The Rules

of eLearning
Engagement:
a formula
for success
Table of Content
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Committing to Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Cadence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Explaining the value of training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Think like a marketer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Encouragement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Course design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Avoid cognitive overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Course building blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
User Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Learner autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
A seamless experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Mobile learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Motivation types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Gamification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Gamify your training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
How to get started with gamification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Socialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Learner isolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Social learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Analysis and Iteration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Gathering feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Measuring engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Continued analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Share results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
About LearnUpon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

About this eBook

In late 2017, we ran a survey to investigate the major
trends, challenges, and rewards facing businesses
delivering eLearning in 2018. We knew that engagement
was a big challenge, but we were shocked by how
much. Of the 200 organizations that took part, there
were 28 different learning management systems being
used. 71% of respondents found engagement the most
challenging part of delivering training. We focused on
this problem, and the results were interesting. Those
struggling most were not using simple tactics that are
proven to help engagement. And many were using the
same learning model for different types of training.

In this eBook, we’ll explain the golden rules of learning

engagement. These rules are inspired by the insights
our Customer Success team have gained from helping
our customers to overcome this challenging element
of delivering training. Implementing these rules will
positively impact your learners’ engagement with their
training.

About this eBook 3

The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

The most challenging part of

delivering online training

71.43%
Engagement of learners

33.83%
Time managing eLearning tasks

29.32%
Budget

27.82%
Rolling out new content

27.07%
lack of resources

11.28%
Other

About this eBook 4

The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Introduction
What is learner engagement? It's a willingness for the
learner to interact consistently with the training
provided in order to achieve a learning goal. This
willingness relates to curiosity, interest, perceived value,
and reward.

v A learner can be many people including employees,

partners, or customers. The audience may change but
the key principles generally hold true.

We'll differentiate between two distinct types of training

- mandatory and optional. And then view learner
engagement in the context of both.

Mandatory training has to be completed, usually to

ensure compliance with legislation. It's that simple. The
focus on engaging the learner throughout this type of
training can often take a back seat. In comparison,
optional training leans on a positive learning experience
to encourage engagement.

Introduction 5
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

It should be noted that the methods mentioned in this

eBook can be adapted and applied to any type of
training. Engagement is a very broad subject, far too
broad to cover in one publication.

Engagement requires an interesting, well-explained and

relevant training topic, delivered with the right tools, in
the right way. To distill this into a digestible format we’ve
created this formula that’s key to successful
engagement:

Introduction 6
 ( Communication
+
Content
+
Delivery
+
Motivation )
*
Constant Improvement
=

High eLearning
Engagement
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Committing to Engagement
When it comes to delivering great training programs
learner engagement doesn’t happen by chance. You’ll
need resources, time and support. Without commitment
from stakeholders, the steps that follow will fail. Why?
The success of training is reliant on buy-in and support
from your colleagues. The most effective way to get
your colleagues on board is to explain the benefits.

An engaged learner trains more often, and retains more

information. Learners become autonomous, with fewer
touch points required for them to complete courses. This
changes the paradigm from a focus on chasing
learners, to one where other factors drive them to
complete training. It’s not just about easier
management of training. Engagement positively
impacts other business challenges like learner
performance and retention.

Commitment from stakeholders doesn’t have to be a

hassle either. The key element is that they emphasize
the importance of training to their teams. Encouraging

Committing to Engagement 8
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

your learners to prioritize training helps to reduce their

resistance to it.

Relying on colleagues to support training is the first step.

The next is effective communication to the wider
organization.

Communication
Once you have 'buy-in' from colleagues, the first task is
to get training introduced into regular channels of
communication.

( Communication + Content
+ Delivery + Motivation )
* Constant Improvement =
High eLearning Engagement
Communication 9
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Think about all of the different ways your organization

communicates. What was the last message sent to a
large group of learners and how was it shared? Why
was that communication channel used? Was it through
Slack, Yammer, Email, Trello?

Training conversations should be just as likely to happen

in the boardroom or by the water-cooler.
From quarterly updates to weekly meetings, and daily
stand-ups, get training on the agenda. Humans are
creatures of habit. Regular conversations about training
will help to solidify it as a priority.

Cadence
With regular communication, you can weave training
programs into your company's culture. A consistent
cadence is very important. The goal is for learners to
describe training as “something we do” rather than
“something we have to do”. As the saying, often
attributed to Peter Drucker, goes: “Culture eats strategy
for breakfast”.

