In the age of TikTok and ChatGPT, keeping learners engaged in their online training is more challenging than ever. To ensure ongoing participation and information retention, instructional designers don’t just need to create relevant and high-quality content, but they also have to optimize the delivery methods and formats of that content to ensure that it meets a variety learners’ needs and goals.

Instructional designers can follow these three tips to drive engagement, reinforce key topics, and motivate their learners to cross the finish line:

1. Leverage motivational design

The core principles of motivational design are represented by the acronym ARCS, which stands for Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. By building the elements of this acronym into your instructional design strategy, you can better capture learner interest.

Tools for motivational design:

Incorporating gamification into your training can be as simple as implementing a leaderboard, creating a points system, or offering achievement badges. These tools can be great for retaining learner attention, building confidence, and giving learners a sense of accomplishment upon completion.

2. Make graphics meaningful

Having aesthetically pleasing courses can play a crucial role in enhancing the learning experience. When carefully selected or created, visuals can make complex or difficult topics easier to understand. Be sure not to overload your learning materials with graphics and instead opt for clear graphics that are meaningful and directly support the content being presented.

Tools for meaningful graphics

Embed your own images, charts, and tables to emphasize key points, or choose externally sources images (with proper permission, of course!) to communicate core concepts. Use your content authoring tool to layout these visual elements thoughtfully.

3. Offer microlearning moments

Microlearning is an effective approach for delivering small, bite-sized training modules. It is particularly useful when learners have limited time and need quick access to specific information.

Tools for microlearning moments

Provide learners with just-in-time resources like short videos, interactive quizzes, infographics, and job aids, as well as product knowledge updates, and refresher courses. Microlearning modules should be accessible from various devices, online or offline, allowing learners to engage with the content at their convenience.

By incorporating these three techniques into your training courses, you can effectively keep your learners interested and engaged. Providing relevant content, meaningful graphics, and accessible microlearning experiences will motivate learners to actively participate and apply what they have learned. With Litmos, your team can create dynamic, mobile-responsive and visually appealing SCORM content within the LMS. Sign up for a live demo to see for yourself!