We learned years ago that e-newsletters mailed to our subscribers needed to be short. The longer the newsletter, the less likely it was that people would read it. People are increasingly overwhelmed with the amount of information they receive. And, accustomed to multitasking, people have a low tolerance for uninterrupted time spent on one thing.
The same is true in learning situations. According to Donald Clark, “Cognitive overload is the norm in education and training. New teachers present too much too soon, to bewildered learners.”
In this post, Mr. Clark presents excellent tips on how to keep an online course short. (RN)
10 ways to keep courses short | Donald Clark Plan B | Donald Clark | 25 May 2010
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I agree to keep training lean as possible. But cutting objectives? I don’t agree. It’s part of engaging the learners by giving them the goal before you start the learning. I do agree and have heard – Be bright, be brief, be gone. Cognitive overload is real. So lose all extraneous stuff in the bathwater but keep the baby. Use animation only if helps the topic but keep in mind a picture can be much more valuable than words if you can use one that is appropriate and not distracting. Also, I disagree about the level 1 evals. It depends on how they are written. Smile sheets are useless but if they are truly level 1 evals, the results can tell you much about how the learner walked away from the training and their resulting self-efficacy.