"…unless our words, concepts, ideas are hooked onto an image, they will go in one ear, sail through the brain, and go out the other ear. Words are processed by our short-term memory where we can only retain about seven bits of information . . . . Images, on the other hand, go directly into long-term memory where they are indelibly etched.”
Images enhance and improve eLearning content. Therefore, be sure to provide all content builders standards for finding, selecting, attributing, and implementing images into their courses. Review the following topics to learn best practices for creating and sharing information using images.A few more tips:
-Dr. Lynell Burmark
- Search for the least restrictive licensing options when considering Creative Commons images.
- Images are sometimes incorrectly marked as public domain on Wikipedia or Wikimedia; check the original source of the image to evaluate the credibility of the public domain notice.
- Some state agencies do require permission to re-use images so check the terms of use of the website where you found the image.
- Most, but not all, federal government images are in the public domain. Those that are not public domain usually include a citation to the original source. Check with the website terms of use and the original source for permission to re-use an image.
To learn more about working with images, watch our video.
Working with Images from CourseArc on Vimeo.
To learn more about instructional design and eLearning, enroll in our self-paced course, Principles of Instructional Design: A Roadmap for Creating Engaging eLearning Content.