One of the challenges of an elearning course is to keep your students engaged. This is one way for you to capture their interest so they will completely be focused on the course until the very end. The thing about this type of course is that you do not get the same interaction that you would in a traditional classroom setting. That is why you need to compensate for that loss.
There are ways to establish interaction between instructor and learners but one of the best ways to engage them is through social media. After all, most people are spending a lot of time in these online networks. It should not be too hard to set up an engaging activity that all your learners can participate in.
So how can you use social media to engage your learners? The key is to make sure that you can catch and maintain the attention of the participants of your elearning course.
- Use bite-size chunks from your course. First rule in social media is you have to make everything bite-sized. This is especially true if you are using Twitter. You need bits and pieces of information that your learners can identify with. Most of the people who will visit their accounts are usually doing so in between their daily tasks. This means they only have a limited time. Make your posts short yet meaningful to the course. If you get their attention in the first 100 words, you can get them interested in what you have to say. Focus on what is important in the course and post that in social media.
- Know the learners. Since a lot of people are visiting and updating their social media accounts, you can expect that these networks will be quite busy. You need to compete with the other posts of those in the contact list of your learners. Not only should your learners be able to identify with your post, they must be able to recognize the connection with your course. It is also important that you make the post personal. That is how you get their attention.
- Use images to catch their attention. There is nothing like a good visual to help make your post interesting. We have mentioned how social media is a great way to engage your learners but it can get busy most of the time. Images should help your post rise above the other status and posts in the account of your learners.
- Have a call to action. Lastly, you want to have a call to action for your post. Encourage your learners to like, comment, share, retweet or whatever is appropriate. This can be a great way to help you get feedback and comments about your elearning course. This active participation will help make retention more possible.
These social media tricks will help you utilize this portal for your elearning course. It is best to use something that your learners are familiar with. That way, it will not be too tedious to make them use this as part of your course.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles for FreeDigitalPhotos.net