Interactive eLearning Explained
A truly interactive educational experience can help learners master concepts and become more motivated in school and at work, but a lot of interactive eLearning tools only say that they are interactive. While clicking on the “Next” button during an info dump is technically interactive, it does not offer any of the benefits associated with interactive education. If you want to create interactive eLearning content, the key is to make sure that learners are interacting with course content, not their computer mouse. Of course, overstimulation will just confuse learners and prevent them from learning anything.
Striking the right balance can be a challenge, but thankfully Echo360 can help. We are the educational experts behind EchoPoll, a learning engagement platform designed to help learners of all ability levels pursue their goals. Our approach is rooted in the e³ philosophy of equity, evidence, and engagement. Equity means that all learners receive the same opportunities to refine their skillsets. Evidence means that we empower educators to make decisions based on empirical data as opposed to guesswork. Engagement means that learners are actively thinking about the course content they’re studying. Taken together, these three things make EchoPoll one of the most effective products of its kind on the market.
What Should I Look for in an Interactive eLearning Campaign?
Interactive eLearning must engage learners to serve its purpose, but there are many different ways to do that. For example, an aspiring healthcare professional may use technology to simulate performing a routine checkup on a patient. Professors could lecture students on the proper procedure, but students may get more out of trying different strategies and seeing what works in a safe environment with no real consequences (though there should be virtual consequences for their actions). Instructors can build these types of lessons directly into EchoPoll, allowing learners to apply what they’re learning in real-world applications to promote engagement.
EchoPoll also allows instructors to build assessments and check-in exercises directly into their lessons using common formats such as multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, numeric response, true/false, and short answer. If a learner is struggling with these items, their instructor can be notified immediately so that prompt corrective action can take place. In contrast, students in traditional classrooms often need to wait days if not weeks to take an assessment and learn how they did. Interactivity is a two-way street, and EchoPoll also allows learners to provide feedback to their instructors on what could make their courses more effective in the future.
This real-time feedback ensures that instructors have the evidence they need to help their learners succeed.
Some learners feel lonely if they are working on a computer all day, so interactive eLearning doesn’t always have to mean interacting with technology. For instance, EchoPoll includes communication tools such as virtual meeting spaces, a whiteboard, live chat, and message boards to facilitate roleplay between students. If an instructor is teaching a course on American history, they can break their class into pairs and have them take turns as teacher and student to ensure that everybody is engaging with the material.
Interactive eLearning is also a powerful accessibility tool. Students with physical disabilities may struggle to navigate a traditional school environment, but logging on to the internet is usually more manageable. EchoPoll meets or exceeds all WCAG 2.0 standards, so all students will enjoy equity in the educational opportunities available to them.
How Else Can EchoPoll Help Me Create Interactive eLearning Content?
If your school or business already has great interactive content on an LMS or LXP, you can integrate it with EchoPoll and continue using it. You can also create personalized learning paths to help your students concentrate on their specific areas of interest to promote engagement. EchoPoll even automates attendance so you can tell who is taking which courses quickly and easily.
If you would like to learn more about how EchoPoll makes interactive eLearning easier to implement, please feel free to explore its features in further detail. We know that we’ve created a great product and we’re ecstatic to share it with your organization!