Format

Feb 24, 2023

Hi, 
My company Bosch produces global e-learning modules called learning page in html5 format. 
The content is vertical rather than a traditional horizontal, if you understand what you mean. Look at the links below. 

From a educational and pedagogic point of view, is it really optimal to learn when you have all the information in one side?

Thankful for input what you believe. 

New format: 
https://www.powertool-portal.com/de/de-DE/Knowledge/Content/11126

Old fashioned format: (not very cool but for you to understand the format)
https://www.powertool-portal.com/de/de-DE/Knowledge/Content/7196 

/Niklas

3 Replies
Joanne Chen

Hi Niklas,

From a user/learner perspective, it may be confusing to decide which interactive element to click if there are many on a single slide without any instructions. Users might click on anything they choose and miss important knowledge if they skip to different sections without fully engaging with all the knowledge points.

With regards to the vertical page format, the flow is clearer to users/learners than the previous one and there is less chance of missing knowledge points. However, they can still scroll down to other sections without fully engaging with all the knowledge points. Consequently, I would argue that, regardless of the format, instructions should be added to guide the learning flow.  

Personally, I prefer a single slide format, as a scrolling format makes me feel more like I am reading website information rather than a training module and this can reduce my interest in learning; however, this is simply my personal feeling.

David Mangoro

Hi Niklas, 

I would design and conduct tests with learners to find out what gives the best outcomes. 

I would also look at the literature to see if there's anything helpful but this may be time consuming and I would still test. 

It's easy to say the single page site looks better in terms of user interface but in terms of the learning and pedagogic aspect, I would just test. 

This is my opinion,

Many thanks, 

David 

Bianca Woods

Hi Niklas, and welcome to the community! At first glance, both options seem to have some good strengths and minor weaknesses.

The vertical version seems fantastic for creating a resource that people can quickly scan to see what's included and easily revisit when they need to look up a specific detail. It's also structured like a lot of product information websites, so it's a format people would find familiar for this kind of information. But it's also a design that makes it easy to skip sections of content. That's helpful for a resource you anticipate learners revisiting but more of a challenge if you're hoping they'll learn all the details in one visit. And it's not a format that makes you anticipate a quiz, so I wouldn't be surprised if some learners missed that part. If the quiz is just a personal knowledge check, that's less of an issue. But if you need all learners to complete it, it could easily get missed by accident.

The more traditional slide format has its strengths too. Because it's more linear, it's easier for you to choose how to guide learners through information. That's helpful if your content makes the most sense if you view it in one specific order. And it also helps if you have a legal requirement that all the information is viewed (with the reminder that just because someone viewed content doesn't mean they actually learned it). The slide experience also makes the quiz harder for learners to miss and more likely for them to anticipate seeing. So if the quiz is vital, this helps it stand out. But this format does make it harder to skim the contents or quickly revisit to look up information later. So it doesn't work as well as a regularly-revisited resource compared to the vertical scroll option.

On the plus side, neither of your two options are bad. It's just a matter of using your learning goals and your learners' expectations to guide you toward the best option for this project.