How To Get and Keep Online Learners’ Attention

Although we are all different and our experiences when learning differ, we can define a series of methods and / or practices that allow us to capture and retain the attention of the majority of our interlocutors

Understand your audience.

Know that they are distracted. Know what kind of devices they are using so you can design optimally for the device. Realize that attention spans are very small.

Cut back on content.

Stick to “absolutely must know” and include only a little of “would be good to know.” Be ruthless. “But it’s all important!” No, it isn’t. Some things are critical; some aren’t. If you veer off into less important or unimportant, you increase the chance of losing attention.

Alter visual aids.

What works in a classroom doesn’t work on a three-inch screen. A screencast of your PowerPoint presentation is a way to guarantee that your students will tune out. Use more images. Embed very short videos.

The 10:2 Method

For every 10 minutes of instruction, allocate 2 minutes to your students to process and respond to it. Have them ask any questions they may have or make them write what they have learned.

Let people choose the way

Giving the learner the choice of where to start in a selection of topics and units allows them to pick out relevant content instantly and become engaged in the program.

The can be guided along the learning path with recommendations or some compulsory units if necessary, but letting them choose the order in which they learn topics empowers and engages the learner.

Open With Interesting Facts/Fiction, Or Throw A Challenge

Present attention-grabbing facts, fiction, or any other information to engage learners at the onset. You could also throw a challenge that stimulates their thinking. Lying about a known fact is a unique way to challenge their minds. They will want to learn more about the situation when they feel they have been lied to. They will want to prove you wrong and, in the process, engage with the course.

Use Humor

Nothing wins attention like a good joke. Joke about yourself, the weather, the irony of a concept, anything can work if used appropriately. Humor is known to get people comfortable and build a positive learning environment.

Preferably use it at the start or end and avoid using it when emphasizing on a key point.

Another important thing to remember while using humor is to ensure that it is understood correctly. If the humor is understood, it increases attention. If the learner cannot resolve the incongruity, he or she may experience confusion instead of humor, which is not an optimal state of learning.

Incorporate Video

Who doesn’t like watching a video? Forrester Research estimates that one minute of online video equates to approximately 1.8 million written words. In addition, 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. This indicates visual education aids like video can improve learning styles and increase the rate at which we retain information.

Video is the ultimate show-and-tell in this era of YouTube and Netflix. Leverage it whenever and wherever you can in your online learning.

Answer "What’s In It For Me"

“What’s in it for me?” “Why am I learning this?” These are some questions that every student has in the back of their mind. “Because it is in your syllabus,” is not the best answer.

Giving them examples of how they might apply a skill in real life makes it more relevant and engaging.

If possible, show them videos of the skill or learning in use.

Ask for feedback

Any chance the learners have to leave feedback is a great opportunity for interaction. How we respond to the feedback can also have other advantages for streamlining programs and making them more relevant.

Test everything, plan ahead, and assume everything will break

Do your best to assume someone’s connection (maybe yours) is going to go out at some point. Assume the link you share will be broken and that the private message you send will be seen by everyone–and so on. That’s okay. If you have a plan ahead of time, you can mitigate the ‘loss’ of time and learning.