INTERACTIVE ONLINE LEARNING PRINCIPLES

Going beyond the passive one-way nodes of reading, listening, and watching static content is necessary for interactive online learning. Instead of simply waiting for information and digesting it, it involves extracting the precise content you want and changing it. Having said that, it's critical to comprehend these four ideas in order to fully appreciate interactive online learning.

Principles of Interactive Online Learning

Interactive online learning is not something that just happens. It is the end outcome of a methodical, intentional development process. A specialist should be informed about online learning's guiding principles before developing an eLearning course. People process information in specific ways consistently. 

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Each interactive online learning principle needs to be matched with a communication or activity that makes eLearning easier. Learners should have more opportunities to communicate in this manner, and they should be more likely to remember the knowledge and abilities they acquire.

We'll now look at some fundamental guidelines that might help you design a training session that gives your learners the best learning experience possible.

A common visual experience for all learners

Everyone in a physical classroom or seminar is focused on the same thing. Learners can choose how they view the presenter, the slides, and the participant gallery with video conferencing platforms with variable views. They can also decide whether to view chat or not. Common, shared viewing experiences are typically impossible to create. Enhanced VILT tools, on the other hand, give the host more control over what the learner sees, including the presentation of video, presentations, and chat. All learners will have a same visual experience, which reduces distractions and guarantees attention is paid to the material that has to be kept. 

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Short bursts of content interspersed with peer interaction

With a perfect content length of 3 to 5 minutes, online content is best kept when provided in bursts under 7 minutes long. Good teachers carefully plan the order of their lessons to make sure that each concept builds on the one before it and that the interaction exercises are appropriate for the lessons being presented. Enhanced VILT tools include a variety of engagement options that the instructor can use to encourage the kind of peer interaction that will stimulate ideas and boost retention, though polls and chats are a good place to start. These consist of:

• Games and quizzes

• Focused conversations and Q&A for each topic

• Word-based tools include task lists, word clouds, sticky notes, and fill-in-the-blank

• Delivery of feedback is made easier using gestures like the raised hand, agree/disagree, laughter, applause, speeding up/slowing down, and star ratings.

• controls for the instructor, including the capacity to disable anonymous conversation, conceal the attendee list, and choose students at random

Peer group breakouts

Small group projects encourage collaboration and peer learning, which is a hallmark of many live training programs. In virtual group rooms, improved VILT tools can provide the same interactivity, allowing actual collaboration beyond just speech.

MotionOne of the most essential elements of online learning is this. The human brain is designed to perceive motion. When individuals engage with a computer on their own, they are always moving something. Online presenters must give a variety of slides, layouts, videos, and interactive elements to overcome restricted attention spans for looking at words on a slide. Enhanced VILT capabilities provide a plethora of alternatives for keeping the presentation flowing and learners' minds engaged. Related article: The 10 Best Prototyping Tools for Designers.

AccessibilityBecause of embedded closed captioning, keyboard commands, color adjustments, increased navigational capabilities, and collaborations with screen readers for the visually impaired, virtual classrooms improve on the accessibility of in-person teaching.

Examples of Interactive Online Learning

Stories

The power of stories is immense, and you can recall every aspect of them. As a result, tales have evolved into an invaluable element in eLearning solutions. Deliver your material in a story-like way from beginning to end, with characters that are relevant to the industry and learners. Consider introducing suitable morals and dialogue. Some examples of story-based eLearning programs are as follows:

• Character Dialog: This is an interesting interaction that tells your story by having drawn items or characters converse.

• 3D eBook: Unlike a typical eBook, which simply has text to narrate a tale, this 3D eBook adds images, videos, and text to make the story-based content more engaging for learners.

Simulations and Scenarios

These are activities that expose students to real-world, virtual scenarios without needing them to confront them or their repercussions in real life. Here are several examples:

Role-Based Individualized Simulation:

 This type of simulation puts the student in specific settings and challenges them to make decisions or solve problems. You use informative feedback to ensure they are aware of the intricate components of each inquiry as they reply to each circumstance.

Goal-Driven Immersive Learning Situation:

This is a scenario template that uses hotspots to provide learners with an interactive tour of the process, a real-life event, or a concept. The approach allows learners to pick their own learning route, and instructional feedback may be provided for the choices they make in order to reinforce the learning objectives.

Museum Simulation:

 This interaction entails providing learners with a 3D walk of a virtual museum that has up to four sections that may include movies and images.

Games

Games give a fun factor, which is a strong motivator for people. If you use the correct game mechanics, such as levels, points, leaderboards, badges, and so on, your eLearning game's engagement levels can skyrocket. Let's look at some gamification instances in online learning.

Slot Machine:

 This game is extremely good in motivating students because it is based on the notion of positive reinforcement.

The audio-visual crossword is based on a popular game played all over the world and incorporates clues in the form of visuals or audios to help learners recall the correct word.

Playing Tic-Tac-Toe with Questions:

 We've all played this game when we were little. Most students will be able to connect to this game, which may be used to reinforce key topics.

Spin the Wheel:

 This is possibly the most well-known game in the planet. A wide range of questions can be assigned to the wheel during an evaluation. Learners are quizzed on the category in which the spinning wheel stops.

Assessments and Quizzes 

These two terms are frequently used interchangeably. They are, however, not identical. An assessment is a more formal standard evaluation approach, whereas a quiz is normally shorter, more casual, and has little influence on learners' total results. Nonetheless, both efficiently assist learners in identifying areas for growth. The following are some of the most popular examples:

Million Dollar Quiz: This is an interesting alternative to typical MCQ-based questions. Million-dollar quizzes put learners' knowledge to the test in an entertaining way by utilizing money as a motivator. Related article: How Much Does it Cost to Develop an Educational App?

Visual assessments: They guide learners through situations or tales before questioning and testing them. You can utilize multimedia features in this evaluation, such as a visual introduction screen and audio-visual questions.

Final Word

You should now have a thorough idea of what interactive online learning entails. It's time to start building your interactive eLearning programs now that you're aware of their potential to drive engagement and active learning.

Contact PioGroup now for development of highly engaging online learning platform.