Communication 10
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Your learning management system (LMS) should have

the tools that you need to reinforce this. Notifications
and reminders are simple features that keep training
front of mind. But can you influence the process earlier
than these LMS touch points? Go to the learner by
contacting them via their most used communication
channels.
If you use tools such as Email, Skype, Slack, Mattermost
or Yammer, then start there.

Engagement also depends heavily on interaction. Go to

where conversation is already taking place to introduce
the new learning environment to your learners.

The key information you need to communicate to get

them started is:

• Where they can find your learning management

system

• How they can access it

• The basic elements of the learner dashboard

• The benefits and objectives of their courses

Communication 11
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

• Timelines of when the training will be available,

what training will be available, due dates, etc.

• Instructors who will be carrying out the training

• Rewards and recognition they will achieve by

completing training

Some of the information above may appear obvious.

But it will help to reduce any friction that exists,
particularly with learners who have never used an LMS
before. It's also easy to forget that an LMS is just one
tool within a larger set that your learners use day in and
day out. Most LMSs are designed well and so are
intuitive to use for the learner.

Providing clear and concise information on training

programs and the LMS helps. Your learners should know
exactly what they need to do and when they need to
do it. And you should explain how training helps them in
their day-to-day performance and progression.

Communication 12
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Explaining the value of training

Your learners may ask themselves ‘is this training worthy
of my time?’. Your job is to ensure that the answer to this
is a resounding 'Yes', even if the subject matter isn’t
enthralling. The main reasons for carrying out training
are usually quite obvious. Leading with that can place
the task lower down on the learner's list of priorities. A
learner that believes the lesson is valuable to them is
more engaged and learns better. You have to show
them the value. In the case of compliance courses, it's
obvious that the training has to be done. But there’s an
opportunity to package that message better.

For example, a health and safety course has to be

completed to comply with legislation and ultimately
avoid potential penalties. The message communicated
to learners is usually something along the lines of “You
have to complete this course”. A better way to
communicate this message is “this course will help you
stay safe in your workplace”.

Communication 13
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

wUse the information you have at hand to detail the

specific benefits. For example, people who completed
this course are X% less likely to be injured than those
who do not. All you need to do is align the message with
each learner's priorities and motivations instead of the
company’s. This approach is effective for other types of
courses too.

Let's take a sales training course, for example. The

motivation to complete the course could be presented
as “your manager wants you to pass this course” or “you
will close more deals as a result of completing this
training”. Which message do you think would be more
likely to engage and motivate the sales team?

Messaging takes practice to get right. If this is an area

that you struggle with, buy your marketing manager a
coffee and find out how they do it. As a trainer you’ll
need to become adept at promoting the specific
benefits training has for your learners.

Communication 14
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Think like a marketer

Promotion is essential for engagement. A trainer should
be part educator, part marketer. How can you expect to
have engaged learners unless you promote? If you’re
passionate about training, tell people.

Learners are busy, and there’s a lot of noise in the

modern workplace. To place training in the spotlight,
you need to use the communication channels
mentioned above and ensure your message reaches
your learners.

The language you use to simplify the message and

highlight the benefits is important. Two different types of
promotional campaigns are available to you:

• A campaign to promote the use of your LMS and

the business’s training efforts as a whole. A
campaign like this sits above promoting individual
courses and learning paths. It serves as the
foundation for all other training efforts and can be
used to communicate with both current and future
learners. This places the LMS as a central tool in

Communication 15
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

their working life within your organization.

• A campaign to promote individual courses or

training programs. The main purpose is to promote
existing and upcoming courses to learners. It also
reminds managers so that they can provide support
to learners when they’re completing training and
schedule additional resources if necessary. This
campaign should detail the learning objectives for
the course when it will be available, when it's due for
completion, and specific details on the course
content. The benefits for the learner and the skills
they will develop should also be clearly
communicated.

These campaigns provide structure for the promotion of

training programs. This structure helps your learners to
prioritize completion of training.

Encouragement
With strong communication and promotion in place,
let's move on to building and maintaining momentum.
This is where you can incorporate positive reinforcement.

Communication 16
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Building a training centric culture in your organization

requires a lot of encouragement. This encouragement
promotes inclusion and also motivates learners to
engage. Highlighting positive performance is key. This
can be achieved by showcasing learners whose
behavior is positively affecting the overall performance
of your training programs.

