5 Tips to Create and Deliver the Right E-learning Content- Utilizing the 'Goldilocks Principle'

With changing corporate training demands of modern learners, the need to deliver the right kind of training content is becoming evident. There is a fairy tale of a small girl named Goldilocks, who avoids the porridge bowls that are too cold or too hot. Instead, she prefers choosing the one which is just right and moderate. This concept is also applicable for workplace training where employees choose e-courses that cater to their pertinent learning needs.

• Too hot content: The text-heavy online training courses are very boring, resulting in poor learner engagement and retention levels.

• Too cold content: When e-courses lack relevant information, it gives a negative impact on the overall learner performance and knowledge retention.

• Just right content: Different learners have different training needs from onboarding and compliance to sales enablement, skills development, and more.  Therefore, it is essential to deliver the right content to the targeted learners which result in improved employee participation and workplace competency.

What is the Right E-learning Content? 

It is crucial for organizations to provide e-learning courses that meet their personalized needs. There are several tips for designing just the right kind of training content. These include:

• Understand the audience

The initial step is to understand the type of audience and their custom training needs. So, it becomes crucial for trainers and managers to choose the right topics for the right learners through surveys, group discussions, and assessments.

• Create digestible content

If you talk about applying the Goldilocks principle in e-learning, then creating an easy to access and quick to digest training content is essential. For instance, short and crisp chunks of information can be delivered across mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, enabling learners to digest information anytime and anywhere.

• Design the content right

Sometimes, even a perfect training course is considered too hot because of its poor design structure. A clutter-free design is preferred while creating training modules which boosts the overall learning experience. Also, engaging elements such as avatars and tool tips are embedded with e-courses to aid learners easily access every module, engage better, and progress more during the program.

• Reduce choice overload

Once you choose the relevant topics of training, the next important factor is to ask the learners whether they are prepared to apply what they learned in real-life scenarios? Or whether the entire program focuses more on a specific module in comparison to others? The feedback from the learners helps organizations to bridge the gaps between the content created and training goals.

• Use additional resources

Additional resources are also added with e-courses, enabling learners to explore the content of their choice at their own pace. These may include videos, external links, tutorials, and more which maintain learners’ interest and avoid boredom through the entire course.

The above-discussed tips focus both on understanding the bespoke training needs and creating the content in the right way. Modern learners readily engage with the right training content, leading to increased levels of participation, retention, and overall learning uptake.

Suggested Further Reading: Using the Goldilocks Principle in Your E-learning Courses by Damian

Retail, Healthcare, Aviation, and More: Top Industries Adopting Simulation-based Learning Approach for Corporate Training

As the workforce is getting smarter and the business environment is becoming more dynamic, organizations are adopting strategies to upskill their employees and improve overall on-the-job performances. The modern corporate world is increasing focus towards delivering simulation-based learning solutions to develop employee skills, boost knowledge retention, and pave towards ways which boost business growth. Industries such as retail, healthcare, education, and more, are expected to drive the scope of simulations to train their modern workforce.

Let us discuss the benefits of simulation-based learning approach in various industries:

• Retail

With technological advancement, the scope of simulations to train the retail workforce is increasing. An immersive simulated training environment helps to improve the overall product awareness, customer retention, and business sales. Whether it is about seeking customer attention, training new hires or more, simulations in e-learning help managing real-life scenarios at the workplace. For instance, retail companies can easily showcase any situation to the new hires through simulations, thereby helping them to understand the new work environment, industry compliance, work culture, and more.

• Aviation

Undoubtedly, training in the aviation industry is costly, and therefore simulations serve as a viable solution, making learning more affordable and accessible. Airline companies utilize a wide range of advanced virtual reality technologies such as 360 degrees headsets, full-motion headsets, and more. These also aid to train the aviation staff on crew operations, aircraft maintenance, inspection, and more. The virtual environment helps employees to practice in a complex work environment and improve their overall workplace efficiency.

• Healthcare

Simulations in the healthcare domain help to replace the actual surgical scenario and replicate crucial aspects of the real world interactively. Highly interactive 3D elements help the learners to understand the content better. Learners can imagine themselves in familiar situations and can recall better, as well as assimilate the new learning process.

Simulations in e-learning are ready to shift the entire Learning and Development landscape of the corporate environment. L&D teams are now involved in creating simulated e-learning solutions aligned with evolving training needs. Simulations hold the potential to replace the boring classroom lectures with immersive communication. In a nutshell, simulations help the new-age workforce to learn from their mistakes, gain hands-on experience and enhance their overall performance. By using simulations for different scenarios, organizations help their workforce to engage better, retain for long, and achieve expected results.