When you hear “online learning” what comes to mind? What do you think of? Most commonly people imagine a computer screen, a couple of videos and powerpoint slides. As innovative as it tries to be, online learning is largely contained within such parameters – but does it really have to be so dull? Here are some best practices in designing online learning to mimic the human experience.

Have ABSORB activities. Absorb activities inform and inspire. They enable learners to obtain crucial, up‐to‐date information they need to further their learning. In absorb activities learners read, listen, and watch. These activities may sound passive, but they can be an active component of learning.

Employ DO activities. While absorb activities provide information, do activities transform that information into knowledge and skills. In do activities, learners discover, parse, decode, analyze, verify, combine, organize, discuss, debate, evaluate, condense, refine, elaborate, and apply knowledge. 

Include GAMES and SIMULATIONS. People learn by playing. Games for learning can be fun, but they should always be purposeful. They must teach first and entertain second. Learning games can draw on the established conventions of quiz shows, board games, and video games to arouse curiosity and harness competitive urges.

Check with TESTS and ASSESSMENTS. Feared by learners, discounted by educational pundits and short-changed by instructional designers, tests are an essential element of learning. We may call them quizzes, drills, examinations, assessments, or demonstrations of mastery. We may cloak them as games or puzzles. Yet, they remain an essential ingredient for gauging a learner’s progress. 

Incorporate CONNECT activities. Connect activities help learners close the gap between learning and the rest of their lives. They prepare learners to apply learning in situations they encounter at work, in later learning efforts, and in their personal lives. If absorb activities are the nouns and do activities the verbs, then connect activities are the conjunctions of learning. 

We all wouldn’t want a robot for a teacher, so our online courses should be designed in such a way that it empowers the trainer and encourages interaction with learners.  To move beyond this stigma around online learning, we need to humanize the process of learning and development through experience and action.