TOPYX LMS Blog | Learning Management Insights and News

4 Characteristics of the Perfect Online Training Course

Written by Debbie Williams | December 11, 2020

With the use of remote training on the rise, training administrators are looking for ways to create the perfect online learning course for their employees who are working and learning from home. Most company leaders do not want to lose the benefits of employee training, which include greater employee job satisfaction, increased productivity and performance, reduced employee turnover, and more. With remote training delivered via eLearning platform, organizations can enjoy the benefits of employee training, even when training is remote. 

By ensuring an online learning course has specific characteristics, training creators can keep employees interested in learning and regularly logging onto whichever eLearning platform their employer offers.

4 qualities every ideal online
learning course has

Not every online employee training course garners the same results. “While almost everyone can cook-up an average recipe, only a few can make it lip-smacking,” explained a contributor to eLearningIndustry.com. “eLearning is no different. Just like a great recipe, an engaging eLearning course is made of the right ingredients (activities) in the right dose.” 

The best online training courses share the following characteristics:

1. They have interactive elements throughout

Every eLearning course needs elements of interactivity to hold the attention of employees, and improve the overall results of training. Scenarios, simulations, games, quizzes, assessments, and knowledge checks are all interactive activities that can be sprinkled evenly throughout a course. Be mindful of keeping your courses balanced with a mix of information and interactivity.

Related Reading: How to Transform In-Person Training Into Remote Training Content

2. Content is presented in a fun, engaging way

The perfect online learning course is engaging to the vast majority of learners. In other words, make it fun. Even eLearning courses that cover dry topics can be made interesting by the inclusion of interactive activities. But interactivity isn’t the only aspect of an online course that drives learner engagement. Knowing how to properly use the eLearning system that is delivering the course, being able to easily navigate the course, and enjoying the visual design of the course as opposed to being distracted by it, all contribute to a learner’s course engagement or lack thereof.

Related Reading: What to Do When Employees Are Disengaged During Onboarding

3. The course is broken down into digestible pieces

It’s critical to design courses that value the time of the learner. Frustratingly, the optimal length for a course can vary. As a general rule, lean to the conservative side but don’t compromise critical content for the sake of brevity. When a course must be long, break it up into shorter modules. Because the length is so vital to the quality of a course, it may be beneficial to get the input of an instructional designer when making your determination about course length. 

Related Reading: 3 Ways to Increase the Effectiveness of Online Training Courses with an LMS

4. It’s appeals to every type of learner

There are several different types of learners, and the ideal online learning course will appeal to all of them. At the very least, there are visual learners, auditory learners, and kinesthetic (hands-on) learners. Designing a course that works for all learners may sound intimidating, but it can be as easy as including at least one element that will appeal to each type of learner. For example, the perfect eLearning course would meet the needs of all three types of learners by including elements such as video, lecture or audio, and interactive activities.  

Related Reading: Cater to Your Employees’ Learning Styles with an LMS

Accessibility is key to a great
online learning course

In addition to being interactive, engaging, brief, and attractive to various types of learners, the ideal online learning course is accessible. It can be accessed remotely via mobile device at any time, from any place. It is also simple to navigate, having a convenient single sign-on login procedure. All of these elements combine to create a remote training course that any employee would be excited about taking. 

To deliver the best eLearning courses, you need a learning management system (LMS) that provides robust content creation tools, as well as features for seamlessly delivering, tracking, and reporting on remote courses. TOPYX is successfully used by organizations such as Intel, 3M, and Rotary International for online employee training, and it can work for your company, as well. 

Interested in seeing it for yourself? Request an LMS demo with one of our experts, or learn more about how you can rapidly deploy our solution with our Quick Start Program.    

Sources:
[1] https://elearningindustry.com/interactive-elearning-activities-enhance-learner-engagement-4-examples