Forum Discussion
Terms that indicate "pay attention, we're getting ready to change"
What are some of your favorite transitional words and phrases to use when writing for eLearning?
I'm exploring effective words to use to provide coherence and to indicate a change in thought, idea, discussion, etc. and I'd like to learn what other professionals use. (I understand the terminology is different depending on the content.)
For instance, when teaching a procedure, I like to use: "Here are the steps to..." and "Now let's look at how to..."
Take-away
"The bottom line is..."
"The key point is..."
Personal Relevance
"Here is what is expected of you.."
"This how it applies to your role..."
Analogy Alert
"Imagine if you will that..."
"You can think of it as..."
These are great suggestions for grabbing the learner's attention. Especially your "personal relevance" examples, since learners want to know "why" they need to learn something.
Thanks for sharing!A couple more..
1. Now that we've covered ******, let's look at.............
2. Great. You've explored ****, *****, ******. Let's see how it all fits together.
I am a big fan of conversational tone (i.e., talk to the learner as if there were sitting in front of you in the classroom). How would you transition to another topic in that setting?
Like Robert, I use "Now that we've reviewed..., let's switch gears and look at..." If you want to continue the thought, but get into more specifics, you could use something like "let's delve into more detail (or take a closer look at)..." I am also a fan of "let's see how this all fits together" to summarize the content you have just covered and give them the "why" of the lesson. What's the takeaway?
A few others for consideration:
- "When you are ready, click Next to..." - This gives the learner a feeling of control. When they have finished processing the information, they can continue at their own pace.
- "Now that you are familiar with..., let's put it to use" or "let's see if you can..." or "let's practice what you have just learned" or "let's practice using a real work scenario" - This is good to use when you are going to move into a simulation, scenario, or assessment.
Good luck and hope this helps a little!
Fun discussion! In addition to using consistent phrases or keywords for transitions, visual & audio cues can be helpful too. Like maybe you include a key-shaped icon on your section summary slides when you review the key points. Or maybe you add some brief intro/outro music (think subtle NPR-type music clips) to signal the beginning or ending of major sections.
The visial cues/learning icons are almost always a win. But I never would have thought of music cues. Really interesting idea for a project I'm working on right now in fact...
-sound of gears turning in head-
LOL @ Bob and his gears. Great add Jeanette. I have done that before but never really thought of it as a cue as it pertained to this discussion. Good one.
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ontGrowAutofit /> Great ideas!
Brooke—I agree with speaking in a conversational tone. When transitioning, I tend to speak in first or second person, using words such as, “you, we, us, our, let’s.”
Jeanette –Your mention of visual and audio cues is a perfect addition to using keywords for transitions. All these components help to give eLearning projects a consistent voice/brand, which helps to establish credibility.
Hmm...sorry for the hack in my post.
A fun one I like to throw in occasionally if you can add a little humor, "But that's not all..." Of course, this one works better in a Ginsu 2000 infomercial type of voice.
