Using Hints to Guide and Challenge Learners #367

Using Hints and Clues in E-Learning #367: Challenge | Recap

In a recent challenge, Jonathan wrote about his quiz makeover and how he removed the default submit button to increase the pace of his quiz. Triggering choices based on click events is an excellent approach for many skill-and-drill quizzes because it removes the extra step of clicking a submit button.

However, there are also times when it’s appropriate to delay feedback and use helpful hints to guide the learner toward the correct choice. Rather than immediately showing correct or incorrect feedback, try challenging your learners with a hint or prompt.

You can give learners the option to view or display hints without requiring any action from the learner. How you provide learners hints is up to you. And showing hints is what this week’s challenge is all about.

Showing Hints After a Number of Attempts

You can delay giving feedback by showing hints after the learner answers incorrectly. Using a number variable, you can provide helpful hints after several missed attempts or provide personalized hints for each missed attempt.

View the examples | Download

Video Tutorial

Here's a quick overview of how to set up the counter and show hints after a specific number of missed attempts.

Challenge of the Week

This week, your challenge is to show how hints can be used in e-learning. Your example can be static or interactive, and you’re welcome to share examples from previous challenges.

Share Your E-Learning Work

• Comments: Use the comments section below to share a link to your published example and blog post.
• Forums: Start  your own thread and share a link to your published example..
• Personal blog:  If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We’ll link back to your posts so the great work you’re sharing gets even more exposure.
• Social Media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can track your e-learning coolness.

Last Week’s Challenge:

Before you hint at what you’re working on this week, check out the creative ways course designers use blurred backgrounds in e-learning:

Blurred Backgrounds Effects in E-Learning #366: Challenge | Recap

New to the E-Learning Challenges?

The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos.

Learn more about the challenges in this Q&A post and why and how to participate in this helpful article.