Pictures
Images are a fantastic way to illustrate what you’re trying to teach. Appropriate choice of pictures will largely determine their effectiveness. Here are some criteria you can use to see if your lesson’s photos are hitting the mark.
Tip #1: Don’t use dated photos to illustrate contemporary points
The point of using pictures is to give students a relatable visual for the concept you’re explaining. But if you’re giving a lesson on fire safety, and you use a picture of a woman with legwarmers and big hair holding a fire extinguisher, most participants will probably be paying more attention to the out-of-date fashion than the concept. Dated photos are distracting and difficult to relate to. Worst of all, they might cause your audience to take your lesson less seriously.
Tip #2: Be careful with illustrations
Avatars, computer-generated graphics, and cartoonish images can have a successful impact on learning if used appropriately. However, it’s important to follow two rules when incorporating illustrations into your course. First, be sure they’re high quality. This means avoiding outdated clip art, poorly done drawings and anything else that doesn’t look 100% polished. Second, only use illustrations when appropriate. For example, if you’re trying to make a very serious point, it’s probably not appropriate to use a smiling cartoon character to do it.
Tip #3: Make sure your photos are relevant to your lesson
Pictures can be a great addition to your online course, but they need to have a purpose. Including a picture that has little or nothing to do with your course won’t benefit your lesson; in fact, it will probably distract from your point.
Tip #4: Make sure the people in the pictures look like your audience and relate to your course objectives
If you’re doing a lesson for nurses, make sure the people in the photos are wearing scrubs and not business suits. Similarly, if the lesson is on diversity and inclusion, make sure your photographs depict diverse groups of people. Your audience needs to be able to relate to the photos you use and that won’t happen if the subjects of the photos look nothing like they do.
Tip #5: Make sure your photos are factually accurate and practice what you preach
For example: if your lesson is about wearing latex gloves properly, make sure that all of your photos show people wearing latex gloves properly. It may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to make mistakes. If the photos you use contradict the content you are teaching in the lesson, they can become distracting and cause confusion.
You may be wondering …
Where can I find photos to use in my online courses?
You’ve got two viable options. First of all, you can take your own photographs. This is an especially good option if you are making a personalized training. You can take the photos yourself, or work with a local photographer. You may even have the opportunity to photograph employees who will actually take the training later, which greatly personalizes the experience.
If you don’t have access to a good camera or the time to devote to a photo shoot, you can purchase pictures from a stock photo site. Stock photo sites contain thousands of pictures that are all available for use for a small fee. If you think you’ll be purchasing large quantities of photos, consider looking into getting a site membership.
Couldn’t I just get pictures through a Google Image search?
No. You need to have the user rights to any pictures you use. This means that you either took them yourself or have permission from the photographer to use them. If you take pictures from other Websites, you’re infringing copyright laws, even if you cite a source for the photograph.
Graphs and diagrams
Graphs and diagrams are a nice way to share information and break up textual monotony. Use these ideas to determine the best ways to integrate them into your courses.
Tip #1: Graphs → Text
As our world has become more and more media-friendly, our preferences on how we receive information have become more and more visually oriented. A 2009 BBC News article called “Information goes Out to Play” by David McCandless (see References) details how data is being published in increasingly creative graphs, diagrams, and other visual formats due to increased audience preference for visual information. It seems that participants are much more likely to be intrigued by a graph or diagram than by a giant block of text. Thus, if you have a choice and if it makes sense, present your information visually.
Tip #2: Give context
Don’t just drop in a graph or diagram and expect your audience to figure out how it relates to the lesson. Without context, participants may be unable to properly decipher the graph or diagram. Write a brief explanation for every diagram or graph you include, and always use a descriptive title.
Tip #3: Keep it simple
The entire point of using a graph or diagram is to simplify information. If your visual makes things more complicated, something needs to change. Participants should be able to figure out the meaning of the graph or diagram in a few seconds. If it’s more complicated than that, consider how you may be able to present it another way. Pie charts, tables, and bar graphs are usually your best bet for clarity, as long as your learners are familiar with reading them.
Tip #4: Make sure the size is right
Just as with text and photos, your graph or diagram should be big enough that everything is easily readable, but not so big that it takes up the entire screen. There should still be room for a title, an explanation, and some white space to keep things balanced.
You may be wondering …
I don’t have any numerical information in my lesson, so it wouldn’t make sense to use graphs or diagrams, right?
Not necessarily. We tend to think of graphs and diagrams as a way to represent statistics, percentages, or other numerical facts, but that’s not their only use. For example, you may have a paragraph of information that could be broken up into a table. Or, you could explain a process or relationship using a diagram.
The bottom line
You may think that great content is enough to make your e-Learning shine, but the content is only one piece of the puzzle if you want to create a course that is truly memorable. The effective use of visuals is essential in taking your online training courses to the next level. By taking care in selecting your colors and text, as well as making an effort to integrate polished pictures, graphs, and diagrams, you’ll make your training more accessible and compelling while simultaneously increasing the credibility of your content.
References
Daggett, Willard, Cobble, Jeffrey, and Gertel, Steven. (March, 2008) “Color in an Optimum Learning Environment.” International Center for Leadership in Education. Found April 12, 2010 at http://www.leadered.com/pdf/Color%20white%20paper.pdf .
McCandless, David. (November 27, 2009) “Information Goes Out to Play.” BBC News Magazine. Found April 12, 2010 at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8381597.stm
