CLD’s iRead® Engages Learners Through Diverse Methods

When considering the most effective ways to train sales representatives and other members of your team, incorporating different methods of presenting and reinforcing the material at hand will help them better learn, retain, and apply this knowledge.

We can employ many strategies to enhance learning and make the most of the time that students spend on learning new information. According to Scientific American, some evidence-backed examples include:

• Presenting the material in ways that apply to different senses, or modalities
• Periodically testing the learner on the material as part of the studying process
• Elaborating on the material to help the learner make connections rather than relying on rote memorization

Ideally, training materials that you present to your learners will be varied and innovative so that even dense or detailed information can be dynamic. The iRead^®, an interactive module developed by CLD, is a highly customizable e-learning tool that can help your team accomplish this goal. While the bulk of the information in the iRead^® is usually conveyed through text and images, this deliverable is also designed to be programmed with advanced elements that harness technology to enhance your learners’ experience.

Interactivities, for example, can be programmed to appeal to different senses and present a central idea in different formats. They can be designed with diagrams to show the relationship between ideas, graphs that bring data to life, processes that progress as the learner drags a slider, or a carousel of images with accompanying text to link visuals with words directly. Smaller elements scattered throughout the text may emphasize specific details or provide additional levels of understanding to contextualize snippets of information within the broader scientific field or overall competitive landscape.

Animations engage the learner visually while information is also being narrated, helping drive the subject home in different ways at the same time. Like interactivities, animations can also have smooth visual transitions that lend spatial and relational meaning to the concepts learners encounter throughout the module. These modules also have Knowledge Checks at the end of each section, quizzing users throughout the module and ensuring that their encounters with the information are meaningful and active rather than passive and fleeting. Furthermore, the iRead^® can still be printed out, so that learners and instructors alike can have a hard copy for review or note-taking if they wish.

As a writer, I have created content for multiple iReads^®, covering products for a specific disease to broad overviews of biological fields. Customized iReads^® are flexible and can successfully present this wide range of subjects to the learner, whose needs are our ultimate focus. The iRead^® is a powerful tool because of its ability to convey different types of information in ways that are best suited to the clients’ and learners’ shifting needs. This product brings together writing, design, and technological skills to provide a learning experience that is new and out of the ordinary.

References and Further Reading:
May, Cindi. The Problem with “Learning Styles.” Scientific American. May 29, 2018. 
Clark, Ruth C. Evidence-Based Training Methods, 2nd ed. Alexandria, VA: ATD Press. 2015.