Haben Sie gerade neue L&D-Regeln in Ihrer Institution eingeführt? So erstellen Sie einen interaktiven Online-Kurs, um den größtmöglichen Nutzen aus Ihren Bemühungen zu ziehen.
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Sometimes, your course material is stellar, but the way it is presented isn't up to par. The missing piece? Interaction. After all, you've created the material to keep learners engaged and actively participating. However, if your online course is all text and no action, it's bound to get a bit boring.
That's why it's important to add interactive elements to your course. Even better, keep interactivity in mind right off the bat. In this guide, we will share tips on how to create an interactive online course.
When you're in a classroom, the teacher interacts with you using different methods. For example, they may ask you to raise your hand if you know an answer or have you do exercises individually or in groups. The same isn't possible in an online course.
However, the need to keep learners engaged is still there. Interactive learning is all about satisfying this need with elements like:
As we've covered, interactivity makes your online course more engaging and effective. Learners are also more likely to retain and apply the information if they are actively participating in the learning process. Here's how to reap these benefits.
Right from the start, you want to make sure you're accounting for interactivity at every step. That begins with selecting an authoring tool that allows you to add interactive elements.
The Coursebox AI course authoring tool is a remarkable option in this regard. First off, it makes creating courses a breeze since you can use existing videos and documents to create learning material, such as employee training programs.
As for interactivity, Coursebox offers the following features:
Plus, Coursebox supports a wide range of multimedia, from images to animations. You can create distinct learning paths for different types of learners and customize the look and feel of your course. As a result, your courses become more interactive and interesting.
According to Wharton Interactive, stories are a powerful way to retain information. When something is taught in a certain context, it's easier for learners to remember it in the long run, as opposed to isolated facts. It also becomes more interesting and exciting. The Spotify Wrapped is an excellent example of digital storytelling done right.
Source: Spotify
The longevity of information retention is partly due to the interactive experience storytelling provides. In an online course, you can replicate this teaching approach through animations, videos, and interactive scenarios.
For example, when you're onboarding a new hire, instead of simply listing out company policies and procedures, you could create a digital story that follows a new employee's journey throughout their first week.
The learner can be the protagonist in this story, interacting with other ''characters'' like their managers or fellow colleagues. Add some simulations and animations to keep the learner hooked. Mango Animate has an interactive employee onboarding template that you can use.
Source: Mango Animate
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are top trends in eLearning, and rightfully so. They're an excellent tool to make your online courses ultra-interactive.
For example, you could use interactive 360° media to get learners to engage rather than just watch or listen. Let's say you're creating a course for warehouse safety in construction. Don't just list the safety hazards and procedures, but instead, have learners navigate a virtual warehouse and identify potential hazards.
Source: NVIDIA
Even better, you can create a VR-based assessment in which the learner has to identify and resolve the hazards in a simulated environment. These tests reinforce learning and also give learners a peek into practical applications of the online course material.
A very interesting solution for “how to create an interactive online course” is by using branched scenarios. Essentially, you create a narrative with different outcomes based on the learner's choices. These results mimic real-life decision-making situations and keep the learner engaged throughout the course.
For example, imagine you're creating a course on customer service for a retail store. Instead of just listing out customer service guidelines, create a scenario where the learner has to interact with different types of customers and make decisions based on their behavior.
Such an interactive experience improves training sessions and provides somewhat of a real-world experience. A good example comes from the branched scenario learning curated by Elucidat and the Open University in which the learner can make different decisions to help troubled characters.
Source: Elucidat
The beauty of branched scenarios is that they can be tailored to any subject matter, making the learning experience personalized for each learner. To reward the learners for completing their scenario with flying colors, you can include certificates.
Every learner who finishes the course with a certain number of correct decisions can receive a certificate of completion as a recognition for their efforts and achievements.
There's a decent amount of research to show that gamification improves cognitive and behavioral learning outcomes. Similarly, a Chinese study with 187 students found that gamification enhances study engagement due to the indirect effect of self-efficacy and enjoyment.
These findings show that if you gamify your eLearning materials, learners will be more eager to participate and learn. However, gamification isn't limited to just adding points or badges to your course. It also includes incorporating game-like elements such as storytelling, progress bars, challenges, and levels into your course design. For example, Duolingo gamifies learning a new language with challenges and character-building.
Source: Duolingo
Gamification works exceptionally well when you align it with your industry or subject matter. For example, in a healthcare training course, the learner's ''character'' could be a nurse or a doctor. Every correct step unlocks new challenges.
Instead of using a plain and boring progress bar, you can show an IV drip filling up or a heart rate monitor rising as learners progress through the course. These elements really get the learner involved in the course and make it more exciting for them.
Besides gamification, you can also use role-play simulations as the best answer for “how to create an interactive online course.” This method will pique interest and interactivity in an online course. Every learner is given a specific role to play, and they must navigate through various scenarios by applying their knowledge and skills.
These simulations can effectively mimic real-life situations and provide learners with practical experience that they can apply in their jobs. For example, in a compliance training course, the learners can role-play as detectives.
It’s just how in a game like GTA, you play a fictional character, Tommy Vercetti. In Minecraft, your role-play as Steve, Noor, or another character.
Source: Hypermartz
Throughout the course, they have to look for cues and hints to determine the cause of non-compliance. The same can also be used in a programming course, where learners can solve puzzles and quizzes to find the bug in a program.
Role-play situations are quite fun since learners get to be creative and think outside the box. So, they help improve your course's interactivity.
eLearning can't be all play and no work. You have to make sure that learners are also grasping the information while enjoying themselves in the learning process. Long-form assessments can often be tedious and overwhelming for learners.
On the contrary, quizzes are more interactive. You can make them even more engaging with ideas like Spin the Wheel, where learners have to spin a wheel and then answer the question at which the needle rests.
Source: eLearning Industry
Include short quizzes with just a few questions at different intervals throughout the course. These will help learners revise the information they've learned. Plus, you can track their progress.
The Coursebox AI Quiz Generator Es dauert nur wenige Minuten, um ein Video, Dokument, Folienstapel oder PDF in ein kurzes Quiz umzuwandeln. Mit dem KI-Grader erhalten die Lernenden sofort Feedback zu ihren Leistungen.
Es ist eine Sache, dass Ihr Online-Kurs reich an Informationen ist, und eine andere, dass er interaktiv genug ist, um dieses Lernmaterial beizubehalten. Letzteres ist genauso wichtig wie Ersteres. Sie möchten nicht einfach, dass die Lernenden Ihren Kurs überspringen und sich kaum darauf einlassen.
Stattdessen möchten Sie, dass sie mit dem eLearning-Material interagieren und so viel wie möglich daraus mitnehmen. Die interaktiven Elemente, die wir oben besprochen haben, werden Ihnen dabei helfen. Ganz gleich, ob es sich um Mitarbeiterschulungen, Onboarding oder Bildungszwecke handelt, eine höhere Interaktivität wird letztendlich zu einem erfolgreicheren E-Learning-Erlebnis führen.
