Approximately 65% of the population are visual learners according to the Social Science Research Network. Reach reporting also explains that eyes can process 36,000 visual messages per hour and 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. In a world where face-to-face trainings have been replaced by remote trainings for the past two years, the use of visuals is essential to learning greater return on investment on your e-learning purchase. 

How do visuals enhance the value of your e-learning? 

• Increase retention with infographics: in addition to being eye catching and visually appealing, infographics can help learners better comprehend and retain large amounts of information.
   
• Learn faster with videos: the primary reason people learn well via video is because the human brain processes videos 60,000 times faster than it does text, according to a Psychology Today article, “Video vs. Text: The Brain Perspective.” Studies have shown that the use of short video clips allows for more efficient processing and memory recall. Learners' attention, interest, and engagement levels increase with videos, and that trend will continue to grow in the coming years. 
   
• Enhance relatability with characters and avatars: they provide a sense of personalized attention to learners and appeal to their emotions. The more they identify with the character, the more they will care about the content and be self-driven to learn and remember. In other words, course characters increase overall learner involvement and lead to greater motivation and retention. If you're presenting a scenario, characters will help your audience see themselves in the same situations.

What does it mean for learners? 

Learners remember information with greater accuracy and for a longer time if it is presented in a visual format. It is said that videos and images are directly processed by long-term memory. When concepts are paired with related images, infographics, or videos, learners retain a greater percentage compared to just text or audio; it accelerates the learning process and increases retention dramatically. 

What is the future of visual learning?

Companies were increasingly using a remote learning approach before 2020; then the coronavirus outbreak hit, and remote learning became a necessity. According to Forbes, between 2020 and 2025, the market for both online learning services and e-learning is expected to expand by 15% yearly, reaching a value of $50 billion.
 
For workplace training, e-learning is becoming an increasingly popular tool and a must in every major organization. In a study of IBM's own remote learning programs, researchers discovered that learners were able to acquire five times more knowledge at a third of the cost, saving the firm $200 million. Visual learning has the potential to increase this retention and cost savings even further.
 
Many people reading this blog may recall reading about topics like ancient Egypt in their history classes. Consider how much more information you would have learned and retained if you could have seen and interacted with a digital recreation of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
 
The latest in visual learning is extended reality (XR), which includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), and which promises to create even more immersive and engaging learning opportunities. 
 
 
If you’d like to discuss ways in which you could make your training content more effective, contact our team today.