You Love A Great Story And So Do Your Learners!
Digital storytelling is a powerful tool for eLearning. It’s a way to engage learners and make them feel like they are part of the story. The technique of digital storytelling involves using technology and multimedia elements to create an interactive experience for the learner.
The concept is based on telling a story through various media to engage learners in ways other than just reading text on a page or watching a video. Digital storytelling can be used in many different ways for corporate eLearning. It can be used as the primary way to deliver content, or it can be used as an added element that enhances the learning experience. In addition to being used in eLearning courses, it can also be used in employee onboarding programs or even during offsite meetings with clients and partners.
How Do Stories Create Emotional Engagement?
Stories engage us at a deeper level than other forms of communication because we’re hardwired to respond emotionally to them. When we hear a story, our brains are drawn in by its emotional overtones, which allow us to better remember what is being communicated. A good story will draw learners into your content—and keep them engaged throughout your presentation.
Put together some visual aids (photos or animation), and you have an even more engaging way to tell a story, rather than just saying it outright. A narrative can be especially useful when teaching new ideas that aren’t widely accepted or easily grasped by learners. Visual storytelling also allows you to use images as memory cues instead of using long chunks of text that learners might skim through—or worse, ignore altogether.
Developing Empathy For The Learner
The best stories are never told; they’re lived. The same is true of effective digital storytelling. If you want your learners to connect with your content, you need to first develop empathy for them, including their backgrounds, current environment, and goals.
You have to keep in mind that learning isn’t an isolated event. It’s a gradual process that requires dedication, effort, time, and continuous feedback. To give your learners what they need, make sure to clearly outline expectations at each step of the process.
Understanding The Learner’s Perspective
Digital storytelling requires you to understand what makes your audience tick [1]. You need to know their needs, wants, and desires. The more you know about them, the more likely it is that your digital story will be compelling. The first step toward creating an effective digital story is to decide on the purpose of your digital story.
- Why are you creating it?
- What do you want to achieve by using this method?
- What’s the goal?
Once you have these answers clear in your mind, everything else will fall into place quite easily. The next thing you need to do is decide on who your audience is going to be and how many people are going to see this digital story. This will help shape your narrative as well as give it direction and focus.
Enable Self-Discovery And Practice Opportunities
Digital storytelling allows learners to practice skills in new ways, which helps them understand concepts better than if they just listened to an explanation or read text instructions. This type of learning also encourages self-discovery, meaning that learners can explore topics without being told what they need to know. They discover it through their own exploration and experimentation within the digital experience.
Digital Storytelling Makes Content More Relatable
Stories help your learners connect better with content because they act as an emotional trigger, making abstract ideas more tangible. By integrating graphics and videos into your course design, you can move beyond the boring text that most of us could care less about. Better yet, digital stories incorporate sight with sound and motion, which turns passive learners into active ones who are more likely to retain information from their training. If you want better engagement from your learners in any type of eLearning environment, adding visual storytelling is key!
Stories Inspire People To Take Action
Stories have a universal appeal because they tap into our values, beliefs, and deepest desires; plus, they make learning more engaging and fun. Using stories in your digital course is a great way to encourage learners, especially when it comes to closing gaps between learning objectives. Think about how you can use stories, for example, in the context of sales or customer service training. The learner doesn’t have to change their behavior immediately, but seeing what could happen if they did is a powerful motivator.
We All Love A Good Story
We’re excited about the future of digital storytelling in eLearning. Who doesn’t love a good story? It’s a universal language and a great way to engage learners and help them retain information. But digital stories don’t need to be sold as an innovative teaching tool; they can be used simply to enhance content or provide added value in online courses. All they really need is a little imagination, creativity, and experimentation. And as long as you have those things in spades, we think you’ll find plenty of ways to incorporate this technology into your design process.
References:
[1] The Learner’s Perspective On eLearning: How Do Learners Evaluate Technology-Aided Learning?