All e-learning courses focus on delivering a course objective in a way that captivates learners while also pointing them toward the most important issue at hand. They rely on good grammar and presentation to create content that contributes to effective learning.
Grammatical errors in an e-learning course make communication difficult, undermining the goal of the course. They distract learners and negatively affect the efficacy and efficiency of the content. On the other hand, good grammar in an e-learning course makes learning easier.
When implementing e-learning, there are basic standards that a developer should consider. E-learning standards are guidelines for designing and developing content for online courses. They are the common sets of rules that pertain to the authoring software, content, and Learning Management Systems (LMS).
The two main types of standards are Courseware Design Standards and Technical Standards.
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The courseware design standards
The courseware design standards further include visual design, writing standards, media, assessment standards, and instructional design.
E-learning platforms that provide training courses such as Easyllama use the customizable courseware Harassment Prevention course to target an organization's goals and requirements. With the customizable courseware, Easyllama is able to roll out the harassment training with the most relevant content to the learners while meeting specific workplace compliance audit checklist requirements.
The visual design
The Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the navigational element of the course fall under the visual design standards. While GUI provides an interactive interface, the course navigation makes the interface intuitive and user-friendly.
The writing standards
The use of language, abbreviations, punctuations, abbreviations, and other text elements are covered in the writing standards. These are the writing guidelines for the developers and instructional designers. They mostly include grammar practices, and they are:
The use of active voice
The passive voice makes sentences lengthy, confusing, and often, dull. The e-learning script should be in the active voice so that the learners get the point that the content is trying to put across.
Perfect grammar
The importance of good grammar in any written material cannot be overlooked. Good grammar in e-learning courses helps the learners get the full benefits of their knowledge on the subject. The e-learning script should contain the correct punctuation, avoid ambiguous words, and correct spelling. The purpose of an e-course is to teach, so your grammar needs to be top-notch.
Avoid jargon and complex words
The e-learning script should contain words and sentences that are easily understandable. If a complex word is absolutely necessary, then the scriptwriter should provide a definition of the word.
When writing for less-experienced learners and beginners, the script should contain basic terminology. Professionals in their field would benefit greatly from more specialized terminology. The target audience helps determine the terminology used in a course.
The tone of the content
People can sense tone even in written material. So, if your course material uses condescending and authoritative tones, learners are more likely to lose interest in it. The learners prefer to read and listen to someone who is at their level. The content, of course, should be delivered in a professional, personable and respective tone.
For better results, try using a conversational tone in your e-learning material to sound organic and not robotic. The words 'you,' 'we,' and 'us' help the learners connect with the author of the content on a more personal level.
The content, when read, should flow naturally as though you are having a casual conversation with the learners. The learners will feel as though they are dealing with an actual person and not an automated machine.
The length of the content
E-learning script requires the developer to input only the bare necessities. This is because most people scan and skim through any e-content and do not read full sentences.
As most e-courses have audio narration and videos that emphasize the main concepts, using short and concise sentences makes it easy for the learners to remember and understand the key takeaways from the course.
Paint pictures with words
An effective e-learning script paints vivid images with the words they use. Descriptive language using adjectives more than tell learners about an idea; it describes it vividly, making the content more engaging and meaningful.
This is more useful when using real-world examples to tell a story or describe a situation. An emotionally compelling story is made even more riveting with the addition of vivid imagery that immerses the learners into the moment.
The use of vivid imagery enables the learners to understand the course's subject matter by using visual metaphors and other literary devices sparingly.
The media standards
The compatibility across the media elements is ensured by the media standards of the e-learning course. Elements such as graphics, audio, video, and other elements are designed with the ease of accessibility by the end-user in mind.
The media standards are there to answer the questions of how the users will access the course (through a laptop, smartphone, or tablet) and how the developers can make it easier for them to access it.
Check out the list of EasyLlama's course features here. You'll see why our training materials surpass all of the State and Federal standards.
The assessment standards
These standards help define how to evaluate the learners' understanding of the content upon completing the course. Multiple choice questions are useful in evaluating the learners' understanding.
The instructional design standards
With instructional design standards in place before developing a course, the developer is able to clearly define the objectives, strategies, and purpose of the course. They can also select the content, interactivities, assessments, and feedback methods that can be easily used.
The technical standards
The technical standards related to the portability and interoperability of the e-learning course across multiple devices, platforms, and browsers. The most widely used technical standards are:
1. Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM)
EasyLlama has made the most out of SCORM, using it to facilitate course tracking by integrating it with LMSs. SCORM makes it easy to record elements such as assessment scores, course completion, and the time taken to complete a course.
SCORM defines how the e-learning course interacts with LMSs and was developed by the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL) to standardize the learning objectives to promote the portability of the courses across platforms and systems.
2. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
WCAG was developed by the World Wide Web consortium so as to make web content easily accessible to people with disabilities. The United States has even passed laws such as the Digital Accessibility Law and Regulation that require all material shared digitally to be accessible to everyone.
3. Aviation Industry Computer-based Training Committee (AICC)
The AICC standards use HTTP messages to communicate with LMSs. AICC standards were used to develop the technical standards for computer-based courses for the airline industry.
Summary
The development of e-learning courses is the combined effort between LMSs, Software products, and e-learning developers. Their main objective is to ensure that they, as the stakeholders, agree on the development and the content of the learning material and that the courses are accessible across the various platforms, devices, and software programs.
Aside from the technical aspect of developing the e-learning course, a human element is also required. The human touch is required to create an emotional connection with the audience to be more open to grasping the concepts and understanding the content. This connection is built through creating a subject matter that is more entertaining, engaging, and enlightening.