Your annual health and safety course may be in the

‘mandatory training’ category, but the process can
always improve. Highlight those that have speedily
passed the course, or have scored well. This uses those
learners as a positive example for others to follow.
Mentioning learners not only reinforces and promotes
engagement. It humanizes the process. It also creates a
sense of competition. We’re all wired to compete.

In LearnUpon, we have a channel for communicating

positive feedback from our customers. This rewards
those who are the subject of the praise as it showcases
team members who are living the values we have set
out. Team members clearly see that great work is

Communication 17
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

valued and appreciated. This creates a culture of

encouragement. And this strategy when applied to
training works just as well as it does with customer
feedback. This is a soft approach to communicating the
positive efforts of your learners. For a more robust and
formalized view of training completion, check out the
final section of this eBook: Analysis and Iteration.

Course design
Course design is a vast and complicated subject. If you
want a deep dive into this subject check out our
dedicated eBook: Culture, Content, LMS: Prepare for
eLearning success.

( Communication + Content
+ Delivery + Motivation )
* Constant Improvement =
High eLearning Engagement
Communication 18
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

For now, let's distill the most important course design

decisions relating to engagement. If you’re creating
courses or managing the process, make sure you watch
out for the following:

Avoid cognitive overload

Let the content of the course and the situation of the
learner dictate the design. Some subjects can be
tackled in small chunks. Some need more detail.

Always ask yourself, “will this structure suit the content?”

Course content should be easily consumed. But don’t
go too far. ‘Microlearning’ as it's called isn’t just about
creating tiny, meaningless snippets. You should be laser-
focused on the learning goal of each course or module
so you can strategically build your course content
around this goal.

Course building blocks

Use media types that are appropriate to the subject
matter. Ask yourself, “how can we communicate this
learning goal best?”.

Course Design 19
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Images
If you’re using images in your courses, use high-quality
and relevant ones so they don’t distract your learners.
Learners try sub-consciously to make a link between the
image and the subject matter. If they can’t find that
connection, a jarring effect is caused. That’s why it’s
important not to use images just to fill up space. If you
need to use stock images, try sites like Unsplash or
Pexels for inspiration. If you don’t have access to
Photoshop, sites like Croppola are a great way to crop
your images to the exact measurements and aspect
ratios you need.

Text
Considering cognitive overload again, ask yourself, “how
much is too much text? What devices are being used to
complete training? Will the learner be able to read and
digest large chunks of text?” Each section of your course
needs room to breathe. So make sure you think about
the balance of text and media. If necessary, you can
provide links to further resources for those learners who
require more context.

Course Design 20
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Video
It's easier than ever to generate videos. It’s a rich media
source. It provides high levels of information, context,
and emphasis in a consumable format. Before you
decide that you don’t have the required experience or
resources to create video course content, do some
research. There are accessible tools such as Camtasia,
or SoapBox that make video recording quick and
simple.

Course Design 21
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Adding video to courses is a sure-fire way to get a

better rate of engagement. Remember, there’s no
category in the Oscars for high-quality eLearning video
production. Get started by keeping your videos short, to
the point, and leave the high-quality production values
to the professionals. If the video is too long, you run the
risk of encouraging the learner to be passive.

Most modern LMSs allow you to drag and drop video

files into courses so there’s no added complexity to the
overall course building process.

Webinars
Sometimes a course topic is best explained in a live
setting. Webinars allow you to do this easily, across
geographically dispersed teams. A webinar has the
benefits of a recreating classroom session, while also
being cost effective and practical. It’s one of the most
engaging ways to deliver training. Webinars also are a
great way to reduce learner isolation, which is covered
in more detail later.

Course Design 22
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Choose a webinar tool that you’re comfortable with.

Options include GoToWebinar, Cisco WebEx, Adobe
Connect, Zoom and AnyMeeting. Google Hangouts is
also an option, although you’ll be limited to ten
participants.

As an added bonus you can record the sessions and

reuse this video content in future courses.

Exams
Assessment is one of the most crucial aspects of
delivering eLearning. Not only that, it’s a powerful tool
for engagement. Creating well thought out exams,
quizzes and assignments does two things.

1. Test that the learner has taken in and comprehends

the information of the course.

2. Actively engages the learner.

Make the exams interesting and fun where possible.

Even if the exam is mandatory, the experience will stay
with your learner and may hinder future, optional exams
from being done.

