If you are creating an elearning course for employees, you should know that length is an important consideration. The business will not stop while the workers are being trained. It continues to run and you cannot keep the employees away from their obligations for long. This is why it is very important to consider how long your training program will go. That way, the employees that will be participating in your course can manage their time wisely.
Now it is very hard to accurately say how long it will take to complete your course. You need to finish making the whole content to be sure. But when that happens, it is usually too late or time consuming to go back and revise the elearning materials so you can meet your target length.
You need to be able to estimate as close as possible how long the elearning course will be even before you start. Fortunately, there are factors that you can look into to help you gauge the length of your training program.
Subject matter
First of all, you need to look at the how complex the subject matter is. The more complex it is, the more difficult it is to deliver. You may need a lot of screens to completely explain the subject that you want to discuss. Usually, it takes around 30 seconds to a minute to get through one screen. So if you have a lot of screens, it would take longer to finish.
Amount of content
Next, you need to consider the amount of content that you will be imparting to your learners. If it is a lot, you will obviously need a lot of space and screen. The same calculation as above is needed. Be careful of information overload. If you have to split the course into two, you may have to do that. Space your content properly.
Multimedia and tools used
The other consideration involves the multimedia and tools that you will use in your elearning course. Start by checking how complicated it is to use the multimedia elements and other tools. If it is difficult to use, you need to allot some time for the learners to adjust to using it. You need to carefully consider the activities that the learners will have to go through in every screen.
Delivery of content
There are many ways to deliver information. You can opt for a straightforward delivery wherein the learner will go through all the screens in succession. That is probably the fastest way to deliver your content. However, there are some content that you need to jump from one screen to another. For instance, you introduce a concept that has to branch out into 3 or more concepts. If your learners have to go back and forth, you need to consider that in gauging the length of your course.
Learner’s capabilities
Lastly, you need to consider the capabilities of the employees that will be trained in your course. When a subject matter is complex, it will be more difficult to understand. You need to give your learners enough time to process, understand and absorb the information that you are giving them. If they can easily catch up, then the length of your course will not be too long. Some activities may seem easy for you – but not for the people you are training. You need to factor in critical thinking and even problem solving. Give them time for that because when they ponder on your content, the higher chance that they can remember what you are trying to teach them.
These factors will all affect the length of your elearning course. If you think that it may be too long, you can probably split your course into segments.
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