The digital age has given us unprecedented access to information, it’s changed how we interact with it and the expectations we have of it. The higher education landscape is no exception to this. Online education has drastically changed the way students access and engage with content and how educators create content and assessment.
The Engagement Challenge
Across Australia’s tertiary education sector, digital and blended delivery are no longer peripheral experiments — they are structural features of how learning is designed and delivered. Even before 2020, more than one in five domestic undergraduates were studying fully online, with participation accelerating in the years since. In vocational education, 62% of providers that expanded online delivery during COVID-19 reported they intended to continue using blended models long term. Yet national survey data by QILT reveals an important nuance: while 73% of undergraduates report overall satisfaction with their educational experience, only 63% report satisfaction with learner engagement, compared with 79% satisfaction with learning resources. The implication is clear. Digital access alone is not enough. As online and hybrid delivery become embedded across the sector, the quality and interactivity of content increasingly determine whether learning simply reaches students or genuinely engages them. This presents an opportunity: if digital delivery is now the norm, the next frontier is designing content that captures attention, deepens participation and drives meaningful outcomes.
As delivery models evolve, so too must the content itself. Today’s learners don’t just consume information; they interact with it. Video, scenario-based learning, simulations and collaborative tools are no longer novel additions; they are part of how people learn, work and communicate every day. In this environment, simply digitising existing materials isn’t enough. Content needs to be designed for participation, feedback and real-world application. The question facing tertiary institutions is no longer whether learning happens online, but how to create digital experiences that hold attention, spark curiosity and support deeper understanding.
What Makes Online Content Engaging?
Before jumping into content design, educators must first consider some key elements that make online content engaging and contribute to successful learning outcomes.
Even if they are not game designers, educators can apply game mechanics to learning activities. Badges and scores can appeal to students who want to collect everything, while levels can be enticing to students who want to see all that a game has to offer.
Another tactic is breaking down course content into more manageable, bitesize chunks and giving clear, tangible recognition when students achieve goals. This can help students to maintain concentration.
A change of format keeps things engaging, too. For example, when a learning platform supports multimedia formats, educators can upload video and audio components into their courses, and students can respond by making their own videos.
This is also an example of active learning, which encourages hands-on engagement with the material via discussions, analyses and other mediums. Using personalised learning approaches, educators can further support students’ individual learning journeys. They can make background information available for those who need it, while letting others simply skip the content. They can monitor student progress, releasing content according to student needs and offering accommodations when necessary.
Last but not least, empowering students to take ownership of their learning can have a significant impact. Using a single, cohesive learning environment can help in that it lets students see where they are going, how they are going to get there, and how they are tracking in progress along the way.
How One Institution is Creating Engaging Online Learning Content
Educators need digital tools that help them generate engaging learning content without specialised software skills.
This is something the University of Huddersfield demonstrated with a virtual escape room developed using Creator+.
The resulting fun, interactive module draws on AI-supported videos, hotspot questions and callout text boxes to display information, set challenges and create pathways through the content. In one section, flipcards reveal additional information users need to respond to later questions when they must drag and drop answers to put them in the correct categories. Dr Sue Folley, academic development advisor at the University, says: “We wanted something that was a lot easier and intuitive, that the everyday lecturer can use.”
Ready-made templates give educators support, save them time and provide the perfect foundation for course content. Educators can insert interactive elements into courses without coding and easily create and add multimedia recordings. They can also maintain design consistency, which helps to keep students on track, as inconsistent, confusing content can detract from course engagement.
Ultimately, it is about educators helping students to focus on the content and not waste time figuring out where content is or what is expected of them.
Get Started
A modern learning platform provides a single, feature-rich online learning environment that supports active, student-centred learning through engaging content and intuitive navigation and interaction. Multimedia provides interest and variety and appeals to visual learners, while collaborative tools keep students interacting and engaging with one another and tutors.
An e-learning authoring tool can support you in your quest to create engaging online content without specialist design skills. Find out more, discover Creator+ for D2L Brightspace.
Ready to Transform the Way the World Learns?
Start creating today. Our team is standing by to help you along the way.
Written by:
