Pandemics, disasters and crises usually have a huge toll on people’s viewpoints, most of which are negative go a long way. For instance, in the case of the September 11 attack of 2001, many people avoided travelling by air afterwards. Also, women received noticeable empowerment and freedom to work after 2nd World War. Likewise, the dynamics of learning are expected to change after the pandemic.
Therefore, it is imperative to consider the following essential elements when developing an e-learning platform in order to make it more compelling:
1. Routine formulation.
When learners access your eLearning platform and get attracted, you benefit from free referrals since they will enlighten their peers about your services. The pricing also gets flexible soon as the learner forms a routine of visiting your platform.
Factors influencing transition of behaviour to routine :
- Frequency.
It’s paramount for the learner to use your products repeatedly. This should be maintained regardless of any considerable gain thereafter. Furthermore, it is proven that frequency of behaviour is key in turning it to a habit.
- Pain relief.
It’s obvious that access to social media sites like Facebook and YouTube helps beat ennui. Likewise, your platform should be a means through which learners relieve some pains.
- Proper spotting of behaviours.
Students can use visual or auditory means to learn. By separating them into the two diverse categories, their behaviours can accurately be pointed out.
2. Triggers.
Triggers more often than not direct the learner to the next point of action. By so doing, transition of behaviour into routine becomes almost inevitable. Triggers should be designed in a way not to destroy a learner’s natural aptitude.
Three effective triggers are listed below:
- Owned triggers.
These inhabit the learner’s personal space, for example, on the smartphone such that chances of the learner viewing your product daily increases.
- Relationship triggers.
When students share their achievements, for instance finishing a course within your platform, the thrill instils an urge to take up a course among their peers. Therefore, participation can be heightened by inculcating the eagerness to share good outcome of the course.
- Earned triggers.
Coming up with parameters of gauging a student’s involvement like the amount of time consumed on the platform or the sum total of courses taken could prove beneficial in promoting frequent visitation. The sense of attainment that the student derives from such metrics is a green flag for the platform’s growth.
3. Action.
The student has to act. A deliberate step ought to be taken across the action line before a behaviour develops. Factors that dictate the next move made by the learner towards behaviour development include, but not limited to focus, mental exertion and time.
The following are 3 fundamental inspirations for learners to act :
- Circumventing peer rejection and searching for social acceptance.
On social media platforms, likes and shares are means of public approval of one’s thoughts or posts. In a similar way, a reward system should be created within or outside the platform to encourage active involvement of the learners.
- Avoiding fear of failure and searching for hope.
For a long time, the back-benching tactic has been used by many students to avoid failure. Some learners display strengths in particular subjects and weaknesses in others, thus bearing the fear of failure in the latter.
- Seek enjoyment in acquiring knowledge and avoid dull content.
Publishing interesting content both helps the learner appreciate the learning process and at the same time kills boredom.
4. Shifting reward.
Reward systems have proven quite useful in enhancing students’ morale and motivates them to learn. The urge to carry out learning exercises increases if the reward is unknown to the learners. To maximize the relevance and impact of a reward, the students’ interests need to be taken into consideration.
Below are 3 categories of varying rewards :
- Community rewards.
Community rewards revolve around a given peer group or community at large. For instance, the best student may stumble upon a chance to award 5 extra points to their peers.
- Information-based rewards.
The unending thirst for information may result in excitement in an instance where a student gets a glimpse of a quiz in the forthcoming exams.
- Self rewards.
Sometimes learning is accelerated by personal motivation. Therefore a student might feel highly regarded after securing a personal tutorial with the best tutor.
5. Investment.
The amount of time a student spends on your product is a key determinant of how much they value it. Therefore the learner would find it difficult to migrate to other platforms after enrolling in a course based on their interests.
Means of investment :
- Time spent on the educational technology platform.
Always take note of amount of time that individual students spend within the platform. In the spirit of pride and competition, some ambitious learners would want to stand out from the rest. Therefore, they would likely stay on the platform as long as they possibly can.
- Handing in assignments.
Whenever an incentive is tied to each and every correct submissions, most students tend to be more inquisitive in a dire attempt to be ahead of the rest.
- Most students develop an instant urge to continuously assist their fellow peers having challenges in some fields of study. This happens especially when they get recognition for the assistance provided.