Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning
The fundamental idea underlying engagement theory is that students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks.
Discovery Through eLearning: Shifting from Content-centred to Activity-centred ID
Engage learners in elearning with questions » Making Change
Create Engaging E-Learning Courses You Can Be Proud Of - The Rapid eLearning Blog
eLearn: Case Studies - The Reluctant Online Professor
As it turned out, this was one of the best courses, online or onsite, I have ever taught. Not only did I witness enormous engagement among almost all of the students, but the level of learning was much higher than in previous years.
The feedback from the students on the course was very positive, better than I had received for the onsite course in previous years. One of my favorite written student comments was, "… I don't know how this course could be taught as effectively in the classroom."
Coherence or interest: Which is most important in online multimedia learning?
A challenge to the coherence principle: the idea that all information in multimedia learning should be essential, and nothing should be added simply for interest. This research found that in an authentic learning setting that performance was the same whether learners had only the essentials or had additional interesting information, directly contradicting Clark & Mayer's work.
Top News - Online insight: Challenges beat cheerleading
Network analysis in online discussions in two classes shows, not surprisingly, that asking probing questions and challenging posts results in more learner engagement than simple "cheerleading" posts like "Great job!"
New link: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/05/08/online-insight-challenges-beat-cheerleading/
eLearning Sucks
A slideshow about linear e-learning, games, and learning in "the flow zone." I wish a citation was provided for the stats about learning from lectures.
Optimal Video Length for Student Engagement | edX
In edX courses, about 6 minutes is the maximum length students will watch. In traditional online graduate courses for credit, the length could be longer, but this is a good reminder to keep things short.
The optimal video length is 6 minutes or shorter -- students watched most of the way through these short videos. In fact, the average engagement time of any video maxes out at 6 minutes, regardless of its length. And engagement times decrease as videos lengthen: For instance, on average students spent around 3 minutes on videos that are longer than 12 minutes, which means that they engaged with less than a quarter of the content.
Tips from L&D pro Jane Bozarth
Lots of gems from Jane Bozarth here about elearning, instructional design, meaningful interactivity and engagement, social learning, PLNs, and more. This is a very quotable interview.
To “get” from a PLN you need to “give.”
I think that we are getting the idea of more interactivity, of more engaging real stuff, not just making it spin and zoom and move. And I think the authoring tools that have made that easier have certainly helped people understand that learners need to actually get their hands on the content in some way.
<p>You do not blame the hammer because the house fell down. It’s the person using the tool. It’s really about effective design. You can do fabulous stuff with PowerPoint. You can do dreadful stuff with PowerPoint. You can do dreadful stuff no matter the tool.</p>
<p>In PowerPoint you can actually build nice little branching scenarios and reveals. You can make choices. You can do interactivity. There’s a lot of stuff that I think people just don’t take the time to learn.</p>
52 eLearning Experts Share their Best Tip for Creating Engaging eLearning
My tip plus 51 others on creating engaging eLearning
Instead of only typical multiple choice questions, try mini-scenarios. Write a few sentences to set a scenario with a problem. A customer voices an objection, software displays an error message, or an employee asks a manager for help. Next, ask learners which action or response they would choose. Now you have a one-question decision-making scenario rather than just an abstract comprehension question. You can do this with any tool, and it creates a more interesting practice or assessment to engage learners.
Great Storytelling and Compliance Training an Obvious Match | Learning Solutions Magazine
Weaving stories into compliance training helps keeps learners engaged. Includes quotes and descriptions of examples used by several companies on how they implemented it. These aren't straightforward traditional elearning; one is a podcast, another uses episodic training with characters who return over time to build their story.
Learning Technology Mystery Series Presents “The Case of the Disengaged Learner” with Cara North - The Training, Learning, and Development Community
Cara North's recorded presentation on engagement in learning. Engagement can be cognitive, behavioral, or emotional. Additional resources at go.osu.edu/disengaged
How to Train Your Teams Remotely in an Era of Distraction | Training Magazine
Additional publication of an article I contributed to for TalentLMS about how to engage learners. Stella Collins, Tim Slade, Ashley Chiasson, and Connie Malamed are also quoted.
Interactivity Vs. Engagement: Going beyond meaningless clicks
Jahan Kay clarifies the differences between interactivity and engagement, especially cognitive and emotional engagement. The article notes some types of interaction that may support cognitive engagement: scenario-based learning, simulations, discussions, and social interaction.
But the real value of interactivity doesn't lie in the number of physical interactions. It's about the depth of cognitive engagement these interactions can ignite.