Oh, eLearning. Just hearing that word makes many people cringe, conjuring the mind-numbingly boring and completely unhelpful online sessions we’ve all had to sit through at some point. But the fact is: eLearning isn’t going anywhere. Twice as many tools exist to create eLearning trainings now compared to five years ago.

At GAAP Dynamics, we’re excited about eLearning’s increasing popularity. We know it can be an amazingly powerful way to share knowledge — if you build training that works. And effective training begins with content that captures and keeps the learner’s attention.

To make sure your eLearning provides the results you need and isn’t a snooze-fest, start by including these five traits.

Five Traits of Effective Training for eLearning

1. Digestible Modules

Thanks to the digital revolution, the average adult’s attention span is about eight seconds (less than a goldfish!). So, forget training modules that last for hours. Participants just can’t pay attention to eLearning for that long.

What to look for:

• Module chunking: Create many short modules (never more than an hour long) that work together but a participant can complete one at a time.
• Learning on demand: Deliver what participants want, when they want it, and where it can be applied immediately.

2. Different Interaction Styles

Everyone learns differently — plus, too much activity repetition is boring — so effective training must offer novel interactions throughout. Variety keeps participants engaged, prevents burnout, and encourages learning.

What to look for:

• Simple interaction variety: Use question types including “drag-and-drop,” “click all that apply,” “fill in the blank,” multiple choice, yes/no, “click-to-reveal,” etc.
• Advanced interaction options: Include activities such as games, scenario-based simulations, badges, employee competitions, etc.

3. Mobile Learning

When you build eLearning modules that work on mobile devices, you free participants to learn when and where works best for them. With good responsive design, your eLearning will provide the same experience on any size screen.

What to look for:

• Device flexibility: Your eLearning should provide the same experience on any size screen or device brand.
• Browser capability: Make sure the final module looks good, the interactions work, and the video loads in a timely fashion, regardless of the browser used.

4. The Right Mix of Audio and Video

Traditionally, eLearning was little more than a PowerPoint presentation with a chat box and an instructor’s talking head. Not exactly exciting education. To create effective training, you need to understand when to use voiceovers, videos, static slides, and more.

What to look for:

• Helpful audio and video: Explain tricky topics and add depth, but don’t just read a slide’s content.
• Read-it-yourself slides: Learners don’t need narration for simple or more straightforward content.

5. Visual Design and Stimulation

For instructor-led training, slides are the backdrop for a dynamic presentation from an engaging instructor. But with eLearning, screens are the only things your participants have to look at and interact with, so they have to be excellent.

What to look for:

• Focused slide content: Include less content on each slide, which means you’ll have more slides than in instructor-led training.
• Interesting visual design: Image-driven slides will help learners identify where they should focus and keep their attention.

When you’re creating eLearning, just remember that your training is competing with infinite distractions (hello Internet!), and you don’t have an instructor to keep people engaged. So, if you want your employees to learn and truly take in knowledge, every aspect of your content has to shine. Include these five traits in your next eLearning, and you’ll be well on your way to building effective training that teaches participants what they need to know — and allows them to have fun (really!) in the process.