There's no recipe for creating eLearning, but there are 'ingredients'.  Presented here is a list of the various elements that can be found in eLearning.  Presented here is a list of the various elements that can be found in eLearning.  These elements make up what could be a great or not so great learning lesson.  Learning theory and pedagogy should always lead in the creation of a lesson, this is closely or even paralleled with following the learning goals and objectives for the learning experience.  Then choose the best learning element to get across the learning task.

Text on screen

Text on screen is the most basic and fundamental aspect to expect in eLearning.  There will always be some degree of learning that will be displayed as text on screen.  The greater the percentage of text-only slides, the lower the production value and similarly the costs involved.  Too much of one type of element of eLearning will have a negative effect on the successfulness of overall learning.  Not all students learn well from reading alone, and this format can become dull and students will find it uninteresting very quickly, no matter how engaging the subject is.

Text-to-speech vs voice over

To give a break from reading text on screen, audio is often employed.  Narration can be in the form of computerised text-to-speech or professional (human) voice over artist.  There are pro's and con's to both.  Text-to-speech can be quickly programmed and edited, and modern TTS is becoming more and more human- and natural-sounding.  You have the option between male or female voices, American or British accents.  Changes to TTS can happen easily and quickly, as a change only requires a rewrite of the programmed text.

Voice over artists deliver excellent performances that sound amazing, but they come at a price.  Artists need to be hired and recording studios need to be booked.  Changes to eLearning voice over content are not easy to implement after recording, as studios and artists need to be re-booked and scheduled again.

Interactions and activities in course

A key benefit of eLearning, which differentiates it from online self-study via PDF, is the interaction that a student can have with the learning material.  Allow learners to take control of their learning with interactions.  Engage them with activities like drag and drop, hot spot finding, matching, activations/triggers and more.  Get students to participate and become active learners and not just passive readers.  To view examples of some interactions in eLearning please see our website for the demos.

Assessments and quizzes

An essential aspect of learning is to put into practice what has been learnt.  Assessments can be created throughout the course with pre-assessments, formative and summative assessments, polls, knowledge checks and so forth.  Our eLearning system can auto-mark the following styles of assessment: Multiple choice; True or False; Fill-in-the-blank; Short answer (defined); Matching columns; Hot spot; Sequence; Rating scale (Likert).

Questions types that contain open ended / undefined answers, such as long questions, and other forms of assignments, can be uploaded to our LMS where a facilitator can mark the work.

Don't miss Part 2 of this list.

Sound Idea Digital specialises in Learning Management Systems and eLearning development | soundidealearningmanagement.co.za
Sandra is an eLearning Specialist & Content Editor for Sound Idea Digital | sandra@soundidea.co.za

To cite this blog article:
Slabbert, S. 2017, February 1. Elements of eLearning – Part 1. <ideas> the official Sound Idea Digital blog [Web log post]. Available: http://blog.soundidea.co.za/articles/Elements_of_eLearning-_Part_1-496.html