3 tips for using storytelling in e-Learning

There surely is a reason if humanity has always told stories! In the domain of e-Learning there are essentially two reasons: stories create an emotional bond and it has been proven that stories facilitate better memorization of what has been learned. Integrating a good story into the educational content brings hold of the public and increases participation. To do this, there is no need for great resources. It takes audio, sliding pages, a little “suspense” and participation to stimulate discussion and reflection.

1. Use sound to create a sense of space

Live music in Paris, a train that passes, the noise of a person who snores in a hostel room used for only 10 seconds are not annoying elements. Audio, on the opposite, gives the sense of space and adds a touch of reality creating the perfect atmosphere to tell the story of a journey.

2. Interact with moderation

A story does not necessarily have to involve public participation, but using forms of interaction helps keep the attention alive. You can ask the user how he would react to a certain situation, without making judgments and without his response changing the ending of the story, like in branching. At the end of the story, you can re-propose to the user the answers he/she has given, to stimulate his/her reflection. So it's not about teaching, but about self-learning.

3. Use long contents and scroll pages

There is a tendency to think that short contents divided into modules that users can use in the free moments of their busy life are the best solution. This, however, does not mean that you can not use longer content in online training.

Just remember to think about design. Scrolling pages, intuitive and familiar as the web pages to which users are accustomed. In the example of the story of the trip to Paris, some elements typical of the Parisian landscape, images and colors help to mark the salient features of history.

You can intersperse images and columns like in an editorial or a magazine that, in general, use longer contents.

In short, inserting storytelling in e-Learning does not require many resources or technical skills. You just need to mention some elements to better involve users.

Through storytelling, users can return, especially if you create a bit of suspense by promising to give the solution in the next content.

Read the complete article...