable objectives

Begin by performing a needs analysis for your e-learning coursework. Consider your target audience. Who are they, what do you want them to learn, and how will they interact with your content?

The better you understand your audience, the more effective your e-learning content will be. Get to know your learners by having open and honest conversations, conducting surveys, and referencing the results of previous courses.

Also, create specific, measurable goals for your coursework. Define the course’s overall purpose and the knowledge you want users to gain. Using SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely) can help you refine your objectives.

Conceptualise and plan your coursework

In general, there are several helpful options when planning your e-learning concepts. You can gather inspiration from successful existing e-learning courses, create prototypes to test various aspects, and work collaboratively with subject-matter experts to brainstorm more effectively.

Curriculum design for e-learning courses can take a number of forms. For instance, gamification techniques — adapting video-game mechanics into learning and development — are often useful when designing e-learning content.

Gamification can replicate some of the interactive nature of traditional in-person learning, while also providing a more enjoyable experience and a basis for improved engagement. According to one study (Hassan et al, 2019), adding gamification elements to e-learning courses increases motivation by 25% and decreases dropouts by 26%.

By integrating gamification features like rewards (badges, points, etc.) and progress-tracking systems, users often comprehend and retain information more easily.

Produce your e-learning content

By this point, you’re ready to transform your plans into a cohesive e-learning course. It can be helpful to break down your lesson plans into individual modules to make them more easily digestible for your users.

Creating interesting, engaging content for your modules can take several forms, depending on the mediums you’re using. For text-based content, it’s crucial to write clearly and concisely. Embrace storytelling methods to increase engagement — sterile lists of facts and figures may be more likely to bore your students and lose their attention.

The ability to seamlessly integrate multimedia elements into your coursework is one of the big advantages of e-learning. You can illustrate your core concepts by incorporating videos or PowerPoint elements, using charts and diagrams to accentuate key points, adding interactive quizzes to test engagement, and more to accommodate various learning styles.

Analyse and improve upon your processes

Before you present your completed e-learning course to learners, gather feedback from colleagues and stakeholders to gauge its effectiveness and make any necessary adjustments. You can also use this opportunity to perform quality-control measures, checking everything from grammar and formatting to data accuracy and consistency.

It can be helpful to consult subject-matter experts again during this stage to help ensure the effectiveness and validity of your e-learning content. Quality assurance is essential to the development of a successful, results-driven e-learning course, so don’t skimp on this step!

Evaluate results and optimise return on investment

Effective e-learning content encourages learners to engage with the material, retain the lessons learned, and generate ongoing interest in the topic. It’s similar to talent acquisition in this way — the more time and effort spent researching each hire, the better that employee will likely perform in the long run.

Taking a deep dive into analytic data can help you refine your e-learning course for the next batch of learners. Make sure to track and analyze user numbers, session times, completion rates, and drop-off points to identify and address any sticking points.

Additionally, it’s always important to get feedback from learners upon completion of the course by conducting surveys or interviews. Finding out what individual students like or dislike about the content can help you refine the e-learning course for future iterations.

Conclusion

Studies on e-learning have been a mixed bag, both relating to learning effectiveness and analytic evaluation. That said, most studies agree that the convenience and flexibility of e-learning are advantageous for learners, while the lack of interaction is a potential drawback. By setting measurable objectives, creating consistently engaging coursework, and optimising ROI through data analysis, you can set your e-learning course on the path to success.

Contact us

Are you looking to create a project that uses gamification mechanics for customer or employee engagement? Then feel free to drop us an email at info@sbanimation.com, or give us a call on +44 (0)207 148 0526. We would be happy to help.

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