Yesterday (20 May 26), Marked Improvement attended the Skills for Care “AI and the Future of Social Work” Summit at Edgbaston, where Charles Shields presented alongside Julie Stone on behalf of our client TSA – Technology Enabled Care Services Association.

The session explored an increasingly important question for the sector:

How can digital tools, immersive learning and AI support professional practice without losing the human relationships, empathy and ethical judgement at the heart of social work?

One of the strongest themes emerging from the event was the importance of co-creation.

In digital learning, the most effective resources are rarely created by technical teams working in isolation. They are developed collaboratively with practitioners, subject matter experts, organisations delivering frontline services, and increasingly, with people who have lived experience of care and support systems.

Over the past 18 months, Marked Improvement has been working with TSA on the development and rollout of the TSA Learning Hub, which now supports more than 11,000 users across around 100 organisations in the technology-enabled care sector.

A major part of that work has involved the development of TSA’s QSF-aligned workforce learning modules. These modules were co-created with the sector itself, helping ensure that the learning reflects the realities of frontline practice rather than abstract theory.

Importantly, the updated versions of the modules, which are about to launch, have also been shaped by user feedback gathered from the first phase of delivery. That ongoing process of listening, refining and improving is central to effective digital learning.

At the summit, TSA also shared the roadmap for the next phase of development of the TSA Virtual Home in partnership with Skills for Care. The focus is not on replacing professional judgement with technology, but on creating tools that support reflective practice, improve access to trusted information, and ultimately create more time for person-centred care.

The conversations throughout the day reinforced something we strongly believe at Marked Improvement: technology should support people, not overshadow them. As digital learning and AI continue to evolve, co-creation will remain essential to building solutions that practitioners trust, value and genuinely find useful in practice.

Dan Lamoon is the Founder and Chief Storyteller at Colab Creation, who have been Marked Improvement’s video production partners for the last 4 years.

The days of paper-based learning and assessments have been replaced with online courses and presentations. But despite how exciting this may be, many online learning platforms fall into the trap of creating  content that is uninspiring and difficult to engage with. 

E-learning doesn’t have to be dull, despite its reputation. It’s time to say goodbye to boring, bland slides and text-heavy content you just want to skip through as soon as possible. Instead, say hello to dynamic, immersive and engaging online learning thanks to the art of video storytelling. 

This article will dive into how video storytelling can transform your online content from mere information delivery to an inspiring, learner-led journey. We’ll explore the emotional impact of stories, the benefits of putting learners in the driving seat, and practical tips on how to make your courses more compelling, human and effective. 

Ready to see how video storytelling can make your content shine? Then read on.

Why should you turn your slides into stories?

We’ve all been there: clicking through endless slides, not really paying attention and wanting to get your learning done before moving on to the next thing on your endless to-do list. 

Online learning not only needs to be engaging, but also needs to make learners actually feel something. That’s where video storytelling comes in. With the use of captivating, colourful visuals blended with real life people and stories, you can bring your lessons to life and create a sense of connection with your audience.

Think of each piece of online learning content as a chapter in your story. This invites learners into a narrative that will make them feel part of the journey. 

The importance of creating learning that hits home

We are all natural storytellers.  Stories teach us, inspire us and make us feel emotions. When it comes to online learning, storytelling can do the same.

Think about the difference between reading a case study versus watching a video that says exactly the same thing. Through video, you can build an emotional connection that no amount of text will ever do. 

Incorporating personal or emotive stories into video content can elevate the learning experience. Whether it’s a short documentary showcasing real-life scenarios such as Neurodiversity Pathways or animated narratives depicting problem-solving, storytelling helps learners see beyond the facts, finding relevance and motivation in their own learning journey. 

Ditch the dry facts. Try to include real-world examples and personal stories through video to engage with your audience. When learners see themselves in the narrative, it can make their online learning experience more meaningful and memorable. 

Here’s an example from a course Colab and Marked Improvement worked on for the fantastic Work Health Hub from the University of Derby. Leading Wellbeing in the Workplace is a 10-module course available to all subscribers to the Work Health Hub, and is aimed at anyone in a role where they may need to support the mental health of their colleagues. The scenario shown in the screenshots below features Mandy, who is experiencing symptoms of the menopause, and her line manager Brian, who initially fails to understand why a previously diligent member of his team is now struggling at work.

