When it comes to instruction design, borrowing screen real estate design principles from the interaction design field is inevitable. While interaction design is all about designing for user experience, instruction design is all about the learner experience. See a correlation between them? Both fields work towards improving the user/learner interaction with their interface. Another important concept instructional designer deal with is how the human mind scans and absorbs new information. Specifically, how is the text-based content consumed by the human mind. In this article, I would be discussing the fundamental habit of the mind that has been subjected to textual information. The goal here is to observe this habit and design instruction around it to yield maximum learner achievement.
The F factors
Reading online is not same as reading a book. Designing instruction similar to paper-based content is not prudent at all. With shorter attention spans, and increasing impatience with the online media, humans have resorted to a particular text-scanning habit.
The F-shaped Pattern
When we are first subjected to a slide or an interface we scan in the F shaped pattern. If during this scanning stage, we feel the content will help meet our goals, we begin reading from the beginning. And this second time, we read with more patience and pace!
On the contrary, if we catch words and phrases that we are already familiar with, words that do not make sense or words that do not pair up with the topic of the content, we move on to the next slide!
A solid rule for text-based information in the learning environment for instructional designers would be to be make the content:
Relevant
Factual
Brief
Key words located along the F shape of the screen
The image above shows a heat map of the scanning habits readers exploring an online screen. Notice the F pattern created by the darting eyes moving across the page from side to side and towards the bottom of the page.
This means that the first paragraph of the screen will get the most attention. Try summarizing the main ideas that would be shared on the screen, within the first paragraph. Adding catchy headings and bulleted lists is a great way to capture and retain learner attention.
Also, the first eleven letters of a sentence are the most frequently scanned. So, in order to get your point across, use short, descriptive titles. Add hyperlinks or buttons to this area to explain what learners will achieve by following the link. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs in the first few slides of your eLearning program.
Fitts’ Law
Another rule of eye that most of us seem to follow is Fitts’ Law. This law states that it is faster to hit larger targets closer to you than smaller targets farther from you.
What does this mean for instructional designers?
Placing an important button or a hyperlink on the top left or right corner of the page wont work quite as well as compared to placing it on the bottom right corner. This is where we usually find the “submit” or the “next” button. Learners hit this button almost as an impulse! An important piece of information can be shared in an interactive way by placing a link to it in the areas in close proximity to our hands, the mouse or with short cut keys.
Did you find this piece of information interesting? Have you also been reading in an F pattern? Can you relate? Do share with me your sentiments ?
I may learn a thing or two from you!
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