At its core, a successful eLearning programme requires an understanding of the way students learn and the capacity to provide easy to consume, relevant content to engage learners. However, delivering the right kind of eLearning resources in the right way has become just as important to the success of an organisation’s learning & development strategy, and the ability to adapt to changing methods and technology is crucial.
A study by KPMG found that millennials currently make up 35% of the UK workforce and are set to represent 50% of the global workforce by the end of this year. On top of that, research suggests that companies need to better tailor their eLearning efforts towards their younger learners as they differ considerably from earlier generations both in their learning style and in their expectations for their education and training. Millennials may be a different breed of learner, they aren’t happy just ticking boxes, instead, they want a rewarding and personally fulfilling educational experience. They want a social learning environment to collaborate in and they want to be able to learn anytime and anywhere. eLearning development across all sectors needs new approaches to its material and delivery if it is to capture and keep the attention of these learners.
So, how do you deliver modern, engaging and inspiring training for your teams?
Be accessible on mobile devices.
Younger learners are the most prolific users of technology-enabled learning with 58% actively choosing mobile learning environments. They are the primary user group of mobile for communication, entertainment and work, so why should their eLearning be any different? Training presented in a mobile-accessible format like video and deployed through a mobile-friendly platform is the best form of information delivery for Millennials.
A picture really is worth a thousand words.
When a video is available along with an article and the information is identical, nearly four times as many millennials said they would prefer to watch the video rather than read the article, with that in mind, there’s little doubt that video is the format that will help boost your eLearning engagement. Thanks to YouTube, Facebook and Netflix, people spend more time, consuming video than any other type of content format so it makes the perfect delivery tool for your elearning. Short explainer videos help learners grasp the concept quickly and you can still fill the rest of the course with important details in the form of charts, infographics and graphs, your millennial audience will consume it with pleasure and thank you for delivering it in a relevant and engaging way.
Solve real-world problems.
Modern learners like a challenge, they aren’t interested in mundane exercises, instead, they want an experience that tests their abilities and teaches them something new. Today’s eLearning practices should offer learners a challenge or an obstacle to overcome. It could be in the form of an interactive branching scenario or a story tied into a real-world problem, whichever way it’s delivered, the objective is to make it as engaging and compelling as possible so learners can put their problem-solving skills to work!
Make eLearning fun and relevant.
The key to engaging content is to make sure it’s relevant, informative and enjoyable to consume, which may seem like a big ask with some course content but most eLearning content providers have this in hand and are always looking at ways to bring courses to life! Using beautiful dynamic graphics, video and audio, modern courses are not only more engaging than the text-heavy training materials of the past but also go a long way to helping learners retain the information they are absorbing.
Great things come in small sizes.
Attention spans aren’t what they used to be! That’s true of younger generations with some researchers suggesting that the attention span of millennials may be as short as eight minutes. Employees also have less time than they used to and therefore L&D teams should provide material in small, bite-sized chunks of around 3-7 minutes and each covering a single topic. Shorter lessons also help learners to more effectively retain the information they learn, as it prevents cognitive overload and allows them to focus on the topic at hand before moving onto the next. If millennial audiences are choosing video over text, you won’t be surprised to learn that they will also choose microlearning courses over longer, slower-paced learning activities.
Tap into the power of social.
Having been exposed to social media sites for most of their lives, millennials feel right at home chatting with friends, communicating with co-workers and conducting business via messaging apps. Including social actions like chat, blogs, video, profile pages and interactive quizzes in the learning journey offers modern learners a much desired social learning and collaborative experience. The ability to include this social functionality will largely come down to the capabilities of your learning management system but enhancing the process of your eLearning with communication and collaboration tools makes learning an engaging journey to explore, not endure.
Did you know?
For over 20 years we’ve been supplying great value, high-quality eLearning solutions and specialising in the design and supply of learning management systems, blending modern features with traditional functionality to ensure a consumer-grade experience for employees, and robust learning management – including powerful MI reporting, for team and business leaders. Associated services include the creation and supply of bespoke, off-the-shelf and curated digital learning content together with support and training for customers who wish to create their own. This dynamic and flexible approach, coupled with our extensive experience in the digital learning arena provides customers with a one-stop-shop for all of their digital learning needs – meaning that we’re able to support you in every aspect of your modern learning strategy.