Content creation will always be an important part of an elearning course. No matter how sophisticated the tools you will use, content will always be the most influential in your course. It does not matter if you use animations, graphics, videos, and even games to make the course engaging and interactive. The content that you will create is still the main ingredient in this course.
Contrary to what people may think, digital technology will never make writing irrelevant. While print media will be different, the writing skills that are needed remains the same. If you look around the Internet, written text is still used significantly. It just takes different forms. So if you are going to create an effective elearning course, you have to make sure that you implement the right writing skills during content creation.
So what are these writing tips that you need to remember?
Have an attention-grabbing title
The title should be a glimpse of what the learners will get from the course. Admittedly, this is hard to accomplish during the content creation process. After all, a title is quite short. But with the right combination of words, you can say a lot with only a few. Try to play with what the learners need. Using phrases like “How To”, “Best Guide”, or “X Ways To Be Better” – these can be attention grabbing and will surely spike the interest of potential elearners. A title should either intrigue, play with an emotion, or identify a need of the learner.
Be cautious with the use of adverbs
While these can add character to a simple sentence, there are times when the overuse of adverbs can be distracting. When it comes to learning, especially when it is done online, you may want to adopt the rule that “less is more”. Limit the use of adverbs and just go straight to the point. Using too much will make the article look like it has too much fluff. That is never a good thing in learning.
Opt for an active voice
This will make your course content stronger. An active voice places focus on whoever is in action. For instance, a passive voice would say: The five hamburgers were eaten by someone. But an active voice would say: Someone ate five hamburgers. Don’t you think the active voice is easier to read? It is straight to the point and does not have much fluff in it.
Stay away from difficult words
You do not have to impress people with your choice of words. Most people will appreciate it more if you use “helpful” instead of “advantageous”. It is not the type of words that you need to worry about. It is more important for you to construct your sentences well so the flow of thought during content creation will be smooth.
Make it conversational
When you write, do not be afraid to address the learners. Instead of writing “The employees of the company will benefit from the training”, you might want to write “You will benefit from the training” instead. It makes any lesson relatable. Not only that, it makes the course feel involved in the lesson. Make it feel like you are talking to them. This will help capture their attention.
Give enough time to edit
Finally, you have to make sure you give ample time to edit your work. You need to check for typos and grammatical errors. There are tools online that can help you improve on the construction of your sentences. This is a bit tedious but it has to be done. Any typo or grammatical errors can compromise the authority of the online course.