Hi Maurice,
Fair question. In most of the learning solutions we develop, the screen plays a prominent role. And that’s something to take into account. After all, reading from a screen is different for humans than reading from paper. We need to be keen on this when writing learning content, otherwise it can be at the expense of the learning result.
Writing for a screen: why is it different?
So what makes reading text on a screen so different? The big difference from words on paper is in the light coming from the screen. We may not realize it consciously, but the light coming from a screen makes us read in a different way. It takes more energy and more time to absorb the text. You can imagine: reading a book would also be a lot more tiring if someone was shining a fluorescent light from the other side of the page.
And as humans are: we are going to adapt to it. To save time and energy, we tend to scan texts on a screen instead of reading every word in detail. Up to 80% of the text on a website is skipped right over! With an average website, this is not a problem. If you buy a new oven glove online, you don’t need to read every letter to reach your goal. But with online learning, of course, a challenge does arise. After all, you don’t want people to miss important information. And if the target audience would start scanning texts in a learning solution, chances are that this would happen. How do you prevent this?
Writing learning content for a screen
One advantage is that the basic attitude of the target audience is different with online learning. People know that they are going to learn and then you focus your gaze on the image with a different attitude than when you quickly go to buy that overglove. People are much more aware of the information. Still, the fact remains that reading that information on a screen consumes a relatively large amount of energy. Energy that a person can no longer spend on the content of the learning product. Sun-the!
Fortunately, as learning specialists, we can help with this. By applying a few tricks, we can ensure that a person can devote his or her energy as little as possible to reading on a screen and as much as possible to the content information. A few tips:
Tip #1: Put the message first
Make sure the main message of a paragraph is as far up front as possible. Because reading on a screen is relatively tiring, the sharpness does wear off toward the end of a paragraph. By offering the message right to the reader, you prove the value of the paragraph and motivate them to read further for depth.
Tip #2: Let paragraphs breathe
Work with paragraphs that are not too long. Whoever your target audience is: short pieces of text always read more comfortably than long pieces of text. Divide the content into paragraphs of 4-6 lines and use white spaces to allow each paragraph to “breathe. This gives a lot of rest when reading.
Tip 3: Keep it short and easy
It’s also best to keep the sentences themselves short. If you need more than two commas to make your point, then you need to think about whether you’re being to the point enough. And for those short sentences, be sure to choose easy words. Reading alone takes energy enough and then expensive words are extra heavy on your mind.
Tip 4: Use bullet points
The screenwriter’s very best friend: enumeration. This also fits well with people’s tendency to scan information when reading on a screen. Enumerations allow information to be distributed incrementally. This makes the text feel less heavy and easier to process. And that, of course, makes every educator happy!
Read on!
