Dive Brief:
- Jeffrey Dalto, instructional designer and trainer for Convergence Training, shares how Scott McCloud’s book Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art connects the world of comic books with that of corporate learning principles. From a graphic art and content perspective, much of what makes comic books so engaging to readers can be applied to organizational learning.
- Dalto blogs for Convergence Training that the juxtaposition of comic book sequencing can be compared to the way that e-learning modules are laid out in a storyboard format and layout. Some e-learning modules make use of small chunks of imagery, grouped by topics in a sequence. Dalto points out that comics are designed with the response of the reader in mind, and this is the same concept that's used in the best corporate learning modules.
- Another link between comic book content and e-learning content has to do with the simplified way that information is presented. McCloud highlighted blank spaces between comic panes, and that e-learning can use that tactic — the importance of white space — to break up content into small, easy to digest content, too.
Dive Insight:
The increased use of multi-media in comics as well as e-learning point to the fact that there are many types of learners and they often require more than one method to absorb a topic well. The emotional aspect of comic book content, for example, can be utilized by e-learning designers, as studies have shown a correlation between strong emotions and human recall of information.
As comic books have evolved over generations, so too has learning. Effective modern learning essentially requires the use of powerful images, storylines, multimedia such as videos, and content that honors the way people take in information, and comics are just another way to view that challenge.
