eLearning
Effective eLearning
Components
Most eLearning is terrible. People click through slides, pass a quiz they could guess, and forget everything by Friday. But it doesn't have to be that way. The difference between eLearning that works and eLearning that wastes time comes down to a handful of components done well.
10 min readTL;DR
Effective eLearning isn't about flashy interactions — it's about meaningful ones. The components that matter most are: clear learning objectives tied to real performance, scenario-based practice that mirrors actual decisions, assessment that measures capability (not recall), and a structure that respects cognitive load. Get these right and the rest follows.
Meaningful interactivity
Not all interactivity is equal. Clicking "next" isn't interaction. Dragging labels onto a diagram is marginally better. But giving learners a realistic scenario where they have to make a decision with consequences — that's where learning happens.
The gold standard: interactions that mirror the actual task the learner will perform on the job.
Low value
Click to reveal, drag and drop labels, hover for definitions. These fill time but rarely build capability.
Medium value
Branching quizzes, matching exercises, sequencing activities. Better — they require thinking.
High value
Decision-based scenarios, simulated conversations, problem-solving with realistic constraints. These change behaviour.
Scenario-based learning
The most effective eLearning technique. Put learners in realistic situations and let them make decisions. Show consequences. Let them fail safely. Scenarios work because they activate the same cognitive processes as real performance.
A good scenario doesn't feel like a test — it feels like practice. The learner is immersed in context, weighing options the way they would on the job, and experiencing outcomes that feel real enough to remember.
Realistic context
Set the scene with enough detail that the learner recognises the situation from their own experience. The more realistic, the more transfer to the job.
Decision point
Present plausible options — not one obviously correct answer and three absurd distractors. The choice should require genuine thought.
Meaningful consequences
Not just "correct" or "try again." Show what happens as a result of the decision — the realistic outcome, good or bad, that the learner would face in practice.
Reflection
After the consequence, give learners space to understand why. Reflection consolidates the learning and connects the scenario back to the underlying principle.
Assessment that measures capability
Multiple choice questions testing recall are the lowest form of assessment. They measure whether someone can recognise a correct answer — not whether they can apply knowledge when it matters.
Better approaches: case studies where learners apply knowledge to novel situations, performance-based tasks where they demonstrate a skill, scenario assessments where wrong answers have realistic consequences.
Formative assessment (during learning) is more valuable than summative (at the end). The best eLearning weaves assessment into the learning itself so learners don't even notice they're being evaluated. When practice and assessment blur together, you know the design is working.
Recall
Can the learner remember the information? Lowest level. Multiple choice, true/false.
Application
Can the learner use the knowledge in a new situation? Case studies, scenario-based questions.
Performance
Can the learner do the thing? Simulations, demonstrations, real-world task completion.
Structure and cognitive load
Chunking content, progressive disclosure, removing unnecessary elements. Cognitive load theory tells us working memory is limited — if you overload it, nothing gets encoded into long-term memory. Every decorative image, every unnecessary animation, every wall of text competes for the same limited mental bandwidth.
One concept per screen
Don't try to teach three things at once. Each screen should have a single, clear purpose that the learner can process without splitting their attention.
Remove decorative content
If an image, animation, or graphic element doesn't directly support the learning objective, it's noise. Cut it.
Visuals complement, not duplicate
Use visuals to show what text explains — don't just put the same information in two formats. That's redundancy, not reinforcement.
Keep modules to 15-20 minutes
Attention degrades rapidly after 20 minutes. Shorter modules with focused objectives outperform marathon sessions every time.
Provide job aids for reference
Don't make people memorise what they can look up. A downloadable reference guide or quick-access checklist is better than forcing recall of procedural steps.
What separates good from great
Clear objectives
Learners know what they'll be able to DO (not just know) by the end. Performance-based objectives set the expectation and give the learning a measurable target.
Relevance
Content connects to real work situations the learner recognises. If they can't see themselves in the examples, engagement drops and transfer to the job falls apart.
Practice
Multiple opportunities to apply, not just absorb. Reading about how to do something isn't the same as doing it. Great eLearning is mostly practice with just enough instruction to support it.
Feedback
Specific, constructive responses that explain WHY something is correct or incorrect. "That's right!" teaches nothing. "That's right — because in this situation, the patient's history makes option B the safer choice" teaches everything.
Accessibility
WCAG compliance, keyboard navigation, screen reader support, captions on media. Accessibility isn't an add-on — it's a design requirement from the start. If your eLearning excludes people, it fails before the content even matters.
My Approach
How I build effective eLearning
Every eLearning project starts with the same question: what do people need to be able to do differently after this? The answer shapes everything — the interactions, the assessment, the structure.
01
Discovery
Analyse the performance gap, understand the audience, identify the real-world tasks learners need to perform. Before building anything, we need to know what "better" looks like on the job.
02
Strategy
Design the learning architecture — what scenarios, what assessment, what structure will actually change behaviour. This is where the instructional design decisions happen, before a single slide is built.
03
Delivery
Build in Articulate Storyline or Rise, test with real learners, iterate based on feedback. The first version is never the final version — real user testing reveals what works and what needs adjustment.
Related resources
Writing a Training Brief
How to write a brief that gives your eLearning developer what they actually need.
Instructional DesignWhat is Instructional Design?
The discipline explained for non-specialists.
Brand StrategyBrand Components
The elements of a brand system: visual, verbal, and experiential identity.
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If you're commissioning eLearning and want it to actually change how people work, let's talk about what effective looks like for your context.
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