Trainings and courses that are accompanied by an online course in addition to the classic seminar event usually achieve more sustainable learning effects. To ensure that participants work as effectively as possible with the learning platform, you as a trainer can take several support measures. Which factors you should influence in what way - blink.it employee Niklas Appelmann found out in his academic thesis.
Your Goal: Maximum Learning Success with Blended Learning
Are you thinking about using online courses in your training? Or have you already started? Then you have probably already come across the various benefits you gain by using online courses:
You gain a unique selling proposition
You gain a new revenue stream
You gain new customer groups
You gain measurability
You gain reusability
You gain flexibility
You gain media diversity
Although you already gain most of these benefits with pure e-learning, it is only through the combination with live events such as seminars or workshops that you benefit from the advantages of both worlds: the personal and intensive support in face-to-face training and the high flexibility (in terms of time and location) of online courses.
This combination of classic face-to-face learning formats with online course content is called Blended Learning. The learning success of Blended Learning is proven to be higher than that of courses consisting of pure e-learning or pure face-to-face training.
Your Challenge: Online Courses with Great Participation
So what is holding you back from deciding to start with online courses? Perhaps you are wondering whether your participants will actually use the additional online offer. Because of course, you don't want to invest in a platform if it is ultimately not actively used.
In face-to-face training, you can see immediately who is actively participating in the course and who does not even show up or sits there uninvolved. In the online course, this is also visible – at least with the blink.it software – but if participation is low, you cannot urge your participants to be active as easily as in a live event.
Working independently with a learning platform is initially an adjustment for your participants if they have previously only been used to classic forms of learning such as one-day seminars or workshops. That is why they need good support during the online phase – for example, in the form of clear calls to action.
But you can do even more to keep your participants on track in the online course. We recently published an article here on the blog in which we gave you seven simple tips on how to keep participants active in your online course.
Now, in his thesis at the Technical University of Darmstadt, blink.it employee Niklas Appelmann has researched that and also how trainers can act to motivate their course participants to participate as much as possible online. The good news: You have a large part of your participants' learning success with online courses in your own hands!
Study Result: How Trainers Can Specifically Increase the Learning Success of Participants in Blended Learning
One result of the thesis was the confirmation of the assumption of "Instructional Scaffolding" that certain measures on the part of the trainer have significant impacts on the behavior of the participants.
Instructional Scaffolding is the support of the learning process through the provision of guidance or other tools for initial orientation. Especially in the area of e-learning, this is a pedagogical measure because here the trainer has less direct influence on the participant than in classic face-to-face events.
Particularly in digital learning, this type of support is crucial. Participants often work with flexible schedules and without direct guidance from a trainer. Clear orientation, regular impulses, and activating content therefore help to keep participants continuously involved in the learning process in the online course.
How can the trainer influence the behavior of their participants in the online course? For this research question, Niklas analyzed anonymized data from a period of two years and closely examined the correlation between trainer and participant behavior.
Data for the study: Period of 2 years
Goal of the study: How do trainer and participant behaviors correlate?
Title of the study: “Automatic analysis and classification of trainer and participant behavior in a blended learning learning environment as a basis for interventions”
The online courses examined by Niklas had to meet certain criteria to ensure that only actively used courses (from both the trainer's and the participants' side) were evaluated. In his sample, he uses 85 courses that were used by an average of 78 participants, with most courses tending to count between 10 and 50 participants (see graphic).
Graphic from Niklas Appelmann's thesis: The analyzed courses from his study mostly had between 10 and 50 participants.
Based on the data from these 78 courses, Niklas found a connection between trainer and participant behavior. "Trainer behavior" here means, for example, the type of content (quiz, video, text, etc.) or the time intervals of uploading new content. "Participant behavior", on the other hand, primarily means the completion or drop-out rate of the entire course or the processing of individual content.
But Niklas' analysis did not just reveal the mere fact that trainers influence participant behavior, but also concrete answers on how they statistically achieve higher participation. The following overview shows the most relevant statistical results of Niklas' thesis:
Two measures show a particularly positive impact on the participant:
Use many quiz elements in your online course
Set your course so that you release new content on a daily basis if possible!
Measure No. 1: Use many quiz elements in your online course!
Quiz elements increase participant activity in the online course, according to the statistical results listed above: analyzed courses that used many quiz questions had more active participants who viewed at least 50% or even 100% of a course.
If you choose blink.it as your learning platform, you can choose between typical quiz content with free text questions, scale questions, or multiple or single choice questions. Tests or surveys are also very easy to implement. With such interactive elements, the training remains varied and interesting for your participant.
Measure No. 2: Set your course to release content at short intervals!
A second result that we would like to share with you from Niklas' thesis as a tip for your online training: Release content with the smallest possible time intervals. Courses in which a relatively long time (several weeks) passed between the publication of individual contents showed low participant activity.
With blink.it, you can easily set the time interval in advance and decide, for example, on intervals of 3-7 days. Thanks to this full automation, you do not have to constantly log in and manually release content – the software does it for you.
With all results, you should keep in mind that these are statistical analyses that may be biased and do not claim to be universally valid. Our advice to you, therefore: Look at the various correlations and test for yourself in your online course which types of content and at which intervals participant activity and thus the learning effect are highest. You should be on the right track by using quiz questions!
Conclusion
Trainers can influence the activity and motivation of participants in online courses much more than many initially think.
The results of the study clearly show: Certain pedagogical measures directly impact the behavior of the participants. In particular, interactive elements such as quiz questions and regularly unlocked content ensure that participants remain active and complete a course fully more often.
For trainers, this means one thing above all: The success of an online course depends not only on the content but also on the structure and design of the learning process. Those who design their courses to be varied and regularly activate participants increase participation and thus learning success.
Therefore, test different formats, content, and release schedules in your own online course. This way, you will quickly find out which combination motivates your participants most and encourages them to learn in the long term.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
What factors increase activity in online courses?
The analyzed courses show two connections in particular: Many interactive quiz elements and the regular unlocking of new learning content were associated with higher participant activity.
Why do quiz questions promote participation in the online course?
Quiz questions turn participants into active players in the learning process. In the examined sample, courses with many quiz elements had more participants who completed at least half or the entire course.
How often should new content be unlocked in the online course?
The study showed lower activity with long intervals of several weeks. In contrast, short and regular intervals can help to keep participants continuously involved in the learning process.
What does Instructional Scaffolding mean in e-learning?
Instructional Scaffolding refers to the targeted support of learners through orientation, guidance, and further assistance. In e-learning, this support can be particularly important because participants often learn independently and with flexible schedules.
Can the study results be applied to every online course?
No. The results show statistical correlations and do not claim to be universally valid. Decision-makers should therefore test different formats and release schedules and observe participant activity in their own course.
