Create eLearning

A thorough understanding of your learners is the foundation of an effective eLearning strategy. When you know exactly who your learners are, you can create tailored learning paths that deliver real value. Develop learner personas in advance. These provide insight into your target audience’s demographics, individual needs, and preferences. With this knowledge, you can create relevant content that engages your employees and helps them grow.

For example, if you find that many of your learners are visually oriented, it makes sense to emphasize visual media. Or, if your target audience consists primarily of experienced professionals, advanced topics and real-world case studies will resonate more than basic introductions. A deep understanding of your target audience also helps you account for cultural nuances and linguistic differences, which is particularly important when training international teams.

In addition, a deep understanding of your target audience leads to higher engagement. Learners feel understood and valued when they see that the course is tailored specifically to their needs. This not only increases their willingness to learn but also strengthens their connection to the company. Employees recognize that you are investing in their development. Ultimately, this results in more effective training, greater satisfaction, and better overall outcomes for both learners and the organization.

Define clear learning objectives before creating your eLearning course. Start by considering your business objectives or your employees’ individual development goals. What skills do they need to achieve them? A proven method for developing objectives is to apply the SMART criteria. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Example: Your company has introduced a new CRM system. To use it effectively, every employee who works in the system must be trained. The following learning objective was defined using the SMART method: 
“By the end of the next quarter, all new customer service representatives will be able to use our new CRM system efficiently by maintaining customer data with an accuracy of at least 95%.”

When creating eLearning, it is worth reviewing Anderson and Krathwohl’s taxonomy of learning objectives. This theory classifies learning objectives into six levels, from “Remember” to “Create.” These levels represent different cognitive skills and thought processes required to achieve the learning objectives. The level of the learning objective influences the types of content and activities needed in an eLearning module. For example, achieving a “Remember”-based objective is more likely to require providing information and facts, while achieving a “Create”-based objective calls for more creative activities and use cases.

In the next step, select suitable content for your eLearning course. Begin by researching and gathering existing materials. These can include documents, presentations, videos, and other resources. Search your internal databases and external sources for relevant information. Make sure you draw on a broad range of sources to gain diverse perspectives and information.

Next, assess the relevance and quality of each item. Ask whether the content supports the learning objectives and whether it is current and accurate. Review the sources and authorities behind the materials to ensure they are reliable. Discard inadequate or outdated content.

As you review existing content, you may discover gaps that need to be filled. Identify areas where additional information or explanations are required to fully achieve the learning objectives. This may mean creating new content in the form of text, graphics, videos, or other media.

By consistently applying this process of research, evaluation, and gap identification, you can ensure that your eLearning module’s content is relevant, high quality, and tailored to your learners’ needs. This lays the foundation for a successful and efficient eLearning experience.

Now that you have assembled your materials, it is time to prepare and optimize them for your eLearning course. Create new content to fill gaps or provide missing information. Write new copy, create informative graphics, and record learning videos. Alternatively, adapt existing materials to meet current requirements and objectives.

Encourage learner engagement with storytelling, case studies, or realistic scenarios. Tell stories or present real-life situations related to the learning content. This makes the learning process more vivid and relevant.

Also use AI as a partner to accelerate this process. Modern authoring tools now assist you directly in creating course drafts, generate suitable visual themes, or help transform complex technical material into easy-to-understand learning content. This gives you more time to focus on instructional quality and the relevance of your messages.

Now that you have created your content, it is time to develop an instructional design that ensures your learners learn effectively and achieve the objectives you have set. Develop a coherent and logical structure for your eLearning course. Organize the content meaningfully so each section builds on the last. Make sure learners are guided through the course step by step and in a systematic way. This helps them develop a better understanding.

Now, at the latest, it is time to think about the right software for your eLearning courses. At this point, you can estimate which features you truly need to present your content effectively. The following three software products are essential for your organization:

Once you have curated the content and selected the right software, begin creating your eLearning course. Add interactive elements such as flip cards, quizzes, or assessments. These increase learner engagement and promote knowledge transfer. Interaction with the content is one of the defining features of effective eLearning. It allows you to unlock the medium’s full potential for your learners. 

Include assessments at regular intervals. This gives learners valuable feedback and allows them to track their progress. Adaptive learning lets you tailor the content to each learner’s level of knowledge. Fast learners can skip content, while others receive additional supporting information. 

All content created, interactive elements added, and assessments defined? Then it is time for the review phase. Put your completed eLearning course through its paces—including a check for spelling errors. Review the content once more for accuracy, ideally with one or more subject matter experts. Consider whether your instructional structure is logical and aligned with the learning objectives. Check spelling and grammar. Take another critical look at the design: Were all guidelines followed? Finally, review every technical detail, such as the functionality of links, videos, and gamification content.

This step is optional for anyone training international teams around the world. Make sure your educational content is effective for international audiences and accounts for cultural differences and sensitivities.

Translate text, graphics, and videos into the appropriate target language. Make sure the translation also considers the cultural context to prevent misunderstandings. Different cultures have different expectations, norms, and values. Understand these differences to ensure your eLearning content is respectful and appropriate. Adapt examples and case studies to local contexts. This not only demonstrates respect and appreciation for international employees, but also increases the effectiveness of your eLearning courses.

Thanks to advanced AI technologies, localization is now faster and more cost-effective than ever. AI-powered authoring tools let you translate courses into dozens of languages with a single click. A brief review by native speakers ensures that cultural nuances and technical terminology are handled accurately.

You have made it: Your eLearning course is complete and ready to roll out to your learners. Congratulations! All the hard work will certainly pay off.

Publish your eLearning course on your learning platform. Check again that everything has been uploaded and integrated correctly. Use a variety of communication channels—such as email, the intranet, social media, and internal announcements—to draw attention to the course. Emphasize the advantages and benefits learners will gain from your eLearning course.

Provide employees with support and resources. Not everyone can intuitively use digital learning media efficiently. FAQs, guides, and technical support ensure that all learners can benefit from your eLearning course. 
 

You have created and rolled out your eLearning course, but the work does not end there. There are additional ways to unlock the full potential of eLearning.

Monitor and evaluate the eLearning course you have created. This allows you to determine whether your learning and development initiative is successful. Use learning analytics to collect data about learning behavior. Track learner activity, completion rates, or learning time.  

Check whether the learning objectives have been achieved and whether learners have acquired the desired knowledge and required skills. Use written or practical assessments for this purpose—or simply ask your learners directly. Gather their feedback to understand their learning experience. Ask for their opinions and suggestions about the course. Only continuous learner feedback enables you to make improvements and enhance the quality of your eLearning modules.

Update the content of your eLearning courses regularly. Make sure that all information and media used are current. Incorporate new insights, developments, and examples. 

Use learner feedback to make your eLearning courses as user-centered as possible. Analyze performance data and use your findings to resolve misunderstandings in the content. Maintaining your eLearning content is a continuous, iterative process.