{"id":981,"date":"2018-12-04T10:49:35","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T10:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maestrodev.wpengine.com\/?p=981"},"modified":"2023-04-12T19:03:28","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:03:28","slug":"7-deadly-sins-of-elearning-design-and-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maestrolearning.com\/blogs\/7-deadly-sins-of-elearning-design-and-development\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Deadly Sins of eLearning Design and Development"},"content":{"rendered":"
As a company that has been deep in the trenches of instructional design for more than eight years, we\u2019ve seen and developed our fair share of stellar eLearning courses. We\u2019ve also unfortunately seen our fair share of modules that, to put it as kindly as possible, fall far short of the mark\u2014and for fairly consistent reasons. Here, for your review, is a list of the most common sins to avoid.<\/p>\n
1. Sluggish pacing<\/h2>\n
We\u2019ve all had the experience of taking an eLearning module where the voiceover narration seems to drone on and on. We wait helplessly as an almost endless series of bullet points build onto a single screen; or worse yet, we\u2019re forced to stare at a single image that has no bullet points at all. To add insult to injury, modules like this are often \u201cgated,\u201d so there\u2019s no way to move to the next screen until the narration ends. We feel trapped, desperate, and ever-so-tempted to multitask while the voiceover drones on in the background.<\/p>\n
Another thing that slows pacing to a crawl is multitudes of click-to-reveals and quiz questions, added simply for the sake of giving learners \u201csomething to do.\u201d In fact, this makes learners feel as if they\u2019ve been sent on a pointless scavenger hunt. It also slows down the learning process without any compensating benefit of increased learning. Remember: the best interactions require learners to\u00a0think<\/em>, not wear out their mouse buttons.<\/p>\n
2. Voiceover narration that matches text on screen, word-for-word<\/h2>\n
Generally speaking, most people can read much faster than the narrator can speak. Having a narrator read the screen text thereby contributes to cognitive overload: Learners can\u2019t effectively read and listen at the same time. More often than not, the result is that they turn off the voiceover narration you paid so much for. It\u2019s better to pick one or the other (voiceover or text on screen), depending on the constraints of the learner or platform, or if you use voiceover, to use screen text only to summarize key points.<\/p>\n
There are exceptions, however: Having narration match the text on screen can be a benefit to learners for whom English is not their native language. In this situation you can reduce cognitive overload by breaking content down into \u201cchunks\u201d of 150 words or less.<\/p>\n
3. Screen text overload<\/h2>\n
Not only is a screen covered with fine print hard for a learner to digest, it throws off the content hierarchy: First, it\u2019s hard to tell what, of all the information on screen, is most important; second, it\u2019s hard for learners to tell whether more text on screen means the text is more important because there\u2019s more of it, or whether\u00a0less<\/em>\u00a0text is more important because there\u2019s\u00a0less<\/em>\u00a0of it. Breaking text into smaller, bite-sized pieces, improves flow and pacing as well as comprehension.<\/p>\n
4. Low interactivity<\/h2>\n
Without interactivity, eLearning becomes little more than an automated PowerPoint presentation or ebook (Heaven forbid!). By \u201cinteractivity,\u201d we mean more than just clicking forward from one screen to the next, or adding an occasional click-to-reveal; we mean providing opportunities for learners to have to think, make decisions, and apply what they\u2019ve learned.<\/p>\n
5. Poor quality media assets<\/h2>\n
Blurry photos, poor audio, and bad video drag down the quality of the entire module. Learners can\u2019t help but wonder, \u201cIf you didn\u2019t think it was worth investing in high-quality media, why should I believe that this eLearning module is as important as you say it is?\u201d<\/p>\n
6. Poor visual design<\/h2>\n
An eLearning module doesn\u2019t need to be beautiful simply for the sake of looking good, but just as poor quality media assets detract from the learning experience, poor visual design drags down a learner\u2019s perception of quality and can even make a module visually confusing and difficult to navigate.<\/p>\n