Moving from print to digital learning content is opening a whole new world of possibilities to learners accessing curriculum content today. In Kenya, digital learning content is anchored in the curriculum designs as one of the requirements in the teaching and learning process. But determining which content is high quality and meets the needs of all learners and the curriculum is no easy task. In developing KlickIt CBC digital learning content, Infoney solutions Limited endeavored to address these 3 key questions cutting across pedagogy, content and technology platform:

1. What are the ways that students and teachers engage with digital content as per the curriculum design in the academic settings?
2. What is the motivation for both students and teachers to use digital content?
3. What are the interface requirements needed to enable and enhance student engagement with rich digital resources?

In general, digital content should address learning standards, curriculum needs and be easy to navigate. But there are many more factors to consider before selecting the best digital learning resources. There are a lot of options out there, and there is the good, the bad and the mediocre digital content.

Here are some qualities to look out for when evaluating digital content:

Graphics and animations

The content should include images, graphics and animations that are clear, with crisp colors and edges. The images, text and text fonts should be complementary and not cluttered. This can help increase student comprehension especially when those graphical effects are intentionally and closely aligned to the content they support. The audio component of the content should be audible and in sync with the graphics and instructions.

Learning paths

Students should be able to embark on individual content sections of learning based on their level of mastery and content coverage. Students should also be able to navigate through the platform for specific learning content on need basis with ease.

Interactive elements

Students should be able to easily interact with the content by clicking on it, scrolling through it and mousing over it. Content should also incorporate gaming activities that stimulate learning. Content should be responsive to different screen resolutions and compatible with multiple operating systems.

Assessment elements

The digital content should include assessments that feature multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank questions, matching and pairing, coloring, as well as activities that measure higher-order thinking. Opportunities to reflect on learning and interactive skill assessments should be incorporated as well.

 

User interface

 

The content should be highly visible with intuitive navigation for an optimal user interface. The landing page of the platform should be attractive, straightforward, well designed and defined buttons and selection

of content areas simplified.

 

 

Universal Design for Learning

Use the UDL framework to accommodate individual learning styles. UDL is an approach that works towards accommodating the needs and abilities of all learners and eliminates unnecessary hurdles in the learning process. Digital content should offer flexibility in the ways students access materials and get ways to keep them motivated.

 

Data collection

 

The platform used to deliver digital content should be able to capture data via assessments, content coverage areas or other user interface features so you have a 360-degree view of the learner’s capabilities and progress.

 

 

 

Self-paced

Students should be able to work through the material at their own pace, moving on only after they master content knowledge and skills on each level.

Adaptive engines

Digital learning content platform should use Learning management tools that use the data collected through student interaction with the software and assessments to create a personalized learning path that adapts to the student’s needs.

Cognitive load

“Cognitive load” relates to the amount of information that working memory can hold at one time. In choosing digital content, evaluate the types of activities and assessments in each learning level. Too much stimulation and too many activities can become overwhelming for the learner. Since working memory has a limited capacity, instructional methods should avoid overloading it with additional activities that don’t directly contribute to learning.

 

Conclusion

Use of digital content in teaching and learning has become indispensable and educators are now on the lookout to identify digital resources that score highly on the qualities listed above. KlickIt CBC digital content gets a tick on almost every quality and has become a great resource to many teachers and students in primary level in Kenya. It is easy to access and download from Google play store, very easy to register, subscribe and use.