Creating engaging and personalised
digital learning content using variables

What is a Variable in digital learning?

Variables have been used in digital learning content creation for many years. They are used to store the Learner’s interactions with an eLearning course – that information can then be used throughout the course to customise and enhance the experience for the Learner. 

In addition to using Variables to customise and control the learning experience, they allow for more dynamic and personalised interactions. Variables enable the learning content to change based on the Learner’s actions, responses, or progress. Here are some examples of how variables might be used in eLearning:

  1. Tracking User Progress – Variables can track how far along a Learner is in the course. For example, a Variable might track whether a Learner has attempted or completed a quiz, or visited a certain section of the course.
  2. Personalisation – Variables can store information about the Learner, such as their name, preferences, or prior knowledge. The information can be used to personalise the learning content, addressing the Learner by name or adapting the content based on what they already know.
  3. Conditional Logic – Variables can trigger specific content or actions based on the Learner’s input or decisions. For example, a Variable might store whether a Learner answered a question correctly, and based on that, the course could either show a success message or offer corrective feedback.
  4. Score and Assessment Variables – In quizzes and assessments, Variables can store scores and, based on the Learner’s performance, different feedback or remedial content can be presented. Typically, this could include redirecting the Learner to consume additional information to assist their learning.
  5. Time Tracking – Variables can be used to track how much time the Learner spends on a particular module or section of a course, which can help to understand their engagement and progress.
  6. Gamification – Variables are often used in gamified eLearning courses to track achievements, badges, or levels. For example, the Learner could earn points for completing tasks or providing correct answers, which can be stored in Variables.
  7. Interactive Content – Variables can store responses to interactive elements like drag-and-drop activities, sliders, or clickable objects, influencing the course flow, based on Learner choices.

There are two types of Variables that are generally utilised by eLearning content development tools. Although different tools use alternative terms, the functionality is very similar. Below are the terms used by the content authoring platform, dominKnow | ONE:

  • System Variables, such as the test score or the number of pages consumed by the Learner. These are automatically generated by the tool during the authoring process and are dependent on the Learner activity.
  • Custom Variables are created by the Author for any bespoke information that they wish to store and use to trigger actions within the eLearning content. A Custom Variable will count button clicks or recognise the text in an entry box, for example. Any action that can be carried out in an eLearning course can be triggered by a Variable.

Benefits of using Variables in digital learning

Variables allow the Author to create more engaging, interactive learning content that can be automatically personalised to each individual Learner. The personalisation ensures that the Learner is more engaged with the content, and therefore the more the Learner will remember, thus ensuring that the learning is effective.

In addition to ensuring that the learning is engaging, the use of Variables can also ensure your course content is appropriate for different audiences. This is particularly pertinent when considering accessibility. For example, you could use Variables to allow your Learners to ‘select’ whether accessible content is required. This would then only display features of the course that are accessible to the Learner, such as video transcripts and adjusting settings to allow for compliant colour contrast, etc.

Using Variables in dominKnow | ONE

The dominKnow | ONE content authoring platform enables Authors to use both System and Custom Variables to create highly individualised interactions, track Learner usage for custom events, as well as create scoring or awards for gamification. dominKnow | ONE enables the Author to choose suitable System Variables from a pool of more than 50.

There are three different kinds of Custom Variables that can be created within dominKnow | ONE – Number, Text and True/False (Boolean).  The platform offers Authors the ability to accelerate the choice of suitable Variables via the Variable Manager. This allows Authors to view all the Variables available for a particular project, including a description and usage values.

The Author selects a Variable type, applies a meaningful name, a description and an initial value. The Variable can then be applied to any element within the content to trigger the desired action.

A new feature in the latest release of dominKnow | ONE is the option to set Variable Availability for Custom Variables. This offers the ability for Authors to utilise Custom Variables as templates for continuous or future content development.

There are three options for Variable Availability:

  • A Global Variable is created at an Administrator level and can be used across all projects.
  • A Project Variable is created by an Author and can be used on any page within that specific project.
  • A Page Variable is also created by the Author and only available on the page that it was created.

Example Scenarios for using Variables within an eLearning Course

There are endless scenarios for using Variables within an eLearning course. Here are some examples of the types of scenarios where the use of Variables can benefit an Author during the development of an eLearning course:

  • Refer to the Learner by name throughout the content– the Learner inputs their name into the System Variable Text field at the beginning of the course.
  • Allow the Learner to choose which supporting character (avatar) will accompany them through the course – once selected, every subsequent page includes their chosen avatar.
  • Display or hide accessible content i.e. video transcripts, larger text size, etc.
  • Select which language the content is displayed in.
  • Add gamification to the content i.e. search the room games whereby the Learner clicks on elements within a room scenario to identify particular items, such as hazards.
  • Customise feedback to questions depending on Learner responses – for example provide different feedback depending on the response to a question, or add a sliding scale relating to responses to a quiz which shows how much the Learner understood, once they’d answered the question, i.e. “I answered this question confidently”.

Here are some short videos showing examples of how Variables can be used in eLearning content:

  • Refer to Learner by Name and allow them to choose their own Avatar (left)
  • Search the room game with code to ‘crack’ the safe (above)

Further Information

As learning content Authors, we are keen to ensure that our eLearning is engaging. We are continually reminded that engaging content aids retention and increases success. However, it can be a struggle to find the tools to help us build engaging content. Variables offer an option for the Author that does not involve heavy programming, providing the ability to encapsulate a multitude of possible scenarios that personalise content for the Learner, making it more engaging and ensuring a successful course is created.

The only limitation to Variables is your imagination. Using Variables will take your digital learning content to the next level, and beyond.

For more information about Variables in dominKnow | ONE join our next webinar or contact us to arrange a 1-2-1 demonstration.