the e-learner
The magic number Why blood, sweat and tears are all you’ll ever need. Xxxxxxxx M
y newest home improvement project is making over the cat hair-coated lair where paperwork goes to die – also
known as my spare room. A good spring clean, a quick trip to IKEA and an inspired rearrange of the furniture will convert the dark lair into a Pinterest- worthy retreat for guests that will satisfy the most pernickety boutique hotel lover. Well, that’s the theory. Anyway, something that’s been at the forefront of my mind when deciding how to style the room is the rule of three. For some reason things just look better in threes. Three pictures together on the wall? Great. Three colours in a room? Beautiful. Three items on a bedside table? Disgusting. Just kidding – it’s perfection.
The rule of three is something that works way beyond styling your home. It’s a well-known rhetorical technique. Think of Tony Blair’s famous refrain, ‘Education, education, education’ or Winston Churchill’s promise to lead Britain through the Second World War with his ‘blood, sweat and tears’. Things that are in threes stick with us. It’s why stories have a beginning, middle and end, and why
so many jokes involve three characters. In fact, Churchill didn’t even say that. He said he’d give his ‘blood, toil, tears and sweat’. The power of three is so strong that it even made us remember it incorrectly. With such a powerful memory creator at our
fi ngertips, it makes sense to incorporate it into the e-learning that we develop too. Recently, I’ve been trying to use the rule of three wherever I can. Need to present a long and unwieldy list? Find three underlying factors that link different list items together and assign each item to one of these categories. This technique can transform a series of loosely related statements into the ‘why, what and how’ of something, which seems much more relevant and memorable. Bonus points if you can distill each category into three key takeaways too.
The rule of three can be used on a broader level
as well. Try splitting your module into three topics. Defi ne three key learning points or objectives at the outset and make sure that all content can be traced back to one of these points. If your content doesn’t naturally fi t into three topics, there’s no point forcing it, but you’ll be surprised at how often it’s feasible to restructure what you’ve got.
The importance of three is nothing new to
artists, photographers and graphic designers, who have been using the rule of thirds for years. It’s the
idea that each graphic area or screen is split in three horizontally and three vertically, giving you a grid of nine even sized squares. The eye is naturally drawn to certain squares and caught by the areas where the gridlines intersect. This rule can help with positioning images to create a natural balance that appeals to users.
So there’s no reason to stop at content – think in threes when deciding how to lay out your screens or what images to include in your e-learning. Why not split up your screen into blocks that follow the rule of thirds gridlines? Put key content in the square that the eye is drawn to fi rst? Or position the most important part of your image where the gridlines cross?
The possibilities for harnessing the power of three are seemingly endless. I’m going to keep experimenting with the technique whenever I can, whether I’m hanging pictures on my walls or writing bullet points for an e-learning course. I’ll let you know how I get on. Oh, and if you liked this article, see if you can spot the threes.
Megan McIlvenna is an instructional designer at Mind Click
@the_e_learner
Recently, I’ve been trying to use the rule of three wherever I can. Need to present a long and unwieldy list? Find three underlying factors that link different list items together and assign each item to one of these categories. This technique can transform a series of loosely related statements into the ‘why, what and how’ of something, which seems much more relevant and memorable.
40 e.learning age june 2015
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