Course Design 23
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Now that we’ve dissected the learner experience, what’s

next? Motivating learners to progress through, complete,
and return to training. To implement this, we have to
understand what actually motivates your learners.

User Experience
Once you create a spark of engagement, you need to
maintain it. Over time the experience that a learner has
will have an influence on their level of engagement.
eLearning is like any other digital medium, it has to be
easily consumed.

( Communication + Content
+ Delivery + Motivation )
* Constant Improvement =
High eLearning Engagement
Course Design 24
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

That's why we need to focus on the user's experience.

User Experience (UX) is a discipline most associated with
software products. It’s how people feel when using a
product, like an LMS.

It should be frustration free and positive. Simplicity is key.

So why is this so important for eLearning?

The learner's first experience with the LMS and the

courses dictates their future behavior. Frustration or
difficulty reduces their likelihood of returning to training
autonomously. That's why you need to focus on great
delivery of course content.

Learner autonomy
We live in a digital world that built for instant
gratification. Your learners interact with software and
social media products designed specifically around this
construct.

eLearning is no different. It should suit the lifestyles of

your learners. A sense of empowerment comes from a

User Experience 25
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

learner being in control of when and where they

complete their training. This boosts engagement and
encourages regular use of the LMS. You can encourage
this by allowing learners to enroll in more courses, return
to completed ones and always have a hub of resources
to refer to and use. Give them the ability to be heard by
inviting feedback and suggestions so they become
actively involved in improving training.

Training should come from the most informed and

reliable source. If a learner is a subject matter expert,
bring them into the fold. The opportunity to be a guest
trainer increases engagement, boosts morale and their
connection with your business as a whole. It adds
variation too, keeping things interesting.

A seamless experience
Poor course content reduces engagement, and poor
user experience can destroy it. Whatever LMS you
choose, make sure it’s easy for your learner to use.
Especially when it comes to navigation. The user
interface should create an illusion of familiarity. This is

User Experience 26
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

often described as an ‘intuitive design’ which really

means the navigation of the software shouldn’t have to
be explained to the end user in order to be usable. This
is based on a design philosophy called the principle of
least astonishment. This principle lends itself well to
eLearning. The learner should never be surprised by
anything other than the content. The navigation,
structure or media used should all behave as expected.
When the course content is the focus, you don’t want
anything else to get in its way. To achieve this, you need
to:

• Use a modern LMS

• Create simple courses structures

• Create clear instructions and learning objectives

Make it easy for your new user also. Send information to

all learners before they first log in. Include screenshots
that walk them through the initial steps of logging in
and accessing their training courses. This reduces any
barriers to entry. And it reduces any unsureness on their
part. Another simple step to creating a seamless

User Experience 27
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

learning experience is to brand the LMS with your

organization’s colors and logos. This makes the system
feel familiar to your learners and reduces the feeling of
the LMS being another system they need to keep track
of. It’s not an LMS, it’s your LMS. Invest in the learner’s
convenience too by using Single Sign-on (SSO). This
enables learners to access to the LMS without having to
remember yet another set of login credentials. A little
touch like this reaps big rewards in adoption and
ongoing use.

The primary goal is to remove any barriers that may

dissuade your learners from successfully completing
their training. If your LMS can launch courses from a
notification email, turn that feature on! The path of least
resistance leads to higher engagement.

Mobile learning
eLearning can happen anywhere so your learners can
learn at any time. They may be on their daily commute,
in a coffee shop or waiting to meet a client. And this
found time is perfect for fitting training into their busy

User Experience 28
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

schedule. Make sure that the LMS is accessible from any

device, at any time.

Most LMSs have a responsive design to make this

possible. Make sure that the design and composition of
your course content complements the devices being
used.

Motivation
Motivation is unfortunately not a toggle switch in your
LMS settings. It’s a little bit cultural, a little strategic, and
involves some tactical use of your LMS’s features.

( Communication + Content
+ Delivery + Motivation )
* Constant Improvement =
High eLearning Engagement
29
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Motivation exploits some fundamental principles of

human psychology. First, let’s look at those principles.
Then we’ll suggest the practical steps you can take to
help motivate your learners to complete their training.

Motivation types
There are two types of motivation at play in eLearning
- intrinsic and extrinsic. They are both important drivers,
each having a vital role to play.

Intrinsic motivation is completing a task to obtain the

primary benefit that will result. Not for any other
consequence or benefit. It’s completing a course to gain
the knowledge held within it.

