The power of stories in e-learning

Like 5 million other people, I recently became addicted to This American Life’s podcast Serial. Breaking iTunes records for downloads, Serial uses audio storytelling to document journalist Sarah Koenig’s investigation into a 1999 murder in the US. Its runaway success offers learning designers food for thought.

Serial appealed to so many people because it used narrative; it allowed listeners to engage with key characters and identify with an emotional journey. It’s the same reason our compliance series The S.A.F.E. Files resonates with our clients and so many learners.

Narrative works so well because it functions as a ‘sense-making device’ (Caminotti et al. 2012, p. 432). It helps us ‘make sense’ of or process information. Good e-learning does this by giving learners an opportunity to make decisions, which allows them to:

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