Are you guilty of the 20,000 word email? Here's why you're losing your audience and wasting your time.
Whether it's an email to your students, a forum post, or an introduction pack, take a leaf from Web Usability experts: focus on one thing at a time.
In the world of web and user-design, ‘progressive disclosure’ refers to only showing digestible pieces of information to reduce confusion, word-clutter, and to limit cognitive overload for the reader.
To translate this to communication - while it might be convenient for you to write a thesis-length email to give someone instructions, the fact that it's unlikely to be read or actioned, means it's not in your best interests or your reader's.
Too much, too soon? Break it down for your students over time.
In practice:
Right at the start of a new semester, teachers often tell students about Studiosity out-of-hours help, usually with a long list of other points students need to remember.
Unfortunately, that's when we see student Tweets like this: "It's the last week of my course and NOW I know about Studiosity? I wish I knew before my assignment. Waste. #crying"
Try emailing three single ideas over three weeks throughout the course. Students will get the point more clearly over time, and you’ll see more student confidence, satisfaction, and learning.
TAFE teachers can visit: studiosity.com/partners/resources for the latest information and resources for your students (to use one at a time.)