Extrinsic motivation is a secondary motivation. It’s the

completing of a task for an external reward or
recognition of doing so.

So how does this impact your training efforts? We’ve

already established that you should communicate the
benefits of completing training to your learners. This is

Motivation 30
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

the intrinsic benefit. The motivation here is to complete

the course for the knowledge that the learner will gain.

If we’re honest with ourselves, extrinsic benefits are more

likely to motivate. Without going down a rabbit-hole of
pop psychology, we all love reward and recognition.
Luckily, eLearning has a ready-made tool to introduce
an extrinsic motivation into the mix; Gamification.

Gamification
Gamification is the use of game mechanics in activities
such as eLearning to improve the user’s experience and
motivate them to execute certain behaviors.
Gamification is everywhere and used by everyone.
Sometimes it's so subtle it goes unnoticed. You’re
already using it, and so are your learners.

Every time you get a stamp on a coffee shop loyalty

card you’re engaging with the principles of gamification
and being rewarded for it.
The free coffee is like a carrot on the end of a stick. It
increases your likelihood of regular engagement and

Motivation 31
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

loyalty with this coffee shop. The intrinsic motivation is

that coffee is delicious. The extrinsic motivation is that
we love seeing those stamps build up and getting
rewarded when we’ve filled up the card.

Do you have a fitness tracker on your wrist? That's a

gamification machine right there! Going for a walk is
often motivated by seeing that you haven’t reached
your steps target for the day. Other great examples of
gamification include Zombie Run, Foldit, and Chorewars.

Gamify your training

Gamification is a prominent pillar of eLearning because
trainers needed help with motivating their learners.
Gamification is understandable, fun and matches up
well with extrinsic motivation.

So how does eLearning gamification work? It generally

comprises of the following elements:

• Badges: Awarded based on the completion of a

task or activity, such as completing a course or a
daily login.

Motivation 32
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

• Points: Awarded to mark achievement and progress.

The learner amasses points to reach a target. In this
case, the target is usually called a level.

• Levels: Users climb levels set out for them. This

motivates them to engage and complete more
courses.

• Leaderboards: Progression and engagement are

displayed on leaderboards. Comparison feeds into
competition with others.

Starting to use Gamification takes a more preparation

than just turning on the feature in your LMS. And it
shouldn’t be seen as a cover-up for poor course
content. For it to be effective you need to treat it as a
tool that enhances the learning experience alongside
your great course content and great training delivery.

With some thought, gamification is a powerful tool for

increasing eLearning engagement. If it’s new to you,
start off with a simple gamification strategy. Any
strategy that works well starts off simple. And then
becomes more complex as you familiarize yourself with

Motivation 33
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

what gamification tactics encourage your learners to

engage.

How to get started with gamification

1. Begin with a simple set of badges for marquee

courses. Use the stock ones provided in your LMS
before dedicating time to creating custom ones.
Get your game plan together. Ask yourself, "what
will motivate my learners?"

2. Points have to mean something. What happens

when a learner gets to 100 points or 1,000 points.
Will there be a reward? Will the learner be
acknowledged for their efforts?

3. Create levels for your learners to rise through. Use a

naming scheme for these levels that suits the
culture of your organization. For example:

Grand Master of the Jedi

Jedi Master

Jedi Knight

Jedi Initiate

Motivation 34
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

4. Communicate the gamification rules to your

learners. Make it as clear as possible so they know
what to expect.

It’s worth noting that gamification takes time. Think of

our coffee loyalty card example. The extrinsic motivation
only kicks in once you have a couple of stamps on your
card. Let it run for a while before assessing its
performance and how it’s impacting engagement.

In an earlier section, we talked about the importance of

communication. Follow this principle when introducing
gamification elements. Get it on the agenda in stand-
ups, huddles, or meetings. This breaks the ice, adds a
level of fun to training and gives you a secondary spike
in engagement. A great tactic is to use prizes for those
who are engaging with gamification.
Gamification activities also generate data that can be
analyzed to assess learner engagement. We’ll focus on
this later in the Analysis and Iteration section.

Motivation 35
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Socialization
eLearning has revolutionized the way in which we learn.
It makes training programs more efficient and cost-
effective. Having said that, one weakness you should be
aware of is learner isolation. Let’s explain it and lay out
the ways in which we can reduce it.

