Interactive eLearning: Engaging the Digital Learner

Digital technologies have catalyzed a large-scale evolution of pedagogies and educational methodologies, all for the better. However, digitality has also introduced a problem pertaining to learning: frequent distractions and shorter attention spans.

In this regard, interactive eLearning is proving itself extremely useful in keeping the digital learner engaged through applying a variety of modernized educational techniques online using digital learning platforms like KITABOO. The platform not only offers multimedia content such as videos, interactive quizzes, and simulations but also incorporates gamification elements to make learning more enjoyable and rewarding.

In fact, data suggests that gamified learning has the potential to create higher learning engagement as compared to traditional methods, as admitted by 67% of the learners. This approach taps into the inherent desire for achievement, competition, and rewards, motivating students to stay focused and participate actively in their learning journey.

Table of Contents

I. Elements of Interactivity in eLearning

1. Quizzes
2. Gamification
3. Scenarios
4. Videos

II. Interactivity Techniques to Boost Engagement in eLearning Sessions

1. User-Led Exploration
2. Learning Styles
3. Storylines
4. Interactive Media
5. Advanced Technologies
6. Personalization of Learning Paths

III. KITABOO: Simplify Creation of Interactive eLearning Modules

Before moving on to deploying interactive eLearning techniques to keep the digital learner engaged, let’s understand the four basic elements that constitute interactivity:

Quizzes are an excellent way to boost engagement during the lesson at strategic time intervals. They can be in the form of true/false queries, multiple choice questions, fill-in-the-blanks, or even image-based questions that force the learners to recall the lesson and answer the question.

Gamification is key to interactive eLearning sessions. It is an excellent way to introduce healthy competition among the learners and create continuous engagement for the duration of the activity. For example, progress and milestone badges, performance badges, and privileges are forms of gamified interactivity that encourage learning among students.

Scenarios are a powerful way to gear up the learners’ minds by presenting them with a hypothetical situation that they are required to resolve or work through using the tools provided to them through the gamified interface. It is similar to storytelling but more bite-sized and immediate for creating engagement.

Videos are an excellent way to keep the learners engaged in the lesson. Videos help present complex concepts in simple ways in a visual manner, which helps students comprehend the lesson in a better way, keeping them engaged in learning instead of falling out of distraction.

Additionally. Videos are more fun to watch as compared to reading text. This is why they’ve become an effective tool for maintaining the interest of digital learners.

Educators can introduce interactivity in eLearning modules using the following six key techniques to help generate better engagements:

User-led exploration is one of the most powerful ways to enhance learning engagement, especially in eLearning modules. Users assume total control over their learning journey, picking up topics according to their “exploratory” preferences from the modules and pacing them according to their needs and time.

User-led exploration also introduces a sense of ownership of the learning journey, encouraging asking questions and curiosity about the lesson on the whole. Additionally, it may improve the capacity of the learner to make informed decisions because they have full control over their learning and progress through the course.

Interactive eLearning gives educators the capacity to cater to a variety of learning styles. For visual and kinesthetic learners, educators can leverage the power of gamification. For the more aurally stimulated and motivated learners, teachers can incorporate text-to-speech or audiobook modules to promote engagement in the lesson.

It is the flexibility of interactivity that creates various new touchpoints for teachers to engage their learners. There is something for every type of learner, encouraging them to stay engaged and learn in their own way.

Creating storylines is a powerful method that introduces interactivity into a lesson. It is particularly helpful in the explanation of scientific concepts, where monotonous lectures can get dull and droning.

Educators can create storylines with characters in the eLearning modules, giving them a journey through the lesson while exploring the concepts from their points of view. The human mind is geared to grasp stories better than hard facts, and it is this that makes storylines an excellent method for interactive eLearning.

Interactive media such as quizzes, assessments, progress markers, rewards, and challenges are a way to measure how engaged your learners are in a lesson quickly. In between lessons, a quick quiz session wakes up the sleeping mind, gets it back into the lesson, and forces it to recall the concept to answer the question, thus enhancing engagement.

It is an excellent way to get the students to turn the pages with a view to competing with each other on challenges or competitions to get recognition amongst peers.

Advanced technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality reinforce a lesson through highly immersive interactive modules. For example, human anatomy is explained better when students can interact with an AR/VR-generated human body that they can turn over, dissect, and see for themselves what the lesson is trying to teach them.

AR and VR are also extremely helpful for subjects like geography and history, where students can get a more firsthand experience of the lesson-based concepts that are being taught.

The capability to personalize a lesson forms the backbone of interactivity in eLearning. The fact that students are free to use the tools they prefer, learn at the times they prefer, and pace the course and subjects as they prefer enhances engagement. This capability gears the mind into readiness for learning, which results in highly engaged learners who perform better.

Interactive eLearning is the modern answer to the challenges that traditional education presents. However, it is important to design and implement interactive eLearning from start to finish for it to be effective and have a positive impact on learners.

Using robust digital publishing platforms like KITABOO, educators get the power to take control over the end-to-end process of creating interactive eLearning content. The platform’s dashboard consolidates the creation, editing, enhancement, enrichment, publishing, and distribution of eLearning content into one interface.

Educators also get access to analytics and key insights that they can use to understand how their content is performing, what needs to change, and what the students are utilizing best.

To explore more capabilities of KITABOO, connect with us now!