I am working on education for some virtual associates, and it is my first real e-learning project. I have searched but haven't really found a definitive, industry backed answer: When is it best to auto advance, and when it is best to make users click next?
Purely an opinion that I have no research to back up.
My view is that on a slide-by-slide basis, it's better to have the user do something (like click NEXT) to advance because:
Otherwise they may let it run like a movie and lose focus on the training
It lets the user control when they want to advance, spending more time if they want to.
On any individual slide however, animating and having elements initiate either automatically or by user click is up to your judgment as to how best to present the content of that slide.
In this particular instance, the slides have very little content on them and are more visual based. The content is being narrated aside from activities. Does that change the opinion?
I think it depends on the context and the audience. There are some industries and content packaging that expect to run the experience more like a video. Start > finish with minimal required hands on.
With high quality audio and clear indicators of "hey, you need to interact now" this can be a good strategy. Really depends on the value of the trade-off and what the audience really needs. In some environments, an experience that runs like an audio file or video file might be better -- when combined with an assessment and / or something like a workbook.
Not sure there is any one answer. Does a speed bump (next button or inline interaction that pauses progression) serve the strategy well? If so, probably good to use it. If not, good to go without:)
Like John says, the next button breaks up bits of topics and provides a user controlled pause. There's value in having that advancement control. In tools like Storyline, there are also drawbacks to running front to back without pauses. SL's navigation setup provides a more limited control. When you play a video on YouTube, you can scrub across the entire movie. In SL, with multiple slides, you need to change slides to go back and then use the seekbar if the feature is on. Not to mention the addition of layers (probably not used in an autorunning program).
The other consideration is accessibility. That's not to say that you can't make an accessible program using auto-advance. Just something else to consider.
I usually use the click next approach for the same reasons John has mentioned above. however on a recent project I have been consulting on it has been made as more of a video which automatically progresses we have included stops at logical points where the learner can either progress if they are comfortable they have understood or repeat the section if they feel they have missed something etc.
It all comes down to how the content is being provided and what is going to work best for the learner.
You've all given me great ideas! Thank you so much for the insight. This is broken up into various "chapters" as a quasi-narrative, so I think I'll be adding the manual advance between the chapters.
I like the idea of the combo between auto and user advancing. I think you have nailed it with your decision. I would do a little preview too to provide some continuity to your learning (e.g., Select Next to learn more about the three ways...).
7 Replies
Purely an opinion that I have no research to back up.
My view is that on a slide-by-slide basis, it's better to have the user do something (like click NEXT) to advance because:
On any individual slide however, animating and having elements initiate either automatically or by user click is up to your judgment as to how best to present the content of that slide.
In this particular instance, the slides have very little content on them and are more visual based. The content is being narrated aside from activities. Does that change the opinion?
Hey Nate -
I think it depends on the context and the audience. There are some industries and content packaging that expect to run the experience more like a video. Start > finish with minimal required hands on.
With high quality audio and clear indicators of "hey, you need to interact now" this can be a good strategy. Really depends on the value of the trade-off and what the audience really needs. In some environments, an experience that runs like an audio file or video file might be better -- when combined with an assessment and / or something like a workbook.
Not sure there is any one answer. Does a speed bump (next button or inline interaction that pauses progression) serve the strategy well? If so, probably good to use it. If not, good to go without:)
Like John says, the next button breaks up bits of topics and provides a user controlled pause. There's value in having that advancement control. In tools like Storyline, there are also drawbacks to running front to back without pauses. SL's navigation setup provides a more limited control. When you play a video on YouTube, you can scrub across the entire movie. In SL, with multiple slides, you need to change slides to go back and then use the seekbar if the feature is on. Not to mention the addition of layers (probably not used in an autorunning program).
The other consideration is accessibility. That's not to say that you can't make an accessible program using auto-advance. Just something else to consider.
I usually use the click next approach for the same reasons John has mentioned above. however on a recent project I have been consulting on it has been made as more of a video which automatically progresses we have included stops at logical points where the learner can either progress if they are comfortable they have understood or repeat the section if they feel they have missed something etc.
It all comes down to how the content is being provided and what is going to work best for the learner.
You've all given me great ideas! Thank you so much for the insight. This is broken up into various "chapters" as a quasi-narrative, so I think I'll be adding the manual advance between the chapters.
Cheers
I like the idea of the combo between auto and user advancing. I think you have nailed it with your decision. I would do a little preview too to provide some continuity to your learning (e.g., Select Next to learn more about the three ways...).
Good idea! Thank you :)
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