Instructional Design is the creation of a learning experience for better consumption of the material, so as to be able to retain it better and when the need arises, to be able to reciprocate it, not necessarily verbatim. A good and practical instructional design is crucial for the effective imparting of knowledge to the trainees by the trainers.
But there is a dearth of instructional designers partly due to fewer educational opportunities and fewer teachers to teach the discipline. You can make use of the following strategies to make your course and its instructional design effective –
1. Personalization of the learning-
The personalization of learning according to the different trainees, the different learning curves they follow, and according to the progress they make. It only makes sense to train your workforce on the skills that they lack rather than wasting your resources to follow the one-for-all technique. This strategy does not only save money and time but also makes the education received interesting and exciting rather than boring.
2. Use of spaced learning technique-
This technique of spaced learning can be used for knowledge impartation at a specified time gap. The repetition of the facts multiple times helps in their natural registration into the brain. The regular study breaks at specified intervals have shown improvement in learner comprehension. The standard break is of 10 minutes each between three 5 minute sessions in case of e-learning. Of course, longer-timed study sessions are offset with longer duration breaks.
3. Appropriately timed quizzes-
Although learning is very important, constant quizzes or exams after specific intervals are also a must. This helps students to revise the knowledge they have learned. It also helps them practice the practical application of learned information for when the time arises. Low stake questionnaire at opportune times helps trainees understand the content much better.
4. Microlearning-
As a strategy, microlearning means the division of the whole knowledge into smaller chunks. These chunks are then strategically imparted to the learner according to the set strategy. Smaller chunks are easy to imbibe by the trainees and at the same time increase the knowledge retention manifolds. This chunked-up information can easily be distributed through mobile phones at any time whenever it is required. Also, once sent to the user, the said chunk can be accessed by the learner whenever and wherever they want to consult it.
5. Proper feedback and support-
Proper feedback to the learners at every juncture is as important as the actual knowledge impartation. At the time of feedback, genuine opinions must be shared with the learners, so that they can improve upon their performance and rectify their errors if they arise. All types of feedback serve their own purpose, such as informative, customized, and instrumental feedback is required for personal development but intrinsic feedback motivates learners to correct their mistakes.
6. Social Learning-
The inclusion of social learning in the training can be very beneficial for the whole group. Being a social animal, humans tend to flex towards social learning. It is not only a preferable mode of learning for many learners but also the easiest way to exchange information with the least effort and minimum resources. The personal bonding between the two members of a social construct results in better interaction and in turn better learning and retention in the process.
A good authoring tool is as good as the instructional design of the course it is being used to the author. Adobe Captivate Pricing can be kept as a standard to compare new authoring tools to bring them up to the level of service at a competitive price. Follow the said techniques to get the best out of your authoring tool.