How to keep students motivated during e-learning!

When students sign up for your online program, online course, e-learning, or e-course, they are enthusiastic. Your online course seems to be the answer to the problem they are struggling with at that moment, or it teaches them the skill they would like to learn right then.

The student starts your online course full of good intentions. Maybe does one or two modules. But then everyday life comes around the corner again. Busy days at work, the kids’ swimming lesson, a birthday party to go to, and then the household and a social life on top of that. The course ends up at the bottom of the list for a while. A real shame, of course, because the student didn’t choose this course for nothing!

How can you make sure your course stays relevant to your customer or employee, and that they stay motivated? How do you hold their attention and make sure your students stay just as enthusiastic as they were at the beginning? 

In this blog post, we give you a few tips on how to keep your students motivated in your e-learning.

1. Create “accountability”

If you are the only one who benefits from the course, and the only one with something to lose if you don’t follow it, you only have that responsibility toward yourself. But what if others are counting on you too? Or if you miss out on nice prizes and extras when you make no progress?

Then it suddenly becomes a very different story! We humans are social creatures who don’t like to disappoint others.

You can ask your students, for example, to hand in certain pieces of work (e.g., write a sales page, create a social media post, record a meditation) and then give each other feedback. It’s much nicer when everyone joins in and does their bit!

2. Competition and play

Besides being social creatures, we also like a bit of healthy competition. 

Admit it: how much fun is it, secretly, to win (digital) medals or to be at the top of a top 3? You can make smart use of this principle in your e-learning through gamification. Gamification is the use of game elements to make learning activities more challenging and more fun.

Traditional game elements such as scoring points, competing with others, and following game rules are applied to increase engagement with learning.

3. Make progress visible

Ultimately, students naturally want to feel that the time and energy they put into the training has an effect and makes a difference. So clearly give them the feeling that they are moving forward.

You can make this visible, for example, by using the “progress bar” available in many online learning platforms, on which students can see exactly what percentage of the training they have completed. Or by sending your student an (automated) encouraging email after each module, in which you congratulate them on completing the module and, for example, ask whether they have any questions or ran into anything.

You can also use things like earning “medals,” points, or partial certificates here. Also keep your students’ end goal clearly in mind and keep mentioning and emphasizing it when you encourage them: after all, they are getting one step closer to their ultimate end goal every time!

4. Make it easy

Nothing is as frustrating as a complicated online learning platform that doesn’t work or doesn’t feel logical or user-friendly. Make sure you choose a learning platform (such as Pluvo) that fits your customers’ needs, and that when they get stuck or have questions, they can always turn to you or to the platform’s support team. 

5. Mix it up and surprise

Surprise your students. Make them curious about the next step or the next lesson. Think “outside the box” and make use of the possibilities our digital age has to offer. Even during an online course, you can invite your students to (online)  “outings” (team outings or class outings, for example) — think of a digital escape room, a trivia game, or a drawing-and-guessing game. 

We hope this blog post has given you a few ideas to make your online course unforgettable for your customers. Curious what Pluvo can do for you? Contact us via the chat at the bottom right!