Nothing makes your busy employees switch off quicker than being faced with training that’s irrelevant. Want to stop them just clicking through and start getting them engaged? Make passive learning experiences a thing of the past by harnessing the power of scenario-based learning. Let’s dive into why it works and how you can use it to deliver long term impact.

What is scenario-based training?

Scenario-based learning brings training to life by placing learners in realistic situations and enabling them to put their knowledge and skills into action. Whether they’re building soft skills or mastering product training, learners can make decisions and see how their choices play out in a risk-free simulated environment. 

It’s hands-on, people-centered, active learning that boosts competence and confidence. Leaving your learners ready to take on their work in the real world. 

In essence, it’s learning by doing and it can be incredibly effective.

Why scenario-based training works

Scenario learning is proven to improve skills and increase confidence. But how does it achieve this? 

Here are its 4 key benefits:

• It gives context: 38% of learners say they’re more engaged when training reflects their reality. Realistic training scenarios make learning easier to apply on the job.
• It keeps things practical: Whether you’re sharpening decision-making skills or driving behavior change, practice creates progress. Learners take action, get feedback and see the impact of their choices, so they can improve.
• It increases engagement: Humans love stories. Compelling digital storytelling immerses your learners and keeps them engaged. They’ll be eager to explore what happens next and see how their decisions affect the outcome.
• It’s a safe space to fail: Making mistakes is part of learning. With scenario-based training, people try new things without fear of real-world fallout. It’s a great way to tackle sensitive or high-risk topics too tricky to practice in person. 

Key elements of effective scenario-based training 

Effective scenario-based learning isn’t just about telling a good story. If you’re going to maximize the impact with immersive learning scenarios, you need some key building blocks in place.

• Realistic context: Establish scenarios and characters that are relevant to your learners. Present realistic challenges that put their skills and knowledge into practice.
• Decision points: Give learners the freedom to make choices. Let them explore different paths, experiment with their choices, and see how things play out.
• Consequences: Make sure each choice has clear, immediate consequences. This is where the learning happens – feedback is key for improvement and knowledge retention.
• Moments to reflect: Encourage learners to pause and analyze. What worked? What didn’t? What can they do better next time?

How to build a scenario-based elearning course

If you’re going to incorporate all these elements, you need a robust scenario process. 

Like any digital learning project, there are 4 steps you can’t go without.

1. Capture – Start with a clear plan

Rather than diving in and risking rewriting your elearning scenarios later, take the time to make a plan.

• Understand your learning needs: Start with a clear understanding of the problem you’re solving and who you’re training. This insight will help keep you focused and shape your scenario approach to deliver maximum impact.
• Explore critical situations: Talk to your learners to uncover their key challenges and pain points, as well as what good looks like in reality. The situations they highlight will be the foundation of your scenarios.

2. Conceptualize – lead with a prototype

With the learning needs clear in your mind, you can set about generating some ideas for how they can be met with scenario-based learning.

• Determine your approach: From simple linear situations to complex, branching experiences, there are different ways to approach scenario-based learning. Choose the format that best suits your learners and training goals. Make sure your authoring tool provides the functionality you need for the approach you’ve chosen to take.
• Prototype: Whether it’s a simple wireframe or an interactive elearning walkthrough, prototyping a small piece of scenario-based learning allows you to check that you’re heading in the right direction. 

3. Create – Build with confidence

Once prototyping has confirmed your thinking, it’s time to get stuck into developing your full learning experience. When designing your scenario, make sure you’re including the key elements: 

• Realistic context: Select a setting, characters and situation or task that will resonate with your learners and deliver the greatest impact. 
• Decision points: Map out the situation and pinpoint key decisions your learners need to make. 
• Consequences: Identify the common mistakes, the impact these have and the feedback that learners will need to get back on track. 
• Moments to reflect: Highlight where there’s opportunity for your learners to reflect on their own experiences and how what they’ve seen relates to their work.

For simple linear scenarios, work straight into your authoring tool. With more complex branching scenarios, it’s important to map out how this will work. It will save time in the long run and avoid headaches later.

4. Cultivate – Improve and refine

Once your scenario is built, test it with a small group of learners. Gather comments on everything – from the context to the feedback. Then refine your scenario based on their input to ensure it delivers the best results.

Explore more practical tips in our blog on designing branching scenarios.

Examples of scenario-based training done well

Ready to dive into planning your scenario-based learning? Here are five powerful elearning examples to spark your creativity.

1. Linear scenario-based learning 

In this example, the learner chooses from one of two scenarios based on where they work. The linear scenario sets up a discrimination dilemma and asks the learner to investigate. They need to get input from different people, before making decisions about what to do next. 

Explore this example

Why it works:

• In large organizations with diverse teams, one scenario is unlikely to suit all. A role selector personalizes the scenarios that learners see.
• Complex topics, such as ethics or discrimination, require multiple viewpoints and inputs into decisions. 
• By allowing learners to investigate and draw their own conclusions, they’re empowered to take control of their learning journey.

2. Immersive branching video scenario

This branching simulation-based learning builds soft skills around mental health. The learner watches a video before they’re asked what they think is going on and what action they would take. Personalized results analyze the approach chosen, compares it with others’, and sets out how other approaches would have played out.

Explore this example

Why it works:

• Learners control the story and feel the impact of their decisions on others.
• Feedback comes at the end, making the branching seamless and the experience more authentic.
• Comparing their approach with others’ choices adds another layer of real-life learning context.

3. Audio-driven, first-person scenario 

This audio-driven, first-person scenario helps salespeople learn by practicing in a simulated environment. Adding game mechanics – like points and timers – taps into a fundamental aspect of human behavior: motivation. In this case, it’s the competitive nature of salespeople.

Explore this example

Why it works:

• Taking a first-person perspective puts the learner in the hot seat, experiencing the scenario instead of observing it.
• Using audio keeps costs down while creating a highly engaging experience, simulating the real-world environment learners work in.
• Game elements bring a competitive edge, replicating the urgency and pressure of a fast-paced sales floor.

Want to see more examples? Read our blogs on simple branching scenarios and more complex branching, and explore some other scenario-based examples.

Common pitfalls  of scenario-based learning

When done well, scenario-based learning can maximize your impact. However, to achieve this you’ll need to avoid some common pitfalls. 

Overcomplicating branches

More complex “deep branching” can take learner engagement up a gear, but only if it’s thought through. Branching can quickly get out of control within a few decision points. Before you know it, you’re facing a complex build and risking errors creeping into your digital learning. 

• Do balance the complexity of the scenario with the impact it will achieve.
• Don’t assume that complex branching automatically means more impact.

Lack of relevance or realism

Remember, you’re the learning expert and not the Subject Matter Expert (SME) so you won’t automatically know what scenarios work best with your learners.

• Do use focus groups and user testing to check that your scenarios are realistic.
• Don’t get carried away with developing exciting scenarios which few learners will relate to. 

Forgetting feedback

While seeing the outcome of decisions can engage learners in your scenario, they can only build their critical thinking skills with feedback on their choices. 

• Do provide clear feedback either after each question or at the end of the scenario.
• Don’t just show the outcome of the learner’s decisions and leave them guessing how to improve. 

Summary

Scenario-based training is a powerful way to boost engagement by immersing the learners in interactive scenarios where they can apply their decision-making skills. It provides context, connects theory to practice, fosters engagement and creates a safe space to build confidence.

If you’re going to achieve this, you need a robust process for developing your training scenarios: 

• Capture: Start with a clear plan based on your learners’ needs and the situations they face.
• Conceptualize: Prototype your ideas to test the direction of your scenario before full development.
• Create: Design your scenario using key elements: realistic context, decision points, consequences, and opportunities to reflect.
• Cultivate: Test and refine based on feedback to ensure maximum impact.

With the right approach, scenario-based learning can get your learners engaged and deliver real world impact.

Find about more about scenario-based learning and other ways to deliver truly engaging digital learning in our elearning best practice guide and How to create engaging elearning course. 

Ready to start creating scenario-based learning experiences with impact? Book a demo of Elucidat and start your free trial today.

In a digital landscape dominated by cloud-computing, the embrace of cloud-based elearning marks a significant evolution in how we approach corporate learning and development. Moving beyond the limitations of traditional methods and scattered training materials, this shift harnesses the cloud’s vast potential to deliver a more accessible, efficient, and integrated learning experience. Ready to see how this transformation is reshaping professional training at its core? Let’s dive into the advantages of this pivotal change.

What is cloud-based elearning?

Cloud computing refers to using a network of central remote servers hosted online to store, manage, and process data.

What does this mean in terms of elearning? While desktop tools require a download and will run locally on each user’s device, their cloud-based counterparts are hosted online. This means that content is created, saved, managed, and delivered over the internet, through a central repository. And it’s all done in real-time. Read more about elearning best practices guide.

