Fighting for Attention: Engaging E-Learning Hacks

Designing e-learning is my creative passion. I get stoked at the prospect of authoring a course that is fun, engaging, and appealing to learners. As an erstwhile student and current professional, I’ve taken scores of self-paced e-learning courses over the years. I’m often astonished by how static and dull most of these presentations are. Granted, there are technical limitations (and in some cases, design standards) that dictate how much multimedia can be used in self-paced course modules. However, smart uses of multimedia in online courses can help capture attention, which is fundamental to facilitating the learning process. Below you’ll find some of my favorite hacks for adding pizzazz to online presentations. Be sure to adhere to the terms of service of each resource listed… and be a good librarian by respecting copyright.

Let’s Get Visual

If you are in need of fun photorealistic visuals, but you are not a Photoshop pro, check out 3dVia’s 3D Collage app. This neat Facebook application allows you to design hybrid 2D/3D images by using a photograph as a backdrop and importing 3D models into the scene. 3D Collage is fast, fun, and free. Simply upload your own 2D image into the program or snag one from Flickr, locate a 3D model from inside the app’s library, and then publish the output to your Facebook profile. Once the picture has been published, simply save a copy of it and paste it into your e-learning course. I’m currently working on a point-and-click adventure about customer experience, and I’ve used 3D Collage to develop all the in-game images.

Hit learners with a quick shot of fun and creativity by using any of these e-learning hacks.

Of course there are times when you may need to add video to your e-learning modules. Youtube is an excellent clearinghouse for finding video assets. Depending on your authoring tool, however, streaming videos can present a challenge. If you are using Adobe Captivate 4, there is an excellent Youtube widget that allows for streaming directly to your Captivate presentation. If you do not have Captivate 4, you can likely import the Youtube video as a Flash video file. To save Youtube video as FLV, simply go to KeepVid, enter the URL of the video you want snag, download the file, and then save it as an FLV. Voila! You should now be able to insert the Flash video into your presentation. This tip is useful for authoring tools like Articulate and the free online course builder, Udutu.

Another hack I commonly use is recording screencasts to demonstrate processes. Screencasts are digital recordings of computer screen output. You do not need anything expensive like the commercial version of Camtasia to record one. It’s possible to make a screencast directly from your browser by using Screencast-o-matic.com. Screencast-o-matic integrates with Youtube so that you have a place to host your screencasts for free, provided you have a Youtube account. After recording the screencast, simply upload it to YouTube from the Screencast-o-matic interface. You can link to the screencast, stream it during a course if you are using Captivate’s Youtube widget, or you can rip the FLV file using KeepVid.

It’s Not What You Say, but How You Say It

I prefer self-paced e-learning modules that have audio narration (with the option to mute in the event that the narrator is terrible!) When recording audio, course authors must be mindful of sound quality and audio level. A best practice that I recommend is to record the audio separately, using an editor like the freeware Audacity, and then optimize the audio before importing it into a course. This ensures that all slides have equal sound levels. You can also use Audacity for more creative purposes. Consider applying a voice filter to the narration of an objective slide for a change in pace. If you are using characters or agents in your e-learning, you can also apply filters to their voices for a bit of variety. Here are my three favorite custom filters for Audacity and directions for creating each.

Robot Voice Filter:
1. Record voice
2. Highlight selection
3. Go to Effect, then scroll down to Delay
4. Change the Decay amount 10
5. Change the Delay time to .009
6. Change the Number of Echoes to 30, then click OK
7. Go back to Effect, and repeat Delay four times.
8. Play your edited track

Chipmunk filter:
1. Record voice
2. Highlight selection
3. Go to Effect, then select Change Pitch
4. Modify the Percent Change to 117.50
5. Play your edited track

Walkie-Talkie Filter:
1. Record voice
2. Highlight selection
3. Go to Effect, then FFT Filter
4. Click on purple line and drag it up to the top (12db)
5. Click 10000Hz
6. Click OK
7. Click Effect, then High Pass Filter
8. Change Cutoff Frequency to 2000, then click OK
9. Repeat this process 2 times
10. Play your edited track

Have fun using these hacks, but resist the urge of inserting too many. There is no substitute to sound instructional design.

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Jay Turner

Jay Turner, Training Manager at Gwinnett County Public Library in Georgia, is responsible for all aspects of learning and development for a staff of 300+ employees. He considers himself a lifelong student, and delights in sharing his passion for learning with anyone willing to listen (much to their chagrin!) He is a library lifer, who began working in libraries as a teen and has worn almost every conceivable public services hat since. Jay’s diversity of experience helps him develop and deliver solutions that are creative, practical, and effective. He is a self-proclaimed information and tech junkie, who gets his fix by playing in his “digital sandbox” with new tools and neat ideas to make learning more accessible, more flexible, and more fun across any medium. He can be reached at jayturner[at]comcast.net.