eLearning professionals always struggle to find ways to present information in fun and engaging ways. This is where interactive eLearning comes into play. Not only has eLearning interactivity been proven to activate long-term memory, but it also improves attention, promotes motivation, and enhances knowledge retention. eLearning interactions may include simple multiple-choice and true/false quizzes, real-life scenarios with thought-provoking questions, simulations, stories, drag-and-drop interactions, and interactive games that expand learners’ understanding of course material through trial and error.
Here are some key benefits of eLearning interactions.
Include a Variety of Learning Activities – Most eLearning interactions contain both visual and auditory elements, but depending on the content and objectives, instructional designers can add simulations, games, drag and drop interactions, hands on exercises and assessments that support high levels of engagement.
Encourage Reflection – Interactivity encourages learners to think about the content by completing exercises, responding to scenarios, and even selecting the most appropriate response to quiz questions. ELearning interactivity should provide learners with appropriate corrective feedback to increase their understanding of the material.
Influence Behavior – Interactivity allows learners to practice the material by completing scenarios, guided practices, and behavior modeling demonstrations. Interactive activities also force learners to think about applying the information presented in the course to their own work place. As a result of hands-on practice and proactive thinking, a positive change in behavior occurs.
Boost Understanding of Learning Objectives – Assessments, scenarios, simulations, and role-plays that provide immediate feedback to learners help to reinforce learning objectives by providing reasoning for the correct response and ensuring that the final message is clearly understood.
Promote Content Retention – When eLearning professionals transform boring content into an engaging and memorable learning experience, they create interest among learners, which ultimately leads to information retention. Interactivity allows learners to explore, evaluate, and most importantly, become involved with the content as opposed to passively reading the information on the screen or watching videos.
While interactivity can play a vital role in designing effective eLearning solutions, it needs to fit an overall learning methodology. Otherwise, instead of stimulating and engaging the learners, it will further confuse them.
Learn more about instructional design and eLearning with our free, online course: Principles of Instructional Design: A Roadmap for Creating Engaging eLearning Content.
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