So, let’s explore the implications of this for enterprise organizations, and ask why they should be investing in cloud-based elearning.

The benefits of cloud-based elearning

Below we have outlined six key benefits you can expect to see from cloud-based elearning.

1. Accessibility

Desktop applications run locally, which means you need adequate hard drive space and an installation to get started. Cloud-based elearning systems, on the other hand, enable you to access learning content from any location and device – all you need is an internet connection.

This means content creators, reviewers, and learners can easily switch between viewing a course on their laptop, home PC, and smartphone.

What’s more, new features and releases are automatically rolled out, without your users needing to do anything. That means no more tiresome downloads slowing down your devices.

2. Speed up production

Cloud-based elearning means more efficient collaboration – particularly when it comes to content creation. What does this look like in practice? For a start, all your organization’s digital content will sit within a single location, and as many users as required can go in and make changes to a particular online course.

Additionally, they can work simultaneously. So, while your subject matter experts (SMEs) input the text, your graphic artists can upload the images. And everything they do will be instantly fed through in real time. The result? Your L&D teams can expect shorter development timelines and avoid the inevitable headaches associated with version control.

Use of the cloud also means your organization’s images, logos, and videos can be saved online for easy access, so your content creators can browse, select, and drop files straight into a training course. From this central repository, it’s easy to make global updates. For instance, in Elucidat, if a company logo needs to be updated, only the original file needs replacing, and this change will be reflected wherever that asset sits.

3. Scalability

Cloud-based elearning also makes it easy to scale up your content; making it easier to manage on a larger scale compared to traditional, desktop-based elearning solutions.

Using a cloud-based elearning platform means you can quickly adapt to the changing needs of your organization. As your number of learners grows or decreases, the platform can scale up or down, ensuring that resources are efficiently used without overburdening your organization’s infrastructure.

Launching new elearning courses or updating existing content can be done quickly and efficiently on cloud platforms. This agility supports scalable learning strategies by enabling organizations to respond promptly to emerging training needs or changes in corporate strategy. What’s more, because everything is stored in the cloud, if a user’s device crashes whilst they’re developing a course, their efforts will have been saved.

4. Cost savings

Ultimately, cloud-based tools help keep costs down. They remove the reliance on computer hardware and infrastructure, making implementing your elearning strategy more cost-effective. Cloud-based elearning means you can increase your number of content creators, courses, and learners for less.

And that’s not to mention the costs saved through resourcing when you consider how much faster and more efficient it is to use a cloud-based tool.

5. Consistent content

The cloud enables you to establish and control your branding centrally. You can set your organization’s preferences for colors, fonts, and more, and save this as a pre-approved style for your team of content creators to use. Tools like Elucidat automatically update this style, applying the changes to consistent branding across all projects.

Some cloud-based elearning also offer content creators the chance to save their custom-made interactions, pages, and templates centrally, so they can be re-used by their peers. This helps speed up content development across the board, whilst ensuring a sense of continuity from one online course to the next.

6. Employee retention

When you embrace cloud-based elearning, your employees will benefit from more fulfilling learning experiences.

For a start, they can access learning materials on any device at the point of need. And because development timelines are much faster, this content will better reflect their ever-changing training requirements.

Many cloud-based tools also offer an auto-translate feature. This is a machine translation service that uses deep learning models, hosted in the cloud, to instantly translate your content into one of many languages. This means courses can easily be created in each learner’s required language, so no one is left behind.

The best part of the cloud is that it provides opportunities for learners to generate and share their own content. Tools like Elucidat enable social polls, where you can ask learners questions, collect their responses, and then show how their answers compare to their peers. The chance to connect learners in this way helps create engagement and boost learning retention.

The short of it? Better online learning experiences mean happy learners, and happy learners means better employee retention.

Examples of cloud-based learning management systems

Now we’ve looked at the benefits of cloud based elearning, let’s look at the top tools that will help you create, manage, and deliver impactful elearning content.

Elucidat

Elucidat is a multi-award-winning, cloud-based authoring tool that enables you to produce impactful elearning courses at scale.

Elucidat is a cloud-based tool, which means it allows multiple contributors to work on a course simultaneously, with all their changes instantly feeding through to a central version.

This is where Advanced User Management comes in handy, as it allows you to assign and customize the User Roles for each person in your Elucidat account. With full control over which users can edit your brand styles, delete projects, or upload assets, you can ensure everyone is working to their strengths, and open up your production without risk.

In terms of outputs, Elucidat offers a rich authoring toolkit, lots of room for customization, and options for gamification, personalized learning, and social polls. These key features help your authors create people-centered, engaging learning experiences. And all content is automatically optimized for mobile view, meaning it’s super easy to create great mobile learning experiences, without additional effort.

Once a course is ready for review, cloud-based hosting means you can invite any stakeholder to access a ‘review only’ version online. There’s no download or license required – all reviewers need to do is follow a link. From there, it’s super easy for them to share feedback amongst each other. Comments will be logged in situ against each element of the page, making it easy for your authors to interpret and action their change requests.

Having all your online courses stored centrally also makes it easier for novice authors to hit the ground running; Your L&D team can set up and share pre-approved company templates, packed with inline guidance. This makes it easy for newbies to start creating courses, whilst embedding quality and consistency into their content.

Elucidat is also one of the few tools to offer an Auto-Translate feature, instantly translating content into 75 languages. Combined with Translations Variations Manager, rolling out and controlling multilingual projects becomes a breeze.

Easygenerator

Easygenerator is a cloud-based authoring tool, designed to simplify the creation of elearning courses.

With Easygenerator, you can jump into course development by using pre-built templates or the inbuilt PowerPoint converter. What’s more, it’s super easy to create quizzes, voiceover narration, and explainer videos.

Once a course has been built, cloud-based reviews will help streamline your workflows. However, because Easygenerator doesn’t host content in the cloud, updating your courses will involve several steps, making the tool less efficient than other, fully cloud-based offerings.

Elucidat vs Easygenerator

Articulate Rise

Rise 360, part of the Articulate 360 package, offers a simpler and more streamlined approach to authoring than its desktop sibling, Storyline 360.

It provides a straightforward authoring experience, whereby courses are built through the selection of pre-built blocks, which are automatically optimized for mobile view. Plus, like most cloud-based tools, multiple authors can work on the same course at the same time and make instant updates to content.

Reviews are smoothly executed via the Articulate Review feature, an online collaboration tool (and part of the Articulate 360 package) where contributors can collate feedback. This feedback is made in situ against each page element, so everyone can clearly see what changes need to be made.

Whilst the simplicity of Rise 360 is its biggest selling point, the tool is not so strong in terms of output. There’s little room for things like gamification and page layouts are very restricted. As a result, courses built in Rise 360 can start to feel a bit repetitive, which is intensified when working at scale.

Elucidat vs other authoring tools

The future of cloud-based elearning

So, now we’ve looked at the benefits of going cloud-based, as well as some of the products on the market, let’s consider what the future of cloud-based elearning might look like.

Use of AI

Cloud computing is key to the development of AI systems; Cloud vendors provide the resources and infrastructure to store and analyze vast amounts of data – exactly what’s needed for AI systems to operate. It’s no wonder then that as cloud computing has expanded, we have also seen huge developments in AI. But what does AI mean for the future of elearning?

We’ve already seen how some elearning authoring tools are using AI to generate things like course summaries, knowledge checks, and translations. But these features aren’t fool-proof; Like any AI-generated content, the outputs will need reviewing and finessing by a human. But as the industry continues to refine these machine learning models, and they grow more intelligent, we can expect AI to deliver more advanced results, meaning authors can become more reliant on AI for more applications.

More collaborative learning

Our 2024 State of Digital Learning report found there’s increasing pressure on L&D to respond quicker to business needs and to do more with less. Organizations need new, more efficient ways of working, with an emphasis on collaboration, so they can harness the expertise of the right people to meet the right training needs.

As a result, enterprise organizations might expect to see smarter ways of capturing expertise, upskilling new authors, and rolling out content quickly. Social learning and user-generated content may continue to be explored as part of this, empowering learners to meet their own training needs.

Key takeaways

Cloud-based elearning will benefit everyone at your organization:

• It offers fast and efficient ways for your SMEs to create and manage digital content, rivalling traditional desktop approaches. This will become more apparent as we start to see AI playing a greater role in content generation.
• Learners can benefit from more accessible courses, delivered in their required language and on any device. And they can be sure this content is up to date and reflects their current training needs.
• Use of the cloud improves your data security while reducing the risks of data loss, unexpected costs, and technical difficulties, keeping your business leaders happy.

