Traditional learning has been resistant to changes for decades, but education software companies have taken the lead to revolutionize the way we approach our courses and study. New technologies allow us to reshape educational materials and introduce a number of alternative features to the learning process.

Visual components are one of those features that strongly impact eLearning. Images and other visual elements are often interactive, so they make studying more dynamic and engaging. Marketers have realized the importance of visualization a long time ago:

• According to the report, articles that include images produce 650% higher engagement than text-only posts.
• Users who follow directions with text and illustrations perform 323% better than individuals following directions without any visuals.

The same goes for eLearning tools, so it’s not the question of whether you should add visuals to your lessons but rather how to do it most effectively. In this article, we will show you how to use different types of visuals to improve your eLearning courses.

Types of eLearning visuals

Before we start explaining how to use visuals in eLearning, we need to start from scratch and present you the basic types of graphic elements that are appropriate for digital courses:

• Images: The first option is obvious - you can use all sorts of photos to make your lessons more impressive.
• Illustrations: If you can’t find a quality image for your content, feel free to create an illustration. The point remains the same and you don’t have to settle for anything less than perfect.
• Infographics: It’s a super-useful feature, so we will discuss it thoroughly in the next chapter.
• Screenshots: Sometimes you want to present a real-life example, which is where screenshots can play their role in eLearning. After all, you don’t have to shoot a photo if you can just crop it from the existing source.
• Charts and graphics: These types of visuals are mandatory for eLearning lessons that need to contain a lot of statistical facts.
• Timelines: It’s an irreplaceable component when you want to show progress in a given timeframe.
• Animations and GIFs: You can also create a small motion picture show using GIFs or animations. Such a tactic is great for breaking the ice early on.
• Videos: The Internet is flooded with all sorts of amazing videos. We don’t recommend adding too many clips to eLearning materials, but a good educational video can’t hurt your audience every once in a while.

7 Things to know when using visuals in eLearning

Now you know the options, but do you know how to use them? Our goal is to help you with selection, so keep reading to learn seven key tricks.

1. Identify the right type of visual

You can’t just rush into things and pick a random image for your studying materials. Instead, you need to approach the selection process carefully and choose the visual that perfectly suits the lesson.

As we explained already, each type of visual format has its own purpose and meaning. Images can be used almost everywhere, but charts or GIFs are definitely not something you can add to all of your presentations.

2. Think about the target audience

Another detail you need to consider is the audience you are targeting. It can make or break your hopes of improving eLearning courses with visual effects, which forces you to think about the traits of the average course participant.

Try to create a buyer persona and identify all of his/her fundamental traits. For instance, custom research paper writers know that their clients are young students who demand high-quality academic assignments, so it’s easy to understand the best style for this type of content. But eLearning courses can cover a lot of different fields or life and work, so we strongly recommend you to find out the following:

• Demographic features such as age, location, and gender.
• Cultural background and the level of education.
• Average income.
• Personal interests, lifestyle, beliefs, and values.

3. Combine visuals with textual content

No matter how beautiful or effective, visuals alone cannot deliver the message to its fullest extent. On the contrary, you have to combine images and other types of visual content with the text in order to achieve the highest level of precision and simplicity.

You can see it even in traditional textbooks – every image is followed by the short line of text that clearly explains the meaning of an image. Of course, you have to be a prolific author if you want to come up with effective one-liners for each photo.

This part of the text must be concise and straightforward, not leaving any room for possible misinterpretations. Make sure to use actionable statements and avoid slang or jargon that can confuse readers.

4. Create a standout infographic

Do you know that an infographic is 30 times more likely to be read than a purely textual article? This type of visual is a huge hit in the digital universe and eLearning is by no means an exception. But how do you make a standout infographic?

Even though infographics are visual features, they still follow the same structure as textual posts:

• An introduction: This is actually a headline followed by one or two sentences that get readers acquainted with the topic.
• A body part: Here you need to discuss all of the major issues and divide them into several units to make the content more understandable and visually appealing.
• A conclusion: There is no classical conclusion, but rather a call to action based on the goal of your lesson.

5. Check out free stock image websites

We saved the best for last! Who says you always have to shoot photos or design other types of visuals single-handedly? The Internet is packed with websites offering high-quality free stock images, so we strongly encourage you to check them out.

Sites like Unsplash, StockSnap, or Pixabay offer millions of high-resolution images and animations that you can use free of charge.

Conclusion

eLearning is reshaping traditional education because it’s not afraid of embracing novelties. The ultimate objective of the new studying model is to make the process more dynamic, effective, and informative using state of the art learning tools.

Images and other visuals represent one of the most powerful features in this field because they help students to learn quicker and remember more. Keep our tips in mind and don’t forget to use them in your courses – they will take your lessons to the whole new level.