First let’s establish a few definitions. Interactivity means doing, while engagement means connecting. Just because a course is interactive, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s engaging. Interactivity is fine, but providing learner value through connection is more important than providing them with a certificate. Trying to embed unnecessary interactivity can also drive up learner seat time as well as investment in your resources and your budget.

So what makes an interactivity engaging? It should-

• Allow learners to understand how the interaction leads to relevant outcomes.
• Come at the moment of need.
• Cause learners to think about solving an authentic, relevant challenge that applies to their reality.
• Motivate learners to act once the course is completed.

Put it all together and an engaging eLearning program can be a highly relevant, motivating and actionable experience, with minimal observable interactivity. And remember, engagement doesn’t need to be overt (think about your favorite book or movie).

So instead of worrying about whether the learner has enough to do during the course, perhaps you should change your focus to helping learners want to change because they were engaged by the course!

Hopefully you found this short article engaging and are motivated to contact me and “engage” in this topic further.