Three of our Favourite eLearning Examples

A learning experience remains fresh in our mind because it was either really effective or quite the opposite. Just like taking on good advice from a friend, we are always on the lookout for good eLearning principles and examples that we can incorporate into our projects. The longer you are in the industry, the more eLearning you see and this has resulted in our team accruing a toolkit of trusty eLearning principles, designs and concepts collected over time. Now that we have quite a toolkit, we thought it would be valuable to share what we have collected over the years with our community, being you!

In this blog, we will discuss our favourite eLearning examples and the reasons behind their success.

1. The Video Project

Society is engaging with video more than ever, whether it’s through sharing a video on Snapchat, binge-watching a TV series on Netflix, watching videos on Instagram TV (IGTV) or video chatting with friends. Video has become a part of our everyday life and this project was a great example of leveraging the platform through a learning solution.

We have all found ourselves in a situation where we need to know how to do something. Whether it’s how to create a formula on Excel, fix something or use an unfamiliar program. It is at times like this where people may turn to YouTube (we know we certainly do). A study on the “Values of YouTube” conducted in October 2017 revealed that more than 7 in 10 viewers used YouTube to solve problems (O’Neil-Hart, 2017). Our team agrees that we have each found ourselves on YouTube watching ‘how to’ videos.

The video project we co-created was an induction for childcare directors and the intent was to provide them with a timely introduction to the information they needed to successfully manage a childcare centre. Rather than creating a module with screens of text explaining what they need to know, we decided to deliver the learnings in a way that we all do as humans naturally, by sharing with each other.

This was the learning experience we came up with:

- Interviewed and filmed key contacts in the organisation: We interviewed and filmed key contacts in the organisation and had them share practical advice for the childcare directors. The learning outcomes were achieved through the heart-felt and passionate content shared in the videos.

- Incorporated reflection questions: To ensure that centre directors could understand the ‘why’ for the content they were learning as well as relate the content to their own situation, we incorporated action-based reflection questions at the end of each video (relevant to the content discussed).

- Created a video reflection handbook: To enable centre directors to answer the reflection questions and make notes relevant to their situation, we provided each of them with a handbook. The handbook included an overview of each video and listed the reflection questions linked to each. This provided the learner the opportunity to write down their thoughts and refer back to the booklet when they needed to.

Example reflection questions shown at the end of video interviews - A Belvista Studios Project.

We loved this eLearning project because it made great use of the popularity of video and provided a ‘human’ and ‘real’ induction for the centre directors. It gave us insight that you don’t always need to deliver content through dense text on a screen. We, as humans have been learning from each other since the beginning of time and this is a great example of how we can replicate human to human learning in an online environment.

2. The Realistic Scenario

At Belvista Studios, we believe that the more realistic the learning experience is, the more effective it is. eLearning allows learners to practice their skills and acquire knowledge in a safe environment so that they can perform in the real world. Creating a solution that aligns to a learner’s reality is important. Through the use of scenarios that reflect the real world this becomes achievable.

Prior to starting a learning solution we place importance on meeting with the clients and users that we are creating the learning experience for. This enables us to gain a deep understanding of their situation. Through this understanding we are able to create learning experiences that reflect what is actually happening in the real world.

This is an example of a realistic scenario that we created for a bullying and harassment module. The intent of this scenario was to remind employees of the importance of not making assumptions.

This is what we created:

1. The learner is faced with a situation and is asked to select what they would do. The answer options were created from data collected from the client and users, so we could be confident that they somewhat reflect the real world.

2. When the learner chooses how they would react they receive more than a correct/incorrect feedback popup. They are asked a question that results in them reflecting on the choice they made. They are also provided with actions that they can take. For example, “You may want to consider saying these things next time”. They can take on these suggestions when they are faced with a similar situation in the real world. 

3. This screen shows the learner what was really happening and allows them to view the situation from a different perspective.

At Belvista Studios, we are big fans of making content realistic as we believe it is a core motivator for learners. This scenario was realistic in the way it was introduced as well as in how actions were provided for the real world in the feedback. It wasn’t just content on a page, it was suggestions for behaviour change.

3. The Deloitte Induction Example

This eLearning example wasn’t created by Belvista Studios, though it’s one that we couldn’t help but share. Two members of the Belvista Studios team remember completing this learning experience years ago and it continues to come up in conversation. It’s a learning experience that really made an impact on us. We have therefore spent time unpacking what makes the experience so great and use it as inspiration for our own projects.

The example is the, “Will you fit into Deloitte” gamified interactive recruitment experience created by Rapt Media. The experience involves viewing a scenario taking place from a first person view and being asked to make decisions, which impacts what happens next in the scenario.

What we think makes this experience effective is that it:

- Gives the learner a sense of control: It allows the learner to have some choice and control over what happens in the learning experience. This is one of the best ways to keep them engaged (Staff Writers, 2012).

- Has an element of drama: The scenarios have an element of drama that keeps you interested just like your favourite movie or tv series. Whilst saying this, the drama isn’t ‘over-the-top’ and this results in it staying realistic.

- Tells a story: Have you ever been listening to a speaker and as soon as they started telling a story felt your attention being captured? Storytelling is powerful and as humans we crave a good story! This learning solution tells an engaging story as it takes the learner through different situations throughout their ‘virtual day’.

Sharing is caring, check out the learning solution here.

That’s it for this blog on great eLearning examples. What great eLearning have you come across? We would love to hear what inspires you in the eLearning world and what projects you are proud of!

                                                            References

O’Neil-Hart, C. (2017). Why You Should Lean into How-to Content in 2018. Retrieved from https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/advertising-channels/video/self-directed-learning-youtube/.

Rapt Media. (2018). Will You Fit into Deloitte. Retrieved from http://www.raptmedia.com/customers/deloitte/.

Staff Writers. (2012). How to Motivate Your Students: What Every Teacher Should Know but Doesn’t. Retrieved from https://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2012/12/10/how-to-motivate-your-students-what-every-teacher-should-know-but-doesnt/