Terms of Engagement: Keeping Learners Online
Quote: "Keeping learners engaged is critical to the success of any training program. Five key elements can determine how well a Web-based training program engages learners: entertainment, interaction, control, usability, and customization. "
Comment: Simplified view of what is required to keep learners in a course...but many elearning programs would still benefit from what's presented.
From my own experience - the facilitator plays as critical a role in learner success as any point listed here. As well...I think the concept of interaction presented in the article is too limited - interaction occurs on multiple levels (learner-learner, learner-facilitator, learner-content, learner-interface). It's much more complex than simple roll-overs and drag and drop activities (like the article recommends).