How Interactive eLearning Can Skyrocket Engagement

Interactive eLearning is an innovative approach to education that has gained traction in recent years. eLearning has evolved beyond traditional methods of instruction to include interactive elements that foster active learning and engagement. Interactive eLearning courses use tools such as videos, animations, scenarios, and quizzes to provide learners with a more immersive and engaging learning experience.

One of the most powerful approaches to interactive eLearning is user-led exploration. When given the opportunity to explore eLearning content at their own pace and in their own way, learners can engage more deeply with the material and take ownership of their learning. The user-led approach motivates learners to ask questions, experiment, and test their assumptions, leading to a better understanding of the subject matter. This type of exploration also helps to build critical thinking skills, as learners must evaluate and interpret information to make informed decisions. Ultimately, user-led exploration can lead to more effective and engaging learning experiences that have a lasting impact on learners in real life.

How NextThought Approaches Interactive eLearning

Interactive eLearning fosters a more inclusive learning process through its ability to cater to a variety of learning styles. For example, games and simulations can be constructed to appeal to visual and kinesthetic learners. This flexibility ensures that learners engage with the material in a way that suits them best, increasing their comprehension and retention of information. Interactive learning content can also be designed to suit the needs of learners with disabilities. 

Articulate Storyline is an interactive eLearning tool that has become popular among educators and instructional designers. Storyline excels at creating single-sitting practice activities such as application scenarios and study games. This presentation-building program offers customization that sets it apart from its competitors, making it an excellent choice for creating interactive activities and guided lectures that promote active learning and engagement.

We take a client-focused approach to eLearning development at NT. We create custom mood boards for each client to ensure that the educational material feels cohesive and clear to learners. By establishing visual and interactive guidelines for each project, we set the tone for the eLearning experience and ensure that all online course components work together seamlessly. 

We create project templates to maintain a consistent look and feel as content scales. These templates establish a clear visual identity that aligns with our client's brand and online learning objectives. By defining typography, color palettes, and graphic styles early on, we ensure that the eLearning experience is not only engaging but also visually appealing and easy to navigate. Prioritizing the look and feel of the material ensures that learners can focus on the content without being distracted by inconsistent visuals or confusing design and multimedia elements. Our team begins to build activities in Storyline once the visual approach is established. 

Our team creates activities in Storyline that allow learners to try out what they've learned in real time. For example, custom-built calculators and interactive graphs can be used to explore information, breaking down complex data into manageable components and encouraging greater comprehension. 

NT can generate interactive charts and diagrams within Storyline. Click-and-reveal animations enable learners to visualize data. Branching scenarios and videos can be used to create decision-based activities that encourage learners to develop problem-solving skills.

NT can leverage narration and hotspots to add context to guided readings, making it a preferable alternative to PDF readings. This makes it easier for learners to understand the information they're presented with and promotes a high engagement level.

The NT team can generate review games and drills that allow students to review large amounts of new knowledge without feeling like they're being tested or graded. These activities can be customized to suit a wide range of learning styles and are a great way to improve knowledge retention. Furthermore, questions can be designed from a practical UI standpoint to make the information more relevant. The sleep timer below illustrates how a question can be asked in a way that is more compatible with the material (versus a traditional delivery method such as a multiple-choice question). 

Interactive eLearning is a powerful tool for education that has the potential to transform the way we learn. Its ability to engage learners and cater to different learning styles makes it a valuable addition to traditional methods of instruction. With the continued advancement of technology, we can expect to see even more exciting developments in the field of interactive eLearning in the years to come.

Want to get started with interactive eLearning?

Don’t wait — the best time to implement interactive components into your courses is now. With proven benefits to engagement, there’s no reason not to take advantage of this great technology. Let us know what you’re hoping to achieve and we’ll help come up with a winning solution.