I'm returning to eLearning design after a fairly long break. I have noticed some existing courses at work with the script saying things like, "In the last section we talked about blah blah blah." For online learning, is this important to use a digital language v a classroom language? It doesn't sound right, but would appreciate any thoughts on it.
If you have any articles or resources about writing instructions, recaps in the digital learning space, this would be helpful. I haven't as yet found a resource that gives any detail around this.
I'm not sure if I understand your question. Are you asking if using "we" to refer to the course narrator and the learner is OK, or are you asking if it's proper to refer to earlier parts of the course as "sections"?
Research shows that using conversational language DOES improve students' ability to learn compared to more formal language. For example, using active voice and second-person point of view is a best practice that aligns with this research. While "we talked about" is technically NOT second-person (it's first-person plural), it's still conversational and is probably fine. I generally try to stick to 2nd-person, so I'd probably write this as "In the previous section you learned blah blah blah." I usually use "we" to refer to the organization as a whole (e.g., "In the last section, you learned that since we began using Process XYZ, we've lowered our labor costs by 25%.")
I also think it's fine to refer to parts of a course as "sections" though it would also be worth standardizing on your terminology. Are they "sections", "modules," "chapters," or "lessons," etc.? Pick one and then use it consistently to minimize confusion.
Hi Daria, and welcome back to the world of e-learning and to the community! It looks like Ray shared some helpful ideas. Since you asked for resources on writing, I just wanted to chime in and share these articles in case it helps:
2 Replies
I'm not sure if I understand your question. Are you asking if using "we" to refer to the course narrator and the learner is OK, or are you asking if it's proper to refer to earlier parts of the course as "sections"?
Research shows that using conversational language DOES improve students' ability to learn compared to more formal language. For example, using active voice and second-person point of view is a best practice that aligns with this research. While "we talked about" is technically NOT second-person (it's first-person plural), it's still conversational and is probably fine. I generally try to stick to 2nd-person, so I'd probably write this as "In the previous section you learned blah blah blah." I usually use "we" to refer to the organization as a whole (e.g., "In the last section, you learned that since we began using Process XYZ, we've lowered our labor costs by 25%.")
I also think it's fine to refer to parts of a course as "sections" though it would also be worth standardizing on your terminology. Are they "sections", "modules," "chapters," or "lessons," etc.? Pick one and then use it consistently to minimize confusion.
Hi Daria, and welcome back to the world of e-learning and to the community! It looks like Ray shared some helpful ideas. Since you asked for resources on writing, I just wanted to chime in and share these articles in case it helps: