Sometimes, words need defining. Sometimes, supporting material is essential for a learner to fully understand your course content.
When a learner doesn't quite "get it", they're usually forced to revisit earlier lessons in a course as a reminder or head to Google for supporting information.

But this takes learners away from your learning and worse, they may never return. This off-LMS activity can't be recorded so you lose out on the opportunity to identify moments when your content does not fully meet the learning objectives.

We created a design concept that allows learners to define words and gain context to the learning without leaving the course. To activate integrated definitions, learners simply hover over a highlighted word and get the information they need in text, image, slideshow or video form.

These definitions are set within the learning management system’s custom-built dictionary so that they can be adapted to the context of the learning. The dictionary then automatically and dynamically highlights any matching words across all courses in the site to inform the learner that more information is available.

But what if a learner needs a definition for a word that hasn’t been entered into the LMS’ dictionary? We thought of that too, and connected the LMS to a number of third-party information sources including Wikipedia.

Finally, every definition is recorded against the learner and your overall course metrics, allowing you to spot trends and make improvements to your courses where necessary. This functionality was made possible with a custom built learning management system by Plume. If you’re feeling inspired, talk to us about your project.