3 Ways to Make Boring E-Learning Content Fun
Let’s say you have a boring and important goal, content.
It’s dry and not inherently interesting…and there’s a lot of it.
You try to do something fun, but it immediately dissolves into death-by-PowerPoint nonsense.
What is your job?
First, I would shake those assumptions.
There is no such thing as boring content, because ‘boring’ is not a real thing. Boredom is a reaction to something someone doesn’t find attractive.
Nothing in this world is boring for everyone.
That means there is someone out there who will find your content funny.
Does that help you if most people find it boring? Maybe not, but it will keep you from seeing it as a hopeless uphill battle.
The problem is not in the subject or the details that you have to teach.
It’s in the delivery.
Fortunately, there are three easy ways to make your eLearning more engaging…no matter how tedious your students expect it to be.
You can incorporate them into any course, even if it’s as low-tech as a text-only forum.
It won’t add much (if any) to the time it takes to deliver.
And it will make your course work for your students.
It sounds too good to be true?
As always, there’s a catch: it may take some deep thinking and a little work to implement.
Ok, here we go:
The first and least powerful of the three is contrast.
All the best course designers know that throwing a wall of text at your students is a mistake.
But sometimes you have a lot of content you want to stream.
If you have to use this approach and can’t think of a way around it, change what your students watch.
After a wall of text, the next slide/page/whatever could be a simple diagram.
Or a graph.
Or a graph, table (without too many words) or meme.
If each slide looks different, you can keep your readers engaged, even as you bombard them with a hose of information.
Like I said, this is the weakest approach of the three… but it’s better than giving them nothing but endless paragraphs to read.
In approach #2:
If you hate your content, you might be tempted to say something like:
“I know it’s Friday and I’m really sorry about this, but I have to read from the textbook. It will be boring, but to certify you, I have to cover all these points. I’m sorry.”
That’s why I told you to stop thinking your content is boring. This amazing delivery helps no one.
Instead, you could say:
“Welcome to the best part of the week, everyone! You have your textbooks in front of you, which have all the answers that you will need in the future. Today, I am going to go over some of the most relevant parts for you. And who You know, we could finish early and start the weekend with a head start!”
Same content, big difference.
That is why the second approach involves enthusiasm.
How do you excite your dog?
Speaking of your favorite treats, that is, focusing on the content?
No, you can talk about anything with enthusiasm and they will like it.
I am not saying that your students are as smart as dogs. But humans and dogs get bored or interested in the same way as everyone else. If something doesn’t arouse emotions in you, it’s clearly not worth paying attention to.
Do your students a favor and show a little passion.
Approach #3:
I’m sure you’re familiar with the forgetting curve: that graph that shows that a week into your course, your students will forget 90% of what you told them.
That research is true, but it’s not the whole story.
To test that, the researchers had people memorize dry facts, usually a list of random words.
But not all content is created equal.
The stories are very memorable.
They are more engaging to the brain and help students to contextualize information. When you walk into a case study of how someone used what you’re teaching to make a billion dollars, you’re better able to remember and apply what it tells you.
Case studies, war stories, anecdotes – any of these will make your material fun and memorable.
I don’t care if you only teach via Twitter; You can use these three approaches to make even the most boring content fun.