You can kickstart your transition to cloud-based elearning by investing in a cloud-based authoring tool, like Elucidat.

Getting started with cloud-based elearning with Elucidat

Elucidat is the ideal cloud-based elearning authoring tool for enterprise organizations, giving them the power to scale their content and create impact.

Good training can have a transformative effect on an organization. It can improve performance, efficiency and, ultimately, revenue by giving employees the requisite know-how to succeed. Ineffective training, on the other hand, can have the opposite effect. A training needs analysis is often the difference between good and bad training.

Creating a training course without a needs analysis is the L&D equivalent of trying to set off with the parking brake engaged. Without one, training is aimless and is unlikely to yield the results that you set out to achieve. A training needs analysis provides purpose. 

With that in mind, it’s an incredibly important concept for training leaders to understand. Here, find out what a needs analysis is, what its benefits are, how to conduct one, and more.

What is a training needs analysis?

A training needs analysis is a process which identifies skill gaps and opportunities to enhance knowledge for the purpose of improving employee performance. It is the foundation of any training program, outlining which factors you need to prioritize while shaping the direction of your L&D strategy. 

Fundamentally, a training needs analysis recognizes the difference between current performance or knowledge levels, and desired employee output. It highlights everything from types of training required to the cost and resource outlay necessary to make it happen. It’s a crucial concept for any L&D professional to consider.

Types of training needs analysis

There are two main types of training needs analysis – knowledge and skills. Both can be analyzed at the same time, or you can focus your analysis on one subsect. 

A training needs analysis of knowledge base is crucial for getting to grips with how informed an employee is about the industry in their job role. Training needs analysis can help identify knowledge that employees need to progress, and comprises of issues such as compliance and regulations while also covering general best practice. 

For those with a broad knowledge base, a training needs analysis of skills can assess how equipped they are to actually carry out the job at hand. As well as practical skills, this can cover soft skills such as communication and empathy.

What are the benefits of conducting a training needs analysis?

The primary benefit of a training needs analysis is that it allows you to identify potential issues at the root. Knowledge gaps can become a problem, if left unaddressed, and these are highlighted plain and clear by a training needs analysis. This allows you to plug these gaps and tackle them head-on, rather than only becoming aware of them when issues arise down the line. 

As well as being proactive with pain points, it also helps you plan ahead. Putting a long-term training plan in place is exponentially more straightforward when you clearly know which employees or departments need specific training.

Another benefit is that it ensures no one’s time is wasted. There are only so many hours in the workday, and you don’t want employees to be taking part in training they don’t need to. A need analysis identifies exactly which training is suitable for which employees, creating a personalized training plan in the process. 

Finally, it helps L&D teams to prioritize training needs. The analysis will earmark priority levels, giving a clear view over which training areas are most important and which can be completed further down the line.

How to conduct training needs analysis

When it comes to conducting a training needs analysis, there are various methods which can be used. Not every method will be appropriate to your requirements and there’s no black or white rule for which type is best. You can use any number of different training needs analysis methods that best fit in with your goals. These can include:

• Interviews
  • Interviews provide personalized insights through one-on-one or group discussions, revealing specific skills gaps and challenges. They offer a platform for employees to share their concerns and aspirations directly.
• Work examination
  • This method involves analyzing job descriptions and work processes to pinpoint discrepancies between current practices and desired standards. It’s effective in identifying areas where training can directly improve performance and efficiency.
• Assessments
  • Assessments are structured evaluations of employee skills and knowledge, offering quantifiable data on their capabilities. They are particularly useful for measuring technical skills and job-specific knowledge.

• Observations
  • Observations involve monitoring employees in action, revealing practical skills gaps and behavioral patterns in real-world scenarios. This method is invaluable for understanding the application of skills and knowledge on the job.
• Questionnaires
  • Questionnaires allow for scalable feedback collection from a large employee base, assessing their self-perceived training needs and preferences. They are useful for identifying common training themes and employee elearning styles.
• Competitive analysis
  • Competitive analysis involves researching industry benchmarks and trends to understand essential training standards in your field. It helps in identifying critical training areas for maintaining a competitive edge.

Whichever methods you choose to utilize, putting a needs analysis together requires a few common considerations. Here, we’ve provided a brief step-by-step guide to conducting a training needs analysis.

Step one: determine desired outcomes

Prior to kicking off, articulating expected business outcomes of the training is a must. The ultimate goal of training informs the process of the entire needs analysis, linking it to a business objective. Here, consider the question ‘what are the indicators that training has been successful?’ and gear your expectations around the answer. 

Step two: identify employee behavior needed to reach the desired outcome

At this stage, recognize the competencies that are linked to the business outcomes at hand. To do so, you can collect data from SMEs in the form of interviews, surveys or focus groups. 

This weeds out competencies that aren’t critical and ensures the most important behaviors are considered throughout the needs analysis. For example, a survey featuring rating scales such as the below question, could be used to link employee behavior with role success:

How important is empathy for successful performance in a team leader position?

1 – Not at all

2 – Slightly

3 – Somewhat

4 – Considerably

5 – Crucial

Step three: Evaluate trainable competencies

With competencies and behaviors outlined, you need to determine which ones are trainable. Some are competencies which should be in place prior to being hired, such as sales people being able to initiate conversation with strangers. Those which are suitable for training can then be evaluated. 

Determine the extent that your employees possess these competencies through performance evaluations and assessments. You can also use multiple assessors, such as peers or supervisors, to provide 360 feedback.

Step four: Identify gaps

Use the results of the previous step to assess where the need for competency improvement is evident. This will also help outline how many employees require training and in which exact areas. 

In order to achieve this, however, you need to establish what meets the threshold of a performance gap. This will, of course, vary from organization to organization based on personal standards. Those who fall below your set threshold will require targeted training.

Step five: Training needs prioritization

With performance and knowledge gaps identified, employers should then determine the pervasiveness of different needs. Consider the business-critical nature of the competency, as well as the percentage of the workforce who require training in it before deciding which direction to go in. 

Once your training is prioritized, you’re nearly there. All that’s left is to determine which training methods will gain the best results, as well as putting the frameworks in place for training evaluation.

Asking the right questions when conducting a training needs assessment

When you conduct a training needs analysis the process isn’t just about identifying specific training needs; it’s about asking the right questions to ensure the training content is effective and truly beneficial for employees. To get you on the right track, here are the crucial questions that form the backbone of any effective training needs assessment.

1. What’s the actual problem?

Understanding the core issue is vital. Is the goal to drive sales, enhance customer satisfaction, or retain top talent? Identifying the real problem is the first step in the needs analysis process.

2. Who is it for?

Knowing your audience is key in training and development. Assess who the training is aimed at, what they need, and what will engage them effectively.

3. Why isn’t the target audience doing that thing you need them to do already?

It’s important to understand whether the audience is aware of the need for change. Assess if they have the necessary skills, or if there’s a gap in understanding or motivation.

4. What is likely to actually help people make change/improvement?

Consider what type of resource or task analysis will truly aid in making the desired improvements. This involves aligning the training method with the audience’s needs.

5. What’s worked before (and what didn’t)?

Look at the data from previous training initiatives. Analyze what aspects contributed to a successful training program and what aspects fell short. We have a guide on how to create a training program that you can dive in to optimize your learning.

6. What one thing are you going to do really well?

Focus is crucial. Determine where to concentrate your efforts to ensure the investment in training yields substantial returns.

7. Are you sure they need you to actually create something for them?

Sometimes, the required content already exists. Assess if guiding employees to existing resources might be more beneficial than creating new content.

By conducting a training needs assessment with these questions, you ensure that your training strategy is not just a shot in the dark but a well-informed decision that aligns with your organization’s goals.

Final thoughts

A training needs analysis is arguably the most important part of the entire training process. It establishes the gap between where you are and where you want to be, while outlining the roadmap of how to get there. The importance of training needs analysis cannot be overstated. 

Once you’ve conducted your analysis and know exactly where you want your training to take you, you need a helping hand to bridge the gap. You need to determine how you’ll bring your training to life. If elearning is part of your plan, Elucidat’s authoring tool is here to help. Packed with features which can facilitate elearning creation at scale, our industry-leading platform takes training to the next level.

Gamification is a word with a lot of baggage! Maybe you hear it, roll your eyes and think “buzzword”. Or perhaps gamification in elearning sounds a bit daunting to you? The truth is, there are loads of ways to incorporate games and gaming elements into your corporate elearning. Read on to learn more and for a few inspiring examples of gamification in elearning.

• What is gamification?
• How to use gamification in elearning?
• 5 best gamification in elearning examples
• The benefits of gamification to businesses & employees
• Challenges of gamification in elearning
• Best tips for effective gamification elearning

What is gamification?

Gamification allows you to supercharge your elearning experience. It is the strategic use of game elements to enhance the learning experience. It involves integrating features like points, badges, and leaderboards into online courses to motivate and engage learners. No more dull, passive courses. Instead with gamified elements, your elearning is transformed into an interactive and enjoyable learning experience.

How to use gamification in elearning

Now we’ve taken a look at some best practices in gamification, it’s time to see it in action. Here are five examples of gamification in elearning that show different ways to incorporate some or all of these gaming elements.

1. Stories

Create a compelling storyline to captivate your users and take them on a journey. Create a story that embeds users in the plot as they tackle each section of the content. This is a great way to create immersive content and keep learners engaged throughout. Incorporating characters or avatars to represent employees can add an extra layer of fun to this form of gamification in business.

2. Visual design

Eye-catching visuals and aesthetically pleasing designs can make your corporate elearning more appealing and draw your users in. Combine bright colours and graphics for a visually stimulating gamified learning experience.

3. Competitions

Who doesn’t love a bit of healthy competition? Gamification at work can allow users to compete against others in their team or anonymous players, or even against themselves to keep motivation levels high. Consider including leaderboards so learners can see how they’re performing against their peers. This is especially effective for sales reps and top-performing employees, who particularly want to keep achieving more.

4. Challenges

Use elearning gamification to reward your learners with smaller, more frequent tasks and then ramp up the difficulty level as the session progresses. This will not only help them get into the swing of things, but leave them primed and ready for more difficult, rewarding challenges using what they have learnt along the way. 

5. Rewards

Gamify your learning to incentivize your users in the way of rewards such as badges, medals or unlocking new levels can help to boost their motivation and keep them engaged for longer periods of time.

6. Feedback

Providing instant feedback when a learner completes a task or quiz is a great way to keep them focused and engaged as it allows them to track their progress as they move through the different stages of the game.

Are you seeking additional advice on creating effective elearning with gamification? Look no further. Access the ultimate guide to transform your elearning to the next level.

5 best gamification in elearning examples

Now we’ve taken a look at some best practices for gamification in elearning, it’s time to see it in action. Here are five examples of gamification in elearning that show different ways to incorporate some or all of these gaming elements.

1. A gamified quiz with badges to motivate

When does a quiz become a game? Perhaps when visual rewards and badges are introduced alongside basic point-scoring, or maybe when a timer introduces an element of competition. This gamified elearning example does both of those things, as well as demonstrating several different question types.

See this example

This game-like quiz challenges learners to prove their financial crime knowledge. It includes question rounds that increase in difficulty, points to reward correct answers, and bonus questions with badges to collect.

Why it works:

• Gamifying quizzes with badges boosts participation by creating competition and motivating users to actively take part, resulting in higher completion rates and an immersive learning experience.
• Incorporating gamification and badges into quizzes makes learning interactive and enjoyable. Badges represent achievements, fostering a sense of progress and accomplishment, making learning enjoyable, reinforcing positive behavior, and encouraging continuous learning.
• Badges provide recognition and reinforcement for participants’ efforts. Earning badges for completing quizzes or reaching milestones validates accomplishments, boosting self-confidence, motivation, and the desire to continue participating in quizzes and learning activities.

2. Scenario + game elements = sales simulation

This gamified elearning demo shows how simple gaming mechanics can be cleverly applied to a scenario-based approach. The result: a realistic learning environment that really resonates with salespeople.

Try this sales simulation example

The elearning example provides interactive scenarios and simulations mirroring real-world sales situations. It enhances sales skills and decision-making through safe practice, fostering effective sales strategies and improving overall performance. It offers a hands-on approach for learners to develop their abilities in a realistic environment.

Why it works:

• The sense of competition and urgency created by the game mechanics is relevant to the subject, with real life scenarios reflecting a fast-paced, target-driven sales floor
• The user isn’t controlling a character; they are the character – so the stakes feel higher and the game can be more directly transferred to the workplace
• It’s a low-cost audio-driven simulation and a great demonstration of achieving gamification in employee training without huge expense

3. Product knowledge game-like quiz

Creating a sense of play in your corporate elearning is great for engagement and easy to achieve through gamification. Fun, game-like product knowledge quizzes, like the example below, are a great, interactive way to test a learner’s understanding.

Test this gamification example.

This game-like quiz is designed to enhance product knowledge by offering an interactive learning experience through gamification elements such as badges, competition, and achievements. Learners engage in the quiz to earn badges, reinforcing their learning progress and providing recognition for their achievements. 

Why it works:

• With this example of elearning, question rounds are used to emphasize increased difficulty using different points assigned to different questions.
• Learners are incentivized to apply their skills correctly, making the content more likely to stick in the learner’s mind when handling a real-life situation.
• Game-like quizzes are great for the creation of content that involves high-pressure scenarios. Gamification is great for replicating this sense of pressure or less serious topics that you can have a bit of fun with.

4. Game-like quiz: General purpose

This fun, game-like quiz is made up of three rounds on your chosen subject. Each round offers the chance to win points and badges. Decide whether to formally assess learners or not.

See this example.

The showcased elearning is a game-like quiz with a general purpose. It offers an engaging and interactive experience for learners through gamification elements. The quiz aims to enhance knowledge and understanding in a fun and enjoyable way and can be catered to a wide range of topics or subjects.

Why it works:

• You can appeal to the learner’s competitive spirit by rewarding correct answers, as well as providing bonus questions with badges to collect. 
• The interactive nature of the elearning helps improve knowledge retention. By actively participating in the game-like quiz, learners are more likely to remember and understand the content, as they are applying it in practical scenarios.

5. Time-saving tailored retail training

This piece of elearning offers a personalized and engaging learning experience for retail professionals. It showcases how to cater to a range of learner needs by offering different paths through the content.

See this example.

In this gamified elearning example, tailored retail training comes to life. Learners embark on a journey filled with interactive scenarios, practical challenges, and real-world simulations. The training focuses on enhancing customer service skills, product knowledge, and sales techniques, ensuring that each participant gains valuable skills and insights that are directly applicable to their roles in the retail industry.

Why it works: 

• This type of training is great for businesses with high staff turnover, seasonal staffing, and busy learners.
• Incorporating interactive elements such as scenarios and simulations ensures that the content closely mirrors real-life situations encountered in the retail industry. This gives learners the practical skills and knowledge they can apply immediately.

The benefits of gamification for businesses & employees

Gamification in business comes with a number of benefits, both for the organization and participating users. Here, we take a look at some of the most prevalent benefits of gamifying your learning.

1. Encourages active learning

The gamification of elearning encourages learners to take an active role in their learning by providing them with ample opportunities to interact with the content. Rather than passively absorbing information, learners can test their knowledge as they go and gain instant feedback. 

2. Promotes continuous learning  

The competitive element of gamification can spur users on to beat their score or move to the next level, which promotes continuous learning. Users are also more likely to revisit a module if they feel they can score higher, meaning they’re more likely to retain the information through repetition. 

3. Improves productivity

Incorporating gamified elements into your corporate elearning can help employees to stay engaged for longer, meaning they get through more content in less time. Instead of spending half an hour watching a training video, learners can take part in three 10-minute quizzes, for example. Research has concluded that 89% of respondents would be more productive if their work was gamified, with increased happiness levels at work.

4. Creates more enjoyable learning experiences

Not only does gamification help employees to stay engaged for longer periods of time, but it also provides a more enjoyable learning experience. This helps your digital learning become less of a chore and something users can enjoy getting stuck into, instead!

5. Allows companies to collect performance data (and track performance against learning objectives)

L&D teams can leverage gamified workplace assessments to gain useful insights into employee performance and uncover topics or concepts that employees may need further training on. This can help to inform future elearning material and identify where existing modules may need improvement.

Limitations of gamification in elearning

While gamification in elearning has many benefits, it’s not necessarily right for every purpose. In some instances, where you’re dealing with more serious or challenging topics, such as compliance, for example, it may not be appropriate to gamify your content as it may detract from the key messages or takeaways. 

It’s important to treat each topic or module as unique and set your learning objectives before you decide whether gamification will be effective. Gamified content may also not be the right fit for your company depending on your company culture and/or sector, so you should also factor this in when designing your corporate elearning content. 

The most effective elearning programs are tailored to their users and individual learning needs, so if gamification isn’t right for you, experiment with other formats. Check out our guide to elearning best practices for inspiration.

Best tips for elearning gamification

1. Start small but don’t cut corners

Rather than going all-in on a high-profile gamification project, target a particular business area, audience or programme and experiment with different approaches. Make sure you have some control data and gather more after implementation to assess value add. Build up to more complex or widespread implementations. Just remember, starting small doesn’t mean just adding points to a task or tacking a leaderboard onto an end-of-course quiz. The game mechanics have to serve a purpose beyond ‘making it fun’ for gamification in business to be truly beneficial.

