A Linear E-learning Course is the most basic of all kinds of e-learning courses. If you are a budding Instructional Designer, then you must choose to design a Linear E-learning Course first. It is comparatively easy to create a Linear E-learning Course than any other kind of e-learning course because the navigation and flow of this kind of a course are fixed.
In a Linear E-learning Course you go through the course progressively starting with the basics of the subject and then moving on to advance levels.
A typical Linear E-learning Course has:
· Course Contents : The first slide of the course where you list the course contents.
· Course Overview : A quick gist of the course and what learners will learn in the course
· Introduction Sections : Introduction to the subject
· Pre-tests: Quick tests to check how much the learners know about the subject
· Post-tests: Tests to check how much the learners have learnt
· Text and Images: Usually static or animated text appears on the left side with relevant images on the right side of the screen
· Text Animations : Blocks of text or text with bullet points appear one after the other
· Basic Interactivity: Drag and drop ,roll over text and mouse clicks
· Assessments: Multiple Choice Questions
· Locked Navigation: Back and Next buttons to navigate. Only when the learner completes module 1, he/she can access the subsequent module.
Here is an example of a Linear E-learning Course:
I have never liked linear e-learning courses because they get too boring. I always feel linear e-learning courses are digitized versions of text books.
But then over a period of time I also realized that linear e-learning course need not be boring.
Here are some articles by Tom Kulhmann where he illustrates how linear e-learning courses can be made interesting:
You have something to share about Linear E-learning Courses, please share your views, links to demos or articles in the comments sections.
There you are!! I always love reading when you post these kind of useful infomation, Rupa. Hoping for more such useful posts from you…
These kind of posts are exclusively for fresh IDs
Really interesting post. A course should linear or non-linear based on the learner’s needs. Non-linear content is the ideal choice when you have a diverse set of audience. For example: your audience comprises of novices and experts, the novices can take a course in a linear fashion while the experts can choose their own learning path.
Also, the course can be non-linear if its contents are independent of each other, i.e, you need not go through 1 to understand 2. Sometimes, it is necessary for a course to be linear. This is especially true when you are teaching the basics and then moving to application. In this case, the learner has to acquire and build skills as he/she goes along.
Hi Archana,
Thank you for the inputs