Tips n tricks section – Lars Helle, Creative Director. Mohive
In this edition of the tips’n tricks section I focus on why and how you should add context to your content. This can be done in many ways:
Types of content
Firstly, let’s expand a little on what we mean when we talk about “appropriate content”. Generally, two types of knowledge are used in learning. Firstly there is theoretical knowledge, which is often applied in the academic sphere and is seldom appropriate for e-learning. The second is practical knowledge, and it is this form of knowledge that can be “brought to life” in e-learning courses. Now that we know the type of knowledge that can be incorporated into e-learning content, the next point to discuss is how to incorporate this into an e-learning course.
Why content can be the enemy
When I conduct writing work shops for e-learning, one of my key phrases is always that “content is e-learning’s worst enemy” and this may sound strange when we all agree that “content is king”, but this paradox is not as illogical as it sounds. The reasoning behind this is that although all organisations which use e-learning have more than enough content for the e-learning courses they create, they have the very difficult challenge of identifying which pieces of content should be transformed into e-learning.
Why context is king
This challenge is driven by the common mistake of approaching e-learning armed with content that is ready to convert. Because this makes it very difficult to establish which pieces of content should be included, often too much content is inserted without any relevance to the learner. This limits course effectiveness.
It is important to start with the right approach when it comes to e-learning, and that is - context should never be added, it should be your starting point!
Therefore, the first step is to identify what the objectives for the desired development model should be, i.e. what are your business objectives and then the learning objectives that will deliver the changes to these business objectives.
Once the learning objectives are agreed, establish the context that the learning will be presented in. This context should be circumstances that not only best illustrate the desired learning, but are also situations that the learner can identify with. Once that is established adding your content will be easy.
Context should never be added, it is the starting point
The example module enclosed is about domestic fire safety. The concept here is to build a sense of urgency with the user. This is an example of how the context is used to enhance both knowledge retention and user experience.
Below is a link which contains the above simulations bought to life, enjoy!
