The best approach

Effective learning

The key to effective online learning is Active Learning. When you decide to move from the delivery of content online to creating an eLearning course you are moving from passive learning to active learning and allowing your students, staff or clients to take ownership of the learning experience.

There is no right or wrong way to create an effective online learning experience, and often a combination of approaches is most effective for the content you are delivering.

Reinforced learning

Reinforced understanding is often the simplest approach to eLearning, but can also be the most effective, depending on the type of content being delivered.
With reinforced understanding, information is provided to the learner who is then given regular opportunities to confirm their understanding of the information through a series of knowledge check activities.
These knowledge check activities can vary throughout a course but are usually in the form of a quiz and their primary role is to confirm the user has understood the information they have been presented with and to prompt them to revisit content they have not understood.

These knowledge checks help break up the content into manageable sections and also help the learner check their own progress throughout.
Higher order thinking is not usually the goal of these questions, with an emphasis on recollection and understanding, but there is always an opportunity to test the students ability to apply and analyse based on the information they have been provided.

Activity based learning

This is true self directed learning and a great way to provide a learner with access to a lot of information as well as the skills to research and further develop their understanding.
With activity based learning you usually deliver some fundamental information to the learner then present them with a series of activities that encourage the learner to develop a greater understanding of the topic.
For example, a learner is shown a video that provides an introduction to a topic. They are then presented with a task where they must research a particular aspect of a topic in order to complete an activity.
These activities will help the learner further understand the content and interact more directly.
These tasks can include:
· A reading from an online source or textbook
· An interview, animation or video
· A website
· Additional text
· Scenarios

Accompanying each task will be a different activity aimed at showing the learner's understanding of the information they reviewed or researched.
These activities can include:
· Multiple choice quizzes
· Short answer questions
· Reflections
· Interactive activities
· Open or group discussions
It is important that you vary the type of activity for each task and use a combination of knowledge checks, higher order processes, role-playing and reflective activities to ensure the user remains an active participant in the learning process and understanding is complete and cohesive.

Scenario based learning

This is by far the most popular option available today. The 'cool kid' of eLearning and a great way to make training engaging. With scenario based learning you deliver fundamental information to the learner then present them with scenarios that allow them to put their understanding into practice and see the consequences of the decisions that they make, and provide them with useful feedback.
When the learner makes a bad decision they should be given the opportunity to understand why this decision was not the ideal, an opportunity to reflect on the choices they made and the consequences as well as an opportunity to play out the scenario and make new choices based on their greater understanding.

Scenario based learning allows students to:
· Apply their knowledge
· Analyse a situation
· Identify issues
· Solve problems
· Reflect and learn