How long should an eLearning course be?
Hi,
I have just read a pretty interesting article about the issue of time when designing an eLearning course. Too often than not, I myself have sat through compliance based eLearning programs that have gone way tooooo lllooooonnnnggg.
However, according to Chris Bennett’s article in eLearn Magazine, he identifies things that affect learners perception of elapsed time. He said to:
1) Make the topic as relevant to the learner as possible. This usually means profiling learners before designing the course.
2) Make the course as interactive as possible. This could mean allowing the learner to explore the course by linking various components, or making it totally interactive like some up and coming eLearning programs in Second Life.
3) Make sure that the eLearning program is of high quality. Learners will quickly notice the quality of the interaction of the program. Factors such as the logical organisation of materials and visual design pla a key part.
4) In order to reduce time, you can get the amount of content in a course, or better yet; conduct the course in individual modules.
