Artistic techniques to include in online courses to improve learning

The encounter between art and education can be a winning weapon for teachers, because the influence of art is able to stimulate creative thinking and improve student learning. Creativity is an important tool in the educational field, because it can push the student beyond the mere memorization of concepts and notions, stimulating the imagination and evoking memories and emotions that allow him to improve his learning ability. And in a world governed by new technologies, where every aspect of daily life, including training, passes through digital, the concept of creativity has also evolved, to also be applied in the field of eLearning. In this case, we are talking about digital creativity.

To cultivate creativity in the context of learning and, in particular, online training, the use of various artistic techniques can be useful, to be included in eLearning courses. In this way, banal topics and apparently boring notions can be transformed into captivating experiences, capable of arousing emotions that stimulate the emotional side of the student, further developing their learning ability.

Why use art in online courses?

Art is an important tool in education and digital has not changed this role. For this reason, even in eLearning it is a good idea to give it ample space if you want to create a product that is capable of attracting users' attention and making learning much more effective. The use of artistic techniques in online courses, in fact, acts on two fronts:

1. On the one hand, the artistic aspect of an eLearning platform is fundamental to attract students and convince them to participate in lessons. A visually appealing course, developed with the use of artistic and design techniques, certainly has an edge over a flat and not very colorful virtual showcase.
2. On the other hand, art can also be used to convey the contents of the course. The combination of art and training allows you to develop users' creativity, improving learning and the ability to innovate.

The use of artistic techniques in training in general and in eLearning courses in particular brings with it several advantages:

1. • Develop critical thinking. Art is able to lead workers and students to cultivate creativity, that is, the ability to solve problems. This allows people to use an original approach to solve a problem, without following traditional and pre-established schemes, but finding new and unexpected solutions. In essence, art applied to training allows you to broaden your mentality and develop critical thinking, which leads you to see things from an unconventional point of view.
   • Leads to innovation. The ability of art to change the user's perspective towards the training and working approach inevitably leads to the birth of new contents, solutions and ideas. And the ones who benefit from the use of artistic techniques in eLearning courses will not only be the user, who will be able to stand out, but also the company, which will have an important resource at its disposal, capable of bringing innovation.
   • Develop the emotional side of eLearning. Art, in itself, arouses emotions. Using it in a training context means conveying learning concepts, charging them with emotions and arousing a profound reaction in the student.
   • Facilitates learning. The development of critical thinking and the emotional side, which the use of art in the educational field brings with it, is not disconnected from the concreteness of learning. Emotions and creativity, in fact, contribute to internalizing the concepts of the lessons and improving the teaching experience.
   • Improve student engagement. Thanks to the use of art in training, learning becomes more dynamic, fun and interactive, allowing the user to experience a training approach different from the traditional one. This different way in which concepts are conveyed during online lessons increases student involvement and motivation and makes the course more engaging.

Artistic techniques that improve learning

Art and education are, therefore, an advantageous combination both for students and workers, and for companies and trainers. But, among the many possibilities, there are some artistic techniques which, if used, improve the development of the student's creativity and learning ability. There are mainly five forms of art that can be used for this purpose:

1. Narration. Words have a high evocative power, capable of creating completely new scenarios and worlds in which to immerse oneself and capable of making people experience new experiences, which can have a profound impact. For this reason, storytelling plays a role of primary importance in training, allowing you to capture the student's attention and arouse emotions in him that lead him to more easily learn concepts that would otherwise be considered difficult. To ensure that this artistic typology is effective, it is essential to start your narrative in an engaging way, with some details that capture the user's attention and with some techniques that also encourage students' participation in the story. For example, the trainer can ask users to imagine themselves as the protagonists or to add personal details to the story. The inclusion of real situations to be resolved can also be useful, with twists and turns that test the hypotheses put forward by the students.
2. Music. The use of music is a tool with strong emotional power. Trainers can use it to create a particular setting, to stimulate concentration or to encourage emotional connection in students. All elements capable of facilitating the learning of concepts that are even difficult to understand and apply. Music can be combined with storytelling, to build a realistic environment in which to set one's narratives, or it can be used to reinforce some concepts which, if linked to a specific melody, can be remembered more easily. For this artistic technique to be effective, it is important to choose the melodies carefully, based on the objectives you want to achieve, and adjust the volume to ensure that the music does not distract the students from the concept itself.
3. Images. The intertwining of images and symbols allows trainers to make complex concepts clearer. Metaphors or similes make visually abstract characters and their representation through images allows students to understand lessons more easily, regardless of the content. For this technique to be effective, however, it is best to avoid inserting too many images, which otherwise could be misleading and confuse the student. Images can also be used in the creation of captivating infographics and presentations, which are able to involve and attract students, who will thus find themselves faced with a different way of transmitting the main information. In this way, even simple data can be translated into captivating images, which leave a clearer imprint in the user's memory.
4. Theatre. A particularly effective artistic technique in the training field is that linked to the ability to stage certain situations, through improvisation techniques and role-playing games. eLearning can bring the characteristics of theater online, thus allowing trainers to exploit the educational advantages of spontaneity and immersive capacity that improvisation and role-playing games provide. Staging a hypothetical situation and understanding how to solve it is an excellent way to find innovative solutions to possible problems that could arise in school and work. This also allows students to experience different points of view, depending on the character they play, developing empathy and an ever-new ability to adapt.
5. Painting and drawing. Introducing creative activities such as drawing or painting into online courses allows students to experiment with new learning techniques, capable of creating an emotional connection, which promotes the ability to internalize otherwise complex concepts. Trainers can guide students through various topics, allowing them to express their thoughts in a non-verbal and non-traditional form, such as painting and drawing. In eLearning, this artistic technique can also be applied digitally, using special drawing programs, which allow users to experiment with art online. The creative process stimulated by pictorial art can improve students' involvement, but also increase their learning ability, promoting empathy and stimulating their ability to solve problems that they may face both in education and work.

These artistic techniques enrich the educational experience, stimulating creativity, the capacity for empathy, critical thinking and the emotional side of the students who attend the courses. Thus, through unconventional learning methodologies, students can receive unique and personalized training, which improves the learning and understanding of even complex concepts and makes them capable of solving problems and dealing with situations according to an innovative and different methodology. than anyone else's. The introduction of art into eLearning, with all its different expressive techniques, represents an advantage from several points of view. Students, in fact, will be stimulated in learning concepts, made more accessible by the artistic forms that convey them and will be able to compete competitively in the world of work, thanks to the skills learned; course creators will be able to count on an excellent way of involving their users, making the lessons more engaging; in the long run, companies will be able to benefit from people enriched by unconventional training, which develops critical resolution skills, providing an innovative way to deal with work situations.