eLearning Content Recycling

Your company has worked hard to create a new eLearning course or a large eLearning module. It’s everything you hoped it could be. But with all the effort you’ve put in, you have to wonder… isn’t there an easier way? Fortunately, there is. Content recycling can help you create fresh content more easily — by using what you already have. It maximizes the value of your existing content and can also improve learning results for your students. In this article, we’ll explain what content recycling is, show you which content to reuse, and share best practices and helpful tips to create compelling recycled content for your company’s eLearning program.

Content recycling is a term borrowed from the world of online marketing. It refers to taking a piece of existing content and repurposing it to create related content in different formats. For example, you might take a video lesson you’ve created and use the script as the basis for text-based learning materials. Or you could take a longer text-based lesson and create interactive learning materials like digital flashcards, quizzes, or games.

Content recycling is a great way to save time and effort in your content creation process. You develop the core learning material once, then reuse it to create multiple pieces of related content. This also benefits your employees. Repeatedly presenting the same information in different formats helps your employees understand the material fully and retain the information longer.

Not all content is suitable for recycling. If the information will be relevant for only a short time, for example, then recycling it won’t be effective.  You’ll want to get the best possible return on your investment, so you’ll want to focus on recycling the most important content that will stay relevant in the long term. 

Almost any kind of content can be recycled — the only limit is your creativity. Here are just some of the formats you might consider using: 

• User manuals for products
• Microlearning library
• Flashcards (like Knowledgeworker Cards)
• Interactive scenarios (with Knowledgeworker Coach)
• Video content
• Podcasts
• Workbooks
• Infographics to present data in an easy-to-digest format
• Images with hotspot text for extra explanations (in Knowledgeworker Create)

Content recycling often starts with a “big” piece of content such as a course or a longer module, which is then broken down into smaller pieces. For example, you could create a workbook, microlearning content, or an infographic based on a course module. A user manual could be recycled to create short pieces of video content or flashcards. Or a training module on conflict management could be reinterpreted as interactive scenarios using software like Knowledgeworker Coach.

But it can also go the other way. You could first produce a series of microlearning lessons and combine them (perhaps with additional content) to create a longer, more detailed lesson. You could take a podcast (or parts of it) and add visuals to create video content. Or you could take a user manual and turn it into an eLearningarning program is, the more effective it will become.

Getting started with content recycling can be as simple as creating digital flashcards or shortening existing videos into quick, actionable lessons. You might use them to create a microlearning library that users can turn to for “moment of need” learning. 

But to manage your microlearning content and continue reusing it as effectively as possible, there are a few best practices that you should implement. These will help you keep your content organized and create new content that is particularly easy to recycle.