Interactivity in E-Learning modules - the thin line

Many people have different views about online e learning modules. For many, they are very easy to understand and fun to learn. But for some, “Well I would prefer to read the book” is the best line. But then one thing is sure, slowly the online training and e learning modules are becoming
very popular.

And if we think deeper, then we will realize that it is another very good way to generating a lot of employment opportunity. But any ways that’s not what we are going to discuss here in this article.

What I feel is that there is a very thin line when it comes to make the e learning modules interactive. I mean how much interactive do you want you module to be. How much time do you want your user to read and how much time do you want your user to interact with your module. This is something which plays a very important role in making a good e learning module and an excellent e learning module.

Here are a few things which I will point out to come to a conclusion about the discussion:

Age group: agree or not, age group I think is one of the crucial factor to decide how much interactive you want your modules to be. For example, if you are making an e learning module for kids, then you might want to have a lot of interactive sessions with the kid where you can motivate them and judge their progress. But more serious topics like may be modules in medical colleges or companies will not require so much of interactivity.

Topic: Sure, you want to add animations of some process or something which is difficult or not possible in real life. For example how a drug interacts with your blood and how it works. But when you are making something for the kids – like a poem, or a physics lesion, then you will want to show a full demonstration of the same and that may mean a lot of animations and other jazzy things. So, the topic is very important.

Length: the length of the module will definitely matter a lot. Giving information is for sure THE MOST IMPORTANT thing. But we need to understand that the user may also have a mid set. And so we have to design it in such a way, that the user can be comfortable and go through the whole thing with same interest. Dividing the module in strategically broken parts is very important. Chapters and sessions are very common in such modules.

Medium: although this is a bit technical but then I am sure many of you will agree that, this is one big factor. Many of the modules are taken in to CDs or DVDs. If that is the case, then a lot of sound, heavy graphics, videos etc will not make much of a difference. But if your user will see the module online, then I am sure you will not want too heavy a module to run on the internet. The user may have a slow connection and may take a lot of time to open. And this way the whole flow of the module may get disrupted.

So, these are a few things which I feel are very important to know when designing an e learning module.