Learner isolation
Learner isolation is a feeling of loneliness or distance the
learner may experience whilst completing their training.
It can negatively impact engagement unless you put
some steps in place. This isolation relates to the lack of
interaction between two different types of 'contacts':

• Isolation from supporting users such as instructors

or trainers. This involves a feeling that they’re not
supported.

• Isolation from other learners. In this case, the learner

may feel like they’re operating in a vacuum. You can
take easy steps to avoid this which have the added
benefit of reinforcing learner practices.

Motivation 36
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

To address these issues let's repackage some of the

points we covered earlier.

• Clear communication of training programs and

course content in more populated channels can
help reduce this feeling of isolation. Piggyback on
the pre-existing social channels that are frequently
used by your learners.

• Train groups of learners together. These can be

either classroom or webinar sessions. Adding these
elements to eLearning introduces a blended
learning model.

• Employ gamification features that focus the group.

Leaderboards help to place the solo efforts of
individual learners into the context of a group
framework.

These steps help to integrate learners into a ‘group’ and

reduce the feeling of isolation.

Social learning
Social learning is a peer-to-peer interaction that

Socialization 37
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

heightens the understanding of training topics. By

creating forums where learners share information, you
introduce another layer to eLearning. learners can learn
from each other and instructors can communicate
easily with an entire audience. New topics can be
suggested and introduced into training to improve their
performance.

Because of this, LMS providers have added fully

threaded and moderated forums to their product.
Discussion forums are very effective in increasing
engagement in eLearning. To explain why we’ll return to
some of the elements from previous sections.

• Communication: Having a dedicated

communication channel allows the value of training
to be explained and promoted.

• Cognitive overload: Information removed to prevent

against cognitive overload can be provided to the
learner in the forum setting. Those looking for more
detail and context can seek it out here.

• Motivation: A forum is an environment to motivate

Socialization 38
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

learners through more traditional tactics. For

example, by highlighting performance, etc.). It also
provides learners an environment to share their own
understanding or topics, further motivating them.

• Prevents against isolation: Isolation is reduced by

adding this layer of communication and by
facilitating collaboration.

An eLearning forum creates a space for dialogue

between learners, trainers, and instructors on training
topics. learners get their questions answered in a public
forum so they and others benefit from the answers. As
learners raise questions and share their learning
experiences they become more immersed in your
learning ecosystem. Their feedback can also create
action points for you to improve your training processes
and content.

Socialization 39
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Analysis and Iteration

The final stage in this process feeds into the last stage
of our engagement formula. To constantly better your
course content, delivery, and learner motivation, it’s vital
to look back at training performance and identify areas
to improve. Collect data on the training programs that
you have delivered and keep a record of the motivation
tactics you employed.

( Communication + Content
+ Delivery + Motivation )
* Constant Improvement =
High eLearning Engagement

40
The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Every course, every exam and every badge tells a story.

Dissect this information to identify areas that worked
well, and those that can be improved.

This section covers:

• How you can collect this information

• A methodology for constant improvement

• How to share and action your results

Gathering feedback
Listening to your learners is the most important way to
gauge levels of engagement. The best possible
scenario is for you to have regular face to face access
and communication with your learners where they
speak candidly about the LMS, the courses, and their
learning experiences We know that’s not always
possible. Luckily, there are other ways for you to capture
good, actionable data.

Informal feedback collection:

Ask for feedback through the communication channels

Analysis and Iteration 41

The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

already in place, such as email or Slack. learners can

use these to point out areas that positively and
negatively impacted their experience. This is a great
way to have real-time identification of successes and
issues with training. Often this leads to quick fixes rather
than long-term strategic improvements.

Formal feedback collection:

Using surveys is a great way to capture quantitative
and qualitative data from your learners for you to
analyze. This information will form the post-mortem of
the training program. Surveys can be created and
delivered using your LMS. You can even include them at
the end of a course.

Some tips to help you succeed:

• Encourage learners to provide feedback

• Gather feedback from your colleagues as well as

managers and trainers

• Implement the constructive feedback given. Don’t

take it personally! See it as an opportunity to refine

Analysis and Iteration 42

The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

your training efforts.

• Iterate constantly

Measuring engagement
You have to be able to measure the impact of your
training efforts. That way you can demonstrate how it’s
performing and identify areas for improvement.

Engagement is largely subjective. But there are some

metrics that you can use to generate hard data on how
engaging your training programs are. Depending on the
system you’re using you should have some data to work
with. If you are not using an LMS, this may be a bit more
difficult. Here are some metrics that help you assess
performance and engagement:

Note* the wording here is the wording we use at

LearnUpon. If you use an LMS other than LearnUpon, the
reports may be named something different.