In this sequence, the learner is encouraged implicitly to see both perspectives and to empathise, even if ultimately it is Brian who needs to change his behaviour. The message is much more powerful for being conveyed in this way rather than through text.

Learner led stories + videos = audience empowerment

Nobody really likes being told what to do. One of the powerful aspects of video storytelling is the ability to hand the reins over to the learners. 

Interactive videos can really give power to your learners where they can explore different paths and outcomes to their actions. It’s a great way to teach decision-making skills and also keep them hooked on the story. 

For more on this, take a look at our previous blog post on Top 10 ways to use video in e-learning.

Creating online learning that is more than just a screen

It’s natural for us to feel disconnected from learning when we are just looking at a screen and not interacting with our peers. It can also feel a bit isolating. But video storytelling can give your online learning a much-needed human touch. 

Watching videos with real people, real voices and genuine emotions can make you feel less alone. Also, by including diverse voices and perspectives, you can enhance your learning experience by making it more inclusive and provide a richer view of the world. 

It can be as simple as the instructors and experts introducing themselves on camera, as well as sharing their stories and struggles. It will make your content feel relatable and keep people coming back for more. 

So, here’s what we think… The future of online learning isn’t just about throwing lots of information at learners, hoping it will stick with them. It’s about creating stories that inspire, motivate and transform. 

If you want to take your online learning to the next level, start thinking like a visual storyteller. Think about what journey you want to create for your learners, who would be the best people to tell that story and, finally, how will you connect with your viewers.  

Video storytelling isn’t just a trend; it’s a revolution in how we learn. Ready to start telling your story? 

Kate Wood is the Work Health Hub Manager at the University of Derby and an expert on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. We’ve been working with Kate for the last three years on the development of the Work Health Hub digital platform and related initiatives.

There are currently 2.8 million individuals classed as ‘economically inactive’ and on long-term sick, representing around 30 per cent of the total inactive population (NHS Confederation, 2024).  An economically inactive person is defined as ‘a person who is neither employed or unemployed; they’re not in paid work but they’re also not in paid work or looking to start work (fullfacet.org.uk).

Additionally, in 2023, the most prevalent health condition among those economically inactive because of long-term sickness was depression, bad nerves or anxiety (Office for National Statistics, 2023). The focus needs to be on preventing and reducing the duration of economic inactivity.

At the time of writing, The Pathways to Work Commission Report, July 2024, carried out the nation’s biggest deep dive into ‘economic inactivity’.

It suggests seven in ten people who are currently economically inactive would like to take a job that is aligned to their skills, interests and circumstances, implying that many are not out of work by choice.  This has implications for the need for employers to seek solutions to keep employees at work whilst managing illness and working towards getting well again.  There are some national initiatives currently supporting individuals to get back into work, but more emphasis is needed on supporting the employer.  The report states that “many of the people we have met have complex needs and challenges.  If they are to work, the ways they are recruited and employed will have to change and be flexible.  That is not easy for businesses, and we will have to help them”.

The Work Health Hub team have written a guide that will offer employers direction on how to manage and support employees’ wellbeing whilst they are in work, should they go off sick, be on long-term sick, and when they return to work.  The guide draws from occupational therapy theories and models, and explains how they can help the employer understand the predicament many employees find themselves in when managing illness alongside work.  It will also shine a light on one of the biggest barriers to help-seeking – stigma. It highlights the crucial need for confidentiality (where possible) in providing a psychologically safe environment within which employees are valued and feel supported.

Getting into the right mindset is important for managing absence and return to work effectively. It can help you to be professional yet understanding in dealing with your employee. This is important as many people who are absent from work due to mental health difficulties may feel worried that they are no longer valued by their organisation.  Talking to the employee with the right mindset can show your employee that you care about them and value the contribution they make.

Stigma plays a key role in attitudes to mental health and how it is managed in the workplace.  It is important to explore our attitudes to be able to offer the best support possible. It can be helpful to attempt to see things from the employee’s perspective. By stepping into their shoes, you can start to understand some of their feelings, behaviours and reactions.

Remember that lots of people are still able to work effectively, despite managing a mental health difficulty.

Be mindful…

• Recognise when you might be jumping to conclusions about your employee and their time off work.
• Check any thoughts you may have by looking objectively at the situation. If their sick leave has caused problems, focus on the potential solutions.
• When we are busy and under pressure, it’s easy to forget why sensitivity and understanding is important for your employees. Reflecting on how our actions impact others can be key in these scenarios.
• Schedule time to prepare for conversations and allow enough time for them to ensure the conversation can be managed in a relaxed manner.
• You may have your own experience of mental health difficulties, which could impact your ability to support your employees.  If this is the case, it is important to seek help and support for yourself and reach out to your own manager about possible support you may need.

To access the full guide, sign your organisation up to The Work Health Hub here www.theworkhealthhub.co.uk

Hannah Memmott is a Marketing and Account Executive at AST Language Services with a passion for language education and translation. With a BA in French and Philosophy and an MA in Translation, Hannah has worked in various linguistic roles both in France and the UK. Her enthusiasm for breaking down language barriers has led her to her current position at AST, where she is committed to promoting the importance of quality translation in effective intercultural communication.

Language Matters: The Impact of Language Barriers on Employee Wellbeing

Imagine working in a foreign country where the primary language isn’t your native tongue. You struggle to understand your colleagues, feel isolated, and fear making mistakes. This is a reality for many employees worldwide, and the impact of language barriers on employee wellbeing cannot be overstated.

Understanding Language Barriers

There are various types of language barriers that can impact communication, in life and in the workplace. These include technical barriers between individuals with varying understanding of specialist terminology, cultural barriers between individuals of different backgrounds who hold different norms and values, and physical barriers due to hearing impairments or speech difficulties. Proficiency barriers encompass individuals who have varying proficiency in a common native language as well as individuals who don’t share the same native language, and thus have varying competence in their common language. We’ll focus on this second type of proficiency barrier and examine how it can affect the wellbeing of those communicating with their employer and colleagues in their non-native language.

The Psychological Impact of Language Barriers

Language barriers can lead to various practical issues, including difficulty expressing oneself, difficulty understanding others, and misunderstandings. What’s more, studies show these challenges can contribute to some substantial psychological consequences.

When individuals struggle to communicate due to language-related proficiency barriers, they are likely to experience fear and anxiety. According to a study published in the Omar Medical Journal, 20% of healthcare patients in the US who aren’t native English speakers do not seek healthcare services due to ‘fear of misunderstanding healthcare providers’. The fear around not being understood, or not being able to express oneself, can clearly lead to individuals avoiding necessary communication. What can this translate to within a workplace on an operational level? Likely anxiety around asking for clarification on operational tasks, or worse even, fear around reporting safety risks or conduct breaches.

On an integrational level, employees who are new to a role or company may find it challenging to build relationships with colleagues. Feeling disconnected from colleagues can lead to feelings of loneliness, which can be exacerbated by the cultural barriers employees experience when navigating unfamiliar social norms and customs. According to The Forum, a charity that supports migrants’ integration into the UK, 58% of migrants identify loneliness as the ‘biggest challenge when attempting to settle into a new country’.

If migrant employees are experiencing loneliness both inside and outside the workplace, how else may their wellbeing be impacted? Startlingly, individuals who experience long-term loneliness and emotional pain are more likely to suffer from a range of physical health problems. This can range from high blood pressure, heart disease, and reduced immunity to cognitive decline and even dementia. Of course, employees who are suffering from any of the above are likely to have high absence rates, perpetuating their sense of social isolation.

Addressing Language Barriers

While in-team bilingual points of contact can provide short-term relief to the communication issues that may arise from language-related proficiency barriers in the workplace, language training offers a more long-term solution. By investing in language training programs, organisations can equip non-native speaking employees with the language skills they need to bridge language-related proficiency gaps, communicate effectively, and build relationships within their work and teams, stemming a sense of isolation and the consequences that come from this.

To create a truly inclusive workplace, it is also important to focus on tackling the cultural barriers in multinational teams that may exacerbate feelings of isolation. An effective way of doing this is through cultural awareness training. By training management and employees in different cultural perspectives and communication styles, employers can reduce non-linguistic misunderstandings, foster a sense of belonging among their minority employees, and more broadly, create an inclusive culture company-wide.

If the cultural awareness training is to work, however, non-native language employees must be able to access and engage with it. Therefore, another vital component is the provision of translated training materials. This goes beyond translating cultural awareness training but also key operational training, health and safety training, and CPD materials. By translating training materials for employees who can’t otherwise effectively engage with the materials, employees can feel more confident, valued, and therefore invested in their work, regardless of their language skills.

Conclusion

By understanding the significant impact of language barriers on employee wellbeing and productivity, organisations can take proactive steps to address these challenges. Implementing solutions such as bilingual points of contact, language training, and multilingual training can create a more inclusive and supportive workplace where employees can thrive. By investing in these initiatives, organisations can not only improve employee wellbeing but also enhance overall business performance.

Marked Improvement, in collaboration with AST Language Services, offers multilingual eLearning solutions to help organisations break down language barriers and create a more inclusive workplace. Contact us today to explore how our solutions can benefit your global or diverse workforce.

Show; don’t tell.

This principle of engaging storytelling can also be applied to the design of e-learning courses.

There has been a tendency to use lengthy sections of text to explain to learners why they have to know or do something in the workplace, then follow this up with an end-of-section assessment to check they have remembered the information.

But these learning outcomes may be more effectively communicated through the use of appropriate video content that can engage the learner at an emotional level. 

Clearly the budgets available to produce e-learning courses – whether bespoke for an individual organisation, or for sale as off-the-shelf courses – do not stretch to Netflix production values.

But there are a variety of ways to make creative use of video, whether that is existing content or specific to the current project, without blowing your budget.

Our regular collaborator Dan Lamoon from video production company Colab Creation will have more to say about this in future blog posts – but for now here are our Top 10 Tips on using video:

1. Don’t assume that all video content needs to be professionally produced. (Sorry Dan!) If you follow some simple guidelines, self-produced smartphone videos can have a real impact because of their authenticity.
2. Audio clarity is more important than video quality as such.
3. A ‘talking head’ introduction to your course, along with video introductions to each section and a summary clip, can really help to personalise a course. If you have an expert on the topic within your organisation, get them to record these videos.
4. If the course is focused on a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) within your organisation, a video or set of clips showing the different stages can be much more effective than a text-based description.
5. Video case studies contextualise the learning making it easier for learners to relate it to their own circumstances. At the top of this post is an example of a video case study from the Leading Wellbeing in the Workplace course we developed for the University of Derby Work Health Hub, with video production by Colab.
6. Employee Onboarding / Induction: one of the difficulties facing HR teams trying to provide new staff with effective inductions is that it is often impossible to get members of the Senior Leadership Team in a room at the same time. Video interviews with colleagues in key roles across the organisations are a great way of making the onboarding programme feel more welcoming to new starters.
7. Animated explainers: there are many DIY tools enabling engaging explainer videos to be produced, or you may consider getting your e-learning supplier to do this for you. Either way, they can be effective in communicating key concepts.
8. Scenario-based learning: where you are producing a course on a topic such as customer service or ‘having difficult conversations’, video scenarios can work really well, with breaks in the action where the learner is prompted to choose how to respond. This will generally work best if professionally produced using actors, so tends to be more expensive.
9. Using 3rd party content: it goes without saying that you will find videos on virtually any topic relating to your training needs on YouTube. In many cases, the video settings allow the video to be embedded in another webpage, eg your e-learning course. However, you do need to be ensure that the YouTube account you are embedding from is actually the owner of the video; and links to 3rd party content do tend to break. Also, you don’t have control of the related videos that appear at the end, so there is the risk of your learners getting distracted by something else.
10. It might be possible to re-edit and repurpose videos produced by your Marketing team for training; the same may apply in reverse.

Here’s a scenario-based e-learning example from the Employable Me course we created for Young Enterprise, with video production by our partners Colab Creation. In this module Shine in the interview, learners (who are Year 9-11 pupils) work through the video of an interview, choosing the best response at various stages.

This approach gives learners the opportunity to put into practice some of ideas covered earlier in the course, in a safe environment.

“It’s just guesswork.”

Well yes, it can be.

Here’s a question for you:

What is the capital of New Zealand? Is it:

1. Auckland
2. Tokyo
3. Canberra
4. Wellington

OK, so assuming a minimum level of education we can rule out Tokyo and Canberra as capitals of other countries. That means that the chance of getting the answer correct – if you’re not sure between the two remaining options – isn’t 25% but 50%.

Two of the ‘distractors’ (the technical term for false options) are effectively wasted here, because they are very obviously incorrect. So why put them in? Just because the MCQ format required 4 options?

This is clearly a poorly written question – but other types of less than effective question design may be less obvious.

How about this question from a Fire Safety course:

What are the necessary ingredients for a fire to start and continue?

1. Oxygen
2. Heat
3. Fuel
4. Oxygen, heat and fuel

There is a clue in the way the question is constructed: the fact the it is plural ‘ingredients’.  Even if you have not read the module content, and did not already know the answer, you could figure out from the wording that it is option 4.

These are examples of what not to do. Now let’s look at some simple guidelines on best practice. This isn’t intended to be a comprehensive list; there are many in-depth guides out there if you’re interested in the academic research to back this up.

• Make MCQ options roughly equal in length as often a longer option is a clue that it is the correct choice.
• Avoid silly / plainly incorrect options, unless you’re writing first round questions for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
• There is no evidence that having lots of options (say >5) leads to more reliable assessment.
• Make sure that the questions you include have been covered in the training content.
• Avoid negative questions (eg which of the following is NOT true?)
• Take into account those of your learners (whether employees or students) who are neurodivergent or for whom English is not their first language.
• Think carefully about what is a reasonable pass mark. (See the separate blog post on this topic.)
• Think about how many attempts you are going to let the learner have to pass the test before they are deemed to have failed.
• If your system allows, choose the setting for random presentation of options. (CourseBeam can do this.)
• If your system allows, base your assessment on choosing a random selection of MCQs from a question bank. (CourseBeam can do this.)
• If you are creating a question bank, ensure that all questions are at the same level so all learners have an equal chance of passing.
• If your system records which questions were answered incorrectly, look for patterns across your cohort of learners. If you can see that the same questions were answered incorrectly again and again, you may want to address this in your training content.

Finally, here’s a question from an exciting new course we’re working on at the moment for the music industry. If the user has paid attention during the main part of the module, the answer should be clear; but if not, there are no hidden clues or ‘wasted’ distractors.

MCQs may have gained a bad reputation but that’s down to how they have been used. Designed with care, there is no reason not to use them alongside other question styles.

“Can we just give you a Powerpoint?”

So your HR Director has tasked you with researching e-learning courses on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion with a view to rolling one out across your organisation.

There are lots of options on the market, with dozens available with our Coursebeam Catalogue of off-the-shelf courses. These include the fantastic suite of courses we built for our friends at the Clear Company.

But you’ve come to the view that, as you’re a large organisation with very specific requirements, it would be better to commission a new bespoke course tailored to your needs.

Good for you! Bespoke e-learning courses can be more cost effective than you might think.

So, what next?

Clearly it’s important to involve stakeholders from across the organisation (and even externally). Maybe you already have a DEI working group, in which case great; they can serve as your starting point and feed into the development process at every stage, which will really help to ensure you get this right.

You’ll most likely want to arrange a kick-off workshop involving Post-It notes and flipcharts, as per the pic.

But at some point all the ideas will need to be collated into a structured document that provides clear instructions to your e-learning designers (us, we hope!) on how to translate your learning outcomes into a focused learning experience that will resonate with your staff.

That process is storyboarding. The end result is a document (the format is not important as long as it is clear and consistent) which describes what is presented to the learner (text, audio, images, video animation, interactions) and when.

The creation of the document – the storyboard or script – might be done by you or by a Subject Matter Expert (SME), either internal or external. The document can then be refined further in collaboration with your e-learning designers.

Avoid the temptation to dump in a Powerpoint everything including the kitchen sink that came out of your initial workshop! Otherwise your objective of producing a 30-minute introduction to the subject will end up as several hours of learning. That may well mean making some tough decisions on what to include and what to leave out.

If you already have experience with e-learning, you may have clear ideas on the sort of approach you’d like to take (eg video or audio driven) and on the sorts of interactions to use at different points in the module. If not, let your e-learning designers guide you on this, always taking the learners themselves as the primary focus.

Do involve your e-learning designers from the outset of the project rather than presenting them with a finalised script out of the blue. You’ll get much better results out of an iterative, collaborative process.