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