With almost 30 percent of the human population, or 2 billion people, using the internet; and 94 percent of US students equating research with using Google or other search engines, it comes as no surprise that 75 percent of students use Wikipedia and online encyclopedias for research.
Engaging the unengaged has always been an elusive goal among learning professionals. While there are challenges related to student engagement in other learning environments, online curriculum may include added obstacles. Problems revolve around the lack of personal interaction between the instructor and student, as well as the student-to-student contact.
Let's focus at the issue of engagement.
Over time we are changing the way we interact with information. We are becoming pullers of information rather than accepting that which is pushed to us. A further extension of this behavior is our taste for succinct information (or the lack of waffle).
As an eLearning professional, you can only do your best work by considering students first. If you want to offer them something meaningful, then focus on them. Listen to what they tell you, intuit what they don’t. It shouldn't be that difficult if you know how their brain works. Here are some good pointers to start with.
Here is an eLearning inforgraphic for Instructional Designers that uses eight steps for an Awesome eLearning Storyboard. With these eight steps and along with the Free Instructional Design Storyboard template, you will have a the tools you need for awesome eLearning Storyboards.
Portable devices are changing the way we read or consume content. That's a fact. And the novel of it is that people tend to read more on screen than on paper. Many of us, however, are still not comfortable with our changing reading behavior. As eLearning professionals and educators, it's our job to deal with these facts—not ignore or downplay them. If we really want people to pay attention to our eLearning content, it's not the reader who has to change. It's us, the authors.
This A-Z of Top eLearning Trends infographic is a fantastic resource for modern teachers. It covers concepts you should know when integrating technology into the classroom.
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