Active user count

Active users are those who are logging into the LMS

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The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

every month. If users are not logging in, they are not
engaging. If this number is low, you need to act to
increase it. There are many factors for poor
engagement with the LMS, but the main cause is often
simply, out of sight, out of mind. We opened with
Communication for good reason. Reminding your
audience of the LMS, especially in the early days, is very
important in getting users logged in and engaging with
content.

Course status
A course status report shows where learners are in their
progress. It breaks down the status of all those enrolled
in specific courses. It shows whether they have
launched, are in progress, or finished. The beauty of this
type of report is that it will show you bottlenecks in a
course allowing you to dig deeper into the problem.
Sometimes the problem is as simple as the objectives
not being clear in a certain section.

Course completion rate

Time to complete a course is not always a reliable

Analysis and Iteration 44

The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

indicator of how engaging your course content is. Over

time, and with higher numbers of courses, it does begin
to have significance. Benchmark how long a course
should take by timing yourself completing it and then
compare that to the figure in your reports. The closer
the two numbers are the better.

Gamification stats
Gamification gives you a lot of granular data to work
with. You can get information on all the badges earned,
points awarded and social sharing from your LMS
reports. These can be transformed into graphs to map
engagement over time. A lot of our customers provide
their learners with gamification data for monthly
updates. This also highlights times when engagement is
low.

Forums
You can gauge learner engagement by looking at
activity within the forum. Focus on metrics such as:

• Contributions made

Analysis and Iteration 45

The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

• Questions asked

• Questions answered

• Individuals active

Producing clear graphs showing how engagement is

changing over time. More users, more comments, and
more questions asked and answered all demonstrate
higher engagement.

Continued analysis
When you’ve incorporated the suggestions we’ve
covered, it's time for analysis. If you find your eLearning
programs difficult to design or manage we suggest
using a structured methodology.

The ADDIE model is perfect. ADDIE is an acronym for the

five stages of a process: Analysis, Design, Development,
Implementation, and Evaluation.

This model relies on each stage being completed in the

given order but with a focus on reflection and iteration
at each stage. It gives you a streamlined, focused

Analysis and Iteration 46

The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

approach that provides feedback for continuous

improvement.

The core of your training plan should be “How can we

improve the situation and achieve business goals
through training?”. You can use this question as the
foundation for the rest of the process.

This analysis feeds into your next training plan. It allows

you to continuously enhance your efforts, with the
intention of boosting learner engagement. You should
come out with an evaluation report and actionable
changes for your current or future courses.

Share results
Once your training program and your analysis are
complete, it’s time to communicate once again. This
time the goal is to reinforce the efforts that have
already been made, what you’ve achieved and use this
to set future targets.

Share the results of your analysis with two separate

Analysis and Iteration 47

The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

groups; Those involved in the management and rolling

out of training, and the learners themselves.

Sharing this data with your colleagues reinforces your

organization’s commitment to nurturing a culture of
learning for your learners. If the numbers are not where
you need them to be, it’s a great way to outline the
importance of an extra push the next time a training
program is being run. Always focus on what you’ve
achieved so far, no matter how small.

By sharing this information with your learners, you are

inviting them behind the curtain. Many will be
empathetic with the difficulty faced by trainers and
training managers. This promotes a more mindful
approach and hopefully, more timely completion of their
training. Sharing your successes are a great way to
encourage their involvement too.

Analysis and Iteration 48

The Rules of eLearning Engagement: a formula for success

Conclusion
There is no magic wand solution to increase your learner
engagement with eLearning. It requires a thoughtful
approach from the very start. Strategically plan and
promote your training programs, remove the barriers to
entry, motivate your learners, and strive to constantly
improve. All of these efforts together should result in
engaged learners who are ready and wilvvling to learn.

( Communication + Content
+ Delivery + Motivation )
* Constant Improvement =

 High eLearning Engagement

Conclusion 49
Learning
as it should be
1
 

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About LearnUpon
LearnUpon LMS helps businesses train their employees, partners,
and customers. By combining industry-leading capabilities,
unmatched ease of use, and unrivaled customer support,
organizations can manage, track, and achieve their diverse
learning goals—all through a single, powerful solution. It’s
learning as it should be.

Learn more