Effective Instructional Design

A few tips about building effective eLearning courses

Effective instructional design is when content meets the needs of learners and develops knowledge over the topic. It is important to consider several factors when thinking about instructional design. A few of those factors will be discussed below.

User Experience (UX) vs User Interface (UI)

User Experience, also known as UX, is the overall experience a user has with the content of a course. It includes the elements of interaction by the user, as well as the accessibility and functionality of a course. In developing a course, it is incredibly important to pay close attention to the audience and create content that promotes a positive user experience (Buric, 2016). User Interface (UI) refers to the overall design of the course. UI deals with the visuals and interactive features that produce content through the course. In thinking about quality UI, it is important to consider important design concepts in order to create a quality learning experience.

High Quality Learning Videos

In developing videos for eLearning, there are several components that must be considered. While video use can be very beneficial to learning, it can also negatively affect engagement and learning if it is not done in a purposeful way. Pappas (2015) gives a few tips on how to best create and implement learning videos within the instructional design of a course. In an effort to make it more interactive, Pappas encourages the use of pauses to give the audience time to interact and participate in the content of the video. Including a video script also helps ensure narration and captions are correct and the video is accessible for all learners. In bringing in design elements during the production stage of a video, it is important to carefully select images, background music, and other elements that add to the value of the content rather than distract the learner. In another article, Pappas (2016) demonstrates the importance of using proper authoring tools to develop interactive videos for learning. Pappas encourages creators to implement interactions like surveys, questions, and hot links that give the user additional content or provide them with the opportunity to apply learning or give feedback.

Screen casting is another powerful tool that can be useful for teachers to show students how to complete tasks on a computer. For my project, I personally used a screen casting tool that demonstrated how to use certain application programs. By doing this, I was able to demonstrate, discuss, and walk users through the right way to do something. As an elementary teacher, I used a screencast for almost every assignment I posted for my third graders so they could see the exact way to do an assignment.

SCORM

SCORM stands for “Shareable Content Object Reference Model.” SCORM is the baseline standard for how eLearning courses operate. As an eLearning instructional developer, why is SCORM important? Anderson (2016) believes that a developer's knowledge of SCORM allows them to make educated decisions about the development of a course. Misunderstanding SCORM, is missing the mark on creating quality eLearning experiences. SCORM works as the “agreed upon blueprint” for developers to work with (Anderson, 2016). SCORM helps solve logistical issues originally associated with course development and aids in clearing any blurred lines that revolve around the topic.

Works Cited

Anderson, D. V. (2016, April 18). What Is SCORM? 5 Essential SCORM Facts You Should Know. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/what-is-scorm-5-scorm-facts-know

Buric, A. (2016, March 14). Essentials of Effective Instructional Design. LearnUpon. https://www.learnupon.com/blog/essentials-great-instructional-design

Pappas, C. (2015, May 10). Producing High Quality eLearning Videos: The Ultimate Guide. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/producing-high-quality-elearning-videos-ultimate-guide

Pappas, C. (2016, August 1). 6 steps to create interactive online training videos. https://elearningindustry.com/steps-create-interactive-online-training-videos

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