2. Prioritise the learning, not the game

Points and competition only deliver value if they’re tied to behaviours and performance. Always get the employee training objectives straight first and design game mechanics to be in service of those. It can be worth developing a hierarchy, whereby points are easily earned (maybe for completing a profile or sharing the course) and accumulate quickly, but badges are more meaningful, offered only in return for doing something that demonstrates new knowledge, competence or skills.

3. Be clear on criteria and progression

Transparency and clarity about how the game works will keep people engaged and motivated. What tasks earn points? What do points mean? Perhaps they translate into badges or unlock new content. What’s the criteria for reaching the next level or reward? What do rewards mean in reality? (Maybe they translate into tangible or financial benefits, or serve as accreditation of a skill that opens opportunities.)

4. Ramp up the challenge gradually

Learners need frequent, easy achievements to begin with. Once they’ve got to grips with things and seen that effort reaps reward, they’re primed and ready for a bigger challenge. The aim should always be for the next level to be within sight, challenging but attainable. Even better if each new challenge requires learners to draw on what they’ve most recently learnt.

5. Don’t disregard individual competition

It isn’t always feasible or appropriate to pit learners against learners on public leaderboards – but that doesn’t mean you can’t successfully gamify your content. Social polling lets an individual see how they compare to others, but anonymously. Or take FitBit: it has the community aspect, but plenty of people use it without that. There’s something intrinsically rewarding, even slightly addictive, about setting a goal and measuring your progress towards it (then hopefully achieving it!).

6. Facilitate continuous learning

Look for ways to encourage learners to keep returning and improving their score (and therefore, their skills and competence!), such as resetting leaderboards regularly or introducing new challenges or rewards periodically. Give people a reason to keep coming back rather than considering their learning ‘done’ and you’ll be supporting a culture of continuous, informal or on-the-job development.

Summary

These four examples show that including gamification in elearning doesn’t have to be daunting. Gaming elements such as points, badges, and levels can – with a little thought – add an extra dimension to your online courses that will help engage learners and make your content stick. To discuss these gamification examples or to find out how Elucidat can help you add gamification at work, get a free personalized demo today. We can help you do it!

Want to create engaging gamified examples like these? Take your elearning to the next level with this certified course in engaging elearning design.

In the world of corporate training, one size doesn’t fit all. Bespoke elearning offers personalized and impactful learning experiences tailored to your team’s unique needs and business objectives. But when should you opt for custom solutions over a ready-made one? This article will help you make an informed, cost-effective choice for your employee’s elearning needs.

What is bespoke elearning & off-the-shelf elearning? 

Broadly speaking, there are two main types of elearning courses available for you:

• Off-the-shelf: These are ready-made courses, often purchased from a third party. While they cover standard topics such as compliance, soft skills, and general business practices, they often miss the mark when you have specific training needs.
• Bespoke: Say hello to personalized elearning. Bespoke courses are designed around your exact requirements and objectives, giving you the freedom to tailor the learner experience from start to finish. Bespoke content is mainly created in-house by learning teams. 

Types of custom elearning

The beauty of bespoke elearning lies in its endless possibilities. Here are some types to consider:

Gamification: Imagine your colleagues having fun while learning. Gamified modules can lead to increased engagement and retention.

Immersive scenarios: Transport your employees to real-world settings where they can practice skills in a safe, controlled environment.

Interactive tools: Think drag-and-drop exercises, clickable flowcharts, or interactive video content that keeps your team active during learning.

Simulations: These provide opportunities for practice without any real-world risks, ideal for complex tasks or compliance training.

Your best bet for creating this type of content is with an elearning authoring platform. 

Choosing the right customized corporate elearning solution will determine what your goals are, as well as what your content development team need. Learn more about choosing the best elearning software to use with these resources:

• 12 best elearning tools, platforms, and software
• 13 best SCORM authoring tools
• Choosing the right HTML5 authoring tool

Benefits of bespoke elearning

Why go bespoke? Here’s why:

Increased productivity: Skill-building happens more naturally when your courses speak directly to your employees’ everyday experiences and challenges. This leads to higher productivity levels.

Easy updates: A bespoke elearning course that’s created in-house is easily editable. New regulations? Updated processes? Your course can be adapted without having to go back to square one.

Personalized content: Bespoke courses can include real examples, case studies, and scenarios relevant to your business. This makes the content more relatable and compelling.

Cost-effectiveness: Although the initial investment might be higher than ready made solutions, the long-term ROI of a bespoke course more than justifies the cost.

When to choose bespoke elearning over off-the-shelf

Off-the-shelf courses are like fast food—convenient but not always satisfying. Sure, they serve a purpose and do it quickly. However, these courses often lack the nuances that make learning memorable and relevant for your specific team and business objectives.

Bespoke elearning, on the other hand, is the gourmet meal prepared specifically for you. It aligns closely with your business goals and addresses your organization’s unique challenges. What you get is a tool for knowledge retention and skills development, honed to your specific requirements.

Feeling torn between ready-made and custom courses? Let’s break down when bespoke elearning shines:

Complex training needs

You’ve got a complex business, so a cookie-cutter approach just won’t cut it. Maybe you’re tackling industry-specific compliance or teaching intricate software—whatever it is, bespoke elearning is your best bet.

​​Business-centric objectives

Off-the-shelf solutions focus on broad topics. But what if you need to zoom in on, say, boosting your team’s performance metrics? Custom courses allow you to set business-centric objectives tied to tangible outcomes.

Branding and culture

Want your training to breathe your brand? Bespoke elearning can incorporate your company’s branding, values, and culture, making the learning experience resonate more with your employees. Explore why branded training is essential here. 

Specialized skills

If you’re in a niche sector, finding an off-the-shelf course that perfectly matches your needs can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Bespoke elearning can cover any specialized skills or knowledge your team requires.

Examples of bespoke elearning

Curious to see bespoke elearning in action? We have two shining examples that bring innovation and engagement to the forefront.

Game-like quiz: product knowledge

Ready to make learning fun and engaging? This interactive quiz spices up product learning with a game-like twist. 

Try this course

Simple branching scenario
Immerse yourself in this branching scenario. This simple branching scenario course places learners in decision-making situations.

Try this course

In summary

In a world brimming with elearning solutions, bespoke elearning stands out as a game-changer for organizations craving tailored training experiences. This custom approach aligns perfectly with an organization’s unique goals and learners’ specific needs.

• Customization: Bespoke elearning is tailored to fit an organization’s unique learning objectives and requirements.
• Engagement: Bespoke courses capture and maintain learner interest with immersive designs and interactive elements.
• Flexibility: Unlike off-the-shelf courses, bespoke elearning can be adapted easily to include critical updates and changes. 
• Cost-effectiveness: Over time, investing in a custom course can prove more cost-effective than repeatedly licensing generic content.

If you’re deciding between custom-made and off-the-shelf courses, don’t hesitate. Bespoke training isn’t just for learning; it’s a long-term investment that evolves with you.

Bespoke elearning with Elucidat

Feeling inspired? Ready to turn your elearning vision into a reality? Book a demo with us and see how Elucidat can help you translate your vision into bespoke, engaging elearning content. 

Looking to expand your elearning design initiatives? Then check our best practice elearning guide for fresh tips and tricks for designing high-quality elearning quickly.

HTML5 authoring, with its semantic elements, multimedia support, and cross-browser compatibility, has become the industry standard for L&D teams looking to produce modern, interactive, and multi-device elearning. With the range of HTML5 authoring tools available on the market, how do you decide which one is right for your team? We take a look at 8 popular tools and suggest some questions to consider when doing your research.

HTML5 authoring tools comparison – at a glance

No time to read the full article? Let’s take a quick look at each tool first:

• Elucidat – A cloud-based, HTML5 authoring platform that enables impactful elearning experiences at scale for the world’s leading companies.
• Adobe Captivate – A powerful desktop-based, HTML5 authoring platform encompassing the classic PowerPoint interface.
• Articulate 360 – A popular HTML5 authoring suite, containing both desktop and online-based tools, using a Powerpoint style to create elearning content.
• Gomo – A HTML5, cloud-based authoring tool, with course hosting on or offline.
• Lectora – A windows-based desktop authoring tool, with added a cloud-based version, that creates HTML5 content.
• Adapt – An open-source, HTML5 elearning authoring tool with a strong community of users.
• Easygenerator – A simple, cloud-based elearning authoring that creates HTML5 content.
• iSpring – A windows-based, HTML5 authoring tool that turns PowerPoint content into elearning courses.

First off, what exactly is HTML5 authoring?

HTML5 is today’s standardized markup language for structuring and presenting content on the web. It introduces new elements like <section>, <article>, <header>, and <nav> for semantic content structuring. It also supports the latest multimedia formats through <audio> and <video> tags and integrates SVG content.

There are tons of benefits to authoring elearning in HTML5, compared to the old school Flash, including:

• The ability to create mobile-friendly learning content, so learners can engage with learning more flexibly and at the point of need
• Increased interactivity of elearning courses, opening up opportunities for learning designers to produce more engaging experiences
• Better handling of multimedia, such as audio and video
• Easier (and cheaper) to maintain and keep up to date

When it comes to meeting the needs of the modern learner, HTML5 stands worlds apart from its not so flashy predecessor!

What is an HTML editor?

An HTML editor is a software tool used to create and edit web pages written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). There are two main types of HTML editors: WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors which allow you to design your page visually, and code editors which require you to write your HTML and CSS manually.

Modern HTML editors also offer support for HTML5, ensuring that content is up-to-date with the latest web standards.

The editor typically features a user-friendly interface and may include features such as syntax highlighting, auto-complete, and a preview mode to see how the web page will look in a web browser. Some HTML editors also include additional tools for creating and editing other web-related files such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and JavaScript. Overall, an HTML editor is a useful tool for anyone looking to create or edit web pages, whether for personal or professional purposes.

Which is the best HTML5 authoring tool for you?

Choosing a HTML5 authoring tool may seem like a difficult decision, but if you know the answers to the following questions you can quickly narrow down your options.

 Some questions to ask yourself:

•  What are your elearning goals? What will help best meet your audience and business needs? Simple or sophisticated learning experiences?
•  What scale are you working at? Do you need to consider elearning translation and localization, or managing multiple versions of courses?
•  Who is working on your project? Is it a sole author or collaborative team, and what’s the level of technical expertise?
•  How will you demonstrate ROI? Do you need analytics to measure and prove (and improve!) the value of your elearning?

Our number one piece of advice is to take a people-centered approach to choosing an HTML5 authoring tool. Work back from understanding your audience and how their personal goals align with your organization’s goals. Be mindful of how you will respect people’s time, measure impact and ensure your content is widely available. Then, create your own checklist based on these factors, to help you identify the tool that will help you best deliver on your vision.

Another consideration is web accessibility. Ensure that the HTML5 authoring tool you choose supports creating content compliant with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). This is important in order to make your elearning content accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.

8 popular HTML5 authoring tools:

1. Elucidat

Elucidat is a cloud-based HTML5 authoring platform that enables impactful elearning experiences at scale for the world’s leading companies.

 

Elucidat is great for:

• Producing engaging, interactive and personalized learning experiences.
• Ensuring learning content is mobile friendly and works on any device.
• Reaching wider audiences with smart management of translated content and course variations, plus offering delivery of content to people outside of your LMS.
• Speeding up production processes with built-in templates, giving any user the power to produce great elearning, quickly.
• Creating responsive elearning content that works on any device.
• Efficient collaborative content production, allowing your team to focus on delivering better learning experiences rather frustrating authoring processes!
• Getting great support and additional coaching to get to and stay at the forefront of modern elearning production.

 Elucidat’s drawbacks:

• Elucidat is best suited to organizations that have thousands of people they need to support with elearning. The platform is designed to deliver great ROI for teams producing content at scale. But, if you’re a small team or an individual looking to create a handful of courses for few hundred learners, then Elucidat’s platform is unlikely to be the best fit for you.

 2. Adobe Captivate

Adobe Captivate 2017, more commonly referred to as ‘Captivate’ is the latest release from tech giant Adobe. The desktop-based HTML5 authoring platform requires a software download initially and is available on both Windows and Mac, encompassing a classic user-friendly PowerPoint interface.

 

Captivate is great for:

• Producing complex interactions.
• Screen recording and simulations, which you can edit within the tool.
• Any location-aware interactions (you can link to a device’s geolocation capability).
• Interactivity in the output can recognize common mobile-device gestures (e.g, pinch and zoom, swipe).
• Accelerometer-based interaction types.

 Captivate’s drawbacks:

• Steep learning curve with limited support.
• As a desktop based tool, you’re unable to collaborate easily when it comes to reviewing and authoring content.
• Authoring decisions cannot be made per device, though you can view different screen sizes. And, not all elements would work on mobile devices, as high-level features are Flash-based.
• Can be a painful process to update and maintain existing content.

3. Articulate Storyline 360

Articulate Storyline 360 is a popular ‘authoring suite’ containing several different applications for elearning authoring. It’s flagship tool ‘storyline’ is an HTML5 authoring tool, using a PowerPoint style, and available as a software download for Windows desktops. ‘Rise’, also included in the 360 package, is a more basic online-based tool.

 

Storyline is great for:

• Importing of (some) external multimedia content (like Powerpoints and PDFs).
• Content designed for desktop view.
• Themes pages and applying branding flexibly.
• Customizable code if you have the skill to do so.
• Good flexibility and control in terms of content output.
• A commonly-used tool, so designers tend to have experience.
• Very active online community.
• Reasonably powerful test software simulation.

Storylines drawbacks:

• Creating consistent branding across multiple authors (and so downloads).
• Assets are not hosted centrally, which can slow down authoring.
• Collaboration and content updates can be quite time consuming.
• Not truly mobile responsive – it just shrinks the screen.
• Don’t get new features and bug fixes instantly as it’s a desktop based tool.
• Can be very expensive if you have a lot of authors.

 Get a more detailed look at our Elucidat vs. Storyline and Captivate comparison.

 4. Gomo

Moving to cloud-based tools, Gomo is a HTML5 authoring tool that allows you to design web-style content.

 Gomo is great for:

• Importing web content from Youtube, Google Maps and Twitter feeds.
• Hosting content via the web, or offline with the Gomo app.
• Authors with no coding experience – it has a drag and drop interface.
• Producing responsive, mobile-friendly content.

Gomo’s drawbacks:

• Not the most intuitive interface and because they don’t use a ‘What You See Is What You Get’ interface, you can’t see your changes in real-time.
• Interactive templates are set in a two-column structure so creativity in design is limited.
• Customization options may not be enough for creative visuals.

5. Lectora

 Like Storyline, Lectora Inspire is a Windows-based desktop authoring tool, although they have added a cloud-based version called Lectora Online which creates HTML5 content.

 

Lectora is great for:

• Screen recording or image editing (you can integrate with Camtasia and Snagit).
• Flexibility of interactions.
• Reviewing and commenting features using ReviewLink (only available in Lectora Online).
• Getting free access to Elearning Brothers graphics libraries.

Lectora’s drawbacks:

• Lectora offers outputs for both mobile and desktop view, but you have to choose which option you want to design in from the start.
• To change aspects via the development interface you might require a good (third-party) graphics package.
• Steep learning curve with limited support.
• The interface is not particularly user-friendly.
• Challenges with delivering content for multiple devices.

 6. Adapt Learning

As an open source elearning authoring tool, Adapt Learning is a popular tool with a range of capabilities to suit all levels of authoring skill. The tool works through regular updates, peer-reviewed and brought on by the community of users (tried and tested, of course!).

 

Adapt is great for:

• People with a small budget…it’s free!
• If you’re a developer or have access to a developer, you can also use the (free) framework rather than the tool and create custom interactions/layouts, etc.
• Creating custom layouts and interactions.
• Producing fully responsive content that is accessible from any devices.

Adapts drawbacks:

• Limitations of design choice (most Adapt courses will look the same due to the “blocky” layout).
• The heavy coded background and guides can also make for a quite a large and slow downloading process.
• A limited set of interactions.
• Not cloud-based and can take a while to install.

7. Easygenerator

Easygenerator is a cloud-based elearning platform which has been around since 2014, which allows the creation of elearning content quickly and easily.

 

Easygenerator is great for:

• Authors who are just starting out building elearning content – no coding necessary!
• Mobile-friendly responsive design.
• Fully SCORM and Tin-Can compliant content, guaranteeing compatibility with most Learning Management Systems.

 Easygenerator’s drawbacks:

• Not fully what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) when creating content.
• Limited features – although the team are also open to hear suggestions and release updates based on clients needs.

8. iSpring Suite

iSpring Suite is an impressive HTML5 elearning toolkit that can take your existing Powerpoint content and turn them into elearning courses.

 

iSpring Suite is great for:

• Creating mobile-ready courses which support simulations, video, and a full range of assessments.
• Create video lectures using voice over or synchronized sound.
• It’s Content Library, which allows authors to access templates, course media like pictures and background, and themes.
• Screencast recording.

 iSpring drawbacks:

• The full range of tools might also be a little daunting as each of these functions comes as separate tools and packages.
• Some features/add-ons are blocked by price walls.

