The 6 Laws to ELearning Development

By: Justin Ferriman • October 7, 2014
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elearning-wordpressWhether you have created many elearning courses or are just getting started within the industry, there are certain factors to consider across all projects.

When it comes to actual development of your course, you will find a slew of guidelines, tips, tricks, and theoretical best practices. No matter your approach, there is an inherent benefit to following a proven instructional design process.

While your approach may change though, there are still some universal laws of elearning development that exist. These six laws, originally shared by SHIFT ELearning, are key considerations you should have in mind prior to when you actually build the course.

Keeping these six laws in mind will help you to develop more effective courses as they will help to shape the sequence and format of how you deliver the content.

Law of Readiness

While you can deliver content at any time to an audience, true learning can only take place when the learner is ready.

TIP: Make sure your learners are adequately prepared to receive the training. Prep them with email communications informing them of upcoming elearning efforts and relevant changes.

Law of Exercise

The more a person is able to practice (or repeat) a new behavior associated with the content, the more likely they are to remember and apply it.

TIP: Build in simulations and exercises within each section of a course that emphasizes the critical takeaways.

Law of Effect

Learners are more likely to respond positively to elearning course content when they are rewarded for doing so (rather than punished for not doing so).

TIP: Implement a point and/or badge program with your elearning course.

Law of Primacy

Once a person learns something, it becomes increasingly difficult to convince them of anything different.

TIP: If you are creating training that is meant to change a behavior, address the “old knowledge” in context with the new information, and why the new information is the better way.

Law of Recency

People are more likely to remember what they have just (or last) learned.

TIP: Reiterate primary objectives and learning points at the end of each lesson and at the end of the course.

Law of Intensity

The more excitement around course material, the more likely that it will be remembered by learners.

TIP: Implement contests or use creative ways to build anticipation throughout your course.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter