In the world of eLearning, visuals play a pivotal role in making content both engaging and memorable. While photos, videos, and infographics have their place, icons are powerful tools to distill complex ideas into easily digestible visuals. Recognizing this, I embarked on a journey to create a comprehensive icon training module using Articulate Rise 360.
Why Icons?
Before diving into the training specifics, it’s crucial to understand the importance of icons in eLearning. Icons are minimalist visual elements that can represent ideas, concepts, or actions. When used appropriately, they can enhance clarity, streamline content, and foster a more engaging learning environment. Whether you’re replacing bullet points, illustrating complex ideas, or aiding navigation, icons can transform your course from monotonous to memorable.
Why Rise 360?
I chose Articulate’s Rise 360 mainly because it is my course requirement for my current class.
Articulate Rise 360 has always been a favorite amongst eLearning developers for its user-friendly interface, flexibility, and responsiveness. It offers seamless integration of different media types, making it an ideal choice for our icon-centric module.
The platform allowed integration of a variety of interactive elements – from quizzes where learners matched concepts to their representative icons, to showcases that juxtaposed the effective use of icons against less optimal uses.
Key Takeaways
This is a three part project. In this first segment there are several key takeaways:
Consistency is Key: A primary lesson emphasized throughout the training was the critical nature of maintaining a uniform icon style in presentations or courses. Slides with mismatched icons were showcased and compared against those with unified designs. Invariably, slides with consistent iconography proved to be clearer and appeared more professional.
Clarity Over Creativity: The training used multiple choice questions to underline the potential confusion caused by overly artistic icons. An optimal icon, as suggested by the course, seamlessly combines aesthetic appeal with immediate recognizability.
Interactive Engagement: Thanks to Rise 360’s interactive capabilities, the training transformed static icon explanations into dynamic, engaging interactions Learners had the option to compare examples, interact with images, and match icons with their respective descriptions.
Feedback Mechanism: The inclusion of post-quiz feedback acted as a valuable tool for reinforcing the material. Whenever a participant opted for an abstract icon over a clearer alternative, immediate feedback elucidated the reasoning behind the correct selection.
Have some time? Check it out by clicking the image included above.