Creating Effective E-Learning Content: Tools and Techniques for Your Corporate LMS

23/05/2024

Introduction

E-learning has become an accepted model and solution for different business training needs since it is flexible, easily scalable, and cost-efficient. However, the fact remains that the impact of e-learning solely depends on the quality of content available on corporate LMS. Through this article, anyone intending to develop effective content for e-learning solutions will have a clear understanding of best practices that will engage learners and promote their learning outcomes while supporting the strategic plan of an organization.

Understanding E-Learning Content

It will be rather helpful and informative to start by defining what e-learning content is and how it works in the corporate environment particularly when it comes to training. E-learning content comprises texts, multimedia, or even activity-based content such as education through simulations. Every one of them is special and created to fulfill certain functions and meet learners’ needs based on their preferred methods of learning. Ideally, content should only contain information already pre-planned to teach an objective to its audience, to avoid confusion or redundancy.

Choosing the Right Tools

Choosing the right authoring tool is the stage that is key to the creation of successful content. Amongst the top products like Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate, there are numerous options for creating various types of content. However, identifying the right tool entails the comprehensiveness of a number of factors, including functionality, price, as well as their suitability to fit into the organizational needs. With tool selection tied to the specific needs of the content being developed, organizations can ensure tool acquisition to match the specific content requirements, avoiding waste of funding on unnecessary tools. ‍

Designing Engaging Content

Productive e-learning which continues to hold the learner’s attention involves applying various principles of instructional design in concert with creativity. Activities and assessments, for example, games, vi-simulations, tutorials, and decision trees, encourage learner engagement and acquisition. Furthermore, incorporating multimedia, including videos, infographics, and animations, to explain content, improves learners’ understanding of the material and enhances engagement. Through the implementation of these considerations, organizations can add form to function and take the learner on journeys that turn once perfunctory content into something engaging.

Accessibility & Affordability

Accessibility is one of the essential components of the development of e-learning content, which would ensure that all students for any cause, disability, or impairment inclusive cannot be locked out of the learning material. Ensuring the accessibility of information is critical, and appropriate measures should be taken accordingly: Images should have descriptions; videos should have descriptions; and, it is also helpful if the pages are accessible through keyboard navigation. Some suggestions of effective practices for managing diversities in learners, which comprised of; Learning styles and cultural difference makes the learning environment more manageable for all.

Optimizing Content for Mobile Learning

Due to recent advancements in technology and the eventual introduction and adoption of mobile devices in the place of work, the notion that is considered in training is entirely different from the one taken by the employees. Some of the main reasons require designing the e-learning content with the small screen in mind, as well as when the delivery is going to be via mobile devices and when the viewing could be across different sizes of screens.

Mobile learning best practices include incorporating responsive design strategies, including jQuery Mobile which is designed to load quickly and use smaller images because they appear to load faster to the human eye; thus the images used should also be large. Mobile learning best practices also include navigation touch points since touch-responsive designs support the use of fingers for precise movements and not explicit clicks. Making the content flexible allows for the identification of many problems because content has been tested across the devices.

Incorporating Gamification and Microlearning

Gamification and microlearning are second-generation learning technologies that leverage courseware features to achieve better engagement levels and improve knowledge recall. Following the example of a game, where learning is encouraged by badges, leading boards, and other rewards, an organization may encourage its learners and encourage more participation. In the same vein, microlearning modules, which break down the content into individual and easily digestible pieces, are fitting for students who do not have the patience to read large and protracted chunks of information. Learning is made fun and interesting to the learners and in the end, both the activities, namely, gamification and microlearning have been proven to enhance learner engagement and improve learning results.

Content quality assessment and improvement

Summative assessments are particularly useful when reviewing the content of e-learning since this material ceases to be interesting if it is not constantly updated. The feedback instructors get from learners via surveys or quizzes often evaluates how effective the content was. Performance indicators include all the patients’ completion rates and the scores from the quizzes they have taken, and it is through these results that organizations can fine-tune the content they develop. Therefore, organizations can use information-based approaches in the constant process of optimization of their contents focusing on e-learning strategies and ensuring that these strategies meet their ultimate business objectives.

Conclusion

To support effective e-learning content for corporate training, we need to identify guidance on how to design, select, and deliver its content to support better employee engagement and training results. Using the techniques and tools explained in this article it is possible to build an interesting and engaging learning process that would meet learners ‘interests and help organizations achieve their goals. The need to create e-learning content has become a crucial necessity for any corporate training outfit as it phases out its old model of training and embraces a new approach. Let us build a smart working force for new millennium businesses by providing them with the necessary knowledge and skills they require to perform.

Here is where an effective Learning Management System (LMS) such as UpsideLMS is able to support it. UpsideLMS provides all the features mentioned here to streamline and simplify e-learning content creation, delivery, and management. UpsideLMS allows you to develop corporate e-learning content that is accurate, persuasive, powerful, and effective in inducing behavioral change for your organization and its employees.

Perhaps you’re quite satisfied with what you’re already doing in your organization’s e-learning initiative, or perhaps you’re ready for more UpsideLMS can offer. While creating your e-learning content, do ensure that you implement the guidelines and/or recommendations stated in this article properly, and, to even optimize UpsideLMS’s functionality in an even further manner. Since employee engagement is known to be a useful driver to creating value and a solution to fostering and growing organizations, any move towards developing inspiring and constructive lessons should be highly recommended.