Can we disable the forward navigation so that people don't just skip through the information?And my answer is always the same.
Of course we can.... but let's think about this.We can't force people to pay attention*. Either in classrooms or in eLearning, if someone doesn't want to listen and learn, then they won't.
Preventing forward navigation in a piece of eLearning will not convince someone to engage with the content and pay attention. They will let the piece run, surf the web, do other work or just tune out.When I rent a movie, I can't skip the FBI warning, but does this mean that I read it? No. I still have no idea what that warning really is, yet I've seen it hundreds of times.
And let's not forget about the people who do have the intention of listening and learning. Taking away their control over the viewing experience will only serve to irritate them. Maybe they want to go back and review a section. How can they do this efficiently if they can't move backward and forward?
The best ways to make sure your audience engages with your eLearning:
- make your content concise, relevant and as interesting as possible
- use interactivity to help engage their brains and make them take action
Let's stipulate that, out of 100 people, 10 will not care about your eLearning and 90 will. And there's nothing you can do about that 10%, so why make changes to try and change their behavior ... changes that won't likely help and could be detrimental to your finished product?
Give people full control and trust that they will watch, listen and learn.
*Of course, if you really want to force people to learn something, you must have either a carrot in front of them or a boot behind them.
