Therefore, I combined the #368 challenge, which was about using progress indicators to display the learner’s status, with the #369 challenge.
So, I’ve created a progress indicator that works as a timeline to help the learner understand how the scenario (or a story, to be precise) unfolds. Therefore, the indicator’s icons are clickable. Upon clicking these icons, the learner is taken to the respective slide.
Note that this sample was initially part of the Robogirls Erasmus+ project I IDed and Developed on behalf of CARDET. To match the challenge’s requirements, I had to adapt to how the progress bar looked.
Why should learners know their progress
Progress indicators provide visual and immediate feedback to help learners know where they are in the course.
The various authoring software can easily do that with their embedded navigation menus. On the other hand, if you decide to make a custom navigation menu, you’ve to provide the learner with a way of knowing their whereabouts, as the next and back buttons are not sufficient. Think of video games. Every successful video game displays how much the player has progressed, giving them the chance to understand how close their goal is.
The learner needs to know how much effort is still required to reach the end of their training.
So, no matter what, make sure that your learners know their progress. Besides, If possible, make sure that they can navigate easily between slides to improve their experience with your product.
My sample includes a fantastic Text Entry interaction created by Joanna Kurpiewska. I decided to implement it in this project as it looks really neat. You can watch her video and download the freebie she provided here. Shout out to Joanna Kurpiewska for creating this great interaction!