Looking for more tools to compare? Take a look at the Elearning Industry directory for more html5 authoring tools and reviews.

To make your decision, we recommend:

1.  Creating a checklist – what are your must haves and your nice to haves? You’ll quickly be able to get a shortlist by using this.
2. Speaking to some providers – start with a short conversation to see whether they’re going to be able to help and then book in a demonstration (if they know what you’re looking to achieve they won’t waste your time showing you irrelevant features!).
3. Taking out a free trial. Make sure to check there are no hidden features between the paid and free versions. We’d always recommend speaking to the provider to help you make the most of your trial.
4. Check out the reviews and case studies. Look at independent review sites like Capterra and Elearning Industry.
5. Ask about support. Some tools offer live chat, phone support, community rooms to ask questions and even some Professional Training to get teams quickly up to scratch.
6. Create a strong business case and get your stakeholders on board.

Final Thoughts

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this article, and you might have noticed there’s generally quite an overlap in the functions of the tools discussed. That being said, there are some key differences and nuances in each tool to suit any kind of authoring team. Check out our guide to the best online training tools for employee learning and professional development.

Overall, if you are thinking of prioritizing mobile-friendly elearning content in the coming year or even would just like to experiment with more interactions to generate engagement, choosing an HTML5 authoring tool sounds like the right move for you!

 So, what are you waiting for? Get started with a personalized demo of Elucidat!

In today’s digital climate, immersive and user-centered content is having a moment. Augmented reality, VR, and personalization are putting the user at the center of their own digital experiences. It’s no wonder that branching scenarios are becoming more widespread in elearning. We made branching scenarios the focus of a Design Tip Tuesday webinar. Read on for a summary of what was shared.

What is a branching scenario?

Branching scenarios involve presenting a series of scenario-based questions. For each answer the learner gives, they see the consequences of their decision played out, either via video or on-screen text and imagery. In other words, the learner drives the content they see. They are great for creating a learning experience and allowing people to learn from actions and mistakes. But there are different levels of influence they might be afforded…

Shallow vs deep branching

 “Shallow branching”, is the most straightforward approach, where for each choice made, the learner sees the consequence of this decision before getting put back on the right path. The flow for this type of content will look something like this:

Alternatively, “deep branching” takes it up a gear. This is where each choice takes the learner down a different path, allowing them to truly drive the narrative – a “choose your own adventure” if you will. Here’s how this might look:

When should you use branching scenarios in elearning?

This type of design drives immersive storytelling, in which there are decisions to be made and nuances to explore. It lends itself well to behavioral-focused subject matters and multiple-stage processes. Typical examples might be conducting customer conversations and interviews. 

Branching scenarios also give learners the opportunity to make mistakes in a safe space, allowing them to explore consequences without causing actual harm or embarrassment. This makes them an obvious design choice for high-stake subjects, like navigating health and safety incidents.

Three best practice examples

Let’s look at some examples of branching scenarios built in Elucidat.

1. Shallow branching: In this first example, the learner is presented with a dilemma and asked to answer a question:

Upon answering, the outcome of their correct – or in this case, incorrect – decision, is shown, before the story continues down the right path:

See this example on the Showcase. 

2. Perfect, poor, and imperfect outcomes: This second example is a more nuanced version of the shallow branching you just saw. As before, the situation is set up and the learner is asked to make a decision:

But this time, there is the opportunity for an ‘imperfect’, as well as correct and incorrect decision to be selected and played out:

More nuanced than shallow branching, this approach brings a little extra depth and allows grey areas to be explored. 

See this example on the Showcase.

3. Deep branching: In this Open University example, each decision branches the path further to reveal nuanced consequences. It uses drama videos. It also uses a score-bar to highlight the impact of choices. 

See this example on the Showcase.

Top tips to create effective branching scenarios 

• Use feedback as a vehicle for learning: Use your branching scenarios to depict and explain the impact of decisions in context. Rather than simply saying, “that’s the right or wrong choice”, create empathy by revealing how the characters feel and showing how they are affected.  
• Plan your paths ahead of time: There is potential for the routes through your content to get pretty complicated pretty quickly, particularly when using deep branching. So, make sure you map out each path ahead of time, so you know how many decision points, options, and consequences there needs to be. 
• Consider an ‘ok’ choice: Don’t restrict using branching scenarios to where there’s just a right and wrong path. Some scenarios benefit from showing a wider spectrum of realistic choices someone could make – from a poor decision, to the best one, and one that falls somewhere in between.
• Be authentic: Branching scenarios work best for nuanced, behavioral-focused subjects, so be sure to keep them authentic and relevant, replicating real life. Think about your characterization, as well as the parameters of what’s expected in the situation. 
• Use them to assess: Rather than just allowing learners to practise what they’ve learned, branching scenarios can used to assess competency in the place of an ordinary assessment. Questions can be scored, and course completion can be based on reaching a certain passmark.   

What next?

Branching scenarios bring your content to life and give your learners the power to shape their own learning experiences. You can learn more by getting started with Rules within Elucidat.

Find out what’s coming next in our Design Tip Tuesday webinar series here. 

We all have our own unique needs. From our diets to daily routines, what works for one person might not necessarily make another person tick. The way we learn is no different.

In contemporary elearning, where advancements in data science and machine learning reign supreme, adaptive learning is on the tip of so many tongues. Elearning is adapting into something more personal than ever before. But what is adaptive learning, really? Read on to learn more about this intuitive type of learning.

What is adaptive learning?

Adaptive learning is a concept which sees the learning materials, or the course, adapt to the needs of the learner. A cutting-edge elearning trend, adaptive learning is an interactive, tech-based training method. Advancements in AI and other technologies allow it to create automated, personalized elearning which is dynamic to individual learning styles and requirements.  

Adaptive learning is not a one-size-fits-all concept. It can be defined as creating a learning experience which is spontaneous and malleable, depending on the needs and performance of the learner in question. It results in instant feedback. Much like one-on-one training with an instructor, it zeroes in on areas for improvement and provides just-in-time help.

What are the benefits of adaptive learning?

There are a number of benefits of adaptive learning which makes it a top concept to consider. It’s exceptionally beneficial to achieving goal-orientated elearning and trims the fat off L&D strategy by supplying learning which works for the learner.

Adaptive learning makes the entire experience of gaining knowledge meaningful and personal. This heightens engagement, as the path it suggests is sure to resonate with the wants and needs of the learner in question. 

It also standardizes learning outcomes. With all the different ways people absorb information, traditional methods of learning point them in different directions and toward various learning outcomes. Adaptive learning takes subtle differences into account and provides distinct ways of reaching the same learning outcome. It’s perfect for organizations training large teams with different learning styles. 

Perhaps most importantly, it’s backed by data and fully digital. For example, assessment results around competencies of a certain skill would easily outline which members of the company require some training and adapt their development accordingly. 

Finally, it has an undeniably positive impact on those who use it. Learners are more likely to persevere in tasks safe in the knowledge that their learning has meaning. Adaptive learning breeds confidence and offers a pace of learning that does not overwhelm.

Examples of adaptive learning

Definitions and explanations are all well and good, but nothing can compare to seeing a concept in action. After all, we all learn in different ways. That’s what adaptive learning is all about. Here, we’ll take a look at just a couple of examples of good adaptive learning.

Realizeit

Realizeit is an example of adaptive learning created at scale. It is designed to provide self-learning across the company with its intuitive learning platform. Throughout use, it analyzes and assesses each learner’s abilities, mapping out their experience along the way. This is one example of a platform where a tailored approach is facilitated by cutting-edge adaptive technology.

Design Digitally

Design Digitally creates personalized training solutions backed by data. It has the power to shape the training direction of entire companies, no matter how large, offering bespoke insights to each team member. It will give those in charge of L&D a nudge in the right direction when it comes to making informed future training decisions and helps match workplace learning to the specific goals and challenges of the organization. 

Elucidat

Elucidat’s authoring tool is perfect for creating personalized adaptive learning. We support different types of adaptive learning, from role selectors to diagnostic quizzes. An example of the latter can be seen in a cyber security pre-test which was created on the Elucidat software. 

This type of test intuitively identifies knowledge gaps, with relevant content served up based on responses. In the example, rules are used to display specific content to the learner based on their success in answering the previous question. This is just one example of ways in which Elucidat supports adaptive learning, but the possibilities are near-endless on the platform. 

What is adaptive elearning software?

Adaptive elearning software is a learning technology which utilizes personalization to put the right materials in front of the learner. Think of it much in the same way as social media targets users with bespoke information. This elearning software highlights the exact things the learner needs to master to progress on their learning journey and delivers it.

How adaptive learning equates to personalized elearning

Throughout the process of adaptive learning, data is gathered. This data informs optimized training content which is tailored to the exact needs of the learner. This results in personalized learning.

While adaptive learning responds in a data-driven way, there are many other approaches to creating personalization in your elearning. For example, playing back the learner’s name or their inputted reflections to create a more tailored experience.

Why is personalized learning important? Learn more in our personalized elearning guide.

Adaptive learning with Elucidat

As we’re sure you’ll have realized during this article, adaptive learning is here to stay. This highly digital learning method is only set to get more intuitive and effective as technology develops. Its impact is already plain to see. If you’re interested in adaptive learning, Elucidat could be the tool for you.

Book a personalized demo here and see how you can reach your training goals with Elucidat.

In the era of multi-device content, scrolling pages are commonplace across the digital world. But when it comes to digital learning, how do you use scrolling with impact, and avoid losing people’s attention as they swipe down the page? Our design tips webinar explains how to design scrolling with purpose. Read on for a summary of the discussion, as well as some examples and pointers.

Watch the webinar

What are scrolling pages?

Before we delve into the ways you can use scrolling to deliver learning with impact, let’s get clear on exactly what we’re talking about. A scrolling page is a webpage with content that extends down the screen. You navigate this content by scrolling vertically to read and interact with it. This contrasts to using shorter pages that are connected with buttons. In the world of elearning, this paginated approach is more traditional and often referred to as ‘click next to continue learning’.

When should you use a scrolling page design, in elearning?

Of course, there isn’t one right way to deliver content. Both using buttons and scrolling navigation have a place in your learning design toolkit. 

The key thing when designing any learning is understanding your aims, audience and content. This enables you to make an informed decision about the approach that will work best to maximize your impact. It may mean using buttons to ensure learners navigate through interactions in a linear order. Or it could mean using scrolling to provide more freedom and space to explore your content. It could even involve using both approaches on different pages within a single project. You need to choose what works best for your project.

Four best practice examples of scrolling page elearning

There’s no straightforward answer as to when scrolling should and shouldn’t be used, so let’s look at some examples of where it can work well. 

Visual storytelling: A scrolling page allows you to take your learner on a journey. Using sections and visuals, you can create a flow through the episodes of your story without the interruption of button clicks. 

Check out this great example of interactive storytelling that uses scrolling to take you on a trip to Barcelona. 

Processes and linear content: Working within the confines of set-screen real estate can make it tricky to walk through a complicated end-to-end process. Scrolling provides space and flexibility to present each stage in a more comprehensive way. 

Here’s an example of delivery safety training that breaks up process steps into short scrolling pages. 

Performance support content: Employees working in an industrial or retail setting often carry a laminated information sheet to refer to throughout their day. Available on a tablet or phone, an easily accessed scrolling page can provide a similar learning experience in the flow of work.

Take a look at this example of product knowledge training, which uses a scrolling page for the key facts and a paginated approach for its quiz and customer challenges.

Microlearning: Standalone scrolling pages are perfect for compact learning experiences. Removing the clicks needed to get the learner from the menu through multiple pages means people get straight to the learning they need.

Check out this example of a microlearning one-pager on HR content.

3 top tips to create effective scrolling pages

So, you’ve decided that scrolling pages are the right approach for your project. Before you start designing your pages, here are our 3 top tips you should bear in mind.

1. Start with a wireframe

With more space to play with, you need to plan out exactly how you’ll use it. What will the page look like? How long will it be? What interactions will you use? Where will text and visuals have the most impact? How will you group your content together and make sure it connects? By planning and wireframing your page in advance, you can make sure it has real impact.

2. Bigger isn’t better

No one wants to scroll down a never-ending page on the hunt for a key piece of information. That’s why, at Elucidat, we have a rough guide of up to five or six sections as a maximum in any scrolling page. Whether it’s a break in a story or a decision point, look at your content and identify where best to move to the next page and not overload your learner.

3. End with a call to action

As with all digital learning, you want people to continue their learning experience in the real world. Think about how you can wrap up the page with the key takeaways and what the learner needs to do next. This is particularly important with microlearning as it’s such a short learning experience.

Summary

Although it’s not the only way to do things, scrolling is a great approach to have in your learning design toolkit. Scrolling pages offer the space and flexibility to get creative with your content and visuals. Make sure you’ve planned exactly what goes where on your page. Keep it short and punchy so your people can access the learning they need, when they need it. End with a call to action so your learners know what to do next. With well-chosen and paced content, you can make sure your scrolling pages have a real-world impact.

Want to learn more about how to design effective elearning? Download our guide.

Game-like learning can be a great way to deliver content, particularly for decision-making scenarios. But can gamification really support learning? Or is it just ‘fun’ techniques that distract? Find out exactly how to create game-like learning that is motivating and engaging, with a clear purpose in elearning.

Watch the webinar recording to find out why learners respond positively to engagement techniques and see examples of how to create successful game-like learning.

What is game-like learning?

Game-like learning (sometimes called ‘Gamification’) means applying gaming characteristics and principles to learning content to engage learners. It uses different devices including levels, points, badges, score bars and polls, to try to motivate users to reach a goal.  

“Games and Gamification can lead to high levels of learner engagement and motivation…[but they] should be part of a larger toolbox.” Karl M. Kapp

How does it work?

Game-like learning, when done well, utilizes some of the tactics employed by games in order to drive better outcomes for your learning projects. If you can make learning more enjoyable, motivating and immersive, this is likely to boost participation and engagement. But you can also use game-like techniques to drive your audience towards a goal. 

There are a number of devices that are borrowed from gaming, that when used skillfully, can really add to a piece of learning content. 

• Winning points – giving learners the opportunity to win points is a good measure of success, as this can tap into learners’ competitor spirits.
• Collecting rewards – this makes us feel validated and gives individuals the push to achieve more and to take different actions that some may not initially think of taking.
• Storytelling – this is the feature most commonly found in learning and in games. Creating characters and a context, coupled with a compelling narrative, will likely create a greater emotional connection which is key to embedding knowledge.
• Actions/Consequences – positioning your learners as active participants in a given scenario helps to show the consequences of their decisions and actions which can make for a powerful learning experience. This can be used on top of a storytelling scenario. 
• Exploration – creating experiences that stray from the more traditional, linear journey that people have come to expect is a great way of creating game-like learning. One way to offer exploration is through branching, we can create experiences that the content the learner sees is defined by their inputs. Another type of exploratory experience is a digital fact-finding mission where learners are required to piece together information in order to resolve a challenge.
• Pressure – if you are training people in skills that need to be applied in a time-sensitive context in the real world, applying pressure can be effective. As this gives the user the opportunity to acclimatize to those conditions and be provided with an environment where they can fail safely. It is important to note, however, that you do not want to be adding too much additional stress to your learners’ work days.

When is it not a good fit?

If the game-like learning techniques you are adding are not meeting the purpose of the elearning and feel inappropriate for the context. Gamification techniques can boost engagement, but too much at once could prove distracting, or even confuse learners. 

Ultimately, make sure that this type of learning is addressing the learner’s needs instead of the designer’s wants as in some cases game-like learning will not be appropriate.

3 Game-like learning examples

Here are three game-like learning examples.

1. Using levels, points and badges

Using levels, points and badges are perfect if your audience is motivated by competition as these are classic devices to reward and motivate.

Try out this example here. 

Use this template in Learning Accelerator if you are an Elucidat customer.

2. Video branching scenario

If the subject matter you are dealing with involves decision-making, using branching paths to show the impact of consequences is beneficial. This can be an immersive form of learning with the use of score bars and polls to calculate the impact of decisions.

This rich, immersive learning experience was created for the Open University, as a ‘real-world’ game style. It uses game-techniques for a serious subject: mental health.

See this example on the Showcase.

3. Building badges

A great way to boost engagement with your learners is by rewarding them with application progress with badges. This microlearning example allows learners to work through a non-linear set of challenges, and earn badges which are collected in a wallet, if they make the right decisions.

Try out this example on the Showcase.

4 Game-like learning tips

Here are our top tips for creating game-like learning that drives impact.

• Purpose – plan your project goals and desired outcomes first, then ensure that the game-like learning experience supports them. Don’t solely create them for your own fun.
• Storyboard – plot out all the different routes upfront on ‘paper’ – what happens if they don’t win a badge or if they make the wrong choice?
• Test – ask sample users to test the game-like learning before launch. Do all routes work? Is it engaging?
• Consider – accessibility requirements are important to consider, as game-like features will not always be suitable, such as timers.

Summary

Game-like learning can be an effective means of captivating and motivating learners to engage with their learning content. It is vital that it continues to meet the purpose of the elearning, is appropriate for the context and addresses the learner’s needs. It will therefore not be effective for every type of learning goal. 

There are lots of other ways to design awesome elearning that delivers impact.