6 Tips for Utilizing Animation in eLearning
Online learning continues to grow in popularity by providing busy individuals the opportunity to broaden their skill sets on their own time schedule. And now many eLearning courses are becoming more interactive and contain animation that makes knowledge more accessible and easier to understand.
Educational animation refers to any animated image that is used to teach others. Today, many educators are finding that creating animation can help students of all age groups master concepts more easily. It does this by simplifying difficult ideas, introducing learning in smaller pieces, and by allowing learners to pause and re-watch the animation whenever they choose. This helps to spark creativity, provide humor, and provide an overall more positive learning experience.
Animation can be used as a valuable learning tool that is interactive, engages learners, and gets them excited about the eLearning process. Below are 6 tips to utilize animation in your eLearning courses:
- Make animation interactive
Rather than allowing online learners to become a passive audience, engage learners by allowing them to ask questions, provide clickable links, and allow them to control the playback setting. By using elements that encourage them to take an active role, it will create a connection that enhances the learning process.
- Focus on one topic at a time
To avoid having animation that becomes chaotic or confusing, limit your focus to one topic at a time. Focusing on a single eLearning character or situation and using only relevant information will keep learners more engaged and focused. It is important to make sure the animation doesn’t become so busy that it distracts from the overall point of the presentation and causes viewers to lose interest.
- Use animation that sets the right tone for the subject
Animation in eLearning is most effective when it conveys the correct tone; for example, using lighthearted animation when discussing a serious subject matter will not convey the seriousness of the situation. Every aspect of your eLearning animation will impact the overall tone, from the background music to the eLearning script, so these elements must line up with the emotional atmosphere.
- Break down difficult subjects
Using animation in eLearning can simplify difficult or confusing topics. For example, if you are trying to illustrate a specific trend, a static timeline might illustrate the information, but using separate scenes for each fact with things like animated charts could better illustrate this point and take learning to a new level.
- Use background music or narration
Using background music or narration will enhance the animation for learners and allow them to become more immersed in the story. For many people, English may be a second language or they may have a difficult time hearing, so having captions or subtitles can increase their knowledge retention. It also keeps the animation from becoming confusing. For instance, narration can explain why a character is acting a certain way and let viewers in on their thought processes.
- Let learners engage when it is convenient for them
Many online learners simply don’t have time to sit through an entire eLearning course at once. This is especially true for individuals who are accessing the information during work hours. Giving learners the option to stop, pause, rewind, and fast forward through the presentation will help make this easier. That way if they get distracted or run out of time they can simply press pause and then press play again when they have time to continue with the course. Be sure to provide instructions on how to use playback controls so there won’t be confusion.
Educational animation is a powerful tool that can make eLearning courses more fun, engaging, and user-friendly by breaking down information into smaller pieces and allowing the learner to utilize the course information whenever they want. Customized animation allows the learner to have a more active role and can enhance the learning experience. When done effectively, animation can allow eLearning courses to have an experience that is just as interactive and accessible as what someone might find in a classroom setting.
For more information on eLearning visit us at Aktiv Mind LMS
Rob Macleod
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